View source for Gao

{{Distinguish|Goa}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}}
{{Infobox settlement
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'''Gao''' {{IPAc-en|g|aʊ}} (or '''Gawgaw/Kawkaw'''){{sfn|Cissé|McIntosh|Dussubieux|Fenn|2013}} is a city in [[Mali]] and the capital of the [[Gao Region]]. The city is located on the [[River Niger]], {{convert|320|km|abbr=on}} east-southeast of [[Timbuktu]] on the left bank at the junction with the Tilemsi valley.

For much of its history Gao was an important commercial centre involved in the [[trans-Saharan trade]]. In the 9th century external Arabic writers described Gao as an important regional power,{{sfn|Levtzion|1973 |p=3}} and by the end of the 10th century, the local ruler was said to be a Muslim. Towards the end of the 13th century, Gao became part of the [[Mali Empire]].

In  the first half of the 15th century the town regained its independence.  With the conquests of [[Sunni Ali]] (ruled 1464–1492) it became the capital of the [[Songhai Empire]]. The Empire collapsed after the [[Saadian invasion of the Songhai Empire|Moroccan invasion in 1591]] and the invaders chose to make [[Timbuktu]] their capital.

By the time of [[Heinrich Barth]]'s visit in 1854, Gao had declined to become an impoverished village with 300 huts constructed from matting. In 2009, the urban commune had a population of 86,633.

In 2012, [[2012 insurgency in northern Mali|Gao was captured]] from Malian government forces by [[National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad]] (MNLA) and [[Ansar Dine]] rebels. After additional captures of [[Kidal]] and [[Timbuktu]], the MNLA declared the region independent of Mali as the nation of [[Azawad]]<ref name="english.alarabiya.net">{{cite news |url=http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/04/06/205763.html |publisher=Al Arabiya|title=Tuareg rebels declare the independence of Azawad, north of Mali|date=6 April 2012|access-date=6 April 2012}}</ref> and named Gao its capital.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2012/04/20124644412359539.html |publisher=Al Jazeera|date=6 April 2012|access-date=6 April 2012|title=Tuaregs claim 'independence' from Mali}}</ref> The MNLA lost control to Islamist militias after the [[Battle of Gao]] in June 2012, with the city being recaptured by French military forces as part of [[Opération Serval]] in early 2013.<ref>{{citation |title=Mali: French-led soldiers 'in control of Gao' |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-21210496 | work=BBC News | date=26 January 2013 | access-date=26 January 2013}}.</ref>

== Geography ==

=== Location ===
Gao is located on the eastern bank of the [[Niger River]] at the junction with the Tilemsi Valley. The sprawling town is the largest in eastern Mali. It is connected to the capital, [[Bamako]] at the western end of Mali, by 1200&nbsp;km (750&nbsp;mi) of paved road. In 2006, the Wabaria bridge was opened to replace the ferry service across the Niger.<ref>{{citation | last=Chabasseur | first=Eglantine | title=Le pont de Gao, "un rêve devenu réalité" | publisher=Radio France internationale | date=12 November 2006 | url=http://www.rfi.fr/actufr/articles/083/article_47424.asp | language=fr | access-date=10 December 2010 | archive-date=12 April 2009 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090412114752/http://www.rfi.fr/actufr/articles/083/article_47424.asp | url-status=dead }}</ref> The bridge was constructed by the [[China State Construction Engineering Corporation]] and financed by the [[Islamic Development Bank]] and the Malian government.

The town is located with road links (unpaved) to the desert [[Kidal Region]] to the north and to [[Niamey]], the capital of [[Niger]], to the south.  The road to the south runs along the left bank of the river. The town of [[Ansongo]] is 103&nbsp;km (65&nbsp;mi) from Gao. The border with Niger is just south of the village of [[Labbézanga]], a distance of 204&nbsp;km (127&nbsp;mi). The [[prime meridian]] marker runs right through Gao, Mali.

There are also seasonal ferry services on the Niger River. A service between Gao and [[Koulikoro]], a distance of 1380&nbsp;km (860&nbsp;mi), is managed by the Compagnie Malienne de Navigation (COMANAV). It usually operates from the end of July, after the annual rains when there is sufficient water in the river, until mid November.<ref>{{citation|last=Coulibaly |first=Baye |title=Comanav: Les bateau de la discord |date=7 April 2010 |publisher=L'Essor |url=http://www.essor.ml/actualite/article/comanav-les-bateaux-de-la-discorde |access-date=20 December 2010 |language=fr |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100618084730/http://www.essor.ml/actualite/article/comanav-les-bateaux-de-la-discorde |archive-date=18 June 2010 }}</ref> Smaller boats are able to operate for a longer season between [[Bourem]] and Ansongo.

In the 1998 census, the population of the urban commune was 52,201. By the census in 2009 this had increased to 86,633, a 4.7% annual growth rate.<ref name=pop2009 /> For administrative purposes, the commune is divided into nine ''quartiers'': Gadeye, Farandjiré, Aljanabanbia, Djoulabougou, Saneye, Sosso Koïra, Boulgoundjé, Château, and Djidara.<ref name=USAIDcommune>{{citation | title=Plan de Securite Alimentaire Commune Urbaine de Gao 2005–2009 | publisher=Commissariat à la Sécurité Alimentaire, République du Mali, USAID-Mali | year=2005 | url=http://www.aec.msu.edu/fs2/mali_fd_strtgy/plans/gao/Gao/P_S_A_Commune_Gao_vf.pdf | language=fr | access-date=30 January 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726134811/http://www.aec.msu.edu/fs2/mali_fd_strtgy/plans/gao/Gao/P_S_A_Commune_Gao_vf.pdf | archive-date=26 July 2011 | url-status=dead }}.</ref> The urban commune is bounded to the north by the commune of [[Sony Aliber|Soni Ali Ber]], to the east by the commune of [[Anchawadi]] and to the south and west by the commune of [[Gounzoureye]].

