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Kano Hausa City-State

Type Object Region Africa Time c. 999

In the mid-12th century Kano was one of the most prosperous Sahelian trade centers among the Hausa city-states, famed for indigo dyeing, leatherworki…

Timeline

  1. c. 1171–1180Old city of Kano · NigeriaIn the 1170s Kano enclosed the royal palace, great mosque, and central market within earthen walls; the Hausa chief (Sarki) controlled regional trade through tariffs and market management, and the urban population had already reached tens of thousands according to the chronicles.
  2. c. 1173–1180Kano dyeing district (precursor of Kurmi Market) · NigeriaKano's indigo dye works and leather workshops supplied high-value export goods to trans-Saharan caravans; dyers' guilds controlled trade secrets, and products were shipped north to North Africa in exchange for salt, copper, and horses.
  3. c. 1175–1200Kano–Katsina–Zaria corridor · NigeriaKano formed a trade alliance with the Hausa city-states of Katsina and Zaria; Hausa merchants, linked by a shared dialect and credit instruments, connected Saharan camel caravans with fish-and-salt exchange on the lower Niger, forming the eastern wing of the Sahelian economic network.

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