Editing Samori Ture (section)

===Theocratic alliance with Bate&nbsp;===

After his victory in the battle of Saman-saman, in 1875 the [[Bate Empire]], a theocratic state ruled by the Kaba dynasty of [[Kankan]], sent commissioners to Ture in Bissandougou. Karamo Mori Kaba asked for an alliance against his pagan neighbors, particularly the Condé clan based in Gbérédou. This Samory accepted, sealing the pact with a meeting at [[Tintioule]].<ref name = Camara>{{cite web |last1=Camara |first1=Mohamed Saliou |title=The History of Guinea |url=https://oxfordre.com/africanhistory/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190277734.001.0001/acrefore-9780190277734-e-626 |doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780190277734.013.626 |website=Oxford Research Encyclopedias |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |access-date=11 September 2021 |location=Oxford, Oxfordshire |date=29 May 2020 |isbn=978-0-19-027773-4 }}</ref> As part of this holy alliance, Samory deepened his knowledge of Islam studying with a Mauritanian teacher named Sidiki Cherif.<ref name = Fofana/>{{rp|47–9}}

After clearing the immediate environs of Kankan, Samory and the Kaba launched a successful 10-month siege of [[Koumban]] upstream of Kankan on the left bank of the Milo. He won over [[Gbérédou-Baranama]] and Jadaba Conde (likely an ancestor of [[Alpha Condé]]) of [[Baro, Guinea|Baro]]. Rather than facing down the important center of [[Kouroussa]] he marched down the banks of the [[Niger river]], conquering or negotiating with various chiefs. The final step was the city of [[Norassoba]], which fell after a 9 month siege and joined the Samory's alliance. With this victory, Kouroussa's chief Karinkan-Oulen Doumbouya was left with no allies and agreed to submit, with Samory confirming him in his position.<ref name = Fofana/>{{rp|51}} He continued on to the capital of Joma (Dioma), [[Dielibakoro]]; one of Ture's griots was from there, managed to negotiate their peaceful submission.<ref name = Fofana/>{{rp|55–6}} After the treaty of Dielibakoro Samory looked to the gold fields of [[Buré]], annexing [[Fodekaria]] (Balimana), then crossing the Milo river and where many of the local chiefs joined the alliance.<ref name = Fofana/>{{rp|56}} He subdued the [[Wassoulou]] region, which would eventually give its name to his entire empire despite the fact that it was rather peripheral to it. During this series of campaigns he arrested and beheaded Jamoro Adjigbe Diakite for conspiring with the enemy.{{citation needed|date=October 2023}}

To protect his arms caravans, Samory formed a non-aggression pact with [[Aguibou Tall]] of [[Dinguiraye]] in 1878, then an alliance with the [[almamy]] of the [[Imamate of Futa Jallon]] Ibrahima Sory Dara in 1879.<ref name = Fofana/>{{rp|53–4}} He sent the remains of the son of [[Omar Saidou Tall|El Hadj Oumarou Tall]], Seydou, who had died at Norasoba, to [[Dinguiraye]] for burial.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}} By this point, he was importing breech-loading [[rifle]]s via the port of [[Freetown]] in the [[Sierra Leone Colony and Protectorate|British colony of Sierra Leone]]. He opened regular contacts with the [[British Empire|colonial administration]] there. By 1878 he was strong enough to proclaim himself ''[[Faama]]'' (military leader) of his [[Wassoulou Empire]].