Sunni Ali was born the son of Sonni Muhammad Da'o, who appears in the kinglists of the Tarikh al-Sudan and Tarikh al-Fattash as the 10th Sonni ruler. His mother was from Fara, an area that was still heavily pagan, and Ali was raised in this milieu. As a Sonni, he also received an Islamic education, but practiced a syncretic, unorthodox faith.[1] Reign Upon Sunni Ali's accession, the Songhay already controlled the Niger river basin from Dendi to Mema. His first major conquest was the ancient