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The Jihad of Usman dan Fodio was a religio-military conflict in present-day
Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...
and
Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...
. The war began when
Usman dan Fodio Shehu Usman dan Fodio (; full name; 15 December 1754 – 20 April 1817). (Uthman ibn Muhammad ibn Uthman ibn Saalih ibn Haarun ibn Muhammad Ghurdu ibn Muhammad Jubba ibn Muhammad Sambo ibn Maysiran ibn Ayyub ibn Buba Baba ibn Musa Jokolli ibn ...
, a prominent Islamic scholar and teacher, was exiled from Gobir by King
Yunfa Muhammadu Yunfa (reigned 1801–1808) was a king of Gobir, a city-state in Hausaland in what is now Nigeria. He was the son of a Sultan of Gobir Nafata. He is particularly remembered for his conflict with Islamic reformer Shaikh Usman da ...
, one of his former students. Usman dan Fodio assembled an Islamic army to lead a
jihad ''Jihad'' (; ) is an Arabic word that means "exerting", "striving", or "struggling", particularly with a praiseworthy aim. In an Islamic context, it encompasses almost any effort to make personal and social life conform with God in Islam, God ...
against Gobir and other
Hausa Kingdoms Hausa Kingdoms, also known as Hausa Kingdom or Hausaland, was a collection of states ruled by the Hausa people, before the Fulani jihads. It was situated between the Niger River and Lake Chad (modern day northern Nigeria). Hausaland lay betwe ...
of northern Nigeria. The forces of Usman dan Fodio slowly took over more and more of the Hausa kingdoms, capturing Gobir in 1808 and executing Yunfa. The war resulted in the creation of the
Sokoto Caliphate The Sokoto Caliphate (, literally: Caliphate in the Lands of Sudan), also known as the Sultanate of Sokoto, was a Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslim caliphate in West Africa. It was founded by Usman dan Fodio in 1804 during the Fula jihads, Fulani jihads ...
, initially headed by Usman dan Fodio himself, which became one of the largest states in Africa in the 19th century. His success inspired similar jihads in Western Africa.


Background

The ancient
Kanem–Bornu Empire The Kanem–Bornu Empire was an empire based around Lake Chad that once ruled areas which are now part of Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon, Libya, Algeria, Sudan, and Chad. The empire was sustained by the prosperous trans-Saharan trade and was one of the ...
was losing power by the mid-18th century. There was large-scale immigration by
Fulani The Fula, Fulani, or Fulɓe people are an ethnic group in Sahara, Sahel and West Africa, widely dispersed across the region. Inhabiting many countries, they live mainly in West Africa and northern parts of Central Africa, South Sudan, Darfur, ...
pastoralists, leading to resource competition with more settled Hausa communities despite their shared religion. Several Hausa kingdoms previously tributary to Kanem-Bornu became independent and fought with each other. Rulers enforced harsh systems of conscription and taxation, while war caused social disruption, economic hardship, and enslavement of war captives. Fulani communities felt especially victimized by Hausa rulers' taxation and land control. Two prominent Hausa kingdoms that were central in the Jihad were Gobir, where Usman dan Fodio's parents settled in his childhood and where he lived until 1804, and Zamfara.


