Yunfa (reigned 1801–1808) was a king of the

Hausa Hausa may refer to: * Hausa people, an ethnic group of West Africa * Hausa language, spoken in West Africa * Hausa Kingdoms, a historical collection of Hausa city-states * Hausa (horse) or Dongola horse, an African breed of riding horse See also * ...

city-state of

Gobir Gobir (Demonym: ''Gobirawa'') was a city-state in what is now Nigeria. Founded by the Hausa in the 11th century, Gobir was one of the seven original kingdoms of Hausaland, and continued under Hausa rule for nearly 700 years. Its capital was the ci ...

in what is now

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. He is particularly remembered for his conflict with

Islamic Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the mai ...

reformer

Usman dan Fodio Usman Ɗan Fodio ( ar, عثمان بن فودي, translit=ʿUthmān ibn Fodio; 15 December 1754 – 20 April 1817) was a Fulani scholar, Sunni Islamic religious teacher, revolutionary, and philosopher who founded the Sokoto Caliphate and ruled ...

. Nephew and designated heir of Bawa, Yunfa appears to have been taught by

Fulani The Fula, Fulani, or Fulɓe people ( ff, Fulɓe, ; french: Peul, links=no; ha, Fulani or Hilani; pt, Fula, links=no; wo, Pël; bm, Fulaw) are one of the largest ethnic groups in the Sahel and West Africa, widely dispersed across the region. ...

religious leader Usman dan Fodio as a young man. Though dan Fodio helped Yunfa succeed Nafata to the throne in 1801, the two soon came into conflict over dan Fodio's proposed religious reforms. Fearing dan Fodio's growing power, Yunfa summoned him and attempted to assassinate him in person; however, Yunfa's pistol backfired and wounded him in the hand. After this failure, Yunfa allowed dan Fodio and his companions to leave. In late 1803, Yunfa seized some Muslim captives at Gimbana, but when the captives passed dan Fodio's hometown of

Degel Degel is a town in northern Nigeria. Once a part of the Hausa city-state of Gobir, Degel is particularly noted for being the home of Fulani Islamic reformer Usman dan Fodio from 1774 to 1804. Dan Fodio built a large following in the area until, ...

, the religious leader somehow managed to have them released. When his demands to have the captives returned were ignored, Yunfa threatened to destroy Degel. In response, dan Fodio and his followers fled to Gudu in February 1804. Dan Fodio soon called for help from other Fulani

nomad A nomad is a member of a community without fixed habitation who regularly moves to and from the same areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the popu ...

groups, and declared himself the

imam Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, ser ...

of a new

caliphate A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...

jihad Jihad (; ar, جهاد, jihād ) is an Arabic word which literally means "striving" or "struggling", especially with a praiseworthy aim. In an Islamic context, it can refer to almost any effort to make personal and social life conform with Go ...

against Gobir. A widespread uprising soon began across

Hausaland The Hausa ( autonyms for singular: Bahaushe ( m), Bahaushiya ( f); plural: Hausawa and general: Hausa; exonyms: Ausa; Ajami: ) are the largest native ethnic group in Africa. They speak the Hausa language, which is the second most spoken language ...

, and in 1804, Yunfa appealed to rulers of neighboring city-states for aid. In December of that year, Yunfa won a major victory in the Battle of Tsuntua, in which Dan Fodio's forces were said to have lost 2,000 men, 200 of whom knew the Koran by heart. However, dan Fodio soon launched a successful campaign against

Kebbi Kebbi state ( ha, Jihar Kebbi; Fulfulde: Leydi Kebbi 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤣𞤭 𞤳𞤫𞤦𞥆𞤭) is a state in the northwestern Nigeria, Kebbi state is bordered east and north of Sokoto and Zamfara states, and to the south by Niger state while i ...

and established a permanent base at

Gwandu Gwandu, also called Gando, is a town and emirate in Kebbi State, Nigeria. The seat of government for the emirate and district of this name is in Birnin Kebbi, which is the capital of Kebbi State and was capital of the historical Kingdom of Kebbi. ...

. In October 1808, the jihadists seized the Gobir capital of

Alkalawa Alkalawa (Hausa: Alƙalawa) was the capital of the Hausa city-state of Gobir, in what is now northern Nigeria. History In the early 19th-century, Fulani jihadist Usman dan Fodio invaded Yunfa (ruler of the minor kingdom of Gobir) at Alkalawa. ...

and killed Yunfa.

References

*"Uthman dan Fodio." ''Encyclopædia Britannica Online'', accessed October 1, 2005. *Daniel, F. "Shehu dan Fodio." ''Journal of the Royal African Society'' 25.99 (Apr 1926): 278–283. History of Nigeria Sokoto Caliphate Year of birth missing 18th-century births 18th-century Nigerian people 19th-century Nigerian people 1808 deaths {{Nigeria-bio-stub