Emirates of the Sokoto Caliphate

The Sokoto Caliphate was a loose confederation of emirates that recognized the suzerainty of the Amir al-Mu'minin. The caliphate was established in 1809 and later became the largest pre-colonial African state. The boundaries of the caliphate are part of present-day Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Nigeria.

According to historian Mahmud Modibbo Tukur, by the turn of the 20th-century, the Sokoto Caliphate covered an area of about 150,000 square miles (388,500 square kilometers), not including parts of Adamawa (Fombina), located in modern-day Cameroon, which is estimated to cover over 100,000 square kilometers.

At the end of the 19th-century, the Caliphate comprised 30 emirates, excluding its twin capitals of Gwandu and Sokoto. Some of these emirates had autonomous sub-emirates under them, with Adamawa having the most, numbering over 40.

According to Yusufu Bala Usman, the emirates were: