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Kingdom · 1010–1902

Zazzau

Zegzeg, Zaria and Abuja (in exile)

The southernmost of the seven Hausa states grew from rival city-states, Turunku and Kufena chief among them.

Watch the Zazzau on the old map

At a glance

When did the Zazzau exist?
From c. 1010 (Zazzau king list) to the British occupy Abuja, 1902. It was at its height around 1576.
What was the capital of the Zazzau?
Zaria.
What was the ruler of the Zazzau called?
Sarkin Zazzau.
What happened to the Zazzau?
Two thrones carry Zazzau's name: the Emir of Zazzau at Zaria, of the Fulani dynasty, and the Emir of Suleja, heir of the Hausa kings who fled in 1808 and still styled Sarkin Zazzau.
Who lives in the lands of the Zazzau today?
Hausa, Gbagyi, Adara (Kadara), Atsam (Chawai), Atyap, Ham (Hyam), Jarawa (Jhar), Kambari

Overview

The southernmost of the seven Hausa states grew from rival city-states, Turunku and Kufena chief among them. In the 1530s Bakwa of Turunku took Kufena and built a new capital, Zaria, named after her daughter. Her other daughter Amina became the most famous general in Hausa history, campaigning for decades as far as Nupe and Kwararafa and walling the towns she took. Zazzau gathered captives from the south for the markets of Kano and Katsina, and was at times subject to Songhai, Bornu and Kwararafa. The jihad took Zaria in 1808; its Hausa kings held out at Abuja, today's Suleja, until the British came in 1902.[1],[5],[8]Medium confidence

The regnal list dates Gunguma to 1010; Abdullahi Smith thought the Hausa city-states much older than any single state.

Through the centuries

  1. c. 1010–1390

    Turunku and Kufena

    Tradition makes Gunguma, a descendant of Bayajidda, the first king of Zazzau. Historians see instead a cluster of Hausa city-states, of which Turunku and Kufena were the strongest and held authority over the rest. The capital moved between Turunku, Wuciciri, Rikoci and Kawar.[1],[2]Disputed

    Capital: Turunku (approximate)

  2. 1390–1456

    Wars with Kano

    Kano's Kanajeji besieges the capital and is beaten, then returns the next year, kills the king of Zazzau and routs his army. Sarki Dauda of Kano campaigns against Zazzau again in the 1420s and 30s. The Kano Chronicle places Amina in Dauda's time; Zazzau's own tradition puts her a century and a half later.[4],[3],[5]Medium confidence

    Capital: Turunku (approximate)

  3. 1456–1536

    Islam arrives slowly

    The Zaria chronicle dates the coming of Islam to about 1456, but it spreads slowly and the old rites continue at court until the Fulani conquest. Zazzau falls at times under the overlordship of Songhai and Bornu.[1],[2]Medium confidence

    Capital: Turunku (approximate)

  4. 1536–1576

    Bakwa Turunku builds Zaria

    Bakwa, ruler of Turunku, takes power at Kufena and builds a new capital just east of it, named Zaria after her daughter. Her son Ibrahim (1539–1566) and her younger brother Karama (1566–1576) begin the expansion, with Bakwa's daughter Amina rising as Karama's leading general.[1],[5]Medium confidence

    Capital: Zaria

  5. 1576–1610

    Amina's wars

    Some traditions make Amina queen after Karama; others say she was a princess who ruled the lands she conquered. For 34 years her army, said to be 20,000 foot and 1,000 horse, campaigns south-east and south-west, since Kano, Katsina and the Jos Plateau block the other ways. She reaches Kwararafa and Nupe and takes Bauchi and Yauri; the Nupe king sends her 40 eunuchs and 10,000 kola nuts. Earthen walls, ganuwar Amina, ring her camps and towns. Sultan Bello later claimed Kano and Katsina paid her tribute. She is said to have died in battle at Attaagar, perhaps near Idah.[5],[1],[7]Medium confidence

    Capital: Zaria

  6. 1610–1800

    Slaves for the northern markets

    After Amina, Zazzau is the great collecting point for captives taken from the southern peoples and sold in Kano and Katsina for Saharan salt. Kwararafa attacks it around 1680, and like its neighbours it falls at times under Kwararafa and Bornu. Amina's sister Zaria is said to succeed her.[1],[5],[6]Medium confidence

    Capital: Zaria

  7. 1808–1828

    The jihad takes Zaria

    In December 1808 jihad forces under Malam Musa take Zaria. The Hausa king Muhammadu Makau leads much of the nobility south to the Koro town of Zuba, among chiefdoms that had paid Zazzau tribute, and goes on calling himself Sarkin Zazzau.[8],[1]High confidence

    Capital: Zuba (in exile)

  8. 1828–1902

    The Hausa kingdom at Abuja

    Makau's brother Abu Ja (Jatau) founds Abuja in 1828 and walls it the next year, ruling as Sarkin Zazzau. The little kingdom beats off Fulani Zaria's attacks and stays an independent Hausa refuge; under Abu Kwaka (1851–1877) it opens trade with Bida and Zaria. In 1902, when Abuja's men cut the road from Lokoja to Zaria, the British occupy the town.[8]High confidence

    Capital: Abuja (now Suleja)

Wars, treaties and turning points

Today

Emir of Zazzau; Emir of Suleja, Zaria

Two thrones carry Zazzau's name: the Emir of Zazzau at Zaria, of the Fulani dynasty, and the Emir of Suleja, heir of the Hausa kings who fled in 1808 and still styled Sarkin Zazzau.[1],[8]High confidence

Its people

Hausa

Living in its lands today

Peoples whose homelands lie inside its lands at its height, by number of LGAs.

Hausa, Gbagyi, Adara (Kadara), Atsam (Chawai), Atyap, Ham (Hyam), Jarawa (Jhar), Kambari, Koro, Reshe (Gungawa)

Sources

Every claim carries a confidence level: high (well attested), medium (one source or approximate) or disputed (sources disagree).

  1. Wikipedia contributors. Kingdom of Zazzau
  2. Wikipedia contributors. Zaria (Zazzau)
  3. Wikipedia contributors. Kanajeji (quotes Palmer’s Kano Chronicle)
  4. Wikipedia contributors. Kingdom of Kano
  5. Wikipedia contributors. Amina of Zazzau
  6. Wikipedia contributors. Kwararafa
  7. Wikipedia contributors. Kingdom of Katsina
  8. Wikipedia contributors. Suleja Emirate