Téra is a city in the

Tillabéri Region Tillabéri (var. ''Tillabéry'') is one of the seven regions of Niger. The capital of the region is Tillabéri. Tillabéri Region was created in 1992, when Niamey Region was split, with Niamey and its immediate hinterland becoming a new ''capital ...

, Tera Department of

Niger Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...

. It is situated 175 km north-west of the capital

Niamey Niamey () is the capital and largest city of Niger. As the Niamey Urban Community (, CUN), it is a Regions of Niger, first-level division of Niger, surrounded by the Tillabéri Region, in the western part of the country. Niamey lies on the Nige ...

, close to the border with

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa, bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Ivory Coast to the southwest. It covers an area of 274,223 km2 (105,87 ...

. It is mainly inhabited by Songhai,

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, ...

, Gourmantche and Buzu ethnic groups. The majority of the population are farmers.

Geography

Téra is the capital of the Téra department of the same name, which belongs to the Tillabéri region. The municipality is located on the Dargol, a tributary of the

Niger River The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through Mali, Nige ...

. It borders the neighboring state of

to the west. The neighboring communities in Niger are Bankilaré in the north, Dargol and Kokorou in the east and Diagourou in the south. The northern half of the municipality of Téra is included in the

Sahel The Sahel region (; ), or Sahelian acacia savanna, is a Biogeography, biogeographical region in Africa. It is the Ecotone, transition zone between the more humid Sudanian savannas to its south and the drier Sahara to the north. The Sahel has a ...

, while the southern half is part of the transition zone between the Sahel and Sudan regions. The municipality consists of an urban and a rural area.

Climate

Téra has a dry desert climate. The temperature is between 18 °C and 30 °C from November to February and between 36 °C and 44 °C from March to April. Annual rainfall varies from 250 mm to 400 mm.

History

The place name Téra comes from the Gourmanchéma language and means “frog”. After the fall of the

Songhai Empire The Songhai Empire was a state located in the western part of the Sahel during the 15th and 16th centuries. At its peak, it was one of the largest African empires in history. The state is known by its historiographical name, derived from its lar ...

in 1591, the area of what later became Téra was one of the places in today's Niger where Songhai refugees settled under a descendant of the former Askiya ruling dynasty. Abaza, son of Alazi, founded the independent state of Tougana here. Under Abaza's son Marounfa, Tougana was defeated by Gorouol. Marounfa's nephew Ama Kassa eventually founded Téra. The reigns of Ama Kassa's successors Ali Ama, Tienda and Gabélinga were marked by military conflicts with neighboring groups. Around 1839, Téra and Kokorou were attacked by Silanké, a subgroup of the

who came from Dori in

Liptako Liptako is an historic region of West Africa. It today falls in eastern Burkina Faso, southwestern Niger and a small portion of southeast central Mali. A hilly region beginning on the right back of the Niger river, Liptako is usually associated wi ...

. Téra called

Tuareg The Tuareg people (; also spelled Twareg or Touareg; endonym, depending on variety: ''Imuhaɣ'', ''Imušaɣ'', ''Imašeɣăn'' or ''Imajeɣăn'') are a large Berber ethnic group, traditionally nomadic pastoralists, who principally inhabit th ...

from the left bank of the Niger for help. The Silanké, allied with other Fulani groups and

Kurtey The Kurtey people (var. Kourtey) are a small ethnic group found along the Niger River valley in parts of the West African nations of Niger, Benin, Mali, and Nigeria. They are also found in considerable numbers in Ghana, Togo, Ivory Coast, and Burki ...

, were defeated in two battles. However, Téra could not get rid of the Tuareg, who caused insecurity in the area around the city. A new war soon broke out: Téra, still in alliance with the Tuareg and the Mossi of Diagourou, lost to Liptako, which took around 2,000 prisoners from Téra. The Tuareg and Mossi soon turned against Téra and drove out the ruler Gabélinga after murdering his nephew Sidi. Gabélinga was able to regain power in Téra one last time in 1878, but was murdered in 1885. In 1899, Téra came under French military administration as part of the newly created Sinder district (cercle de Sinder). The place was annexed to the new military territory of Niger in 1905. The French set up the first school in town in 1917. The

Dakar Rally The Dakar Rally () or simply "The Dakar" (), formerly known as the Paris–Dakar Rally (), is an annual rally raid organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO). It is an off-road endurance event traversing terrain much tougher than convent ...

passed through Téra in 1986. In 1988, Téra, along with nine other Nigerien towns, received the status of an independent municipality.

Demographics

In the 2012 census, the municipality had 71,201 inhabitants living in 9157 households. Around 30,000 people lived in the urban area. The municipality is a settlement area of the Songhai,

and Mossi.

Commerce

Thursday is market day in Téra. Animals – mainly cattle, goats, sheep and domestic birds – are traded by farmers from all corners of the Department.

Notable people

* Fatou Djibo – educator, feminist and trade unionist

Gallery

File:Maison des Jeunes et de la Culture de Tera 01.jpg, House of Youth and Culture File:Complexe d'enseignement Supérieur (C.E.S Téra) 9.jpg, Amadou Soumaila School

References

Tillabéri Region Communes of Tillabéri Region {{Niger-geo-stub