Ali Coulibaly was a king of the Bambara Empire

Bambara Empire

The Bamana Empire was a large pre-colonial West African state based at Ségou, now in Mali. It was ruled by the Kulubali or Coulibaly dynasty established circa 1640 by Kaladian Coulibaly also known as Fa Sine or Biton-si-u...

 of Ségou

Ségou

Ségou is a city in south-central Mali, lying northeast of Bamako on the River Niger, in the region of Ségou. It was founded by the Bozo people, on a site about from the present town...

.

Son of empire founder Bitòn Coulibaly

Bitòn Coulibaly

Bitòn Coulibaly founded the Bambara Empire in what is now Mali's Ségou Region and Mopti Region....

 and brother to the previous king, Dinkoro Coulibaly

Dinkoro Coulibaly

Dinkoro Coulibaly was the ruler of the Bambara Empire from 1755 to 1757. Successor and relative of empire founder Bitòn Coulibaly, Dinkoro soon lost control of the empire in a succession of military coups. Dinkoro was assassinated in 1757, and succeeded by his brother, Ali Coulibaly...

, Ali took the throne following his brother's assassination. A devout Muslim

Islam

Islam . The most common are and .   : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

, he attempted to convert his largely animist

Animism

Animism refers to the belief that non-human entities are spiritual beings, or at least embody some kind of life-principle....

 Bambara subjects. Ali became widely unpopular for his interference with local religious practices and his ban on millet beer

Millet beer

Millet beer, also known as Bantu beer, kaffir beer, or opaque beer, is an alcoholic beverage made from malted millet. This type of beer is common throughout Africa. Related African drinks include maize beer and sorghum beer....

. His death triggered a decade of instability in the Bambara Empire until the 1766 ascension of Ngolo Diarra

Ngolo Diarra

Ngolo Diarra was the king of the Bambara Empire from 1766 to 1795.Following the 1755 death of empire founder Bitòn Coulibaly, his descendants proved unable to maintain control, the kingdom fell briefly into anarchy. Ngolo Diarra, a freed slave, seized the throne in 1766 and soon restored order...

to the throne.