Sultanate of Gobir | |||||||
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1150–1808 | |||||||
Capital |
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Common languages | |||||||
Religion | |||||||
Demonym(s) |
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Government | Elective monarchy | ||||||
Sarki | |||||||
• 12th-century (at Asben) | Ubandoro II (first) | ||||||
• 1801–1808 | Yunfa (last) | ||||||
Establishment | |||||||
History | |||||||
• Founding of Birnin Lalle | 15th-century | ||||||
• Founding of Goran Rami | 18th-century | ||||||
• Declaration of Uthman's jihad | 21 February 1804 | ||||||
• Fall of Alkalawa | 3 October 1808 | ||||||
• Established | 1150 | ||||||
• Disestablished | 1808 | ||||||
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Today part of |
Gobir (Demonym: Gobirawa) was a city-state in what is now Nigeria. Founded by the Hausa in the 11th century, Gobir was one of the seven original kingdoms of Hausaland, and continued under Hausa rule for nearly 700 years. Its capital was the city of Alkalawa. In the early 19th century elements of the ruling dynasty fled north to what is today Niger from which a rival dynasty developed ruling as Sarkin Gobir (Sultan of Gobir) at Tibiri. In 1975 a reunited traditional sultanate took up residence in Sabon Birni, Nigeria.
According to records preserved by the Gobir ruling house, they trace their descent from the nomadic Copts (or Kibdawa) of Arabia. They are said to have migrated from Kabila, north of Mecca, to Gubur in Yemen, where they established their first king (Sarkin Gobir), Bana Turmi. From there, they passed through Khartoum and Bornu to Asben, Surukul, Birnin Lalle, Magali, and finally Goran Rami. [1] : 367–368
Historians S. J. Hogben and A. H. M. Kirk-Greene noted that this claim is disputed by some and might have been an invention of Bawa Jan Gwarzo (r. 1777–1795) to avoid paying tribute (murgu) to Bornu. [1] : 368 British historian Murray Last observes that Egyptian merchants before the 15th-century seem to have given the Asben region the Coptic name 'Gubir'. He also points out that the Coptic word for henna is kouper, and it may not be a coincidence that the one time Gobir capital is named Birnin Lalle ('city of henna'). [2]
A manuscript in the possession of the alkali (chief judge) of Sabon Birni sheds more light on the tradition. According to this manuscript, Muhammad, the Islamic prophet, called on Bana Turmi to support him against his enemy Haibura. Wanting to be on the winning side, Bana Turmi sent half of his retainers to support Muhammad and the other half to Haibura. Haibura lost the battle and was slain at Badr. [1] : 368 [3]
After the battle, Muhammad saw a group of Gobirawa fleeing and ordered them to be captured. When they were brought before him, he asked why they had fled, as victory was theirs. They revealed that they had been fighting for Haibura, exposing Bana Turmi's duplicity. Muhammad then declared that the Gobirawa would suffer from divided counsel and internal dissension until the end of time. [1] : 368 [3]
Bana Turmi then led the Gobirawa out of Yemen and died at the salt wells of Bilma. His grandson, Bala, then led the Gobirawa further west into the land of Asben, where they aligned with the Idirfunawa of the Adrar against the Tuaregs. [1] : 368
According to historian Boubé Gado , some claim that Bana Turmi, whose actual name is Bawo na Turmi, was the son of Bawo and the grandson of Bayajidda. This connects the Gobir tradition with the more well known Bayajidda legend of Daura. [3] [4]
Gobir was one of the seven original kingdoms of Hausaland, tracing a lineage back to the 11th century. It was the northernmost of the Hausa states and was depended on to protect its sister states from northern adversaries, particularly the Tuareg tribes. From its founding, Gobir had a proud martial reputation, likely stemming from its long history of nomadism. [1] : 368 [5] Although the majority of the Gobirawa ('people of Gobir') were Hausa, the ruling dynasty claimed Coptic descent, marking under their eyes with "the same mark found under the eye of the Pharaohs on the monuments," called takin kaza ('the fowl's footprint') in Hausa. This ruling house descended from Bana Turmi, the first Sarkin Gobir, who died at Bilma. They arrived in the Asben region between the 12th and 14th centuries, establishing a state with the Idirfunawa (Hausawa in Adrar) they met there. [1] : 369 [6]
By the 15th-century, Gobir had 'many villages inhabited by shepherds and other herdsmen,' according to Leo Africanus. It utilised its large number of artisans and linen weavers to produce and export textiles and shoes, 'made like those of the ancient Romans,' as far as Timbuktu and Gao through Wangara traders. However, due to constant pressure from the Tuaregs, its economy suffered, and the Gobirawa were forced to move southwards. The Tuaregs had established the Sultanate of Agadez earlier in the century, replacing Gobir as the dominant power in the Aïr mountains. [7] [5]
