Fulani and Founding of
From the fifteenth to the seventeenth centuries, centralized states emerged around the walled cities that had become important commercial centers in Hausaland (present-day northern Nigeria). The most prominent of these states were Kano, Katsina, Zazzau, Zamfara, Kebbi, and Gobir. The Hausa states were also the home of many immigrants of diverse ethnic origin.
The pastoralist Fulbe (Fulani in the Hausa language), who had spread from Futa Toro across much of the West African savanna, were among the most significant of these groups.
Although Islam had grown (at least in urban areas) from the faith of a small circle of merchants and scholars to the generally established religion of the various Hausa states, by the end of the eighteenth century indigenous religious rites were still commonly practiced. Within the Torodbe community, which produced many of the Fulani mallams (learned Muslims) in Hausaland, this syncretism was often equated with being an infidel, and many Torodbe agitated for the creation of Muslim states in which rulers would uphold the Shari’a (Islamic law). However, Shehu ‘Uthman dan Fodio, who became the spiritual leader of the Sokoto jihad (holy war), initially refused to become embroiled in political disputes. Hence, in the early 1780s, while he was an adviser at the court of the Sarkin Gobir Bawa, there was little reason to believe that he would lead a movement against the Gobir government. Yet, as it became clear that the Hausa rulers were unwilling to dispense with the non-Muslim religious practices that buttressed their authority, ‘Uthman began to sanction the establishment of autonomous Muslim communities throughout Hausaland.
His support among the Fulani was, however, uneven. Many of the Torodbe doubted ‘Uthman’s mission of reform, while others were comfortable enough at court to dislike the prospect of change. Many, however, supported the movement because their income was dependent upon the whims of their wealthy Hausa hosts since farming, trades, and commerce were seen as detracting from the pursuit of a religious life. Likewise, many of the Fulanin Gidda (settled Fulani) were unmoved by religious criticisms of a political and economic order though which they had become relatively successful. However, many Fulanin Gidda, who were desirous of more political power, also joined the jihadist movement. Conversely, the non-Muslim Baroji (pastoral Fulani), who were spread throughout Hausaland, remained largely separated from town life and maintained a symbiotic relationship with the Hausa peasantry. Nevertheless, jangali (cattle tax), forced military service, and restrictions on the use of water and grazing land often led the independent clan leaders to rise in sympathy with Usman.
Although the Sokoto jihad was waged primarily by Fulani-led independent armies, it also attracted many of the Hausa peasants, who were oppressed by slavery, excessive taxation, governmental corruption, and the imposition of customary rights that entitled the aristocracy to the pick of their daughters as well as their beasts of burden. Consequently, when ‘Uthman taught of an Islam in which fellow Muslims would not be enslaved and government would be administered with social justice, he was also articulating Hausa discontent.
By the turn of the century there had been an alarming increase in the number of ‘Uthman’s followers in Gobir. In 1803, Sarkin Gobir Yunfa summoned ‘Uthman to the palace and made an attempt on his life. The failure of this assassination attempt was ascribed to divine providence and, in the tradition of the Prophet Muhammad, the shehu, accompanied by his brother Abdullah and his son Muhammad Bello, resorted to flight. Still, it was not until Yunfa declared war on the Muslims in 1804 that the jihad began and ‘Uthman became “commander of the faithful.” In the military encounters that followed, however, Abdullah and Bello made most of the critical decisions.
In 1804 at Tabkin Kwatto, the shehu’s followers, relying almost entirely on archers, defeated the numerically superior Gobirawa. Next, they attacked Alkalawa, Gobir’s capital, but were defeated, losing over 2,000 of their best men. The shehu’s forces then retreated to Zamfara, which they ultimately conquered. From Zamfara the jihadists moved to Gwandu, in southern Kebbi. The Gobirawa, aided by the Tuareg and the dissident Kebbawa and Zamfarawa, attacked Gwandu. The town was poorly fortified, but the hilly terrain was extremely difficult for the Gobirawa’s heavy cavalry and Tuareg camel corps. The result was complete victory for the shehu’s archers.
The flagbearers of the shehu invaded Zazzau in 1805. When the Sarkin Zazzau’s son and heir, Makau, was surprised by the reformers on his way to a ceremonial prayer ground outside the city walls, he was forced to flee and the city of Zaria fell without a struggle. In 1806, after Kebbi and Zamfara had been subdued in the west, Bello proceeded to Katsina to reinforce the shehu’s supporters there. A combined force of Fulani, Zamfarawa, and Kanawa defeated the forces of the Sarkin Katsina at Dankama. By 1807, the great city of Kano had also been captured. With the Kano, Zazzau, Katsina, Kebbi, and Zamfara firmly in the hands of the reformers, Gobir was completely surrounded. In 1808, Bello captured Alkalawa and Sarkin Gobir Yunfa was slain with all of his followers by his side.
With the fall of Gobir all of the Hausa states had become emirates of the caliphate, which was ultimately headquartered at Sokoto. However, other emirates had also been created: in the north, Ahir and Adar; in the south, Yauri, Gombe, Adamawa, and Bauchi; in the west, Gurma; and in the east (in areas formerly controlled by Bornu), Hadejia and Katagum. Consequently, when Bello became “commander of the faithful” upon the death of the shehu in 1817, the empire was divided, with Yauri and Gurma, in addition to most of Kebbi and its former provinces, becoming Abdullah’s western sultanate of Gwandu. The bulk of the empire fell to
Bello; his eastern sultanate included the former states of Gobir and Zamfara, which along with parts of Kebbi had been merged to form the metropolitan sultanate of Sokoto, as well as Kano, Katsina, Zazzau, Bauchi, Adamawa, Daura, Hadejia, and Ahir.
During this early period of expansion, the emirates of the newly formed Sokoto caliphate were relatively autonomous, polytheism persisted among the peasantry, and there were also unsubjugated non-Muslim enclaves within the caliphate’s borders. Nevertheless, this vast empire, which stretched from Bornu in the east to Songhay in the west, united all of the Hausa states for the first time in their history, replacing their individual indigenous religious underpinnings with a common Islamic superstructure.
Lamont DeHaven King
See also: ‘Uthman dan Fodio.
Further Reading
Hiskett, Mervyn. The Sword of Truth: The Life and Times of the Shehu Usman dan Fodio. New York: Oxford University Press, 1973.
Johnston, Hugh Anthony Stephens. The Fulani Empire of Sokoto. London: Oxford University Press, 1967.
Last, David Murray. The Sokoto Caliphate. New York: Humanities Press, 1967.
-. “The Sokoto Caliphate and Borno.” In The UNESCO
General History of Africa, vol. 6, Africa in the Nineteenth Century until the 1880s. edited by J. Ajayi. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1989.
Last, David Murray, and M. A. al-Haji. “Attempts at Defining a Muslim in Nineteenth Century Hausaland and Bornu.” Journal of the Historical Society of Nigeria 2, no. 3 (1965): 231-240.
Martin, B. G. Muslim Brotherhoods in Nineteenth Century Africa. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1971.
Usman, Yusufu Bala. “The Transformation of Political Communities: Some Notes on the Perception of a Significant Dimension of the Sokoto Jihad.” In Studies in the History of the Sokoto Caliphate, edited by Yusufu Bala Usman. Zaria, Nigeria: Ahmadu University Press, 1979.
Waldman, Marilyn Robinson. “The Fulani Jihad: A Reassessment.” Journal of African History 6, no. 3 (1965): 333-355.
World History