=== Climate ===

The climate is a [[tropical desert]] climate (Koppen: BWh), bordering on a hot [[semi arid]] climate (Koppen: BSh), with nearly all rainfall concentrated in the summer [[monsoon]] season.

{{Weather box |width=auto
|location = Gao, Mali (1950–2000)
|single line = yes
|metric first=yes
|Jan high C = 30.8
|Feb high C = 33.8
|Mar high C = 37.2
|Apr high C = 40.7
|May high C = 42.5
|Jun high C = 41.5
|Jul high C = 38.5
|Aug high C = 36.6
|Sep high C = 38.4
|Oct high C = 39.3
|Nov high C = 35.8
|Dec high C = 31.4
|year high C = 37.2
|Jan low C = 14.8
|Feb low C = 17.0
|Mar low C = 20.8
|Apr low C = 24.7
|May low C = 28.2
|Jun low C = 28.8
|Jul low C = 26.6
|Aug low C = 25.4
|Sep low C = 26.0
|Oct low C = 24.9
|Nov low C = 19.9
|Dec low C = 15.8
|year low C = 22.7
|rain colour = green
|Jan rain mm = 0.0
|Feb rain mm = 0.1
|Mar rain mm = 0.3
|Apr rain mm = 1.7
|May rain mm = 7.7
|Jun rain mm = 22.8
|Jul rain mm = 63.6
|Aug rain mm = 84.2
|Sep rain mm = 33.5
|Oct rain mm = 4.8
|Nov rain mm = 0.0
|Dec rain mm = 0.1
|year rain mm = 218.8
|unit rain days = 0.1 mm
|Jan rain days = 0.1
|Feb rain days = 0.1
|Mar rain days = 0.3
|Apr rain days = 0.3
|May rain days = 1.3
|Jun rain days = 3.9
|Jul rain days = 7.9
|Aug rain days = 8.4
|Sep rain days = 5.2
|Oct rain days = 0.9
|Nov rain days = 0.0
|Dec rain days = 0.1
|year rain days = 28.5
|Jan sun = 269.8
|Feb sun = 257.9
|Mar sun = 269.6
|Apr sun = 254.2
|May sun = 274.9
|Jun sun = 227.1
|Jul sun = 249.7
|Aug sun = 251.5
|Sep sun = 253.5
|Oct sun = 279.8
|Nov sun = 280.8
|Dec sun = 261.9
|year sun = 3130.7
|source 1 = [[World Meteorological Organization]]<ref name= WMO>{{cite web
| url = http://worldweather.wmo.int/en/city.html?cityId=135
| title = World Weather Information Service – Gao
| publisher = World Meteorological Organization
| access-date = 12 October 2015}}</ref>
|source 2 = NOAA (sun 1961–1990)<ref name = NOAA>{{Cite FTP | url = ftp://ftp.atdd.noaa.gov/pub/GCOS/WMO-Normals/TABLES/REG__I/M1/61226.TXT
| server = [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]]
| title = Gao Climate Normals 1961–1990
| access-date = 12 October 2015}}</ref>
|date=April 2012
}}
Gao features an [[arid climate]] under [[Köppen climate classification|Köppen's climate classification]]. Gao's climate is hot and dry, with the only rainfall occurring between June and September. August is normally the wettest month. The average annual rainfall is only 220&nbsp;mm, but there are large year-to-year variations. May is the hottest month, with an average daily high temperature of 43&nbsp;°C. December and January are the coolest months, with daily low temperatures of 15&nbsp;°C. From October to March during the dry period, the north-easterly [[Harmattan]] wind blows from the Sahara.

With the low rainfall, the vegetation further away from the river is sparse and consists mainly of various species of [[Acacia]] (''[[Acacia raddiana]]'', ''[[Acacia nilotica]]'', ''[[Acacia ehrenbergiana]]'') and ''[[Balanites aegyptiaca]]''. The herbaceous plants are dominated by ''[[Cenchrus biflorus]]'' and ''[[Panicum laetum]]''.<ref>{{citation | url=http://www.environnement.gov.ml/uploads/sifor/monographie/MonoSoniAliBer.pdf | title=Schéma Directeur de Lutte Contre L'ensablement dans le Nord Du Mali (6ème Et 7ème Régions): Monographie de la Commune de Soni Ali Ber | year=2004 | publisher=Ministère de l'Environnement et de L'assainissement, République du Mali | language=fr | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111006044853/http://www.environnement.gov.ml/uploads/sifor/monographie/MonoSoniAliBer.pdf | archive-date=6 October 2011 }}</ref>

