At The Battle of Kirina, Sundiata and his allies defeated the Sosso king and became the first Emperor of the
Mali Empire.
The proper English spelling of Sundiata's name is Sunjata pronounced: soon-jah-ta, which reflects the actual pronunciation and the Mandinka language. The name Sogolon derives from his mother and Jata means
lion. It is the traditional way of praising someone in some
West African societies (Gambia, Senegal,
Mali and Guinea in particular). The name Sundiata praises him through his mother which means "the
lion of Songolon" or "Songolon's
lion". The name Jata derives from Jara (lion). Jara and many of its variations such as jata, jala or jada are merely regional variations for example Gambia, Guinea,
Mali etc. Sundiata's name is thus a combination of his mother's name Songolon (Sun or its variation Son) and jata (lion)
