A ruler remembered through differing traditions

Amina was a Hausa historical figure in the city-state of Zazzau (now Zaria in Kaduna State), in what is now the north-west region of Nigeria. Official/palace tradition has her having reigned as queen (sarauniya), however other traditions say she was a princess (gimbiya). While her name isn't present on regnal lists found in the Chronicle of Abuja and two published by E. J. Arnett, local traditions say she ruled the territory she conquered. According to some sources, she reigned from 1576–1610. One of the earliest textual sources to mention Amina is Muhammed Bello's history Ifaq al-Maysur, composed around 1836. He claims that she was "the first to establish government among," and she forced Katsina, Kano and other regions to pay tribute to her.

Bello provided no chronological details about her. She is also mentioned in the Kano Chronicle, a well-regarded and detailed history of the city of Kano, composed in the late nineteenth century, but incorporating earlier documentary material.

Early life

Amina was born in the middle of the sixteenth century CE to King Nikatau, the 22nd ruler of Zazzau, and Queen Bakwa Turunku (r. 1536–c. 1566). According to oral legends collected by anthropologist David E. Jones, Amina was brought up in her grandfather's court and was favored by him. He carried her around court and instructed her carefully in political and military matters. At age 16, Amina was named Magajiya (heir apparent), and was given forty female slaves (kuyanga). From an early age, Amina had a number of suitors attempt to marry her.

Attempts to gain her hand included "a daily offer of ten slaves" from Makama and "fifty male slaves and fifty female slaves as well as fifty bags of white and blue cloth" from the Sarkin Kano.

Expansion and dominance

After the death of her brother Karama in 1576, some traditions hold Amina ascended to the position of queen. Zazzau was one of the original seven Hausa States (Hausa Bakwai), the others being Daura, Kano, Gobir, Katsina, Rano, and Garun Gabas. Before Amina assumed the throne, Zazzau was one of the largest of these states. It was also the primary source of slaves that would be sold at the slave markets of Kano and Katsina by Arab merchants. Only three months after being crowned queen, Amina waged a 34-year campaign against her neighbors, to expand Zazzau territory. Expansion north was blocked by Kano and Katsina, and east by the Jos Plateau; therefore she campaigned to the southeast and southwest.

Her army, consisting of 20,000 foot soldiers and 1,000 cavalry troops, was well trained and fearsome. In fact, one of her first announcements to her people was a call for them to "resharpen their weapons." She conquered large tracts of land as far as Kwararafa and Nupe, including Bauchi and Yauri. Sokoto caliph Muhammad Bello claimed she reached what presumably was the confluence of the Niger and Benue rivers, and extracted tribute from Katsina and Kano, however contemporary historians dispute the latter claim. The Chronicle of Abuja says she received 40 eunuchs and 10,000 kola nuts from Nupe's ruler, introducing these to Hausaland.

Death

Beyond her expansion of Zazzau territory, she created trade routes throughout Northern Africa. Additionally, Amina has been credited with ordering the construction of a distinctive series of ancient Hausa fortifications, known as 'Amina's walls', and with introducing kola nut cultivation in the area.

Competing historical chronologies

There is also a local chronicle of Zaria itself, written largely in the nineteenth century but extending to 1902, published in 1910, that gives a list of the rulers and the duration of their reigns. Amina is not mentioned in this chronicle, but oral tradition in the early twentieth century held her to be the daughter of Bakwa Turunku, whose reign is dated by the chronicle from 1492 to 1522. On this basis, some scholars date her reign to the early sixteenth century. Historian Abdullahi Smith, however, places her reign after 1576.