Sonni Ali, setting his sights on the wealthy and renowned trading town of Djenné (also known as Jenne), meets stark resistance.

The first direct mention of Djenné in European sources is in connection with the fourteenth century trans-Saharan trade in gold, salt and slaves, during which Timbuktu had been the major southern terminus.

In a letter written in Latin in 1447 by Antonio Malfante from the Saharan oasis of Tuwat to a merchant in Genoa, Malfante reports on what he had learned from an informant about the trans-Saharan trade.

He lists several 'states' including one called 'Geni' and describes the Niger River: "Through these lands flows a very large river, which at certain times of the year inundates all these lands. This river passes by the gates of Thambet [Timbuktu]....There are many boats on it, by which they carry on trade."(Crone, G.R., ed. (1937), The Voyages of Cadamosto and other documents on Western Africa in the second half of the fifteenth century, London: Hakluyt Society; pp. 87-88)

After a persistent seven-year siege, Sonni Ali is able to forcefully incorporate it into his vast empire in 1473, but only after having starved its citizens into surrender.