Aissa Koli
Aissa Koli or Aisa Kili, sometimes called Aisa Kili Ngirmaramma, was a ruler of the Kanem–Bornu Empire in the mid-to-late 16th century, ruling approximately 1563–1570. Formally styled as magira, Aissa was one of few women to rule the empire and the only known woman to do so in her own right. Aissa remains celebrated in local Bornuan oral tradition but there is considerable disagreement in the sources on most of the details of her reign.
Life
There are discrepancies in the sources on Aissa's familial relationships and the details on her reign. Aissa is celebrated in local oral tradition in Bornu but is often omitted in literary sources written by Arab historians. This is generally attributed to an unwillingness on the part of these historians to acknowledge powerful female rulers.Aissa is said to have succeeded mai Abdullah IV Dunamami in the absence of obvious male heirs to the throne. Her connection to the empire's ruling Sayfawa dynasty differs depending on the source. Transcripts and translations of Bornuan documents and oral histories done in the 19th and 20th centuries designate her as a daughter of either mai Muhammad VI Aminami or mai Dunama VI Muhammad. Another version designates her as a daughter of mai Ali II Zainami and an older sister or half-sister of her successor, mai Idris IV Alooma. Aissa reportedly ruled until Idris was able to assume the throne and then abdicated, having ensured dynastic continuity during a timespan when Idris was either a minor or missing. Aissa continued to serve as a close advisor to Idris after her own reign and is sometimes credited with educating him in politics.
In one version of the tale that presents Aissa as Ali II's daughter, Dunama VI had all the sons of Ali killed, except for Idris who was sent away to the Bilala in secret by his mother, Amsa. When Abdullah IV died, Aissa succeeded him as ruler as she was unaware that Idris was still alive. Some versions designate Aissa as Idris's mother, perhaps out of confusing resulting from the use of the title magira. This is false since Idris's mother is known from various sources to have been named Amsa. Ronald Cohen suggested in 1966 that the use of magira could imply that Aissa was a wife of Ali II, but not Idris's mother, and that she thus lacked formal blood ties to the other rulers.