emirate · West Africa

Bauchi Emirate

1805 CE – 1902 CE · capital Bauchi

A large emirate of the Sokoto Caliphate in north-central Nigeria, unusual in having been founded by a non-Fulani flag-bearer, Yakubu.

Origins

Yakubu, a Gerawa scholar and student of Usman dan Fodio, was the only one of the original flag-bearers who was not a Fulani. Receiving a flag around 1805, he campaigned among the many peoples of the Jos plateau foothills and the upper Gongola, and around 1809 founded the town of Bauchi as his capital.

Rule and society

Yakubu ruled for about forty years and built one of the larger emirates by conquering and raiding many small non-Muslim groups, whose captives supplied slaves for farms and trade. The emirate was governed by the emir with titled officials and sub-emirates on its frontiers, and owed allegiance and tribute to Sokoto. Its southern borderlands remained contested hill country throughout the century.

Decline and legacy

British forces occupied Bauchi in 1902 and deposed the reigning emir, and the emirate became part of the Protectorate of Northern Nigeria. The Emir of Bauchi continues as a traditional ruler in modern Bauchi State.

Connections (2)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Bauchi Emirate. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/bauchi-emirate
MLA
“Bauchi Emirate.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/bauchi-emirate. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Bauchi Emirate.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/bauchi-emirate.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Bauchi Emirate’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/bauchi-emirate (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