The Fulani War of 1804-1810, also known as the Fulani Holy War or Jihad of Usman dan Fodio, was a military conquest in present day Nigeria and Cameroon. Expelled from Gobir by his former student Yunfa in 1802, Islamic reformer Usman dan Fodio assembled a Fulani army to lead in jihad against the Hausa kingdoms of the north. Realizing the threat that Usman's forces posed, Yunfa assembled the other Hausa rulers to oppose him. 1804 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1810 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Gobir was a city-state in what is now Nigeria. ... Yunfa (r. ... Islam (Arabic:  ) is a monotheistic religion based upon the teachings of Muhammad, a 7th century Arab religious and political figure. ... Shaihu Usman dan Fodio (Arabic: ‎) (also referred to as Shaikh Usman Ibn Fodio or Shehu Usman dan Fodio, 1754 - 1817) was a writer and Islamic reformer. ... The Fula or Fulani is an ethnic group of people spread over many countries in West Africa, from Mauritania, Senegal, Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Mali in the west to Cameroon and as far as Sudan in the east. ... Jihad, sometimes spelled Jawwad, Jahad, Jehad, Jihaad, Jiaad, Djehad, or Cihad, (Arabic: ‎ ) is an Islamic term, literally meaning struggle in the way of God and is sometimes referred to as the sixth pillar of Islam, although it occupies no official status as such. ... The Hausa are a Sahelian people chiefly located in the West African regions of northern Nigeria and southeastern Niger. ...

The Hausa rulers dealt the jihadists a number of initial setbacks, most notably at the Battle of Tsuntua (December 1804), in which Usman lost more than 2,000 men, 200 of whom are said to have known the Koran by heart. The following year, however, Usman's forces seized Kebbi and established a permanent base at Gwandu. Building on popular discontent caused in part by famine and by Hausa taxation, the jihadists continued to advance, taking the Gobir capital of Alkalawa in 1808 and killing Yunfa. The Battle of Tsuntua, fought in December 1804, was one of the largest battles of the Fulani War. ... The Quran (Arabic al-qurʾān أَلْقُرآن; also transliterated as Quran, Koran, and less commonly Alcoran) is the holy book of Islam. ... Kebbi State is a state in north-western Nigeria. ... Gwandu, also called Gando, is a town and emirate in Kebbi, Nigeria. ... Alkalawa was the capital of the Hausa city-state of Gobir, in what is now northern Nigeria. ...

Usman united the conquered lands under his Sokoto Caliphate as the Fulani Empire. The success of the jihad inspired a number of later West African jihadists, including Massina Empire founder Seku Amadu, Toucouleur Empire founder El Hadj Umar Tall, Wassoulou Empire founder Samori Ture, and Adamawa Emirate founder Modibo Adama. This article is in need of attention. ... The Fulani Empire was one of the most powerful states in sub-Saharan Africa in the years prior to European colonization. ...  Western Africa (UN subregion)  Maghreb West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. ... The Massina Empire was a nineteenth-century Peul empire centered in the Mopti Region of present-day Mali. ... Seku Amadu (1773–1845) was the founder of the Peul Massina Empire in what is now the Mopti Region of Mali. ... The Toucouleur Empire was founded in the nineteenth century by El Hadj Umar Tall of the Toucouleur people, in part of present-day Mali. ... El Hadj Umar Tall (1797 - 1864) was a conqueror and Toucouleur king who founded a brief empire encompassing much of what is now Guinea, Senegal, and Mali. ... The Wassoulou Empire was a short-lived (1878 - 1898) empire of West Africa built from the conquests of Dyula ruler Samori Ture and destroyed by the French colonial army. ... Samori Ture (also Samory Touré or Samori ibn Lafiya Ture, c. ... Adamawa or the Adamawa Emirate was a traditional emirate located in Fumbina, what is now the Admawa State, Nigeria and the three northern provinces of Cameroon (Far North, North, and Adamawa). ... Adama bi Ardo Hassana (c. ...

References

• "Usman dan Fodio." Encyclopedia Britannica Online.

See also

• History of Nigeria