Tomb of Askia
- UNESCO World Heritage
Interesting facts
- The pyramid's mud walls bristle with protruding stakes of acacia wood called toron, which serve as permanent scaffolding for replastering.
- A winding stair climbs the outside of the tomb on its east side to reach the summit.
- The tomb rises in three distinct stepped levels from a nearly square base measuring about 14 by 18 metres.
- The cemetery beside the tomb dates from Askia's own time and holds many inscribed stone stelae.
- Askia Mohammed seized power after defeating Sonni Baru, son of the great conqueror Sonni Ali, at the Battle of Anfao outside Gao in April 1493.
- He set out for Mecca in 1496 with 500 horsemen and 1,000 foot soldiers and came home owing 50,000 ducats.
- Under his rule Songhai became the largest empire in West African history, stretching from the Taghaza salt mines to the Hausa lands.
- A chronicle offers a folk origin for his title: Askia supposedly echoed the cry 'a si kiya', meaning 'he shall not be it', uttered by Sonni Ali's daughters.
- In 1528, blind and well over seventy, Askia Mohammed was forced to abdicate by his own son, Askia Musa, and died a decade later.
- Electricity reached the complex in the early 2000s, bringing ceiling fans, lights and a loudspeaker mounted on top of the ancient tomb.
Why it is worth it
The Tomb of Askia in Gao is a stepped pyramid of mud brick, 17 metres high, rising from a walled courtyard in the town. It is believed to be the burial place of Askia Mohammed I, the first of the Askia emperors, who greatly expanded the Songhai Empire at the end of the 15th century. It is the largest pre-colonial monument in Gao and a key example of the Sudano-Sahelian architectural style that later spread through West Africa. It was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004.
Askia Mohammed was a devout Muslim who made the pilgrimage to Mecca, returning in 1497 or 1498. Local tradition says that he brought back the materials for his tomb with him, carried by a caravan of thousands of camels; the story is told as part of the building's legend. The pyramid was built as a house of rooms and passages, sealed when he died. He is the only person buried inside it, but several of his successors lie in the courtyard.
The complex is more than a tomb. It includes two mosques, a cemetery and an open-air assembly ground, and it is still in use as a place of worship and a cultural centre for Gao. The mosques were enlarged in the 1960s and 1970s, and a wall was built around the site in 1999. Like all earthen architecture in the Sahel, the pyramid survives only through care: its mud surface has been re-plastered again and again throughout its history. The texture of hand-smoothed earth and the stepped silhouette against the sky make it a striking sight.
Getting there
The tomb is about 2 km from the centre of Gao. Gao International Airport (GAQ), also known as Korogoussou Airport, is about 6 km away.
On these lists
From the encyclopaedia
The Tomb of Askia, in Gao, Mali, is believed to be the burial place of Askia Muhammad I, one of the Songhai Empire's most prolific emperors. It was built at the end of the fifteenth century and is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Although Askia Mohammed I is the only individual who was buried within the tomb, several other Askias are buried in the courtyard.
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