=== Annual flood of the Niger River ===
Almost all the local agriculture depends on river water for irrigation. The annual flood of the Niger River is a result of the heavy rainfall in the headwaters of the Niger and [[Bani River|Bani]] rivers in [[Guinea]] and the northern [[Ivory Coast]]. The rainfall in the headwater areas peaks in August but the flood water takes time to pass down the river system, through the [[Inner Niger Delta]] region and arrive at Gao. At [[Koulikoro]] the flood peaks in September,<ref>{{citation|title=Composite Runoff Fields V 1.0: Koulikoro |url= http://www.compositerunoff.sr.unh.edu/html/Polygons/P1134100.html | publisher=University of New Hampshire/Global Runoff Data Center | access-date=30 January 2011}}.</ref> while in Gao the flood lasts longer and reaches a maximum in December.<ref>{{citation|title=Composite Runoff Fields V 1.0: Ansongo |url=http://www.compositerunoff.sr.unh.edu/html/Polygons/P1134900.html | publisher=University of New Hampshire/Global Runoff Data Center | access-date=30 January 2011}}.</ref> There is a large year-to-year variation in the extent of the flooding. The existing and proposed dams upstream of Gao reduce the overall flow of the river and could potentially have a large effect on the local agriculture.<ref>{{citation | last=Zwarts | first=Leo | year=2010 | title=Will the Inner Niger Delta shrivel up due to climate change and water use upstream? A&W Report 1537. Commissioned by Wetlands International | publisher=Altenburg & Wymenga | place=Feanwâlden, The Netherlands | url=http://www.altwym.nl/uploads/file/389_1294301369.pdf | access-date=30 January 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724143742/http://www.altwym.nl/uploads/file/389_1294301369.pdf | archive-date=24 July 2011 | url-status=dead }}.</ref> When in flood the river is 4&nbsp;km wide at Gao but during the dry season a number of islands appear in the river. There is very little flow, only 5% of the maximum, in June and July.

== History ==
===Historiography===
The history of the [[Gao Empire]] precedes that of the [[Songhai Empire]] in the region of the Middle Niger. Both empires had the town of Gao as their capital. Apart from some Arabic epitaphs on tombstones discovered in 1939 at the cemetery of [[Gao-Saney]] (6&nbsp;km to the east of the city)<ref>{{Harvnb|Sauvaget|1950}}; {{Harvnb|Moraes Farias|1990}}; {{Harvnb|Lange|1991}}</ref> there are no surviving indigenous written records that date from before the middle of the 17th century.{{sfn|Levtzion|Hopkins|2000|p=1}} Our knowledge of the early history of the town relies on the writings of Arabic geographers living in Morocco, Egypt and Andalusia, most of whom never visited the region. These authors referred to the town as Kawkaw or Kuku.<!-- They frequently borrow text from earlier accounts without acknowledging their sources. True, but not needed here--> The two key 17th century chronicles, the ''[[Tarikh al-Sudan]]'' and the ''[[Tarikh al-fattash]]'', provide information on the town at the time of the [[Songhai Empire]] but they contain relatively little on the social and economic history.{{sfn|Hunwick|2003|p=xxxviii}} The chronicles do not, in general, acknowledge their sources.{{sfn|Hunwick|2003|pp=lxiii–lxiv}}<!-- TF has its own problems but no need to mention them here --> Their accounts for the earlier periods are almost certainly based on oral tradition and for events before the second half of the 15th century they are likely to be less reliable. For these earlier periods, the two chronicles sometimes provide conflicting information.

===[[Gao Empire]]===

There is clear archaeological evidence that Gao was firmly rooted in both its local hinterland and interregional economic networks. Pottery recovered from all levels in both mounds is generally quite similar to examples from sites throughout the region, indicating that Gao was part of a regional market sphere, if not a broader cultural substrate.<ref name="Monroe, J. Cameron 2017">{{cite journal|author=Monroe, J. Cameron|title="Elephants for Want of Towns": Archaeological Perspectives on West African Cities and Their Hinterlands |journal=Journal of Archaeological Research|date=2018 |volume=26 |issue=4 |pages=387–446|doi=10.1007/s10814-017-9114-2}}</ref>

Gao thus represents a form of urbanism driven largely by local urban-rural dynamics, but in a way in which local elites capitalized on and, in fact, co-opted the opportunities offered by long-distance trade.<ref name="Monroe, J. Cameron 2017"/>

Midden deposits produced large quantities of household debris (animal bones, [[pottery]] shards, [[glass]], glass beads, and a variety of [[copper]] and [[iron]] objects).  Collectively, the local character of the ceramic, faunal, and botanical remains suggests that, culturally, Gao-Saney was part of a broader [[Niger River]] indigenous cultural complex. Additionally, fragments of North African enamel ware, Andalusian chandelier ware, and fragments of Islamic glass vessels were recovered throughout the excavations at Gao.<ref name="Monroe, J. Cameron 2017"/>

Archaeological digs in [[Gao-Saney]] show that the site was occupied by roughly 700CE, and was a center of manufacturing, iron smelting, and trade with areas as far away as [[Mesopotamia]].{{sfn|Cissé|McIntosh|Dussubieux|Fenn|2013|p=29}} It was the southern terminus of a trade route powered by chariots that linked it to the Mediterranean.{{sfn|Takezawa|Cisse|2012|p=813}} At some point no later than the early 10th century the Songhay king based in [[Kukiya, Mali|Kukiya]] moved to the site of Gao Ancien, just north of the modern city on the bank of the [[Niger river]] and a few kilometers from Gao Saney further inland.{{sfn|Takezawa|Cisse|2012|p=837}} The kings of this period were of a lineage known as Qanda.{{sfn|Lange|1991|p=269}}

