Muhammadu Kanta, known as Kanta Kotal, was a Hausa warrior-king and founder of the Kebbi Empire, the last of the Hausa states to emerge.
22 Facts About Kanta Kotal
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Kanta Kotal rose to prominence as a military commander in the service of the Songhai Empire, joining Askia the Great's campaign to conquer Hausaland in 1513.
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Kanta Kotal seized control of Gobir, Katsina, Kano, Yauri, Zazzau, and other nearby states.
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Kanta Kotal's reign saw the development of fortified cities such as Surame, whose defensive walls still stand to this day.
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Kanta Kotal's reign marked the peak of Kebbi's power, but after his death, the kingdom ceased to be a great power, as his successors were unable to maintain its influence in the region.
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Kanta Kotal married Tamatu, a Katsina princess, and they had two sons, the elder of whom was Kanta.
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Frustrated by being passed over for the position, Kanta Kotal left his village and became a cattle grazer.
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Kanta Kotal traveled across Hausaland, moving westward through Gobir and Zamfara before crossing the Rima River.
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Kanta Kotal eventually settled in a village, which some historians identify as Surame, while others suggest it was Leka.
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Kanta Kotal wore a white ram's skin round his loins, an armlet of the same skin, and his fighting hand was wrapped in the hairs of a white ram's tail.
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Rather than adopting the title of Magaji, Kanta Kotal took on the more prestigious title of Sarki.
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The Rima River Valley, where Kanta Kotal had established himself, was located in the debatable lands between Hausaland in the east and the Songhai Empire in the west.
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However, Kanta Kotal became dissatisfied with his share of the spoils and decided to revolt.
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Kanta Kotal on returning with the prince from his expedition against Agades hoped to receive, on arrival in his country, his share of the spoils which had been taken.
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Kanta Kotal seized control of Gobir, Katsina, Kano, Zazzau, and other nearby states, most of which had been conquered by Askia the Great.
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At its height, Kebbi stretched from the Niger River to the Sahara Desert, with Kanta Kotal successfully resisting both the Songhai Empire to the west and the Bornu Empire to the east.
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Kanta Kotal reportedly used a copper-prowed canoe manned by fifty oarsmen to travel across the vast network of towns he ruled during the seasonal floods.
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Kanta Kotal had slit their lips to create the illusion that they were grinning at the attackers.
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The rivalry between Kebbi and the Kanem-Bornu Empire persisted throughout Kanta Kotal's reign, intensifying over time.
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Kanta Kotal commanded tribute in both men and wealth from the states under his rule.
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Similarly, when the Nupe people delayed their tribute, Kanta Kotal ordered them to mix their portion of Surame's forty-foot walls using shea butter instead of water.
22.
On his return to Surame, Kanta Kotal was wounded in a skirmish at Rimin dan Ashita, a settlement near Ingawa in Katsina, where he was struck by a poisoned arrow.