Gao, Also Kawkaw, Gao

City

CityAlso Kawkaw, Gao

Gaoغاو

Capital of the Songhai empire on the Niger, where Askia Muhammad's tomb stands.

Gao's kings embraced Islam around 1000. Askia Muhammad, who made the Hajj in 1496-1497, ruled the Songhai empire from here, and his pyramid-shaped mud-brick tomb still stands. A Moroccan army ended Songhai power at nearby Tondibi in 1591.

Who else is linked?

Mali EmpireSonghai Empire

Everyone and everything in the timeline

People named in the Quran and the hadith, the Prophet's ﷺ family and Companions, scholars, rulers, the nations of the Quran, the world's empires and the places where it all happened. Where scholars differ, each entry says so.

Places