The Kanem Empire existed in modern Chad and Libya. It was known to the Arabian geographers as the Kanem-bornu Empire from the 9th century AD onward and lasted, in some form, until 1893. At its height it encompassed an area covering not only much of Chad, but also parts of modern southern Libya and eastern Niger. Its succeeding state, the Bornu Empire, would dominate these lands as well as northeastern Nigeria and northern Cameroon. The history of the Empire from the 13th century onwards is mainly known from the Royal Chronicle or Girgam discovered in 1851 by the German traveller Heinrich Barth. As a means of recording the passage of time the 9th century was the century that lasted from 801 to 900. ... Year 1893 (MDCCCXCIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... The Bornu Empire (1396-1893) was a pre-colonial African state of Niger from 1389 to 1893. ... (12th century - 13th century - 14th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 13th century was that century which lasted from 1201 to 1300. ... Diwan is the Arabic and Girgam the older term of the royal chronicle of Kanem-Bornu. ... 1851 (MDCCCLI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Friday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Heinrich Barth (1821-1865), German explorer, was born at Hamburg on February 16, 1821, and educated at Berlin University, where he graduated in 1844. ...

Origins

The Kanem Empire originated at an unknown period to the northeast of Lake Chad. It was located at the southern end of the trans-Saharan trade route between Tripoli and the region of Lake Chad. Besides its urban elite it included a confederation of nomadic peoples who spoke languages of the Teda–Daza (Toubou) group. One theory, based on early Arabic sources, suggests that the dominance of the Zaghawa people bound the confederation together. The Diwan refers to the Zaghawa as Duguwa. The Sayfuwa, often thought to have been the only dynasty of Kanem, only took power in the process of Islamization. Their ancestor Sef was since the thirteenth century identified with the legendary Yemenite hero Sayf ibn Dhi Yazan, hence it became customary to call the second ruling dynasty Sayfawa instead of Sefuwa. Both, the Duguwa and the subsequent Sayfawa, seem to have belonged to the same ruling establishment of the Magumi. Also the royal title Mai would appear to have been shared by the Duguwa and the Sayfawa. In the pre-Islamic period the subjects regarded their king as divine. Lake Chad (in French: Lac Tchad) is a large, shallow lake in Africa. ... The Great Mosque of Djenné, founded in 800, an important trading base, now a World Heritage Site Trans-Saharan trade, refers to trade across the Sahara between Mediterranean countries and West Africa. ... Tripoli (Arabic: طرابلس Tarābulus) is the capital city of Libya. ... A confederation is an association of sovereign states or communities, usually created by treaty but often later adopting a common constitution. ... For the 2006 historical epic set in Kazakhstan, see Nomad (2006 film). ... Teda language is a language which belongs to the Saharan subfamily of the Nilo-Saharan, spoken in Chad and Niger. ... Dazaga, also known as Goran (Arabic قرعان), or Toubou, is a language spoken in the Djurab desert region of Chad by the Daza people, and is part of the Saharan branch of the Nilo-Saharan language family. ... The Toubou are an ethnic group in northern Chad. ... Arabic redirects here. ... Zaghawa is an African ethnic group, mainly living in eastern Chad and western Sudan, including the Darfur province of Sudan. ... Diwan is the Arabic and Girgam the older term of the royal chronicle of Kanem-Bornu. ... For other uses, see Legend (disambiguation). ... Motto Allah, al-Watan, at-Thawra, al-Wehda God, Nation, Revolution, Unity Anthem United Republic Capital (and largest city) Sanaa Official languages Arabic Demonym Yemeni Government Republic  -  President Ali Abdullah Saleh  -  Prime Minister Ali Mohammed Mojawar Establishment  -  Unification May 22, 1990  Area  -  Total 527,968 km² (49th) 203,849 sq... Sayf ibn dhÄ«-Yazan (Arabic سيف بن ذي يزن) a Himyarite king who lived between (516-574), known for ending the Abyssinian rule over Southern Arabia. ... The Sayfawa dynasty is the name of the kings (or mai, as they called themselves) of the Kanem-Bornu Empire, centered first in Kanem in western Chad, and then, after 1396, in Borno (today Nigeria). ...

