Danfodio biography

BORN: December 15, 1754 • Maratta, Gobir

DIED: April 20, 1817 • Sokoto, Gobir

Gobirian religious leader; writer

Usuman Dan Fodio was a political and Islamic religious leader during the early nineteenth century in the African city-state of Gobir, in modern-day Nigeria.

He was a member of the Fulani people. The Fulani are light-skinned herders and nomads, or people who have no fixed homes and move according to the seasons in search of food, water, and grazing lands for their animals. Usuman Dan Fodio led a jihad, or holy war, against the state of Gobir.

Danfodio biography wikipedia

Gobir was part of an empire controlled by the rivals of the Fulani, the Hausa, a dark-skinned ethnic group native to the region. Usuman Dan Fodio sought to reform the religious practices of the Hausa kings and was joined by an army of Fulani who were tired of being considered second-class citizens.

After winning the battle against the Hausa, Usuman Dan Fodio established a caliphate, or Islamic state, th