died 1898, Sokoto, Northern Nigeria
Second and last ruler of the Tukulor empire in West Africa.
Succeeding his father, al-Ḥājj ʽUmar, in 1864, Ahmadu ruled over a great empire centred on the ancient Bambara kingdom of Segu, in present Mali. In 1887 he was forced to abandon Segu and accept French protectorate status. By 1891 most of his strongholds had been seized.