Editing Kanem–Bornu Empire

{{Short description|Empire around Lake Chad, Africa, c. 700–1380}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2021}}
{{Infobox country
| native_name            = 
| conventional_long_name = Kanem Empire
| common_name            = Kanem Empire
| era                    = Middle Ages
| status                 = 
| empire                 = 
| government_type        = [[Monarchy]]
| year_start             = {{circa|700}}
| year_end               = 1380
| event_start            = 700
| date_start             = 
| event_end              = Invaded and forced to move, thus establishing new [[Bornu Empire]]
| date_end               = 
| p1                     = Toubou culture
| flag_p1                = The Kanem-Bornu Empire old flag.jpg
| p2                     = Kanuri culture
| flag_p2                = The Kanem-Bornu Empire flag.jpg
| p3                     = Sao civilisation
| s1                     = Bornu Empire
| flag_s1                = Flag of the Bornu Empire.svg
| image_flag             = Kanem flag from dulcerta 1339-pt.svg
| flag                   = <!-- Link target under flag image. Default: Flag of {{{common_name}}} -->
| s2                     = Khormans
| flag_border            = no
| image_coat             = Old Sayfawa Coat of arms.jpg
| image_map              = Kanem-Bornu.svg
| image_map_caption      = Influence of the Kanem Empire around 1200 AD

This map depicts the territorial influence of the Kanem Empire during the reign of Mai Dunama Dabbalemi (c. 1221–1259). However, it does not fully represent the extent of the empire at its height. Under Dabbalemi’s leadership, Kanem expanded significantly, reaching as far north as the Zella Oasis in the Fezzan region, located in the present-day Jufra District of Libya. The empire's reach also extended westward across parts of modern-day Niger, including areas such as the Dajdo Plateau.

By the late 16th to early 17th century, during the reign of Mai Idris Alouma (1580–1603), the Kanem-Bornu Empire underwent substantial territorial expansion. Its influence extended across much of the southern Lake Chad Basin and reached northeast into regions of present-day western Sudan, Darfur region. Historical traditions link the royal family of Darfur to descent from the Toubou Gaeda as well as the empire’s influence reached into southeastern Libya, in the Cyrenaica region, which was historically a kingdom of the Toubou. The Tazir region (modern-day Kufra) was a significant Toubou stronghold, with Tazirbu serving as its capital. The empire also maintained authority over the Fezzan region.
| capital                = {{plainlist|Manan (until the 12th-century)
* [[Njimi]]
}}
| common_languages       = [[Dazaga language|Daza]], [[Tedaga language|Teda]], [[Kanuri language|Kanuri]],
| religion               = [[Animism]], later [[Sunni Islam]]
| currency               = cloth, [[cowrie]] shells, copper
| leader1                = Sef
| leader2                = [[Hummay]]
| leader3                = [[Dunama I]]
| leader4                = [[Omar of Kanem|Omar I]]
| year_leader1           = {{circa|700}}
| year_leader2           = 1085-1097
| year_leader3           = 1097-1150
| year_leader4           = 1382–1387
| title_leader           = [[Sayfawa dynasty|King (Mai)]]|<!--- Area and population of a given year --->
| stat_area1             = {{convert|300000|mi2|km2|-3|abbr=|disp=number}}
| ref_area1              = <ref>{{Cite book|last=Shillington|first=Kevin|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=umyHqvAErOAC&pg=PA733|title=Encyclopedia of African History 3-Volume Set|date=2013-07-04|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-135-45670-2|page=733|language=en|quote=The limits of the empire correspond approximately with the boundaries of the Chad Basin, an area of more than 300,000 square miles.|author-link=Kevin Shillington}}</ref>
}}
{{History of Northern Nigeria}}
{{History of Chad}}

The '''Kanem–Bornu Empire''' existed in areas which are now part of [[Nigeria]], [[Niger]], [[Cameroon]], [[Libya]] and [[Chad]]. It was known to the [[Arab world|Arabian]] geographers as the '''Kanem Empire''' from the 8th century AD onward and lasted as the independent kingdom of '''Bornu''' (the '''Bornu Empire''') until 1900.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2008-12-29 |title=Empire of Kanem-Bornu (ca. 9th century-1900) • |url=https://www.blackpast.org/global-african-history/places-global-african-history/empire-kanem-bornu-c-9th-century-1900/ |access-date=2022-07-23 |language=en-US}}</ref>

The Kanem Empire (c. 700–1380) was located in the present countries of Chad, Nigeria and [[Libya]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/310975/Kanem-Bornu|title=Kanem-Bornu|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=24 September 2014}}</ref> At its height, it encompassed an area covering not just only most of Chad but also parts of southern Libya ([[Fezzan]]) and eastern [[Niger]], northeastern Nigeria and northern [[Cameroon]]. The Bornu Empire (1380s–1893) was a state in what is now northeastern Nigeria, in time becoming even larger than Kanem, incorporating areas that are today parts of Chad, Niger and Cameroon.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=2016 |title=The Encyclopedia of empire |url=https://www.academia.edu/3617569 |journal=Choice Reviews Online |volume=53 |issue=12 |page=53 |issn=0009-4978}}</ref>

The early history of the empire is mainly known from the Royal Chronicle, or ''[[Girgam]]'', discovered in 1851 by the German traveller [[Heinrich Barth]]. Remnant successor regimes of the empire, in form of  [[Borno Emirate]] and [[Dikwa Emirate]], were established around 1900 and still exist today as traditional states within Nigeria.

