Sokoto Revolution ep. 4: A West African Caliphate

History of Africa

By the 1810s, the militant stage of the Sokoto Revolution was coming to an end. The Commander of the Believers, Usman Dan Fodio, had vanquished his enemies. What had started as a small social movement led by a charismatic iterant teacher had conquered the largest contiguous territory in the entirety of Africa. And, according to Fodio, this new state would be no ordinary empire, but a righteous state that carried on the legacy of the Prophet Muhammad himself. His imamate would be a government worthy to call itself Muhammad's successor: the Sokoto Caliphate.
However, this would prove to be no easy task. Join us for our final part of our examination of the Sokoto Revolution, in which we take a critical and close look at the consequences of Fodio's world altering movement, as well as the monumental progress and suffering that define its legacy.

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