Kong Empire

Kong Empire
Kong Empire
1710–1898
West Africa in the late 18th century
West Africa in the late 18th century
CapitalKong
Common languagesDyula, Senufo
Religion
Islam, Fetishism
Historical eraPre-Colonial Africa
• Founding of Kong dynasty by Seku Wattara
1710
• Burning of Kong by Samori Ture
1898
Today part ofIvory Coast
Burkina Faso

The Kong Empire (1710–1898), also known as the Wattara Empire or Ouattara Empire for its founder, was a pre-colonial African Muslim state centered in northeastern Ivory Coast that also encompassed much of present-day Burkina Faso. It was founded by Dyula immigrants from the declining Mali Empire. It established a largely decentralized commercial empire based upon linkages by merchant houses protecting trade routes throughout the region. Kong rose to prominence in the 1800s as a key commercial center and center of Islamic studies. In 1898, Samori Ture attacked the city and burnt it down. Although the city was rebuilt, the Kong empire had dissipated and the French took control over the area.