List of rulers of Kano

Emir of Kano
Emir of Kano
	19th century flag of the Kano Emirate
Incumbent
	Muhammadu Sanusi II; since 23 May 2024
Details
Style	His Highness
First monarch	Suleiman 1805–1819
Formation	1807
Residence	Gidan Rumfa (official) Gidan Makama; Filin Chiranch; ;
Appointer	Taran Kano (Hereditary)

This is a list of rulers of Kano since the establishment of the Bagauda Dynasty in 998. The early rulers are known almost exclusively from a single source, the Kano Chronicle,^[3] which was composed in the late 19th century.^[4]

Bagauda dynasty (998–1809)

Names and dates taken from John Stewart's African States and Rulers (1989):^[5]

Kings (998 – 1349)

#	Name	Reign Start	Reign End
1	Bagauda (or Yakano)	December 999	January 1063
2	Warisis (or Warisi)	January 1063	January 1095
3	Gajemasu (or Gijimasu)	January 1095	November 1133
4	Nawata (joint ruler with twin brother Gawata)	November 1133	October 1135
5	Gawata (joint ruler with twin brother Nawata)	November 1133	October 1135
6	Yusa (or Tsaraki)	October 1135	December 1193
7	Naguji	December 1193	May 1247
8	Gujjua (or Gugua)	May 1247	January 1290
9	Shekarau I (or Shekkarau I)	January 1290	July 1307
10	Tsamiya (or Tsamia; also Barandamasu)	July 1307	June 1343
11	Usmanu Zamnagawa	June 1343	March 1349

Sultans (1349 – 1807)

#	Name	Reign Start	Reign End
12	Yaji I	March 1349	February 1385
13	Bugaya	February 1385	December 1390
14	Kanejeji	December 1390	May 1410
15	Umaru	May 1410	January 1421
16	Dauda	January 1421	January 1438
17	Abdullahi Burja	January 1438	January 1452
18	Dakauta	January 1452 (One night)
19	Atuma	January 1452	February 1452
20	Yakubu	February 1452	September 1463
21	Muhammad Rumfa	September 1463	August 1499
22	Abdullahi	August 1499	May 1509
23	Muhammad Kisoki	May 1509	August 1565
24	Yakufu	August 1565	1565
26	Abu Bakr Kado	1565	May 1573
27	Muhammad Shashere	May 1573	January 1582
28	Muhammad Zaki	January 1582	December 1618
29	Muhammad Nazaki	December 1618	November 1623
30	Kutumbi	November 1623	January 1648
31	Alhaji	January 1648	January 1649
32	Shekkarau II	January 1649	December 1651
33	Muhammad Kukuna	December 1651	December 1652
34	Soyaki	December 1652
–	Muhammad Kukuna (Restored)	December 1652	September 1660
35	Bawa	September 1660	1670
36	Dadi	1670	May 1703
37	Muhammad Sharefa	May 1703	July 1731
38	Kumbari	July 1731	February 1743
39	Alhaji Kabe	February 1743	May 1753
40	Yaji II	May 1753	May 1768
41	Babba Zaki	May 1768	February 1776
42	Dauda Abasama II	February 1776	December 1781
43	Muhammad Alwali II	December 1781	March 1805

Suleiman's reign (1807–1819)

#	Name	Reign Start	Reign End	Notes
1	Suleimanu dan Aba Hama	1807	1819	Shehu Suleiman dan Aba Hama from the Fulani Mundubawa clan led the Jihad of Usman dan Fodio in Kano, and overthrew the almost eight-centuries-old Bagauda dynasty. He pledged allegiance to the Sokoto Caliphate and became the first emir of the Kano Emirate. He was a wise and just king.

