Zaria is a metropolitan city in Nigeria, located at present time within four local government areas in Kaduna State.

[3] Zazzau is thought to have been founded in or about 1536 and in the late 16th century it was renamed after Queen Amina's sister, Zaria.

Along with Islam, trade flourished between the cities as traders brought camel caravans filled with salt in exchange for slaves and grain.

The city-state's power peaked under Queen Amina whose military campaigns established a tributary region including the kingdoms of Kano and Katsina.

At the end of the 16th century, after Queen Amina's death, Zaria fell under the influence of the Jukun Kingdom and eventually became a tributary state itself.

[5]A French hostage of the Islamist group Ansaru, held captive at Zaria,[6] escaped in 2013 and reached a police station in the city.

In December 2015, Nigeria's military was reported to have killed 300 Shia Muslims and buried their bodies in a mass grave.

In the old city and the adjacent Tudun Wada neighbourhood people typically reside in traditional adobe compounds.

Anguwan Kahu was known to be a place of business where it use cotton to make local mattresses, pillows, Horse shirts etc.

[3] Not only is Zaria a market town for the surrounding area, it is the home of artisans from traditional crafts like leather work, dyeing and cap making, to tinkers, printshops and furniture makers.

[8] Zaria is also the center of a textile industry that for over 200 years has made elaborately hand-embroidered robes that are worn by men throughout Nigeria and West Africa.

However, only the railway between Lagos and Kano is functional, as the eastern line of Nigeria's rail network is not operational.

[15] The school is known for the large number of elites from the region that passed through its academic buildings and counts among its alumni five who were Nigerian heads of state, including the late president Umaru Musa Yar'Adua.