Sakura

Who was Sakura?

Mansa Sakura or Mansa Sakoura was the sixth mansa of the Mali Empire. A slave at birth, Sakura was freed and became a general in the army of Sundiata Keita, legendary founder of the Mali Empire. After a debilitating struggle for succession between Sundiata's sons Ouati Keita and Khalifa Keita and his grandson Abu Bakr, Sakura seized control of the throne himself in about 1285. Near-contemporary historian Ibn Khaldun records that under Sakura's leadership, the Empire made a number of new conquests, becoming the dominant political, economic, and military force in the Western Sudan. Sakura performed the Hajj but was killed at Tadjoura near Djibouti by Danakil warriors hungry for his gold. He was succeeded by Sundiata's nephew Gao.