On the Sultans of Waday

Marie-Jose Tubiana's "Un document inédit sur les sultans du Wadday" is a useful article for anyone interested in the history of Waday. Consisting of 2 similar documents attributed to a Usman ibn Fodde or Uthman ibn Fodda, the translated source is a chronological list of the sultans of Waday. In addition to collating 2 versions of this source, one of which came from the sultan of Waday, Tubiana uses other sources to corroborate and comment on the list. Like the Diwan of Kanem-Borno, it's basically a list of the sultans with a few sentences describing what the said ruler accomplished or experienced during his reign. In addition, there is some confusion in the source as it incorrectly places Sabun into an earlier chronological moment in the history of Waday. 

Despite some of the obvious problems of the source, it's chronology seems to be generally accurate. Like, perhaps, the Diwan of Kanem-Borno, there may be some mystical value to certain numbers attached to reign lengths (66, for instance, was special in this source) and the earlier kings appear to have existed in a more "mythical" context. Sadly, what actually transpired between Abd el-Karim and the Tundjur kings who ruled previously is not entirely clear. One is still unsure about Abd el-Karim's connection to Bidderi in Bagirmi, too. All one can say is that Abd el-Karim probably reigned sometime in the first half of the 17th century and he was a propagator of the Islamic faith. Subsequent rulers are also mentioned but it is mainly only beginning with Sabun in the early 19th century are the events of Waday's political history better known. The wealth of sources for the 19th century allows for more corroboration and detail on the kings of Wadai, while the events of the years prior to Sabun can only be glimpsed with occasional references to the Tunjur, Darfur or the larger Central Sudan. Indeed, even the origins of Abd el-Karim are unclear as some source ssuggest roots in the modern-day Sudan while other traditions, such as those reported by Barth and Nachtigal, suggest some kind of connection to the Islamic settlement of Bidderi and a Muslim movement against the pagan Tunjur. 

Interestingly, some later research suggests some degree of Islamic observance among the Tunjur. In fact, the Tunjur rulers were remembered by Arab names, including the final one, a Dawud, who was overthrown or replaced by Abd el-Karim. In addition, O'Fahey cited evidence of a Tunjur king from the region of Darfur and Wadai who was reported in Muslim sources. To what degree Abd el-Karim was the first Muslim ruler in what became Waday is difficult to say, but the realities of Tunjur, Kanem, and Bornoan influences in the region suggest Islam may have had some influence in Waday before the 17th century. Later Borno influences and conflict with Borno, Darfur, Bagirmi, Rabeh, the Mahdists in Sudan, and, finally, the French, continued to shape Waday's sultans while a number of contenders, dignitaries, and rival claimants for the throne frequently clashed. Furthermore, some Waday rulers clashed with their own dignitaries who resisted kings who became too powerful. This frequent instability and conflict over power helps explain why Waday could occasionally rise to a hegemonic status in the Central Sudan but very quickly, within a reign or two, suffer severe declines, population exoduses, plagues, and even do nothing while Rabeh ravaged tributary states like Dar Kuti, Dar Runga and Bagirmi.

Voyage to Wadai

Traveler al-Tunisi's Voyage au Ouadây is the sequel of sorts to his earlier narrative on his travels through the Darfur Sultanate. Even more extended and featuring additional tangents and chapters on his traversing of the Sahara, al-Tunisi's account provides detailed informaton about a pivotal era in the history of the Sudanic region (and Tripoli). Traveling to Wadai during the reign of Sabun, who opened another route for trans-Saharan trade to Benghazi, al-Tunisi personally witnessed (or heard via his father and others) the exploits of Wadai's victory against Baghirmi. In addition, al-Tunisi witnessed the last days of the Awlad Muhammad sultanate in the Fezzan, some of the career of Yusuf Qaramanli in Tripoli, and stories of the decline of Borno via jihad of Zaky (Uthman dan Fodio). Thus, al-Tunisi's travels and anecdotes captured a significant moment in the history of the Sudanic region as major figures like Sabun, Yusuf Qaramanli, al-Kanemi, and Uthman dan Fodio reshaped the economic, social, and political landscape of much of Africa. Indeed, through his experience in Egypt and witnessing the reforms of Muhammad Ali, one can even include Egypt and the Sudan as part of this era of momentous change which significantly impacted the Sudanic areas.

A native of Borno who studied at al-Azhar in Cairo.

Undoubtedly, the major importance of this work is the overview of the kingdom of Wadai. Probably founded sometime in the early 1600s, al-Tunisi reported some of the traditions of its origins. Claiming Abbasid origins and other traditions, Wadai's first ruler united the region and established a tradition in which successors could only be born to mothers from 5 privileged tribes. Moreover, the sultans of Kordofan, Darfur, and Waday purportedly shared a common origin, which could be a reflection of the previous political history before the 17th century. While, sadly, the people of Wadai and Darfur, to al-Tunisi's knowledge, did not write or keep chronicles of their history, he was able to write a brief summary of the history of Wadai's sultans before Sabun. Indeed, it was clearly one in which conflicts with the Keira sultans of Darfur were frequent. Darfur's rulers intervened in the affairs of Waday while those of Wadai attempted to do the same in the other country. In fact, before al-Tunisi's arrival in Wadai, conflicts with Dar Tamah, the mountainous region subject to Darfur that stood between the kingdoms, were supposedly fueled by the Fur sultan's interest in weakening Darfur. However, neither kingdom could truly subjugate the other. Perhaps the vast distances and relatively equal military forces (despite Waday's troops being braver) lowered the chances of success. However, after Sabun's death under mysterious circumstances (was he killed by cow thieves or did he die from illness), one of his brothers later seized the throne with the aid of Darfur, pledging to pay tribute. That brother, however, was able to relatively easily take power due to internal divisions and a recent plague that struck the kingdom. Needless to say, he was able to easily enough throw off the yoke of tribute to Darfur. 

The major area of focus for al-Tunisi, of course, was the piety and brilliance of Sabun. Intriguingly, he personally was not well-treated by Sabun. Blaming it on a Moroccan sharif who abused his position and influence in Wadai's court, al-Tunisi was not the recipient of the totality of Sabun's largesse. Instead, it was the privileged position of al-Tunisi's father, who served as an advisor to the sultan, which seems to have accounted for the high praise of our author. His father, who received land grants, gifts, and helped in some of Sabun's campaigns (including the violent one which denuded Tamah of crops), must have told his son of some of the brilliance and piety of Sabun. According to our author, Sabun vanquished injustice, centralized administration (by shortening terms of service for administrators and using others to spy on them), welcomed ulama and Islamic holymen, and engaged in just campaigns against the incestuous, violent mbang Ahmad of Bagirmi. Furthermore, Sabun revealed himself as a reformer and visionary, planning to create coinage (a plan he was persuaded not to pursue by his court), open new trade routes to the Magreb to decrease his dependence on the Fazzan, and employ firearms with slaves especially trained in their use. While some of Sabun's reforms and visions did not materialize, he was able to, despite the significant loss of lives, open a new trans-Saharan trade route, expand Wadai's influence in Bagirmi and make Wadai one of the strongest kingdoms of the Bilad al-Sudan. The story of his rise was also an admirable one, relying on cunning and careful planning to outmaneuver his brothers. Sadly, after his death, Wadai witnessed a series of ineffective or corrupt rulers who disputed the throne until a brother of Sabun returned decades later. 

One of the most interesting chapters of al-Tunisi's voyage tells the tale of the conquest of Bagirmi, a major kingdom once tributary to Borno. Unlike other sources, claiming Sabun of Wadai only invaded Bagirmi upon the request of a (weakened?) Borno, al-Tunisi places all the blame on mbang Ahmad. Ahmad was so perverse he married his half-sister, ignoring the wishes of the ulama and Islamic law. Then he went so far as to lust after his daughter! Meanwhile, his fetcha was busy raiding Wadai territory despite several peaceful letters from Sabun. To provide even further justification, ulama in Bagirmi allegedly wrote to Wadai asking for intervention from the tyranny, corruption, and perversity of the mbang. Unsurprisingly, after the raids on Wadai territory continued unabated, and the alleged corruption of Bagirmi's ruler descended into further degeneracy, Sabun launched a campaign. Sabun's troops continued their advance onto Massenya while the mbang pretended his troops could handle the invasion and there was no immediate threat. By the end of the campaign, Bagirmi's mbang was killed in battle, Massenya was sacked (the treasury of the mbang supposedly had the equivalent of more than 200,000 francs) and pillaged (including the enslavement and rape of several inhabitants) and Sabun placed another member of the royal family on the throne. Unfortunately, a son of the previous mbang and his fetcha continued to resist Wadai, fleeing to Kotoko and then plotting against the king placed on the throne by Wadai. After more campaigns, Sabun agreed to allow this prince to become the new mbang of Bagirmi, with an agreement to pay a lowered annual tribute to Wadai. The effects of this campaign were such that the price of slaves decreased and a number of Bagirmi subjects ended up in Wadai. 

Photo from Lebuef's Ouara, Ville Perdue.

For significantly increasing the size of the kingdom, welcoming Islamic scholars, and opening new trade routes, and combating corruption and tyrannical officials in his kingdom, Sabun was compared to Muhammad Ali of Egypt. While the comparison was probably just in some regards, Sabun's reign was perhaps too brief to consolidate all of his achievements for subsequent rulers. Nonetheless, al-Tunis's description of the customs and cultures of Wadai and the the rest of the Sudan (Black Africa) are occasionally fascinating and problematic. As in his book on Darfur, one can occasionally detect ethnocentric biases. Indeed, the depiction of the sexual and marital practices of Wadaians may reflect a belief in the lasciviousness of black Africans. The pagan populations to the south of the Muslim Sudanic states, naturally, are beyond the pale in terms of civilization and culture. Pagans who do not possess any law, they were also decentralized and did not unite when it would have been feasible to do so against the Muslim raiders to their north. But al-Tunisi was not so biased as to not recognize great talent in the artisanry of some weapons and tools produced by the southerners, the Fertity, Kirdaouy, and others. In addition, his account of the operation of Darfur slaving expeditions, very distinct from those of Wadai in that they were operated by private individuals with a firman from the sultan, illustrates how easily tributary pagan populations to the south could be victims of raids as well as benefit from the slaving expeditions. Some of these Darfur expeditions penetrated deep into the heart of Africa, with one 18th century group allegedly reaching a vast river with people who looked like Indians (this is not explained in the text). This deeper penetration of the African interior from the North is interesting in light of the deeper penetrating of slave trading from the Indian Ocean to the east as well as the ongoing slave trade to the Atlantic World.