==Theories on the origin of Kanem==
Kanem was located at the southern end of the [[trans-Saharan trade]] route between [[Tripoli, Libya|Tripoli]] and the region of [[Lake Chad]]. Besides its urban elite, it also included a [[confederation]] of [[nomad]]ic peoples who spoke languages of the [[Teda language|Teda]]–[[Daza language|Daza]] group, the [[Toubou people]] or [[Berbers|Berber people]]<ref>{{Cite book |last=سفير |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RbuVEAAAQBAJ&dq=%D9%85%D8%AD%D9%85%D8%AF+%D8%A8%D9%86+%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%8A+%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%86%D9%88%D8%B3%D9%8A+%D8%A8%D8%B1%D8%A8%D8%B1&pg=PA217 |title=موسوعة سفير للتاريخ الاسلامي - المجلد الثالث ج3 المسلمون في إفريقيا جنوبي الصحراء |publisher=شركة سفير |pages=613 |language=ar}}</ref>

In the [[8th century]], [[Wahb ibn Munabbih]] used [[Zaghawa people|Zaghawa]] to describe the Teda-Tubu group, in the earliest use of the ethnic name. [[Al-Khwarizmi]] also mentions the Zaghawa in the [[9th century]], as well as the Daza-Tubu, and [[ibn al-Nadim]] references the Zaghawa in the 10th century in his ''[[Al-Fihrist]]<ref>'' Al-Fiḥrist'', Book I, pp. 35–36</ref>''

The term 'Kanem' derive from two syllables: 'Kw', which, like 'Tu' (which can also be written as 'Ta') means 'country' or 'homeland', and 'Anum' (which can also be spelled 'Anem' or 'Anwm'), meaning 'south'. Hence, the name Kanem translates to 'southern homeland' or 'southern country'. All these terms originate from the Toubou (Gouran) language, making it a distinctly geographic term.<ref>Carbou, Henri. (1912) ''La région du Tchad et du Oudaï: études ethnographiques, dialecte Toubou''. Paris: E. Leroux, p. 1-15.  <https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdclccn.81484374v1/?sp=28&st=image&r=-0.97,-0.187,2.94,1.84,0</ref> During the [[1st millennium|first millennium]], as the [[Sahara]] underwent [[desiccation]], people speaking [[Kanembu language|Kanembu]] migrated to Kanem in the south. This group contributed to the formation of the [[Kanuri people|Kanuri]]. Kanuri traditions state the Zaghawa dynasty led a group of nomads called the Magumi.<ref name="Nehemia">{{cite book |last1=Levtzion |first1=Nehemia |editor1-last=Fage |editor1-first=J.D. |title=The Sahara and the Sudan from the Arab conquest of the Maghrib to the rise of the Almoravids, in The Cambridge History of Africa, Vol. 2, from c. 500 BC to AD 1050 |date=1978 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |isbn=0-521-21592-7 |pages=667, 680–683}}</ref> This desiccation of the Sahara resulted in two settlements, those speaking Teda-Daza northeast of Lake Chad, and those speaking [[Chadic languages]] west of the lake in Bornu and [[Hausaland]].<ref name="Smith">{{cite book |last1=Smith |first1=Abdullahi |title=History of West Africa |date=1972 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=0-231-03628-0 |editor1-last=Ajayi |editor1-first=J. F. Ade |volume=1 |location=New York |pages=168–172, 199–201 |chapter=The early states of Central Sudan |editor2-last=Crowder |editor2-first=Michael |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/historyofwestafr0000ajay/page/168}}</ref>{{rp|164}}

===Founding by local Kanembu (Dugua) c. 700===
The origins of Kanem are unclear. The first historical sources tend to show that the kingdom of Kanem began forming around 700 under the [[nomad]]ic Tebu-speaking [[Kanembu people|Kanembu]]. The Kanembu were supposedly forced southwest towards the fertile lands around Lake Chad by political pressure and [[desiccation]] in their former range. The area already possessed walled [[city-state]]s belonging to the [[Sao civilisation]]. Under the leadership of the [[Duguwa dynasty]], the Kanembu would eventually dominate the Sao, but not before adopting many of their customs.<ref>Urvoy, ''Empire'', 3–35; Trimingham, ''History'', 104–111.</ref> War between the two continued up to the late 16th century.

===Diffusionist theories===
One scholar, Dierk Lange, has proposed another theory based on a diffusionist ideology. Based on the written and [[oral tradition]]s of Kanem-Bornu, which place the origin of the ruling [[Sayfawa dynasty|Sefuwa dynasty]] in the [[Near East]], Lange connects the creation of Kanem–Bornu with the departure from the collapsed [[Neo-Assyrian Empire]] c. 600 BC to the northeast of Lake Chad.<ref>Lange, [http://dierklange.com/pdf/reviews/dierklange_allgemein/FOUNDING_9.5.2011.pdf ''Founding of Kanem''], 31–38.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://dierklange.com/component/content/article/14-books/25-reviews-of-dierk-lange-ancient-kingdoms-of-west-africa.html?Itemid=475 |title=Reviews of Dierk Lange – Ancient Kingdoms of West Africa |website=dierklange.com |access-date=16 May 2019}}</ref>
He also proposes that the lost state of [[Agisymba]] (mentioned by [[Ptolemy]] in the middle of the [[2nd century]]) was the antecedent of the Kanem Empire.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://dierklange.com/pdf/contents/12Mune-Symbol_as_the_Ark.pdf |last=Lange |first=Dierk |title=The 'Mune'-Symbol as the Ark of the Covenant between Duguwa and Sefuwa |publisher=Borno Museum Society |journal=Newsletter |issue=66–67 |date=2006 |pages=15–25 |access-date=16 May 2019 |via=dierklange.com}} The article has a map (page 6) of the ancient Central Sahara and proposes to identify Agisymba of 100 CE with the early Kanem state.</ref> This theory has been criticized for lacking direct and clear evidence.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bjorkelo |first1=Anders |date=1979 |title=Response to Dierk Lange |journal=The International Journal of African Historical Studies |volume=12 |issue=2 |pages=286–289 |doi=10.2307/218839 |jstor=218839}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Barrows |first1=Leland conley |date=2006 |title=Review of Ancient Kingdoms of West Africa-Africa-Centred and Canaanite-Israelite Perspectives: A Collection of Published and Unpublished Studies in English and French |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40034020 |journal=The International Journal of African Historical Studies |volume=39 |issue=1 |pages=171–173 |issn=0361-7882 |jstor=40034020}}</ref>

