|Name of the | Principal Events during the |Place where |Length of |
| King. | Reign of each King. | he died. |the Reign |
| | | | in Lunar |
| | | | Years. |
+------------+--------------------------------+-------------+----------+
| SÉF. |Is said to have come to Kánem, |Sámina. | 20. |
| |where he founded a new dynasty, | | |
|(Said to be)|and reigned over several tribes;|A place in | |
| Son of Dhu |viz. the Berbers (Begháma?), |the territory| |
|Yazan and of|Tebu, or Tedá, Kánembú, and |of the Dájó? | |
| a woman of |others. Imám Áhmed states |[177] | |
| Mekka. |expressly that he came to | | |
| |Njímiye. | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|IBRAHÍM, or |“Father of the Sultan.”—_Imám | ? | 16. |
| BÍRAM. |Áhmed._ | | |
| | | | |
| Son of Séf | | | |
|and ʿAáisha.| | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| DÚKU, or |Seems to be generally recognized|Yéri Árfasá. | [250] ? |
| DÚGU. |as the first king of this | | |
| |dynasty; and for this reason, |A place said | Probably |
| Son of |his father Íbrahím is called |by the Bórnu | second |
|Íbrahím and |“father of the Sultan.” There is|people (I | half of |
| Ghafalúwa, |still in Bórnu a numerous family|have no doubt| the 9th |
|of the tribe|called Dúguwa, who refer their |erroneously) | century, |
|of the Kaye.|origin to Dúgu; and it would |to lie S. | A.D. |
| |seem that Dúguwa is the name |from Túburi, | |
| |which really belongs to the |in the Músgu | |
| |dynasty, as is intimated by the |country. We | |
| |chronicle itself further on. |shall find a | |
| | |place Yira in| |
| | |Kánem. | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| FUNÉ. |A powerful and successful |Malána. | 60. |
| |prince. | | |
|Son of Dúgu.| |A place in | |
| | |Kánem. | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| ARITSÓ. | | ? | 50. |
| | | | |
|Son of Funé | | | |
| and | | | |
| Fukálshi. | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| KATÚRI. | |Kaluwána. |[250](?). |
| | | | |
| Son of | | | |
| Aritsó ben | | | |
| Funé. | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| ADYÓMA, |His reign evidently falls in the|Tatnúri. | 20. |
| AYÓMA, or |last years of the 4th and the | | |
| WAYÁMA. |first of the 5th century of the |With an | |
| |Hejra; most probably in 390-410,|uncertain | |
| Son of |or A.D. 1000-1019. |Bereríya. | |
| Katúri and | |(Berberíya?) | |
| Tumáyu, of | | | |
|the tribe of| | | |
| the Bení | | | |
| Ghalgha. | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| BULÚ. | |Dheghjabadmi,| 16. |
| | |or | |
| Son of | |Meghjibadmi. | |
| Adyóma and | | | |
|Ghanjáya, of| | | |
|the tribe of| | | |
| the Kaye. | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| ÁRKI. |Had plenty of slaves, of whom he|Rílana, or | 44. |
| |settled 300 in Dirká (probably |Zílana. | |
|Son of Bulú |Dirki), 300 in Síggedim, both in| | |
| and |Kawár; and 300 in Rílana, or | | |
|Azisenna, of|Zílana, the place where he died.| | |
|the tribe of|From this it is evident that he | | |
| the |was master of the Tebu country. | | |
| Temágheri. | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| SHÚ, or |Distinguished by his fine |Ghanta Kamna.| 4. |
|HÚWA. [178] |figure. If we knew that he | | |
| |“reigned by a viceroy or | | |
|Son of Árki |khalífa,” we should conclude | | |
| and Tefsú, |that he was an effeminate man; | | |
|of the tribe|but that is only M. Blau’s | | |
| of the |misapprehension.[179] | | |
| Temágheri. | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| SELMA, or |Was the last king of the dynasty|Ghumzú, | 4. |
| ʿABD EL |of the Dúguwa, or Bení Dúgu, if | | |
| JELÍL. |we understand this name as |With the | |
| |coincident with idolatry. For |surname | |
| Son of Shú |although the chronicle |Ridha. (?) | |
| and of a |distinguishes plainly between | | |
|woman of the|the Bení Dúgu and the Bení Humé,| | |
|tribe of the|nevertheless it is evident that | | |
| Ghemarma. |Humé, the successor of ʿAbd el | | |
|(Maghárma?) |Jelíl, and the first Mohammedan | | |
| |king of Kánem, was his son. It | | |
| |is therefore clear that Bení | | |