Besides his general commentary on the military, administrative, religious, and marital customs of Darfur and Wadai, al-Tunisi also applied a theory of Ibn Khaldun to explain the decline of Borno under the Sayfawa. According to him, the forces of Zaky (dan Fodio) were initially so successful against the Bornoans due to the latter's customs of luxury and comfort. Becoming too comfortable and attached to their luxuries, the Bornoans were no longer able to field the type of brave resistance necessary against their opponents. Consequently, they required the aid of the al-Kanemi, mistakenly represented as the alifa of Kanem, to defeat the Fulani and liberate Birni Gazargamo. Unfortunately, al-Tunisi never personally traveled to Borno. But his father and other informants did, one source even reporting that the soldiers of Borno were such cowards that they mistook a flock of ostriches from afar for the vast army of their foes. The frightened Borno soldiers then were ready to turn around and flee. While the reality of Borno in this phase was more complex and al-Tunisi did not have enough information, it is possible his testimony reflects a shift in the Sayfawa dynasty's basis of power. Instead of pure military force, which likely retained importance, the Sayfawa mais may have relied more on their perceived spiritual and religious authority. One wishes al-Tunisi had been able to gather more information on Borno in the early 19th century instead of reporting a few anecdotes and commenting on the treatment of his father who was robbed there due to the ongoing conflict with Bagirmi. 

Overall, al-Tunisi's two-part travelogue is a fascinating account of much of the Sudanic belt of Africa in the early 19th century. His numerous tangents are occasionally delightful treats to information about various topics. For instance, the pretensions of Tubu Rechad "sultans" who take advantage of their desert setting to repeatedly demand gifts from travelers. Or, for instance, finally returning to Tunis only to have his father steal his money while taking a bath! Then the ordeal with his uncle when he endeavored to collect the goods and inheritance of his father, who passed away during his final trip to Waday. Our traveler experienced a number of setbacks and wonders, including people stealing his water while crossing the Sahara and being saved by a devout, faithful slave. He even experienced the perils of internal discord and war in the Regency of Tripoli when the Awlad Sulayman rebelled against Yusuf Qaramanli. The poor traveler even had to bear the risk of traveling with goods of Yusuf Qaramanli overland. One only wishes al-Tunisi and Perron had collaborated on an account of his experiences after his travels to Black Africa, such as the wars over Greek independence and events in Egypt after his final return to Cairo. 

Origine et évolution des Zaghawa and Kanem-Borno

Terio Abdelkerim's Origine et évolution des Zaghawa: Du royaume du Kanem aux Etats modernes (VIIIe-XXIe siècle) is a worthy effort to unveil the deeper history of the Zaghawa peoples and the kingdom of Kanem. Although we have reached rather different conclusions on the early history of Kanem and the relationship between the so-called Duguwa dynasty and the Sayfawa, Abdelkerim uses oral traditions and a familiarity with the history of Zaghawa or Beri clans across Chad and Sudan to illustrate the clear "Zaghawa" origin of the ruling clan of Kanem. However, as indicated by the Diwan and Kanuri, Kanembu, and Tubu traditions and clan names, the modern Zaghawa (Koubara, Wegui, Touba Koube as the three main groups with smaller clans and divisions) have ancient ties to the Teda, Daza, Kanembu and Kanuri groups. 

Indeed, if the Diwan is reliable on the mothers of various early mais, the ruling Zaghawa of Kanem intermarried with Tubu and Kanembu clans. Furthermore, as the Teda, Daza, and Zaghawa were mobile pastoralists, they also migrated back and forth through the Tibetsi, Ennedi, Borku, Kawar, Kanem, Borno, and other regions. The Zaghawa today, located on the frontier between Chad and Sudan, possibly migrated there in larger numbers after the so-called replacement of the Duguwa (Banu Duku) dynasty by the Sayfawa in the late 11th century. Or, alternatively, given the wide expanse of territory between Lake Chad and the Nile occupied by related Nilo-Saharan pastoralists, the "Zaghawa" of the medieval Arabic sources was actually a reference to the entire ensemble of black pastoralists in the central Sahara. This would probably explain why the "Zaghawa" were already known to Arabic sources as early as the beginning of the 8th century, since black Saharan populations west of Nubia and south of the Fazzan may have already formed the early state of Kanem to the south.

In addition, linguistics possibly supports a "Zaghawa" or Beri affinity for the early rulers of Kanem. According to al-Yaqubi, writing in 872, the kingdom of Kanem was "Zaghawa" and called Kakira. The Zaghawa language, however, retains the word kireh for emperor or kings, as indicated by Abdelkerim. We are thus inclined to view al-Yaqubi's brief account of 9th century Kanem as evidence of a Zaghawa ruling clan that must have been related to various Teda, Daza and proto-Kanembu groups through marriage. Indeed, genetics likely supports this scenario as population admixture studies of Chadian groups indicates mixing between a group of Eastern African origin with one of West-Central African origin around 1000 years ago. Of course, the Tubu of Chad also have significant Eurasian ancestry that reflects deeper histories of Eurasian backflow into this part of Africa. Nevertheless, this must have been the fusion of the Zaghawa, Teda, and Daza with sedentary populations already in Kanem and the Chad Basin. Their fusion would ultimately lead to the Kanembu and Kanuri populations. Perhaps the use of the term Beriberi by the Hausa to refer to the Kanuri is actually an allusion to the Zaghawa, or Beri, peoples?

Unfortunately, Abdelkerim believes the Zaghawa language is a Berber one and its population of Berber origins because of Ibn Khaldun and other medieval writers. Since some of them have classified the "Zaghawa" as Berbers or mentioned their use of the litham, many scholars have uncritically repeated this. However, the alleged Berber influence was probably restricted and more likely than not simply a case of Berbers in the Sahara and Sahel who were assimilated into Tubu and Zaghawa populations. After all, even al-Idrisi cited a similar case of this in the Sahara during the 12th century. The Nilo-Saharan language family of the Zaghawa and all the available evidence from the Diwan and Kanuri oral traditions supports an early ruling dynasty of Teda, Daza, and Zaghawa origin. Even the name Dugu or Duku, remembered as Douk Bourme in Zaghawa oral tradition, is a further testament to Zaghawa origins. Even if the name as remembered by the Zaghawa meant courageous young man with light skin, this does not require a Berber origin. "Red" and "black" clans among the Tubu, for instance, could be what the Diwan was referring to when they identified the first "black" mai as only appearing in the late 12th century. 

In consideration of the available evidence, one can justifiably question whether or not there really was a dynastic change from the Duguwa to the Sayfawa in the 11th century. Abdelkerim agrees with scholars such as Lange who see dynastic change because of the language of one copy of the Diwan or a few other sources. However, since the Diwan, Ahmad b. Furtu, and Kanuri oral traditions and Magumi sub-clan divisions support overall continuity from the Duguwa to the Sayfawa, one can plausibly reject the theory. Even if it is true that the Sayfawa embrace of Islam was resisted by some of the Zaghawa ruling elite in Kanem, who had to be replaced by Humme, one is still left in the dark about why the Magumi royal clan of the Sayfawa retained divisions claiming descent from pagan Duguwa mais? Moreover, why was the last Duguwa mai remembered as Abd Abd al-Galil, a very Arabic name? We are inclined to believe that some of the 11th century mais of Kanem may have already embraced Islam, perhaps the Ibadi sect which was active in the nearby Fazzan? 

After all, centuries of trade and contact with Ibadi traders and even Berber merchants in Kawar would have facilitated the spread of Islam by the 1000s. Perhaps the Sayfawa were really just a more devout, Sunni Muslim branch of the ruling elite who saw greater benefit through the full embrace of Sunni Islam. Whether or not this actually precipitated a mass exodus or dispersal of Zaghawa to the east is unknown, as Kanem may have exerted influence on "Zaghawa" and "Daju" in the Chadian-Sudan borderlands. As for Islam's impact on the ruling dynasty and possible anti-Muslim resistance, perhaps it is important to note the late and slight Islamization of various Tubu and other populations in Kanem and Borno. If the masses were, for the most part, left alone, and some pre-Islamic rituals like coronation rites or certain beliefs in the king's power to influence fertility of the land persisted, then the conversion to Islam could have been accomplished in a manner that did not necessarily trigger too much resistance. Perhaps something comparable to various coronation rituals and harvest festivals later observed for the Keira sultans of Darfur was practiced by the early Muslim mais of Kanem.

If the rulers of Kanem had already, by this time, been accustomed to wearing fine textiles imported from trans-Saharan trade and interacting with Muslims for centuries, it is possible that a Muslim faction was already present in the court at Manan. Like Ghana in the Western Sudan, perhaps there were local and foreign Muslims already incorporated into the administration by this time. If our admittedly speculative theory is correct, then Kanem before the reign of the first Sayfawa mai may have had Islamic rulers or at least prominent Muslim administrators, traders, and teachers. Perhaps, although our only evidence is al-Bakri, a branch of the Ummayads may have fled to Kanem. Like the later recorded history of the Sayfawa, maybe members of the royal family already converted and began their study of Islam through the help of pious teachers like Muhammad b. Mani. Muslim traders established in Kawar and the Fazzan would have been an additional vector for Islamic propagation that might have appealed to the rulers of Kanem. Embracing the religion officially would have increased the stature of the kingdom to many of its Muslim trading partners and perhaps offered way for a new branch of the ruling family to build alliances with powerful allies. 

In conclusion, the Duguwa and Sayfawa were really one single dynasty. The Zaghawa or Beri origins can be deduced from the external Arabic sources. The "Zaghawa" in the Arabic sources likely included various related populations like the Teda and Daza. Over time, the Zaghawa kingdom of Kanem, which may have arose as early as the 500s in Lange's view, became known through trans-Saharan trade. A growing Muslim presence in Kawar and Kanem itself would have created conditions propitious for an eventual royal conversion. Since many of the Tubu and Zaghawa groups were nomadic or semi-nomadic and likely not forced to convert, Kanem's Islamization did not necessarily create a Zaghawa exodus to the east. The evidence for dynastic continuity throughout the history of Kanem-Borno may be further deduced from Magumi clan divisions claiming descent from various pre-Sayfawa kings. The incorporation of various sedentary populations already established in Kanem when the Saharan forebears of the Duguwa/Sayfawa entered the region were gradually incorporated into the state to the point where even non-Kanembu groups claimed descent from pre-Islamic kings like Bulu. Amazingly, references to the Zaghawa role in the origins of Kanem may be recalled in the Hausa appellation of Beriberi for the Kanuri. 

Archaeological Research and Njimi

A video on the work of archaeologists such as Carlos Magnavita and others who may have identified the ruins of Njimi, the capital of medieval Kanem (after Manan). We cannot wait for more published results from these excavations. Perhaps it will force us to rethink some of this blog's preconceived notions about Kanem-Borno urbanism before the Borno phase. It can also shed some light on medieval Kanem's relations with regions like Nubia and West Africa. 

Les pays du Tchad et la montée des périls, 1795-1850

Les pays du Tchad et la montée des périls, 1795-1850 is another one of Zeltner's shorter books, this one consisting of some introductory chapters and essays on 4 major figures who shaped the Chad Basin in the first half of the 19th century. Beginning with 2 chapters on the regional context and Arab migrations before delving into Abd al-Jalil, Yusuf Caramanli, Muhammad al-Amin al-Kanemi and Sabun of Wadai, Zeltner treads familiar ground. Those who have read his work on Tripoli and Kanem will perhaps not find much new material here. Nonetheless, he corrects some of his past assertions or mistakes and offers some more detailed analysis and commentary on Arab genealogies and the rise of Wadai as the major power in the eastern Chad Basin. Zeltner is probaby correct to identify the ancestors of the Bani Hassan as among the Arabs in Kanem who allied themselves with Idris b. Ali against the Bulala in the 16th century. The suggestive analysis of Kotoko and Mandara state and religious ideologies and the ancestor-snake cult of Wadai are thought-provoking, too. 

