Imamate of Futa Jallon
Imamate of Futa Djallon | |||||||||||
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| 1725–1912 | |||||||||||
Flag used after the establishment of the French Protectorate | |||||||||||
Map of the Imamate of Futa Jallon and its tributaries at its height | |||||||||||
| Capital | Timbo | ||||||||||
| Common languages |
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| Religion | Sunni Islam | ||||||||||
| Government | Imamate | ||||||||||
| Almamy | |||||||||||
• 1725–1777 | Alfa Ibrahim | ||||||||||
• 1890-1896 | Bokar Biro (last sovereign) | ||||||||||
• 1906–1912 | Boubacar IV (last) | ||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||
• Established | 1725 | ||||||||||
• French protectorate | November 18th 1896 | ||||||||||
• Disestablished | 1912 | ||||||||||
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| Today part of | |||||||||||
The Imamate of Futa Jallon or Jalon (Arabic: إمامة فوتة جالون; Pular: Fuuta Jaloo or Fuuta Jalon فُوتَ جَلࣾو, 𞤊𞤵𞥅𞤼𞤢 𞤔𞤢𞤤𞤮𞥅), sometimes referred to as the Emirate of Timbo, was a West African Islamic state based in the Fouta Djallon highlands of modern Guinea. The state was founded in 1725 by a Fulani jihad and became part of French West Africa in 1896.
Over the course of the Imamate's existence, the region underwent a transformation from patriarchal, egalitarian animist societies to a hierarchal, segregationist, and aristocratic one, where Muslims (the rimbhè) received full rights and non-Muslims (the jiyabhe) constituted the slave class. The 19th century saw the golden age of Islam in Fouta Djallon, as the Imamate became a leading religious centre in West Africa.