Tondibi

Tondibi lies on the Niger north of Gao, in the heart of the old Songhai country. The river and its floodplain provided a route through the dry Sahel, joining the capital at Gao with settlements upstream. In 1591 Tondibi became the scene of a decisive battle between Songhai and an army sent across the Sahara by the Moroccan sultan Ahmad al-Mansur. The invading force possessed firearms and artillery, while the much larger Songhai army relied on cavalry and infantry. The Moroccans won the battle and took Gao, opening the way to Timbuktu and ending the power of the Songhai empire over the Niger bend.