Kanem–Bornu Empire
The Kanem–Bornu Empire was an empire based around Lake Chad that once ruled areas which are now part of Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon, Libya, Algeria, Sudan, and Chad. The empire was sustained by the prosperous trans-Saharan trade and was one of the oldest and longest-lived empires in world history and certainly in African history.
The early history of the Kanem–Bornu Empire is poorly known. The empire is believed to have been founded around the year 700, though later and earlier dates have also been proposed. The Duguwa dynasty ruled the empire from their capital Njimi in the Kanem region and used the ruling title mai. In the 11th century, the empire converted to Islam and the Duguwa were replaced with the Sayfawa dynasty. The Kanem-based empire was brought to its zenith by the 13th-century mai Dunama II Dibalemi. The empire exerted considerable control over Saharan trade routes and exported salt, ivory, slaves, and animal products. The salt industry was particularly prosperous, with the empire able to provide salt across the surrounding region.
Economic factors and conflict with the Bilala people caused the empire to lose Kanem in the 14th century. Mai Umar I Idrismi re-centered the empire in the Bornu region, formerly a tributary state. A century of political instability followed, until mai Ali I Gaji founded Ngazargamu as a new permanent capital. Although Kanem was later recovered by mai Idris III Katagarmabe, scholars sometimes divide the Kanem–Bornu Empire into an earlier Kanem Empire and later Bornu Empire. The Bornu-based empire was brought to the peak of its power and influence under mai Idris IV Alooma in the late 16th century. Although Kanem–Bornu remained powerful for long thereafter, the empire began a slow but steady decline in the 17th century due to changing economic patterns and environmental conditions, and conflicts with various neighbors.
The empire nearly fell during the Fula jihads in the early 19th century, which saw the center of power in the region shift west to the Sokoto Caliphate. In the aftermath of the jihads, the Sayfawa dynasty was supplanted by the al-Kanemi dynasty, who ruled with the title shehu. In 1893, Kanem–Bornu was conquered by the Sudanese warlord Rabih az-Zubayr, who transformed the empire into a brutal military dictatorship. Subsequent civil unrest was exploited by France and Britain. Although the al-Kanemi dynasty was restored in 1900, they governed under colonial suzerainty. The empire's territories were incorporated into the French, British, and German colonial empires in 1902. Remnants of the Kanem–Bornu regime survive today in the form of the non-sovereign Borno and Dikwa emirates, two traditional states in Borno State, Nigeria.
Nomenclature
The name Kanem–Bornu Empire is a historiographical name used to cover the entire history of the state ruled by the Duguwa, Sayfawa, and al-Kanemi dynasties. Kanem–Bornu was not a native or contemporary name used by the empire. The name is an amalgamation of the two main central regions of the empire over the course of its history: Kanem in modern-day Chad and Bornu in modern-day Nigeria. Since the empire rarely exerted direct control over both regions and its center was always based in only one of them, the name is somewhat anachronistic. Modern scholars sometime use the loss of Kanem and re-centering of the empire in Bornu in the 14th century as the dividing point between an early Kanem Empire and later Bornu Empire.Kanem was the native name of the original core territory of the empire. The name might derive from the word anem, which still carries the meaning "south" in the Teda and Kanuri languages. From the 9th to 11th centuries, foreign Arabic sources identify the state as the "kingdom of the Zaghāwa" and as "Kānem". The name Bornu or Borno only appears in sources from the 14th century onwards, connected to the new core territory west of Lake Chad, and eventually came to function as the native name for the entire state. Of the two spellings, Borno is more correct since it more accurately reflects how the name is pronounced in the Kanuri language. The spelling Bornu remains common in historical treatments but is sometimes regarded as a colonial spelling. When European colonial powers encountered the state in the 19th century, they referred to it as the Empire of Borno.
Referring to Kanem–Bornu as an empire has its root in 19th and 20th-century eurocentric historiography and serves to stress the longevity and importance of the state. The Historian Rémi Dewière has suggested that the state should instead be called a sultanate to "decolonize the history of Islamic Africa".
