Zazzau

The 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 Alhaji Ahmed Nuhu Bamalli who succeeded the former emir, late Alhaji Shehu Idris.[1]

This article is about the traditional state. For for the city formerly named Zazzau, see Zaria.
Zazzau
Traditional state
Gate to the palace of the emir of Zazzau
Flag
Zazzau
Coordinates: 11°04′N 7°42′E
Country Nigeria
StateKaduna State
Government
 • TypeMonarch
 • EmirAhmed Nuhu Bamalli

Early Hausa kingdom

The most important source for the early history of Zazzau is a chronicle composed in the early 20th century from oral tradition. It tells the traditional story of the foundation of the Hausa kingdoms by the culture hero Bayajidda, and gives a list of rulers along with the length of their reigns. According to this chronology, the original Hausa or Habe kingdom is said to date from the 11th century, founded by King Gunguma.[2] This source also makes it one of the seven Hausa Bakwai states. Zazzau's most famous early ruler was Queen (or princess) Amina, who ruled either in the mid-15th or mid-16th centuries, and was held by Muhammed Bello, an early 19th-century Hausa historian and the second Sultan of Sokoto, to have been the first to establish a kingdom among the Hausa.[3]

Zazzau was a collection point for slaves to be delivered to the northern markets of Kano and Katsina, where they were exchanged for salt with traders who carried them north of the Sahara.[4] According to the history in the chronicle, Islam was introduced to the kingdom around 1456, but appears to have spread slowly, and pagan rituals continued until the Fulani conquest of 1808. At several times in its history, Zazzau was subject to neighboring states such as Songhai, Bornu and Kwararafa.[5]

Later Fulani emirate

In December 1808 the kingdom was captured in the Fulani jihad.[6] The Hausa ruler had escaped to Abuja, where he established a state now known as the Suleja Emirate, retaining his independence and the title of "Sarkin Zazzau". The ruler of the modern Zazzau Emirate also uses the title "Sarkin Zazzau" or "Sarkin Zaria". After the jihad, the culturally similar but pastoral or nomadic Fulani intermarried with the more settled Habe farmers, and the people of the Emirate today are generally known as Hausa-Fulani. The government of the Zaria Emirate differed from other emirates created at this time in that offices were rarely hereditary, but were appointed based on merit or obligation.[5]

Rulers

Hausa kingdom

Rulers of the Hausa kingdom:[6]

StartEndRuler
16961701Bako III dan Musa
17011703Ishaq
17031704Burema II Ashakuka
17041715Bako IV dan Sunkuru
17151726Muhamman dan Gunguma
17261733Uban Bawa
17331734Muhamman Gani
17341734Abu Muhammadu Gani
17341737Dan Ashakuka
17371757Muhamman Abu III
17571759Bawo
17591764Yunusa
17641767Yaqub
17671773Aliyu
17731779Cikkoku
17791782Muhamman Mai Gamo
1782November 1806Ishaq Jatau
November 1806December 1808Muhammad Makau dan Ishaq Jatau

Independent Fulani rulers

Rulers of the independent Fulani emirate:[6]

StartEndRuler
31 December 180817 May 1821Malam Musa ibn Suleiman Ibn Muhammad
June 18211835Yamusa ibn Mallam Kilba
183518 December 1846Abd al-Karim ibn Abbas
6 January 184728 February 1847Hammada ibn Yamusa
15 Apr 1847Apr 1854Muhammad Sani ibn Yamusa
Apr 1854Dec 1854Sidi `Abd al-Qadir ibn Musa
Jan 18555 Aug 1856Abd as-Salam ibn Muhammad Ka'i
21 Sep 1856Oct/Nov 1870Abd Allah ibn Hammada (1st time)
22 Nov 1870Jun/Jul 1873Abu Bakr ibn Musa (d. 1873)
Aug/Sep 1873Nov/Dec 1878Abd Allah ibn Hammada (2nd time)
26 Dec 1878Jan 1888Muhammad Sambo ibn Abd al-Karim
Jan 188813 Feb 1897Uthman Yero ibn Abd Allah (d. 1897)
17 Apr 1897Mar 1903Muhammad Lawal Kwassau ibn Uthman Yero

Colonial period and later rulers

Rulers of the independent Fulani emirate:[6]

StartEndRuler
March 19038 April 1903Sulayman (regent from 11 Sep 1902)
8 April 19049 November 1920Ali ibn Abd al-Qadir (d. 1924)
19201924Dallatu ibn Uthman Yero
19241936Ibrahim ibn Muhammad Lawal Kwassau (b. c.1886 - d. 1936)
1936August 1959Malam Jafar ibn Ishaq (b. 1891 - d. 1959)
September 19594 February 1975Muhammad al-Amin ibn Uthman (b. 1908 - d. 1975)
8 February 197520 September 2020Shehu Idris (b. 1936 - d. 2020)[7]
7 October 2020Ahmed Nuhu Bamalli (b. 1966 - to date)
  • Dan Isaacs (September 28, 2010). "Nigeria's emirs: Power behind the throne". BBC News. Retrieved 2010-09-29.

References
  1. Isa Liman (4 January 2010). "Zazzau Emirate Council to Send Man Who Lost Private Part Abroad for Treatment". Daily Trust. Retrieved 2010-09-29.
  2. E. J. Arnett, "A Hausa Chronicle" Journal of the Royal African Society 9 (1910)
  3. Muhammad Bello, Infaq 'l-Maysuur, chapter 7, translated Muhammad Shareef, (Sennar, Sudan,2008) http://www.siiasi.org/Chapter%207%20_Infaaq_.pdf
  4. "Zaria". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 2010-09-29.
  5. M. G. Smith, International African Institute. (1960). "Government in Zazzau, 1800-1950". Oxford University Press. Retrieved 2010-09-29.
  6. "Traditional States of Nigeria". WorldStatesmen.org. Retrieved 2010-09-01.
  7. "Just in Emir of Zaria Shehu Idris dies at 84". 20 September 2020. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
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