The earliest written mention of Gao is by [[al-Khwārizmī]], who wrote in the first half of the 9th century, when Gao was already [[Gao Empire|an important regional power]].{{sfn|Levtzion|Hopkins|2000|p=7}} [[Ya'qubi|Al-Yaqubi]] wrote in his ''Tarikh'' in around 872:
<blockquote>There is the kingdom of the Kawkaw, which is the greatest of the realms of the Sūdān, the most important and most powerful. All the kingdoms obey its king. Al-Kawkaw is the name of the town. Besides this there are a number of kingdoms of which the rulers pay allegiance to him and acknowledge his sovereignty, although they are kings in their own lands.<ref>{{Harvnb|Levtzion|Hopkins|2000|p=7}}; {{Harvnb|Levtzion|1973|p=15}}</ref></blockquote>

[[Ibn al-Faqih]] (writing {{Circa|903}}) mentions a caravan route from Egypt to [[Ghana Empire|ancient Ghana]] via Kawkaw,{{sfn|Levtzion|Hopkins|2000|pp=27, 378 n4}} but [[Ibn Hawqal]] (writing c. 988) states that the old route from Egypt to the Sudan was abandoned in the reign of the Egyptian ruler [[Ahmad ibn Tulun|Ibn Tulun]] (ruled 868–884) as some of the caravans were attacked by bandits while others were overwhelmed by the wind-blown sand.{{sfn|Levtzion|Hopkins|2000|pp=45, 51, 382 n21}} The more direct route was replaced by one that went to [[Sijilmasa]] before heading south across the Sahara. In the 10th century, Gao was already Muslim and was described as consisting of two separate towns. Al-Muhallabi, who died in 990, wrote in a lost work quoted in the biographical dictionary compiled by [[Yaqut al-Hamawi|Yaqut]]:
<blockquote>Their king pretends before his subject to be a Muslim and most of them pretend to be Muslims too. He has a town on the Nile [Niger], on the eastern bank, which is called Sarnāh, where there are markets and trading houses and to which there is continuous traffic from all parts. He has another town to the west of the Nile [Niger] where he and his men and those who have his confidence live. There is a mosque there where he prays but the communal prayer ground is between the two towns.{{sfn|Levtzion|Hopkins|2000|p=174}}</blockquote>
{{Infobox UNESCO World Heritage Site
| WHS           = [[Tomb of Askia]]
| image         = Askia.jpg
| image_upright = 1.2
| caption       = Gao, the [[Tomb of Askia]]
| criteria      = {{UNESCO WHS type|(ii)(iii)(iv)}}(ii)(iii)(iv)
| ID            = 1139
| coordinates   = {{coord|16|17|23.28|N|0|2|40.416|E|format=dms}}
| year          = 2004
| danger        = 2012–
}}
The archaeological evidence suggests that there were two settlements on the eastern bank of the Niger:{{sfn|Insoll|1997}} Gao Ancien situated within the modern town, to the east of the [[Tomb of Askia]], and the archaeological site of [[Gao-Saney]] (Sané in French) situated around 4&nbsp;km to the east. The bed of the Wadi Gangaber passes to the south of the Gao-Saney occupation mound ([[Tell (archaeology)|tell]]) but to the north of Gao Ancien. The imported pottery and glass recovered from Gao-Saney suggest that the site was occupied between the 8th and 11th centuries.{{sfn|Cissé|McIntosh|Dussubieux|Fenn|2013}} Gao-Saney corresponds to Sarnāh of al-Muhallabi.{{sfn|Insoll|1997|p=23}} [[Al-Bakri]] writing in 1068 also records the existence of two towns,{{sfn|Levtzion|Hopkins|2000|p=87}} Both al-Muhallabi (see quote above) and al-Bakri{{sfn|Levtzion|Hopkins|2000|p=85}} situate Gao on the west (or right bank) of the Niger. The 17th century ''[[Tarikh al-fattash]]'' also states that in the 10th century Gao was situated on the Gourma side (i.e. the west bank) of the river.<ref>{{Harvnb|Kâti|1913|p=[http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k5439466q/f356.image.pagination 329]}}; {{Harvnb|Hunwick|1994|p=265}}</ref> A large sand dune, ''La Dune Rose'', lies on the west bank opposite Gao, but at Koima, on the edge of the dune at a site 4&nbsp;km north of Gao, surface deposits indicate a pre 9th century settlement. This could be the west bank Gao mentioned by 10th and 11th-century authors. The site has not been excavated.{{sfn|Insoll|1997|pp=4–8}}

[[al-Idrisi]], writing in around 1154, does not mention a second town, and archaeological excavations in Gao-Saney indicate the site may have beena abandoned by this time.{{sfn|Levtzion|Hopkins|2000|p=113}}{{sfn|Takezawa|Cisse|2012|p=824}}

Al-Sadi in his ''[[Tarikh al-Sudan]]'' gives lists 32 rulers of the [[Zuwa dynasty]] and states that in 1009–1010&nbsp;A.D. the 15th ruler, Zuwa Kusoy, was the first to convert to Islam.<ref>A similar list of rulers is given in the ''[[Tarikh al-fattash]]''. {{Harvnb|Kâti|1913|pp=[http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k5439466q/f358.image.pagination 331–332]}}</ref> He does not actually specify where they lived except for the legendary founder of the dynasty, Zuwa Alayman who he claims came from the Yemen to Kukiya.<ref>Kukiya is a town mentioned in the ''Tarikh al-sudan'' and the ''Tarikh al-fattash'' (as Koûkiya in the French translation). It is believed to have been near the modern village of Bentiya on the east side of the Niger 134&nbsp;km southeast of Gao near {{coord|15.349|0.760}}. Tombstones with Arabic inscriptions dating from the 14th and 15th centuries have been found in the area. {{Harvnb|Moraes Farias|1990|p=105}}</ref>{{sfn|Hunwick|2003|pp=xxxv, 5}}

