Following Sonni Ali's death, Muslim factions rebelled against his successor and installed Soninke general, Askia Muhammad (formerly Muhammad Toure) who was to be the first and most important ruler of the Askia dynasty (1492–1592).
The majority of the population belong to the Soninke-speaking ethnic group, a dialect of the larger Mandagne-Mandinke language family.
Arabic (official), French (widely used in media and among educated classes), Pulaar, Soninke, Wolof, Serer.
It covers some 30,000 km2, and is home to Bambara and Sarakole (Soninké) peoples, as well as semi-nomadic Maure and Fula peoples, engaged in farming and livestock raising.