| |Humé means nothing else than the| | |
| |Mohammedan kings, as | | |
| |contradistinguished from the | | |
| |Dúguwa, the pagans.[180] | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| HUMÉ, or |Founded a new dynasty by the |Masr (Egypt).| 12. |
| UMÉ. |profession of Islám. Makrízi’s | | |
| |(_Hamaker_, p. 206.) statement, | | A.H. |
|Son of ʿAbd |that the first Mohammedan king | | 479-490. |
|el Jelíl and|of Kánem was Mohammed Ben Jebel | | A.D. |
|Tikramma, of|(or rather Jíl) refers most | |1086-1097.|
|the tribe of|probably to the later dynasty of| | |
| the Kaye. |Kánem, namely, the Bulála, while| | |
| |he counted all the members of | | |
| |this and the older Bórnu dynasty| | |
| |together, and made up the number| | |
| |of forty kings who had preceded | | |
| |him. (See what I have said above| | |
| |on this point, p. 263.) The | | |
| |missionary who introduced Islám | | |
| |into Kánem, according to the | | |
| |same Makrízi, was Hádí el | | |
| |ʿOthmání. From the place where | | |
| |Humé died, it may be inferred | | |
| |that he intended, or even | | |
| |accomplished, a pilgrimage. | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| DÚNAMA. |A very powerful king, according |Egypt, or | 55. |
| |to the chronicle the most |rather the | |
|Son of Humé |powerful of the Bení Humé, who |Gulf of Suez.| A.H. |
| and Kintá, |had a strong and very numerous | | 491-545. |
|of the tribe|army, horse and foot, and made | | A.D. |
|of the Tebu,|thrice the pilgrimage to Mekka | |1098-1150.|
|or Tedá (not|with a numerous retinue. Having | | |
| Tíh). |excited the suspicions of the | | |
| |inhabitants of Egypt, he is said| | |
| |to have been drowned by them | | |
| |when embarking at Suez for | | |
| |Mekka, and in the very turbulent| | |
| |state in which Egypt was at that| | |
| |time, under the reign of e’ | | |
| |Dháfer be ámr-Illah, this is by | | |
| |no means so improbable as it | | |
| |might otherwise appear to be. | | |
| |The capital Njímiye, | | |
| |notwithstanding the strength of | | |
| |the empire, seems to have been | | |
| |at that time still a very small | | |
| |place.[181] | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| BÍRI. |Seems to have been at first |Ghamtilú? | 27. |
| |entirely under the influence of |Bela Ghanna. | |
| Son of |his mother, who even imprisoned |(billa | A.H. |
| Dúnama and |him. If he had not much energy, |ghaná?) | 546-572. |
| Fasáme, of |he must have been at least a | | A.D. |
|the tribe of|very learned man, for Imám Áhmed| |1151-1176.|
| the Kaye. |calls him “el fáki e’ táki,” p. | | |
| |31.; and it would seem from the | | |
| |report of the chronicle, that | | |
| |part of the ceremonial of the | | |
| |court dates from his time, even | | |
| |if through the influence of his | | |
| |mother. | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|ʿABD ALLAH, | |Fafsa. | 17. |
| or DÁLA. | | | |
| | | | A.H. |
| Son of | | | 573-589. |
| Bíkoru ben | | | A.D. |
|Bíri and of | | |1177-1193.|
| Zíneb, of | | | |
|the tribe of| | | |
|the Tebu, or| | | |
| Tubu (not | | | |
| Túba.) | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| SELMA, or |As he lived in the most |Jejéska | 28. |
| ʿABD EL |flourishing period of the Bení |Ghazrwána. | |
| JELÍL. |Háfis, the Tunisian princes, | | A.H. |
| |who, by their friendship, are | | 590-617. |
| Son of |said to have occasioned the | | A.D. |
| Bíkoru and |ascendancy of the Bórnu kings | |1194-1220.|
|Húwa, of the|over the whole desert[182], he | | |
|tribe of the|must have been one of the most | | |
| Débirí. |powerful of the latter. He is | | |
| |said to have been the first | | |
| |_black_ king of this dynasty, | | |
| |all the Bórnu kings before him | | |
| |having had a light complexion | | |
| |like the Arabs. But this latter | | |
| |assertion seems to be | | |
| |contradicted by the fact, that a| | |
| |preceding king had borne the | | |
| |name of Selma, or Tselma, which | | |
| |means “the black” (properly | | |
| |tsélima), from tsélim, or | | |
| |tsílim, “black.” | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| DÚNAMA, or |A very warlike prince, who waged|Zamtam. | 40. |
