Fulani Empire
Encyclopedia
The Sokoto Caliphate is an Islam
ic spiritual community in Nigeria
, led by the Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’adu Abubakar
. Founded during the Fulani Jihad in 1809 by Usuman dan Fodio, it was one of the most powerful empires in sub-Saharan Africa prior to European conquest and colonization. The caliphate
remained extant through the colonial period and afterwards, though with reduced power.
are traditionally a nomadic, pastoral community, herding cattle
, goat
s and sheep, populating grasslands between the towns throughout West Africa
. With increasing trade, a good number of Fulani also have settled in towns, forming a distinct minority.
The Fulani became mostly Muslims
, as were the rulers of most of the states in the region the Fulani inhabit. The Islam of the rulers of these states was quite fragile, however, and they quickly reverted to the nationalistic
animist religions when threatened. Over the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the Fulani began to launch scattered uprisings against rulers who were oppressing them. These established a number of small, and usually briefly lived, emirates in the west of the Sahel.
The most powerful states in the region were the city-states of Hausaland. They had large Fulani populations, who were generally considered second class citizens. Over the centuries, however, the Hausa
and Fulani had become quite integrated. One of the more marginal Hausa states was that of Gobir
. Poor and on the periphery of Hausaland, it was ruled by a remnant of the defunct Songhai Empire
. This rule was noted for its despotism towards both the Fulani and the Hausa peasants.
, an urbanized Fulani, lived in Gobir. With the initial approval of Bawa, the ruler of Gobir, he was allowed to found a religious community at Degel
. In exchange, dan Fodio blessed the monarchy and educated Bawa's nephew and heir Yunfa
. When Yunfa became ruler, however, he decided to revoke the autonomy of dan Fodio's community and have dan Fodio assassinated.
Degel was defended, but unable to stand up to the army of Yunfa - dan Fodio and his followers retreated to Gudu
. From exile dan Fodio called for a jihad against oppressors throughout the region that became the Fulani War
. As a result, dan Fodio was joined by large numbers of Fulani and also many Hausa, this sparked a general uprising in Hausaland and most of the region's governments quickly fell. Dan Fodio was proclaimed as ruler of the new caliphate.
. They were blocked in the east by the kingdom of Kanem-Bornu
in 1810. Since Fulani strength was centered on powerful cavalry they could not expand very far southwards, however, as the horses were ineffective in the forests of the region and could not withstand the diseases of those latitudes. It became the largest state in Africa stretching from what is today Burkina Faso
to Cameroon
.
The new empire was organized into a series of emirates that were loosely controlled by dan Fodio. Under him the empire was split into two divisions, one ruled by his brother, the other by his son. In 1815 dan Fodio retired from the Sultanate and the empire passed to his son Muhammed Bello
. He built up the new capital at Sokoto
, turning it into a major centre. The empire in the nineteenth century is often referred to as the Sokoto Caliphate. Dan Fodio's brother Abdullahi dan Fodio
continued to rule in the west, and this position, known as the Gwandu Emirate, was passed to his heirs but remained subordinated to Sokoto.
In addition to its military prowess, the empire became known for its scholarship. Bello, Abdullahi, and dan Fodio were all considered great scholars and despite ruling such a vast state, all three continued to produce a sizable output of poetry, and texts on religion, politics, and history. While scholarship continued in the empire after Bello's death it became divorced from political life. Over time, the empire also became far more Hausa in character, with the Hausa language becoming the official language.
The empire continued to be an economic success. Hausaland, now unified, reached a level of unprecedented prosperity and the region remained safe from raids by Saharan nomads.
While the Sultan of Sokoto was paramount, the Emirs controlling the other cities, especially Kano
, steadily increased in power during the nineteenth century. In 1893 a crisis of the succession saw the rulers of Kano rise to preeminence.
When the French explorer Parfait-Louis Monteil
visited Sokoto in 1891, the Caliph was at war with the Emir of Argungu, defeating Argungu the next year. Monteil claimed that Fulani power was tottering, but he was probably over-impressed by temporary unrest caused by the war and by the recent accession of the unpopular Caliph Abdul Rahman.
However, in 1903 both Sokoto and Kano were sacked and the Empire collapsed, being divided between the French and British.
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic spiritual community in Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
, led by the Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’adu Abubakar
Sa’adu Abubakar
Amirul Mumineen Sultan Muhammadu Sa'ad Abubakar III is the 20th Sultan of Sokoto, the titular ruler of Sokoto in northern Nigeria, head of Jama’atu Nasril Islam , and president-general of the Nigerian National Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs...
