Katsina, city in northern Nigeria, capital of Katsina State, a historic center of trade and learning. Peanuts, cotton, and hides are collected at Katsina and sent to Kano, Nigeria, for export. Sorghum, millet, a variety of vegetables, peanuts, indigo, cotton, goats, sheep, cattle, and poultry are traded in the city's central market. Traditional crafts in Katsina include weaving and dyeing, leather work, and metallurgy. Katsina also contains vegetable oil mills and a steel plant. The city is the site of a campus of the Katsina College of Arts, Science, and Technology, and the Kaduna State College of Legal Studies. A highway links Katsina to Kano and to Maradi, Niger. Fulani emirs, or rulers, live in a palace in Katsina and still play an advisory role in government. A landmark of the city is the Gobir Minaret, a 15-m (50-ft) tower connected to the city's central mosque and believed to date from the 18th century. The extensive wall that once enclosed Katsina is largely in ruins.
Katsina was under the control of the Songhai empire from about 1513 until 1554. It then became an important intellectual center and caravan hub for the Hausa states until the early 19th century, when Kano grew in importance and new trade routes were established to the Gulf of Guinea. By the 17th century Katsina was also a center of Islamic learning. The city was conquered by the Fulani in 1807. Population (1995 estimate) 201,500.
