Sokoto

Sokoto

Sokoto (sōkōˈtō, sōˈkətō), city (1987 est. pop. 164,000), NW Nigeria, on the Sokoto River. It is the commercial center for a wide region and a collection place for hides, skins, and peanuts. Rice and tobacco are grown for local consumption. The city has cement, pottery, and leather tanning and dyeing industries. Sokoto was founded in 1809 by Usuman dan Fodio, the Fulani leader who established a large Muslim empire including most of N Nigeria. It became the capital of the empire and was built up in the 1820s by Muhammad Bello, dan Fodio's son. In 1903, Sokoto fell to British forces under Frederick Lugard. The tomb of dan Fodio and other shrines in the city have made it a place of pilgrimage for Muslims.

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The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Sokoto

 

a state in the western Sudan in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Sokoto was formed as a result of a successful uprising by the Fulbe (also known as Fulani), led by Usman dan Fodio, against Gobir, one of the Hausa states. In 1809 two sultanates, Sokoto and Gwandu, were created in the conquered territory, and Usman placed his relatives at their head. In 1831 the Gwandu sultanate became a vassal of the sultan of Sokoto. Sokoto was a feudal state with vestiges of the slaveholding and primitive-communal systems. Great Britain seized Sokoto in 1903 and in 1914 incorporated it into the British colony of Nigeria.

REFERENCES

Ol’derogge, D. Zapadnyi Sudan v XV-nach. XX vekov. Moscow-Leningrad, 1960.
Sledzevskii, I. V. Khausanskie emiraty Severnoi Nigerii. Moscow, 1974.
Hogben, S. J., and A. H. M. Kirk-Greene. The Emirates of Northern Nigeria. London, 1966.
Johnston, H. A. S. The Fulani Empire of Sokoto. London, 1967. (Bibliography, pages 291–95.)

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Sokoto

 

a city in Nigeria, situated in the valley of the Sokoto River (a tributary of the Niger); since 1976, capital of the state of Sokoto. Population, 104,200 (1969). Sokoto has a cement plant and a slaughterhouse. Textile weaving and leather dressing are local cottage industries. Sokoto is the trade center for an agricultural region where peanuts, rice, and sugarcane are grown. In the 19th century, the city was the capital of the independent state of Sokoto.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

Sokoto

1. a state of NW Nigeria. Capital: Sokoto. Pop.: 4 911 118 (1995 est.). Area: 65 735 sq. km (25 380 sq. miles)

2. a town in NW Nigeria, capital of Sokoto state: capital of the Fulah Empire in the 19th century; Muslim place of pilgrimage. Pop.: 444 000 (2005 est.)

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005