Medieval European maps sometimes feature a kingdom in Kanem–Bornu's general location referred to as Organa or the Regnum Organa, which has traditionally been identified with Kanem–Bornu.' Modern scholars generally treat Organa as unidentified,' with Kanem–Bornu,' Ife,' and Ghana' considered potential identifications. The name Organa and its association with Western-style heraldic symbols is indicative of medieval Europe knowing next to nothing about sub-Saharan Africa.'
Alternative names to Kanem–Bornu Empire sometimes used by modern scholars include Sayfawa Empire, and Kanuri Empire or Kanembu Empire.
History
Medieval period (c. 700–1472)
Origin and early history (c. 700–1000)
The early history of Kanem is poorly known and subject to debate. The empire is believed to have originated in the lands between Lake Chad and the Bahr el Ghazal River, with a core territory in the region of Kanem. Lake Chad was positioned along key trade routes, ideally situated between Egypt and Sudan in the east, various West African states in the west, and the Sahara Desert in the north.Humans lived in the inner Chad Basin at least as far back as the 6th millennium BCE. The region is known to have acquired iron-smelting technology by the 5th century BCE and experienced increased agricultural activity around that time as well as the formation of permanent villages. By the 5th century CE, the people in Kanem had acquired the camel, either from North Africa or the Nile Valley. The appearance of the camel is believed to have facilitated the rich trans-Saharan trade, though archaeological evidence of this trade in pre-Islamic times is next to non-existent. Control of this trade led to the rise of stratified societies which eventually coalesced into kingdoms. One scholar, Dierk Lange, has proposed that Kanem's establishment was connected to refugees from the fall of the Neo-Assyrian Empire in the 7th century BCE, though this hypothesis has been criticised for lack of evidence and has found no acceptance among other researchers.
The process of state formation in Kanem is in large part unknown. The history of the Kanem Empire may go back as far as the 8th century and perhaps even earlier. The empire's foundation is typically dated to 700, though some place it as late as c. 900 or as early as c. 600. The earliest known written record of Kanem comes from the Arab geographer Al-Ya'qubi in 872. The empire's first capital was probably Njimi, east of Lake Chad, and its rulers assumed the title mai. The site of Njimi has never been satisfactorily located, despite attempts to find it since the mid-19th century. Although only limited surveys of the original core of the empire have been conducted, the capital may have been built of impermanent materials. Some later Arab sources suggest that it was a "city of tents" in its original incarnation. Archaeological evidence from Koro Toro suggests that the region surrounding Kanem saw a considerable development of iron production between c. 500 and c. 1000, the formative centuries of Kanem.
The empire was probably founded by the Zaghawa people, pastoralists from the Ennedi Plateau, but grew to encompass several other ethnic groups, such as the Toubou people in the north. The empire consisted of various groups, including nomadic pastoralists, agriculturalists, and people accustomed to iron-working and horsemanship. The different groups eventually gave rise to the Kanembu people, who speak the Nilo-Saharan Kanembu language. The early empire grew wealthy and powerful through the export of slaves in exchange for horses, and the raiding of its neighbors.
The early Kanem Empire was ruled by the Duguwa dynasty, an aristocratic group who may have chosen mais among themselves. Arab sources connect the Duguwa to the Zaghawa. It has also been suggested that they were Kanembu. The modern-day Haddad people in Chad may also have some historical connection to the Duguwa dynasty. Later legend, reflecting a desire to connect Kanem to the greater Islamic world, claimed that the Duguwa were descendants of migrants from the Arabian peninsula, who intermarried with the indigenous people around Lake Chad. Later tradition identifies mai Susam as the first ruler of the empire. The Duguwa dynasty gets its name from the empire's third ruler, Dugu.
