Many of the emirates, states and cities of the Central Sudan boast king-lists, brief chronicles, or legends of origin that have been reduced to writing, mainly in the twentieth century, and often under the influence of colonial officials. They are mostly in Arabic, but some are in Hausa; a few, relating to Bornu, are in Kanuri, and some relating to Nupe are in Nupe. Some lists, such as those of the Sultanate of Aïr or the city-state of Kano, were recorded in writing well before the twentieth cen…