Konni is a traditional

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 ...

state in what is today south central

Maradi Region The Region of Maradi is one of seven Region of Niger. It is located in south-central Niger, east of the Region of Tahoua, west of Zinder, and north of the Nigerian city of Katsina. The administrative centre is at Maradi. The population of the ...

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesSokoto State Sokoto State (Hausa: Jihar Sokoto Fula: Leydi Sokoto 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤣𞤭 𞤧𞤮𞥅𞤳𞤮𞥅𞤼𞤮𞥅) is one of the 36 states of Nigeria, located in the extreme northwest of the country on the national border with the Republic of the N ...

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 ...

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

Nigerien This article is about the demographic features of the population of Niger, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population. The largest ...

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 border of Nigeria and west of seasonal Maggia River. It is an important market town and transport hub and as o ...

. A small independent

state in the medieval period, Konni was conquered by its larger neighbor

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 ...

around 1750. It remained, along with Gobir, a largely animist (locally called Azna) stronghold. It was overrun and sacked by forces of the Sokoto Caliphate at the beginning of the 19th century, but had reverted to suzerainty of Azna states in modern Niger when

French colonial forces The ''Troupes coloniales'' ("Colonial Troops") or ''Armée coloniale'' ("Colonial Army"), commonly called ''La Coloniale'', were the military forces of the French colonial empire from 1900 until 1961. From 1822 to 1900 these troops were de ...

entered the area at the end of the century. Its capital Birni-N'Konni (

for ''Citadel of Konni''), was sacked by the French Voulet-Chanoine Mission in the 1898, and later assimilated into French West Africa. 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