Askia Ismaïl

Askia Ismaïl was a ruler of the Songhai Empire, a Muslim state in West Africa centered in Gao, present-day Mali. He reigned from 1537 to 1539. Askia Ismaïl was the son of Muḥammad I Askia, the founder of the Askia dynasty, who had greatly expanded the Songhai Empire through military conquests and established an efficient administration. The Askia dynasty ruled the Songhai Empire from 1493 to 1591. The empire, at its greatest extent in the early 16th century, stretched from the Atlantic Ocean to present-day Niger and Nigeria. It ultimately fell to Moroccan forces in 1591.123