According to the ''Diwan salatin Barnu'' ("the chronicle of the kings of Bornu."), the Sefuwa kings were ethnically distinct from their subjects until the thirteenth century. With respect to the king Salmama (1176–1203) the chronicle notes: "From Sultan Sayf to him, no sultan was born black, but they were red like the Beduin Arabs."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://dierklange.com/pdf/reviews/dierklange_allgemein/FOUNDING_9.5.2011.pdf |title=The Founding of Kanem by Assyrian Refugees ca. 600 BCE: Documentary, Linguistic, and Archaeological Evidence |last1=Lange |first1=Dierk |date=2011 |publisher=Boston University}}</ref>

==History==

===Duguwa or Dougouwa dynasty (700–1086)===
{{Main|Duguwa dynasty}}
Climate change ensured the rise of the early Kanem–Bornu Empire, as [[desertification]] that increased the spread of the Sahara made some areas around Lake Chad unlivable, causing nomadic peoples from that area to navigate to the places where the empire would eventually be centralized.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last1=Trillo |first1=Richard |title=West Africa: The Rough Guide |last2=Hudgens |first2=Jim |date=November 1995 |publisher=The Rough Guides |isbn=978-1-85828-101-8 |edition=2nd |series=Rough Guides |location=London |page=1112}}</ref> Kanem was connected via a [[trans-Saharan slave trade]] route with [[Tripoli, Libya|Tripoli]] via [[Bilma]] in the [[Kawar]]. Slaves were imported from the south along this route.<ref name="Smith" />{{rp|171}}<ref name="Urvoy">{{cite journal |last1=Urvoy |first1=Y. |title=Histoire de l'empire du Bornou |date=1949 |publisher=Librairie Larose |location=Paris |journal=Mémoires de l'Institut Français d'Afrique Noire |number=7 |page=21}}</ref>

Kanuri tradition states Sayf ibn Dhi Yazan established dynastic rule over the nomads around the 9th century through [[divine kingship]].<ref name=":0" /> For the next millennium, the [[Mais (Africa)|Mais]] ruled the [[Kanuri people|Kanuri]], which included groups such as the [[Ngalaga]], Kangu, Kayi, Kuburi, and Kaguwa, alongside Toubou tribes, including the Toumaghra, a subtribe of the Magumi.<ref name="Smith" />{{rp|165–168}}

===Saifawa dynasty (850–1846)===
{{Main|Sayfawa dynasty}}

==== Early period, 9th–12th century ====
[[Kanuri language|Kanuri-speaking]] [[Muslims]] gained control of Kanem from the Zaghawa nomads in the 9th century<ref name="Urvoy" />{{rp|26,109}} during a period of [[ethnic conflict]].<ref name=":0" /> Kanuri legend states that Sayf ibn Dhi Yazan founded the [[Sayfawa dynasty]].<ref name=":0" /> The new dynasty controlled the Zaghawa trade links in the central Sahara with [[Bilma]] and other [[salt mining|salt mines]]. Yet, the principal trade [[commodity]] was slaves. Tribes to the south of [[Lake Chad]] were raided as ''[[kafir]]un'', and then transported to [[Zawila]] in the Fezzan, where the slaves were traded for horses and weapons. The annual number of slaves traded increased from 1000 in the 7th century to 5000 in the 15th.

Kanem is mentioned as one of three great empires in the [[Sudan (region)|Sudan region]], by [[Ya'qubi]] in 872. He describes the kingdom of "the Zaghāwa who live in a place called Kānim", which included several [[vassal state]]s. "Their dwellings are huts made of reeds and they have no towns." Living as [[nomad]]s, their [[cavalry]] gave them military superiority. In the 10th century, al-Muhallabi mentions two towns in the kingdom, one of which was [[Mānān]]. Their king was considered divine, believing he could "bring life and death, sickness and health". Wealth was measured in [[livestock]], sheep, cattle, camels and horses. From [[al-Bakri]] in the 11th century onwards, the kingdom is referred to as ''Kanem''. In the 12th century [[Muhammad al-Idrisi]] described Mānān as "a small town without industry of any sort and little commerce". [[Ibn Sa'id al-Maghribi]] describes Mānān as the capital of the Kanem kings in the 13th century and Kanem as a powerful Muslim kingdom.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Levtzion |first1=Nehemia |author-link=Nehemia Levtzion |title=Ancient Ghana and Mali |date=1973 |publisher=Methuen & Co Ltd |isbn=0-8419-0431-6 |location=New York |page=3}}</ref><ref name="Nehemia" /><ref name="Smith" />

According to [[Richmond Palmer]], it was customary to have "the Mai sitting in a curtained cage called ''fanadir,'' ''dagil,'' or ''tatatuna''... a large cage for a wild animal, with vertical wooden bars."<ref name="Palmer">{{cite book |last1=Palmer |first1=Richmond |title=The Bornu Sahara and Sudan |date=1936 |publisher=John Murray |location=London |pages=166, 195, 223}}</ref>

Mai [[Hummay]] began his reign in 1075 and formed alliances with several tribes, including the Kay, Dabir, as well as various subtribes of the Magomi (Maghiya) such as the Alala, Tchiroua, Tumagra, Kouri, and many others—all part of the larger Magomi tribal domain, which falls within the broader Toubou (Gouran) territory. The Alala, Tchiroua, Tumagra, and other subtribes of Maghiya descent were from the royal ruling elites who governed the Kanem-Bornu kingdoms. Mai Hummay himself was from the Maghiya, also known as the Sefawa, meaning 'descendants of their ancestor Sef.' The suffix "wa" in Toubou (Tedaga-Dazaga) signifies 'descendants of,' and they are also referred to as Banu Sef (descendants of Sef) in Arabic. All the Magumi tribes were aristocratic and part of the Gouran (Toubou), the founders of the Kanem-Bornu kingdoms. He became the first Muslim king of Kanem, having been converted by his Muslim tutor [[Muhammad Mānī]]. They remained nomadic until the 11th century, when they fixed their capital at [[Nijmi]].<ref name="Martin">{{cite book |last1=Meredith |first1=Martin |title=The Fortunes of Africa |date=2014 |publisher=PublicAffairs |location=New York |isbn=978-1-61039-635-6 |pages=71,78–79,159–160}}</ref><ref name="Kevin">{{cite book |last1=Shillington |first1=Kevin |title=History of Africa |date=2012 |publisher=Palgrave Macnikkan |isbn=978-0-230-30847-3 |pages=94,189}}</ref><ref name="Philip">{{cite book |last1=Koslow |first1=Philip |title=Kanem-Borno: 1,000 Years of Splendor |date=1995 |publisher=Chelsea House Publishers |location=New York |isbn=0-7910-3129-2 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/kanemborno1000ye00kosl/page/14 14, 20–21, 23] |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/kanemborno1000ye00kosl/page/14 }}</ref><ref name=Nehemia/><ref name=Smith/>{{rp|170–172}}

