History of Katsina
[1] At its peak, Katsina's capital was a prominent city in the western Sudan, attracting scholars from the wider region, especially during the decline of Timbuktu in the 17th and 18th centuries.
[2] In accordance with oral tradition, the name "Katsina" is said to have originated from a princess of Daura who wedded Janzama, the ruler of the Durbawa of Durbi ta Kusheyi.
[3] According to oral tradition, the first dynasty to rule over Katsina was established by Kumayo, a grandson of the legendary Bayajida, thus the city-state was part of the Hausa Bakwai states.
Kumayo's reign was centered around Durbi ta Kusheyi (meaning "tombs of the chief priest"), a settlement near Mani, approximately eighteen miles southeast of the present-day city of Katsina.
Within the town, there are seven prominent burial mounds believed to contain the remains of early rulers of Katsina, including figures such as Kumayo, Ramba-Ramba, and Sanau.
According to oral tradition, the final ruler from Kumayo's lineage was Sanau, who was killed in the middle of the 13th-century at the hands of a certain mallam (Islamic scholar) named Korau, hailing from Yandoto (in modern-day Chafe).
Despite the under-handed methods Korau used to capture the throne of Katsina, the Durbawa, who were on the receiving end of his treachery, managed to maintain an 'amicable' relationship with the Wangarawa.
It is adorned with an Islamic prayer inscription that reads, "Help cometh from Allah and victory is nigh, so announce glad tidings to the faithful, O Muhammad!".
The Tambura, responsible for playing the drum, observes specific traditions, including beating it three times during the turbanning ceremonies of senior district heads.
Importantly, Muhammadu Korau's era witnessed an Islamic revival within Katsina, partly attributed to the visit of the renowned Maliki scholar from Tuat Muhammad al-Maghili in 1493.
Following Ibrahim Sura, Ali Murabus ascended to power and is credited with constructing the gamuwar Amina, which are the outer walls of Katsina.
Due to its relatively early adoption of Islam and it being a 'major commercial emporium', scholars from all over the Sudan region found Katsina as an attractive place of residence.
During this period, Katsina essentially became a vassal of Gao, but it eventually regained its independence in 1554 following the battle of Karfata against Askia Daud.
[1][5]: 92 [9][8]: 277 The Tarikh al Sudan describes the battle asAskia Daud went to Kukia, whence he sent the Hi-Koi, Ali Dudo, against Katsina at the head of a detachment consisting of 24 horsemen.
The victors took care of the wounded and gave them back to Askia Daud, telling them that 'men of such quality, endowed with such great valour and such courage, did not deserve to die'.
Towards the end of the century, Muhammad Zaki, Sarkin Kano, retaliated by raiding Katsina, taking prisoners and horses on the last day of that year's Ramadan.
According to oral tradition, it is believed that the Kwararafa general, while mounting his horse, was kicked in the groin and died on the spot due to the prayers of Dan Masani.
As part of this alliance, each newly enthroned Sarkin Katsina was expected to send a tribute of a hundred slaves to the Mai of Bornu in Ngazargamu.
Bornu played a protective role for Katsina and achieved military successes, including capturing a thousand prisoners during a battle under the rule of Mai Haj Ali.
Ibn al-Ṣabbāgh (Dan Marina), the renowned poet and saint from Katsina, composed a poem to commemorate Mai Ali of Bornu's victory over Kwararafa and their eventual expulsion from Hausaland.
Barth further describes the period:The town, if only half of its immense area were ever tolerably well inhabited, must certainly have had a population of at least a hundred thousand souls, for its circuit is between thirteen and fourteen English miles.
Every prince, at his accession to the throne, had to forward a sort of tribute or present to Birni Ghasréggomo, the capital of the Bornu empire, consisting of one hundred slaves, as a token of his obedience; but this being done, it does not appear that his sovereign rights were in any way interfered with.
In fact, Katsena, during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries of our era, seems to have been the chief city of this part of Negroland, as well in commercial and political importance as in other respects.
The Shehu's jihad initially began in the Gobir kingdom but quickly gained momentum across the region and even reached as far as the Bornu and Oyo empires.
Umaru Dallaji's military campaign took him from Radda to Banye and eventually to Sabon Birni in Kaura, where he killed Mare Mawa Mahmudu, the Sarkin Katsina at the time.
The shame brought about by this defeat led Sarkin Katsina Halidu to take his own life by throwing himself down a well, effectively ending the Korau dynasty.
In the dry season of 1805–6, Shehu Usman dispatched Umaru Dallaji to coordinate a meeting in Magami, which brought together leaders of the jihad from Kano, Daura, and Zamfara.
While en-route to launch a military campaign in Yandoto, Muhammad Bello met these jihad leaders in Birnin Gada and conveyed a letter from the Shehu.
Due to his old age, Shehu Usman was unable to undertake the journey himself, but he instructed the leaders to formally pledge allegiance (bay'ah) to him as Amir al-Mu'minin (the Commander of the Faithful).
[1] : 170 According to historian Yusufu Bala Usman, the Dallazawa dynasty, to which Umaru Dallaji belonged, traced their ancestry back to an Arab named Muhammadu Goshi, who hailed from Wadai.