| ÁHMED. |many wars, which were generally | | |
| |conducted by his sons, who in |A little W. | A.H. |
|Son of Selma|consequence formed themselves |from | 618-657. |
| and Díbalá |into parties and factions. His |Ghambarú. | A.D. |
| (therefore |strength, like that of his | |1221-1259.|
| his full |ancestor Dúnama, seems to have | | |
| name |consisted chiefly in cavalry, of| | |
| Díbalámi |which he is said in the | | |
| Dúnama |chronicle to have possessed | | |
|Selmámi), of|41,000; but, according to the | | |
|the tribe of|more credible testimony of | | |
| the |Wanúma Mohammed Ghaná, cited by | | |
| Maghárma. |Imám Áhmed (pp. 77, 78.), he had| | |
| |30,000; and that ought not to | | |
| |appear so exaggerated, although | | |
| |the king in Leo’s time had only | | |
| |3000, for that was a very | | |
| |different period, when the | | |
| |empire was almost ruined. | | |
| |Dúnama’s most celebrated deed—of| | |
| |which we are informed—is the war| | |
| |he waged against the Tebu for | | |
| |more than seven years; according| | |
| |to tradition, 7 years, 7 months,| | |
| |and 7 days. And it is most | | |
| |probable that it was this | | |
| |enterprising and restless king | | |
| |who extended the empire of Kánem| | |
| |over the whole of Fezzán,—a | | |
| |state of things which lasted | | |
| |till about the middle of the | | |
| |14th century.[183] He likewise | | |
| |is the king who, in the time of | | |
| |Ébn Sʿaíd, A.H. 650 (A.D. | | |
| |1252-3), invaded the well- | | |
| |watered populous country of | | |
| |Mabiná[184], which it is | | |
| |difficult to identify, although | | |
| |the name bears some resemblance | | |
| |to Fúmbiná, the indigenous name | | |
| |of Ádamáwa, while the | | |
| |geographer’s account of the | | |
| |situation of that country agrees| | |
| |well with Fúmbiná; but we shall | | |
| |find another name closely | | |
| |related to it. It is also Ebn | | |
| |Sʿaíd who first calls Bórnu—that| | |
| |is, the country on the south- | | |
| |western side of the Tsád as far | | |
| |as Díkowa—part of Kánem. The | | |
| |empire of Kánem at that time | | |
| |extended, according to Imám | | |
| |Áhmed, from the Nile, near | | |
| |Dhúwi, as far as the rivulet | | |
| |Baramuwása, in the west, which | | |
| |most probably is identical with | | |
| |what Clapperton (Second Journey,| | |
| |p. 63.) calls the river Moussa | | |
| |(bahr Músa), the river which | | |
| |divides the territories of | | |
| |Yóruba and Bórgu, and we may | | |
| |add, from Mábiná in the south to| | |
| |Wadán in the north. (See what I | | |
| |have said, p. 263.; also, with | | |
| |regard to the present sent by | | |
| |the king of Bórnu to the ruler | | |
| |of Tunis in A.H. 665.) But | | |
| |Dúnama laid the foundation for | | |
| |the ensuing disasters of the | | |
| |empire, by opening, as the Bórnu| | |
| |people say, the “munni,” or | | |
| |“talisman of Bórnu.” What it was| | |
| |it is difficult to say[185]; but| | |
| |what it meant may be more easily| | |
| |conjectured, chiefly from the | | |
| |words of the imám Áhmed, who | | |
| |expresses himself thus (pp. 123,| | |
| |124.): “When the thing which was| | |
| |in it (the talisman) escaped, it| | |
| |called forth and provoked every | | |
| |powerful man to ambition and | | |
| |intrigues, in the government and| | |
| |in high charges.” Indeed, from | | |
| |this time, civil wars, murders | | |
| |of kings, and changes in the | | |
| |dynasty, succeeded each other | | |
| |without interruption. | | |
| | | | |
| |“The true faith, in his time,” | | |
| |according to Ebn Sʿaíd, “was | | |
| |largely disseminated in | | |
| |Kánem,”—a remarkable change | | |
| |effected since the time when El | | |
| |Bekri wrote his account. It was | | |
| |under his reign (A.H. 640) that | | |
| |the inhabitants of Kánem built | | |
| |the Médreset Ébn Rashik at | | |
| |Cairo, where their travellers | | |
| |might alight.[186] | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| KADÉ, or |Murdered by a man of the name of|Dhurríya | 29. |
