The Fulani, after being the first group of people in West Africa to convert to Islam, became active in supporting Islamic theology and ideology from centres such as Timbuktu. The Fula people who later became known as the Toroobe worked with Berber and Arabian Islamic clerics, charting out the spread of Islam in West Africa. The Fula people led many jihads, or holy wars, some of which were major. These war efforts helped spread Islam in West Africa, as well helped them dominate much of the Sahel region of West Africa during the medieval and pre-colonial era history, establishing them not only as a religious group but also as a political and economic force.