The major factor that influenced the history of the state of Kanem was the early penetration of Islam. North African traders, Berbers and Arabs, brought the new religion. Towards 1068, Hummay, a member of the Sayfawa establishment, who was already a Muslim, discarded the last Duguwa king Selma from power and thus established the new dynasty of the Sayfuwa. Islam offered the Sayfawa rulers the advantage of new ideas from Arabia and the Mediterranean world, as well as literacy in administration. But many people resisted the new religion favouring traditional beliefs and practices. When Hummay had assumed power on the basis of his strong Islamic following, for example, it is believed that the Duguwa/Zaghawa began some kind of internal opposition. This pattern of conflict and compromise with Islam occurs repeatedly in Chadian history. For people named Islam, see Islam (name). ... Hummay was from about 1075 the mai (ruler) of the nomadic Sayfawa confederacy, in central Chad, that was later to be known as the Kanem-Bornu Empire. ... Arabia redirects here. ... Mediterranean redirects here. ... The term Animism is derived from the Latin anima, meaning soul.[1][2] In its most general sense, animism is simply the belief in souls. ... // The territory now known as Chad possesses some of the richest archaeological sites in Africa. ...

When the ruling dynasty changed, the royal establishment abandoned its capital of Manan and settled in the new capital Njimi further south of Kanem (the word for "south" in the Teda language). By the 13th century, Kanem's rule expanded. At the same time, the Kanembu people drew closer to the new rulers and increased the growing population in the new capital of Njimi. Even though the Kanembu became the main power-base of the Sayfuwa, Kanem's rulers continued to travel frequently throughout the kingdom and especially towards Bornu, west of lake Chad. Herders and farmers alike recognized the government's power and acknowledged their allegiance by paying tribute. Njimi was the capital of the Kanuri state of Kanem (later Kanem-Bornu), north of Lake Chad. ... Kanem is one of the 18 regions of Chad, corresponding to the former prefecture of Kanem. ... Teda language is a language which belongs to the Saharan subfamily of the Nilo-Saharan, spoken in Chad and Niger. ... (12th century - 13th century - 14th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 13th century was that century which lasted from 1201 to 1300. ... Not to be confused with capitol. ... Shepherd in Făgăraş Mountains, Romania. ... For other uses, see Farmer (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Tribute (disambiguation). ...

Mai Dunama Dabbalemi

Kanem's expansion peaked during the long and energetic reign of Mai Dunama Dabbalemi (ca. 1221–1259), also of the Sayfawa dynasty. Dabbalemi initiated diplomatic exchanges with sultans in North Africa and apparently arranged for the establishment of a special hostel in Cairo to facilitate pilgrimages to Mecca. During his reign, he declared jihad against the surrounding tribes and initiated an extended period of conquest. After consolidating their territory around Lake Chad the Fezzan region (in present-day Libya) fell under Kanem's authority, and the empire's influence extended westward to Kano (in present-day Nigeria), eastward to Ouaddaï, and southward to the Adamawa grasslands (in present-day Cameroon). Portraying these boundaries on maps can be misleading, however, because the degree of control extended in ever-weakening gradations from the core of the empire around Njimi to remote peripheries, from which allegiance and tribute were usually only symbolic. Moreover, cartographic lines are static and misrepresent the mobility inherent in nomadism and migration, which were common. The loyalty of peoples and their leaders was more important in governance than the physical control of territory. A Reign is a period of time a person serves as a monarch or pope. ... Dunama Dabbalemi, of the Sayfawa dynasty, was the mai (king) of the Kanem Empire, in present-day Chad, from 1221 to 1259. ... // Events May 13 - End of the reign of Emperor Juntoku, emperor of Japan Emperor ChÅ«kyō briefly reigns over Japan Former Emperor Go-Toba leads an unsuccessful rebellion against the Kamakura Shogunate Emperor Go-Horikawa ascends to the throne of Japan January - Mongol Army under Jochi captures the city of... For broader historical context, see 1250s and 13th century. ... // For other uses, see Dynasty (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Sultan (disambiguation). ...  Northern Africa (UN subregion)  geographic, including above North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, separated by the Sahara from Sub-Saharan Africa. ... For other uses, see Cairo (disambiguation). ... A supplicating pilgrim at Masjid Al Haram, the mosque which was built around the Kaaba (the cubical building at center). ... This article is about the city in Saudi Arabia. ... For other uses, see Jihad (disambiguation). ... Fezzan is a desert region in south-western Libya. ... This article is about the political and historical term. ... Kano is the administrative center of the Kano State and the third largest city in Nigeria, in terms of geographical size, after Ibadan and Lagos. ... The Ouaddai Kingdom was an originally non-Muslim kingdom, located to the east of Lake Chad in present-day Chad. ...