| ʿABD EL |ʿAndákama Dúnama. We know |Ghimútú. | |
| KADÍM. |nothing further of his reign. | | A.H. |
| | | | 658-686. |
| Son of | | | A.D. |
| Dúnama (?) | | |1259-1285.|
|and Máthala,| | | |
|of the tribe| | | |
| of the | | | |
| Meghárma. | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| BÍRI |“A Conqueror,” but unfortunately|Njímiye. | 20. |
| (ÍBRAHÍM). |it is not known in what quarter | | |
| |he made his conquests. It is an | | A.H. |
| Son of |important fact, gleaned from the| | 687-706. |
| Dúnama and |chronicle, that two religious | | A.D. |
| Zíneb, of |chiefs of the Fúlbe or Felláta | |1288-1306.|
|the tribe of|of Mélle came to him.[187] Known| | |
| the |to Makrízí. | | |
| Lekmamma. | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| (ÍBRAHÍM) |Killed one of his sons, who most|Dískama. | 20. |
| NIKÁLE. |probably had revolted against | | |
| |him; was murdered himself and |A place on | A.H. |
| Son of |thrown into the river Wáú, the |the Bórnu | 707-726. |
| (Bíri) |so-called Yeou, by Yeráma |river, | A.D. |
|Íbrahím and |Mohammed. From the title “Háj” |one day’s |1307-1326.|
| of Kakúdi, |given to him by Makrízí, we see |march from | |
|of the tribe|that he made a pilgrimage to |the later | |
| of the |Mekka. |capital, or | |
| Kúnkuna. | |Bírni. | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|ʿABD ALLAH. |A just prince, who, having |Njímiye. | 20. |
| |punished the murderers of the | | |
|Son of Kadé |former king, and after having | | A.H. |
|and Fátima. |successfully vanquished his | | 727-746. |
| |rival the Bagharíma (see further| | A.D. |
| |down,—and not as Blau, p. 326. | |1326-1345.|
| |n. 18., translates, “Prince of | | |
| |Bagharmi,” a state not existing | | |
| |at that time), seems to have | | |
| |established his power with a | | |
| |strong hand. | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| SELMA. |Fell in a war with the Só, or |Yúsub. | 4. |
| |Soy[188], the original | | |
|Son of ʿAbd |inhabitants of the greater part | | A.H. |
|Allah and of|of the country between the Wáú | | 747-750. |
| Kamma. |(Yeou) and the Shárí. This | | A.D. |
| |powerful nation, whom the former| |1346-1349.|
| |kings seem to have greatly | | |
| |reduced, but without taking and | | |
| |destroying their strongholds, | | |
| |appears to have risen at that | | |
| |period, in a successful war, | | |
| |against their aggressors, | | |
| |vanquishing and killing four | | |
| |successive Bórnu kings, all sons| | |
| |of the unfortunate ʿAbd Allah, | | |
| |whom an afflicted mother is said| | |
| |to have cursed. | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|KURÉ GHANÁ. |Vanquished and killed by the Só.|Ghaliwá (?). | 1. |
| | | | |
|Son of ʿAbd | | |A.H. 751. |
| Allah. | | |A.D. 1350.|
| | | | |
| | | | |
| KURÉ KURÁ. |Vanquished and killed by the Só,|Ghaliwá. | 1. |
| |at the same place as his brother| | |
|Son of ʿAbd |and predecessor. | |A.H. 752. |
| Allah. | | |A.D. 1351.|
| | | | |
| | | | |
| MOHAMMED. |Vanquished and killed by the Só.|Nánigham. | 1. |
| | | | |
|Son of ʿAbd | | |A.H. 753. |
| Allah. | | |A.D. 1352.|
| | | | |
| | | | |
| EDRÍS. |Reigned in the middle of A.D. |Njímiye. | 25. |
| |1353 (A.H. 754), when Ébn | | |
| Son of |Batúta, who calls him king of |This is the | A.H. |
| Nikále |Bórnu, returned from his visit |current | 754-778. |
| (Íbrahím) |to Mélle and Songhay by way of |tradition; | A.D. |
| and Hafsa. |Tekádda. It is evident that the |but some |1353-1376.|
| |sons of ʿAbd Allah having all |maintained | |
| |died, the royal dignity reverted|that he died | |
| |to the family of Nikále |at Dámmasak. | |
| |(Ibrahím). Whether Edrís was |[189] | |
| |more successful than his | | |
| |predecessors against the Só we | | |
| |are not informed, nor do we know| | |
| |anything of his reign; and | | |
| |indeed the great uncertainty | | |
| |which prevails as to the place | | |
| |where he died, seems to intimate| | |
| |rather a quiet reign, at least | | |
| |as regards its latter period, | | |
| |though, as Dámmasak was one of | | |
| |the chief strongholds of the Só,| | |
| |it would have been of some | | |
