c. 1217–1255, b. Niani, Guinea Reigned c. 1230–55 over Mali Empire from Niani I will return. Do you hear me? —Sundiata Keita, in Djibril Tamsir Niane et al, Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali • According to Mande oral traditions, Sundiata, who was born with a disability, learned to walk with the help of his mother, Sogolon, and a blacksmith. • Mocked and forced into exile due to his disability, Sundiata nevertheless returned to unite the Mande-speaking clans to overthrow Sumanguru Kante, the wicked ruler of Sosso who took over the remnants of the Ghana Empire and used dark magic to subject his people. • Sundiata built a centralized monarchy—the Mali Empire—which, through its control of trans-Saharan trade and gold fields, became one of the wealthiest states of the Muslim world.
