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| 3. Hausaland |
| 900–1100 Onward |
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| The beginning of state formation in Hausaland. Walled Hausa cities gradually became centers of political power, exerting influence over the surrounding countryside. | 1 |
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| 1200–1600 |
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| Rise of the seven city-states of Hausaland. City-states such as Kano, Katsina, Zazzau, Gobir, and Kebbi emerged with strong centralized governments. These city-states became important commercial centers. Some states developed strong military capabilities and undertook campaigns both within and beyond the borders of Hausaland. | 2 |
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| 1300–1400 |
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| Soninke merchants of the Malian Empire pushed the commercial frontier eastward, linking Hausaland of the central Sudan to the commercial centers in the sahel and the gold sources in the south. These merchants, the Wangara, engaged in trade and promoted Islam. Long-distance merchants promoted trade and Islam through settlements along trade routes. The Wangara and other Muslim African traders built COMMERCIAL DIASPORAS to facilitate trade across cultural boundaries. | 3 |
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| c. 1300–1400 |
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| Islam was initially introduced in Hausaland by foreigners, including the Fulani, Kanuri, and Wangarawa. At first the Hausa rulers remained wedded to their traditional beliefs, but by the 15th century, many Hausa rulers converted to Islam. By the mid-15th century, the Hausa ruling class had become increasingly Islamized, sparking a flowering of Muslim learning and piety in the Hausa city-states. The masses were slower to convert to Islam and largely maintained their traditional beliefs. The spread of Islam among Hausaland's ruling elites and merchants led to increased political centralization, the growth of literacy, and the expansion of the region's cultural world. The region's importance was due to a prosperous agricultural and herding economy, the development of important export-oriented craft industries, and a dense population. | 4 |
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| 1492 |
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| Commissioned by Muhammad Rumfa, ruler of Kano, al-Maghili wrote the Obligations of Princes, designed to guide Hausa rulers in proper Muslim administration. Conversion of Hausa rulers to Islam had accelerated in the 15th century, in response to increased commerce and the immigration of cattle-keeping Fulani, which helped to diversify the economy. Several Hausa rulers sought a more thoroughgoing Islamization of society, in part to secure their power over rival Hausa earth priests. Over the next century, mosques and schools were built, but the majority of the Hausa peasantry remained animists. | 5 |
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