. Founded during the Fulani Jihad in 1809 by Usuman dan Fodio, it was one of the most powerful empires in sub-Saharan Africa prior to European conquest and colonization. The caliphate
Caliphate
The term caliphate, "dominion of a caliph " , refers to the first system of government established in Islam and represented the political unity of the Muslim Ummah...
remained extant through the colonial period and afterwards, though with reduced power.
Background
The FulaniFula people
Fula people or Fulani or Fulbe are an ethnic group spread over many countries, predominantly in West Africa, but found also in Central Africa and Sudanese North Africa...
are traditionally a nomadic, pastoral community, herding cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
, goat
Goat
The domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep as both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over three hundred distinct breeds of...
s and sheep, populating grasslands between the towns throughout West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
. With increasing trade, a good number of Fulani also have settled in towns, forming a distinct minority.
The Fulani became mostly Muslims
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
, as were the rulers of most of the states in the region the Fulani inhabit. The Islam of the rulers of these states was quite fragile, however, and they quickly reverted to the nationalistic
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
animist religions when threatened. Over the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the Fulani began to launch scattered uprisings against rulers who were oppressing them. These established a number of small, and usually briefly lived, emirates in the west of the Sahel.
The most powerful states in the region were the city-states of Hausaland. They had large Fulani populations, who were generally considered second class citizens. Over the centuries, however, the Hausa
Hausa people
The Hausa are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa. They are a Sahelian people chiefly located in northern Nigeria and southeastern Niger, but having significant numbers living in regions of Cameroon, Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, Chad and Sudan...
and Fulani had become quite integrated. One of the more marginal Hausa states was that of Gobir
Gobir
Gobir was a city-state in what is now Nigeria. Founded by the Hausa in the eleventh century, Gobir was one of the seven original kingdoms of Hausaland, and continued under Hausa rule for nearly seven hundred years. Its capital was the city of Alkalawa...
. Poor and on the periphery of Hausaland, it was ruled by a remnant of the defunct Songhai Empire
Songhai Empire
The Songhai Empire, also known as the Songhay Empire, was a state located in western Africa. From the early 15th to the late 16th century, Songhai was one of the largest Islamic empires in history. This empire bore the same name as its leading ethnic group, the Songhai. Its capital was the city...
. This rule was noted for its despotism towards both the Fulani and the Hausa peasants.
Fulani Jihad
One of the most revered religious scholars of the region, Usman dan FodioUsman dan Fodio
Shaihu Usman dan Fodio , born Usuman ɓii Foduye, was the founder of the Sokoto Caliphate in 1809, a religious teacher, writer and Islamic promoter. Dan Fodio was one of a class of urbanized ethnic Fulani living in the Hausa States in what is today northern Nigeria...
, an urbanized Fulani, lived in Gobir. With the initial approval of Bawa, the ruler of Gobir, he was allowed to found a religious community at Degel
Degel
Degel is a town in northern Nigeria. Once a part of the Hausa city-state of Gobir, Degel is particularly noted for being the home of Fulani Islamic reformer Usman dan Fodio from 1774 to 1804. Dan Fodio built a large following in the area until, fearing his growing power, Yunfa of Gobir ordered...
. In exchange, dan Fodio blessed the monarchy and educated Bawa's nephew and heir Yunfa
Yunfa
Yunfa was a king of the Hausa city-state of Gobir in what is now Nigeria. He is particularly remembered for his conflict with Islamic reformer Usman dan Fodio....
. When Yunfa became ruler, however, he decided to revoke the autonomy of dan Fodio's community and have dan Fodio assassinated.
Degel was defended, but unable to stand up to the army of Yunfa - dan Fodio and his followers retreated to Gudu
Gudu
Gudu is a Local Government Area in Sokoto State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Balle.Gudu shares a boundary with the Republic of Niger to the north and the west.It has an area of 3,478 km² and a population of 95,544 at the 2006 census....
. From exile dan Fodio called for a jihad against oppressors throughout the region that became the Fulani War
Fulani War
The Fulani War of 1804-1810, also known as the Fulani Jihad or Jihad of Usman dan Fodio, was a military conquest in present day Nigeria and Cameroon. Expelled from Gobir by his former student Yunfa in 1802, Islamic reformer Usman dan Fodio assembled a Fulani army to lead in jihad against the Hausa...
