Who is the founder associated with unifying the Mali state who died in 1260?

• A. Sundiata
• B. Mansa
• C. Sunni Ali
• D. Askia Muhammad

Answer: (A)

The main idea here is identifying the founder who united the Mali Empire in West Africa. Sundiata Keita is the figure credited with unifying the Mandinka polities into a centralized Mali state after the decline of the earlier Ghana realm. His leadership in the early 1200s laid the foundations for Mali’s strength and set the stage for its later wealth and expansion, a legacy remembered in the Epic of Sundiata. He is said to have died around 1260, which matches the timeframe in the question. By contrast, the other names refer to rulers of different empires or titles rather than the Mali founder: Sunni Ali and Askia Muhammad led the Songhai Empire later, and Mansa is a title used by Mali rulers rather than a single founder.