After fleeing Asben, the Gobirawa first moved to Maigali and later to Goran Rami, near present-day Sabon Birni. In the early 18th-century, they moved their capital to Birnin Lalle. According to the German geographer Heinrich Barth, who explored the region in the mid 19th-century, after their conquest, the Gobirawa agreed with the Tuaregs that they would not be exterminated and that Tuareg kings should always marry a black woman. [1] : 369 [7]
Around 1715, together with Agadez, Gobir aided Zamfara in its successful revolt against Kebbi, which at the time was the dominant power in western Hausaland. This alliance strengthened the relationship between the Gobirawa and the Zamfarawa. The Gobirawa continued to move peacefully into the fertile Zamfara region, a process that began early in the 18th-century. The rulers of Zamfara initially welcomed them as useful warriors and granted them farms. However, the relationship soon deteriorated after Sarkin Gobir Soba besieged Zabarma for three years, plundering on a large scale. [1]
Afterward, Soba led his forces across the Niger River to ravage Gurma. They continued the campaign as far south as Ilorin in Yorubaland. Some of the Gobirawa remained in Ilorin, eventually settling there permanently. The Gobirawa community continued to thrive in Ilorin, leading to a close relationship between the Yoruba and the Gobirawa. Today, they are represented in the Ilorin Emirate Council by the Sarkin Gobir of Ilorin. [1] [8]
Soba resumed his wars in the mid-18th century, attacking a former ally, Katsina. While the Gobirawa were engaged in a seven-year siege against the Katsina city of Maradi, Agadez descended upon Goran Rami, the capital of Gobir. The Zamfarawa immediately came to Gobir's aid, secretly surrounding the Agadez forces at night with a fence of thorns before launching an attack. [1]
Upon his return after the failed siege of Maradi, Soba immediately set out for revenge, sacking the Agadez cities of Manni and Adrar. However, his army eventually grew tired of the incessant campaigning and deserted him. Consequently, he was killed by Agadez forces. His son, Gofe, and his daughter, the Magajiya , both fell while fighting beside their father. [1]
Soba's successor, Uban Iche (or Ibn Ashe), was murdered by his son, Babari. Babari took the title of sarki and immediately led raids into Katsina, Kano, and Shirra in Katagum. After reigning as Sarkin Gobir for 15 years, he began a series of attacks on Zamfara, despite his sister Fara's marriage to Sarkin Zamfara Maroki. The Zamfarawa fiercely defended against these attacks. However, they eventually abandoned their sarki due to his constant taunting whenever they failed to finish off the Gobirawa. Consequently, the Gobirawa ravaged Birnin Zamfara, the capital of Zamfara, with little resistance. Maroki fled to Kiawa, an ancient hill fortress inhabited by Katsinawa, located about twenty miles east of Kaura Namoda. [1]
According to Barth, a 'reliable source' informed him that the destruction of Birnin Zamfara happened around 1756, ninety-seven years before his arrival in Hausaland in 1853. [1] [9] Other sources claim that the capital was destroyed in 1762. [10] [11] [12]
Babari then established a new capital on the banks of the Gulbin Rima River. He called this new walled town Alkalawa because it was built on the official farmlands (gandu) of the Chief Alkali of Zamfara. These farms were originally given to Gobirawa immigrants by Sarkin Zamfara Malu (or Maliki), the father of Sarkin Zamfara Babba (c. 1715). [1]
Gobir is particularly remembered as the chief opponent of Fulani Islamic reformer Usman dan Fodio. [13] Bawa, a ruler of Gobir, appears to have invited dan Fodio to the area in 1774; dan Fodio made his home in the small town of Degel, and began preaching. Dan Fodio was given some role in the education of Bawa's nephew and later successor, Yunfa (r. 1803–8), but also publicly attacked what he saw as the abuses of the Hausa elite, [13] particularly the burden they placed on the poor. Sarki Nafata (r. 1797–98) reversed Bawa's tolerant policy, and feared the increase of arms amongst dan Fodio's followers. The next two rulers vacillated between repressive and liberal measures. When Yunfa took the throne in 1803, he soon found himself in conflict with dan Fodio, and after failing to assassinate him, exiled dan Fodio and his followers from Degel. Dan Fodio responded by assembling the nomadic Fulani clans into a jihadist army, beginning the Fulani War and eventually establishing the Sokoto Caliphate. Despite some initial successes by the forces of Gobir and the other Hausaland states (most notably at the Battle of Tsuntua), dan Fodio managed to conquer the surrounding territory. His forces seized the Gobir capital, Alkalawa, in October 1808, killing Sarki Yunfa. The state was then partially absorbed into Sokoto.
