Upon Usman’s death in 1817, Muhammad succeeded his father as sarkin musulmi (“commander of the faithful”) and became the first sultan of Sokoto and the spiritual and political leader of the Fulani empire. ThingsNigeria! The palace of Sultan of Sokoto is another key point of interest, The tomb of Uthman dan Fodio, the founder of the Sokoto Caliphate, is also frequented by visitors, including the Muslim faithful but also the simply curious. urban agglom., 815,000. Corrections? Updates? Pop. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). By 1809, after victory was confirmed, it became the official capital of the Sokoto Caliphate. Sokoto metropolis has thus been the capital of various governments since its establishment by Caliph Muhammad Bello in 1809. Sokoto was only a small village when selected to be the military headquarters (1804–05) of the Fulani jihad (holy war) led by Shehu (Sheikh) Usman dan Fodio, the first sarkin musulmi (“commander of the faithful”). Usman’s tomb and other holy shrines have made the place a pilgrimage centre. First Person Title: Governor. Even the name Sokoto bears the British imprint being an Anglophone rendering of what is known locally as Sakkwato, a derivative of “Suk,” the Arabic work for market, referring to an area where trading took place. Limestone and kaolin deposits are exploited. In 1809 he made his son, Muhammad Bello, emir of Sokoto and overlord of the eastern emirates. Several processing companies have taken advantage of the region’s produce to set up processing facilities in and around the city. Muhammad ruled from Sokoto, but it was not until Usman’s move (1814) to the town and his death there in 1817 that it became the spiritual headquarters of the Fulani people. Sokoto has continuously served as a capital for more than 200 years from its first appointment as the seat of the Fulani Caliphate in 1809. Traditional skills in working leather, dyeing and weaving cloths as well as smithing are widely practiced. Sokoto’s temperatures range from as low as 18 degrees Celsius at the peak of harmattan to as high as 45 degrees Celsius in the hot months of February and April.

Sign up for our surprises! Omissions? Sokoto signed a treaty of commerce with Great Britain in 1853. The 3-mile- (5-kilometre-) long Bakolori Dam (1975), one of the world’s longest, on the Sokoto River provides year-round irrigation in the Sokoto-Rima basin, but the project has become an economic disaster because the soil is becoming increasingly infertile as a result of irrigation and there is less water available downstream from the dam. While the area was already inhabited by farming and herding communities by the 17th century, it was in the 19th century that iit came to prominence as a city. It also has an airport. Most importantly, the city has remained all through the years the spiritual capital (with its Sultan as the spiritual leader) of Nigerian Muslims. Capital: Sokoto. The Kwiambana Game Reserve in the southeast is a major tourist attraction. When Shehu Uthman dan Fodio, the Fulani cleric whose people had emigrated from Guinea’s Futa Jalon highlands, started a jihad against the old Hausa states in 1804, Sokoto was the launch pad. The name Sokoto (which is the modern/anglicised version of the local name, Sakkwato) is of Arabic origin, representing suk, "market". Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox.

A generally arid region that gradually merges into the desert across the border in Niger republic, it has limited rainfall from mid-May to mid-September and is subjected to the Sahara’s harmattan (dry, dust-laden wind) from November to March. Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy, and the riverine floodplains produce cash crops of peanuts (groundnuts), cotton, and rice. Sokoto had been used as early as October 1804 by the great Shehu Usman Dan Fodiyo as the venue for the meeting with Galadima. Visiting dignitaries are usually welcomed with durbars, which is a mock charge by a colourful cavalry riding in full force. Sokoto town is served by several major roads and also has an airport. The Goronyo Dam, built on Rims River in 1981, is a large body of water that attracts picnickers. Gusau, a commercial and industrial centre, has a modern textile industry, a seed-oil mill, and a soybean-processing plant. Leatherworking is still done mainly by craftsmen in traditional mud-walled compounds. It lies along the Sokoto (Kebbi) River just east of the latter’s junction with the Rima River. It became a permanent capital of the Fulani empire in 1809, when Usman divided the empire into two sectors and made his son Muhammad Bello overlord of the eastern emirates. Sokoto, the capital and largest town in Sokoto state, northwestern Nigeria. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox.

This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/place/Sokoto-Nigeria. It was a substantially weakened Caliphate that the British colonialists met and subdued in battle in 1903. It lies along the Sokoto (Kebbi) River and is on a traditional caravan route that leads northward across the Sahara desert. Updates? Modern Sokoto is a major trade centre in leather crafts (a significant export), kola nuts, goatskins and sheepskins, cattle hides and camel hides, sorghum, millet, rice, fish, peanuts (groundnuts), cotton, onions, and tobacco. There are also northern routes linking the city to Niger Republic. Visitors also like to see the Shehu Kangiwa Square, the site of the battle in 1903 where the British defeated the Caliphate army. Gusau, a commercial and industrial centre, has a modern textile industry, a seed-oil mill, and a soybean-processing plant. The majority of the population is Muslim. Waziri Junaidu History and Culture Museum, which was set up in 1973, hosts tens of thousands of artefacts related to the history of Sokoto. After the Fulani victory in 1808 over the Hausa peoples of Gobir, Shehu (Sheikh) Usman dan Fodio, the jihad leader, split his vast domain into two spheres of influence.


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