Although one may take issue with a great man approach to the history of the area around Lake Chad, Zeltner's detailed study of the 4 aforementioned leaders actually does a great job highlighting how closely connected their respective states and peoples were. For al-Kanemi, the shehu who founded today's dynasty of Borno, his maternal family's Fezzani origins and his upbringing in today's Libya (plus his several years spent in the East) illustrates how the elites of Borno were not isolated from broader trends and currents in the Islamic world. Moreover, due to what Zeltner sees as the military weakness of Borno, al-Kanemi had to rely on diplomacy to avert a Tripolitanian invasion and use their support against Bagirmi. While he perhaps ultimately failed to fully restore Kanem to Bornoan suzerainty, and the Fezzani invasions were disasters that even included his sister among their victims, al-Kanemi succeeded in impressing the British Borno mission, ending the Bagirmi threat, defended the western frontier, and secured an alliance with the Awlad Sulayman. 

One cannot help but admire al-Kanemi, despite his flaws and perhaps his questionable reasons for agreeing to send his child as a hostage to Libya. His charisma, ability to attract Kanembu and Arab followers (as well as other adventurers and outsiders), military and spiritual leadership and interest in technological and economic advantages of relations with the British certainly made him an exceptional ruler in a turbulent era. It just seems fantastic that he was so afraid of a Tripolitanian invasion despite surely knowing something of the financial straits of the Pasha. Either way, British refusal to loan the necessary funds and direct relations with Britain made the invasion impossible. That must be part of the reason for al-Kanemi's cordial reception of Denham, Clapperton and Oudney. He further secured Borno from northern attacks through sealing an alliance with Abd al-Jalil and the Awlad Sulayman, who became the effective rulers of the Fezzan after al-Mukni's fall from grace. 

The other figures examined by Zeltner include some of the most influential and notorious figures in the history of Chad and Libya. Yusuf Caramanli, the murderous man who slaughtered his own brother in front of their mother, saw to the end of the Awlad Muhammad dynasty in the Fezzan. His corsair activity and heavy involvement in the slave trade were interrupted by European pressure and the Greek war of independence, forcing him to overtax the population. Unlike, say, Muhammad Ali in Egypt, he was never able to successfully conquer or launch a permanent occupation of Sudanic Africa. His bey of the Fezzan, who harbored his own hopes of an empire in the southern lands, was recalled. As mentioned previously, Yusuf additionally failed to secure the necessary British loans to fund a full invasion of Borno. Nevertheless, the fact that his troops were able to invade Bagirmi and loot Massenya was an impressive feat, showing Tripolitanian imperial ambition perhaps akin to that of Egypt in the Sudan. It also attests to the powerful role of firearms in a region which had once been a pioneer in the use of muskets in 16th century Borno.  

Wadai under Sabun and Abd al-Jalil of the Awlad Sulayman represent more admirable figures. The latter, after his tribe's defeats and oppression from Yusuf Caramanli and Tripolitanian authorities, almost became the force of unification for Libya's Arabs. By mastering the Fezzan and establishing cordial relations with Borno, he only needed to secure a Mediterranean port. The divisions within the Arab population and conflict with the Pasha who succeeded Yusuf made this impossible before his death. Tragically, a famine and treason among the Arab allies brought about the death of Abd al-Jalil. The Awlad Sulayman later migrated to Kanem, where they became the major arbiter between Borno and Wadai. British and French involvement in Tripolitanian affairs, plus British interest in securing a sea port open to Fezzani caravans (and a dream of ending the slave trade) further demonstrate how significant European involvement in Central Sudanic, Central Saharan affairs were before the colonial conquest. 

Wadai under Sabun, who restored centralized monarchical power and opened a trade route through Benghazi, represented another visionary leader whose successors arguably failed to live up to the opportunities he created. Although we recall other sources mentioning Wadai's invasion of Bagirmi under Sabun as an action mandated by the Sayfawa mai in Borno, Zeltner focuses on the invasion and subsequent tributary status of Bagirmi as a momentous event and display of the regional ambitions of Sabun. Wadai benefited from Barma and other migrants and slaves who brought with them their weaving and dyeing skills. Moreover, intervention in the affairs of Kanem by investing their own alifa at Mao represented a direct threat to Borno. Despite Sabun's opening of a direct trans-Saharan route to the Mediterranean (instead of going through the Fezzan or the arduous route through Darfur, a state previously at war with Wadai) and his success in reducing Bagirmi to a vassal, his successors closed the kingdom due to fears of a Tripolitanian invasion. It would take decades before Wadai's rulers took full advantage of the commercial opportunities Sabun created. Fortunately for Wadai, their rulers did succeed and in so doing created a state which approximated the borders of modern Chad. 

Unquestionably, the first half of the 19th century brought major changes to the Central Sudan and Libya. Demographic changes with the further migration of Arab nomads south of Lake Chad accompanied political and economic transformations. The slave trade, still of the utmost importance for trans-Saharan commerce, continued unabated. But the growing influence of the British and the French in Tripoli and direct contact with Borno promised significant alterations in the balance of power. Borno emerged from the jihad to the west as reduced power, no longer a hegemonic force. Wadai to the east became a major force to reckon with. Libya, through the fall of the Caramanlis and Awlad Sulayman, was more effectively administered by Ottoman-appointed officials. While British dreams of ending the slave trade and ensuring commerce with the African interior via the Sahara did not materialize, the looming threat of Europe dangled like a sword of Damocles over this region of Africa. 

Wadai from a Chadian Perspective

It is always disappointing when a local scholar of an understudied precolonial African state produces mediocrity. Although Ouaddai, fondation d'un empire by Mahamat Seid Abazène Seid has the benefit of drawing on local, oral sources as well as the written literature on Wadai, it does not suffice for an overview or deep analysis of a major state in precolonial Chad Unfortunately, his frankly too brief book focuses mainly on the founder of Wadai (Abdel Kerim) and jumps all over the place chronologically to make a few generalizations about the nature of the state, its ethnic dimensions, and the administrative positions. There are some occasionally bizarre irrelevant references to Africa as the berceau of monotheism and an interpretation of Chad as both Arab and Africa. The latter position seems fair enough, and no one can deny the centuries-long presence of Arabic-speaking populations in Chad or their inclusion in the states like Wadai, Bagirmi, and Kanem-Borno. 

He seems to mostly support the idea of Abdel Kerim being of Abbasid Arab origin, but also Maba or at least spoke the language. We are also supposed to believe he married the daughter of the last Tunjur king in the region. The mix of traditions also suggest that he may have studied in Borno and Bagirmi as well as spending time in the Hijaz. His state adopted his name, and Wadai became a regional hegemon (albeit most of this seems to be in the 19th century, not the 17th or 18th centuries?). Wadai's problems with royal succession and internal dissension eventually paved the road to French colonial conquest. Nonetheless, Seid's study points to rational administration through the surveillance and rotation of officials and the non-despotic nature of the state. He rightly points out the limitations of al-Tunisi and Nachtigal, especially as the former was biased and his description of the kingdom should rightfully be seen as mainly reflecting the specific era of Saboun's reign. We also suspect Wadai to have been more in the sphere of influence of Borno until the late 18th century or early 19th. After all, Wadai's first invasion of Bagirmi supposedly occurred at the request of the mai. One also suspects the constant struggles for control of Kanem during much of the 1800s attests to Borno's continued interests in Kanem and the eastern shores of Lake Chad. 

Unfortunately, we are forced to rely on al-Tunisi, Barth, Nachtigal, and other outsiders since our surviving corpus of written sources is rather limited. The oral sources have much potential, but Seid's study is too brief and problematic to provide a proper analysis of this major Chadian kingdom (or empire). Moreover, Seid's attempt to interpret the Tarikh al-Fattash and Tarikh al-Sudan to support a Songhai connection or influence on Wadai is difficult to take seriously. Frankly, we do not know to what extent Muslims from the Songhai state were using the "Sudan Road" to reach Mecca. Moreover, the resurgent Borno kingdom as a huge state blocking Songhai from expanding east of Hausaland would suggest weak or limited Songhai influences or impact on Wadai. We find it far more likely that Wadai (and the Darfur Sultanate) owe more to Kanem-Borno and the previous Tunjur state than to any Songhai or Western Sudan societies. One also wonders if any attempt to read the prophecy of a future caliph of Takrur from Tarikh al-Fattash as predicting Wadai's rise is completely misguided. 

Histoire des Arabes sur les rives du lac Tchad

Jean-Claude Zeltner's Histoire des Arabes sur les rives du lac Tchad is one of those important works that sorely needs an updated sequel. The history of Arabs in the Chad Basin is a significant topic pertinent to the ethnographic, demographic, religious, and cultural history of our region. However, the paucity of sources for earlier periods and some of Zeltner's outmoded concepts of "Hamites" hinders this study. One would hope a modern sequel to Zeltner's research would unveil more intimate details of the relations between the state and Arab nomads in the larger region. Instead of seeing Arabs as outside the state and, until the rise of al-Kanemi and Rabeh, marginal, perhaps a new perspective could shed light on more active involvement of some groups in Kanem, Wadai, Borno, the Kotoko principalities, and Bagirmi. Something of this can be gleamed from historians of the Darfur Sultanate or Bagirmi, for example. The Arab population in Bagirmi, for instance, appear to have been one of the 3 principal ethnic groups of the kingdom. Arab relations and intermarriage with the Fulani also seems important.

Unfortunately given our few sources on the earliest penetration of Arab migrations into the Lake Chad area, Zeltner has to really begin with the late Kanem phase of the Sayfawa dynasty. We know from our Arabic sources that the earliest Arab migrations (in this case referring to nomadic or semi-nomadic populations, not Arab traders or individual immigrants coming via Egypt and North Africa) were present in the Kanem region by the late 14th century. Zeltner links them to Arab migrations to Egypt and Sudan since the early days of the Islamic conquests in the 7th century. As indicated in his magisterial history of Kanem, some of these Chadian Arabs claim descent from tribes whose history appears in the records of pre-Islamic Arabia or the early days of Islamic expansion. If Robin Law is correct, these Arabs in 14th century Kanem may have aligned themselves with the Bulala against the Sayfawa, perhaps providing horses and siding with the Bulala in raids and pillaging. It is not too much of a stretch of the imagination to envision the marauding Arab tribes of the 14th century as decentralized and perhaps motivated by easy booty, but lacking deeper loyalties to the Bulala sultans.

Later, during Idris b. Ali's reconquest (or re-assertion of Bulala loyalty to the Borno sultans), Arab populations in Kanem were among those resettled to Borno. According to Zeltner, the Sayfawa dynasty did not rely on Shuwa Arabs in the way al-Kanemi or Rabeh did. Vassals of the Sayfawa, however, did accord some kind of land rights or impose tribute on Arab tribes, like their Borno overlords. Overall, in Zeltner's eyes, the Shuwa remained outside the state and subject to their own shaykhs. Although in Borno an official was appointed by the mai to oversee nomadic groups, they were largely left alone as long as they paid tribute. Perhaps to truly understand Arab populations during the Sayfawa period woudl also require historical context on the Tedas, Dazas, Koyam, Fulani, and Tuareg subject to the Sayfawa of Borno. 

