Abu Bakr (mansa)

For other people with the name, see Abu Bakr (name).
Abu Bakr
Mansa of Mali
PredecessorKhalifa
SuccessorSakura
DynastyKeita

Abu Bakr,[a] known as Bata Mande Bori[b] in oral tradition, was the fifth mansa of the Mali Empire, reigning during the late 13th century.[c] He was a son of a daughter of Sunjata, the founder of the Mali Empire, and may have been adopted by Sunjata as a son. Abu Bakr succeeded Khalifa, a tyrant who was deposed after a brief reign.[3] Abu Bakr was the first mansa of the Mali Empire to succeed through the female line. It remains debated whether Abu Bakr's succession marked a return to a traditional pattern of succession that had been ignored by his predecessors or if it was a break from traditional succession caused by political instability.[2][4] After an unremarkable reign, Abu Bakr was succeeded by Sakura, an enslaved court official who seized power in a coup.


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