The Sokoto Caliphate was a loose confederation of emirates that recognized the suzerainty of the Amir al-Mu'minin.[1] The caliphate was established in 1809 and later became the largest pre-colonial African state.[2] The boundaries of the caliphate are part of present-day Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Nigeria.[3]
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.[4]
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:
| Adamawa Emirate (Fombina) | 1809 (created) | Yola | |
| Agaie Emirate | 1832 (created) | Agaie | |
| Bauchi Emirate | 1809 (created) | Bauchi | |
| Bida Emirate | 1835 | Bida | |
| Birnin-Gaoure | Birni N'Gaouré | ||
| Bitinkogi | Lamorde | ||
| Daura Emirate | 1805 | Daura | |
| Gelajo | Gelajo | ||
| Gombe Emirate | 1804 (created) | Gombe | |
| Gwandu Emirate | 1809 (created) | Gwandu | |
| Hadejia Emirate | Hadejia | ||
| Jama'are Emirate | Jama'are | ||
| Jema'a Emirate | Jema'a | ||
| Junju | |||
| Illorin Emirate | 1824 (created) | Illorin | |
| Kano Emirate | 1807 | Kano | |
| Katagum Emirate | 1807 (created) | Katagum | |
| Katsina Emirate | 1807 | Katsina | |
| Kazaure Emirate | Kazaure | ||
| Kebbi Emirate | 1808 | Argungu | |
| Kontagora Emirate | 1864 (created) | Kontagora | |
| Lapai Emirate | 1825 (created) | Lapai | |
| Lafiagi Emirate | Lafiagi | ||
| Liptako Emirate | Dori | ||
| Missau Emirate | Missau | ||
| Muri Emirate (Hammanruwa) | Muri | ||
| Nasarawa Emirate | 1838 (created) | Lafia | |
| Say | Say | ||
| Shonga Emirate | |||
| Torodi | Lamorde | ||
| Yaga | Sebba | ||
| Yauri Emirate | Yauri | ||
| Zazzau Emirate | 1804 | Zaria |