With further migration of Arab tribes into Borno and other regions south of Lake Chad, they came to play a major role in supporting al-Kanemi defeat forces aligned with the jihad to the west. Some of them became key officials of the al-Kanemi dynasty, although the majority remained largely unassimilated. Another group, the Awlad Sulayman, came to play a major role in 19th century Kanem. In spite of their failure to serve the larger interests of a Bornoan reconquest of the lost territory, as effective rulers of Kanem they made the region a buffer between Wadai and Borno. Despite subsequently becoming even more integrated into Rabeh's state, Shuwa Arabs seem to have been most effectively integrated under al-Kanemi and his successors than the Sayfawa. Rabeh, on the other hand, represented something new and different in the region. Despite other scholars seeing continuity from the al-Kanemi dynasty to Rabeh's brief empire, Zeltner emphasizes how it represented a dramatic break with established tradition. Moreover, chiefs of the Arab tribes were now appointed by Rabeh's state directly. 

The rest of Zeltner's book provides a quick overview of the Arab population under French colonial rule. He essentially sees them as a population refusing the modern or new. Their refusal to embrace the modern or find effective ways to challenge it with their own internal resources ensured their marginalization under colonial rule and into the postcolonial period. Following this interpretation, Zeltner briefly summarizes the peculiarities of their vernacular Arabic, family structure, religious life, and the individual. We will have to find Chadian Arab authors or perhaps Chadian or Nigerian scholars who tackle the complex history of Arabs in this region, perhaps scholars who can shed more light on the particularities of Arab-state relations in the Central Sudan. Zeltner's work is indispensable, particularly his work on Kanem. Nonetheless, a more modern approach with comparative data on other transhumant pastoralists could shed new light on the subject. Furthermore, we find Zeltner to be too influenced by Urvoy and Lange on the allegedly "Berber" origins of the Sayfawa dynasty and his view of land tenure in Borno may require some modifications.

Dar al-Kuti and the Outer Periphery

Cordell's history of the Dar al-Kuti Sultanate endeavors to explain the brief state's rise and fall in the context of greater integration of North Central Africa into the wider global, capitalist system of exchange. Beginning from c.1750 and ending with the French assassination of al-Sanussi, Cordell's study situates Dar al-Kuti's rise with an increase in the scale of trans-Saharan trade impacting the area where the Lake Chad, Nile, and Zaire basins intersect, specifically the Ubangi-Shari region. Although pre-1750 contacts certainly existed in some form, and evidence for a Barma or Bagirmi influence can be found in the early Muslim presence in what later became Dar al-Kuti, the Islamic presence and scale of slave raiding grew exponentially over the course of the 19th century. By the early 20th century, the slave trade was so central to the Sultanate that al-Sanussi had no other alternative in order to acquire the firearms, ammunitions and luxury imports to support his state and dependents. 

The expansion of slave raiding and trading for northern partners and the trans-Saharan routes led to unprecedented migrations, relocations, and, gradually, a larger Muslim presence as traders, settlers, and converts participated in this new, centralized state. According to Cordell, the origins of Dar al-Kuti began with a Runga (or someone of Bagirmi and Runga origins) appointed to oversee the region on behalf of the rulers of Dar Runga, itself a tributary to Wadai. Darfur's Sultanate had previously been a major player but lost control of southern trade routes leading to Central Africa while Wadai reaped the benefits. Over time, the region of Dar al-Kuti became more significant in the mid and late 19th century under Kobur and al-Sanussi, who promoted trade. The latter especially supported trans-Saharan trade through slave raiding. Once aligned with Sudanese warlord Rabeh, and massacring a French team in order to acquire firearms, al-Sanussi established an army replenished by slave recruits and imported guns. Cordell sees this as an example of secondary empire as al-Sanusi, like his former mentor, Rabih, used advanced military techniques and newer guns to build better equipped armies that preyed on various societies in North Central Africa for slaves, ivory, and new soldiers. 

However, given the origins of Dar al-Kuti in Dar Runga and Wadai, one can also see the state as inheriting a tradition that ultimately begins with Kanem, Bagirmi, and Borno in the Chad basin. In one sense, the state of Dar al-Kuti resembled those earlier, northern ones in its establishment of a centralized state which relied heavily on the slave trade and war. By preying on Banda, Kresh, Sara, and other groups who lacked centralized states, al-Sanussi was able to procure additional labor for local agriculture as well as exchange with Jellaba or other northern traders for cloth, guns, tea, sugar, beads, and other manufactured goods. In one sense, al-Sanussi accomplished on a smaller scale some of the same things Idris b. Ali of Borno did in the late 16th century. Like his more famous Borno counterpart, he incorporated firearms into his military and engaged in many population relocations or displacements while centralizing authority. Unlike Borno, Dar al-Kuti lacked a cavalry force and did not possess a large livestock, leather, salt or textile industry. Ecological and other factors contributed to this, as did Central Africa being more of a frontier in which Islam was largely restricted to the ruling group. Nevertheless, Dar al-Kuti was certainly also part of a pattern of Central Sudanic states that began long before in the north, one which gradually spread further south as more societies invested in trans-Saharan (and Sudanic) trade. Like its better known northern counterparts, Dar al-Kuti had its core, tributary and predatory zones but time and looming French conquest prevented the process from evolving into a larger state or empire.

So, Dar al-Kuti, despite its brief existence, represented a fascinating fusion of two separate developments that impacted the Central Sudan and Central Africa. One, the "secondary empire" effect, developed as soldiers with experience in the Egyptian conquest of Sudan brought military techniques and updated firearms to new regions. Their military superiority gave them an edge over various local populations, triggering migrations, displacement, and recruitment that reverberated across the vast region between Lake Chad and the Nile. Even centralized states did not always survive the challenge represented by Zubayr and Rabih. Indeed, Borno itself fell to Rabih in the 1890s. The second process was the gradual extension of the Central Sudanic state model further south into Central Africa as the frontier pushed south by the 18th and 19th centuries. The genius of al-Sanussi consisted of his decision to model his army and state on certain aspects of Rabih's destructive empire and build his own slave trading state. Even on the outer periphery of the trans-Saharan trade, itself a periphery of the Mediterranean and European-dominated commerce of his time, al-Sanussi created a large, centralized kingdom. Unfortunately for him, French colonialism and suppression of the slave trade meant his state was not long to last in the 20th century. 

1000 Years of Splendor

Although Philip Koslow's Kanem-Borno: 1,000 Years of Splendor is part of a series of books directed to young readers, we found it useful during our initial "serious" interest in the history of Kanem-Borno. As part of a series for children and with a title that uses the word splendor, one can already guess that the book general narrative will be one of uncovering a "glorious" African past that is unexpected or surprising to the average Westerner. That is undoubtedly what the book delivers, but we were pleasantly surprised to see the level of research Koslow invested in this work. Drawing on Lange, the UNESCO General History of Africa series, Palmer, Nachtigal, Barth, and the publications of Lebeuf and others on the Sao, Koslow does not dumb down the subject matter.

Unfortunately, the text problematically repeats some of the unfounded or weaker claims of Lange. For instance, the assertion on page 21 that the Sefuwa dynasty was of Berber stock but "de-Berberised" through intermarriage with local leading lineages is not clear from the available sources. Kanuri and other scholars also offer a different interpretation of the mune incident during the reign of Dunama. Furthermore, at least one of the images is paired with an incorrect caption. An engraving from the 1820s depicting a raid on Mandara is described as a village in Borno on page 33. Likewise on page 34, a caption for a photograph of the minaret of the mosque in Agadez falsely claims the use of clay for building began in the 16th century in Borno. That is almost certainly false as the use of fired brick and probably clay predates the 1500s. One could also point out the error in the caption for the image on page 48, incorrectly describing it as a depiction of a sheikh instead of a mai who, by the 1820s, was living on, in part, a subsidy from Muhammad al-Amin al-Kanemi. 

But a few quibbles aside on inaccurate or misleading captions and repetition of unproven assertions by a major figure in "Bornuology" or Kanem-Borno Studies, this is a good overview of a complex African civilization. There is a summary of the chronicles of Idris Alooma (Idris b. Ali), basic review of some key political points revealed from the Diwan and a short chapter on Borno's turbulent period in the 19th century (shock of the jihad, then Rabeh and European colonialism). There are some interesting photographs of Sao artifacts and an attempt to integrate this mysterious people(s) with the history of Kanem-Borno. In such a brief book, there is only so much that could be done to link the Sao and Kanem-Borno, and there remains so much to learn about the various other populations living near Lake Chad. This book at least highlights some of the neighboring societies and cultures which were either conquered or absorbed by Kanem and Borno through Sao arts and archaeology. If only the author added a little more detail on the period between Idris Alooma and the rise of al-Kanemi then this would be one of the better introductory texts. Certainly better than the one Nigerian publication for children we have encountered before that was a brief biography of al-Kanemi. 

The Sun Kings and the Central Sudan

Reyna's Wars without End: The Political Economy of a Precolonial African State is one of the few serious studies on the kingdom of Bagirmi accessible online. While mostly based on the 19th century and applying structural Marxist theoretical models to understanding the the Bagirmi state, Reyna proposes some interesting and plausible ideas on this kingdom as an example of predatory accumulation. In some respects, the analysis of Bagirmi's institutions and the role of war can be seen in Kanem-Borno, Wadai and Darfur. All these states seem to be influenced by similar ecological and demographic profiles with some common or shared influences from Kanem's formation sometime in the late first millennium of our era. In other words, the importance of labor in agrarian societies with low productivity shaped by a challenging environment (unpredictable rainfall levels in Bagirmi, for example, or the desiccation of Kanem after 1200), and a household state structure meant that these kingdoms or empires required a system of tribute, taxation and booty through raids to support an elite class of office holders and royal court. 

Family life presents one obvious case of parallels and similarities between Bagirmi and Borno. The domestic mode of production in Bagirmi bears a resemblance to that of Borno in that agriculture was carried out by patrilineal or patrifocal extended kin who, in theory, followed the directives of a male head of the unit. Juniors in this extended family unit were expected to show deference to their superiors until they married and became "successful" by having many children and starting their own unit. This brings to mind Cohen's conclusions on Kanuri family structure and the emphasis on respect or discipline-respect between patrons and clients. A successful Kanuri male would have had many wives, children, and dependents. Having dependents was a source of wealth since they produced the labor that could support his farm or other endeavors. A Kanuri, at least during the time of Cohen's fieldwork, might attach himself as a client to a wealthy or important Kanuri who could one day look out for his interests and assist him. Like the Barma officials of the royal court, government officials in Borno seem to have developed similar patron-client ties with their staff or court staff. Kanuri domestic life seems to have been similar, too, with the domestic mode of production of the village being mirrored by that of the state. 

For the officials of Bagirmi and Borno, more similarities can be found. In order to militarily arm and reward their followers or clients (perhaps clients is more accurate in the Kanuri case than that of the Barma), booty, especially slaves, were necessary to purchase imported horses, weapons, chainmail, or luxuries via trans-Saharan trade. This produced a cycle of contradictions in which the state relied on taxation of surplus crops cultivated by free farmers (with some slave villages in each of the aforementioned kingdoms) at low productivity. The constant raids and levying of tribute in order to supplement this for the ruling group (the mbangs of Bagirmi, mais of Kanem-Borno, kolaks of Wadai) in turn created difficulties for states or acephalous societies in the tributary or predatory zones by harming their domestic mode of production that was often similarly of low productivity. 

