Kong Empire

Background The area around Kong was settled primarily by Gur-speaking agriculturalists, particularly the Senufo people and Tyefo people. Starting in the 14th century Mandé merchants, known as the Dyula, migrated from the Mali Empire into the area founding the trading cities of Begho, Bouna, Bondoukou and Kong. These immigrants were largely Muslim while the local Senufo and Tyefo populations were primarily animist. Over time the route passing from the Niger south to the goldfields and then to European trading posts on the Gold Coast became increasingly important. At the same time, recurring conflict with the Gonja and Dagomba states promoted the rise of military leaders known as Fagama. Seku Watara In the early 1700s, Seku Watara (sometimes written as Sekou or Sekoue), a Dyula who claimed descent from the Malinké Keita lineage and who had studied the Qu'ran and engaged in commerce before becoming a warrior, deposed and killed an important leader in Kong, Lasiri Gbambele, by uniting the forces of a number of Dyula leaders in the area. After establishing control over Kong, forces under Seku and allied leaders with their own war houses took over towns and settlements throughout the region, mainly focusing on control of trade routes. They took over the region around the Black Volta to the north early during Seku's reign and to the south to Boule. Kong forces also intervened in the battles between various branches of the Keita dynasty in the upper Niger valley in the 1720s. Seku himself pushed north across the Leraba river, conquering the Tiefo people among others. This was a widespread strategy to cement the family's control over crucial settlements. His son Kere-Mori and brother Famagan Watara were critical in securing Kong's power in the Mouhoun River bend. After securing control of Sya, Famagan launched a major military operation westwards in November 1739. His forces took over a number of important cities, including Sofara on the Bani River. There he defeated an army sent by the Pashalik of Timbuktu to defend Djenne, but despite the victory were unable to cross the river and capture the city. Famagan then pushed further west and attacked Segou, capital of the Bambara Empire. After a failed initial attempt, he moved south to take Bela and rebuild his forces. Thus reinforced, he returned to Segou and besieged the city for nine months. When it was about to fall, a Fula relief column appeared, resupplied the defenders, and helped break the siege. Monteil fought a battle with Wassoulonke forces on the 14th, and the French were forced to retreat and abandon Kong, which pledged fealty to Samory in April. Kong maintained its importance under Toure, but conflict with the French dramatically curtailed trade and discontent grew quickly. Many Kong merchants sought to take advantage of Toure's retreat in the east by intercepting arms caravans and opening channels to the French. When the discontent eventually broke into open revolt, Samory destroyed the city, either on May 23, 1897 or May 18th, 1898. The remaining members of Seku's royal house took refuge in the Black Volta region where they divided territory creating what the French called "Les Etats de Kong." These kingdoms lasted for a short time before losing relevance to French colonial administration. The city of Kong was rebuilt by the French, but decreased significantly in relevance. ==Government and Society==

Kong was a prototypical "instrumental state", dedicated first and foremost to the promotion of trade and the protection of the routes on which it depended. On a practical level, the state was held together largely through chains of settlements and outposts ruled by different members of a merchant class located in Kong. Although their roots were in the merchant community, the Watara clan, or 'War-House', filled a separate role and cultivated a very different culture from the commercial class. Major leaders were based in small communities outside of the major cities, and controlled wide networks of family, slaves, soldiers, free peasants, vassals, and allies. They extracted surplus from farming or raiding in their 'mara', a territory in which their exclusive rights were recognized by other leaders of the War-House, but they did not directly govern these areas. These secular leaders were known as 'Sonanke', and followed traditional Mande religious and cultural practices as much or more than Islam; Muslim merchants were relegated to powerful behind-the-scenes roles. Local government was assumed by military commanders called kuntigi, whose main functions were limited to collecting tribute, recruiting troops during wartime, protecting trade routes, and preventing rebellion. Relations between villages, leaders, and families could shift quickly and constantly, and the elders of Kong, nominally the heads of the entire empire, were not necessarily the most economically or politically powerful people in the War-House. Still, they served an important function in mediating between branches of the Watara clan. The Kong kings' royal insignia included Arabic scrolls passed down from Seku and a mysterious object known as the 'Sinzébu', that only the king was allowed to see. Religion Islam did not impact the ruling aristocracy in their management of state: they derived no legitimacy from Islam, they did not implement Sharia, and were thus fundamentally different from the jihad states of West Africa. Augustus Henry Keane wrote in 1907 that "Nor is Kong a hotbed of Moslem fanaticism, as has also been supposed; but on the contrary, a place distinguished, one might almost say, by its religious indifference, or at all events by its tolerant spirit and wise respect for all the religious views of the surrounding indigenous populations." Ethnicity Ethnic relations remained largely split between the Mandé merchants and urban citizens and the Senufo agricultural population. There were few attempts to create an ethnically homogenous population by the leadership and thus these ethnic groups co-existed with one another and other immigrant populations. ==References==