<!--This article is in US English-->
The Kénédougou Kingdom, (Cebaara Senufo: Fǎngi Kenedugu), (c. 1650–1898) was a pre-colonial West African state established in the southeastern portion of present-day Mali, as well as parts of northern Côte d'Ivoire and western Burkina Faso.
Early history
Kénédougou, meaning 'country of the plain', was first established in the 17th century by the Dioula Traore clan.
Under Kong
Nanka Traoré became Kénédougou's first ruler and began the Traoré dynasty, which would last into the late 19th century. There is little information about the kingdom's formative years, and approximately five to seven famas ruled between the foundation of the dynasty and Fama Douala Ba. Kénédougou's existence was marked by relative peace compared to neighboring states of the period.
In the 18th century, Kénédougou was a far-flung extension of the Kong Empire. By 1825, Kong power had declined in the region and the kingdom, under the rule of Doaula Ba Traoré, was able to establish independence.
19th Century
During much of the 19th century, Kenedougou was a war with Bobo-Dioulasso and their former overlords in Kong. Faama Daoula Traore (r. 1840-1877) expanded his holdings at their expense and consolidated administrative control. He died in 1877, and was succeeded by his son Tieba.
Tieba
During this period, Kenedougou faced a double threat as French colonial forces and Samori Toure began swallowing up commercial partners in the south, west and east. Faama Tieba moved the capital of the kingdom from Bougoula to his mother's home city of Sikasso in 1877. There he built a new palace on a strategic hill called the Mamelon and a massive city wall, the Tata of Sikasso, which remains a tourist attraction today.
Kenedougou's conflict with Toure's Wassoulou Empire began in 1884 when Tieba sent his brother Siaka to reinforce the frontier between the two kingdoms at the Bagoe River. The region soon became a depopulated battleground. Tieba also conquered the Minianka region.