section_path: Asia and Africa/Sub-Saharan Africa
section_name: Sub-Saharan Africa
paragraph_text: Sub-Saharan Africa
  
  The Songhai Empire took control of the trans-Saharan trade at the beginning of the modern era. It seized Timbuktu in 1468 and Jenne in 1473, building the regime on trade revenues and the cooperation of Muslim merchants. The empire eventually made Islam the official religion, built mosques, and brought Muslim scholars to Gao.