Tunka Manin

Manin
Tunka, Kaya Maghan, Ghana
Reign1063-1076?
Coronation1063
PredecessorBassi
Died1076?
DynastyCisse dynasty

Manin or Menin (c. 1010-c.1076) was a ruler of Wagadu, also known as the Ghana Empire, who was crowned in 1063 and possibly ruled until 1076. Preceded by Ghana Bassi, Manin was the last ruler of the Ghana Empire before the supposed Almoravid conquest. Accounts of Manin come from Al-Bakri who described him as a "lover of justice and favorable to Muslims". He calls him Tunka Manin, collating the Soninke title 'Tunka', meaning 'king', with a possible corruption of the name 'Manna'.

Manin succeeded his maternal uncle Bassi in 1063 on the throne and like him had maintained his traditional religion rather than converting to Islam. This succession may have followed longstanding matrilineal precedent, or may have been part of a political strategy to sideline Qanmar, Bassi's son, due to his Muslim faith. This in turn may have provided an opportunity for Almoravid intervention supporting pro-Islam candidates for the throne.

Scholars debate whether or not the Almoravids conquered Ghana in 1076, though if they did it likely came during Manin's reign, with the shift in power coming at his expense.

References

  1. 1 2 Levtzion, Nehemia (1976). "The early states of the Western Sudan to 1500". In Ajayi, A.J. (ed.). History of West Africa (2nd. ed.). New York: Columbia University Press. p. 126-7. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  2. ↑ Bathily, Abdoulaye (1975). "A Discussion of the Traditions of Wagadu with some references to ancient Ghana". Bulletin de l'IFAN. 37 (B).
  3. ↑ Levtzion, Nehemia (1972). "Was Royal Succession in Ancient Ghana Matrilineal?". The International Journal of African Historical Studies. 5 (1). Retrieved 25 October 2026.
  4. ↑ Conrad, David C.; Fisher, Humphrey J. (1982), "The conquest that never was: Ghana and the Almoravids, 1076. I. The external Arabic sources", History in Africa, 9: 59, doi:10.2307/3171598, JSTOR 3171598
  5. ↑ Lange, Dierk (1996). "La Chute de la Dynastie des Sisse: Considérations sur la Dislocation de L'Empire du Ghana à Partir de l'Histoire de Gao" [The Fall of the Sisse Dynasty: Considerations on the Disintegration of the Ghana Empire Based on the History of Gao]. History in Africa (in French). 23: 165–6. doi:10.2307/3171939. JSTOR 3171939.
  6. ↑ For more information, see discussion here
  7. ↑ Lange, Dierk (1996a). "The Almoravid Expansion and the Downfall of Ghana". Der Islam. 73 (2). doi:10.1515/islm.1996.73.2.313.