throne. It is said that when news of his doings was brought to Sonni Ali’s daughters they cried, “Askia!” (“Usurper!”) The epithet was calmly accepted by Mohammed as the title of his dynasty. He became the first and greatest Askia, and other Askias reigned over the Songhay empire until its final destruction by the Moors.
Chroniclers dwell mainly on the Askia’s prowess as a soldier, but Barth, who spent some months in Timbuktu in the middle of the nineteenth century and made careful research into the records, points out that it is rather as a great civil administrator that he should be judged. Here his gifts were of no common order; he stands high in the long line of eminent Africans who have been competent men of affairs. The vast unwieldy areas of Sonni Ali’s dominions, and those added by the Askia himself, he placed under known and trusty governors. Subject to their well regulated control, each area was allowed to retain its own form of local government. In order for his subjects to be released for peaceful pursuits, a standing army was substituted for general military service. It soon became evident that, great general though he was, the new ruler cared for industry and agriculture,