[[John Hunwick]], among others, speculates that the first version of Islam was [[Ibadism]]. In c.1079-1082, a [[Sanhaja]] [[Berbers|Berber]] group, inspired by the [[Sunni]] [[Almoravids]], took control of the area, leaving behind royal epitaphs at a cemetery in Gao-Saney.<ref>{{Harvnb|Hunwick|1994|p=271}}</ref> Whether or not these kings feature on the kings lists of the [[Za dynasty]] recorded in the ''Tarikh''s is debated. Dierk Lange posits that these upstarts, whether they were longstanding residents or newcomers, represent the founding of the [[Sonni dynasty]].{{sfn|Lange|1994|p=297}}

===Malian empire===
Towards the end of the 13th century Gao lost its independence and became part of the expanding [[Mali Empire]].{{sfn|Levtzion|1973|p=76}} What happened to the Zuwa rulers is not recorded,{{sfn|Hunwick|2003|p=xxxvi}} though royal epitaphs have been found in Kukiya which may indicate they took shelter there.{{sfn|Takezawa|Cisse|2012|p=839}} Lange, again going against more long-established opinions, argues that the Za were in fact Malian vassals and the Sonni were the ones who took refuge in Kukiya.{{sfn|Lange|1994|p=298}}

[[Ibn Battuta]] visited [[Suleyman (mansa)]] in Gao in 1352–53, when the town formed part of the Mali Empire.<ref name=Ibn>{{cite book|last1=Battutah|first1=Ibn|title=The Travels of Ibn Battutah|date=2002|publisher=Picador|location=London|isbn=9780330418799|pages=286–290}}</ref> He arrived by boat from Timbuktu on his return journey from visiting the capital of the Empire:<blockquote>Then I travelled to the town of Kawkaw, which is a great town on the Nīl [Niger], one of the finest, biggest, and most fertile cities of the Sūdān. There is much rice there, and milk, and chickens, and fish, and the cucumber, which has no like. Its people conduct their buying and selling with cowries, like the people of Mālī.{{sfn|Levtzion|Hopkins|2000|p=300}}</blockquote>
[[File:ETH-BIB-Gao- Eingeborenenhütten-Tschadseeflug 1930-31-LBS MH02-08-0542.tif|thumb|People at Gao in the early 1930s]]
[[File:ETH-BIB-Gao, die Rundhütten sind die Behausungen der schwarzen Soldaten und ihrer Familien-Tschadseeflug 1930-31-LBS MH02-08-0045.tif|thumb|Gao in the early 1930s]]
After staying a month in the town, Ibn Battuta left with a caravan for [[Takedda]] and from there headed north back across the Sahara to an oasis in [[Tuat]] with a large caravan that included 600 slave girls.

[[Ibn Khaldun]] recorded that in 776 [[Hijri year|A.H]] or 1374/1375 [[A.D|AD]] Mali fought a war over Gao against Berber Tuareg forces from [[Takedda]], devastating the city. It would not reclaim its former importance until the rise of the Songhai Empire.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nAsWQqy_fXwC&q=kabura%20niger&pg=PA29|title=Social History of Timbuktu: The Role of Muslim Scholars and Notables 1400-1900|last1=Saad|first1=Elias N.|date=14 July 1983|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=0521246032|edition=Cambridge History of Science Cambridge Studies in Islamic Civilization|pages=29–30}}</ref>

===Songhai empire===
Sometime in the 14th century, Ali Kulun, the first ruler of the [[Sunni dynasty]], rebelled against the Malian hegemony but the Malians were able to regain control.{{sfn|Hunwick|2003|p=xxxvii}}{{sfn|Lange|1994|p=421}} It was not until the first half of the 15th century that Sunni Sulayman Dama was able to throw off the Malian yoke. His successor, [[Sonni Ali|Sunni Ali Ber]] (1464–1492), greatly expanded the territory under Songhai control and established the [[Songhai Empire]]. He made Gao his capital.

[[Leo Africanus]] visited Gao sometime between 1506 and 1510 when the town was ruled by [[Askia Mohammad I|Askiya Muhammad I]], the first ruler of the [[Askiya dynasty]]. He observed that the large town lacked a surrounding wall and was full of rich merchants.
<blockquote>The town is very civilized compared to Timbuktu. Bread and meat are abundant, though you cannot find wine or fruits. Actually, melons, cucumbers, and excellent squash are plentiful, and there are enormous quantities of rice. There are many sweet water wells. There is a square where on market days huge numbers of slaves are sold, both male and female. A young girl of fifteen is worth about six ducats, and a young man almost as much; small children are worth about half as much as grown slaves.{{sfn|Hunwick|2003|p=283}}</blockquote>

Towards the end of the 16th century, Gao controlled an empire that extended for over 1,400,000&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>, an area comparable in size to the modern state of Mali.{{sfn|Hunwick|2003|p=xlix}} The ''Tarikh al-fattash'' reports that a survey conducted during the reign of Askiya Al-Hajj (1582–1586) found that there were 7,626 houses without counting the huts made of straw.{{sfn|Kâti|1913|p=[http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k5439466q/f289.image.pagination 262]}} Assuming each house was occupied by an average of 6 people, this would imply a population of around 45,000, making Gao one of the largest cities in West Africa at the time.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gomez |first1=Michael |title=African dominion: a new history of empire in early and medieval West Africa |date=2018 |publisher=Princeton University Press |location=Princeton, NJ |page=363 |isbn=9780691177427}}</ref>

