El Hadj Umar Tall

ʿ Umar ibn Sa ʿ al - īd futi, called al -Hajj Omar, (* 1797 in Fouta Toro, † 1864 in the cliffs of Bandiagara ) was a Sufi Tidschānīya Order, commander and an African empire builders. He is regarded as the second most important sheikh of Tidschānīya after the founder Ahmad at - Tidschānī.

After the European colonization had already begun, El Hadj was the last African empire builders. He came from the people of the Tukulor, a part of the Fulani tribe in Senegal. After a pilgrimage to Mecca in 1820, he began to preach to act without, however, have particular success. However, in this period, he became a consultant to a number of West African rulers. In 1845 he wrote in Futa Jalon Jegunko in his Arabic work " spears of the Party of God against the throats of the devil Party" ( Hizb al- Rahim Rimah ʿ alā nuḥūr Hizb ar - raǧīm ), a manual for performing religious exercises.

In 1850, El Hadj in the headwaters of the Niger to build the fortress Dinguiraye. A year later he began a jihad in Futa Toro, who later led him to the territory of present-day Mali, where he conquered a number of smaller Muslim and pagan territories and built an empire. 1854 saw the first struggles with French colonial troops. The troops of El Hadj 'which had no artillery, suffered several defeats. 1857 his troops were defeated by the French governor Louis Faidherbe. Then went El Hadj further battles with the French in Senegal out of the way and turned east. In 1861 he took a while Segu, capital of the Bambara was paid by this resistor 1864 people beaten sensitive. Shortly afterwards he was murdered.