The Songhai Empire, the last of West Africa’s pre-colonial empires, emerged in Gao and expanded across the region. Under Sunni Ali Ber and Askia Muhammad Toure, it grew through conquest and trade. However, a civil war led to Moroccan conquest in 1591. Although the Moroccans withdrew in 1661, the empire could not be reestablished and fell to French colonial forces in 1901. Continue reading revisit: SONGHAI EMPIRE (CA. 1375-1591)