Moreover, some of the societies in tributary or predatory zones of the main kingdoms developed into military powers of their own, creating additional tributary or predatory zones that could challenge the "imperial" states and extend the system of predatory accumulation deeper into areas inhabited by "pagans" or kirdi. Reyna does not speculate on this, but one wonders if the origins of Bagirmi and Wadai can be traced to an earlier past as victims of raids from Kanem-Borno before becoming tributary states who gradually asserted themselves into regional powers of the Chad Basin. The Central Sudanic state seems to have preferred to have tributary and predatory zones separating itself from other centralized kingdoms, but the systemic instability of predatory accumulation would have eventually led to the the emergence of other cores that threatened, say, Kanem and later on, Borno. 

The central role played by Kanem-Borno as a major model for Bagirmi and other states in the Chad Basin suggests Bagirmi's history is also one of the contradictory diffusion of a Kanuri model or civilization across much of the Chad Basin (and beyond). According to Reyna, 24 percent of the titles in Bagirmi's court were of Kanuri origin. Similar Kanuri influences can be found as far away as Darfur, Fezzan, and Hausaland. The Sayfawa state appears to have exerted its influence across a vast range of the Central Sudan in a manner that created tributary states which gradually incorporated or adapted aspects of Sayfawa administration. In turn, their states continued or developed a similar state that relied on war and predatory accumulation which, after several centuries, eroded Sayfawa dominance of the Chad Basin. However, because the Kanem state was the origin of the model, even states which had long evaded Sayfawa suzerainty may have found it advantageous to associate with the past regional hegemon whose rulers enjoyed the most ancient association with Islam. This might account for local perception of Borno as the dominant power in the Central Sudan even after its decline in the 18th century. Even tiny Mandara could defeat Borno in 1781, yet others described it as the greatest or most powerful kingdom in the Sudan.

However, knowing that part of Borno's economy was built on the trade in salt, textiles, and its privileged position in trans-Saharan trade links to the Fezzan and Tripoli, one cannot help but wonder if the Sayfawa state did deviate from the predatory accumulation model seen in Bagirmi. According to Dewiere, for instance, Borno did not necessarily procure most of its slave exports from raids carried out by Bornoans. Instead, Borno became a depot for the slave exports of Bagirmi in the 18th century (and probably far earlier). Borno's functioning as a depot and its once dominant position in the movement of salt and textiles must have favored market growth and a prosperous merchant class. While they appear to have not invested in production, we would not be surprised if slave villages were more prominent in Borno than in Bagirmi. Furthermore, Borno faced Hausaland to the west, and was therefore tapped into a vast commercial network that moved kola nuts, salt, leather products, horses, and textiles and even gold. Before the Sokoto Caliphate's rise, Borno appears to have been the economic center of this vast network which must have encouraged some investments in production, market growth, and capital accumulation. Indeed, we know from Heinrich Barth that Kanuri or Bornoan migrants played a pivotal role in Bagirmi's 19th century textile industry. Perhaps Borno was able to deviate from predatory accumulation just before the shocks of the jihad of the early 19th century forever reoriented the Central Sudan. 

Darfur Sultanate

Although Darfur is not Kanem-Borno, it is a part of a broader array of societies and polities that developed in the Sudanic Belt. Moreover, the Keira sultans of Darfur seem to owe something to the ancient civilization of Kanem-Borno. Indeed, if O'Fahey's excellent The Darfur Sultanate: A History, is any reliable indicator, Darfur seems to have been an easternmost extension of the "Central Sudan" region. The ancient use of Maghrebi-styled Arabic script in some of the early extant documents plus the presence of Kanuri words (goni, mayram) and people (oral traditions of a branch of the Sayfawa dynasty in the region, plus Borno faqihs and traders active in Darfur) do suggest some degree of influence from Borno. 

While O'Fahey seems to reject the theory of a Sayfawa colony in Darfur in the 1400s or 1500s as an unproven theory of Arkell, Darfur appears to have been, like Bagirmi and Wadai, at least partly influenced by Kanem-Borno and likely received some of its earliest Islamic influences from the west. Early medieval references to what is likely today's Darfur, particularly the Tajuwiyyin (probably the Daju, who may have established the first known kingdom or polity) and the subsequent Tunjur state, Uri, and the Darfur Sultanate as it existed under the Keira from the 17th century to 1916 definitely enjoyed cultural and economic ties to Kanem-Borno. Later, particularly after the conquest of Kordofan (making the kingdom as large as Nigeria for decades), Darfur's relations with the Nilotic Sudan and Egypt were unsurprisingly strengthened, and placing Darfur as a bridge of sorts between the Eastern and Central Sudan. In fact, one of the sultans, Muhammad al-Husayn, was of Ethiopian origin through his mother and merchants from Egypt and the Nilotic Sudan appear to have played a major role in the development of Kobbei as a city and economic link between the Nile Valley and Darfur. Fulani Islamic scholars, Borno faqihs, Bagirmi slaves and mercenaries, and even a Mauritian Shinqiti could become influential in the court or towns and settlements like Manawashi. 

As for the history of the Keira and their kingdom, O'Fahey mainly draws on al-Tunisi, Nachtigal, a number of charters and court records, letters, oral traditions, and external European and Middle Eastern documents that shed light on the history of the region or its relations with the outside world. Some pleasant surprises include Arabic local sources from the Tunjur state that preceded the sultanate, which was already partly Islamic, as well as a rich body of land charters that O'Fahey exploits to reconstruct land tenure (mostly usufructuary and entirely dependent on the will of the sultan), rural social structure, and the role of centralizing mechanisms in state administration. The richest source, besides oral traditions, appear to be the writings of al-Tunisi and Nachtigal for their detailed portraits of the sultanate in the 19th century. By this time, the sultanate was no longer making new conquests, but did appear to have gradually pushed south through slave raiding (although always requiring passage through lands controlled by Baqqara nomads) and incorporated a plethora of ethnic groups: Fur, Masalit, Meidob, Birged, Zaghawa, Fartit, and others. 

According to O'Fahey, Islam became one of the tools of the centralizing process as the Darfur sultanate transformed from warbands of the 17th century to one in need of more effective centralization in the 18th century after new conquests essentially ceased. The recipients of land grants and new administrative posts, often including Islamic holymen from the east or west, brought skilled and loyal bureaucrats, generals, and merchants into serving the state apparatus while simultaneously weakening the traditional titleholders. Naturally, this process was uneven and pre-Islamic religious and political influences continued to shape the kingdom. Islam did gradually become more influential on the Keira royal court, and several kings sponsored the construction of mosques, established land grants to religious scholars (like the mahrams and mallamtis of Borno), and engaged in the larger Muslim world to establish Darfur as a legitimate member of the Dar al-Islam. 

Yet, like the sultans of Agadez, the Darfur sultans faced severe limits to how much authority they could effectively yield. The low population density of Darfur probably placed limits on how much taxation and exploitation fief holders could get away with on the peasantry. Nomadic populations to the north and south controlled the access points of Darfur's major trans-Saharan trade commodities (slaves, ivory, gum arabic). In order to reach the slave raiding areas to the south and southwest, the kingdom's bands had to pass through lands controlled by nomads only loosely under the control of the sultans. Then, trans-Saharan caravans going to Egypt from Kobbei had to pass through desert or Sahelian landscapes under the control of the Zaghawa or other nomadic populations. It seems, perhaps like the Sayfawa dynasty, the Keira sultans engaged in some marital alliances with subject populations to facilitate trade and political incorporation of non-Fur peoples, but the demographic and ecological barriers imposed limits on how much authority the Keira could yield. If one adds the factor of conflicts over succession to the throne and the failure to adapt in time to new military technology, it is no surprise that the Keira were defeated by al-Zubayr so easily. Needless to say, Rabih, who served under al-Zubayr, would later go on to conquer Borno with the military tactics and armaments al-Zubayr used so effectively against the cavalry of Darfur.

Perhaps for our purposes, the best way to think about Darfur is in terms of its "Sudanic" dimensions as a crossroads of the Sudanic belt. In many respects, it brings to mind Borno and the Funj with regards to the land grants, mounted warrior elite soldiers, reliance on the slave trade (though O'Fahey thinks most slaves taken in raids by the Darfur state were used locally), tension between Islam and pre-Islamic practice, and centralizing administrative tendencies restricted by various factors. Unlike the sultans in Agadez, the Keira sultans were not elected by nomads determined to prevent the sultan from becoming too powerful, but obstacles to their centralization could be found in other ways. Like the Sayfawa dynasty in Borno, the Keira had to find a way to balance the sometimes conflictual subsistence economies of their subject populations while also supporting markets, long-distance trade, security, and, to the extent possible, cementing their relations with the larger (Islamic) world, even France. Darfur appears to have done this through supporting African pilgrims en route to the Holy Land, as well as engaging in diplomatic relations with the Ottomans, Egypt, and other states. One sultan, Muhammad Tayrab, even went so far as to order an expensive Arabic dictionary produced by an Indian scholar. Other sultans received honorific titles from Constantinople. These Sudanic states resemble, to a certain extent, "feudal" societies of Europe and Asia with a "Sudanic" state structure of private and communal land tenure, partly literate bureaucracies, monarchs with elective councils, and a constant struggle for harmonizing countervailing forces. 

Black Nomads of the Sahara

Although only about a third of Jean Chapelle's ethnographic study of the Tubu peoples, Nomades noirs du Sahara: les Toubous, was particularly useful for our purposes, we highly recommend it as a synthesis of various colonial-era sources on the Teda-Daza peoples of the Sahara and Sahel regions. Despite Chapelle's personal experience on the ground in Chad, many chapters draw on earlier studies by colonial officers who collected local traditions which formed the basis for this books conclusions and historical outlook. It is undoubtedly a dated work and reflects, perhaps, some of the colonial obsession with the "mixed" racial origins of the Tubu. Nevertheless, it was a refreshing read for its acknowledgement of the Tubu origins of the Sayfawa dynasty and the role of constant migrations and shifting lifestyles (from nomads to sedentary agriculturalists) across the history of the region. We only wish more was said about clans of Tubu origins in Kanem and Borno and the ways in which Kanembu and Kanuri communities have continued or inherited Tubu practices. Nonetheless, if the ethnographic present can be used to fairly deduce how the Saharan ancestors of the rulers of Kanem lived several centuries ago, this book might give one an idea of how early Kanem could have looked with a "Zaghawa" ruling dynasty and sedentary farmers in the Kanem region paying tribute and engaging in reciprocal exchange. Like the Tubu chiefs and Derdes of more recent times, perhaps the early mais were associated with religious rituals on behalf of the clan, including rites attached to rain, harvests, and sadagas.

