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)