Resistance against the Jihadists was continued in the north-east by Sarkin Ali dan Yakubu and Sarki Mayaki. With the help of the Hausa ruler of Katsina the latter built a new capital of Gobir in Tibiri, 10 km north of Maradi in 1836. When the Gobir Sultan revolted against the Sokoto Caliphate that same year, Sokoto Sultan Muhammed Bello crushed the rebellion at the Battle of Gawakuke. [14] In present Niger the old dynasty of the Hausa rulers of Gobir is still continued today. A rival branch of the dynasty has its seat in Sabon Birni north of Sokoto in Nigeria.
The former Sarkin Gobir Muhammadu Bawa ruled in Sabon Birni from 1975 to 2004.
Like most of the states of Hausaland, Gobir practiced the sarauta (kingship) system. The head of state was the sarki, appointed by an electoral college known as the Taran Gobir ('Gobir nine'). The grand electors had to reach a unanimous decision on a successor, and this electoral college also served as the sarki's council. The sarki exercised authority through three groups of officials: members of the ruling dynasty, public servants, and governors of towns and regions. The highest-ranking titleholder in Gobir, apart from the sarki, was the ubandawaki ('commander of the cavalry'), who was responsible for overseeing the army. [12] [15]
The officials of the central government consisted of: [12]
Today at Tibiri in Niger, a 'rump state' of Gobir still exists, ruled by the pre-jihad aristocracy of Gobir. The head or priest-chief of the animists, known as the Sarkin Anna, is considered the 'brother' and, in some sense, the 'equal' of the Sarkin Gobir. According to local tradition, the Sarkin Anna held a similar position in the original Gobir polity. [16] The Sarkin Anna is also the custodian of the royal regalia of Gobir, which includes a sabre, two bracelets (one gold and one silver), a bow, and a quiver. [15] [17]
Another powerful titleholder in Gobir was the Inna, an office typically given to the sarki's sister. She served as the high priestess of the Bori cult, representing the Takurabow or Inna Baka ('the Black Inna'), the dynastic goddess of Gobir. [17] [18]
This sections lists the holders of the title of Sarkin Gobir ('lord of Gobir'). [1] : 415–417 The list is derived from the Sokoto Provincial Gazetteer compiled by P G Harris, a British colonial administrator. Other lists exist, including one by E J Arnett (another colonial official), which was based on a list found at Yankaba (located in Nassarawa, Kano). Although there are discrepancies, especially in the earlier names, all known lists agree on Bana Turmi as the first king.: 415–417
Nº | Name | Reign | |
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92 | Babari | 1742 | 1770 |
93 | Dan Gudi | 1770 | 1777 |
94 | Gambai | 1777 | |
95 | Bawa Jan Gwarzo | 1777 | 1795 |
96 | Yakuba | 1795 | 1801 |
97 | Nafata | 1801 | 1803 |
98 | Yunfa | 1803 | 1808 |
Ibn Ashe | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Babari 1742– 1770 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dan Gudi 1770–1777 | Bawa Jan Gwarzo 1777–1795 | Yakuba 1795–1801 | Nafata 1801–1803 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Yunfa 1803–1808 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shehu Usman dan Fodio. was a Fulani scholar, Islamic religious teacher, poet, revolutionary and a philosopher who founded the Sokoto Caliphate and ruled as its first caliph. After the successful revolution, the "Jama'a" gave him the title Amir al-Mu'minin. He rejected the throne and continued calling to Islam.
