sultanate · West Africa

Sultanate of Maradi

1819 CE – 1899 CE (approx.) · capital Maradi

The refuge state of the exiled Hausa rulers of Katsina in southern Niger, which spent the 19th century raiding the Fulani emirates to the south.

Origins

When Fulani jihadists took Katsina in 1807, its Hausa ruling family fled north. After years of wandering they settled at Maradi around 1819, where local Katsinawa rose against their Fulani governors. Under Dan Kassawa the exiles founded a new state that claimed to continue the Katsina Kingdom and refused to recognise the Sokoto Caliphate.

Rule and society

Maradi kept the titles and court of old Katsina. Most of its people practised Islam, but the state allied with the Hausa of Gobir, later the Sultanate of Tsibiri, and with non-Muslim groups against Sokoto. Its army raided the Katsina Emirate and other emirates almost every year, and the frontier between the two Katsinas was a zone of constant warfare.

Decline and legacy

In 1899 French forces reached the area, and Maradi was absorbed into the territory that became the Colony of Niger. The town grew into a major commercial centre for groundnuts, and its sultan remains a traditional ruler.

Lineage

Katsina Kingdom 1348 CE – 1807 CESultanate of MaradiColony of Niger 1900 CE – 1958 CE

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Sultanate of Maradi. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/sultanate-of-maradi
MLA
“Sultanate of Maradi.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/sultanate-of-maradi. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Sultanate of Maradi.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/sultanate-of-maradi.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Sultanate of Maradi’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/sultanate-of-maradi (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