Dabo dynasty (1819–present)

#	Name	Reign Start	Reign End	Notes
2	Ibrahim Dabo dan Mahmudu	1819	1846	Shehu Ibrahim Dabo from the Fulani Sullubawa clan was a mystic and scholar. He is the eponymous founder of the Dabo dynasty as the khalifa of Emir Suleiman which has ruled Kano for over two hundred years.
3	Usman I Maje Ringim dan Dabo	1846	1855	Son of Dabo
4	Abdullahi Maje Karofi dan Dabo	1855	1883	Son of Dabo
5	Muhammadu Bello dan Dabo	1883	1893	Son of Dabo
6	Muhammadu Tukur dan Bello	1893	1894
7	Aliyu Babba dan Maje Karofi	1894	1903	Aliyu was on a visit to Sokoto in 1903 when Kano fell to the British during the Battle of Kano. Aliyu gathered his forces on a long march to retake the city but his cavalry was annihilated by the Lord Lugard at the sanguinary Battle of Kwatarkwashi. His brother Wambai Abbas was proclaimed Emir by the British and Aliyu subsequently went on a Mahdist Hijra north into the Sahara but was captured by the French and handed over to the British who exiled him to Yola and then Lokoja
8	Muhammad Abbass dan Maje Karofi	1903	1919	First Emir to reign under the Kano Emirate Council.
9	Usman II dan Maje Karofi	1919	1926
10	Abdullahi Bayero dan Abbas	1926	1953	Bayero was a scholarly-king who promoted traditional Islamic education and encouraged trade in the city-state
11	Muhammadu Sanusi I dan Bayero	1953	1963	Sanusi I was the first Emir to be dethroned by the government
12	Muhammad Inuwa dan Abbas	April 1963	October 1963	Second shortest reign after Sultan Dakauta (who reigned for one night in January 1452)
13	Ado Bayero (San Kano) dan Abdu Bayero	1963	2014	Ado Bayero had the longest reign in the royal history of the city-state spanning over five decades. His reign started three years before the fall of the first republic and saw 14 heads of state and 17 state governors. His funeral was the largest gathering in the modern history of northern Nigeria.
14	Muhammadu Sanusi II dan Nadawaki Aminu dan Muhammadu Sanusi I	2014	2020	Sanusi II was the first Sullubawa prince since the 19th century founding of the Dabo dynasty to become emir not through royal primogenitureship. His six-year reign marks also the first to usher in a dynastic generational-shift away from the old regime of 1903; he is the second emir to be dethroned after his grandfather Sir Sanusi I
15	Aminu dan Ado Bayero	2020	2024
16	Muhammadu Sanusi II dan Nadawaki Aminu dan Muhammadu Sanusi I	2024	present

Lineages

Hausa rulers

Lineage of the Bagauda dynasty

Kings of Kano (Sarkin Kano)

Bauwo

Kaunasu

1
Daud
Bagoda
999–1063

Saju

2
Warisi
1063–1095

Yānas

Munsada

3
Gijimasu
1095–1134

Yankuma
or
Yankuna

4
Nawata
1134–1136
(co-ruler 1134)

4
Gawata
co-ruler 1134

5
Yusa
Tsaraki
1136–1194

Muntáras
or
Yankuma

Gijimasu

Munsada

6
Naguji
1194–1247

7
Gugua
1247–1290

Tsaraki

Auta

Salmata

8
Shekkarau I
1290–1307

Kumyerku

Maganarku

9
Tsamia
Barandamasu
1307–1343

10
Osumanu
Zamnagawa
1343–1349

Sultans of Kano

11
Yaji
Ali
1349–1385

Aunaka

12
Bugaya
Mohammad
1349–1385

Yatara

13
Kanajeji
1347–1390

Tekidda

Auta

14
Umaru
1410–1421

15
Dauda
1421–1438

16
Abdulahi
Burja
1438–1452

Tasafi

17
Dakauta
1452
(1 day)
(deposed)

19
Yakubu
1452–1463

Fasima
Berana

18
Atuma
1452
(deposed)

20
Mohamma
Rimfa
1463–1499

Auwa

21
Abdulahi
1499–1509

Lamis

25
Abubakr
Kado
1565–1573
(deposed)

Tunus

22
Mohamma
Kisoki
1509–1565

Hausatu

Zuhara

23
Yakufu
1565

Fasuma

27
Mohamma
Zaki
1582–1618

Kursu

24
Dauda
Abasama I
1565
(exiled)

26
Mohamma
Shashere
1573–1582
(deposed)

Dada

28
Mohamma
Nazaki
1618–1623

Fudima

29
Kutumbi
1623–1648

Fari

30
Al Haji
1648–1649
(deposed)

Goro

31
Shekkarau II
1649–1651

Fasuma

32,34
Mohamma
Kukuna
1651–1652
1652–1660
(deposed twice)

