Askia's Tomb: The Tomb Of Askia)

Songhai: How to make Askia’s Tomb (Tomb of Askia)
Who was Askia? Before we find out how to build Askia’s Tomb, which was built in Gao, Songhai in the year 1495 we need to know who Askia was and why his Tomb is important. Askia was a West African Statesman who usurped the throne of Songhai, and greatly expanded the empire. It is believed that he is from Tukulor origin, a Senegalese family that settled in Gao. After Sonni Ali’s death, the ruler that had solidified Songhai, his son, Sonni Baru, came into power, and was overthrown by Muhammad Askia in less than a year, February 1493. He established Islam as the official religion of the Songhai Empire. He went on a pilgrimage to Mecca, which has remained famous, and he was named caliph. He conquered

The walls of the burial have acacia wood stakes, or toron poking out, so you will need acacia wood as well. The special part about the materials is that he brought them from his pilgrimage to Mecca, even the mud, with thousands of camels at his disposal. The tomb’s floor is about 14 by 18 meters, and the tombs peak is 10 meters high. It has three levels, and it is shaped like a pyramid the egyptians made, but without the cap. You will not only need to build his tomb, but also the whole complex, which holds two flat-roofed mosques and a cemetery. The actual complex is about 45 by 50 meters big. The tomb style was most likely taken from somewhere between the Mzab region in southern Algeria and West African Sahel (New World

Then they mixed the mud and straw together and put them in wooden frame casts to let them dry. After they had taken the mud bricks out of the casing, they placed them in a rectangle that was 14 by 18 meters large and started stacking them in a pyramid shape, to a total of 10 meters high. In between the dried mud bricks they smeared mud, as a sort of cement, to keep the bricks together. While they were doing this they placed wooden stakes into the wall as scaffolding (beams to stand on for working). Before they added the finishing touches of the pyramid structure, they built in steps on the outside to walk to the top, where the body was lowered into. Finally, they enclosed the tomb and added mud on the outside make sure the structure stayed secure (not to keep it insulated in this