Zaria is a major city in Kaduna State in Northern Nigeria. First known as Zazzau, it was one of the original seven Hausa city-states. The 2007 estimated population was 1,018,827.[1] The current Emir of Zaria (Sarkin Zazzau in Hausa language) is Shehu Idris.
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History
Zaria, initially known as Zazzau, was also the capital of the Hausa kingdom of Zazzau.[2] However, human settlement predates the rise of Zazzau, as the region like a few of its neighbors had a history of sedentary Hausa settlement, with institutional but pre-capitalist market exchange and farming.
In the late 1490s, Islam arrived Zaria by the way of its sister Habe cities, Kano and Katsina. Along with Islam, trade also flourished between the cities as traders brought camel caravans filled with salt in exchange for slaves and grain.[2] Between the fifteenth and sixteenth century the kingdom became a tributary state of the Songhai Empire. In 1805 it was captured by the Fulani during the Fulani Jihad. British forces led by Frederick Lugard took the city in 1901.
Geography
The old part of the city was originally surrounded by walls, although these have now largely collapsed. In the old city and the Tudun Wada neighbourhood nearby people typically reside in traditional mud-brick compounds. The following are areas in Zaria: Samaru, Tudun Wada, Sabon Gari, Zaria-City, PZ, Kongo, GRA-Zaria, Hanwa, Shikka
Transport and Economy
Zaria's economy is primarily agricultural. Staples are guinea corn and millet, and cash crops include cotton, groundnuts and tobacco.[2] The city is considered by some to be a main center of Hausa agriculture,[who?].
Because Zaria is north of the rail junction at Kaduna, it has rail equal access to the seaports at Lagos and Port Harcourt.
From 1914 to 1927, Zaria was the break of gauge junction station for the Bauchi Light Railway to the tin mines at Jos.
Education
Zaria is home to Ahmadu Bello University, the largest university in Nigeria and the second largest in the African continent. The institution is very prominent in the fields of Agriculture, Science, Finance, Medicine and Law
Notable births and residents
Notable births and current and former residents of Zaria in order of importance include:
- Danisha Kazi Nigeria's foremost exponent of Bharatnatyam
- Shola Ameobi football player in England
- Rumun Ndur former hockey player in NHL
- D'banj music artist
- Rilwanu Lukman, current Nigerian oil minister, former OPEC president and Secretary-General.
Notes
- ^ ""The World Gazetteer"". http://world-gazetteer.com/wg.php?x=&men=gpro&lng=en&dat=32&geo=-158&srt=npan&col=dq&pt=c&va=&geo=363906771. Retrieved 2007-02-20.
- ^ a b c ""The Britannica Encyclopedia". http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9078266/Zaria. Retrieved 2007-02-04.
References
- Smith, M. G. (Michael Garfield). Government in Zazzau 1800-1950
External links
Coordinates: 11°04′00″N 07°42′00″E / 11.0666667°N 7.7°E
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