Djénné, town in southern Mali, 400 km (250 mi) north-northeast of the Malian capital of Bamako. An ancient center of trade and Islamic learning, Djénné remains a locally significant trading center for fish and the region's coffee and kola nut crops. Artisans produce leather articles, cloth, and blankets. The town is linked by road to San to the south and Ké Massina to the west. Djénné has noteworthy examples of Islamic architecture, including a large mosque rebuilt by the French in 1907.
The early inhabitants of the Djénné area, the Bozo fishermen, came under the rule of the Nono, a branch of the Mande. Djénné was founded by the Nono in the 13th century, and developed into a commercial center the following century. Djénné's importance resided chiefly in its role as a marketplace where salt traders from the Sahara met gold traders from the forested regions to the south. A dependency of the Mali Empire during the 13th and 14th centuries, Djénné gained independence early in the 15th century. Despite the natural protection afforded by the nearby marshes and rivers and the large number of sieges that Djénné is said to have resisted, the town's wealth and strategic position attracted a series of conquerors: Djénné was captured by the Songhai emperor Sunni Ali in 1471; after having become a well-known center of Islamic learning by the middle of the 17th century, Djénné was occupied by the Bambara Kingdom from 1670 to 1810. In 1818 the town was besieged, and finally subdued, by the Fulani cleric Ahmadu of Macina. In about 1861 Djénné was conquered by the Tukolor Emperor al-Hajj Umar; it was occupied by the French in 1893. Thereafter, its commercial significance was overshadowed by Mopti, situated to the north of Djénné at the confluence of the Niger and Bani rivers, and by Ségou to the west. Population (1976 estimate) 10,275.
