- published: 16 Jun 2011
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The Kong Empire (1710-1889), also known as the Wattara Empire or Ouattara Empire for its founder, was a pre-colonial African Muslim state centered in north eastern Cote d'Ivoire that also encompassed much of present-day Burkina Faso.
The first semblance of a true centralized state emerged under the Taraweré clan or jamuu of Jula who combined Jula and Senufo traditions to extend their authority over the surrounding region. Thanks to their Islamic literate tradition and trading experience, they turned Kong into an international market for the exchange of northern desert goods (salt and cloth) and southern forest exports (kola nuts, and gold).
Kong's attractiveness invited invaders. In around 1710 a Jula warrior known as Sekou Umar of the Ouattara or Wattara jammu invaded the area and conquered the city using cavalry. He established himself as fama (king) and turned Kong into the center of an empire with regional influence. He imposed Jula as the official language and Islam as the state religion. He utilized slaves to work in the manufacture of cloth and cultivation of rice, millet, sorghum, and cotton. He also improved security along trading routes with the same cavalry methods used by the Mali Empire three hundred years earlier. The empire spread northward with the help of Maghan (prince) Famara Wattara, brother of Seku Wattara, in 1714. He captured the city of Bobo Dioulasso and much of present day Burkina Faso. Famara made Bobo Dioulasso capital of the Gwiriko region, which would become its own kingdom later on.
Sir Peter Robert Jackson, KNZM (born 31 October 1961) is a New Zealand film director, producer, actor, and screenwriter, who is well known for his The Lord of the Rings film trilogy (2001 to 2003), adapted from the novel by J. R. R. Tolkien.
He won international attention early in his career with his "splatstick" horror comedies beginning with Bad Taste (1987) before coming to mainstream prominence with Heavenly Creatures (1994), for which he shared an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay nomination with his wife, Fran Walsh. Jackson has been awarded three Academy Awards in his career, including the award for Best Director in 2003; he also won the BAFTA, Golden Globe and Saturn Award for Best Direction the same year.
His films also include Meet the Feebles (1989), Braindead (1992), Forgotten Silver (1995), The Frighteners (1996), King Kong (2005),The Lovely Bones (2009), and the upcoming The Lord of the Rings prequels The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) and The Hobbit: There and Back Again (2013). He is also the producer of District 9 (2009) and The Adventures of Tintin (2011).