Editing History of Niger (section)

==Imperial Niger==
The [[Sultanate of Agadez]] was founded in 1449 and became a trading and religious center of the region. It was later conquered by the [[Songhai Empire]] in 1500.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Minahan |first=James B. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pGClDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA418 |title=Encyclopedia of Stateless Nations: Ethnic and National Groups Around the World, 2nd Edition |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-61069-954-9 |pages=418 |language=en}}</ref>

During the late 16th century, the [[trans-Saharan trade routes]] helped spread Islam among the tribal confederations. During the 17th century, incessant wars and severe droughts led to a decline in the population and economic activity of northern Niger.<ref name=":0" />

Niger was an important economic crossroads, and the empires of [[Songhai Empire|Songhai]], [[Mali Empire|Mali]], [[Gao Empire|Gao]], and [[Kanem Empire|Kanem-Bornu]], as well as a number of [[Hausa people|Hausa]] states, claimed control over portions of the area. During recent centuries, the nomadic [[Tuareg people|Tuareg]] formed large confederations, pushed southward, and, siding with various Hausa states, clashed with the [[Fulani Empire of Sokoto]], which had gained control of much of the Hausa territory in the late 18th century. The area eventually became known as the [[Bornu Empire]], which ended in 1893.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-08-14 |title=Central African History: The Kanem/Kanem-Bornu Empire (700 AD – 1893 AD) - Right for Education |url=https://rightforeducation.org/2017/08/14/central-african-history-kanemkanem-bornu-empire-700-ad-1893-ad/ |access-date=2022-09-07 |language=en-GB |archive-date=17 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230117115252/https://rightforeducation.org/2017/08/14/central-african-history-kanemkanem-bornu-empire-700-ad-1893-ad/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The [[Ottoman Empire]] claimed nominal rule of the [[Agadez Region|Agadez]] region; it became the furthest point of the empire in Africa and remained under nominal control until the French invasion of the late 19th century.<ref name=":0" /><gallery widths="260" heights="140" class="center">
File:Niger saharan medieval trade routes.PNG|alt=|The main trans-Saharan caravan routes, c. 1400
File:SONGHAI empire map.PNG|alt=|The Songhai Empire at its greatest extent, c. 1500
</gallery>