Fula jihads
Encyclopedia
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:...
between the late 17th century and European colonization, in which Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
Fula
Fula 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...
s took control of various parts of the region. It is also sometimes referred to as "Fulani revolution." The best known of these events is 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...
of 1804-10.
A jihad state is a territory that was established by political and religious Muslim leaders who conquer a region by offensive war, invoking jihad
Jihad
Jihad , an Islamic term, is a religious duty of Muslims. In Arabic, the word jihād translates as a noun meaning "struggle". Jihad appears 41 times in the Quran and frequently in the idiomatic expression "striving in the way of God ". A person engaged in jihad is called a mujahid; the plural is...
("struggle" in Arabic). The rulers often assumed honorific titles such as in the Fulani Empire
Fulani Empire
The Sokoto Caliphate is an Islamic 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...
, Emir
Emir
Emir , meaning "commander", "general", or "prince"; also transliterated as Amir, Aamir or Ameer) is a title of high office, used throughout the Muslim world...
, an Arabic title which can mean general as well as prince or governor, or a derivate in a local language. Another title was Almamy (from Imam) used by rulers of Kingdom of Fouta Djallon.
These states are listed in rough chronological order below.
Bondu
A small state in present day SenegalSenegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
in which Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
Fula
Fula 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...
s took control in the late 17th century.
Fuuta Jalon
The Fouta DjallonFouta Djallon
Fouta Djallon is a highland region in the centre of Guinea, West Africa. The indigenous name is Fuuta-Jaloo...
located mainly in present day Guinea
Guinea
Guinea , officially the Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea , it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures...
as well as parts of Guinea Bissau, Senegal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
, Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
was a major state with a written constitution and ruling alternance between the 2 main parties: the Soriya and the Alphaya. The Fouta Djallon state was born in 1735 when Fulani Muslims decided to rise against the non-Muslim Fulanis and Djalonkes rulers to create a confederation of provinces. Alpha Ibrahima Sory Maoudho was elected as the first Almaamy in 1735 at the capital Timbo in present day Guinea
Guinea
Guinea , officially the Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea , it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures...
. The Fouta Djallon state lasted until 1898 when the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
colonial troops defeated the last Almamy (Ruler) Bokar Biro Barry, dismantled the state and integrated it into their new colony of Rivières du Sud
Rivières du Sud
Rivières du Sud was a French colonial division in West Africa, roughly corresponding to modern coastal sections of Guinea...
, which became Guinea
Guinea
Guinea , officially the Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea , it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures...
.
Fuuta Tooro
Under the unifying banner of Islam, the MuslimMuslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
Fula
Fula 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...
s revolted against the non-Muslim Fulani of the Denianke Kingdom in 1776 under the leadership of Sileymaani Baal. The following Islamic revolution created the new kingdom of Fuuta Tooro under a government called the Almamate (a term derived from the Pulaar
Fula language
The Fula or Fulani language is a language of West Africa. It is spoken as a first language by the and related groups from Senegambia and Guinea to Cameroon and Sudan...
borrowing of the Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
al-imaam). Before formal colonization this state was weakened by French incursions and the effort by El Hadj Umar Tall to carry his jihad eastward (see also Toucouleur Empire, below).
Fulani Empire
At the beginning of the 19th century under 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...
the Fulani became the leaders of a centralized Fulani Empire
Fulani Empire
The Sokoto Caliphate is an Islamic 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...
which continued until 1903 when the Fulani were divided up among European colonizers
Colonialism
Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a process whereby the metropole claims sovereignty over the colony and the social structure, government, and economics of the colony are changed by...
.
Fulani jihad states
The term jihad state is historically used in reference to the 19th century Islamic conquests in Western Africa, especially the Fulani jihad or Fulbe (from Fulɓe) jihad, a phrase referring to the state-founding jihad led by 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...
in the first decade of the 19th century in and around Nigeria. Most of these states were in colonial times brought into the British Northern Nigeria Protectorate
Northern Nigeria Protectorate
Northern Nigeria was a British protectorate formed in 1900. The basis of the protectorate was the 1885 Treaty of Berlin which broadly granted Northern Nigeria to Britain, on the basis of their protectorates in Southern Nigeria...
around 1901-1903.
The jihad states in the region controlled by the empire included:
- Abuja, replacing the former Zuba; the ruler's title was Sarkin Zazzau, from 1828 also EmirEmirEmir , meaning "commander", "general", or "prince"; also transliterated as Amir, Aamir or Ameer) is a title of high office, used throughout the Muslim world...
- AdamawaAdamawa EmirateThe Adamawa Emirate is a traditional state located in Fumbina, what is now the Adamawa State, Nigeria, and previously also in the three northern provinces of Cameroon . It was founded by Modibo Adama, a commander of Sheikh Usman dan Fodio, the man who began the Fulani jihad in 1809...