Hausa–Fulani are people of mixed Hausa and Fulani origin. They are primarily found in the Northern region of Nigeria, most of whom speak a variant of Hausa or Fula or both as their first language. The term Hausa-Fulani is also used mostly as a joint term to refer to both the monoethnic Hausa and Fulani ethnic populations in Northern Nigeria.
Sokoto is a major city located in extreme north-western Nigeria, near the confluence of the Sokoto River and the Rima River. As of 2006, it has a population of over 427,760. Sokoto is the modern-day capital of Sokoto State and was previously the capital of the north-western states. Modern Sokoto is known for trading sheepskins, cattle hides, leather crafts, kola nuts and goatskins.
The Jihad of Usman dan Fodio was a religio-military conflict in present-day Nigeria and Cameroon. The war began when Usman dan Fodio, a prominent Islamic scholar and teacher, was exiled from Gobir by King Yunfa, one of his former students.
SokotoState is one of the 36 states of Nigeria, located in the extreme northwest of the country. Bounded by Republic of the Niger to the north and west for 363 km, and the states of Zamfara to the east, and Kebbi to the south and west, partly across the Ka River. Its capital and largest city is the city of Sokoto. Sokoto is located near to the confluence of the Sokoto River and the Rima River. As of 2022 it has an estimated population of more than 6.3 million.
Zamfara is a state in northwestern Nigeria. The capital of Zamfara state is Gusau and its current governor is Dauda Lawal. Until 1996, the area was part of Sokoto State.
The Region of Maradi is one of seven regions of Niger. It is located in south-central Niger, east of the Region of Tahoua, west of Zinder, and north of the Nigerian city of Katsina. The administrative centre is at Maradi. The population of the Region is predominantly Hausa.
Hausa Kingdoms, also known as Hausa Kingdom or Hausaland, was a collection of states ruled by the Hausa people, before the Fulani jihad. It was situated between the Niger River and Lake Chad. Hausaland lay between the Western Sudanic kingdoms of Ancient Ghana, Mali and Songhai and the Eastern Sudanic kingdoms of Kanem-Bornu. Hausaland took shape as a political and cultural region during the first millennium CE as a result of the westward expansion of Hausa peoples. They arrived in Hausaland when the terrain was converting from woodlands to savannah. They started cultivating grains, which led to a denser peasant population. They had a common language, laws and customs. The Hausa were known for fishing, hunting, agriculture, salt-mining, and blacksmithing.
Abdullahi ɗan Fodio, was a prominent Islamic scholar, jurist, poet and theologian, and the first Amir of Gwandu and first Grand Vizier of Sokoto. His brother, Usman dan Fodio (1754–1817) was the founder of the Sokoto Caliphate. Usman, being more of a scholar than politician, delegated the practical regency of the western part of his empire to Abdullahi and the eastern part to his son Muhammed Bello, who later became the Sultan of Sokoto after his father.
Faskari is a town and Local Government Area (LGA) in Katsina State, northern Nigeria. The population of the LGA was 125,181 as of 2003. The current Sarki (Emir) is Eng. Aminu Tukur Saidu, and the Executive Chairman is Honourable Bala Faskari, an APC member.
The Hausa are a native ethnic group in West Africa. They speak the Hausa language, which is the second most spoken language after Arabic in the Afro-Asiatic language family. The Hausa are a culturally homogeneous people based primarily in the Sahelian and the sparse savanna areas of southern Niger and northern Nigeria respectively, numbering around 86 million people, with significant populations in Benin, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Chad, Central African Republic, Togo, Ghana, as well as smaller populations in Sudan, Eritrea, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Senegal, Gambia. Predominantly Hausa-speaking communities are scattered throughout West Africa and on the traditional Hajj route north and east traversing the Sahara, with an especially large population in and around the town of Agadez. Other Hausa have also moved to large coastal cities in the region such as Lagos, Port Harcourt, Accra, Abidjan, Banjul and Cotonou as well as to parts of North Africa such as Libya over the course of the last 500 years. The Hausa traditionally live in small villages as well as in precolonial towns and cities where they grow crops, raise livestock including cattle as well as engage in trade, both local and long distance across Africa. They speak the Hausa language, an Afro-Asiatic language of the Chadic group. The Hausa aristocracy had historically developed an equestrian based culture. Still a status symbol of the traditional nobility in Hausa society, the horse still features in the Eid day celebrations, known as Ranar Sallah. Daura is the cultural center of the Hausa people. The town predates all the other major Hausa towns in tradition and culture.