Lead up to war

Usman dan Fodio Shehu Usman dan Fodio (; full name; 15 December 1754 – 20 April 1817). (Uthman ibn Muhammad ibn Uthman ibn Saalih ibn Haarun ibn Muhammad Ghurdu ibn Muhammad Jubba ibn Muhammad Sambo ibn Maysiran ibn Ayyub ibn Buba Baba ibn Musa Jokolli ibn ...
, born in 1754, joined a growing number of traveling
Islamic scholars In Islam, the ''ulama'' ( ; also spelled ''ulema''; ; singular ; feminine singular , plural ) are scholars of Islamic doctrine and law. They are considered the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious knowledge in Islam. "Ulama ...
through the Hausa kingdoms in the 1770s and became quite popular in the 1790s. Much of his preaching focused on the obligations of Muslim rulers to promote Islam and to rule ethically and generously in a manner that allowed their subjects to live as good Muslims while criticizing corruption, hypocrisy, oppression of fellow Muslims, and tolerance of beliefs and practices in conflict with Islam. Originally, dan Fodio's preaching received the support of the leadership of Gobir; however, as his influence increased and as he began to advocate for self-defense arming by his followers, his favor with the leadership decreased. King Nafata of Gobir, placed a series of restrictions on preaching by dan Fodio's followers and by Usman himself. In 1801, Sarkin Gobir Yunfa, a former pupil of dan Fodio, replaced Nafata as king and increased the restrictions on dan Fodio, exiling him from Gobir to the village of Degel. A crisis developed later in 1803 when Yunfa attacked and captured many of the followers of a group associated with dan Fodio. Yunfa then marched the prisoners through Degel, enraging many of dan Fodio's followers, who attacked the army and freed the prisoners. Yunfa gave dan Fodio the option of exile before destroying Degel, but Usman refused to abandon his followers, instead leading a large-scale '' hijra'' of the community to Gudu. So many people went with dan Fodio throughout the state that on February 21, 1804, Yunfa declared war on dan Fodio and threatened punishment to anyone joining him. Followers of dan Fodio declared him to be the
Amir al-Mu'minin () or Commander of the Faithful is a Muslims, Muslim title designating the supreme leader of an Ummah, Islamic community. Name Although etymology, etymologically () is equivalent to English "commander", the wide variety of its historical an ...
"Commander of the Faithful" and renounced their allegiance to Gobir.


In Kanem-Bornu

The earliest recorded mention of the
Fulani The Fula, Fulani, or Fulɓe people are an ethnic group in Sahara, Sahel and West Africa, widely dispersed across the region. Inhabiting many countries, they live mainly in West Africa and northern parts of Central Africa, South Sudan, Darfur, ...
in Kanem-Bornu dates back to the arrival of a group of Fulani envoys from the Emperor of Mali at the court of the ''Mai'' (ruler) of Kanem during the reign of Kashim Biri (r. 1242–1262). A steady flow of Fulani pastoralists and Islamic scholars continued to settle in Hausaland and Kanem-Bornu. By the turn of the 19th-century, there were numerous Fulani groups living in Bornu. Before the jihad, most of these groups lived in relative peace with their Bornu neighbours. It was even customary for the Mais to go to war with other tribes to protect the Fulani from raids. However, perhaps due to the political ambitions of some of the Fulani, the Sayfawa princes developed a general hostility towards the Fulani in the 18th-century. In the late 18th-century, the Galadima of Bornu, Dunama, administered a large district in western Bornu, which contained numerous Fulani groups and encompassed portions of what later became the emirates of Hadejia,
Katagum Katagum is a town, a local government area and a traditional emirate in Bauchi State of north eastern 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 p ...
, Jamaare, and Misau. Three figures led the jihad in this area: Bi Abdur, Lerlima, and Ibrahim Zaki. Bi Abdur lived near Hadejia and, around 1800, persuaded the Sarkin Hadejia (ruler of Hadejia) to appoint him as the leader of the local Fulani. He had considerable animosity towards the Galadima, who was responsible for his father's death. Lerlima, Bi Abdur's maternal cousin, was married to the Galadima's daughter and served in his administration, possibly as a tax collector. Ibrahim Zaki was a widely travelled ''mallam'' (Islamic teacher) and was familiar with the teachings of Shehu Usman. To the south of the empire, a similar situation existed. The jihad was primarily led by Fulani groups centered at Deya (today in Gujba,
Yobe State Yobe is a States of Nigeria, state located in northeastern Nigeria. A mainly agricultural state, it was created on 27 August 1991. Yobe State was carved out of Borno State. The capital of Yobe State is Damaturu, and its largest city by populati ...
). During the late 18th-century, the local ruler of Deya, Muhammad Lafia, "because of his recalcitrant ways" was deposed by the Mai of Bornu, Ahmad. He was replaced with his younger brother, Muhammad Saurima, who the Mai hoped would be more cooperative. The local Fulani leadership, including two learned men, al-Bukhari and Goni Mukhtar, was displeased with Lafia's deposition as he had maintained friendly relations with the Fulani.