Humai's successor, [[Dunama I]] (1098–1151), performed the [[Hajj]] three times before drowning at [[Aidab]]. At this time, the army included 100,000 horsemen and 120,000 soldiers.<ref name=Smith/>{{rp|172}}<ref name=Palmer/>{{rp|91,163}}<ref name=Urvoy/>{{rp|35}}

==== Mai Dunama Dubbalemi (1221 –1259) ====
Kanem's expansion reached its zenith during the reign of Mai Dunay. In Dazaga-Tedaga, the name ''Dounama'' incorporates the suffix ''-ma'', meaning "sons of Dunay," while ''Dounay'' itself signifies "strong." The suffix ''-mi'' denotes "son of," as seen in ''Dabbalemi'', meaning "son of Dabbale". The second Mai ''Dounama'' (r. c. 1221–1259) played a pivotal role in this era, initiating diplomatic relations with [[North Africa]]n powers ([[sultan]]s), notably with the Beni [[Hafsid dynasty|Hafsid monarch]] which ruled in [[Tunisia|Tunis]] (modern-day [[Tunisia]]). At the height of their prominence, the Hafsids fostered strong ties with the kings of Kanem, consolidating through their friendship. Additionally, Mai Dabbalemi established connections with [[Egypt]], who arranged for the establishment of a [[madrasa]] (school) of [[Al Rashid Mall|al-Rashid]] in [[Cairo]]—a center for Islamic learning that also facilitated pilgrimage routes to Mecca.<ref>Carbou, Henri. (1912) ''La région du Tchad et du Oudaï: études ethnographiques, dialecte Toubou''. Paris: E. Leroux, p. 16.  https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdclccn.81484374v1/?sp=28&st=image&r=-0.97,-0.187,2.94,1.84,0</ref> During his reign, he declared [[jihad]] against the surrounding tribes and initiated an extended period of conquest with his cavalry of 41,000. He fought the [[Bulala]] for seven years, seven months, and seven days. After dominating the Fezzan, he established a governor at [[Traghan]] and delegated military command amongst his sons. As the Sayfawa extended control beyond Kanuri tribal lands, fiefs were granted to military commanders, as ''cima'', or 'master of the frontier'. Civil discord was said to follow his opening of the sacred Mune.<ref name=Urvoy/>{{rp|52–58}}<ref name=Palmer/>{{rp|92,179–186}}<ref name=Smith/>{{rp|173–177}}<ref name=Kevin/>{{rp|190}}

==== Shift of the Sayfuwa court from Kanem to Bornu, 1377–1529 ====
{{Infobox country
| native_name            = 
| conventional_long_name = Bornu Empire
| common_name            = Bornu Empire
| era                    = Middle Ages
| status                 = Empire
| status_text            = 
| empire                 = Kanem
| government_type        = [[Monarchy]]
| year_start             = 1380s
| year_end               = 1893
| event_start            = 
| date_start             = 
| event_end              = 
| date_end               = 
| p1                     = Kanem Empire
| flag_p1                = Kanem flag from dulcerta 1339-pt.svg
| border_p1              = no
| s1                     = French Chad
| flag_s1                = Flag of France (1794–1815, 1830–1958).svg
| s2                     = Rabih az-Zubayr
| flag_s2                = 
| s3                     = Borno Emirate
| flag_s3                = 
| s4                     = Dikwa Emirate
| flag_s4                = 
| image_flag             = Flag of the Bornu Empire.svg
| flag                   = <!-- Link target under flag image. Default: Flag of {{{common name}}} -->
| flag_type              = Flag of Bornu from Vallseca atlas of 1439
| image_coat             = 
| image_map              = Bornu map 1750.svg
| image_map_caption      = Bornu Empire extent c.1750
| capital                = [[Ngazargamu]]
| common_languages       = [[Kanuri language|Kanuri]]
| religion               = [[Islam]]
| currency               = 
| leader1                = [[Sayfawa dynasty|Said of Bornu]]
| leader2                = 
| year_leader1           = 1381–1382
| year_leader2           = 
| title_leader           = [[Sayfawa dynasty|King (Mai)]]|<!--- Area and population of a given year --->
| stat_year1             = 1800<ref>Oliver, page 12</ref>
| stat_area1             = 50000
| stat_pop1              = 
| stat_year2             = 1892<ref>Hughes, page 281</ref>
| stat_area2             = 129499
| stat_pop2              = 5,000,000
| today                  = {{ubl|[[Nigeria]]|[[Chad]]|[[Niger]]|[[Cameroon]]}}
}}

