Based on the provided search results, here is a summary of the conflict between the Songhai Empire and the Mossi states:
The Mossi states were a complex of independent West African kingdoms located around the headwaters of the Volta River in modern-day Burkina Faso and Ghana in the 15th-16th centuries. Unlike their forest neighbors, the Mossi relied on long-ranging light cavalry to harass the empires of Mali to the north and Songhai, with which they vied for control of the Middle Niger[10].
In the 1400s, the Mossi Kingdom had grown powerful enough to go to war with other states including the Mali Empire and Islamic states like the Songhai kingdom[6]. The Songhai Empire under Sonni Ali repulsed a Mossi attack on Timbuktu, the second most important city of Songhai, in 1480[3].
Sonni Ali also defeated the Dogon and Fulani in the hills of Bandiagara by 1468, ridding the Songhai Empire of any immediate danger from the Mossi[3]. In 1471, Sonni Ali attacked the Mossi territories south of the Niger River bend[9].
Later, the Songhai military campaigns against the Mossi under Askia Mohammad I in the early 16th century took on a religious dimension, as he sought to spread Islam. Although the Mossi were defeated, they still refused to convert to Islam[11].
After 1600, the Songhai Empire was confined by the Mossi to a more southerly region, but the Mossi kingdoms nevertheless remained independent until the French invasions of the late 19th century[10].
In summary, the Songhai Empire engaged in military conflicts with the cavalry-based Mossi states to its south in the 15th-16th centuries, with the Songhai repelling Mossi attacks and conquering some Mossi territories. However, the Mossi were able to limit Songhai’s southern expansion and retain their independence.
Citations:
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songhai_Empire
[2] https://openstax.org/books/world-history-volume-2/pages/3-2-the-songhai-empire
[3] https://www.britannica.com/place/Songhai-empire
[4] https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-hccc-worldcivilization/chapter/songhai/
[5] https://www.thecollector.com/songhai-empire-africa/
[6] https://our-ancestories.com/blogs/news/the-rise-fall-of-the-powerful-mossi-kingdoms
[7] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mossi_Kingdoms
[8] https://study.com/academy/lesson/songhai-empire-definition-location-history.html
[9] https://www.worldhistory.org/Songhai_Empire/
[10] https://www.britannica.com/place/Mossi-states
[11] https://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/africa/features/storyofafrica/4chapter4.shtml
[12] https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/03/18/country-honest-men-crossroad
[13] https://www.doe.virginia.gov/teaching-learning-assessment/k-12-standards-instruction/history-and-social-science/instructional-resources/history