Battles

Several minor skirmishes preceded the forces meeting at the Battle of Tsuntua. Although Yunfa was victorious and dan Fodio lost men, the battle did not diminish his force. He retaliated by capturing the village of Matankari, which resulted in the Battle of Tabkin Kwatto, a major action between Yunfa and dan Fodio's forces. Both the Gobirawa and Dan Fodio armies were ethnically mixed. The Gobirawa had some Tuaregs and Fulanis from the Sullubawa clan while the Muslims had Hausa, Fulani and a few Iwellemmedan Tuaregs. The Tuaregs of the Muslim army consisted of Agali and Adagh muslims and possibly the sons of the Emir of Adagh. Although outnumbered, dan Fodio's troops were able to prevent Yunfa from advancing on Gunu and thus convince larger numbers of people to join his forces. In 1805, the forces of dan Fodio, the ''jihadists'', captured the Hausa kingdom of Kebbi. In 1807, the jihadists had taken over Katsina whose ruler, Magajin Halidu, committed suicide following the defeat. They then captured the
Sultanate of Kano The Sultanate of Kano was a Hausa kingdom in the north of what is now Nigeria that dates back to 1349, when the king of Kano, Ali Yaji (1349–1385), dissolved the cult of Tsumbubra and proclaimed Kano a sultanate. Before 1000 AD, Kano had been ...
whose king (
Muhammad Alwali II Muhammad Dan Yaji, known as Muhammad Alwali II (died 1807) 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, a ...
) was forced to flee to
Zazzau The Kingdom of Zazzau, also known as the Zaria Emirate, is a traditional state with headquarters in the city of Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria. The current emir of Zazzau is Ahmed Nuhu Bamalli CFR, who succeeded the former emir, late Alhaji Sheh ...
, then the village of Burum-Burum where he was soon killed in battle. In 1808, the jihadists assaulted Gobir, killing Yunfa in the battle of Alkalawa, and destroying large parts of the city. Furthermore,
Abdullahi dan Fodio Abdullahi ɗan Fodio (; ca. 1766–1828), was a prominent Islamic scholar, jurist, poet and theologian, and the first Amir of Gwandu (r. 1812–1828) and first Grand Vizier of Sokoto. His brother, Usman dan Fodio (1754–1817) was the found ...
also took over the Kebbi Emirate the same year. With the capture of Gobir, the jihadists saw that they were part of a wider regional struggle. They continued with battles against several Hausa kingdoms, and the Sokoto Caliphate expanded over the next two years. The last major expansion of the jihadists was the toppling of the Sayfawa dynasty in 1846.


Founding of the Sokoto Caliphate

Muhammed Bello Muhammadu Bello (; ; 3 November 1781 – 25 October 1837) was the second Caliph of Sokoto and reigned from 1817 until 1837. He was also an active writer of history, poetry, and Islamic studies. He was the son and primary aide to Usman dan Fodio ...
, the son of Usman dan Fodio, transformed the semi-permanent camp of
Sokoto Sokoto (Hausa language, Hausa: ; Fulfulde, Fula: , ''Leydi Sokoto'') is one of the 36 states of Nigeria, located in the extreme northwest of the country. It is bounded by Niger, Republic of the Niger to the north and west for 363 km (226 m ...
into a city in 1809, during the Fulani war. Dan Fodio ruled from Sokoto as the religious leader of the Fulani jihad states from that point until 1815, when he retired from administrative duties. The Caliphate appointed various Emirs to govern the various states of the empire. These men were often veterans of the Fulani wars. Bello succeeded Usman dan Fodio as ruler of Sokoto and in 1817 adopted the title of
sultan Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...
, an office that still exists, albeit stripped of most of its power by the British colonial government of Nigeria in 1903.


