of the State of Azawad (French: Conseil de transition de l'État de l'Azawad, CTEA) serving as a provisional government with President Bilal Ag Acherif to manage the new State of Azawad. History Gao, Mali and Songhay empires The Gao Empire owes its name to the town of Gao. In the ninth century AD, it was considered to be the most powerful West African kingdom. In the early 14th century, the southern part of the region came under the control of the Mali Empire. King Musa I peacefully annexed Timbuktu in 1324, as he returned from his famous pilgrimage to Mecca. With the power of the Mali Empire waning in the first half of the 15th century, the area around Timbuktu became relatively autonomous, although the Maghsharan Tuareg had a dominant position. Thirty years later, the rising Songhay Empire expanded in Gao, absorbing Timbuktu in 1468 or 1469 and much of the surrounding area. The city was led, consecutively, by Sunni Ali Ber (1468–1492), Sunni Baru (1492–1493) and Askia Mohammad I (1493–1528). Sunni Ali Ber was in severe conflict with Timbuktu after its conquest. Askia Mohammad I created a golden age for both the Songhay Empire and Timbuktu through an efficient central and regional administration that allowed sufficient leeway for the city's commercial centers to flourish. With Gao as the capital of the empire, Timbuktu enjoyed a relatively autonomous position. Merchants from Ghadames, Awjilah, and numerous other cities of North Africa gathered there to trade gold and slaves in exchange for the Saharan salt of Taghaza, and North African cloth and horses. The Askia dynasty held leadership of the empire until 1591, when internal fights weakened the dynasty's grip. Moroccan expedition Morocco attacked the region in 1591. The Saadi ruler of Morocco, Ahmad I al-Mansur, sent the Morisco General Judar Pasha into the area. Searching for gold, he led an expedition of 4,000 Andalusian Moriscos, 500 mercenaries and 2,500 auxiliaries, including slaves, dubbed the Arma. Following the Battle of Tondibi in a village just north of Gao, Pasha and his forces captured Gao on 30 May 1591. Pasha was born into a family of Spanish Muslims in Morocco, who were banished by the Spanish Crown following the failed Alpujarras uprising of 1568–71. The sacking of Gao marked the effective end of the Songhai as a regional power and its economic and intellectual decline. The increasing trans-Atlantic trade, which transported African slaves,