Sundiata Keita
~1217–1255 · Mandinka (Mali Empire, West Africa) · Mali Empire, Medieval West Africa
Known for: Founder of the Mali Empire—the 'Lion King' whose story inspired the Disney film
Sundiata was crippled as a child and bullied mercilessly, but rose to become one of history's great conqueror-kings. He defeated the sorcerer-king Sumanguru at the Battle of Kirina (1235) and founded the Mali Empire. His epic (the Sundiata Keita) is one of the world's great oral literary traditions—and yes, Disney's The Lion King was influenced by it.
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