Timeline for Kanem-Borno Civilization

Bodyguard of Shaykh al-Kanemi as depicted in Narrative of travels and discoveries in Northern and Central Africa: in the years 1822, 1823, and 1824

What follows below is our preliminary timeline for the history of Kanem-Borno. While by no means exhaustive, we hope to include dates and key events that impacted Kanem, Borno, Chad, and the Lake Chad Basin over the last several thousands of years. Some of the events included here may have no direct connection to the civilization we are interested in, but we include it for possible links, influences, and African historical contexts. We hope to update and correct any errors, as well as include more events that pertain to Borno's relationship with its neighbors and beyond. As for sources, we relied mostly on what has been cited in this previous post as well as the works of Jean-Claude Zeltner, Levtzion & Hopkins, Graham Connah, B.G. Martin, Heinrich Barth, H.R Palmer, Hamidu Bobboyi, Paul Lovejoy and Louis Brenner.

-2345 BCE – 2181 BCE: 6th Dynasty Old Kingdom Egypt contacts and trade with the polity of Yam, which was possibly located in Chad (southwest of Gebel Uweinat); Yam described in Autobiographical inscriptions of Harkhuf. Possible linguistic evidence of ancient Egyptian influence on Teda language as well as Teda words in ancient Egyptian (very speculative at this stage)

-c.1800-1200 BCE: Early Gajiganna Culture

-c.600-400 BCE: Gajiganna culture in Lake Chad Basin develop larger settlements, including fortified sites like Zilum

-500 BCE-500 CE: spread of iron, walled sites in Lake Chad Region 

-c.2000 BP: Daima site shows evidence of iron, sorghum, goats, glass, beads

-c.90: Traveler Julius Maternus said to have reached Agisymba with Garamantes, possibly Kanem or another region around Lake Chad

-450 CE: Traces of mud wall at Daima site

-500s: Possible foundation of Kanem, according to Lange's chronology

-533-534: Pudentius revolts against Vandals in Tripolitania, Vandalic Wars

-c.550: Cosmas Indicopleustes authored Christian Topography, claiming Christian churches existed in land of the Garamantes

-569: King of Garamantes sent envoy to Byzantium; allegedly Christians 

-600s-700s: Islamization of Fezzan region

-600s: Humid phase in Sahel favored growth of kingdoms, trans-Saharan trade

-663-664: Uqba ibn Nafi in Kawar (land of the blacks); Jawan as citadel in Kawar

-before c.728/729 or 732/733: Wahb b. Munabbih mentions the Nubians, Zanj, Qazan (Fazzan?), Zaghawa, Habasha, Qibt (Copt), and Barbar (Berber) as the races of the “Sudan” (if authentic, this is earliest known reference to “Zaghawa” peoples among the Sudan)

-700s: Reign of Fune b. Duku seems to have taken place in 8th century, said to have died at M.lan (Manan?)

-by c.700-1050: figurative art, mud-brick architecture, iron, weaving industry attested in firki plains south of Lake Chad

-c.757: foundation of Sijilmasa (or city rebuilt), major trading town for trans-Saharan commerce through western Sahara

-759: Al-Mansur (caliph) sends expedition to Fezzan against Berber Ibadites

-761-762: Foundation of Tahart by Abd al-Rahman b. Rustam, trade to the “Land of the Blacks”

-762: Abbasid troops killed Ibadite chief, Abd Allah ben Hayyan, at Zawila in the Fezzan and took Waddan

-By 800s, evidence of bronze/brass, cooper, beads found south of Lake Chad; reign of Mai Katuri seemed to have been in 9th century

-c.811-812: Governor of Djabal Nafusa, Abu 'Ubayda Abd al-Hamid knew language of Kanem

-c.833: al-Khwarizmi mentions Ghana, Kawkaw (Gao), and “Zaghawa” in the relative positions of Ghana, Kawkaw/Gao and Kanem

-c.850-1172: Zuwayla as capital of Ibadi Berber Banu Khattub bin Izliten dynasty in Fezzan

-c.854: Sahnun's death; his al-Muwadana included a response from Malik b. Inas on the "blacks" of the Fezzan who should be offered chance to convert and if not, subjected to pay a tribute

-c.868-884: Oases route through Sahara to “Sudan” and “Maghrib” discontinued; route through oases west of Nile once prosperous, with “Rum” (Greeks) and Egyptians and Nubians traveling to the west/Northwest and another route to the Fazzan

-868-883: al-Fazzani and al-Zaghawi slaves reported in Iraq during Zanj Revolt

-872-3: al-Yaqubi wrote of Kanem, describing it as a Zaghawa kingdom whose inhabitants live in huts made of reeds, their king is called KAKRH, and another Zaghawa group is called al-HWDN but Kanem is opposed by another kingdom called Malal (ruled by MYWSY)

-889-890: al-Ya’qubi writes of Zawila, the slave trade: Zawila inhabited by Ibadiyya Muslims (some from Basra, Khurasan, al-Kufa) who go on pilgrimage to Mecca, and export black slaves from the Miriyyun, Zaghawiyyun, Marwiyyun and other “Sudan” peoples; also mention of Kawar (town in series of oases simply called Kawar), inhabited by Muslims from mostly Berber tribes, who bring “Sudan” slaves; between Zawila and the town of Kawar live the Lamta people, who resemble Berbers

-903: Ibn al-Faqih mentions route used by traders to travel from Egypt to Ghana, which passed through the Wahat Misr (Oases of Egypt) to Marawa, Maranda, Kawkaw (Gao), and Ghana)

-916-921: al-Mahdiyya, royal capital of Fatimids, built (which included a suburb called Zawila for the black soldiers of the state)

-918: Berber Banu Khatta take Zawila, establish a dynasty that rules about 250 years

-947 or 956: Al-Mas’udi’s Muruj al-dhahab wa-ma’adin al-jawhar mentions Kanem and the Zaghawa, distinguishing between the two

-Late 900s: al-Muhallabi wrote of Kanem and the “Zaghawa”: Zaghawa have 2 towns (Manan and Tarazki), Zaghawa live in reed huts, worship king, king wears silk/wool, king’s wealth consisted in cattle, sheep, camels, horses, worship of king believed to bring life, death, sickness, health

-Late 900s-early 1000s: Akhbar al-zaman mentions the kingdom of Zaghawa as vast, large and at war with Nubia

-987-1007: Reign of Ayuma b. Katar of Kanem (according to Lange’s chronology)

-c.988: final version of Ibn Hawqal’s Kitab Surat al-ard, which mentions past trade route used by Nubians and Egyptians to reach Fezzan, Barqa, and the “Sudan” (Land of the Blacks) through the Oases west of the Egyptian Nile (route discontinued sometime 868-884)

-c.990: al-Muqaddasi wrote that the “Qaramatiyyun” (Garamantes?) transact with salt, Nubians and Habasha (Abyssinians) with cloth

-992: Zirid Sultan Mansur (984-996) received a gift from Bilad al-Sudan as did Ibn Khattab, governor of Zawila

-1007-1023: Reign of Bulu b. Ayuma of Kanem

-c.1023-1067: Reign of Arku in Kanem, said to have established slave colonies in the Kawar region (300 slaves in D.r.ka, mosque of Sik.d.m, and Zaylan)

-1031: Zirid sultan Mu'izz (1016-1062) received a gift of slaves from a Sudan king (perhaps Kanem? Arku?)

-c.1067-1071: Reign of Hawa b. Arku of Kanem, to a Tomaghera mother T.f.su, daughter of Ar.kay.waw.n

-c.1068: al-Bakri writes of Kanem, calling them pagan, scarcely anyone reaches them, reports story of Ummayads in Kanem who fled there due to Abbasid persecution

-1071-1075: Reign of Abd al-Galil b. Ladsu (Hawa?)

-1075-1086: Alternative dates for reign of Mai Hume (Hume Jilmi) of Kanem

-1076-1086: Reign of Hummay b. Abd al-Galil, to a Kay mother and said to have died in Egypt

-1086-1140: Reign of Dunama b. Hummay of Kanem to a Tubu mother; died after performing the Hajj 3 times

-c.1100: Beginning of Sayfawa dynasty of Kanem (although it appears to be the same as the earlier “Duguwa” dynasty of pre-Islamic Kanem) with Mai Hume (Humme)

-c.1106-1107: Conversion of Kanem to Islam in period, according to Kitab al-Istibsar

-c.1140-1166: Reign of Sultan Biri b. Dunama of Kanem, said to have been punished by his mother F.sama of the Kay for misapplying sharia law in the execution of a thief. Remembered by Ahmad b. Furtu as a learned and God-fearing sultan.

-c.1154: al-Idrisi’s Book of Roger written, contains numerous details on Kanem, Kawar, Central “Sudan” and “Zaghawa” 

-c.1155/56: Birth of poet Ibrahim al-Kanemi in Bilma

-1166-1182: Reign of Abdallah Bakuru of Kanem; Borno mahrams collected by Palmer mention his mahram granted to the Beni Mukhtar Tura in the Kawar (Dirku), and mention of conflict between Air (Ahir) and Dirku Tura

-1176: Armenian mamluk adventurer Qaraqush invades Tripolitania, takes Zawila

-c.1182-1210: Reign of Sultan Salmama b. Hawa of Dabir (sedentary Kanembu origins), said to be the first black mai

-1200s-1300s: Fezzan region dominated by Kanem

-c.1210-1248: Muhammad ibn Jil (Dunama Dibale/Dibbalemi) king of Kanem, son of Dabali of the M.gh.r.ma (Magomi?); apogee of medieval Kanem (opening of mune, war against Ghayu b. L.f.r.d, rise of factions, war with Tubu)

-c.1212: Death of Kanem poet Abu Ishaq Ibrahim al-Kanemi, a poet and grammarian from Kanem (Bilma, in Kawar). Father was from the Dhakwan branch of the Banu Sulaym Arabs, and may have been educated in Ghana before moving to Marrakech. He eventually moved to Spain, where he seems to have died.

-1242: Madrasat in Cairo built by Kanem for pilgrims

-1248-1277: Reign of Mai Kade (Kaday) in Kanem, assassinated by a dignitary of his court in 1277

-1252/1253: Kanem raid on the Mabna people, according to al-Maqrizi

-1257: Kanem sent ambassador to Tunis, and a gift for Hafsid sultan Mustansir

-1258: Kanem’s king killed Qaraqush’s son, who had rebelled against al-Mustansir in Tunis and had seized Waddan in the Fezzan

-1260: Henry of Castile found refuge in Tunis

-1277-1296: Bir, brother of Mai Kade, reigned as mai of Kanem; 2 Fellata shaykhs from Mali arrived in Kanem during his reign

-1296-1315: Reign of Ibrahim b. Bir of Kanem

-before 1286: Ibn Sa’id al-Maghribi’s Book of Geography, borrowing from lost work, describes Kanem in great detail: King Muhammad, capital of Njimi, old capital was Manan, Kanem ruled over Fezzan, Tajuwa, Kawar, “Zaghawa” east of Manan

-1296-1315: Ibrahim Nikale king of Kanem (also known as Ibrahim b. Bir); his yerima Muhammad b. Ghadi threw his corpse into a river

-c.1300: Reigning king was al-Hajj Ibrahim, then al-Hajj Idris, then Daud b. Ibrahim, then Umar, then Uthman b. Idris (according to al-Maqrizi’s chronology)

1315-1335: Reign of Abdallah b. Kaday of Kanem, war with Ghayu b. D.r.gh.z.na (King of Bagirmi???)