By the end of the 14th century, internal struggles and external attacks had torn Kanem apart. War with the [[Sao civilisation|Sao]] brought the death of four Mai: [[Selemma]], [[Kure Ghana es-Saghir]], [[Kure Kura al-Kabir]], and [[Muhammad I of Kanem-Bornu|Muhammad I]], all sons of [[Abdullah II of Kanem-Bornu|'Abdullāh b. Kadai]]. Then, war with the [[Bulala]] resulted in the death of four Mai in succession between 1377 and 1387: [[Daud Nigalemi]], [[Uthman I of Kanem-Bornu|Uthmān b. Dawūd]], [[Uthman II|Uthmān b. Idris]], and [[Abu Bakr Liyatu]]. Finally, around 1387 the Bulala forced ''Mai'' Umar b. Idris to abandon [[Njimi]] and move the [[Kanembu people]] to [[Borno State|Bornu]] on the western edge of Lake Chad.<ref name=Smith/>{{rp|179}}<ref name=Palmer/>{{rp|92–93,195–217}}<ref>Smith, "Early states", 179; Lange, "Kingdoms and peoples", 238; Barkindo, "Early states", 245–46.</ref><ref name=Kevin/>{{rp|190–191}}

But even in Bornu, the Sayfawa dynasty's troubles persisted. During the first three-quarters of the 15th century, for example, fifteen Mais occupied the throne. Then, around 1460 [[Ali Gazi]] (1473–1507) defeated his rivals and began the consolidation of Bornu. He built a fortified capital at [[Ngazargamu]], to the west of Lake Chad (in present-day [[History of Nigeria|Nigeria]]), the first permanent home a Sayfawa ''mai'' had enjoyed in a century. So successful was the Sayfawa rejuvenation that by the early 16th century ''Mai'' [[Idris Katakarmabe]] (1507–1529) was able to defeat the Bulala and retake [[Njimi]], the former capital. The empire's leaders, however, remained at Ngazargamu because its lands were more productive agriculturally and better suited to the raising of cattle. Ali Gaji was the first ruler of the empire to assume the title of Caliph.<ref>{{cite book|title=The History of Islam in Africa|author=Nehemia Levtzion |author2=Randall Pouwels |publisher=Ohio University Press|page=81}}</ref><ref name=Martin/>{{rp|159}}<ref name=Urvoy/>{{rp|73}}<ref name=Smith/>{{rp|180–182,205}}<ref name=Palmer/>{{rp|94,222–228}}

==== Mai Idris Alooma, 1564–17th century ====
Bornu peaked during the reign of Mai [[Idris Alooma]] (c. 1564–1596), reaching the limits of its greatest territorial expansion, gaining control over Hausaland, and the people of Ahir and Tuareg. Peace was made with Bulala, when a demarcation of boundaries was agreed upon with a [[non-aggression pact]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Dewière|first=Rémi|url=http://books.openedition.org/psorbonne/30097|title=Du lac Tchad à la Mecque: Le sultanat du Borno et son monde (xvie - xviie siècle)|date=2019-11-08|publisher=Éditions de la Sorbonne|isbn=979-10-351-0101-5|series=Bibliothèque historique des pays d'Islam|location=Paris|language=fr|doi=10.4000/books.psorbonne.30097}}</ref> Military innovations included the use of mounted Turkish musketeers, slave musketeers, mailed cavalrymen, footmen and feats of military engineering as seen during the siege of the fortified town of Amsaka. This army was organized into an advance guard and a rear reserve while often using shield wall methods as well.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Ibn Furṭū, Aḥmad |title=في تأريخ السودان : كتاب غزوات السلطان ادريس ألوما في برنو (1564-1576) = A Sudanic chronicle : the Borno expeditions of Idrīs Alauma (1564-1576) according to the account of Aḥmad B. Furṭū: Arabic text, English translation, commentary and geographical gazetteer |date=1987 |publisher=F. Steiner |isbn=3-515-04926-6 |oclc=496104059}}</ref> The Bornu army was transported via camel or large boats and fed by free and slave women cooks, and often employed a [[scorched earth]] policy if necessary for the conquest of fortified towns and other strongholds. [[Ribat|''Ribāts'']] were built on frontiers, and trade routes to the north were secure, allowing relations to be established with the [[Pasha of Tripoli]] and the [[Turkish empire]]. Between 1574 and 1583, the Borno sultan had diplomatic relations with the Ottoman sultan Murad III, as well as with the Moroccan sultan Ahmad al-Mansur, in the context of political tensions in the Sahara. The Borno sultan allied with the Moroccan sultan against the Ottoman imperialism in the Sahara.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Dewière|first=Rémi|title=A struggle for Sahara: Idrīs ibn 'Alī's embassy to Aḥmad al-Manṣūr in the context of Borno-Morocco-Ottoman relations, 1577–1583|url=https://www.academia.edu/16116909|language=en}}</ref> [[Ibn Furtu]] called Alooma [[Amir al-Mu'minin]], after he implemented [[Sharia]], and relied upon large [[fiefholder]]s to ensure justice.<ref name=Smith/>{{rp|207–212,497–500}}<ref name=Kevin/>{{rp|190–191}}<ref name=Martin/>{{rp|159}}<ref name=Palmer/>{{rp|94,234–243}}<ref name=Urvoy/>{{rp|75}}

The Lake Chad to Tripoli route became an active highway in the 17th century, with horses traded for slaves. An intense diplomatic activity has been reported between Borno and the Pachalik of Tripoli at that time.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Dewière|first=Rémi|date=2013-04-16|title=Le Discours historique de l'estat du royaume de Borno, genèse et construction d'une histoire du Borno par un captif de Tripoli au XVIIe siècle|url=http://journals.openedition.org/afriques/1170|journal=Afriques. Débats, Méthodes et Terrains d'Histoire|language=fr|issue=4|doi=10.4000/afriques.1170|issn=2108-6796|doi-access=free}}</ref> About two million slaves traveled this route to be traded in Tripoli, the largest slave market in the Mediterranean. As [[Martin Meredith]] states, "Wells along the way were surrounded by the skeletons of thousands of slaves, mostly young women and girls, making a last desperate effort to reach water before dying of exhaustion once there."<ref name=Martin/>{{rp|159–160}}