The political history of the Kanem–Bornu Empire is largely reconstructed through the girgam, the empire's royal chronicle. The girgam was preserved through oral tradition before transcriptions by European scholars in the mid-19th century. The girgam is not entirely reliable since it was preserved orally, incorporates some Biblical figures in its early sections, and contains some contradictions between different versions. There is however a large degree of agreement across different versions of the girgam as to the names of rulers and the lengths of their reigns.
Conversion to Islam (c. 1000–1380)
Islam reached modern-day Chad already in the time of the Umayyad Caliphate, when Arab raiders reached Fezzan and the Tibesti Mountains. The religion was probably introduced to Kanem from the north by either the Toubou people or trans-Saharan traders. Islam was probably an important influence within the empire from as early as the mid-8th or 9th century. Portions of the population may have early on converted to Ibadi Islam, as happened in Gao to the northwest. The early rulers of Kanem approached Islam carefully since they perceived the religion to contain some dangerous ideas, such as the equality of all believers before God. In traditional local religions, the ruler was often accorded superhuman powers and unlimited authority.The first Muslim ruler of Kanem was the 11th-century mai Hu, who may have been a woman. Hu's successor, Selema I, may have been overthrown in the second half of the 11th century by mai Hummay, who established the new Sayfawa dynasty. Hu and Selema may have been Ibadi Muslim, whereas Hummay's dynasty was Sunni Muslim. The Sayfawa were Kanembu in origin but claimed descent from the Yemeni noble Sayf ibn Dī Yazan, a well-known legendary hero in the medieval Islamic world. Sayf and Susam were identified as the same figure in later Kanem–Bornu tradition. Other African dynasties of this time sometimes made similar claims to Arab origin as a source of prestige.
Later tradition credited the conversion of the Sayfawa dynasty to a scholar named Muhammad bin Mani, from whom many later Kanemi and Bornuan scholars and religious officials claimed descent.' Following the conversion to Islam by the rulers, conversions also increased among the general populace. Since Islam did not permit the enslavement of Muslims, it was not in the interest of the mais to force conversion beyond certain limits, so as to continue to facilitate the need for slaves in local and trans-Saharan markets. The trans-Saharan trade sustained the empire, which was able to levy taxes and duties on trade goods. Through the trade passing through the empire, Kanem had access to most of the technology and knowledge of its time and could flourish and expand.
Information from the Akhbār al-zamān, written between the late 10th to 11th century, states that Kanem by then was already a "vast and large" kingdom that was partly on the Nile and at war with Nubians. Kanem transitioned into a true empire through expansion to the Kaouar oases in the 11th century. Several archaeological sites have been identified in the oases, remains of former settlements, though they are yet to be excavated. It is believed that the northernmost settlements catered to travelers whereas the southern oasis settlements were focused on the salt trade. Through control of the trade routes to the north, the Kanem Empire exported ivory, slaves, and animal products. Foreign products, including weapons, books, beads, and cloth, were imported into the empire. In the 11th century, regulated taxation of the farmers around the capital at Njimi started to replace the previous patterns of nomad raiding and extortion.
Increasing Islamisation of Kanem is evident from the 11th century onwards and Kanem had developed into a literate society by the 12th century, when the scribes of the empire are recorded to have developed an original script style, the barnāwī.' In the 13th century, a ruler of Kanem is recorded to have gone on Hajj to Mecca. Shortly afterwards, the 13th-century mai Dunama II Dibalemi is recorded to have "opened" the mune, an important religious artefact of unclear nature. Dunama II brought Kanem to the zenith of its power. He commanded a cavalry of 40,000 horsemen and extended his rule as far as the Fezzan. Wars against the Sao, southwest of Lake Chad, were justified in the name of a jihad, and captives were sold as slaves in exchange for further horses from North Africa. Pilgrimages to Mecca became a common occurrence, so much so that a hostel for pilgrims and students from Kanem was founded in Cairo. In 1257, the mai sent a giraffe as a gift to Muhammad I al-Mustansir of the Hafsid dynasty in Ifriqiya.