Sundiata Keita

Biography

Sundiata united the Mandinka clans and defeated the Sosso king Sumanguru at the Battle of Kirina around 1235, founding the Mali Empire. Much of his life is known through the Epic of Sundiata, preserved by griots in oral tradition, which tells of a childhood disability he overcame. The Kouroukan Fouga assembly attributed to his reign organized society. His great nephew Mansa Musa later made the empire famous.