It has long been well known that West Africa in the nineteenth century was the scene of a number of Islamic politico-religious movements promoted by Fulani or Tukulor mujaddidīn. It is also common knowledge that these movements resulted in the establishment, inter-alia, of three great confederations of emirates each recognizing an amīr al-mu'minīn. Thus we have:

(a) The ‘Fulani Empire’ in Hausaland and neighbouring territories (founded by Usman dan Fodio from 1804) of which certain important elements persist in the governmental and social structure of the Northern Region of Nigeria down to the present day;

(b) The ‘Fulani Empire’ of Macma (founded from 1818 by Ahmadu bi Hammadi) persisting until 1863;

(c) The ‘Empire’ of Al-Hajj 'Umar b. Sa'īd (founded from 1848) which covered an area of some 150,000 square miles in the Upper Niger-Senegal region (including the land of the Caliphate of Macina which it destroyed) and was broken up by the French at the end of the nineteenth century.