The Songhai people trace their origins to the fertile banks of the Niger River, an area that has supported human settlement and civilization for thousands of years. Their early history is closely tied to the region of Gao, which would later become the heart of one of Africa's most powerful empires. The Niger River provided the necessary resources for agriculture, fishing, and trade, enabling the growth of organized communities that would form the foundation of Songhai society.

The earliest known inhabitants of the region were the proto-Songhai, who are believed to have settled along the Niger River as early as the first millennium CE. These people were primarily farmers, herders, and fishermen, utilizing the rich floodplains of the river to cultivate crops and sustain livestock. Over time, they developed a distinct cultural identity, characterized by their language, traditions, and spiritual beliefs. Their society was structured around small communities led by local chieftains, who governed based on kinship ties and communal customs.

Gao, the most significant early settlement of the Songhai people, emerged as a crucial trading hub by the eighth century. Arab and Berber merchants, who traveled along the trans-Saharan trade routes, recognized its strategic importance as a commercial center. The exchange of goods such as gold, salt, ivory, and kola nuts attracted traders from North Africa and beyond, integrating Gao into the wider economic networks of the region. As commerce flourished, the settlement expanded, and its rulers gained influence by controlling trade and forming alliances with neighboring peoples.