Sundiata Keita

1217 - Mari Djata was born.

         - Naré Maghann Konaté was a Mandinka king who one day received a divine hunter at his court.

         - Soumaoro Kanté, cruel sorcerer king of Sosso, attacks the Mandinka kingdom, causing Dankaran Toumani Keita to take flight in fear.

1235 - Sundiata wages war against the Sosso, finally defeating Soumaoro Kanté at the Battle of Kirina.

         - Founder and ruler of Mali empire.

         - Sundiata Keita established his capital at his home village of Niani, Mali, near the present-day Malian border with Guinea.

1255 - Sundiata Keita died, probably of drowning. Tradition holds that he died while crossing the Sankarini river, where a shrine remains today.