| |importance for us to know | | |
| |positively whether he died | | |
| |there. | | |
| | | | |
| |He made a pilgrimage to Mekka, | | |
| |and is therefore called “Háj | | |
| |Edrís” by Makrízí. | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| DÁÚD. |A very important, but rather |Mélfala. | 10. |
| |unfortunate reign, bearing the | | |
| Son of |germs of the expulsion of the | | A.H. |
| Nikále |Bórnu dynasty from Kánem, their | | 779-788. |
| (Íbrahím) |original seat, and of the | | A.D. |
|and Fátima, |transference of their residence | |1377-1386.|
|a sister of |to Bórnu. The successful | | |
| Hafsa the |aggressors were the Búlala (as | | |
| mother of |the name is written in the | | |
|his brother |chronicle), or rather Bulála (as| | |
| and |Imám Áhmed constantly writes it,| | |
|predecessor |and as the name is pronounced | | |
| Edrís. |generally), who, originating | | |
| |from a branch line of the royal | | |
| |family of Kánem, by their | | |
| |forefather Jíl Shikomémi (a son | | |
| |of Dúnama Díbalámi?), had | | |
| |founded a powerful principality | | |
| |in the territory of Fittrí (“the| | |
| |lake”), over the numerous tribes| | |
| |of the Kúka (Leo’s Gaoga). As to| | |
| |the period of the rise of this | | |
| |dynasty, we have the distinct | | |
| |testimony of Imám Áhmed, that it| | |
| |was after the time of Dúnama | | |
| |Díbalámi.[190] | | |
| | | | |
| |Weakened by a civil war with one| | |
| |or more of his sons, who, having| | |
| |been beaten, seem to have taken | | |
| |refuge with the pagans of the | | |
| |tribe of Ghammúwa, where Edrís | | |
| |Alawóma found their progeny, | | |
| |Dáúd ben Nikále was driven out | | |
| |of Njímiye, the old capital, and| | |
| |finally killed by ʿAbd el Jelíl,| | |
| |the Bulála king. | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| ʿOTHMAN. |Seems to have waged the war with|Njímiye. | 4. |
| |the Bulála at first with some | | |
|Son of Dáud.|success, and even to have | | A.H. |
| |retaken Njímiye, when he | | 789-792. |
| |likewise succumbed. He, as well | | A.D. |
| |as his successor, became known | |1387-1390.|
| |to Makrízí. | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| ʿOTHMÁN. |Sustained the struggle for two | | 2. |
| |years, when he met the same fate| | |
|Son of Edrís|as his uncle and his cousin. | | A.H. |
|and Famáfa. |During this time there was a | | 793-794. |
| |prince in Háusa, or Afunú, | | A.D. |
| |called Mastúr, in a certain | |1391-1392.|
| |degree of dependency on Kánem. | | |
| |(Makrízí.) | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| ÁBÚ BAKR |Was killed by the Bulála, after |Shefiyári, in| 9 mo. |
| LIYÁTU. |a reign of a few months. |Kánem. | |
| | | |A.H. 795. |
|Son of Dáúd.| | |A.D. 1392.|
| | | | |
| | | | |
| ʿOMÁR. |This prince was at length so |Demaghíya. | 5. |
| |hardly pressed by the Bulála | | |
| Son of |that he finally, with the |(Not, as it | A.H. |
| Edrís. |consent of his ʿulama, gave up |seems, | 796-800. |
| |Kánem entirely, transferring his|Maghíya.) | A.D. |
| |residence to Kaghá, a district | |1394-1398.|
| |of some forty miles in extent, | | |
| |between Ujé and Gújeba, | | |
| |notorious in Bórnu as the refuge| | |
| |of every defeated party during | | |
| |the civil wars, where they went | | |
| |to recruit their strength. And | | |
| |though, in the course of time, | | |
| |Bórnu recovered from intestine | | |
| |troubles, and flourished once | | |
| |more under mighty princes, who | | |
| |even vanquished the Bulála, none| | |
| |of them ever returned to Kánem | | |
| |in order to fix his residence | | |
| |there. | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| SʿAÍD. |A usurper, as it would seem; for|Dekakíya. | 1. |
| |the chronicle does not give him | | |
| |the usual title of sultan, but | |A.H. 801. |
| |calls him merely “melek,” and | | A.D. |
| |does not name his father. | | 1398-9. |
| |Nevertheless he must be reckoned| | |
| |in the list of the Bórnu kings. | | |
| |The Bulála, not content with | | |
| |having wrested Kánem from the | | |
| |hands of their enemies, followed| | |
