The Kebbi Emirate, also known as the Argungu Emirate is a traditional state based on the town of Argungu in Kebbi State, Nigeria. It is the successor to the ancient Hausa kingdom of Kebbi. The Emirate is one of four in Kebbi State, the others being the Gwandu Emirate, Yauri Emirate and Zuru Emirate. Location The Kebbi emirate is in the northwest of the modern Kebbi State. In earlier times it extended to the south of its original capital of Birnin Kebbi, which is now capital of the Gwandu Emirate and of Kebbi State itself. The landscape is mainly Sudanian Savanna, open woodland with scattered trees. It is intersected by the lowlands of the Rima River, which are seasonally flooded. There is a wet season between May and September, with little rain in the remainder of the year. Mean annual rainfall is about 800mm. Average temperatures are about 26 °C, ranging from 21 °C in winter to 40 °C between April and June. Kebbi is populated by the Kebbawa, a subgroup of the Hausa. History Origins Kebbi is traditionally considered to belong to the Banza bakwai states of Hausaland. According to the locally known Hausa legend, the Kebbi kingdom was one of the Banza Bakwai ("seven bastards") or seven "illegitimate" states. The rulers of these states were supposed to trace their lineage to a concubine of the Hausa founding father, Bayajidda, hence the locally disdainful term banza ("illegitimate"). The first historical references date to the time when the area came under Songhay rule during the reign of Sunni Ali (1464–1492). Kanta Kotal, a Hausa immigrant from Kuyambana in southern Katsina became de facto military governor of the Songhay sub-province of Kebbi, and declared his independence in 1516. During this period Surame, of which the massive walls still survive, was the capital of the kingdom. Kebbi became a major power in the region, resisting Songhay attacks, expanding into the Yauri and Nupe lands to the south and defeating attempts by the Bornu Empire to invade and occupy the Hausa states. However, after Kanta's death in 1556 the Hausa states stopped paying tribute, and his son and successor Ahmadu did not attempt to force the issue. By the end of the sixteenth century Kebbi had become a minor kingdom. Struggle against the Fulani Jihadists During the Fulani jihad, in 1808 Abdullahi dan Fodio (c. 1766–1828), the younger brother of Shaihu Usman dan