From rebels to rulers: political and religious legitimacy in the writings of the Sokoto Fodiawa 1803–1837

Naylor, Paul Jacob (2019). From rebels to rulers: political and religious legitimacy in the writings of the Sokoto Fodiawa 1803–1837. University of Birmingham. Ph.D.

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Abstract

The nineteenth century was the century of revolutions not just in Europe and the Americas, but West Africa as well. Here, Muslim reformers overturned whole political systems by jihad. The largest and most enduring of these states was Sokoto, centred in present-day Northern Nigeria. It was founded by Usman dan Fodio with his younger brother, Abdullahi, and his son, Muhammad Bello, also playing major roles. These three individuals – the Fodiawa – articulated and debated a new vision of Islamic statecraft in hundreds of Arabic treatises. Sokoto’s early history – from its founding in 1804 to the death of Muhammad Bello, its second ruler, in 1837 – is perhaps the best documented event in pre-colonial Africa. Yet, while historians have used the Arabic writings of the Fodiawa to reconstruct the early history of Sokoto, the role of these texts as vehicles of authority and legitimacy has not been fully explored. This thesis interrogates concepts of “legitimacy” in the nineteenth century Sahel. It examines how the Fodiawa utilised, adapted and disputed such concepts over the roughly thirty year period in which they turned from rebels to rulers, suggesting a common process of (de)legitimisation in Muslim West Africa, and the wider world of Islam.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Doctorates > Ph.D.)

Award Type:

Doctorates > Ph.D.

Supervisor(s):