Muhammadu Attahiru I (died 1903) was the twelfth Sultan of the Sokoto Caliphate from October 1902 until March 15, 1903. He was the last independent Sultan of Sokoto before the Caliphate was taken over by the British.
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👉 Muhammadu Attahiru I in the context of Sultan of Sokoto
The sultan of Sokoto is the hereditary leader of the Sokoto Caliphate, a Sunni Muslim community in West Africa. The position may also be referred to as the 'Sokoto Caliph' or the "Commander of the Faithful" (Amir-ul-Momineen in Arabic or Lamido Julbe in Fulani). The current holder of this title, since 2006, is Sa'adu Abubakar.The sultan of Sokoto is the leader of the Qadiriyya Sufi order, historically the most important Muslim position in Nigeria and senior to the Emir of Kano, the leader of the Tijaniyya Sufi order. The post has become increasingly ceremonial since British rule defeated the caliphate and replaced it with the Sokoto Sultanate Council in 1903, but the sultan – considered a spiritual leader in the Muslim community in Nigeria – can still carry much weight with Fulani and Hausa people from northern Nigeria.
Usman dan Fodio, the founder of the dynasty of Sokoto State and of the Fulani Empire (consisting of the Fulbe Jihad states of which Sokoto was suzerain), never used the high style of Sultan but was simply titled Amir al-Mu´minin . The first to assume the title of Sultan was Fodio's son Muhammed Bello, who ruled from 1817 to 1837. Since the creation of the title, there have been nineteen Sultans of Sokoto, all men from the Torodbe scholar caste who are descended from Usman dan Fodio. Siddiq Abubakar III was the longest serving Sultan, holding the position for 50 years from 1938 to 1988. The shortest reign was that of Muhammadu Attahiru I, who held the position for five months in 1902–03. The 17th sultan, Ibrahim Dasuki, was forcefully deposed in 1996 by the Sani Abacha military government of Nigeria.
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Muhammadu Attahiru I in the context of Sokoto Caliphate
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.