The Songhai Empire, also spelled as the Songhay Empire, was a Songhai state that dominated the western Sahel in the 15th and 16th century. At its peak the empire was one of the largest in African history. The empire bore the same name as its leading ethnic group, the Songhai people, the ruling elite in the empire. Sonni Ali established Gao as the capital of the empire, although a Songhai state had existed in and around Gao since the 11th century.