The [[Saadian invasion of the Songhai Empire|Moroccan invasion of 1591]] led to the collapse of the Songhai Empire. The invaders chose to make Timbuktu their capital and the importance of Gao declined. The German explorer [[Heinrich Barth]] visited Gao in 1854 on his return journey from [[Timbuktu]]. He found a village of about 300 huts constructed of matting and grouped in clusters.{{sfn|Barth|1859|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=l74ZAAAAYAAJ&q=siwak&pg=PA481 481]}} The inhabitants were very poor and had only a few boats as they lacked wood for their construction. The site of the ancient town was overgrown with ''[[Capparis decidua]]'' bushes.{{sfn|Barth|1859|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=l74ZAAAAYAAJ&q=siwak&pg=PA482 482]}}

=== 21st century ===
[[File:Soldats français à Gao.PNG|thumb|French soldiers on patrol in Gao in 2013]]
On 31 March 2012, one day after the capture of [[Kidal]], Malian military forces retreated from Gao's military bases, allowing it to be occupied by [[Tuareg rebellion (2012)|Tuareg rebellion]] member groups [[National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad|MNLA]] and [[Ancar Dine]].<ref name=BBC313>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-17576263 |title=Mali Tuareg rebels seize key garrison town of Gao |date=31 March 2012 |work=BBC News |access-date=31 March 2012}}</ref> Timbuktu was captured the following day.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/mali-coup-leader-reinstates-1403759.html |title=Mali coup leader reinstates old constitution |author=Rukmini Callimachi |date=1 April 2012 |agency=Associated Press |access-date=31 March 2012}}</ref> On 6 April, the MNLA declared the region independent of Mali as the nation of [[Azawad]].<ref name="english.alarabiya.net" /> After the [[Battle of Gao]] on 26 and 27 June 2012, the MNLA lost control to Islamist militias.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-18610618 |title=Mali: Islamists seize Gao from Tuareg rebels |date=28 June 2012 |work=BBC News |access-date=28 October 2012}}</ref>

After the [[Tuareg rebellion (2012)|2012 rebellion]] forced the [[Malian Army]] out of Gao and the state of [[Azawad]] was proclaimed, the [[National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad]] took control of the governor's building, flying the [[flag of Azawad]] over it and rechristening it the [[Palace of Azawad]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/mali/9190808/Malians-protest-against-Azawad-independence.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120406211320/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/mali/9190808/Malians-protest-against-Azawad-independence.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=6 April 2012|title=Malians protest against Azawad independence|work=The Telegraph|location=London|date=6 April 2012|access-date=6 April 2012}}</ref>

On 26 June 2012, the tension came to all-out combat in Gao between the MNLA and MOJWA, with both sides firing heavy weapons. MNLA Secretary General Bilal ag Acherif was wounded in the battle. The MNLA were soon driven from the city, and from Kidal and Timbuktu shortly after. However, the MNLA stated that it continued to maintain forces and control some rural areas in the region.  The following day, Ansar Dine announced that it was in control of all the cities of northern Mali.

On 19 January 2013, it was reported that Gao journalist Kader Toure was killed after being suspected of working for foreign news services.  In retaliation, the local youth are reported to have lynched Islamic police commissioner Aliou Toure who was recruited by [[Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa|MUWA]], Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa, who took control of the town in June 2012.<ref>{{citation | title= Residents in northern Malian town lynch Islamist: sources | url= http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-mali-crisis-lynchingbre90i0im-20130119,0,7365373.story | work= Chicago Tribune | date= 19 January 2013 | access-date= 26 January 2013 }}{{Dead link|date=July 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}.</ref>

In January 2013 French warplanes bombed parts of Gao, including the airport, in an attempt to drive out fighters from the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa.<ref>{{cite news| url= http://www.3news.co.nz/French-planes-bomb-airport-in-Mali/tabid/417/articleID/282906/Default.aspx| work= 3 News NZ| title= French planes bomb airport in Mali| date= 14 January 2013| access-date= 13 January 2013| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130129024602/http://www.3news.co.nz/French-planes-bomb-airport-in-Mali/tabid/417/articleID/282906/Default.aspx| archive-date= 29 January 2013| url-status= dead}}</ref>

Gao was captured by French and Malian forces on 26 January 2013, as the Islamists were driven out from the city.

On 17 March 2015, a United Nations [[Boeing AH-64 Apache|AH-64]] helicopter crashed during an exercise near the town, killing both pilots. The AH-64 came from the Dutch Air Force's Defense Helicopter Command.<ref name="BBC News 2015">{{cite web | title=Two die in Dutch UN helicopter crash | website=BBC News | date=2015-03-17 | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-31933249 | access-date=2018-03-03}}</ref>

On 18 January 2017, a suicide bomber from [[Al-Mourabitoun (militant group)|Al-Mourabitoun]] drove a vehicle filled with explosives into a military camp near Gao, killing 77 people and injuring at least 115 (see [[2017 Gao bombing]]). The incident was the deadliest terrorist attack in Malian history.

== Culture ==
The population of Gao mostly speak [[Koyraboro Senni]] but includes many ethnicities, including the [[Bozo languages|Bozo]] (traditionally nomadic river dwellers), [[Fulfulde language|Fulfulde/Fulani]] cattle keepers, and [[Tuareg people|Tuareg]] nomads, [[Arabs]] as well as [[Bambara people]]s from western Mali.