(now partially in CameroonCameroonCameroon, 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...
), founded in 1809; title Baban-LamidoLamidoLamido is the Anglicisation of a term from the Fula language or Fulfulde, used to refer to a ruler. In the language it is properly laamiiɗo , derived from the verbal root "laam-" meaning "to rule or to lead", and hence may be translated more specifically as "leader"... - AgaieAgaie EmirateThe Agaie Emirate was a state created by Malam Baba, a Fulani warrior who conquered the Nupe people of the area in 1822.It was based around the present town of Agaie in Niger State, Nigeria, and was subject to the Sokoto Caliphate....
, founded in 1822; title emir - Bauchi EmirateBauchi EmirateThe Bauchi Emirate was founded by Fula in the early 19th century in what is now Bauchi State, Nigeria, with its capital in Bauchi. The emirate came under British "protection" in the colonial era, and is now denoted a traditional state.-History:...
, founded in 1805; title LamidoLamidoLamido is the Anglicisation of a term from the Fula language or Fulfulde, used to refer to a ruler. In the language it is properly laamiiɗo , derived from the verbal root "laam-" meaning "to rule or to lead", and hence may be translated more specifically as "leader"...
(laamiiɗo in Fula languageFula languageThe Fula or Fulani language is a language of West Africa. It is spoken as a first language by the and related groups from Senegambia and Guinea to Cameroon and Sudan...
), meaning "ruler" (similar meaning to Emir ) - GombeGombe EmirateThe Gombe Emirate is a traditional state in Nigeria that roughly corresponds in area to the modern Gombe State. It includes the five chiefdoms of Cham, Dadiya, Kaltungo, Tangale and Waja....
, founded in 1804; title Modibo Gombe. - GwanduGwanduGwandu, also called Gando, is a town and emirate in Kebbi State, Nigeria. The seat of government for the emirate and district of this name is in Birnin Kebbi, which is the capital of Kebbi State and was capital of the historical Kingdom of Kebbi...
, a major Fulbe jihad state, founded in 1817; title Emir - HadejiaHadejiaHadejia is a Hausa town in eastern Jigawa State, northern Nigeria. The population was approximately 47,400 . The people of Hadejia are largely Muslim, although some follow indigenous belief systems...
, replaced BiramBiramBiram may refer to:*Hadejia, a town in Northern Nigeria, once known as Biram.*Kafr Bir'im, a village in the British Mandate of Palestine.* A harp-like traditional musical instrument of West Africa. See http://mamanebarka.com/-People:...
(title Sarkin Biram) in 1805; new title Sarkin Hadejia, from 1808 also styled Emir - Jama`are, founded in 1811; style Emir.
- Jema`an Darroro, founded in 1810; title Emir
- KanoKanoKano 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...
replaced the old (Hausa) Kano state in March 1807; the old title Sarkin Kano is still used, but now also styled Emir - KatagumKatagumKatagum is a town, a local government area and a traditional emirate in Bauchi State of northern Nigeria. The town is located on the northern bank of the Jama'are River, which is a tributary of the Hadejia. Most of the inhabitants are Muslim, along with people from the Fulani, Kanuri, Hausa,...
, founded in 1807; title Sarkin Katagum, also styled Emir - KatsinaKatsinaKatsina is a city , and a Local Government Area in northern Nigeria, and is the capital of Katsina State. Katsina is located some 160 miles east of the city of Sokoto, and 84 miles northwest of Kano, close to the border with Niger. As of 2007, Katsina's estimated population was 459,022...
replaced the old (Hausa) Katsina state in 1805; the old title Sarkin Katsina is still used, but now also styled Emir. - KazaureKazaureKazaure is an Emirate and a Local Government Area of Jigawa State, Nigeria. Its headquarters is in the ancient city of Kazaure.-Early history:The city of Kazaure has been the emirate’s headquarters since 1819...
, founded in 1818; title Emir, also styled Sarkin *Arewa (apparently imitating neighbours) - KeffiKeffiKeffi is a Local Government Area in Nasarawa State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Keffi.It has an area of 138 km² and a population of 92,664 at the 2006 census.The postal code of the area is 961.- Education :...
, founded in 1802; title Emir - Lafiagi, founded in 1824; new title Emir
- LapaiLapai EmirateThe Lapai Emirate, today in Nigeria, is a traditional state that lies near the Gurara River, a tributary to the Niger River, and was originally inhabited by the Gbari people, covering roughly the same area as the modern Lapai local government area....
, founded in 1825; style Emir - MubiMubiMubi is a town in Adamawa state, Nigeria. The major tribes are Fulanis from Digil as well as the Fali People from Vimtim. Names like Nuhu Auwalu Wakili are very common in the state. The Nuhu Wakili's family is the ruling family in the town. It is home to the state university, Adamawa State...
