Muḥammad Bello
Quick Summary
Muhammad Bello was the Fulani emir of Sokoto and the first sultan of the Fulani empire in the 19th century. He was the son of Usman dan Fodio, the leader of the Fulani jihad, or holy war, which led to the establishment of the Fulani empire. Bello succeeded his father in 1817 and ruled until 1837, administering the empire according to Muslim law. Under his leadership, Sokoto successfully defended the empire against uprisings and signed trade treaties with Great Britain. The Fulani empire eventually fell to British colonial expansion in 1903.12
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- ʿUmar TalEarly life and pilgrimage to Mecca.
Muhammad Bello, emir of Sokoto in Nigeria, offered him his daughter Maryam in marriage. Enriched by this princely alliance, ʿUmar had become an important personage when he reached Mecca about 1827. He visited the tomb of the Prophet in Medina, returned to Mecca, and then…
Read MoreMuhammad Bello, emir of Sokoto in Nigeria, offered him his daughter Maryam in marriage. Enriched by this princely alliance, ʿUmar had become an important personage when he reached Mecca about 1827. He visited the tomb of the Prophet in Medina, returned to Mecca, and then…
Read More - Usman dan FodioGrowing leadership
…first pupils, and his son, Muhammad Bello, both distinguished teachers and writers. But his own scholarly clan was slow to come over to him. Significant support appears to have come from the Hausa peasantry. Their economic and social grievances and experience of oppression under the existing dynasties stimulated millenarian hopes…
Read More…first pupils, and his son, Muhammad Bello, both distinguished teachers and writers. But his own scholarly clan was slow to come over to him. Significant support appears to have come from the Hausa peasantry. Their economic and social grievances and experience of oppression under the existing dynasties stimulated millenarian hopes…
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- Fulani empire
…the empire to his son Muḥammad Bello, who settled in Sokoto, and the western (with its capital at Gwandu) to his brother Abdullahi. All three continued the Fulani denunciation of Bornu. The empire reached its zenith under Muḥammad Bello, who, like Usman, administered it according to the principles of Muslim…
Read More…the empire to his son Muḥammad Bello, who settled in Sokoto, and the western (with its capital at Gwandu) to his brother Abdullahi. All three continued the Fulani denunciation of Bornu. The empire reached its zenith under Muḥammad Bello, who, like Usman, administered it according to the principles of Muslim…
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western AfricaThe jihad of Usman dan Fodio…brother, Abdullahi, and his son, Muḥammad Bello, who were men of action as well as considerable scholars. These two eventually became joint viceroys of the new empire, Bello ruling its eastern half from Sokoto and Abdullahi the western half from a seat of government at Gwandu. They oversaw the installations…
Read More…brother, Abdullahi, and his son, Muḥammad Bello, who were men of action as well as considerable scholars. These two eventually became joint viceroys of the new empire, Bello ruling its eastern half from Sokoto and Abdullahi the western half from a seat of government at Gwandu. They oversaw the installations…
Read More- Gwandu
Muḥammad Bello, his son and successor (1817), began construction of the town’s walls in 1806. After the Fulani victory over the Gobirawa at Alkalawa in 1808, Usman split his vast empire, which then extended over most of what is now northern and central Nigeria, into…
Read MoreMuḥammad Bello, his son and successor (1817), began construction of the town’s walls in 1806. After the Fulani victory over the Gobirawa at Alkalawa in 1808, Usman split his vast empire, which then extended over most of what is now northern and central Nigeria, into…
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NigeriaThe Sokoto jihad…brother Abdullahi and his son Muhammad Bello carried on the jihad and laid the basis of administration. When Usman died in 1817, Muhammad Bello succeeded him as amīr al-muʾminīn, while Abdullahi, as emir of Gwandu, was given charge of the western emirates, notably Nupe and Ilorin. In this way, all…
Read More…brother Abdullahi and his son Muhammad Bello carried on the jihad and laid the basis of administration. When Usman died in 1817, Muhammad Bello succeeded him as amīr al-muʾminīn, while Abdullahi, as emir of Gwandu, was given charge of the western emirates, notably Nupe and Ilorin. In this way, all…
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Sokoto…sectors and made his son Muhammad Bello overlord of the eastern emirates. Muhammad ruled from Sokoto, but it was not until Usman’s move (1814) to the town and his death there in 1817 that it became the spiritual headquarters of the Fulani people. Usman’s tomb and other holy shrines have…
Read More…sectors and made his son Muhammad Bello overlord of the eastern emirates. Muhammad ruled from Sokoto, but it was not until Usman’s move (1814) to the town and his death there in 1817 that it became the spiritual headquarters of the Fulani people. Usman’s tomb and other holy shrines have…
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