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| '''Judar Pasha''' was a |
'''Judar Pasha''' was a ] military leader and the conqueror of the ]. | ||
| Born a ], Judar<ref>While '''Judar''' is the common spelling, this is based on an assumed pronunciation by French translators of the Arabic texts '']'' and '']'' which do not give the vowels. The name is pronounced '''Jawdar''' in the ''Tadhkirat an-Nisian'' and in the most recent English translation of the ''Tarikh al-Sudan'' by J. O. Hunwick (cited below).</ref> had been captured as a baby. As a young boy he joined the service of Moroccan ] ]. Like many of Ahmad's officers, Judar was a ]. | Born a ], Judar<ref>While '''Judar''' is the common spelling, this is based on an assumed pronunciation by French translators of the Arabic texts '']'' and '']'' which do not give the vowels. The name is pronounced '''Jawdar''' in the ''Tadhkirat an-Nisian'' and in the most recent English translation of the ''Tarikh al-Sudan'' by J. O. Hunwick (cited below).</ref> had been captured as a baby. As a young boy he joined the service of Moroccan ] ]. Like many of Ahmad's officers, Judar was a ]. | ||
Revision as of 13:35, 29 February 2012
Judar Pasha was a Moroccan military leader and the conqueror of the Songhai Empire.
Born a Spaniard, Judar had been captured as a baby. As a young boy he joined the service of Moroccan Sultan Ahmad I al-Mansur Saadi. Like many of Ahmad's officers, Judar was a eunuch.
In 1590, Ahmad I made Judar a pasha and appointed him the head of an invasion force against the Songhai Empire of what is now Mali. In October of that year, Judar set out from Marrakesh with a force of 1,500 light cavalry and 2,500 arquebusiers and light infantry. He also carried eight English cannon in his supply train, and assembled eighty Christian bodyguards for his personal detail.
After an arduous crossing of the Sahara desert, Judar razed the desert salt mines of Taghaza and advanced on the Songhai capital of Gao.
Meanwhile, Songhai ruler Askia Ishaq II assembled a force of more than 40,000 men and moved north against the Moroccans; the two armies met at Tondibi in March 1591. Despite their inferior numbers, the Moroccan gunpowder weapons easily carried the day, resulting in a rout of the Songhai troops. Judar sacked Gao and then moved on to the trading centers of Djenné and Timbuktu.
Despite Judar's gains, sporadic battles continued with the Songhai army, leading to his replacement several years after his victory. Judar was subsequently put to death in December 1606 on the orders of Mulay Abd Allah, son of Mullay al-Shaykh in the course of struggles over the Moroccan throne.
Notes
- While Judar is the common spelling, this is based on an assumed pronunciation by French translators of the Arabic texts Tarikh al-Sudan and Tarikh al-fattash which do not give the vowels. The name is pronounced Jawdar in the Tadhkirat an-Nisian and in the most recent English translation of the Tarikh al-Sudan by J. O. Hunwick (cited below).
- Hunwick 1999, p. 234
References
- Davidson, Basil (1995), Africa in History: themes and outlines, New York: Simon & Schuster, ISBN 0020427913.
- Hunwick, John O. (1999), Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire: Al-Sadi's Tarikh al-Sudan down to 1613 and other contemporary documents, Leiden: Brill, ISBN 9004112073.