Late Period
Despite internal feuds, the Djolof Empire remained a force to reckon with in the region. In the early 16th century, it was capable of fielding 100,000 infantry and 10,000 cavalry. But the seeds of the empire's destruction had already been sown by the prospects of Atlantic trade. Virtually everything that had given rise to the great Djolof Empire was now tearing it apart. Coastal trade, for instance, had brought extra wealth to the empire. But the rulers of the vassal states on the coast got the lion's share of the benefits, which eventually allowed them to eclipse and undermine what little power the emperor had. There was also the matter of external forces such as the breakup of the Mali Empire. Mali's slipping grip on its far-flung empire, thanks to the growth of the Songhai Empire, had allowed Djolof to become an empire itself. But now conflicts in the north were spreading to Djolof's northern territories. In 1513, Dengella Koli led a strong force of Fulani and Mandinka into Fouta Toro seizing it from the Jolof and setting up his own dynasty. Koli was the son of an unsuccessful rebel against the Songhai Empire and may have decided to act against the Jolof as an alternative to fighting the Songhai or Mandinka.
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