==== Successors of the 17th–18th century ====
Most of the successors of Idris Alooma are only known from the meagre information provided by the [[Girgam|''Diwan'']]. Some of them are noted for having undertaken the [[hajj|pilgrimage]] to [[Mecca]], others for their piety. In the eighteenth century, Bornu was affected by several long-lasting famines.<ref>Lange, ''Diwan'', 81–82.</ref><ref name=Smith/>{{rp|500–508}}<ref name=Palmer/>{{rp|94–95,244–258}} The [[Sultanate of Agadez]] was independently operating the [[Bilma]] salt mines by 1750, having been a tributary since 1532.<ref name=Nehemia/>{{rp|292}}<ref name=Kevin/>{{rp|190–191}}

{{Multiple image
| image1            = Bornu15century.jpg
| caption1          = Bornu territory by 1500
| image2            = Borno (1810).svg
| caption2          = Borno in 1810
| direction         = vertical
| total_width       = 250
}}

The administrative reforms and military brilliance of Aluma sustained the empire until the mid-17th century when its power began to fade. By the late 18th century, Bornu rule extended only westward, into the land of the [[Hausa Kingdoms|Hausa]] of modern [[Nigeria]]. The empire was still ruled by the Mai who was advised by his councilors (''kokenawa'') in the state council or ''nokena''.<ref>Brenner, ''Shehus'', 46, 104–7.</ref> The members of his Nokena council included his sons and daughters and other royalty (the Maina) and non-royalty (the Kokenawa, "new men"). The Kokenawa included free men and slave [[eunuch]]s known as ''kachela''. The latter "had come to play a very important part in Bornu politics, as eunuchs did in many Muslim courts".<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Ajayi|editor1-first=J. F. Ade|editor2-last=Espie|editor2-first=Ian|title=A Thousand Years of West African History: A Handbook for Teachers and Students|date=1965|publisher=Ibadan University Press|location=Ibadan, Nigeria|page=296}}</ref>

In the 16th-century, Turkish musketeers where imported to Bornu, and in the 17th-century, European slaves are noted to have been imported to Bornu from the [[Barbary slave trade]] in Tripoli in Libya.<ref>Phillips, W. D. (1985). Slavery from Roman Times to the Early Transatlantic Trade. Storbritannien: Manchester University Press. p126</ref>

During the 17th and 18th century, Bornu became a centre for Islamic learning. Borno sultans developed a political legitimacy based on their religious charisma, in the context of the rise of Sufism in Sahel.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Dewière|first=Rémi|title=La légitimité des sultans face à l'essor de l'islam confrérique au Sahel Central (XVIe -XIXe siècles)|url=https://www.academia.edu/41472683|journal=Journal of the History of Sufism|date=January 2018 |language=en}}</ref> Islam and the Kanuri language was widely adopted, while slave raiding propelled the economy.<ref name="Kevin" />{{rp|190–191}}

==== Fulani Jihad, 18th–19th century ====
By the late 18th century, Kanem-Borno faced multiple challenges that weakened its power. Its military declined due to neglect in training, preparedness, and firepower, particularly muskets, which had previously ensured victories. This military weakness led to the loss of control over vassal states, such as [[Sultanate of Bagirmi|Bagirmi]], which began raiding Bornoan territories. Additionally, intensified Tuareg raids resulted in the loss of the [[Bilma]] salt mines and vital [[Trans-Saharan trade routes]] in 1759. The rising power of the [[Wadai Sultanate]] further disrupted the region, causing demographic shifts that compounded Borno's instability. These issues culminated in the 19th century Jihad movement, which ultimately led to the collapse of the Saifawa Dynasty and the end of one of Africa's longest-ruling dynasties.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Maishanu |first=Hamza Muhammad |last2=Maishanu |first2=Isa Muhammad |date=1999 |title=THE JIHĀD AND THE FORMATION OF THE SOKOTO CALIPHATE |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20837029 |journal=Islamic Studies |volume=38 |issue=1 |pages=119–121 }}</ref>

Around this time, [[Fula people|Fulani people]] invading from the west were able to make major inroads into Bornu during the [[Fulani War]]. By the early 19th century, Kanem–Bornu was clearly an empire in decline, and in 1808 Fulani warriors conquered [[Ngazargamu]]. [[Usman dan Fodio]] led the [[Fulani Empire|Fulani]] thrust and proclaimed a [[jihad]] (holy war) on the irreligious Muslims of the area. His campaign eventually affected Kanem–Bornu and inspired a trend toward Islamic orthodoxy.<ref name="Palmer" />{{rp|259–267}}<ref name="Vincent">{{cite book |last1=Hiribarren |first1=Vincent |title=A History of Borno: Trans-Saharan African Empire to Failing Nigerian State |date=2017 |publisher=Hurst & Company |location=London |isbn=978-1-84904-474-5 |pages=19–20}}</ref>

==== Muhammad al-Kanemi (1776–1837) ====
[[File:Young woman from Bornu.jpg|thumb|left|upright=.6|Young woman from Bornu, mid-19th century]]
[[Muhammad al-Amin al-Kanemi]], who was of mixed Kanuri and Shuwa Arab heritage from [[Fezzan]] contested the Fulani incursions into Bornu. Al-Kanemi was a Muslim scholar who had put together an alliance of mostly [[Baggara|Shuwa Arabs]], and Kanembu within the region. He eventually built in 1814 a capital at [[Kukawa]] (in present-day Nigeria). After the creation of his capital at Kukawa, Al-Kanemi quickly amassed a large following within Bornu and adopted the title of [[Sheikh|Shehu]] within Bornuan society and quickly supplanted the rule of the Mais who became figurehead monarchs. In the year of 1846, the last ''mai'', in league with the [[Ouaddai Empire]], precipitated a civil war, resulting in the death of Mai Ibrahim, the last mai. It was at that point that Kanemi's son, [[Umar of Borno|Umar]], became Shehu, thus ending one of the longest dynastic reigns in international history. By then, [[Hausa Kingdoms|Hausaland]] in the west, was lost to the [[Sokoto Caliphate]], while the east and north were lost to the [[Wadai Empire]].<ref>Brenner, ''Shehus'', 64–66.</ref><ref name=Kevin/>{{rp|233}}<ref name=Martin/>{{rp|194–195}}<ref name=Palmer/>{{rp|268}}

