Emirates of the Sokoto Caliphate


The Sokoto Caliphate was a loose confederation of emirates that recognized the suzerainty of the Amir al-Mu'minin. The caliphate was established in 1809 and later became the largest pre-colonial African state. The boundaries of the caliphate are part of present-day Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Nigeria.
According to historian Mahmud Modibbo Tukur, by the turn of the 20th-century, the Sokoto Caliphate covered an area of about 150,000 square miles, not including parts of Adamawa, located in modern-day Cameroon, which is estimated to cover over 100,000 square kilometers.
At the end of the 19th-century, the Caliphate comprised 30 emirates, excluding its twin capitals of Gwandu and Sokoto. Some of these emirates had autonomous sub-emirates under them, with Adamawa having the most, numbering over 40.
According to Yusufu Bala Usman, the emirates were: