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Before the British took control of Nigeria in the late 19th century, many empires and kingdoms in Nigeria were well-established and flourishing.

The greatest ancient Empires in Northern Nigeria | Pulse Nigeria

Oluwatumininu Dunmade

A handful of such societies were in the Northern part of Nigeria, where small communities grew to be great formidable empires.

Empires like Kano, Zaria, Gobir, Kanem-Borno, and Daura in Kastina have existed as far back as the 10th century AD and greatly benefitted from the Trans-Saharan trade. These states being close to the major trade routes and cities of the Trans-Saharan trade was one of the many advantages these city-states had.&nbsp;

They maximized this by setting up well-structured market environments, placing taxes on goods travelling through their major cities, and making proper provisions for travelers' necessities. Soon enough, these trading centers became major cities and enriched the governments.

As the economy grew, there was a need for more organized, standard and strict government structures to be put in place. Most of these states practiced a centralized system of government where the head of state had absolute sovereign power over the state.

&nbsp;In Kano, the region became the base for the trans-Saharan trade in salt, cloth, leather, and grain. It became one of the most powerful city-states in Hausaland and commanded wealth and influence among the Hausa states.

Kanem-Borno was also another empire that was a force to reckon with. It existed from the 9th century to the 19th century AD. Its territories spread beyond the boundaries of modern-day northeastern Nigeria, to parts of Cameroon, Chad, Libya and Niger at different times.

It was an important point in trade between North Africa, the Nile Valley, and the sub-Saharan region.

One of the major factors that prevented the Hausa city-states from growing beyond what they attained at that time, even with so much potential to be more, was the constant enmity they had amongst themselves.

Even though these empires shared the same lineage, language and culture, they were still very much characterized by fierce rivalries with each other. Each state wanted to gain supremacy over the other, waging war and working with outsiders and intruders to see to the defeat of their sister state.&nbsp;

In the midst of the status quo, the Sokoto Caliphate, probably the most established and structured government northern Nigeria has ever seen, came to the surface.

Taking full advantage of the enmity amongst the Hausa state, the Fulani Jihad of the early 1800s brought together under one umbrella all the states in northern Nigeria and even extended to regions like Nupe and Ilorin, southwest of Sokoto.

This caliphate brought decades of prosperity and progress to the northern states before the British overthrew it between the late 19th century and early 20th century AD.

The greatest ancient Empires in Northern Nigeria

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