, founded in 18..; title Emir - MuriMuri (Nigeria)Muri is a town and traditional emirate in the northwestern Taraba State of eastern Nigeria, approximately between 9 and 11 40 E. and 7 10 and 9 40 N. The Benue River is nearby, and the portion on the southern bank of the river is watered by streams flowing from the Cameroon region to the Benue. ...
, founded in 1817, style Emir; 1892-1893 de facto French protectorate, 1901 part of Northern Nigerian British protectorate - SokotoSokotoSokoto 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...
, the center of the Fulani jihad, established on 21 February 1804 by Usman dan FodioUsman dan FodioShaihu 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...
, title Amir al-Mu´minin, also styled Lamido Julbe; on 20 April 1817 Sokoto was styled sultanate (title sultanSultanSultan is a title with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic language abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", and "dictatorship", derived from the masdar سلطة , meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be used as the title of certain rulers who...
, also styled Amir al-Mu´minin and Sarkin Musulmi), the suzerain of all Fulbe jihad states; in 1903 the British occupied Sokoto Sultanate - Zaria, superseded the old ZazzauZazzauThe Zazzau, also known as the Zaria Emirate is a traditional state with headquarters in the city of Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria.As of 2010 the emir was Alhaji Muhammad Bello Idris.-Early Hausa kingdom:...
state (title Sarkin Zazzau) on 31 December 1808; new style first Malam, since October/November 1835 Emir, also styled Sarkin Zaria and Sarkin Zazzau
Massina Empire
Located in what is now central MaliMali
Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...
, this state lasted from 1818 until 1862. Inspired by the recent Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
uprisings of Usman dan Fodio
Usman 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...
in nearby Hausaland
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...
, preacher and social reformer Seku Amadu
Seku Amadu
Seku Amadu was the founder of the Fula Massina Empire in what is now the Mopti Region of Mali...
led a Fula army in jihad
Amadu's Jihad
Amadu's Jihad was a religious war or jihad fought from 1810 to 1818 in what is now the Mopti Region of Mali.Seku Amadu , a Fulani Muslim leader in West Africa, overthrew the ruling Fulani dynasty of the Macina region of what is now Mali and created a new theocratic state with its capital at...
against the Bambara Empire
Bambara Empire
The Bamana Empire was a large pre-colonial West African state based at Ségou, now in Mali. It was ruled by the Kulubali or Coulibaly dynasty established circa 1640 by Kaladian Coulibaly also known as Fa Sine or Biton-si-u...
. The empire expanded rapidly, taking Djenné
Djenné
Djenné is an Urban Commune and town in the Inland Niger Delta region of central Mali. In the 2009 census the commune had a population of 32,944. Administratively it is part of the Mopti Region....
and establishing a new capital at Hamdullahi
Hamdullahi
Hamdullahi was a nineteenth-century imamate in what is now the Mopti Region of Mali...
. It was eventually defeated by Umar Tall
Umar Tall
El Hadj Umar ibn Sa'id Tall , , born in what is now actual Senegal was a West African political leader, Islamic scholar, and Toucouleur military commander who founded a brief empire encompassing much of what is now Guinea, Senegal, and Mali.-Name:Umar Tall's name is spelled variously: in...
and incorporated into the Toucouleur Empire
Toucouleur Empire
The Toucouleur Empire was founded in the nineteenth century by El Hadj Umar Tall of the Toucouleur people, in part of present-day Mali....
.
Toucouleur Empire
El Hajj Umar Tall led armies east from his base in Futa TooroFuta Tooro
Futa Tooro refers to the region on the Senegal River in what is now northern Senegal and southern Mauritania.The word Fuuta was a general name the Fulbe gave to any area they lived in, while Tooro was the actual identity of the region for its inhabitants. The people of the kingdom spoke Pulaar, a...
and Dinguiraye
Dinguiraye
Dinguiraye is a small town in northern Guinea, known for its large mosque which until recently was thatched. Population 20,085 . The town is also home to an important Islamic group founded by El Hadj Umar Tall in the nineteenth century.-References:...
to conquer Kaarta
Kaarta
Kaarta, or Ka'arta , was a short-lived Bambara kingdom in what is today the western half of Mali.As Bitòn Coulibaly tightened his control over Ségou, capital of his newly-founded Bambara Empire, a faction of Ségou Bambara dissatisfied with his rule fled west...
, the Bambara Empire
Bambara Empire
The Bamana Empire was a large pre-colonial West African state based at Ségou, now in Mali. It was ruled by the Kulubali or Coulibaly dynasty established circa 1640 by Kaladian Coulibaly also known as Fa Sine or Biton-si-u...
, and Massina in the early 1860s. The Toucouleur controlled the region until French colonization, at which time the last leader of the state, Ahmadu Tall, fled to 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...
.