"Another celebrated city in the interior of Africa is Houssa, the capital of an African empire on the banks of the Niger, a city which has excited much curiosity among men of science since it was first mentioned to a committee of the African Association, about the year 1790. The person from whom they received their information was an Arab, of the name Shabeni; who said that the population of Houssa, where he had resided two years, was equalled only (so far as his knowledge extended) by that of London and Cairo; and, in his rude unlettered way, he described the government as monarchial, yet not unlimited; its justice as severe, but directed by written laws; and the rights of landed property as guarded by the institutions of certain hereditary officers, whose functions appear to be similar to those of the Canongoes of Hindostan, and whose important complicated duties imply an unusual degree of civilization and refinement. For the probity of the merchants of Houssa the Arab expressed the highest respect; but remarked, with indignation, that the women were admitted to society, and that the honour of the husband was often insecure. Of their written alphabet he knew no more than that it is perfectly different from the Arabic and the Hebrew characters; but he represented the art of writing as common in Houssa. And when he described the manner in which their pottery was made, he gave, unknowingly to himself, a representation of theWhen Mungo Park returned from Africa to London in 1797, ''ancient Grecian wheel Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient history cove ...."
"Mr Magra's Information, obtained from merchants who had visited the central parts of Africa, and were then atTunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ..., describes Houssa as a ''country'', not a ''city''; and they all place it in a ''south'' direction fromTunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...: that is between Cashnah and Tombuctoo. One person says it is a considerable empire: the country of theNegroes In the English language, ''negro'' is a term historically used to denote persons considered to be of Black African heritage. The word ''negro'' means the color black in both Spanish and in Portuguese, where English took it from. The term can be .... Another, that it is the ''negro'' name of the same country, which the ''Arabs'' call Soudan. Shabeni says, that Houssa is included in Sudan: but as I conceive Soudan to be a ''region'', which includes several political divisions of country, and Cashnah among the rest; this proves nothing as to the particular position of Houssa. But it is clear by these accounts that there is such a ''country'' as Houssa: and equally so, from Mamadoo's, and from Shabeni's reports that there is a city of the same name, likewise."
References
{{reflist Mythological populated places Lost cities and towns Hausa Exploration of Africa Hausa history