| |them into their new retreat, and| | |
| |vanquished and killed Sʿaíd near| | |
| |Dekakíya. | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|KADÉ ÁFUNÚ. |Fell likewise in the war with |Ghadhurú (?).| 1. |
| |the Bulála in the course of a | | |
| Son of |year, having, as it would seem, |(Not |A.H. 802. |
| Edrís. |resumed the offensive. Why the |Ghumuzú.) | A.D. |
| |surname “Áfnó,” or “Áfunú,” was | |1399-1400.|
| |given to him is not clear; | | |
| |perhaps from his mother being of| | |
| |Áfno (Háusa) origin. | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| BÍRI. |A long reign, after several |Kanántú. | 33. |
| |short and unfortunate ones; but | | |
| Son of |the only fact with regard to it |(In | A.H. |
| Edrís. |of which we are informed, |Bagharmi?) | 803-835. |
| |namely, a civil war between the | | A.D. |
| |king and the keghámma or | |1400-1432.|
| |seraskier, Mohammed ben Diltu, | | |
| |is not of a kind to give an idea| | |
| |of repose and happiness. The | | |
| |ensuing period of the history of| | |
| |Bórnu may be called a period of | | |
| |civil war and of the greatest | | |
| |distress. | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| ʿOTHMÁN |Succumbed, after a short reign |Áfunú, Kano. | 9 mo. |
| KALNAMA. |of a few months, to the party of|[191] | |
| |the keghámma Nikále ben Ibrahím | |A.H. 836. |
|Son of Dáúd.|and the yeríma Kadé; and | |A.D. 1432.|
| |deprived of his throne, he | | |
| |appears to have been obliged to | | |
| |seek refuge in the Áfnó (Háusa) | | |
| |province of Kanó, where he died,| | |
| |or more probably was killed. | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| DÚNAMA. |Was murdered after a short |Nánigham. | 2. |
| |reign. | | |
| Son of | | | A.H. |
| ʿOmár. | | | 836-838. |
| | | | A.D. |
| | | | 1433-4. |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|ʿABD ALLAH, |Was embroiled in a civil war |Famelfa. | 8. |
| or DÁLA. |with the keghámma ʿAbd Allah | | |
| |Dighelma, who even dethroned | | A.H. |
| Son of |him, and made Íbrahím the son of| | 838-846. |
|ʿOmar, with |ʿOthmán king, but, on the death | | A.D. |
|the surname |of the latter, restored him to | |1435-1442.|
| Dakumúni. |the throne. The eight years | | |
| |attributed to his reign by the | | |
| |negligently-written chronicle | | |
| |seem to comprise the two periods| | |
| |of his reign, before and after | | |
| |Íbrahím; or it must be | | |
| |understood that Íbrahím placed | | |
| |ʿAbd Allah again upon the | | |
| |throne, after the death of | | |
| |keghámma. | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| ÍBRAHÍM. |Seems to have excited the |Zamtam. | 8. |
| |discontent of his subjects by | | |
| Son of |neither keeping a regular court |One day N. | A.H. |
| ʿOthmán. |nor showing himself to his |from | 846-854. |
| |people. After a reign of eight |Ghámbarú. | A.D. |
| |years he was murdered by Kadé | |1442-1450.|
| |(his brother?). Though this is | | |
| |the only king of the name of | | |
| |Íbrahím in the list of Bórnu | | |
| |kings of the end of the 15th, or| | |
| |the beginning of the 16th | | |
| |century, it is evident that he | | |
| |could not have been a | | |
| |contemporary of Leo Africanus, | | |
| |and that the latter erred, from | | |
| |lapse of memory, in the account | | |
| |of Africa which he composed | | |
| |several years after his visit to| | |
| |those countries, in calling the | | |
| |king who reigned over Bórnu | | |
| |during the time of his visit | | |
| |Íbrahím. | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| KADÉ. |Succumbed, after a short reign, |Amará, or | 1. |
| |to a rival, Dúnama son of Bíri. |Amazá. | |
| Son of | | | A.H. |
| ʿOthmán. | | | 854-5. |
| | | | A.D. |
| | | | 1450-1. |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| DÚNAMA. | |Aghakúwah. | 4. |
| | | | |
|Son of Bíri.| | | A.H. |
| | | | 855-859. |
| | | | A.D. |
| | | |1451-1455.|
| | | | |
| | | | |
| MOHAMMED. | |Mazá. | 5 mo. |
| | | | |
| Son of | | |A.H. 859. |
| Mátala. | | |A.D. 1455.|
| | | | |
| | | | |
| MER, or | |Tármata. | 1. |
| AMER. | | | |
| | | |A.H. 860. |
