Ngolo Diarra

Who is Ngolo Diarra?

Ngolo Diarra was the king of the Bambara Empire from 1766 to 1795.

Following the 1755 death of empire founder Bitòn Coulibaly, his descendants proved unable to maintain control, the kingdom fell briefly into anarchy. Ngolo Diarra, a freed slave, seized the throne in 1766 and soon restored order. Mungo Park, passing through the Bambara capital of Ségou two years after Diarra's 1795 death, recorded a testament to the Empire's prosperity under his reign:

Ngolo Diarra died in a campaign against the Mossi and was succeeded by his son Mansong Diarra. His descendants, the Ngolosi, continued to rule the Empire until its fall to Toucouleur conqueror El Hadj Umar Tall in 1861.