Tenguella (1464–1512) Tenguella was a
Fula silatigi, a religious leader and political chief, in
Futa Toro. Pushed by an expansionist Jolof Empire, in the 1450s he led an emigration eastwards, establishing a state known as Futa Kingi in the lands of the
Kingdom of Diarra. From this base, Tenguella militarily intervened in a number of neighboring areas and disrupted trade. His son
Koli went to
Futa Jallon to organize the Fula there against
Mande domination. By 1490 Tenguella's actions in the upper
Gambia River basin were threatening the communication lines between the
Mali Empire and their western provinces of
Kaabu as well as the
Bambuk gold fields. In 1511, after years of mounting tensions, Tenguella invaded the
Kingdom of Diarra, the rulers of which called for help from the Songhai. Amar Konjago, a brother of
Askia Mohammad I, in 1512 defeated and killed Tenguella in battle and destroyed his young state.
Koli Tenguella (1512–1537) Koli Tenguella led another armed migration north from his base in Futa Jallon, attacking many small states on his path. After re-establishing his family's rule in Futa Toro, he redirected the fledgling state's military away from Songhai towards the
Jolof Empire with great success. The growth of the Denianke empire would hasten the breakup of the Jolof state into several warring kingdoms. He established a fixed capital in Tumbere-Jiinde in what is today Senegal's Futa Toro region and reconquered Kingi. Koli died in 1537 during a war against the kingdom of Bussa.
Apex Koli was succeeded by his brother Labba Tenguella, beginning the Denianke dynasty (or Denyanke). After the 1549 collapse of the Jolof Empire at the
Battle of Danki, the Denianke took advantage. By the end of the 16th century, they were receiving regular tribute from the
Kingdom of Jolof,
Waalo,
Gajaaga,
Diarra,
Diakhaba,
Saloum,
Goundiourou,
Namandirou and the
Lamtuna, and possibly
Khasso as well. The
Futa Djallon, the gold-producing
Bambouk region, and the Wagadu and Taga regions east of the
Senegal River also fell under Denianke hegemony. In the early 17th century, the Fula added
Cayor to their roster of tributaries. The apex of Denianke power came under
Satigi Samba Lamu, when they controlled both the mouth of the Senegal and many of the
trans-Saharan trade routes. However the power of the ruler was never absolute, and the
satigi's rule over the massive empire amassed in the last decades of the 16th century was increasingly tenuous and nominal by the middle of the 17th century.
Religious conflict and end The Denianke ruled
animist monarchs over an increasingly Muslim populace. The
Torodbe became increasingly influential, opposing Denianke leadership and calling for
jihads against neighboring animist
Mandinka states. The reign of
Silatigi Siree Sawa Laamu (r.1669-1702) saw the outbreak of the
Char Bouba war, an Islamist uprising against traditionalist monarchies in the Senegal river valley that sparked a civil war among the Deniankes. Futa Toro had no defined
rules of succession for the
satigi, leading to regular power struggles and civil wars. Beginning in the early 18th century, the
Trarza Moors, supported by the sultan of Morocco
Moulay Ismail, attempted to exert control over the north bank of the Senegal and the lucrative trade in
gum arabic. The French in
Saint-Louis attempted the same, and instability and foreign intervention became endemic in Futa Toro and much of the Senegal River valley. The well-known
ceddo war chief Samba Gelaajo Jeegi took power with the backing of both major powers in 1725, but was unable to break free of their influence and was driven out in 1731.
Satigis succeeded each other with bewildering speed for the next few decades with the Moors holding the real power. The dynasty was overthrown in
a revolution led by
Sulayman Bal in 1776. He stepped down once the holy war was won and was replaced by
Abdul Qadir ibn Hammadi, the first
almamy of the
Imamate of Futa Toro. ==Government==