Selema I
Selema I, also recorded as Abd al-Jalil and Abdullah, was the legendary eleventh mai of the Kanem–Bornu Empire, ruling in the 11th century. Selema is identified in the sources as the last mai of Kanem's original royal line, the Duguwa dynasty. The nature of Selema's relation to his successor Hummay, and Hummay's rise to the throne, are unclear.
Life
Most versions of the girgam present Selema as the son of his direct predecessor, Hu, who may have been a woman. Landeroin instead states that Selema was the son of a man named Djelil, with unclear relations to preceding mais. Selema's other parent may have been named Bure, though that name is only given by Palmer. Barth identifies Selema's mother as a "woman of the tribe of the Gemarma ". Palmer identifies her as "a daughter of Bikoru, of the clan of the Amarma ".Selema was the second Muslim ruler of Kanem, after Hu. He may have ruled at a time of intense internal crisis as the empire transitioned from officially following traditional religions to Islam. Selema was followed on the throne by Hummay, who is considered the founder of a new dynastic line, the Sayfawa dynasty. The girgam nevertheless presents Hummay as Selema's son, making the nature of this dynastic shift unclear. The name of Hummay's mother, and thus Selema's consort is given by Barth as Tikramma and by Palmer as Tigiram.
According to Barth, Selema died at a site called Ghumzú. Palmer stated that Selema was buried at a site called Masar. One girgam translated by Palmer in 1912 refers to Masar as "Masar of many mosques". A girgam translated by Palmer in 1926 places Selema's death in "the land of the Gamaram ".
Dynastic shift
The girgam places the emphasis of the dynastic shift from Duguwa to Sayfawa on adherance to Islam. The passage about Selema ends with "That is what we have written about the history of the Banū Dūkū; we shall now proceed to set down the history of the Banū Ḥummay, who professed Islam". The difference between the Duguwa and Sayfawa mais has thus often been interpreted, for instance by Barth in 1857, as merely religious, with both technically being the same royal lineage. This interpretation is demonstrably incorrect since both Selema and Hu were Muslims.The dynastic shift may be a reference to Selema being overthrown by Hummay, who could have been falsely linked to the former dynasty as Selema's supposed son in the royal chronicle. The reason for Selema's overthrow in this case is unknown. Hummay might have been an adherent of Sunni Islam whereas Selema and Hu were Ibadi Muslims. Kanem is generally believed to have been founded by the Zaghawa people, who are associated with the kingdom in Arab sources from the 9th to the 11th century. In the 12th century, the Zaghawa are attested as a separate entity from Kanem, living as nomads in the northeast. Hummay's rise to power could thus be linked to a possible expulsion of the Zaghawa from Kanem. In this interpretation, Selema is then identified as the last Zaghawa ruler of Kanem.