| Son of | | |A.D. 1456.|
| ʿAáisha | | | |
|daughter of | | | |
| ʿOthmán. | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| MOHAMMED. |A very cruel and sanguinary |Meghjibád- | (?) |
| |prince; probably reigned but a |Nerí- Kerbúri| |
|Son of Kadé.|very short time, only a few |(?). | |
| |days. | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| GHAJÍ. |Defeated in battle, and killed |Matakla | 5. |
| |by Mohammed son of ʿAbd Allah, |Ghamer. | |
| Son of |the king of Kánem. | | A.H. |
| Amála, or | | | 861-865. |
| Imáta. | | | A.D. |
| | | |1456-1461.|
| | | | |
| | | | |
| ʿOTHMAN. |Notwithstanding his excellent |Mikidhá. | 5. |
| |qualities as a prince, he was | | |
|Son of Kadé.|dethroned in consequence of a | | A.H. |
| |civil war with ʿAlí Ghajidéni, | | 866-870. |
| |who, though he apparently had | | A.D. |
| |the upper hand, by some unknown | |1461-1466.|
| |circumstances, or from some | | |
| |unknown reasons of his own, to | | |
| |which we have no key, allowed | | |
| |another person to occupy the | | |
| |throne that had thus become | | |
| |vacant. | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| ʿOMÁR. |A despotical reign, spent in |Ghomtalú. | 1. |
| |dispute with a more powerful and|(Reká?) | |
|Son of ʿAbd |successful rival, Mohammed ben | |A.H. 871. |
| Allah. |Mohammed, who, in the course of | |A.D. 1466.|
| |a year, gained the upper hand, | | |
| |and probably killed ʿOmár. | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| MOHAMMED. |A courageous and powerful |Breda. [192] | 5. |
| |prince. | | |
| Son of | | | A.H. |
| Mohammed. | | | 872-876. |
| | | | A.D. |
| | | |1467-1471.|
| | | | |
| | | | |
| ʿALÍ. |A glorious reign, beginning a |Ghasréggomo. | 33. |
| |new epoch in the history of | | |
| Son of |Bórnu. First of all, ʿAlí | | A.H. |
| Dúnama, |Ghajidéni made an end of the | | 877-909. |
| known |civil wars, which had torn and | | A.D. |
|generally in|wasted the kingdom for so long a| |1472-1504.|
|Bórnu under |period, having vanquished and | | |
|the name of |killed his old rival ʿOthmán ben| | |
| Mai ʿAlí |Kadé, whom he had formerly | | |
| Ghajidéni. |dethroned, and who began the | | |
| |struggle once more. He then | | |
| |restored the equilibrium between| | |
| |the different officers of high | | |
| |rank, the excessive power of | | |
| |some of these officers, | | |
| |particularly that of the | | |
| |keghámma[193], having been the | | |
| |principal cause of all those | | |
| |disturbances; and in order to | | |
| |concentrate the government, he | | |
| |built a large capital, | | |
| |Ghasréggomo, generally called | | |
| |Birni, the future residence of | | |
| |the kings of Bórnu, on the river| | |
| |Wáú, three days west from the | | |
| |modern town Kúkawa. For until | | |
| |this period the Bórnu people | | |
| |lived only in temporary | | |
| |encampments in the conquered | | |
| |country, although Nánigham had | | |
| |been the ordinary residence of | | |
| |the kings. It was in this king’s| | |
| |reign, doubtless, that Leo | | |
| |visited Bórnu; and it is by this| | |
| |author that we are informed of | | |
| |one of the many wars which the | | |
| |prince carried on, who, on this | | |
| |account alone, of all the kings | | |
| |of Bórnu, seems to have obtained| | |
| |the surname “el Gházi”—“the | | |
| |warrior,” or rather “the | | |
| |conqueror.” Wángara—that is, the| | |
| |country of the Eastern | | |
| |Mandingoes, about the name and | | |
| |extent of which we shall not | | |
| |leave any doubt in our further | | |
| |inquiries—seems, indeed, to be | | |
| |rather distant from Bórnu, | | |
| |particularly if it be taken into| | |
| |consideration that the nearest | | |
| |provinces were ill subjected; | | |
| |but if the Baramuwása be | | |
| |identical, as can scarcely be | | |
| |doubted, with the frontier-river| | |
| |between Bórgu and Yóruba, | | |
| |Wángara was close to the western| | |
| |frontier of the tributary | | |
| |provinces of Bórnu, and it is | | |
| |only to be attributed to the | | |
| |miserable character of the | | |
| |chronicle, and to the general | | |
