In the Middle Ages, on the territory of Hausaland (northern Nigeria, southern Niger), there were city-states ( Kano , Zaria , Zamfara , Kaduna , Daura , etc.). Their heyday came in the 15th-19th centuries, when they became important shopping centers along the path of caravans involved in trans-Saharan trade .
In the city-states, craft (leather processing) and agriculture were also developed.
There were 7 so-called native city-states (Hausa bakwai, from the number seven in the Hausa language) and included in the Hausaland later.
At the beginning of the 19th century, the Hausan city-states were conquered by the Fulba troops led by Usman Dan Fodio and included in the Sokoto caliphate . Some modern states of northern Nigeria repeat the names of medieval city-states (Kano, Katsina, Zaria).
Establishment of Hausan city states
The management system of the Hausan city-states can be considered on the example of Kano, about which the German traveler Heinrich Barth in the 40s left a detailed description. XIX century The supreme authority in Kano was vested with a ruler, a sarca , whom he shared with his eldest son. Sarki was a "landowner", and also had the right to administer justice, collect taxes, and recruit soldiers [1] .
A council of ministers was also formed in Kano. Among prominent officials, G. Bart called the slave manager , the military chief of the stable .
The jurisdiction of the village headman at the local level included the function of collecting taxes, performing judicial functions in the village and providing housing for arrivals. The village headman was an authoritative person who was perceived as "the father and soul of the village." He analyzed family problems and problems arising between people, all important news was immediately reported to the village headman [2] .
See also
- House
Notes
- ↑ Ehrensaft P. The Political Economy of Informal Empire in Pre-Colonial Nigeria, 1807-1884 // Canadian Journal of African Studies / Revue Canadienne des Études Africaines, Vol. 6, No. 3. (1972), pp. 451-490.
- ↑ Miles WFS Hausaland Divided: Colonialism and Independence in Nigeria and Niger. - Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1994.