Purview of Sokoto Caliphate

The most astonishing thing in life about time is that it brings so much reality and peace to understanding to those who believe The Sokoto Caliphate was an independent Islamic Caliphate, in West Africa. Founded during the jihad of the Fulani War in 1809 by Usman dan Fodio,it was abolished when the British defeated the Caliph in 1903 and put the area under the Northern Nigeria Protectorate. The independent Hausa kingdoms, at its height the Caliphate linked over 30 different emirates and over 10 million people in the most powerful state in its region and one of the most significant empires in Africa in the nineteenth century. The caliphate was a loose confederation of emirates that recognized the suzerainty of the "commander of the faithful", the sultan or caliph. The caliphate brought decades of economic growth throughout the region. An estimated one to 2.5 million non-Muslim slaves were captured during jihad. They provided labor for plantations and were provided an opportunity to become Muslims. Though the British abolished the political authority of the Caliph the title of Sultan was retained, and remains an important religious leader in Nigeria today.