Sundiata Keita
Founder of the Mali Empire (died around 1255)
Family : Place of birth : Dakadjalan ; Date of birth : Around 1190 (according to tradition) ; Mother : Sogolon Kondé ; Father : Naré Maghann Konaté
Education : According to tradition, born unable to walk, he walked at the age of seven.
Action : According to tradition, he brought together the kingdoms of the Manden. Around 1235, at Kirina, he defeated Soumaoro Kanté, king of the Sosso, and was proclaimed Mansa, “king of kings”. The Manden Charter, proclaimed at Kangaba and attributed to his reign, is regarded as one of the first declarations of rights.
Trials : According to the epic, rivalry with his half-brother Dankaran Touman forced him into exile, notably in Mema.
Legacy : His story is carried by the Mandinka epic, told by griots, which D. T. Niane wrote down in 1960 from the account of the griot Djeli Mamadou Kouyaté.