The Hausa states that had developed in the Sahel zone of Western Africa have become one of Africa's major powers.

Closely linked with the Kanuri people of Kanem-Bornu (Lake Chad) the the northeast, the Hausa aristocracy had adopted Islam in the eleventh century CE.

The architecture of the Hausa is perhaps one of the least known but most beautiful of the medieval age.

Many of their early mosques and palaces are bright and colorful and often include intricate engraving or elaborate symbols designed into the facade.