tribal confederation · Egypt, North Africa and Sudan

Kel Gres

1500 CE – 1917 CE (approx.)

A Tuareg confederation pushed south from Aïr that settled on the borderlands of Hausaland, mixing pastoral and agricultural life.

Origins

The Kel Gres lived in the Aïr mountains in the early modern period, with ties to the Sultanate of Agadez. Pressure from the Kel Ewey drove them south, and by the 18th century they had settled in the region between Tahoua and Madaoua on the northern edge of the Hausa kingdoms.

Rule and society

The Kel Gres combined camel and cattle herding with control over farming villages worked by dependent and servile groups. They traded in salt and livestock and were drawn into the wars of the Kingdom of Gobir and its neighbours, and later into rivalries with the Iwellemmeden Kel Dinnik. Muslim scholarly lineages had high prestige.

Decline and legacy

The French conquered the region around 1900, and Tuareg resistance during the First World War was suppressed by 1917. The Kel Gres are today part of Niger's Tuareg population.

Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.

Connections (1)

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

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