Editing History of Chad (section)

===Kanem–Bornu===
{{main|Kanem–Bornu Empire}}
The Kanem Empire originated in the 9th century AD to the northeast of [[Lake Chad]]. Historians agree that the leaders of the new state were ancestors of the [[Kanem Empire|Kanembu]] people. Toward the end of the 11th century the [[Sayfawa dynasty|Sayfawa]] king (or ''mai'', the title of the Sayfawa rulers) [[Hummay]], converted to Islam. In the following century the Sayfawa rulers expanded southward into [[Kanem (region)|Kanem]], where was to rise their first capital, [[Njimi]]. Kanem's expansion peaked during the long and energetic reign of Mai [[Dunama Dabbalemi]] (c. 1221&ndash;1259).<ref name="locchad15">Collier 1990 p. 15</ref>
[[Image:Group of Kanem-Bu warriors.jpg|thumb|left|Group of Kanem-Bu warriors]]

By the end of the 14th century, internal struggles and external attacks had torn Kanem apart. Finally, around 1396 the [[Bulala]] invaders forced ''Mai'' [[Umar Idrismi]] to abandon Njimi and move the Kanembu people to [[Borno State|Bornu]] on the western edge of Lake Chad. Over time, the intermarriage of the Kanembu and Bornu peoples created a new people and language, the [[Kanuri people|Kanuri]], and founded a new capital, [[Ngazargamu]].<ref name="locchad15" />

Kanem–Bornu peaked during the reign of the outstanding statesman ''Mai'' [[Idris Aluma]] (c. 1571&ndash;1603). Aluma is remembered for his military skills, administrative reforms, and Islamic piety. The administrative reforms and military brilliance of Aluma sustained the empire until the mid-17th century, when its power began to fade. By the early 19th century, Kanem–Bornu was clearly an empire in decline, and in 1808 [[Fulani Empire|Fulani]] warriors conquered Ngazargamu. Bornu survived, but the Sayfawa dynasty ended in 1846 and the Empire itself fell in 1893.<ref name="locchad15" />