Gaji of Bornu

Gaji, also recorded as Ali, was mai of the Kanem–Bornu Empire in the mid-15th century, ruling approximately 1456–1461. Possibly a usurper, Gaji ruled during the "Era of Instability", a chaotic period of internal and external conflict in the empire.

Life

Later sources record Gaji as the son of Imala, a female name. Most known versions of the girgam of the Kanem–Bornu Empire do not give the name of Gaji's father. One girgam, translated by Richmond Palmer in 1926, designates Gaji as a son of mai Amarma. Modern scholars have proposed various connections to the empire's ruling Sayfawa dynasty. Yves Urvoy believed that Gaji was Amarma's son. In 1984, Dierk Lange suggested that Gaji was a son of mai Kade III and thus a brother of his immediate predecessor and successor. Ronald Cohen suggested in 1966 that the lack of a name for Gaji's father meant that he was a usurper, with no familial connection to the Sayfawa dynasty.
Gaji became mai in the mid-15th century, succeeding Muhammad IV. Gaji ruled for five or six years. His reign was noted for continued conflict against the Bilala of Kanem. During these wars, Gaji earned the nickname "the fever of the Bilala". Gaji was ultimately killed in battle by the Bilala ruler Muhammad bin Abdullah. He was succeeded as mai by Uthman IV. The site of Gaji's death is recorded as Matakla Ghamer, possibly a corruption of "Bilala Gawala".