Keita dynasty

The Keita dynasty ruled pre-imperial and imperial Mali from the 11th century into the early 17th century.[1] It was a Muslim Dynasty, and its rulers claimed descent from Bilal Keita (also known as Bilal ibn Ribah Bilal).

Bilal Keita was a freed slave who accepted Islam and became one of the Sahabahs of the prophet Muhammad. Bilal Keita bears the distinction of being the first muezzin in Islam. According to Mandinka/Bambara accounts invented after their conversion to Islam and passed down by djelis (Muslim chroniclers), Bilal had seven sons, one of whom settled in Manden (Mandinka traditional territory). This son, Lawalo Keita, had a son named Latal Kalabi Keita, who later sired Damul Kalabi Keita. It was common in most royal dynasties to try to link their origins to some divine or religious personalities and was common across cultures and religions. Damul Kalabi Keita's son was Lahilatoul Keita and the first faama of the city of Niani. It is through Lahilatoul that the Keita clan becomes a ruling dynasty, though only over the small area around Niani.

There would be nine faamas of Niani prior to the founding of the Mali Empire. Its first mansa would be Sundiata Keita. This is when Mari Jata is crowned and Keita becomes a clan name. A couple of generations after him, his great-nephew, Mansa Musa Keita I of Mali, made a celebrated pilgrimage to Mecca which established his reputation as the richest man of his day.[2] The dynasty he belonged to remained a major power in West Africa from 1235 until the breakup of the Mali Empire around 1610. Rivals from within the clan founded smaller kingdoms within contemporary Mali and Guinea. Today the surname Keita belongs only to one royal family in Africa. Of the members of these modern "daughter dynasties", the late politician Modibo Keita and the musician Salif Keita are arguably the most famous.

Ancestors

Time period	Person	Notes
b. 580—d. 640	Bilali Bounama	Ancestor of the Keitas, сompanion (sahabah) of the prophet Muhammad
	Lawalo Keita	Oldest of 7 sons of Bilali Bounama. Left Mecca and emigrated to Manden (Mali).
	Latal Kalabi	Son of Lawalo Keita
	Damul Kalabi	Son of Latal Kalabi

List of royal faamas of Manden (capital — Kangaba)

Tenure	Incumbent	Notes
	Lahilatoul Kalabi	Son of Damul Kalabi. First sub-Saharan African prince to perform a hajj; robbed in the desert, returned after 7 years.
	Kalabi Bomba	Son of Lahilatoul Kalabi
	Kalabi Dauman	Younger son of Lahilatoul Kalabi. Preferred fortune, ancestor of traders.
c. 1050	Mamadi Kani	Son of Kalabi Bomba. Hunter king, inventor of the hunter‘s whistle, communicated with the jinn of the bush, loved by Kondolon Ni Sané.
	Sané Kani Simbon, Kamignogo Simbon, Kabala Simbon and Bamari Tagnogokelin Simbon together	The four sons of Mamadi Kani.
	Bamari Tagnogokelin
1175—?	M’Bali Nene	Son of Bamari Tagnogokelin
	Bello	Son of Bamari Tagnogokelin

List of royal faamas of Manden (capital — Dodugu)

Tenure	Incumbent	Notes
?—1200s	Bello Bakon	Son of Bello
1200s—1218	Maghan Kon Fatta	Son of Bello Bakon
1218—c.1230	Dankaran Touman	Son of Maghan Kon Fatta. Niani conquered by the Sosso Empire under king Soumaoro Kanté.

List of imperial mansas of Mali (capital — Niani)

Reign	Incumbent	Notes
1235—1255	Mari Djata I (later named Sundiata Keita I)
1255—1270	Uli Keita I
1270—1274	Wati Keita
1274—1275	Khalifa Keita
1275—1285	Abubakari Keita I
1285—1300	Sakoura Keita
1300—1305	Gao Keita
1305—1310	Mohammed ibn Gao Keita
1310—1312	Abubakari Keita II
1312—1337	Mansa Musa Keita I
1337—1341	Maghan Keita I
1341—1360	Souleyman Keita
1360	Camba Keita
1360—1374	Mari Djata Keita II
1374—1387	Musa Keita II
1387—1389	Maghan Keita II
1389—1390	Sandaki Keita
1390—1404	Maghan Keita III (also known as Mahmud Keita I)
1404—c. 1440	Musa Keita III
c.1460—1480/1481	Uli Keita II
1480/1481—1496	Mahmud Keita II (also known as Mamadou Keita)
1496—1559	Mahmud Keita III
1559—c.1590	Unknown mansa or vacancy
c.1590—c.1610	Mahmud Keita IV	Empire collapses after death of Mahmud Keita IV.

List of post-imperial mansas of Mali (capital — Kangaba)

Reign	Incumbent	Notes
c.1610—c.1660	Unknown number of mansas
c.1660—c.1670	Mama Maghan	Capital moved from Niani to Kangaba after botched attack on Segou.

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References

Imperato, Pascal James; Imperato, Gavin H. (2008-04-25). Historical Dictionary of Mali. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-6402-3.
Cooley, William Desborough (1841). The Negroland of the Arabs Examined and Explained: Or, An Inquiry Into the Early History and Geography of Central Africa. London: J. Arrowsmith. pp. 63–64.

Sources

Cooley, William Desborough (1966). The Negroland of the Arabs Examined and Explained. London: Routledge. p. 143 Pages. ISBN 0-7146-1799-7.
Stewart, John (1989). African States and Rulers: An Encyclopedia of Native, Colonial, and Independent States and Rulers Past and Present. Jefferson: McFarland & Company. p. 395 Pages. ISBN 0-89950-390-X.

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[1] Imperato, Pascal James; Imperato, Gavin H. (2008-04-25). Historical Dictionary of Mali. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-6402-3.

[Cooley1841-2] Cooley, William Desborough (1841). The Negroland of the Arabs Examined and Explained: Or, An Inquiry Into the Early History and Geography of Central Africa. London: J. Arrowsmith. pp. 63–64.