As fellow Muslims,
dyula merchants were also able to assess the valuable
trans-Saharan trade network conducted by North African Arabs and
Berbers whom they met at commercial centers across the
Sahel. Some important trade goods included gold,
millet, slaves, and kola nuts from the south and slave beads and
cowrie shells from the north (for use as
currency). It was under Mali that the great cities of the Niger bend including
Gao and
Djenné prospered, with Timbuktu in particular becoming known across Europe for its great wealth. Important trading centers in Southern West Africa developed at the transitional zone between the forest and the savanna; examples include
Begho and
Bono Manso (in present-day Ghana) and
Bondoukou (in present-day Côte d'Ivoire). Western trade routes continued to be important, with
Ouadane,
Oualata and
Chinguetti being the major trade centres in what is now
Mauritania.
Penetration into southern forest regions The development of
Dyula trade in Ghana and the adjacent Ivory Coast had important political consequences and sometimes military implications as well. The
dyula spearheaded Mande penetration of the forested zones in the south by establishing caravan routes and trading posts at strategic locations throughout the region en route to cola-producing areas. By the start of the sixteenth century,
dyula merchants were trading as far south as the coast of modern Ghana. On the forest's northern fringes, new states emerged, such as
Bono and Banda. As the economic value of gold and kola became appreciated, forests south of these states which had hitherto been little inhabited because of limited agricultural potential became more thickly populated, and the same principles of political and military mobilization began being applied there. Village communities became tributaries of ruling groups, with some members becoming the clients and slaves needed to support royal households, armies, and trading enterprises. Sometimes these political changes were not to the advantage of the
Dyula, who employed Mande warriors to guard their caravans and if necessary could call in larger contingents from the Sudanic kingdoms. In the seventeenth century, tensions between the Muslims and the local pagans in Begho erupted into a destructive war which eventually led to the total abandonment of the Banda capital. The local people eventually settled in a number of towns further east, while the dyula withdrew to the west to the further side of the Banda hills where they established the new trading center of
Bonduku.
Gonja state The
dyula presence and changes in the balance of power occasioned political upheavals in other places. Among the paramount Mande political initiatives along trade routes south of
Jenne was creation of the
dyula state of
Gonja by Naba'a in the 16th century. This was motivated by a general worsening of the competitive position of dyula traders and was occasioned by three factors: (1) a near-monopoly control in exporting forest produce achieved by the Akan kingdom of Bono; (2) the rise to power further north of the
Dagomba Kingdom which controlled local salt pans; and (3) increased competition following the arrival in the region of rival long-distance traders from
Hausaland. The reaction of the Dyula in the Bono-Banda-Gonja region to these developments was to establish a kingdom of their own in Gonja – the territory northern traders had to cross to reach Akan forestlands, situated in what is now modern
Ghana. By 1675, Gonja had established a
paramount chief called
Yagbongwura to control the kingdom. But Gonja was not a fruitful land in which to try to maintain a centralized government. This is because the Dagomba power to the north and Akan power to the south were too powerful; thus, the new kingdom rapidly declined in strength.
Kong Empire Many of the trading posts established by the
Dyula eventually became market villages or cities, such as
Kong in today's Northeastern Côte d'Ivoire. It emerged as a commercial center when Malian merchants began trading in the territory which was inhabited by pagan Senufo and other Voltaic groups. The sous-préfecture of Kong, in the area of Kong to
Dabakala, is said to be the “origin” area, where
dyula traders first settled in the twelfth century.
Dyula presence in the Kong area grew rapidly in the seventeenth century as a result of the developing trade between the commercial centers along the Niger banks and the forest region to the south which was controlled by the Baule chiefdoms and the
Ashanti. The
dyula brought their trading skills and connections and transformed Kong into an international market for the exchange of northern desert goods, such as salt and cloth, and southern forest exports, such as cola nuts, gold, and slaves. The city was also a religious center that housed a substantial academic community of Muslim scholars, with palaces and mosques built in the traditional
Sudanese style. As Kong grew prosperous, its early rulers from the Taraweré clan combined
dyula and Senufo traditions and extended their authority over the surrounding region. By the eighteenth century the
dyula had become quite powerful in the area and wished to rid themselves of subordination to Senufo chiefs. This was achieved in an uprising led by Seku Wattara (Ouattara), a
dyula warrior who claimed descent from the Malinke Keita lineage and who had studied the Quran and engaged in commerce before becoming a warrior. By rallying around himself all
dyula in the area, Seku Wattara easily defeated local chiefdoms and set up an independent
Dyula state in 1710, the first of its kind in West Africa. He established himself as ruler and under his authority, the city rose from a small city-state to the capital of the great
Kong Empire, holding sway over much of the region. The
dyula of Kong also maintained commercial links with European traders on the Atlantic coast around the
Gulf of Guinea, from whom they easily obtained prized European goods, most notably rifles, gunpowder, and textiles. The acquisition of weapons allowed for the creation of an armed militia force that protected trade routes passing through the territories of various minor rulers. In the course of developing his state, Seku Wattara built a strong army composed mostly of defeated pagan groups. The leadership of the army eventually developed into a new warrior class, called
sonangi, which was gradually separated from the overall
dyula merchant class. The Kong Empire started to decline after the death of Seku Wattara. Succession struggles divided the kingdom into two parts, with the northern area being controlled by Seku's brother Famagan who refused to recognize the rule of Seku's oldest son in the south. Towards the end of the nineteenth century, many of Kong's provinces had formed independent chiefdoms. The city of Kong retained the prestige of an Islamic commercial center, but it was no longer the seat of an important political power. It eventually came under French colonial control in 1898. Despite the fall from glory, the seventeenth-century Kong Friday Mosque survived, and the city was largely rebuilt in a traditional
Sudano-Sahelian architectural style and features a Qur'anic school.
Kingdom of Wasulu Region of West Africa The Mande conquerors of the nineteenth century frequently utilized trade routes established by the
Dyula. Indeed, it was his exploitation of their commercial network that allowed military leader
Samory Touré (1830–1900) to rise to a dominant position in the
Upper Niger region. A member of a
dyula family from Sanankoro in
Guinea, Samori conquered and united
Dyula states during the 1860s. He gained control over the Milo River Valley in 1871, seized the village of
Kankan in 1881, and became the principal power holder on the Upper Niger. By 1883, Samori had successfully brought the local chieftains under his control and officially founded the kingdom of
Wasulu. Having established an empire, he adopted the religious title of
Almami in 1884 and recreated the Malian realm. This new state was governed by Samori and a council of kinsmen and clients who took on the management of the chancery and the
treasury, and administered justice, religious affairs, and
foreign relations. Unlike some of his contemporary state-builders, Samori was not a religious preacher, and Wasulu was not a reformist state as such. Nevertheless, he used Islam to unify the nation, promoting Islamic education and basing his rule on
shari’a (Islamic law). However, Samori's professional army was the essential institution and the real strength behind his empire. He imported horses and weapons and modernized the army along European lines.
Dyula traders had never enjoyed as much prosperity as they did under the
almamy. Even though they did not play a central part in the creation of the state, the
dyula supported Samori because he actively encouraged commerce and protected trade routes, thus promoting a free circulation of people and goods. Samori put up the strongest resistance to European colonial penetration in West Africa, fighting both the French and British for seventeen years. Samori's would-be Muslim empire was undone by the French, who took
Sikasso in 1898, and sent Samori into exile, where he died in 1900. ==Dyula culture and society==