Ummarun Dallaje was the 39th Islamic Leader of Katsina, the first Fulani emir, as well as the patriarch of the Dallazawa dynasty. He became Amirul Muminin after the Jihad of Shehu Usman dan Fodiyo, succeeding Magajin Haladu, the last ruler of the centuries-old Habe dynasty, which founded by founded by Muhammadu Korau. Ummaru was succeeded by his son Saddiku.
Muhammad Dan Yaji, known as Muhammad Alwali II was the last sultan of the Sultanate of Kano. His reign coincided with a period of upheavals in Sudanic History that saw a series of religious Jihads waged by the Fula People. In 1807, after a protracted struggle with Fula clans, Muhammad Alwali was ambushed and assassinated at Burum-Burum in modern Kano. His death marked the end of the Kutumbawa line of Hausa aristocrats in Kano and the fall of the 800 year old Bagauda Dynasty.
Ahmadu Atiku also known as Ahmadu Zarruku was Sultan of Sokoto from 1859 to 1866. Prior to becoming Sultan, he was head of the Abu Bakr Atiku branch of Uthman Dan Fodio's family and held the title of Sarkin Zamfara with responsibilities for Sokoto town and south-east Sokoto. Atiku established the military settlement (ribat) at Chimmola which was across the valley from the town of Wurno and which he used as the seat of government.
The history of Katsina stretches over a millennium. It is part of the Hausa Bakwai states, believed to be founded by the descendants of Bayajidda according to legend. Throughout its history, Katsina has been governed by various dynasties, including the Wangarawa and the Dallazawa, and was a vassal to neighboring empires such as Songhai and Bornu.
The Battle of Gawakuke was an engagement fought between the Sokoto Caliphate and the Gobir city-state at Gawakuke in northern Nigeria on 9 March 1836. The battle was a victory for Sokoto, and secured the Gobir kingdom's subordination to the caliphate.
The Dambazawa are a Fulani clan residing mainly in Kano State, Nigeria. They were among the key promoters, planners and executors of the Fulani Jihad in Kano, which took place between 1804 and 1807 under the leadership of Shehu Usuman dan Fodiyo. The clan was said to be the top financier of the jihad because it was said to be extremely wealthy at the time of the jihad. Other Fulani Clans that participated in the Jihad included: the Jobawa, the Yolawa, the Sullubawa, the Danejawa and others, as well as a contingent of the native Hausa people led by Malam Usuman bahaushe. Together they formed a formidable force and toppled the 158 year Kutumbawa dynasty led by its last ruler Muhammad Alwali dan Yaji dan Dadi bakutumbe who ruled between 1781 and 1806.
Ali Jedo, was the first Amir al-jaish al-Islam of the Sokoto Caliphate. Prior to the jihad, he was the leader of the Fulbe of Konni in modern-day Sokoto State.
Zamfara, a region in present-day northwestern Nigeria, has a history deeply rooted in the ancient traditions of the Hausa people. It is generally considered as one of the Hausa city-states. Known for its fertile land, Zamfara became an important player in the regional conflicts and alliances that marked the 17th and 18th centuries. However, constant regional instability and warring, particularly with Gobir, gradually weakened the state, leading to its eventual absorption by the Sokoto Caliphate in the 19th-century.
Bawa Jan Gwarzo was the ruler of the Hausa kingdom of Gobir from 1777 to 1795. He is remembered for his successful military exploits, particularly the continuation of the expansionist policies of his father, Sarkin Gobir Babari, making Gobir a formidable power in the region. His reign also saw the rise of Usman dan Fodio and his reformist movement.