Where the kings of Gobir sat in 1200 is not known.
Tradition puts the first Gobir seat in Asben (Aïr), dated 1150-1450 in one modern table; Mahdi Adamu proposed Marandet, the copper-working town south-west of Agadez that the gao part of this sheet records; later seats (Birnin Lalle in the fifteenth century, Alkalawa in the eighteenth) lie far to the south. The point stands in the Tarka valley only so that the record can be clicked; it marks no known site.
Who holds it
- Title
- sarki of Gobir
- Confidence
- low
Lord in 1200
The sarki of Gobir (not known)
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Tradition and one modern suggestion.
Primary sources for Gobir
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- The Kano Chronicle (about 1880 to 1890, from older written lists and oral tradition). The only narrative of the Hausa towns, but a nineteenth-century compilation whose dates for early kings are reckoned back from reign lengths. Read online
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.