The seventh ''Festival des arts et cultures songhay'' was celebrated in February 2007 at Gao, reflecting the city's importance as a Songhay cultural capital.<ref>Festival des arts et cultures Songhay: Un facteur d’épanouissement de la région de Gao, Les Echos du 14 février 2007</ref>

== Sites ==
Attractions in Gao include the original fourteenth century {{ill|Kankou Moussa Mosque|fr|Mosquée Kankou Moussa}}, the [[Askia Tomb]] (a UNESCO [[World Heritage Site]]) built in 1495 and incorporating another mosque, a museum devoted to the [[Sahel]], markets including a night market, and La Dune Rose, a [[sand dune]] named after its appearance at dawn and [[Dusk|nightfall]].

===Mosques===
{{AI-generated|section=Mosques|date=August 2025}}
==== Regional patterns ====
The mosques of the Niger Bend and the pre-Saharan steppe form a group corresponding to the northern extremity of the Sahel, in direct contact with the desert.<ref>Pradines, Stéphane. Historic Mosques of Sub-Saharan Africa: From Timbuktu to Zanzibar. Vol. 163. Brill, 2022.</ref> The main façade of the mosques of the Niger Bend is smooth, with no vertical elements, and terraces with merlons are rare. On the external façade, the mihrab forms a low projection ending in a conical point, but is not surmounted by a tower. Inside the mosque, the pillars are massive, there are no arcades and there are few mural decorations. Only the minaret stands out among these rather low buildings. In short, this group of mosques is mainly found in northern Mali and Niger and is the prerogative of the Songhay and Tuareg populations. It is characterised by a minaret, a low and projecting conical mihrab tower, the rarity of buttresses and battlements, and massive supports in the prayer hall, as in the mosques of Sankore and Sidi Yahya in Timbuktu and Tendirma in Mali.

==== The mosques of Gao ====
Once the centre of the Songhay Empire and a bustling trading centre, Gao boasts a rich historical heritage in its three urban settlements: Gao Saney, Old Gao and Gao. Excavations in Gao Saney,{{sfn|Takezawa|Cisse|2012|p=6-11}}the oldest settlement east of the modern city, revealed a royal cemetery decorated with epitaphs and tombstones dating to 1104.<ref>De Moraes Farias, Arabic Medieval Inscriptions from the Republic of Mali (2003): XXXIII-XXXIV and 3-84.</ref> Old Gao, built in the eighth to tenth centuries, coexisted with Gao Saney and served as an integral part of the city's urban fabric.

In Old Gao, excavations.<ref>Mauny, "Notes d'archéologie au sujet de Gao" (1951): 837-852.</ref><ref>Insoll, Islam, Archaeology and History in Gao Region (Mali) ca AD 900-1250 (1996): 16 et 55; The Archaeology of Islam in sub-Saharan Africa (2003): 235-236</ref> uncovered two monumental buildings dating from the early tenth century. One of these structures, believed to be a mosque, has dimensions that indicate its importance within the community. The dimensions of the mosque are approximately [insert dimensions here] and include architectural elements characteristic of the period. This mosque likely played a central role in the religious and cultural life of Old Gao, serving as a place of worship and community gathering.

Furthermore, the absence of a mihrab niche in this mosque suggests its possible use by early Muslim communities, possibly Ismailis or Ibadis, reflecting the diverse religious landscape of the region at the time. Dating from the late twelfth to fourteenth centuries, the mosque is one of the oldest mosques excavated in West Africa to date, providing valuable insights into the early spread of Islam in the region.

In addition, the mosque tomb of Askia Muhammad, built between 1493 and 1538, displays unique architectural elements and extensive dimensions.<ref>Prussin, "The Architecture of Islam in West Africa" (1968): 32-74.</ref> Covering an area of some 2500 m<sup>2</sup>, this large structure consisted of seven bays parallel to the qibla wall, with arcades resting on wide piers. The courtyard of the mosque, which was larger than the covered hall, had a minaret rising 12 metres in the centre. This distinctive minaret, decorated with toron, was similar to Ibn Tulun's mosque in Cairo,<ref>O'Kane, The mosques of Egypt (2016)</ref> highlighting the architectural influences that shaped Gao's mosques during this period.

== Education ==
Gao School (primary school).

== Notable residents ==
*[[Mokhtar Belmokhtar]] (suspected)<ref>{{cite news|last=Bumiller |first=Elisabeth |url=http://rendezvous.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/17/algerian-jihadist-kingpin-behind-hostage-seizure/ |title=Jihadist Kingpin Suspected in Hostage Seizure |location=Algeria;France;Mali |work=The New York Times |date=17 January 2013 |access-date=24 January 2013}}</ref>
* [[Askia Muhammad I]]

== International relations ==
Gao is [[Twin towns and sister cities|twinned]] with:
* {{flagicon|France}} [[Thionville]], France
* {{flagicon|USA}} [[Berkeley, California|Berkeley]], California, United States

== See also ==
* [[List of cities in Mali]]
* [[Koïma]]

