Sultan, Caliph, and the Renewer of the Faith
A?mad Lobbo, the T?r?kh al-fatt?sh and the Making of an Islamic State in West Africa

A significant re-examination of the T?r?kh al-fatt?sh, revealing it to be a crucial nineteenth-century source for history in West Africa.

Mauro Nobili (Author)

9781108479509, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 19 March 2020

288 pages, 10 b/w illus.
23.5 x 15.7 x 2 cm, 0.53 kg

'A compelling work of historical and literary detective work, Nobili's study of the Tarikh al-Fattash is an important exploration of the role of Islamic literature and the unseen, in the legitimation of political authority in 19-century Africa. Focusing on the Sultanate of Ahmad Lobbo, Nobili demonstrates not only that the famed Tarikh was a work of relatively recent vintage based on earlier works, but that it was composed at least in part to substantiate Lobbo's claims to authority based on earlier esoteric prophecy. This timely work constitutes a substantial addition to the literature on the intersection between political authority and the Islamic 'unseen'. It will be important reading for anyone interested in Islamic political authority, historiography or the esoteric.' Scott S. Reese, Northern Arizona University

The T?r?kh al-fatt?sh is one of the most important and celebrated sources for the history of pre-colonial West Africa, yet it has confounded scholars for decades with its inconsistences and questions surrounding its authorship. In this study, Mauro Nobili examines and challenges existing theories on the chronicle, arguing that much of what we have presumed about the work is deeply flawed. Making extensive use of previously unpublished Arabic sources, Nobili demonstrates that the T?r?kh al-fatt?sh was in fact written in the nineteenth century by a Fulani scholar, N?? b. al-??hir, who modified pre-existing historiographical material as a political project in legitimation of the West African Islamic state known as the Caliphate of ?amdall?hi and its founding leader A?mad Lobbo. Contextualizing its production within the broader development of the religious and political landscape of West Africa, this study represents a significant moment in the study of West African history and of the evolution of Arabic historical literature in Timbuktu and its surrounding regions.

Introduction
Part I. A Nineteenth Century Chronicle in Support of the Caliphate of Hamdall?hi: N?? B. Al-??hir's T?r?kh al-fatt?sh: 1. A century of scholarship
2. The T?r?kh al-fatt?sh: a nineteenth-century chronicle
Part II. A Contested Space of Compating Claims: the Middle Niger, 1810s–1840s
3. The emergence of clerical rule in the Middle Niger
4. A?mad Lobbo, Timbuktu, and the Kunta
5. Fluctuating diplomacy: ?amdall?hi and Sokoto
Part III. The Circulation and Reception of the T?r?kh al-fatt?sh, 1840s–2010s: 6. The T?r?kh al-fatt?sh at work
Conclusion.

Subject Areas: African history [HBJH]