Toucouleur Empire [Tidjaniya Caliphate] (jan 1, 1861 – jan 1, 1890)

Description:

The Toucouleur Empire (also known as the Tijaniyya Jihad state or the Segu Tukulor) (1861–1890) was founded in the mid-nineteenth century by Omar Saidou Tall of the Toucouleur people, in part of present-day Mali.

Omar Tall returned from the Hajj in 1836 with the titles of El Hadj and caliph of the Tijaniyya brotherhood of the Sudan. After a long stay in Fouta-Toro (present day Senegal), he moved to Dinguiraye (to the east of Fouta Djallon in present-day Guinea). This became the staging ground for his 1850 jihad.

His nephew Tidiani Tall succeeded him and installed the capital of the Toucouleur Empire at Bandiagara. At Segou, the son Ahmadu Tall continued to reign, successfully suppressing the attempts of several neighboring cities to break away. He came into increasing conflict with his brothers.

In 1890, the French, allied with the Bambara, entered Ségou. Ahmadu Tall fled first to Massina and after his fall in 1893 to Sokoto in present-day Nigeria, marking the effective end of the empire.