Kingdom of Kano

The Kingdom of Kano was a Hausa kingdom in the north of what is now Nigeria that was established before 1000 AD, and lasted until the proclamation of the Sultanate of Kano by King Ali Yaji Dan Tsamiya in 1349. The capital is now the modern city of Kano in Kano State.

Physical geography
Kano lies to the north of the Jos Plateau, located in the Sudanian Savanna region that stretches across the south of the Sahel. The city lies near where the Kano and Challawa rivers flowing from the southwest converge to form the Hadejia River, which eventually flows into Lake Chad to the east. Traditionally, agriculture was based on lifting water to irrigate small parcels of land along river channels in the dry season, known as the Shadouf system. At the time when the kingdom was flourishing, tree cover would have been more extensive and the soil less degraded than it is today.

Background
Our knowledge of the early history of Kano comes largely from the Kano Chronicle, a compilation of oral tradition and some older documents composed in the late nineteenth century, as well as more recently conducted archaeology. In the 7th century, Dala Hill, a hill in Kano, was the site of a community that engaged in iron-working. It is unknown whether these were Hausa people or speakers of Niger–Congo languages. Some sources say they were Hausa-speaking hunter-gatherers known as Abagayawa who migrated from Gaya. There are still blacksmiths in Kano today who call themselves Abagayawa and claim descent from the early inhabitants of Kano. The Abagayawa also practiced the arts of medicine, beer-brewing, archery, drumming, minstresly and dancing.

The Arab geographer al-Yaqubi, writing in 872/873 CE (AH 259), describes a kingdom called "HBShH" with a city named "ThBYR" ruled by a king called "MRH" (none of these words are vocalized, so their actual pronunciation can vary), located between the Niger Bend and the Kingdom of Kanem. If the kingdom's name is vocalized as "Habasha" it would correspond with other Arabic language texts that also appear to refer to the Hausa, and would be the earliest reference to the Hausa region.

Kano was originally known as Dala, after the hill, and was referred to as such as late as the end of the 15th century and the beginning of the 16th by Bornoan sources. The hill was named after a man who built a house on it. He lived there with his wives and children. His oldest son, Garageje, was the great-grandfather of Barbushe, the most well-known pagan high priest of Dala. Barbushe was a great hunter who 'slew elephants with his stick and carried them on his head about nine miles.' He was the chief priest of Tsumburbura, the deity of Kano. Elizabeth Isichei notes that the description of Barbushe is similar to those of Sao people.

Arrival of Bagauda
At about the 10th-century, several immigrant groups arrived in Kano, one of them led by a man named Bagauda. He was said to be a descendant of the legendary Bayajidda of Daura. At first he settled in Garazawa, a district between Jakara and Damagaram. He then founded the town of Sheme (about 64km north-northwest of Kunchi) after defeating the pagan leaders in 999 AD and reigned as the first Sarkin Kano ('king of Kano') till 1063 AD. He was given the nickname of Yakano, where the name of the kingdom is said to derive. However, it only during the reign of Gijimasu (1095–1134) that the city of Kano was built. According to the Kano Chronicle, Bagauda arrived with Buram, Isa, Baba, Kududdufi, Akasa, "and others of the Kano chiefs" all of whom were "men of princely clan" from Daura. The names are preserved as titles of princes to this day. Some of these titles are: Dan Buram, Dan Isa, Dan Baba, Dan Akasan, Dan Kududdufi, Dan Darman, and Dan Goriba.

Bagauda's grandson Gijimasu (1095–1134), the third sarki, began building city walls at the foot of Dala Hill, and Gijimasu's son, Tsaraki (1136–1194), the fifth king, completed them during his reign. The Bagauda dynasty steadily extended the kingdom through conquest of nearby communities. They established numerous sub-rulers, with titles starting with "Dan", of which the most important was Dan Iya.

Ali Yaji
Ali Yaji (1349–85) presided over the introduction of the Abrahamic religions in Kano. He brought in holy men from Wangara, presumably Mali. He extended Kano's reach and launched an unsuccessful expedition into the Kwarafa region. He became the last king of Kano when, in the 1350s, after conquering Rano and Santolo, he made Islam the state religion and proclaimed an end to the kingdom. Kano from then on became an Islamic sultanate and its leaders took on the title of Sultan.