List of Sultans of Sokoto
The Sokoto Caliph was the ruler of the Sokoto Caliphate. The official title is Sultan of Sokoto and includes the title "Amir-ul-Momineen". The post has become increasingly ceremonial since British rule, but the Sultan, considered a spiritual leader in the Muslim community in Nigeria, can still carry a lot of weight with Fulani and Hausa people from northern Nigeria.
Shaihu Usman dan Fodio, the founder of the dynasty of Sokoto State and of the Fulani Empire (consisting of the Fulbe Jihad states of which Sokoto was suzerain), never used the high style of Sultan (his son was the first to do so), but was simply titled Amir al-Mu´minin, also styled Lamido Julbe (which literally means Governor of the believers in Fulani). The sultan of Sokoto is the leader of the Qadiriyya sufi order, historically the most important Muslim position in Nigeria and senior to the Emir of Kano, the leader of the less populous Tijaniyya sufi order.[1]
List of Sultans
As mentioned above, the Sultans were also styled Amir al-Mu´minin and Sarkin Musulmi ("King of the Muslims", basically the autochthonous form of the former, which is the Arabic style of Caliphs and other independent sovereign Muslim rulers that claim legitimacy from a community of Muslims); Mai, occurring in various Sultans' surnames, is another autochthonous title.
# | Name | Birth and death | Reign started | Reign ended | Lineage |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Usman dan Fodio | 1754 Gobir – 1817 Sokoto (aged 63) |
1804 | 1815 | |
2 | Muhammed Bello | 1781 Unknown – 1837 Wurno (aged 58) |
21 April 1817 | 25 October 1837 | Son of Usman dan Fodio |
3 | Abubakar I Atiku | 1782 Unknown – 1842 Sokoto (aged 60) |
26 October 1837 | 23 November 1842 | Son of Usman dan Fodio |
4 | Ali Babba bin Bello | 1808 Unknown – 1859 Sokoto (aged 51) |
30 November 1842 | 21 October 1859 |
Son of Muhammed Bello |
5 | Ahmadu Atiku | 24 October 1859 | 2 November 1866 | Son of Abu Bakr Atiku | |
6 | Aliu Karami | 6 November 1866 | 18 October 1867 | Son of Muhammed Bello | |
7 | Ahmadu Rufai | 21 October 1867 | 12 March 1873 | Son of Usman dan Fodio | |
8 | Abubakar II Atiku na Raba | 16 March 1873 | 28 March 1877 | Son of Muhammed Bello | |
9 | Mu'azu | 6 April 1877 | 26 September 1881 | Son of Muhammed Bello | |
10 | Umaru bin Ali | 3 October 1881 | 25 March 1891 | Son of Ali Babba bin Bello | |
11 | Abderrahman dan Abi Bakar | 25 March 1891 | 10 October 1902 | Son of Abu Bakr Atiku | |
12 | Muhammadu Attahiru I | 13 October 1902 | 15 March 1903 | Son of Ahmadu Atiku | |
13 | Muhammadu Attahiru II | 21 March 1903 | 1915 | Son of Ali Babba bin Bello | |
14 | Muhammadu dan Ahmadu | 1915 | 1924 | ||
15 | Muhammadu dan Muhammadu | 1924 | 1931 | ||
16 | Hasan dan Mu'azu Ahmadu | 1931 | 1938 | ||
17 | Siddiq Abubakar III | 15 March 1903 Dange – 1 November 1988 Sokoto (aged 85) |
1938 | 1988 | Grandson of Mu'azu |
18 | Ibrahim Dasuki | 23 December 1923 Dogondaji - |
6 November 1988 | 20 April 1996 (deposed) | Great-great-grandson of Uthman dan Fodio[2] |
19 | Muhammadu Maccido | 20 April 1926 Dange Shuni – 29 October 2006 (near Abuja) (aged 80) |
20 April 1996 | 29 October 2006 | Son of Siddiq Abubakar III |
20 | Sa'adu Abubakar | 24 August 1956 Sokoto – |
2 November 2006 | Current | Son of Siddiq Abubakar III |
References
See also
Sources and references
- Falola, Toyin, (2009) Historical Dictionary of Nigeria Scarecrow Press: Lanham, Md.
- Burdon, J. A. (1907) "Sokoto History: Tables of Dates and Genealogy" Journal of the Royal African Society Volume 6, #24.