-1335-1339: Reign of Salma b. Abdallah of Kanem, died in war with Sao

-1339-1340: Reign of Kuri le jeune in Kanem, died in war with Sao

-1340-1341: Reign of Kuri le aine (the elder) of Kanem, died in war with Sao

-1341-1342: Reign of Muhammad b. Abdallah of Kanem, died in war with Sao

-1342-1366: Reign of Idris b. Ibrahim of Kanem, made the Hajj

-by 1349: al-Umari writes about Kanem, mentions the ascetic shaykh Uthman al-Kanemi, related to the Kings of Kanem

-1366-1376: Reign of Dawud b. Ibrahim in Kanem, war with sons and war with Bulala (killed by Abd al-Jalil)

-1376-1379: Reign of Uthman b. Dawud in Kanem

-1379-1381: Uthman b. Idris as ruler of Kanem

-1381-1382: Reign of Abu Bakr Liyatu b. Dawud ruled Kanem

-c.1382-1387, Mai Umar b. Idris reigned, relocated to Kagha (Kaka?) in Borno, leaving Kanem; Umar was killed by Judham Arabs (according to Zeltner)

-1387-1388: Reign of Sa’id in Borno, a usurper

-1388-1389: Reign of Kaday Afnu b. Idris in Borno

-c.1389-1421: Reign of Mai Biri b. Idris; civil war with kaygama Muhammad b. Dalatu and said to have died in Bagirmi

-1391-1392: Letter of Sultan Uthman (Bir) b. Idris of Kanem-Borno to Mamluk Sultan Barquq, complaining of depredations of Judham Arabs and asking the Mamluk ruler to free any Kanem-Borno Muslims sold into slavery in Egypt, Syria. Judham Arabs are said to have killed the previous Borno king, Amr the Martyr b. Idris, son of al-Hajj Idris, son of al-Hajj Ibrahim

-c.1421-1438: Dagachi, Borno prince, came from South Borno with men and mallams to 

Kano

-1421-1422: Mai Uthman ibn Dawud reigned (Uthman K.l.n.ma), deposed by kaygama Nikali b. Ibrahim and yerima Kaday Ka'aku; died at Afnu Kunu (Kano)

-1422-1424: Reign of Dunama b. Umar in Borno

-c.1424-1431: Mai Abdallah b. Umar fought with Kaygama Abd Allah, who defeated him; he was later restored to the throne after the death of Mai Ibrahim b. Uthman, who was installed by the Kaygama

-1431-1439: Reign of Ibrahim b. Uthman in Borno, killed by Kaday

-c.1438-1452: Borno attacked Asben/Air during this period, but couldn’t find water, ended by receiving tribute from lands west of Borno; Kano gave tsare to Borno

-1439-1440: Reign of Kaday b. Uthman in Borno, fought war with Dunama b. Bir

-1440-1444: Dunama (Ahmad) reigned in Borno (also known as Dunama b. Bir)

-January 1440: Letter found at Zaglou in Touat from Borno urging them to renew trade with Borno (possibly sent by Kaday b. Uthman)

-1444: Brief reign of Muhammad b. Matala

-1444-1445: Reign of Amr b. A’isa in Borno

-1445-1449: Reign of Muhammad b. Kaday in Borno

-1449-1454: Reign of Ghadji b. Imata in Borno; killed by Kanem/Bulala leader Muhammad b. Abd Allah

-c.1450: Fra Mauro world map depicts some locations/place names in Lake Chad Region, including Bagirmi (Bargemin), Marghi, Mandera (Mandara), Bolala (Bulala)

-1452-1463: Fulani go to Borno, according to Kano Chronicle while Gwanja merchants arrived in Katsina, Kanuri came in larger numbers, and Asbenawa came to Gobir

-1454-1459: Reign of Uthman b. Kaday in Borno; war with Sultan Ali b. Dunama

-1459-1460: Reign of Umar b. Abdallah in Borno, not installed by princes

-c.1460: Agadez built, according to Marmol

-1460-1465: Reign of Muhammad b. Muhammad

-1465-1497: Reign of Ali b. Dunama in Borno; war with Uthman b. Kaday, ended wars among Banu Sayf, died at Gazargamo

-c.1472: establishment of Birni Gazargamo as capital of Borno by Mai Ali ibn. Dunama (r.1465-1497)

-1484: al-Suyuti writes of a "Takrur" sultan returning from Mecca, in Cairo who was invested by the nominal Abbasid caliph, possibly Ali b. Dunama (Ali Ghaji) of Borno

-July-August 1493: al-Suyuti of Egypt received a letter of questions from Muhammad al-Lamtuni (possibly of Agadez) of Takrur on bribery, legal studies, matrilineal descent, magic, spirit possession, music, talismans, unveiled women

-c.1497: Tripoli liberated itself from the Hafsids

-1497-1519: Reign of Idris Katagarmabe (Idris b. Ali) of Borno, whose reconquest of Kanem was chronicled by Shaykh Umar b. Uthman Masbarma, whose grandfather was from Waddan (Fezzan). Defeated Bulala sultan Dunama ibn Salma at Garni Kiyala.

-1499-1509: Reign of Abdulahi in Kano; Borno attacked Kano and Abdulahi and his mallams met with Borno's mai to humble themselves

-early 1500s: Awlad Muhammad Dynasty established in Fezzan by this time

-1509-1565: Sarki Kisoki in Kano; failed Borno attack on Kano; arrival of Shehu Karaski, Magumi, and Kabi from Borno to Kano

-1510: Spanish conquest of Tripoli

-1514-1515: Askia Muhammad of Songhay conquers/annexes Air region 

-1517: Ottoman conquest of Egypt

-1519-1538: Reign of Muhammad b. Idris in Borno, war with Kaday b. L.fiya

-By 1522, first mbang (king) of Bagirmi in place

-1530: Charles V gives Malta and Tripoli to the Chevaliers de Saint-Jean

-1538-1539: Reign of Ali b. Idris in Borno

-1539-1557: Dunama b. Muhammad reigns in Borno; war with Sultan Abd al-Djalil son of ghumsa, then famine struck, built fortifications of Gazargamo

-1551: Turghut takes Tripoli

-1555: Borno embassy to Dragut in Tripoli

-1557-1564: Reign of Abdallah b. Dunama in Borno; famine that lasted for 7 years

-c.1561: Borno-Kebbi War, Borno said to have fielded an army of 100,000 against Kebbi after Kebbi attacks on Air region, but Kebbi defeated Borno

-c.1564-1596: Reign of Idris Alooma of Borno, chronicles of his reign produced by Ahmad b. Furtu and his mother Aisha Kili Ngirmaramma was a regent (according to tradition)

-1571: Seizure of Amsaka by Idris Alooma

-1574: Idris Alooma of Borno sents ambassador to Constantinople (al-Hajj Yusuf) after Ottomans conquer Fezzan

-1574-1576: Kanem campaigns of Idris Alooma against Bulala sultan Abd al-Jalil, success 

achieved by 1576 as Bulala sultan appointed by Idris Alooma recognizes suzerainty of Borno

-1577/78: Idris Alooma’s ambassador al-Hajj Yusuf sent to Constantinople again, returns in 1578 with an Ottoman representative and a message of Ottoman refusal to cede the Fezzan

-1581-1583: Borno ambassador al-Hajj Yusuf sent to Morocco, bearing gifts (over 200 young slaves) and requesting troops, mustkets, and cannons for holy war

-1582-1585: Ottoman garrison in Fezzan is massacred, return of Fezzan sultanate (Awlad Muhammad)

-1585/1586: Embassy to Tripoli sent by Idris Alooma of Borno

-1591: Battle of Tondibi leads to Moroccoan victory over Songhai

-c.1593-1608: Ahmad Baba of Timbuktu in exile in Morocco, writes a response to questions from al-Isi which mention Idris Alooma's reconquest of the Bulala (Kanem); Ahmad Baba's answer also touches upon the unjust enslavement of Muslims by Idris Alooma (described as "unenlightened) as well the enslavement of Shuwa Arabs (descendants of the Judham) in Kano and Timbuktu (Hunwick)

-c.1595: Birth of Abu Abdallah b. Masani b. Muhammad al-Barnawi al-Kashinawi in Katsina, to Borno parents

-1596-1612: Reign of Muhammad b. Idris in Borno, said to be patient and of excellent character

-Early 1600s: Ibn al-Mubarak fled to Kazway in Borno during civil war with his cousin Yusuf, ruler of Agadez

-1607: Deposed Abd al-Qadir II of Sennar fled to Ethiopia, performed obeisance to Susenyos

-c.1611: Wadai state founded by Abd al-Karim

-1612-1619: Reign of Ibrahim b. Idris, whose mother was ghumsa of the Maghrama tribe (Magumi?)

-c.1616-1617: birth of Abd Allah b. Abd al-Aziz b. Umar (or Abd Allah al-Barnawi) in Borno, a scion of the Sayfawa dynasty and leader of Kulumbardo

-1618-1619: Ethiopian Emperor Susenyos campaigned against Sennar

-c1619-1639: Reign of al-hajj Umar b. Idris of Borno; Waldede-Jirmi Affair during his reign, in which Shaykh Jirmi was killed by Sultan Umar and Waldede fled to Bagirmi. Shaykh Umar Waldede was said to have traveled to Agadez and Timbuktu for study, was part of the Fulani diaspora

-1622-23: Sultan Tahir of Fezzan fled to Borno due to Ottomans in Tripoli invading, but Mai Umar al-Maqdisi had him killed for blinding 2 of his own nephews

-1626-1658: Reign of Muhammad ben Jehim as Sultan of Fezzan

-c.1630: First galadima established at Nguru (Studies in the History of Pre-Colonial Borno)

-1630s: Tunjur arrival in Kanem (according to Zeltner's estimate)

-1632-1667: Reign of Fasiladas in Ethiopia

-1635-1665: King Kurkumanda I of Bagirmi reigns

-1636: Pasha of Tripoli sent European renegades or slaves to Borno

-1639-1677: Reign of Mai Ali b. Umar of Borno who killed 4 of his brothers when he ascended to the throne, recalled as great thinker and courageous but famine Dala Dama occurred during his reign. Shayk Abd Allah al-Barnawi accused of sedition by 'alim Abu Bakr al-Zakkaki in Gazargamo, had to defend himself against charges to Ali b. Umar.

