The Sokoto Caliphate was a loose confederation of emirates that recognized the suzerainty of the Amir al-Mu'minin.[1] The caliphate was established in 1809 and later became the largest pre-colonial African state.[2] The boundaries of the caliphate are part of present-day Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Nigeria.[3]
According to historian Mahmud Modibbo Tukur, by the turn of the 20th-century, the Sokoto Caliphate covered an area of about 150,000 square miles (388,500 square kilometers), not including parts of Adamawa (Fombina), located in modern-day Cameroon, which is estimated to cover over 100,000 square kilometers.[4]
At the end of the 19th-century, the Caliphate comprised 30 emirates, excluding its twin capitals of Gwandu and Sokoto. Some of these emirates had autonomous sub-emirates under them, with Adamawa having the most, numbering over 40.[4]
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According to Yusufu Bala Usman, the emirates were:
| Emirate | Date joined | Capital |
|---|---|---|
| Adamawa Emirate (Fombina) | 1809 (created) | Yola |
| Agaie Emirate | 1832 (created) | Agaie |
| Bauchi Emirate | 1809 (created) | Bauchi |
| Bida Emirate | 1835 | Bida |
| Birnin-Gaoure | Birni N'Gaouré | |
| Bitinkogi | Lamorde | |
| Daura Emirate | 1805 | Daura |
| Gelajo | Gelajo | |
| Gombe Emirate | 1804 (created) | Gombe |
| Gwandu Emirate | 1809 (created) | Gwandu |
| Hadejia Emirate | Hadejia | |
| Jama'are Emirate | Jama'are | |
| Jema'a Emirate | Jema'a | |
| Junju | ||
| Illorin Emirate | 1824 (created) | Illorin |
| Kano Emirate | 1807 | Kano |
| Katagum Emirate | 1807 (created) | Katagum |
| Katsina Emirate | 1807 | Katsina |
| Kazaure Emirate | Kazaure | |
| Kebbi Emirate | 1808 | Argungu |
| Kontagora Emirate | 1864 (created) | Kontagora |
| Lapai Emirate | 1825 (created) | Lapai |
| Lafiagi Emirate | Lafiagi | |
| Liptako Emirate | Dori | |
| Missau Emirate | Missau | |
| Muri Emirate (Hammanruwa) | Muri | |
| Nasarawa Emirate | 1838 (created) | Lafia |
| Say | Say | |
| Shonga Emirate | ||
| Torodi | Lamorde | |
| Yaga | Sebba | |
| Yauri Emirate | Yauri | |
| Zazzau Emirate | 1804 | Zaria |
- ^ "Usman dan Fodio and the Sokoto Caliphate". countrystudies.us. Retrieved 2023-04-22.
- ^ "The Sokoto Caliphate". Retrieved 2023-04-22.
- ^ Lofkrantz, Jennifer (2012). "Intellectual Discourse in the Sokoto Caliphate: The Triumvirate's Opinions on the Issue of Ransoming, ca. 1810". The International Journal of African Historical Studies. 45 (3): 385–401. ISSN 0361-7882. JSTOR 24393055.
- ^ a b Lovejoy, Paul E. (2016). Jihād in West Africa during the Age of Revolutions. Internet Archive. Athens : Ohio University Press. pp. 259–260. ISBN 978-0-8214-2240-3.