The Kano Chronicle begins on the granite hill of Dala, where early settlers farmed and worked iron. The tradition names a priest, Barbushe, who served the spirit cult of Tsumburbura at a sacred grove and is remembered as a figure of enormous strength.
Around the year 999 CE, according to the Chronicle, a newcomer called Bagauda (a grandson of Bayajidda in the legend) arrived, and his line began the royal dynasty of Kano. Historians treat the early dates as approximate: the Chronicle was compiled centuries after the events it describes.
Islam, according to the Chronicle, reached the royal court under King Yaji (reigned 1349–1385), when Wangara scholars and merchants from the west arrived and the first mosques and Muslim officials were appointed. The longer story of Islam in Hausaland has its own chapter.
The real transformation came with commerce. The Chronicle credits Muhammad Rumfa (reigned 1463–1499) with a new palace, the Kurmi market and a reorganized court, and with inviting the North African scholar al-Maghili, who wrote advice on Islamic government for him. By the 16th century Kano was among the largest cities of the central Sudan.
Sources for this article
- Palmer 1928, Kano Chronicle (translation)
- Last 1967, introduction
- Lovejoy 1978, whole article (Wangara and the Central Sudan economy)