Talansan

Talansan was the location of a battle in Futa Jallon, in what is now Guinea, in which Muslim forces were victorious. The battle was a key event in the jihad in which the Imamate of Futa Jallon was created.

The marabout party was opposed by the established leaders of the region, who were resisting conversion to Islam. The battle of Talansan was a decisive victory for the marabouts.[1] Talansan was a location to the east of Timbo on the banks of the Bafing River.[2][3] According to tradition, a force of 99 Muslims defeated an infidel force ten times greater, killing many of their opponents.[2] However, the struggle to convert the population continued to meet resistance, particularly from nomadic Fulbe herders. They rightly feared that the marabouts would use the religion to assert control over their lives.[1]

Most sources date the battle to around 1727 AD (1140 AH), at the start of the jihad.[4][5] Others say the battle occurred in 1747 or 1748, after many years of fighting for which the records have been lost.[6][7] A passage of traditional Fula history published by a missionary society in 1876 supports the earlier date, saying the battle occurred at the start of the jihad, and that Alfa of Timbo (Karamokho Alfa) was made king after the victory and ruled for eighteen years.[8]

References

Citations

  1. Ogot 1992, p. 292.
  2. Rashedi 2009, p. 38.
  3. Diallo 2010, p. 39.
  4. Adamu 1988, p. 244.
  5. Baumgardt & Derive 2005, p. 154.
  6. Thornton 1999, p. 43.
  7. Gomez 2002, p. 72.
  8. Reichardt 1876, p. 320.

Sources

  • Adamu, Mahdi (1988-11-01). Pastoralists of the West African Savanna. Manchester University Press. ISBN 978-0-7190-2248-7. Retrieved 2013-02-11.
  • Baumgardt, Ursula; Derive, Jean (2005). Paroles nomades: écrits d'ethnolinguistique africaine : en hommage à Christiane Seydou. KARTHALA Editions. ISBN 978-2-84586-708-6. Retrieved 2013-02-11.
  • Diallo, Abdoul Goudoussi (July 2010). Labé ville-champignon de Guinée. Harmattan. p. 39. ISBN 978-2-296-25940-9. Retrieved 2013-02-11.
  • Gomez, Michael A. (2002-07-04). Pragmatism in the Age of Jihad: The Precolonial State of Bundu. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-52847-4. Retrieved 2013-02-11.
  • Ogot, Bethwell Allan (1992). Africa from the Sixteenth to the Eighteenth Century. UNESCO. p. 292. ISBN 978-92-3-101711-7. Retrieved 2013-02-11.
  • Rashedi, Khorram (January 2009). Histoire du Fouta-Djallon. Harmattan. p. 38. ISBN 978-2-296-21852-9. Retrieved 2013-02-11.
  • Reichardt, Charles Augustus Ludwig (1876). Grammar of the Fulde language: With an appendix of some original traditions and portions of Scripture translated into Fulde: together with eight chapters of the book of Genesis. Church missionary house. Retrieved 2013-02-11.
  • Thornton, John Kelly (1999). Warfare in Atlantic Africa, 1500-1800. Psychology Press. p. 43. ISBN 978-1-85728-393-8. Retrieved 2013-02-11.
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