Rise of the Sultanate

Ali Yaji (1349–85) accepted Islam from the Wangarawa people, a Soninke sub-tribe from Mali. He then relinquished the Cult of Tsumbubura, the principal cult of the patron goddess of Kano. According to the Kano Chronicle, in around 1350, the Cult of Tsumbubura, which was based in Santolo Hill, rebelled against Yaji. A civil war ensued, culminating in the Battle of Santolo. After his victory, Ali Yaji set out on a wave of conquests. He conquered Rano, extending Kano's reach, and launched a successful^{[contradictory]} expedition into the Kwararafa region.^[2]

During the reign of Kanejeji (1390-1410), the cult of Tsumbubura saw a momentary resurgence. After failing to pacify Zukzuk, the parent state of the Sultanate of Zazzau, Kanajeji converted to Hausa Animism. He introduced the armored cavalry Lifidi, which he used to subdue the Zukzuk occupying the city of Turunku.

During the Reign of Umaru, son of Kanejeji (1410-1421), Sufi Islam made its first inroads to Kano. The Kano Chronicle recalls Umaru's reign as that of peace and prosperity. He restored the Sultanate and strengthened religious institutions with Sufism.

Kanoan Empire

In the reign of Muhammadu Rumfa, the Sultanate succeeded in maintaining its independence when the Sultan took the daughter of Askia the Great, Auwa, as his wife. Later on, the rebellion of Kanta of Kebbi against the Songhai allowed the sultanate to attempt expansion into former Songhai tributary states. Auwa later on became the first female Madaki of Kano and guided her grandson, Muhammadu Kisoki, to assert the First Kanoan Empire. In his reign, the Sultan of Kano was said to have ruled the whole of the Hausa land.^[3] Both Abubakr Kado (1565–73) and Muhammadu Shashere (1573–82) attempted to subdue Borno but failed; however, they maintained Kano's hold on the rest of Hausa land and Kwararrafa. The Empire lasted until the reign of Muhammadu Nazaki (1618–23). A decline in trade throughout the Sudanic area, possibly caused by environmental degradation, has been cited as probable cause. Ancient cities like Wadan and other Songhai strongholds experienced similar misfortunes.

House of Kutumbi

Muhammadu Kutumbi was the last Kanoan Sultan to preside over the empire. During his reign, multiple rebellions slowly degraded the empire; he died in attempt to subdue one at Katsina in 1648. By the time of Muhammadu Shekarau (1649–51), Kano had signed peace treaties with most of its former tributaries. The relative peace, however, exposed the House of Kutumbi to internal trifles. In 1652, Muhammadu Kukuna was overthrown. This led to the Second Kanoan Civil War. By the time he was restored, the economy of the sultanate had been greatly devastated.^{[citation needed]}

Decline and Fall

By the 1700s, Fula clans, invigorated by their success in Takrur and the Futa area, were beginning to assert control over much of Sudanic West Africa. In Kano, the most powerful clan, the Jobawa, were relatively pacified by a seat in the council of state, the Taran Kano. Other clans were competing with the sultanate for control. Economic decline had forced the successive sultans to raise taxes to the point that Tuareg clans were abandoning Kano.^{[citation needed]}

Muhammad Sharefa (1703–1731) and his successor, Kumbari dan Sharefa (1731–1743), both engaged the Fula in major battles.^{[citation needed]} During this period Kano was a thriving city with advanced medical knowledge and a diverse economy, although Katsina had overtaken it in preeminence among the Hausa states. Muskets and gunpowder were manufactured locally, and the city of Timbuktu depended on the Sultanate for protection. Babban Zaki (1747-1771) grew the sultanate's cavalry force and his personal bodyguard. ^{[4]: 381, 446–7}

The Fulani under the Sokoto Caliphate finally established control when Muhammadu Bakatsine, leader of the Jobawa Fulani, rebelled against Muhammadu Alwali Ibn Yaji, the last sultan of Kano. He was deposed in 1805 and killed in 1807.^{[citation needed]} Kano then became an emirate subject to Sokoto.^[1]