linguistic:translation
Sultanate of Aïr (1400s–1906)

In c. 1449 in the north of what is now Niger, the Sultanate of Aïr was founded by Sultan Ilisawan, based in Agadez. Formerly a trading post inhabited by a mixture of Hausa and Tuaregs, it grew as a strategic position on the Trans-Saharan trade routes. In 1515, Aïr was conquered by Songhai, remaining a part of that empire until its collapse in 1591. In the following centuries, it "seems that the sultanate entered a decline" marked by internecine wars and clan conflicts. When Europeans began exploring the region in the 19th century, most of Agadez lay in ruins and was taken over by the French (see below).