Sack of Old Oyo

The Sack of Katunga or Old Oyo was a turning point battle between the Sokoto Caliphate and the Yoruba Oyo Empire in modern-day Oyo. Katunga was the capital,^[1] and largest city of the Oyo Empire.^[2]

Sack of Katunga or Old Oyo
Date 1830s Location Oyo Result Decisive Sokoto Caliphate victory Territorial changes Abandonment of Oyo Empire Capital City Beginning of Fula settlements in Southwest Nigeria
Belligerents
Sokoto Caliphate Ilorin Emirate	Oyo Empire Yoruba Alliance
Strength
Unknown	Unknown
Casualties and losses
Unknown	Unknown

Background

The Sack of Katunga refers to the destruction, and abandonment of the capital city of the Oyo Empire,^[3] known as Katunga (also called Old Oyo or Oyo-Ile), in the early 19th century during the period of the Fula jihads in West Africa. The Oyo royal family and many nobles fled southward. They relocated and established a new capital at Ago d’Oyo (New Oyo),^[4] marking a significant retreat from the original power base in the north. This move symbolized the end of the Old Oyo Empire.^[5] Katunga and its surrounding territories were abandoned. The area became a kind of no-man's-land, exposed to slave raids and pressure from Fula and Nupe forces.^[6] It did not immediately become a core Fula outpost.^[7] Ilorin—under Fula leadership—gained control of former Oyo territories in the north.^[8] Ilorin was once a Yoruba town, but after Afonja (a rebel Yoruba warlord) invited Fula help and was eventually killed, Shehu Alimi’s descendants took over, establishing Ilorin as a Fula emirate. Ilorin became part of the Sokoto Caliphate and was governed under Sokoto’s spiritual and political authority.

Aftermath

Leading to the collapse of central authority and the rise of smaller, rival Yoruba states. This was the This power vacuum triggered widespread instability, with increased Fulani raids from the north and internal conflicts among Yoruba polities vying for dominance. All the towns owing "any allegiance to Oyo, and hence Gbodo was besieged", showing the lack of centralization, and weakness, opening the Capital, and towns with alligance to the Oyo State often raided, or enslaved. It was a large demoralization, and turning point, as Katunga or Old Oyo was the capital, and the largest city of the Oyo empire.