There are three major ethnic groups in Benin City: the Hausa-Fulani, the Yoruba, and the Igbo. The northern-dwelling Hausa, the most numerous group in the nation, have become integrated with the smaller Fulani group, whose members conquered Hausaland in the early 19th century; the great majority of both groups are Muslims. Although town-dwelling Fulani intermarry freely with the Hausa and other groups, they continue to control the administration of the Hausa towns. The cattle-herding Fulani, who generally do not intermarry, speak the Fulani language of Fula rather than Hausa.