Fula jihads in the context of "Nigeria"

Hausa Kingdoms (Masarautun Hausa), also known as Hausaland (Kasar Hausa), was a collection of states ruled by the Hausa people, before the Fulani jihads. It was situated between the Niger River and Lake Chad (modern day northern Nigeria). Hausaland lay between the Western Sudanic empires of Ancient Ghana, Mali and Songhai and the Eastern Sudanic empire of Kanem-Bornu.

Hausa oral traditions detail the Bayajidda legend, which describes the adventures of the Baghdadi hero, Bayajidda, culminating in the killing of the snake in a well at Daura and his marriage to the local queen Magajiya Daurama. According to the legend, Bayajidda's descendants founded the Hausa Bakwai (seven "true" states), as well as the Hausa Banza ("bastard" or "illegitimate" states).

The Sokoto Caliphate (Arabic: دولة الخلافة في بلاد السودان, literally: Caliphate in the Lands of Sudan), also known as the Sultanate of Sokoto, was a Sunni Muslim caliphate in West Africa. It was founded by Usman dan Fodio in 1804 during the Fulani jihads after defeating the Hausa Kingdoms in the Fulani War. The boundaries of the caliphate extended to parts of present-day Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Nigeria. By 1837, the Caliphate had a population of 10-20 million people, becoming the most populous empire in West Africa. It was dissolved when the British, French, and Germans conquered the area in 1903 and annexed it into the newly established Northern Nigeria Protectorate, Senegambia and Niger and Kamerun (the latter during the Adamawa Wars) respectively.

The caliphate emerged after the Hausa King Yunfa attempted to assassinate Usman Dan Fodio in 1802. To escape persecution, Usman and his followers migrated towards Gudu in February 1804. Usman's followers pledged allegiance to Usman as the Commander of the Faithful (Amīr al-Muʾminīn). By 1808, the Sokoto Caliphate had gained control over Hausaland and several surrounding states. Under the sixth caliph Ahmadu Rufai, the state reached its maximum extent, covering a large swath of West Africa. In 1903, the twelfth and last caliph Attahiru was assassinated by British forces, marking the end of the caliphate.

Kaabu (1537–1867), also written Gabu, Ngabou, and N'Gabu, was a federation of Mandinka kingdoms in the Senegambia region centered within modern northeastern Guinea-Bissau, large parts of today's Gambia, and extending into Koussanar, Koumpentoum, and the Casamance in Senegal.

It rose to prominence as an imperial military province of the Mali Empire. After the decline of the Mali Empire, Kaabu became independent. Kansala, the imperial capital, was captured by Fula forces from the Futa Jallon during the 19th century Fula jihads. However, Kaabu's successor states across Senegambia continued to thrive even after the fall of Kansala; this lasted until total incorporation of the remaining kingdoms into the British, Portuguese and French spheres of influence during the Scramble for Africa.

The Imamate of Futa Jallon or Jalon (Arabic: إمامة فوتة جالون; Pular: Fuuta Jaloo or Fuuta Jalon فُوتَ جَلࣾو‎, 𞤊𞤵𞥅𞤼𞤢 𞤔𞤢𞤤𞤮𞥅), sometimes referred to as the Emirate of Timbo, was a West African Islamic state based in the Fouta Djallon highlands of modern Guinea. The state was founded in 1725 by a Fulani jihad and became part of French West Africa in 1896.

Over the course of the Imamate's existence, the region underwent a transformation from patriarchal, egalitarian animist societies to a hierarchal, segregationist, and aristocratic one, where Muslims (the rimbhè) received full rights and non-Muslims (the jiyabhe) constituted the slave class. The 19th century saw the golden age of Islam in Fouta Djallon, as the Imamate became a leading religious centre in West Africa.