=== Shehu of Borno, 1890s–1937 ===
[[File:Group of Kanem-Bu warriors.jpg|thumb|Kanembu warriors and their mounted chief in an illustration from [[Heinrich Barth|Heinrich Barth's]] ''Travels and Discoveries'', Vol. III, 1857]]
Although the dynasty ended, the kingdom of Kanem–Bornu survived. Umar eschewed the title ''mai'' for the simpler designation ''shehu'' (from the Arabic ''shaykh''), he could not match his father's vitality and gradually allowed the kingdom to be ruled by advisers (''[[vizier|wazirs]]''). Bornu began a further decline as a result of administrative disorganization, regional particularism, and attacks by the militant [[Wadai Empire|Waddai]] Empire to the east. The decline continued under Umar's sons. In 1893, [[Rabih az-Zubayr]] led an invading army from eastern [[Sudan]] and conquered Bornu. Rabih's invasion led to the deaths of Shehu [[Ashimi of Borno|Ashimi]], Shehu [[Kyari of Borno|Kyari]], and Shehu [[Sanda Wuduroma of Borno|Sanda Wuduroma]] between 1893 and 1894. The British recognized Rabih as the 'Sultan of Borno', until the French killed Rabih on 22 April 1900 during the [[Battle of Kousséri]].

The French then occupied [[Dikwa]], Rabih's capital, in April 1902, after the British had occupied Borno in March. Yet, based on their 1893 treaty, most of Borno remained under British control, while the Germans occupied eastern Borno, including Dikwa, as 'Deutsch-Bornu'. The French did name [[Abubakar Garbai of Borno|Abubakar]], the Shehu of [[Dikwa Emirate]], until the British convinced him to be the Shehu of the Borno Emirate. The French then named his brother, Sanda, Shehu of Dikwa. Shehu Garbai formed a new capital, [[Yerwa]], on 9 January 1907. After [[World War I]], Deutsch-Bornu became the British [[Northern Cameroons]].
[[File:Sanda Kura Shehu of Dikwa.jpg|thumb|upright=.7|[[Sanda Kura|Shehu Sanda Kura]] after the killing of [[Rabih az-Zubayr]] (1900)]]
Upon Shehu Abubakar's death in 1922, [[Sanda Kura]] became Shehu of Borno. Upon his death in 1937, his cousin, Shehu of Dikwa [[Umar Ibn Muhammad of Borno|Sanda Kyarimi]], became Shehu of Borno. As Vincent Hiribarren points out, "By becoming Shehu of the whole of Borno, Sanda Kyarimi reunited under his rule a territory which had been divided since 1902. For 35 years two Shehus had co-existed." In 1961, the Northern Cameroons voted to join Nigeria, effectively rejoining the territories of the kingdom of Bornu.<ref name=Vincent/>{{rp|51,63,71,87,106,133,137,144–145,157,164}}<ref name=Palmer/>{{rp|268–269}} The lands of the Bornu state were thus absorbed into the new [[Northern Nigeria Protectorate]], in the sphere of the [[British Empire]], and eventually became part of the independent state of Nigeria. A remnant of the old kingdom was (and still is) allowed to continue to exist, in subjection to the various Governments of the country as the [[Borno Emirate]].<ref>Hallam, ''Life'', 257–275.</ref><ref name=Kevin/>{{rp|307,318–319}}<ref name=Vincent/>{{rp|51}}