== References==
{{Reflist}}

== Sources==
{{refbegin|40em}}
*{{citation | last=Barth | first=Heinrich | year=1859 | title= Travels and discoveries in North and Central Africa: Being a journal of an expedition undertaken under the auspices of H.B.M.'s government, in the years 1849–1855 (Volume 3) | publisher= Harper & Brothers | place=New York | url= https://books.google.com/books?id=l74ZAAAAYAAJ}}.
*{{citation | last1= Cissé | first1=M. | last2= McIntosh | first2=S.K. | last3= Dussubieux | first3=L. | last4= Fenn | first4=T. | last5= Gallagher | first5=D. | last6= Chipps Smith | first6=A. | year=2013 | title= Excavations at Gao Saney: new evidence for settlement growth, trade, and interaction on the Niger Bend in the first millennium CE | journal= [[Journal of African Archaeology]] | volume=11 | issue=1 | pages=9–37 | doi=10.3213/2191-5784-10233 }}.
*{{citation| last=Hunwick | first=John | year=1994 | title=Gao and the Almoravids revisited: ethnicity, political change and the limits of interpretation | journal= Journal of African History | volume=35 | issue=2 | pages=251–273 | jstor=183219 | doi=10.1017/s0021853700026426| s2cid=153794361 }}.
*{{citation | last=Hunwick | first= John O.| author-link= John Hunwick | year=2003 |title= Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire: Al-Sadi's Tarikh al-Sudan down to 1613 and other contemporary documents | publisher=Brill| place=Leiden | isbn=978-90-04-12560-5 }}. First published in 1999 as {{ISBN|978-90-04-11207-0}}.
*{{citation | last=Insoll | first=Timothy | year=1997 | title=Iron age Gao: an archaeological contribution | journal=Journal of African History | volume=38 | issue=1 | pages=1–30 | jstor=182944 | doi=10.1017/s0021853796006822 | s2cid=163151474 }}.
*{{citation | last=Kâti | first=Mahmoûd Kâti ben el-Hâdj el-Motaouakkel | year=1913 | title=Tarikh el-fettach ou Chronique du chercheur, pour servir à l'histoire des villes, des armées et des principaux personnages du Tekrour | publisher=Ernest Leroux | place=Paris | others=Houdas, O., Delafosse, M. ed. and trans. | url=http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k5439466q | language=fr}}. Also available from Aluka but requires subscription.
*{{citation | last=Lange | first=Dierk | year=1991 | title=Les rois de Gao-Sané et les Almoravides | journal=Journal of African History | volume=32 | issue=2 | pages=251–275 | jstor=182617 | language=fr | doi=10.1017/s002185370002572x| s2cid=162674956 }}.
*{{citation | last=Lange | first=Dierk  | year=1994 | title= From Mande to Songhay: Towards a political and ethnic history of medieval Gao | journal= Journal of African History | volume=35 | issue=2  | pages=275–301 | jstor= 183220 | doi=10.1017/s0021853700026438| s2cid=153657364 }}.
*{{citation | last=Levtzion | first=Nehemia | title=Ancient Ghana and Mali | publisher=Methuen | place=London | year=1973 | isbn=978-0-8419-0431-6}}.
*{{citation | editor1-last=Levtzion | editor1-first=Nehemia | editor2-last=Hopkins | editor2-first=John F.P. |title=Corpus of Early Arabic Sources for West Africa | publisher=Marcus Weiner Press | place=New York, NY | year=2000 | isbn=978-1-55876-241-1}}. First published in 1981 by Cambridge University Press, {{ISBN|0-521-22422-5}}.
*{{citation | last= Moraes Farias | first= Paulo F. de | year=1990 | title= The oldest extant writing of West Africa: medieval epigraphs from Essuk, Saney, and Egef-n-Tawaqqast (Mali) | journal= Journal des Africanistes | volume=60 | issue= 2 | pages= 65–113 | doi=10.3406/jafr.1990.2452}}. Link is to a scan on the Persée database that omits some photographs of the epigraphs.
*{{citation | last= Sauvaget | first=J. | year=1950 | title= Les épitaphes royales de Gao | journal= Bulletin de l'Ifan | volume= XII | issue=2 | pages=418–440 }}. A reprint of (1949), Al-Andalus XIV: I, 123–141.
*{{cite journal |last1=Takezawa |first1=Shoichiro |last2=Cisse |first2=Mamadou |title=Discovery of the Earliest Royal Palace in Gao and Its Implications for the History of West Africa |journal=Cahiers d'Études Africaines |date=2012 |volume=52 |issue=208 |pages=813–44 |doi=10.4000/etudesafricaines.17167 |jstor=41708210 |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/41708210 |access-date=24 March 2024}}
{{refend}}

== Further reading ==
{{refbegin|40em}}
*{{citation | last=Cornevin | first=R. | title=Encyclopaedia of Islam Volume 2 | edition=2nd | year=1991 | contribution=Gao | publisher=Brill | place=Leiden | url= https://archive.org/stream/EncyclopediaofIslam2/Vol.2c-g#page/n1017/mode/1up | isbn= 978-90-04-07026-4 | pages=976–978 | ref=none}}. First published in 1965.
*{{citation | last=Mauny | first= Raymond | year=1951 | title= Notes d'archéologie au sujet de Gao | journal= Bulletin de l'Institut Français d'Afrique Noire B | volume=13 | pages=837–852 | language=fr | ref=none }}.
*{{citation | last=Moraes Farias | first=P.F. de| year=2003 | title=Arabic medieval inscriptions from the Republic of Mali: Epigraphy, chronicles and Songhay-Tuareg history | publisher=Oxford University Press | place=Oxford | isbn= 978-0-19-726222-1 | ref=none }}.
{{refend}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
* {{citation | publisher=UNESCO World Heritage |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1139| title= Tomb of Askia | ref=none }}.

{{Niger River}}
{{Communes of the Gao Region}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Gao| ]]
[[Category:Populated places in Gao Region]]
[[Category:Regional capitals in Mali]]
[[Category:Mali Empire]]
[[Category:Songhai Empire]]
[[Category:French West Africa]]
[[Category:Communities on the Niger River]]
[[Category:Gao Region]]
[[Category:Capitals of former nations]]