1. By Omar, Jasmine, Juan

2.  Sunni Ali died in 1492  His son Sunni Baru was not a Muslim so people thought he wasn’t going to support he empire  The leader of the people rebellion was a general named Muhammad Ture  After overthrowing Sunni Baru he took the title Askia, a title of high military rank and he became known as Askia the great

3.  Askia the great took his Muslim faith very seriously like famous ruler Mansa Musa  When he defeated Sunni Baru he made a pilgrimage in Mecca just like Mansa Musa  Askia worked to support education like Mansa Musa  The city contained universities, schools, libraries, and mosques  The famous university of Sankore had people all over west Africa study about mathematics, science, medicine, grammar, and law  Djenne became a center of learning, especially for medicine  Doctor discovered that mosquitoes spread malaria and they performed surgery on the human eye

4.  Timbuktu and Djenne were centers of learning and trading  Merchants came to these cities and to Gao  Most of Songhai traders were Muslim and as they gained influence in the empire such as Islam  Askia the great devout Muslim, encouraged the growth of Islam influence  He made laws that were similar to the nations across the Sahara  To maintain order, Askia made five provinces within Songhai  He removed local leaders and appointed new governors that were loyal to him  One governor ran the empire well he was gone  When he came back he had even more Muslim influence to the government  He made special departments such as offices, and he made the first professional army