. As a result, dan Fodio was joined by large numbers of Fulani and also many Hausa, this sparked a general uprising in Hausaland and most of the region's governments quickly fell. Dan Fodio was proclaimed as ruler of the new caliphate.
Growth of the caliphate
From this base in Hausaland the Fulani rapidly spread throughout the region. The open plains to the west were annexed, to the south the Fulani captured the northern section of YorubalandYoruba people
The Yoruba people are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa. The majority of the Yoruba speak the Yoruba language...
. They were blocked in the east by the kingdom of Kanem-Bornu
Bornu Empire
The Bornu Empire was an African state of Nigeria from 1396 to 1893. It was a continuation of the great Kanem Empire founded centuries earlier by the Sayfawa Dynasty...
in 1810. Since Fulani strength was centered on powerful cavalry they could not expand very far southwards, however, as the horses were ineffective in the forests of the region and could not withstand the diseases of those latitudes. It became the largest state in Africa stretching from what is today Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso – also known by its short-form name Burkina – is a landlocked country in west Africa. It is surrounded by six countries: Mali to the north, Niger to the east, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Côte d'Ivoire to the southwest.Its size is with an estimated...
to Cameroon
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...
.
The new empire was organized into a series of emirates that were loosely controlled by dan Fodio. Under him the empire was split into two divisions, one ruled by his brother, the other by his son. In 1815 dan Fodio retired from the Sultanate and the empire passed to his son Muhammed Bello
Muhammed Bello
Muhammed Bello was the son and aide of Usman dan Fodio. He became the second Sultan of Sokoto following his father's 1815 retirement from the throne. Bello faced early challenges from dissident leaders such as 'Abd al-Salam, and rivalries between the key families of his father's jihad...
. He built up the new capital at Sokoto
Sokoto
Sokoto is a city located in the extreme northwest of Nigeria, near to the confluence of the Sokoto River and the Rima River. As of 2006 it has a population of 427,760...
, turning it into a major centre. The empire in the nineteenth century is often referred to as the Sokoto Caliphate. Dan Fodio's brother Abdullahi dan Fodio
Abdullahi dan Fodio
Abdullahi dan Fodio , Sultan of Gwandu , was a scholar and brother of Usman dan Fodio . Usman, being more of a scholar than politician, delegated the practical regency of the western part of his empire to Abdullahi, who later became the Emir of Gwandu, and the eastern part to his son Muhammad...
continued to rule in the west, and this position, known as the Gwandu Emirate, was passed to his heirs but remained subordinated to Sokoto.
In addition to its military prowess, the empire became known for its scholarship. Bello, Abdullahi, and dan Fodio were all considered great scholars and despite ruling such a vast state, all three continued to produce a sizable output of poetry, and texts on religion, politics, and history. While scholarship continued in the empire after Bello's death it became divorced from political life. Over time, the empire also became far more Hausa in character, with the Hausa language becoming the official language.
The empire continued to be an economic success. Hausaland, now unified, reached a level of unprecedented prosperity and the region remained safe from raids by Saharan nomads.
While the Sultan of Sokoto was paramount, the Emirs controlling the other cities, especially Kano
Kano
Kano is a city in Nigeria and the capital of Kano State in Northern Nigeria. Its metropolitan population is the second largest in Nigeria after Lagos. The Kano Urban area covers 137 sq.km and comprises six Local Government Area - Kano Municipal, Fagge, Dala, Gwale, Tarauni and Nassarawa - with a...
, steadily increased in power during the nineteenth century. In 1893 a crisis of the succession saw the rulers of Kano rise to preeminence.
Decline and fall
The empire began to collapse under pressure from European colonialism that destroyed traditional trading patterns and armed neighbouring states.When the French explorer Parfait-Louis Monteil
Parfait-Louis Monteil
Parfait-Louis Monteil was a French colonial military officer and explorer who made an epic journey in West Africa between 1890 and 1892, travelling east from Senegal to Lake Chad, and then north across the Sahara to Tripoli....
visited Sokoto in 1891, the Caliph was at war with the Emir of Argungu, defeating Argungu the next year. Monteil claimed that Fulani power was tottering, but he was probably over-impressed by temporary unrest caused by the war and by the recent accession of the unpopular Caliph Abdul Rahman.
However, in 1903 both Sokoto and Kano were sacked and the Empire collapsed, being divided between the French and British.