What actions did Askia Muhammad Touré take in an effort to create the largest empire in African history?
Sonni Ali was succeeded by Askia Muhammad Touré (1493-1528), who established a new dynasty, the Askia. Askia Muhammad Toure, the leader of a rebellion against Sonni Baru, overthrew Sonni Ali’s son. When he took the crown, he changed his name to Askia the Great. Muhammad Touré continued Sonni Ali’s imperial expansion by seizing the important Saharan oases and conquering Mali itself. From there he conquered Hausaland. In addition, Muhammad Touré further centralized the government by creating a large and elaborate bureaucracy to oversee his extensive empire. Askia Toure united the entire central region of the Western Sudan, and established a governmental machine that is still revered today for its detail and efficiency. He divided his country into provinces, each with a professional administrator as governor, and ruled each fairly and uniformly through a staff of distinguished legal experts and judges. He was also the first to standardize weights, measures, and currency, so culture throug
