The Jolof Empire, also known as Great Jolof or the Wolof Empire, was a Wolof state in what is now Senegal that from the mid-fourteenth century ruled or held sway over portions of present-day Mauritania and Gambia as well. The empire bound together several Wolof and related provinces under a paramount ruler known as the Burba Jolof, who exercised authority over vassal states including Waalo, Cayor, Baol and Sine-Saloum. Jolof's unity broke down after the Battle of Danki in 1549, when the vassal state of Cayor defeated the empire's forces and, along with the other formerly subject provinces, became fully or effectively independent, leaving a reduced Jolof Kingdom in place of the earlier empire. The diminished kingdom persisted for centuries afterward before French colonial expansion absorbed the region into French West Africa.
Facts
Classification
Status (Extant or Former) Government type (class) Connections
In Era
Source Jolof Empire (Wikipedia)
Source Jolof Empire (Wikipedia)
In the Other Atlases
- Also in Society and Culture Atlas: Confederation, government type there.
Sources
1. Wolof Empire - World History Encyclopedia
Break-up section
Trade might have been booming but the Wolof Empire itself began to disintegrate as early as the mid-16th century CE, breaking up into a number of successor states which included what is today referred to as the Wolof kingdom.
Early History section
Consequently, the Wolof kings came to rule the whole of Senegambia, although this state may better be described as a confederacy of tribute-paying kingdoms rather than an empire proper (as it is often called).
View the SourceJolof Empire (Wikipedia)
In Era: The Post-Classical and Medieval Period, lead paragraph and infobox, existence dates
The Jolof Empire (), also known as Great Jolof or the Wolof Empire, was a Wolof state in modern-day Senegal, that ruled portions of Mauritania and
In Era: The Early Modern Period, lead paragraph and infobox, existence dates
The Jolof Empire (), also known as Great Jolof or the Wolof Empire, was a Wolof state in modern-day Senegal, that ruled portions of Mauritania and
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