Dabbalemi devised a system to reward military commanders with authority over the people they conquered. This system, however, tempted military officers to pass their positions to their sons, thus transforming the office from one based on achievement and loyalty to the mai into one based on hereditary nobility. Dabbalemi was able to suppress this tendency, but after his death, dissension among his sons weakened the Sayfawa Dynasty. Dynastic feuds degenerated into civil war, and Kanem's outlying peoples soon ceased paying tribute. See Heredity (disambiguation) for other meanings. ... Nobility is a traditional hereditary status (see hereditary titles) that exists today in many countries (mainly present or former monarchies). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... A civil war is a war in which parties within the same culture, society or nationality fight against each other for the control of political power. ...

From Kanem to Bornu

By the end of the 14th century, internal struggles and external attacks had torn Kanem apart. Between 1376 and 1400, six mais reigned, but Bulala invaders (from the area around Lake Fitri to the east) killed five of them. This proliferation of mais resulted in numerous claimants to the throne and led to a series of internecine wars. Finally, around 1396 the Bulala forced Mai Umar Idrismi to abandon Njimi and move the Kanembu people to Bornu on the western edge of Lake Chad. This 14th-century statue from south India depicts the gods Shiva (on the left) and Uma (on the right). ... // Events March – The treaty between England and France is extended until April of 1377. ... Events Henry IV quells baron rebellion and executes The Earls of Kent, Huntingdon and Salisbury for their attempt to have Richard II of England restored as King Jean Froissart writes the Chronicles Medici family becomes powerful in Florence, Italy Births December 25 - John Sutton, 1st Baron Dudley, Lord Lieutenant of... The Bilala, or Bulala, are a Muslim people that live around Lake Fitri, in the Batha Prefecture, in central Chad. ... Lake Fitri is located in the center of Chad about 300 km east of N’Djamena. ... Events September 25 - Bayazid I defeats Sigismund of Hungary and John of Nevers at the Battle of Nicopolis. ... Njimi was the capital of the Kanuri state of Kanem (later Kanem-Bornu), north of Lake Chad. ... Borno State is a state in north-eastern Nigeria. ...

References

• Barkindo, Bawuro, "The early states of the Central Sudan: Kanem, Borno and some of their neighbours to c. 1500 A.D.", in: J. Ajayi und M. Crowder (Hg.), History of West Africa, Bd. I, 3. Ausg. Harlow 1985, 225-254.
• Lange, Dierk, Ancient Kingdoms of West Africa: Africa-Centred and Canaanite-Israelite Perspectives, Dettelbach 2004. (the book suggests a pre-Christian origin of Kanem in connection with the Phoenician expansion)
• Urvoy, Yves, L'empire du Bornou, Paris 1949.

Phoenicia (or Phenicia ,[1] from Biblical Phenice [1]) was an ancient civilization centered in the north of ancient Canaan, with its heartland along the coast of modern day Lebanon and Syria. ...

Weblink

• Lange, Dierk: "The Chad region as a crossroads", in: M. Elfasi (Hg.), General History of Africa, vol. III, UNESCO, London 1988, p. 436-460.
• Lange, Dierk, "The kingdoms and peoples of Chad", in: D. T. Niane (ed.), General History of Africa, vol. IV, UNESCO, London 1984, p. 238-265.

See also

• Kingdom of Baguirmi
• Ouaddai Empire

The Baguirmi or Bagirmi Kingdom (1480s-1897) was an Islamic kingdom or sultanate that existed as an independent state during the 16th and 17th centuries southeast of Lake Chad in what is now the country of Chad. ... The Ouaddai Kingdom was an originally non-Muslim kingdom, located to the east of Lake Chad in present-day Chad. ...

External links

• Timeline of rulers
• The Story of Africa: Kanem — BBC World Service