Kingdom of Diarra

Diarra, also referred to as Kingui, Diafunu, or Kaniaga was a Soninke state in what is now northwestern Mali, centered around the town of Diarra.

Names
Diarra has many different names: Diafunu, Zafunu, Jaara, Sankara and Zara among others.

History
Local histories recount that the Soninke came to the area of Diarra in the 7th century AD from Dia.

The early kings of Diarra took the title 'Mana Maga.' When Aoudaghost, royal seat of the Ghana Empire, was sacked by the Almoravid Empire in 1054, the Mana Maga broke away and established an independent state under the Niakhate dynasty. The kingdom became wealthy through trans-Saharan trade, controlling much of the southern parts of the former Wagadu (Ghana) Empire, and conquering Takrur.

Diarra was a vassal of the Mali Empire beginning in the 12th or early 13th centuries. The Niakhate dynasty, however, gained a reputation for cruelty and tyranny. In the early 15th century the last Mana Maga of the dynasty, Seriba Niakhaté, was driven out or fled Diarra for the area around Bamako, leaving power to Daman Guilé Diawara, a renowned hunter originally from Mande. He drove out the Malian representative, and Diarra became one of the most powerful states in the Sahel.

Daman Guilé Diawara was succeeded as king by his son Kouria Mamadou, who took the title 'Faren,' meaning 'governor,' who was followed by his son Silamaghan in 1415. After Silamaghan's death the country was divided between his sons, who frequently fought amongst each other.

The Fula warlord Tenguella invaded Diarra in 1511, at which point the kingdom called for help from the Songhai Empire. Amar Konjago, a brother of the Askia Mohammad I, led a powerful force on a 2-month march through the desert, then in 1512 defeated and killed Tenguella in battle. After this, Diarra likely swore fealty to the Songhai.

In 1754, the Bambara kingdom of Kaarta conquered and vassalized the kingdom.

The last monarch of Diarra, Biranté Karounga Diawara, was captured and executed by Omar Saidou Tall on May 31, 1860.

Yaqut's account
The Arab scholar and traveller Yaqut al-Hamawi described a meeting of the Diarra king with an Almoravid prince: "The king of Zafun(u) is more powerful and more versed in the art of ruling than [other West African princes]. And this is the reason for which the [people of] the Veil Wearers [meaning, the Almohads] recognize his superiority, by demonstrating to him their obedience and turning to him [in order to obtain his aid] in case of important affairs of state. One year, while going on pilgrimage to Mecca, this king arrived to the Maghreb, in the realm of the Veil Wearer al-Lamtuni, ‘prince of the Muslims.’ The latter greeted the king on foot while the king of Zafanu did not dismount from his horse [to greet him]"