Muhammad VII Bukalmarami

Muhammad VII, called Muhammad Bukalmarami, Muhammad Dagnu, Muhammad Dansikima, and Muhammad Fannami, was mai of the Kanem–Bornu Empire in the early 17th century, ruling approximately 1603–1618. Muhammad was remembered as an excellent ruler, though he did not possess the same vigour as his father, Idris IV Alooma.

Life

Muhammad was a son of mai Idris IV Alooma. His mother was named Fanna, said to have been a "princess of the land of Buggal". Muhammad became mai in the early 17th century, succeeding his successful father.
Muhammad was later remembered in Bornu as an excellent ruler, renowned for his patience, handsome appearance, and modesty. His patience and rulership were said to have been so great that "no discord was heard of in his prosperous days" and "envious and malicious tongues were silent". According to the German explorer Heinrich Barth, who visited Bornu in the 1850s and transcribed some of the empire's royal chronicles, Muhammad was "less warlike and enterprising" than his father, though these qualities were no longer necessary as Idris had left the empire well established. Some chronicles referred to Muhammad as "the lion son of Idris".
Muhammad ruled for over a decade. The name of the site of his death is variously given as Dékana, Dagana, Dagana Daniski, or Akana, Barth speculated that Dékana might have been a location in the territory of the Duganna, a tribe of Shuwa Arabs. Muhammad was succeeded as mai by his half-brother Ibrahim III Gumsami.