Legacy

The success of the jihad inspired a number of later
West Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...
n jihadists, including
Massina Empire The Caliphate of Hamdullahi (; ; ; ; also: Dina of Massina, Sise Jihad state), commonly known as the Massina Empire (also spelled ''Maasina'' or ''Macina''), was an early nineteenth-century Sunni Muslim caliphate in West Africa centered in the ...
founder
Seku Amadu Sheikhu Ahmadu (; ; ) (c. 1776 – 20 April 1845) was the Fulbe founder of the Massina Empire (Diina of Hamdullahi) in the Inner Niger Delta, now the Mopti Region of Mali. He ruled as '' Almami'' from 1818 until his death in 1845, also tak ...
,
Toucouleur Empire The Tukulor Empire (; ; ; also known as the Tijaniyya Jihad state or the Segu Tukulor or the Tidjaniya Caliphate or the Umarian State) (1861–1890) was an Islamic state in the mid-nineteenth century founded by Elhadj Oumar Foutiyou Tall of the ...
founder
Omar Saidou Tall Hadji Oumarûl Foutiyou Tall (ʿUmar ibn Saʿīd al-Fūtī Ṭaʿl, , – 1864 CE), born in Futa Tooro, present-day Senegal, was a Senegalese Tijani sufi Toucouleur Islamic scholar and military commander who founded the short-lived Touc ...
,
Wassoulou Empire The Samorian state, also referred to as the Wassoulou empire, Ouassalou empire, Mandinka empire or Samory's empire, was a short-lived West African state that existed from roughly 1878 until 1898, although dates vary from source to source. It span ...
founder
Samori Samori Ture ( – June 2, 1900), also known as Samori Toure, Samory Touré, or Almamy Samore Lafiya Toure, was a Mandinka people, Malinke and a Soninke people, Soninke Muslim cleric, military strategist, and founder of the Wassoulou Empire, an Is ...
,
Adamawa Emirate The Adamawa Emirate (Fula language, Fula: ''Laamorde Adamaawa'', ; ; ; ) is a Nigerian traditional states, traditional state located in Fombina, an area which now roughly corresponds to areas of Adamawa State and Taraba state in Nigeria, and pre ...
founder
Modibo Adama Adama ɓii Ardo Hassana (1786 – 1847), more commonly known as Modibbo Adama (''Modibbo'' meaning "learned man"), was a Fulani scholar from the Yillaga (Yirlaɓe) clan. He led a jihad into the region of Fombina (in modern-day Cameroon and Niger ...
and Zabarma Emirate founder
Babatu (warlord) Babatu or Baba Ato, was the Zarma military leader and jihadi warlord over the Zabarma Emirate in the late 19th century. Babatu originated in Indougou (N'Dougou) in what is today the nation of Niger. Babatu became the ruler of the Zabarima emirat ...
. The consequences of this Jihad reached far beyond West Africa, influencing regions as far as South America. Many recently enslaved individuals taken from these areas, who were already trained in military tactics, were highly able to stage numerous revolts in
Portuguese Brazil Colonial Brazil (), sometimes referred to as Portuguese America, comprises the period from 1500, with the arrival of the Portuguese, until 1815, when Brazil was elevated to a kingdom in union with Portugal. During the 300 years of Brazilian col ...
that occurred during the 19th century. The
Sokoto Caliphate The Sokoto Caliphate (, literally: Caliphate in the Lands of Sudan), also known as the Sultanate of Sokoto, was a Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslim caliphate in West Africa. It was founded by Usman dan Fodio in 1804 during the Fula jihads, Fulani jihads ...
has continued to the present. Since the British conquest of the Caliphate in 1903, and later Nigerian independence under a constitutional government in 1960, the Caliphate's political authority has diminished. But the position still has considerable spiritual authority.


See also

*
Fula jihads The Fula (or Fulani) jihads () sometimes called the Fulani revolution were a series of jihads that occurred across West Africa during the 18th and 19th centuries, led largely by the Muslim Fula people, Fulani people. The jihads and the jihad sta ...
*
History of Nigeria The history of Nigeria can be traced to the earliest inhabitants whose date remains at least 13,000 BC through the early civilizations such as the Nok culture which began around 1500 BC. Numerous ancient African civilizations settled in the reg ...


References

{{reflist 1800s conflicts Sokoto Caliphate Wars involving the states and peoples of Africa Wars involving Cameroon Wars involving Nigeria 19th century in Africa 1800s in Nigeria Military history of the Sokoto Caliphate