View source for Kassi (wife of Suleyman of Mali)

{{redirect|Qasa|the son of Sulayman with same name|Kassa (mansa)}}
'''Kassi''' (fl. 1352) (also called ''Qasa'')<ref name="oxford">{{Cite book|url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195382075.001.0001/acref-9780195382075-e-1715|isbn = 978-0-19-538207-5|title = Dictionary of African Biography|chapter = Qasa|date = January 2011|publisher = Oxford University Press}}</ref> was an empress of the [[Kingdom of Mali]]<ref name="oxford"/> and one of the wives of [[Mansa (title)|Mansa]] [[Suleyman (mansa)|Suleyman]] (r. 1341–1360). She was called Qasa, which means 'the Queen'.<ref name="Cambridge">{{Cite book |editor-last1=Fage |editor-first1=J. D. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GWjxR61xAe0C&pg=PA382 |title=The Cambridge History of Africa |editor-last2=Oliver |editor-first2=Roland |date=1975 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-20981-6 |volume=3|pages=382 |language=en}}</ref>
Principal wife and paternal cousin of Suleyman, Kassi ruled jointly with her husband, as was traditional.<ref name="jackson">{{Cite book |last=Jackson |first=Guida M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2aMGEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA216 |title=Women Rulers Throughout the Ages: An Illustrated Guide |date=1999-09-23 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-57607-462-6 |pages=216 |language=en}}</ref> [[Ibn Battuta]] wrote, "the queen is his partner in the kingship, following the custom of the blacks. Her name is mentioned in the [[pulpit]]". Having one's name read in the pulpit during Muslim services in the mosque is an honor due only to an actual [[sovereign]], not a mere consort.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Okrah |first=Kwadwo |date=2017 |title=The dynamics of gender roles and cultural determinants of African women's desire to participate in modern politics. |url=https://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/index.php/joget/article/view/24395 |journal=Global Engagement and Transformation |language=en |volume=2 |issue=1 |pages=7 |issn=2572-455X}}</ref> Qasa was one of twenty female Muslim rulers who met the Muslim criteria of sovereignty.<ref>{{Cite web |first=Raihanaa|last=Hasan |date=2009-12-28 |title=The mystery of missing Muslim female rulers |url=http://twocircles.net/2009dec27/mystery_missing_muslim_female_rulers.html |access-date=2023-03-01 |website=[[Two Circles]] |language=en-US}}</ref>
She was extremely popular with the royal court, which counted many of her relations among its members. But she soon fell out of favor with her husband, who preferred a commoner named [[Bendjou]]. Eventually, he divorced her to marry the latter. The noble ladies of the court took Kassi's side, continuing to recognize her legitimacy and refusing to honor the new royal wife. Such insubordination – they threw earth on their heads to honor Kassi while throwing earth on their hands to insult Bendjou – soon angered Suleyman and his new wife, to the point that Kassi was forced to seek sanctuary in the mosque.<ref name="jackson"/>
Civil war soon erupted, as she encouraged the nobility, including her relations, to revolt. The war was a struggle between two ideological factions; one group supported Suleyman, while the other supported not only Kassi but sons of the former ruler, [[Maghan]]. Suleyman and his chiefs eventually defeated Kassi and her cousins, discrediting her by showing that she and her cousin, Djathal, who had been banished for treason, were in league together.<ref name="jackson"/><ref name="sheldon">{{Cite book |last=Sheldon |first=Kathleen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HwqQCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA243 |title=Historical Dictionary of Women in Sub-Saharan Africa |date=2016-03-04 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-4422-6293-5 |pages=243 |language=en}}</ref>
The [[coup d'état]] happened in 1352 or 1353.<ref name="Cambridge"/>
Kassi was the mother of [[Kassa (mansa)|Kassa]], who succeeded Suleyman briefly before being replaced by his cousin [[Mari Diata II]].<ref name="jackson"/><ref name="sheldon"/>
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{authority control}}
{{Mali Empire}}
[[Category:Keita family]]
[[Category:14th-century women rulers]]
[[Category:Women monarchs in Africa]]
[[Category:14th-century monarchs in Africa]]
[[Category:Queens regnant in Africa]]