==See also==
* [[List of Sunni dynasties]]
{{Clear}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Bibliography==
* {{cite book |editor-last=Alkali |editor-first=Nur |editor2-first=Bala |editor2-last=Usman |title=Studies in the History of Pre-Colonial Borno |location=Zaria |publisher=Northern Nigerian Publishing |year=1983 }}
* {{cite book |last=Barkindo |first=Bawuro |chapter=The early states of the Central Sudan: Kanem, Borno and some of their neighbours to c. 1500 AD. |editor-first=J. |editor-last=Ajayi |editor2-first=M. |editor2-last=Crowder |title=History of West Africa |volume=I |edition=3rd |location=Harlow |year=1985 |pages=225–254 }}
* {{cite book |last=Barth |first=Heinrich |title=Travel and Discoveries in North and Central Africa |volume=II |location=New York |year=1858 |pages=15–29, 581–602 }}
* {{cite book |last=Brenner |first=Louis |title=The Shehus of Kukawa |location=Oxford |year=1973 }}
* {{cite book |chapter-url=http://countrystudies.us/chad/6.htm |chapter=Kanem-Borno |editor-first=Thomas |editor-last=Collelo |title=Chad: A Country Study |location=Washington |publisher=GPO for the Library of Congress |year=1988 }}
* {{cite journal |last=Dewière |first=Rémi |title=Regards croisés entre deux ports de désert |journal=Hypothèses |year=2013 |volume=16 |pages=383–93 |doi=10.3917/hyp.121.0383 }}
* Dewière, Rémi (2017). ''[https://books.openedition.org/psorbonne/30097 Du lac Tchad à La Mecque. Le sultanat du Borno et son monde (xvi<sup>e</sup> - xvii<sup>e</sup> siècle)]''. Paris: Editions de la Sorbonne.
* {{cite book |last=Cohen |first=Ronald |title=The Kanuri of Bornu |url=https://archive.org/details/kanuriofbornu00cohe |url-access=registration |location=New York |year=1967 }}
* {{cite book |last=Hallam |first=W. |title=The life and Times of Rabih Fadl Allah |location=Devon |year=1977 }}
* {{cite book |last=Hiribarren |first=Vincent |title=A History of Borno: Trans-Saharan African Empire to Failing Nigerian State |location=London |publisher=Hurst & Oxford University Press |year=2017 }}
* {{cite book |author-link=William Hughes (geographer) |last=Hughes |first=William |title=A Class-Book of Modern Geography |edition=Paperback |publisher=[[Kessinger Publishing]] |location=Whitefish, MT |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-4326-8180-7 |page=390 Pages}}
* {{cite book |last=Lange |first=Dierk |title=Le Dīwān des sultans du Kanem-Bornu |location=Wiesbaden |year=1977 }}
* {{cite book |last=Lange |first=Dierk |author-mask=2 |title=A Sudanic Chronicle: The Borno Expeditions of Idris Alauma (1564–1576) |location=Stuttgart |year=1987 }}
* {{cite journal |last=Lange |first=Dierk |author-mask=2 |url=http://www.dierklange.com/pdf/fulltexts/kanem/003_Kanem-Bornu-Neu-Ethogenesis_Chadic_state_0106.pdf |title=Ethnogenesis from within the Chadic state |journal=Paideuma |volume=39 |year=1993 |pages=261–277 }}
* {{cite book |last=Lange |first=Dierk |author-mask=2 |chapter-url=http://dierklange.com/pdf/fulltexts/UNESCO_III.pdf |chapter=The Chad region as a crossroads |editor-first=M. |editor-last=Elfasi |title=General History of Africa |volume=III |publisher=UNESCO |location=London |year=1988 |pages=436–460 }}
* {{cite book |last=Lange |first=Dierk |author-mask=2 |chapter-url=http://dierklange.com/pdf/fulltexts/UNESCO_IV.pdf |chapter=The kingdoms and peoples of Chad |editor-first=D. T. |editor-last=Niane |title=General History of Africa |volume=IV |publisher=UNESCO |location=London |year=1984 |pages=238–265 }}
* {{cite journal |last=Lange |first=Dierk |author-mask=2 |url=http://dierklange.com/pdf/reviews/dierklange_allgemein/PROLOGUE_of_the_Diwan_BMSN_2010.pdf |journal=An Introduction to the History of Kanem-Borno: The Prologue of the Dīwān |title=Borno Museum Society Newsletter |volume=76–84 |year=2010 |pages=79–103 }}
* {{cite book |last=Lange |first=Dierk |author-mask=2 |url=http://dierklange.com/pdf/reviews/dierklange_allgemein/FOUNDING_9.5.2011.pdf |title=The Founding of Kanem by Assyrian Refugees ca. 600 BCE: Documentary, Linguistic, and Archaeological Evidence |location=Boston |year=2011 }}
* {{cite book |last=Lavers |first=John |chapter=Adventures in the chronology of the states of the Chad basin |editor-first=Daniel |editor-last=Barreteau |editor2-first=Charlotte |editor2-last=de Graffenried |series=presented at the Datation et chronologie dans le bassin du lac Tchad |title=Dating and chronology in the lake Chad basin |location=Bondy |publisher=Orstom |year=1993 |pages=255–67 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Levtzion |first1=Nehemia |first2=John |last2=Hopkins |title=Corpus of Early Arabic Sources for West African History |publisher=Cambridge |year=1981 }}
* {{cite book |author-link=Gustav Nachtigal |last=Nachtigal |first=Gustav |url=http://www.wdl.org/en/item/7312/ |title=Sahara und Sudan |edition=Reprint |location=Graz |year=1967 |translator-first=Humphrey |translator-last=Fisher }}
* {{cite book |author-link=Roland Oliver |last1=Oliver |first1=Roland |first2=Anthony |last2=Atmore |title=Africa Since 1800 |url=https://archive.org/details/africasince180000oliv_1 |url-access=registration |edition=Fifth |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |location=Cambridge |year=2005 |isbn=0-521-83615-8 }}
* {{cite book |last=Trimingham |first=Spencer |title=A History of Islam in West Africa |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofislamin0000unse |url-access=registration |location=Oxford |year=1962 }}
* {{cite book |last=Van de Mieroop |first=Marc |title=A History of the Ancient Near East |edition=2nd |location=Oxford |year=2007 }}
* {{cite book |last=Zakari |first=Maikorema |title=Contribution à l'histoire des populations du sud-est nigérien |location=Niamey |year=1985 }}
* {{cite book |last=Zeltner |first=Jean-Claude |title=Pages d'histoire du Kanem, pays tchadien |location=Paris |year=1980 }}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |last=Barkindo |first=Bawuro |chapter=The early states of the Central Sudan: Kanem, Borno and some of their neighbours to c. 1500 A.D. |editor-first=J. |editor-last=Ajayi |editor2-first=M. |editor2-last=Crowder |title=History of West Africa |volume=I |edition=3rd |location=Harlow |year=1985 |pages=225–254 |isbn=0-582-64683-9 }}
* {{cite book |last=Dewière |first=Rémi |title=Mamluk Cairo, a Crossroads for Embassies: Studies on Diplomacy and Diplomatics
 |chapter=Peace Be upon Those Who Follow the Right Way": Diplomatic Practices between Mamluk Cairo and the Borno Sultanate at the End of the Eighth/Fourteenth Century |year=2019 |publisher=Brill |pages=658–684}}
* {{cite book |last=Lange |first=Dierk |title=Le Dīwān des sultans du Kanem-Bornu |location=Wiesbaden |year=1977 |isbn=3-515-02392-5 }}

==External links==
{{EB1911 poster|Bornu}}
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/africa/features/storyofafrica/4chapter2.shtml The Story of Africa: Kanem-Borno] — [[BBC World Service]]
* [http://www.rulers.org/nigatrad.html Timeline of rulers]
{{Kanem–Bornu rulers}}{{Sahelian kingdoms|state=expanded}}
{{Empires}}
{{Chad topics}}
{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kanem-Bornu Empire}}
[[Category:Kanem Empire| ]]
[[Category:Kanem–Bornu Empire| ]]
[[Category:Former empires in Africa]]
[[Category:Former Islamic monarchies]]
[[Category:Countries in medieval Africa]]
[[Category:Sahelian kingdoms]]
[[Category:States and territories established in the 700s]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in 1893]]
[[Category:8th-century establishments in Africa]]
[[Category:1893 disestablishments in Africa]]
[[Category:History of Cameroon]]
[[Category:History of Fezzan]]
[[Category:History of Niger]]
[[Category:Medieval history of Libya]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in the 1380s]]

[[id:Kerajaan Bornu]]