Lamis

33
Soyaki
1652
(deposed)

Ka Iya Gari

35
Bawa
1660–1670

Mariamma

36
Dadi
1670–1703

37
Mohamma
Sharefa
1703–1731

Duki

Yerduna

40
Mohamma
Yaji
1753–1768

Baiwa

Zama
Zenabu

38
Mohamma
Kumbari
1731–1743

41
Babba
Zaki
1768–1776

42
Dauda
Abasama II
1776–1781

43
Mohamma
Alwali
1781–1807

39
Alhaji
Kabe
1743–1753

Fulani rulers

Tree of Emirs of Kano

Clan of
Mundubawa

Clan of
Sullubawa

Aba Hama

Mahmudu

1
Suleimanu
1805–1819

2
Ibrahim
Dabo
1819–1846

3
Usman I
Maje Ringim
1846–1855

4
Abdullahi
Maje Karofi
1855–1883

5
Muhammadu
Bello
1883–1893

7
Aliyu
Babba
1894–1903

8
Muhammadu
Abbass
1903–1919

9
Shehu
Usman II
1919–1926

6
Muhammadu
Tukur
1893–1894

10
Abdallahi
Bayero
1926–1953

12
Muhammadu
Inuwa
1963

11
Muhammadu
Sanusi I
1954–1963

13
Ado
Bayero
1963–2014

Aminu
Sanusi

15
Aminu
Ado Bayero
2020–2024

14
Sanusi
Muhammadu
Sanusi II
First time 2014–2020
Second time 2024-Date

References

^ "BREAKING Sanusi Reinstated As Emir of Kano Four Years After Deposition". Punch Newspapers. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
^ ""Why I Reinstated Lamido Sanusi As Kano Emir" - Governor". Premium Times. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
^ Palmer, Herbert Richmond, ed. (1908), "The Kano Chronicle", Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, vol. 38, pp. 58–98 – via Internet Archive; in Google Books.
^ Lovejoy, Paul E. (2018). "The Kano Chronicle Revisited". In Toby Green; Benedetta Rossi (eds.). Landscapes, Sources and Intellectual Projects of the West African Past. Leiden: Brill. pp. 400–421. ISBN 9789004380189.
^ Stewart, John (1989). African States and Rulers. London: McFarland. pp. 147–148. ISBN 0-89950-390-X.

[1] "BREAKING Sanusi Reinstated As Emir of Kano Four Years After Deposition". Punch Newspapers. Retrieved 23 May 2024.

[2] ""Why I Reinstated Lamido Sanusi As Kano Emir" - Governor". Premium Times. Retrieved 23 May 2024.

[3] Palmer, Herbert Richmond, ed. (1908), "The Kano Chronicle", Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, vol. 38, pp. 58–98 – via Internet Archive; in Google Books.

[Lovejoy2018-4] Lovejoy, Paul E. (2018). "The Kano Chronicle Revisited". In Toby Green; Benedetta Rossi (eds.). Landscapes, Sources and Intellectual Projects of the West African Past. Leiden: Brill. pp. 400–421. ISBN 9789004380189.

[Stewart-5] Stewart, John (1989). African States and Rulers. London: McFarland. pp. 147–148. ISBN 0-89950-390-X.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

Emir of Kano
19th century flag of the Kano Emirate
Incumbent

Muhammadu Sanusi II^[1]^[2] since 23 May 2024


Details
Style	His Highness
First monarch	Suleiman 1805–1819
Formation	1807
Residence	Gidan Rumfa (official) Gidan Makama Filin Chiranch
Appointer	Taran Kano (Hereditary)