[1] Kano lies to the north of the Jos Plateau, located in the Sudanian Savanna region that stretches across the south of the Sahel.

Traditionally, agriculture was based on lifting water to irrigate small parcels of land along river channels in the dry season, known as the Shadouf system.

At the time when the kingdom was flourishing, tree cover would have been more extensive and the soil less degraded than it is today.

[5]: 96 The Arab geographer al-Yaqubi, writing in 872/873 CE (AH 259), describes a kingdom called "HBShH" with a city named "ThBYR" ruled by a king called "MRH" (none of these words are vocalized, so their actual pronunciation can vary), located between the Niger Bend and the Kingdom of Kanem.

Kano was originally known as Dala, after the hill, and was referred to as such as late as the end of the 15th century and the beginning of the 16th by Bornoan sources.

His oldest son, Garageje, was the great-grandfather of Barbushe, the most well-known pagan high priest of Dala.

[18] He became the last king of Kano when, in the 1350s, after conquering Rano and Santolo, he made Islam the state religion and proclaimed an end to the kingdom.