The Hausa Kingdoms: The Grouping Of West African Kingdom

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: The Hausa Kingdoms
The Hausa Kingdoms were a grouping of west African states that were located between Lake Chad to the west and the Niger River to the east. The African ethnic group which populated these kingdoms and the area in general from 700 AD are known as the Hausa people with one of the oldest kingdom being Daura located in modern-day northern Nigeria. The Hausa Kingdoms included Kano, Katsina, Zazzau, Gobir, Rano, Daura and Biram and were founded in 1000 AD. The kingdoms are also known as ‘Hausa Bakwai’ which means ‘Seven True Hausa States’. The language utilized by these Africans is also called Hausa. The written record of the Hausa people is contained in a document called the Kano Chronicle which focuses primarily on the Kano Kingdom. In addition to the seven primary Hausa Kingdoms there were a further seven satellite states named Kebbi, Yauri, Gwari, Nupe, Kororofa, Yoruba and Zamfara. The …show more content…

The founder of the kingdom was King Turunku and Queen Bakwa Turunku who were the 22nd King and Queen to rule in the area of Zazzau. The capital city was known as Zaria and became the new capital after it was moved from the previous capital called Turunku due to an increased need for easy access to water. The daughter of Queen Bakwa Turunku was named Princess Amina who became Queen and ruler of the kingdom in 1576 AD. Queen Amina was a Hausa Muslim and was known as a skilled military strategist and conqueror. Queen Amina controlled many of the trade routes in the region and conquered as far as Nupe in the south and Kwarafa. Queen Amina trained her own cavalry and built walled forts around each area that she conquered which she named ‘Ganuwar Amina’ which means ‘Amina’s Walls’. The city of Zaria itself was encompassed by over 10 miles of walls which still stand until present day. Queen Amina is also mentioned in the Kano Chronicle where is states the

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