Konni is a traditional Hausa state in what is today south central

Maradi Region The Region of Maradi is one of seven Regions of Niger, regions of Niger. It is located in south-central Niger, east of the Region of Tahoua Region, Tahoua, west of Zinder Region, Zinder, and north of the Nigerian city of Katsina. The administrat ...

Niger Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...

and north

Sokoto State Sokoto ( Hausa: ; Fula: , ''Leydi Sokoto'') is one of the 36 states of Nigeria, located in the extreme northwest of the country. It is bounded by Republic of the Niger to the north and west for 363 km (226 miles), and the states of Zamf ...

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

. It continues to exist as a ceremonial polity centered on the Nigerien city of

Birni-N'Konni Birni-N'Konni (also Birnin-Konni or shortened to Konni/Bkonni) is a town in the Tahoua Region of Niger, lying immediately north of the Niger-Nigeria border, border of Nigeria and west of seasonal Maggia River. It is an important market town and t ...

. A small independent Hausa state in the medieval period, Konni was conquered by its larger neighbor Gobir around 1750. It remained, along with Gobir, a largely

animist Animism (from meaning 'breath, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence. Animism perceives all things—animals, plants, rocks, rivers, weather systems, human handiwork, and in ...

(locally called Arna) stronghold. It was overrun and sacked by forces of the

Sokoto Caliphate The Sokoto Caliphate (, literally: Caliphate in the Lands of Sudan), also known as the Sultanate of Sokoto, was a Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslim caliphate in West Africa. It was founded by Usman dan Fodio in 1804 during the Fula jihads, Fulani jihads ...

at the beginning of the 19th century, but had reverted to suzerainty of Azna states in modern Niger when French colonial forces entered the area at the end of the century. Its capital Birni-N'Konni ( Hausa for ''Citadel of Konni''), was sacked by the French

Voulet–Chanoine Mission The Voulet–Chanoine Mission, also called Central African-Chad Mission (), was a French military expedition sent out from Senegal in 1898 to conquer the Chad Basin and unify all French territories in West Africa. This expedition operated jointly ...

in the 1898, and later assimilated into

French West Africa French West Africa (, ) was a federation of eight French colonial empires#Second French colonial empire, French colonial territories in West Africa: Colonial Mauritania, Mauritania, French Senegal, Senegal, French Sudan (now Mali), French Guin ...

. The traditional title of the ruler of Konni was retained by the French as an appointed "Canton chief", and continues as a ceremonial ruler.

References

*Samuel Decalo. Historical Dictionary of Niger (3rd ed.). Scarecrow Press, Boston & Folkestone, (1997) {{ISBN, 0-8108-3136-8 pp. 71, 187 Countries in precolonial Africa History of Niger