Kingdom · 1150–1900
Gobir
The northernmost Hausa state was Hausaland's shield against the Tuareg.
At a glance
- When did the Gobir exist?
- From 12th century, in Asben to the Hausa line at Tibiri, to colonial rule. It was at its height around 1764.
- What was the capital of the Gobir?
- Alkalawa.
- What was the ruler of the Gobir called?
- Sarkin Gobir.
- What happened to the Gobir?
- Several Sarkin Gobir reign today: at Sabon Birni, Isa and Gatawa in Sokoto State, in Kebbi, Katsina and Kwara (Ilorin) States, and at Tibiri in Niger.
- Who lives in the lands of the Gobir today?
- Hausa
Overview
The northernmost Hausa state was Hausaland's shield against the Tuareg. Its kings traced their line through Bana Turmi to the Copts, and they first ruled in Asben, perhaps at Marandet. Tuareg pressure and the rise of Agadez drove them south, to Goran Rami and Birnin Lalle. In the 18th century Gobir became the terror of its neighbours: Soba raided as far as Ilorin, and Babari destroyed Birnin Zamfara and built Alkalawa. It was in Gobir that Usman dan Fodio preached, and Gobir's war on him in 1804 began the jihad. Alkalawa fell in 1808; the Hausa line fought on from Tibiri in today's Niger.[1],[2]Medium confidence
Through the centuries
- 12th–15th century
Gobir in Asben
The Gobir ruling house traces its migration from Arabia by way of Bilma, where its first king Bana Turmi died, to Asben (Aïr), where it allied with the Hausa of the Adrar against the Tuareg. The kingdom may have centred on the trading town of Marandet. Leo Africanus later describes Gobir's herders, weavers and its shoes “made like those of the ancient Romans”, sold as far as Timbuktu and Gao.[1]Medium confidence
- 15th–17th century
Driven south by Agadez
The Tuareg found the Sultanate of Agadez early in the 15th century and replace Gobir in Aïr. The Gobirawa move south, first to Maigali and then to Goran Rami near today's Sabon Birni; some stay behind as the Adarawa. Gobir is held to guard its sister states from the desert raiders.[1]Medium confidence
Capital: Goran Rami (approximate)
- c. 1715–1742
Soba's wars
With Zamfara and Agadez, Gobir helps throw off Kebbi's overlordship around 1715. Gobirawa settle in Zamfara's farmlands. Then Sarki Soba besieges Zabarma for three years, crosses the Niger to ravage Gurma and raids south as far as Ilorin, where Gobirawa stay and still have their Sarkin Gobir. He besieges Katsina's Maradi for seven years; Agadez attacks Goran Rami in his absence, and Zamfara saves it by fencing the Agadez army in with thorns at night. Soba's men at last desert him and he dies fighting Agadez.[1],[2]Medium confidence
Capital: Goran Rami (approximate)
- 1742–1777
Babari: Birnin Zamfara destroyed, Alkalawa built
Babari murders his father to take the throne and raids Katsina, Kano and Shirra. After fifteen years he turns on his ally Zamfara, though his sister is its queen; Zamfara's captains abandon their king, and Gobir sacks Birnin Zamfara around 1756–1762. Babari builds his new walled capital, Alkalawa, on the Rima, on farmland Zamfara had once given Gobir's settlers. In the same years Katsina's Agwaragi beats Sarki Yakubu and takes his sword.[1],[2],[3]Medium confidence
Capital: Alkalawa
- 1777–1797
Bawa Jan Gwarzo
Bawa Jan Gwarzo besieges Zamfara's last king in his hill fortress of Kiawa for fifteen years, takes him and hangs his head on a fig tree. Bawa invites the young Fulani scholar Usman dan Fodio to Gobir; dan Fodio settles at Degel, preaches, and teaches Bawa's nephew Yunfa. The Coptic origin of the dynasty may be Bawa's invention, to stop paying tribute to Bornu.[1],[2]Medium confidence
Capital: Alkalawa
- 1797–1808
Yunfa and the jihad
Nafata (1797–1798) reverses Bawa's tolerance and fears the arms of dan Fodio's community. Yunfa, once dan Fodio's pupil, tries to kill him and drives him from Degel in 1804. Dan Fodio's Fulani and Hausa followers rise; Gobir wins at Tsuntua, but the jihad spreads across Hausaland, and on 3 October 1808 Alkalawa falls and Yunfa is killed.[1],[4]High confidence
Capital: Alkalawa
- 1808–1900
Fighting on from Tibiri
Sarki Ali dan Yakubu and then Mayaki keep up the fight in the north-east. With the Hausa king of Katsina at Maradi, Mayaki builds a new capital at Tibiri in 1836; the same year Sultan Bello crushes a Gobir rising at Gawakuke. The Gobirawa scatter to Birnin Kadaye, Gawon Bazau and Tibiri, and in 1853 a party under Dan Halima founds Sabon Birnin Dan Halima on the Bunsuru.[1]Medium confidence
Capital: Tibiri
Wars, treaties and turning points
Today
Sarkin Gobir, Sabon Birni
Several Sarkin Gobir reign today: at Sabon Birni, Isa and Gatawa in Sokoto State, in Kebbi, Katsina and Kwara (Ilorin) States, and at Tibiri in Niger.[1]High confidence
Its people
Living in its lands today
Peoples whose homelands lie inside its lands at its height, by number of LGAs.
Sources
Every claim carries a confidence level: high (well attested), medium (one source or approximate) or disputed (sources disagree).