Editing Askia Muhammad I (section)

==Title==
The title Askia{{efn|Or Askiya}} ({{langx|ar|اسكيا}}) is of unknown origin,{{sfn|Hunwick|1999|p=335}} but had been in use since the early 13th century, if not earlier.{{sfn|de Moraes Farias|2008|p=102}} It may derive from an arabic word for 'general.'<ref name = Page>{{cite book |last1=Page |first1=Willie F. |editor1-last=Davis |editor1-first=R. Hunt |title=Encyclopedia of African History and Culture |date=2005 |publisher=Facts On File |edition=Illustrated, revised}}</ref>{{rp|253}} The ''Tarikh al-Sudan'' provides a folk etymology for the title, claiming that Askia Muhammad invented the title himself based on the lament of Sonni Ali's daughters when they had learned he had seized power: "''a si Kiya''", meaning "it is not his"{{sfn|Gomez|2018|p=226}} or "he shall not be it".{{sfn|Hunwick|1999|p=103}}

The original pronunciation of the title is not known; in modern Songhai, it is pronounced ''siciya''.{{sfn|Hunwick|1999|p=335}} Moroccan sources spelled the title Sukyā or Sikyā, [[Leo Africanus]] spelled it Ischia, and a contemporary Portuguese source spelled it Azquya.