-by 1642: Borno rulers established the Dala Afuno for Kanem at Mao (Zeltner)

-1644/5-1681: Reign of Badi II of Sennar (Funj Sultanate)

-1649-1672: Reign of Pasha Osman in Tripoli, who knew the Kanuri language and enjoyed cordial relations with Borno

-by 1650-1675, Bagirmi under rule of Borno

-1654-1687: Muhammad al-Mubarak's reign in Agadez

-1655: Pasha of Tripoli sent European slaves to Borno

-c.1657: Tuareg-Borno war; birth of Abu Bakar b. Al-Tahir Tashi, a Tuareg of Agadez and faqih

-1658-1681: Reign of Jehim in Fezzan

-c.1660-1680: Reign of Sulayman in Darfur

-1665-1674: Abd al-Raḥman reigns in Bagirmi

-Late 1660s: Shaykh Ahmad b. Muhammad al-Yamani, from the Nile Valley, visited Kulumbardo

-1667: Borno-Tuareg war; Borno prince Medicon sold into slavery after Agadez attacked Borno, but Mai Ali b. Umar was able to have the Pasha of Tripoli find and liberate Medicon

-1668-1675: Chirurgien esclave, French captive in Tripoli

-1669: Borno-Tuareg War

-1672: Plan to send Catholic mission to Nubia through the Fezzan aborted due to fall of Pasha Osman in Tripoli

-1674: Sultanate of Agadez conquers Ader/Adar

-1675: Prince al-Hajj Aknafaya of Agadez went on 2nd pilgrimage to Mecca

-1677: Death of Shaykh Abd Allah al-Barnawi, founder of Kulumbardo religious center

-1677-1696: Reign of Idris b. Ali in Borno, died at Taraghen (Fezzan)

-1679: Muhammad al-Mubarak, Sultan of Agadez, invades Borno, troops led by Muhammad b. al-Hajj Ibrahim, surnamed Amma Fatim, with Kel Away Tuaregs

-1680-1707: Reign of Abd al-Qadir in Bagirmi

-1681: al-Hajj Aknafay of Agadez made 3rd pilgrimage to Mecca

-1683: Muhammad al-Mubarak of Agadez brought about peace between Kel-Oui and Itissines at In-Teboraq

-1684: Borno-Tuareg War

-1685: Agadez war with Zanfara

-1687: Muhammad al-Mubarak of Agadez died during epidemic

-1688: Borno-Tuareg War

-1689: Successful counterattack of Muhammad Agabba (Agadez Sultanate) against Gobir

-early 1690s: Borno-Tuareg War

-1680s: Destruction of Kulumbardo religious center by Tuareg raiders

-1686: French consul Claude Lemaire wrote that 500-600 slaves passed through the Fezzan to Tripoli annually

-1696: King of Borno Mai “Dris fils de Mai Ali”, died in Fezzan en route to Mecca; fighting between Kel Ewey and Itisen Tuareg in Air

-1696-1715: Reign of Mai Dunama b. Ali of Borno, who was said to have offered lukewarm support to the ulama, which was perceived as a cause of famine (that lasted 7 years) and lack of success in his administration. Active Borno scholars during his reign included Shaykh Muhammad b. al-Hajj 'Abd al-Rahman (Shaykh Hajrami), who was imam of one of the Gazargamo Friday mosques which hosted a study circle including Shaykh Tahir, Umar Mama, Shaykh al-Yamani.

-1698-1700: Voyage of Charles Jacques Poncet to the Court of Iyasu I in Gondar, failed effort to establish embassy to France. But passage through Sennar to reach Gondar in Ethiopia

-1700-1702: Theodor Krump traveling from Sennar to Egypt with people from Borno and the Fezzan, reports caravans from Darfur, Borno, Fezzan reach Sennar

-1703: Fra Damiano da Rivoli tried to reach Borno from Sennar but didn’t pursue caravan route; a Borno caravan leader in Sennar told him the journey would take 60 days

-1705: Claude Lemaire, French consul in Tripoli, said he would ask the ruler of the Fezzan to write to his cousin, the king of Borno

-1706: Father Carlo Maria di Genova met 2 Borno princes in Cairo

-October 1710: Fra Carlo Maria de Genoa met an Agadez prince at Taraghen in the Fezzan

-August 1711: Death of Prefect of Borno Carlo Maria di Genova near Katsina. Never reached Borno or the allegedly Christian Kwararafa

-1714: Death of first Muslim king of Dagomba, Ya Na Muhammad Zangina, 17th king

-c. 1714, the Pasha of Tripoli defeated Fezzani sultan, demanded tribute

-1715-1729: Reign of al-Hajj Hamdun b. Dunama in Borno, his wazir was Nasr b. Maidalla

-1721: Muhammad Agabba of Agadez dethroned by brother al-Amin, fled to Adar and ruled among the Itisen from Birni-n-Ader until 1738

-1729-1744: Reign of Muhammad b. al-Hajj Hamdun in Borno, considered a scholar and said to have studied at al-Azhar in Cairo before taking the throne (but famine for 2 years)

-1731-1743: Reign of Mohamma Kumbari in Kano; Borno launched campaign against Kano but battle averted (may have occurred during reign of Mai Ali b. al-Hajj Dunama)

-1738-1753: Great Drought in Borno

-c.1740: Kel-Oui Tuareg as dominant group in Air region

-1741: Death of Muhammad al-Katsinawi, who studied in Borno

-1744: Ethiopia-Funj Sultanate War during reign of Badi IV

-1744-1747: Reign of Dunama Gana; great famine

-1747-1792: Reign of Mai Ali b. al-Hajj Dunama of Borno, considered a scholar by Borno sources and said to have memorized the Koran, studied Quranic exegesis; also said by Heinrich Barth to have attempted to defeat Tuareg. Ali was married to Amina Talbamaran (daughter of the Talba)

-c.1752/3-1785/6: Sultan Muhammad Tayrab ruled Darfur; Borno faqih Tahir Jamus from Manawashi married his daughter, Fetessa, and advised Sultan Abd al-Rahman

-1754/1755: Birth of Goni Musa Burmama, scholar who married a daughter of Mai Ahmad b. Ali

-Nov 1755: Death of Shaykh Muhammad b. Abd al-Rahman Hajrami, who was imam of one of the Friday mosques in Gazargamo and led a study circle attended by Shaykh Tahir, Umar Mama, and Shaykh al-Yamani

-c. 1759: Bilma War between Tuareg of Air and Borno, resulting in Tuareg of Agadez confederation becoming the dominant player in the movement of Kawar salt to Hausaland

-1765: Kanuri massacred Kel Ewey Tuareg, leading to retaliation by Sultan Muhammad of Agadez who attacked Borno, marching to the gates of the capital

-c.1778: birth of Muhammad al-Amin al-Kanemi (according to Zeltner)

-1781: Borno defeated by Mandara

-c.1787-1792: Koyam defeated at Gaskeru, many massacred by Tuareg

-1789: Miss Tully met a “black prince” of Borno in Tripoli; "Bernon" (Borno) natives Christophe and Scipio listed in runaway slave ad in Saint-Domingue (Haiti)

-c.1792 famine in Borno (Kana nguraram according to Ali Eisami)

-1792-1808: Reign of Ahmad b. Ali of Borno, said to have been a scholar who supported scholarship, supported the poor

-1795: Joda, ruler of Wadai, raids Mao and Mondo in Kanem (Zeltner)

-1795-1832: Yusuf Qaramanli pasha of Tripoli

-1798-1799: Hornemann possibly reached Borno; Vivant Denon in Egypt, where he met a Darfur prince who reported Darfur and Borno were allies

-1799-1800: death of Shaykh Abu Hafs Umar Mama, renowned in Arabic specialization and fiqh (Bobboyi)

-1805-1815: Abd al-Karim Saboun of Wadai in power; invades and takes capital of Bagirmi after the mbang allegedly married his own sister. Also invades Kanem after a deposed alifa of Mao invites him (

-1806-1812: Fulani jihadists attack Borno capital, western provinces

-1808: Destruction of Birni Gazargamo (Goni Mokhtar), capital of Borno, by Fulani jihadists, city permanently abandoned in 1809; decline of Borno textile industry as workers migrate to Hausaland

-1808-1816: Reign of Dunama b. Ahmad of Sayfawa in Borno

-1811: Muhammad al-Amin al-Kanemi defeats another attack of Fulani jihadists led by Ibrahim Zaki; al-Mukni becomes "bey" of the Fezzan after taking Murzuq

-1810s: Burckhardt's travels in Nubia, met Borno native Hadji Aly el Bornawy, who had traveled as a slave trader in Turkey, Constantinople, and Syria and was now based in Kordofan as a trader

-c.1813: Shaykh al-Kanemi able to depose mai Ngileramua and restore Dunama to throne (Brenner)

-1815-1818: Sharif Ibrahim al-Barnawi in Kumase (Asante), and according to Lovejoy, was highly critical of local Muslims for attending Asante executions and ceremonies

-c.1816: al-Mukni raids Kanem from Fezzan

-c.1816-1820: Reign of Mai Muhammad Ngilerumma of Borno (also known as Muhammad b. Ali)

-1816-1824: Conflicts between Borno and Bagirmi

-1818: Ali Eisami arrived in Sierra Leone after the British intercepted Spanish slave ship carrying him

-1819: Pasha Yusuf of Tripoli secretly plans for invasion of Borno which doesn't happen

-1820-1830: About 200 “Bornu” people lived in Sierra Leone, according to Koelle

-1820-1846: Reign of figurehead Sayfawa sultan Ibrahim b. Ahmad in Borno

-1821-1825: Denham, Clapperton, and Oudney on Borno Mission sent by Great Britain

-1824: Pro-Sayfawa Manga rebellion against al-Kanemi (strongman with effective power/rule of Borno), led by Muslim cleric Fanaamy. Rebellion defeated by al-Kanemi and Fanaamy pardoned

-1830: Shaykh Muhammad al-Kanemi campaigned against galadima of Borno in the west

-1835: End of Qaramanli Pashas in Tripoli

-1836: “Routes in North Africa” published, drawing on autobiography of Abu Bakr al-Saddik, which mentions his father (18th century) who traveled from Jenne and Timbuktu to Katsina, Birni Borno; Pablo Peratta, Borno native and slave on a Spanish ship, used British law to claim his freedom in Freetown (Sierra Leone); birth of Nicholas Said of Borno

-1845-1846: Manga rebellion against Shehus/government of Borno; by 1845, Borno's rule of Kanem over

-1846: Wadai invaded Kanem, marched on Kukawa but were defeated at Kusseri; also, final attempt by Sayfawa dynasty to retake power in Borno, but defeated by Shehu Umar (death of Ibrahim b. Ahmad and Ali b. Ibrahim, last of Sayfawa sultans)

-1850: Catholic priest Filippo da Segni visits Kukawa (capital of Borno), meets with a resident Maltese family but doesn't engage in any proselytizing

-1850-1855: Heinrich Barth’s travels in Borno and other parts of West Africa, Sahel, savanna

-1850-1851: James Richardson’s travels to Air region, reports Borno “fighis” traveling and teaching in Air/Ahir

-1853: Abba Abdurahman overthrew Shehu Umar because of favored status of vizier Hajj Bashir

-1870-1871: Gustav Nachtigal in Borno

-1883: Kumoreji excessive taxation in Borno under Shehu Bukar

-1890: Royal Niger Company's MacIntosh mission to Kukawa in 1890, failure to establish trade/relations with Borno

-1892: Bornoan Adem Mahanna interrogated in Tunis by the French for information on Borno

-by 1893, Borno was divided into 504 fiefs held by 104 chima kura

-1893-1900: Sudanese warlord Rabih conquers Borno (but faced Mallam Abu Gantar's failed resistance movement that relied on messianic appeal and the peasantry) and rules until defeated by French forces; Rabih maintained chima system

-c.1896: Koyam of Nganzai rebelled due to tax burden (Kyari Mohammad)

-1920s: Shaykh Al-Faki Ahmad Umar, of Borno, became prominent among Muslim Oromos in Ethiopia