Tenere Sultanate of Aïr
Rough location of the Sultanate
Capital	Agadez
Common languages	Tayiṛt, Arabic, Hausa
Religion	Sunni Islam
Government	Sultanate
Establishment
• Establishment of the Sultanate	1404
• Agadez proclaimed as the new seat of the Sultanate	1430
• Conquered by Songhai	1500
• Fall of the Songhai Empire	1591
• Incorporated into French West Africa	1906
Preceded by Succeeded by Songhai Empire Kel Ferwan Kel Owey Kel Geres French West Africa
Today part of	Niger

The Sultanate of Agadez (also known as Tenere Sultanate of Aïr,^[1] Sultanate of Aïr, or Asben^[2]) was a Berber kingdom centered in the city of Agadez in the Aïr Mountains, located at the southern edge of the Sahara desert in north-central Niger. It was founded in 1430 by the Tuareg and Hausa people as a trading post. The Agadez Sultanate was later conquered by the Songhai Empire in 1500.^[1] After the defeat of the Songhai kingdom in 1591, the Agadez Sultanate regained its independence. It experienced a steep decline in population and economic activity during the 17th century. The sultanate came under French suzerainty in 1906.

History

According to oral tradition of the tribes of Kel Ferwan, Kel Owi and Itesen, the Sultanate was established because there had long been destructive clashes between the tribes. Because of this, the tribes sent an envoy to Constantinople to find a capable leader for the tribes. An article from the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism about the renovation of Sultan Oumarou Ibrahim Oumarou's guest room from 2018 states, that the Sultan sent from the Ottoman Empire was Yunus, one of the sons of the Sultan from an unnamed African woman out of his harem.^[3]

Originally, the seat of the Sultanate was Tadaliza, and then Tin Chaman, which are now archaeological sites in the Air Mountains. Sultan Ilisawan (1430-1449) settled in Agadez and built a palace there, proclaiming it as the capital of the Sultanate in 1430.

In the 18th century, Tuareg confederacies from the north migrated south into the Air region, which led to unrest between the existing Tuareg confederacies in the Air region. By the end of the century, the Kel Geres were pushed south after being outnumbered by the Kel Owey.

German explorer Heinrich Barth visited Agadez in 1850 and described it as a ghost town, which was confirmed by French explorer Amédée-François Lamy at the time of his expedition.

The Sultanate fell under French administration in 1906.

At the time of the Kaocen Revolt, Sultan Tegama awaited the arrival of Kaocen, and after he was defeated by the French, the Sultan and many other conspirators fled the region. In 1917, the Sultan who had preceded Sultan Tegama was recalled by the French to Agadez to act as a mediator between the French administration and the people. ^[4]

List of Sultans

^[5]