page_title: Hausa Kingdoms
hierarchical_section_title: Hausa Kingdoms
caption_attribution_description: Lietuvių: Hausų valstybės English: Hausa Kingdoms
context_page_description: The Hausa Kingdom, also known as Hausa Kingdoms or Hausaland, was a collection of states started by the Hausa people, situated between the Niger River and Lake Chad. Hausaland lay between the Western Sudanic kingdoms of Ancient Ghana and Mali and the Eastern Sudanic kingdoms of Kanem-Bornu. Hausaland took shape as a political and cultural region during the first millennium CE as a result of the westward expansion of Hausa peoples. They arrived to Hausaland when the terrain was converting from woodlands to savannah. They started cultivating grains, which led to a denser peasant population. They had a common language, laws, and customs. The Hausa were known for fishing, hunting, agriculture, salt-mining, and blacksmithing. By the 14th century Kano had become the most powerful city-state. Kano had become the base for the trans-Saharan trade in salt, cloth, leather, and grain. The Hausa oral history is reflected in the Bayajidda legend, which describes the adventures of the Baghdadi hero Bayajidda culmulating in the killing of the snake in the well of Daura and the marriage with the local queen Magajiya Daurama.
context_section_description: The Hausa Kingdom, also known as Hausa Kingdoms or Hausaland, was a collection of states started by the Hausa people, situated between the Niger River and Lake Chad (modern day northern Nigeria). Hausaland lay between the Western Sudanic kingdoms of Ancient Ghana and Mali and the Eastern Sudanic kingdoms of Kanem-Bornu. Hausaland took shape as a political and cultural region during the first millennium CE as a result of the westward expansion of Hausa peoples. They arrived to Hausaland when the terrain was converting from woodlands to savannah. They started cultivating grains, which led to a denser peasant population. They had a common language, laws, and customs. The Hausa were known for fishing, hunting, agriculture, salt-mining, and blacksmithing.  By the 14th century Kano had become the most powerful city-state. Kano had become the base for the trans-Saharan trade in salt, cloth, leather, and grain. The Hausa oral history is reflected in the Bayajidda legend, which describes the adventures of the Baghdadi hero Bayajidda culmulating in the killing of the snake in the well of Daura and the marriage with the local queen Magajiya Daurama. According to the legend, the hero had a child with the queen, Bawo, and another child with the queen's maid-servant, Karbagari. Though the Hausa states shared the same lineage, language and culture, the states were characterized by fierce rivalries with each other with each state seeking supremacy over the others. They constantly waged war on each other and would often work with invaders to the detriment of their sister states, hindering their collective strength.
caption: Major cities of Hausaland. Modern borders are in red.
exif: {}