Seku Amadu

Seku Amadu (c. 1776 – 20 April 1845) was a Fulbe leader who founded the Massina Empire, also called the Diina of Hamdullahi, in the Inner Niger Delta, in what is now the Mopti Region of Mali. He served as Almami from 1818 until his death and also held the title sisse al-Masini.

Early years

Born around 1776 as Aḥmad bin Muḥammad Būbū, he was raised by his father’s younger brother, Hamman Lobbo. He studied under the Qadiriyya Sufi teacher Sidi Mukhtar al-Kunti. At the time, the Inner Niger Delta was controlled by non-Muslim Bambara people, while Fulbe traders ruled towns like Djenné.

The Fulbe chiefs, or ardo’en, paid tribute to the Bambara of Ségou and practiced a form of Islam considered impure. Seku Amadu may have taken part in the Sokoto jihad before returning to the Massina region. He settled in a village under Djenné’s authority, but his teaching attracted a large following and he was expelled.

He moved to Sebera, under Massina, where the same thing happened. Shaykh Usman dan Fodio, founder of the Sokoto Caliphate, authorized him to wage jihad in the region, originally intending his conquests to fall under Abdullahi dan Fodio of Gwandu. Like other jihad leaders, Seku Amadu received a flag from Usman dan Fodio as a symbol of authority.

Jihad

His views put him at odds with his local pagan Fulani chief, who called for help from the Bambara king of Segu. This sparked a general uprising that established the Massina Empire, a theocratic Muslim Fulani state covering the Inner Niger Delta and extending to Djenné and Timbuktu. The jihad likely ran continuously from 1810 through 1818, though some sources mention separate events in 1810 and 1818.

One estimate puts the total deaths at 10,000. Seku Amadu first accused local Fulbe rulers of idolatry and targeted them, then expanded the fight to include the Bambara and other pagan groups. He gained support from Tukolors, other Fulbe in Massina, escaped slaves, and those seeking freedom from Bambara masters. Among the Fulbe, literate Muslims influenced by the Sufi revival backed him enthusiastically.

He defeated the Segu army, captured Djenné (whose scholars welcomed him), and was invited to take control of Massina after a Fulbe revolt there. By 1818 he controlled both Djenné and Massina. In Djenné and later Timbuktu, temporal leaders were replaced by scholars, and the Fulba Dikko clan rose to regional power.