Kano Chronicle

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The Kano Chronicle is a valuable source written in Arabic on the history of the city of Kano in northern Nigeria.

The chronicle was discovered in Kano at the beginning of the colonial period and translated into English by the colonial administrator HR Palmer. Several quite different versions of the chronicle are kept in Nigerian archives. The Arabic text has never been critically edited or published.

The chronicle is one of the six most important Arabic sources on the history of West Africa written by local chroniclers. It deals with the history of the city of Kano from the end of the 10th century to the end of the reign of King Muhammad Bello (1883–1892) and is characterized by a relatively large interest in the pre-Islamic tradition.

literature

  • Herbert R. Palmer: The Kano Chronicle. In: HR Palmer: Sudanese Memoirs. Being mainly translations of a number of Arabic manuscripts relating to the Central and Western Sudan. Volume 3. Government Printer, Lagos 1928, (also: New Impression. Cass, London 1967, ( Library of African studies, general studies ) 47), pp. 92-132.