| |scantiness of our sources, that | | |
| |we hear nothing of the several | | |
| |expeditions which the Bórnu | | |
| |kings made into the provinces of| | |
| |the Kwára, and of the | | |
| |interesting relation which | | |
| |appears to have existed between | | |
| |Bórnu and some of the Bórgu | | |
| |places, particularly Brúsa. It | | |
| |is moreover to be taken into | | |
| |account, that Wángara probably | | |
| |extended, at that time, more to | | |
| |the east, and almost reached the| | |
| |Kwára. | | |
| | | | |
| |But the Bulála, the old and | | |
| |inveterate enemies of Bórnu, | | |
| |were not yet humiliated; and it | | |
| |was an inroad of the king of | | |
| |that empire into Bórnu which | | |
| |obliged ʿAlí Ghajidéni (assuming| | |
| |him to be identical, as he | | |
| |certainly is, with Leo’s | | |
| |Íbrahím) to give up the conquest| | |
| |of Wángara. That the name of | | |
| |this king of the Bulála was | | |
| |ʿOmár, as Leo says, we have | | |
| |strong reasons to doubt, and | | |
| |think it another lapse of | | |
| |memory. It was probably Selma, | | |
| |or ʿAbd el Jelíl, the father of | | |
| |the prince whom Edrís, ʿAlí’s | | |
| |son and successor, vanquished. | | |
| |The name ʿOmár seems not to | | |
| |occur at all in the dynasty of | | |
| |the Bulála. | | |
| | | | |
| |But we have another account, | | |
| |which gives us a glance into the| | |
| |warlike career of ʿAlí | | |
| |Ghajidéni, and informs us of one| | |
| |of his expeditions into the far | | |
| |west. For this account we are | | |
| |indebted to Sultan Béllo, who | | |
| |relates in his “Enfák el misúri | | |
| |fi fat-ha belád el | | |
| |Tekrúri”[194], that Kantá, whose| | |
| |age as a contemporary of ʿAlí | | |
| |ben Dúnama, is fixed by the fact| | |
| |that he lived in the time of Háj| | |
| |Mohammed Áskiá, “having | | |
| |oppressed the inhabitants of the| | |
| |provinces conquered by him,” | | |
| |Sultan “ʿAlí Alij,” as he is | | |
| |called in the translation, | | |
| |marched from Bórnu against him, | | |
| |and beat him near Suráme, his | | |
| |capital (see Vol. IV.), on the | | |
| |ʿAíd el kebír; but not being | | |
| |able to reduce this strong | | |
| |place, ʿAlí was obliged to | | |
| |retire, when Kantá, having | | |
| |collected a large army, followed| | |
| |him till he reached Onghoor | | |
| |(most probably Ngarú), “where | | |
| |they met and fought together, | | |
| |and Kantá won the battle,” | | |
| |without, however, being able to | | |
| |follow up his victory. This war | | |
| |must fall about the very end of | | |
| |the reign of ʿAlí Ghajidéni. | | |
| | | | |
| |The glory of this reign makes it| | |
| |intelligible how Bórnu, or | | |
| |Bernu, appears in Portuguese | | |
| |maps as early as the year 1489. | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| EDRÍS. |The worthy son and successor of |Waláma. | 23. |
| |ʿAlí, who accomplished what | | |
|Son of ʿAlí |remained necessary for the | | A.H. |
|and ʿAáisha,|greatness and the peace of the | | 910-932. |
| with the |Bórnu empire, viz. the | | A.D. |
| surname of |humiliation and subjection of | |1504-1526.|
|Katarkamábi.|the Bulála. A short time, | | |
| |therefore, after he had ascended| | |
| |the throne, he went with a | | |
| |strong army to Kánem, beat the | | |
| |Bulála prince Dúnama son of ʿAbd| | |
| |el Jelíl, or Selma, at Gharni | | |
| |Kiyála, and entered Njímiye, the| | |
| |old capital of the empire of | | |
| |Kánem and Bórnu, 122 years after| | |
| |King Dáúd had abandoned it (see | | |
| |above, p. 259.). Having then | | |
| |heard, on his return to Bórnu, | | |
| |that Ádim, another son of ʿAbd | | |
| |el Jelíl, had usurped the throne| | |
| |after his brother’s death, he | | |
| |returned once more, vanquished | | |
| |Ádim, and established for a long| | |
| |period the dependency of Kánem | | |
| |upon Bórnu. (Imám Áhmed.) It | | |
| |could only have been Edrís, and | | |
| |not Músa—a name which does not | | |
| |at all occur in the list of the | | |
| |kings of Bórnu—who sent an | | |
| |embassy to Tripoli in the year | | |
| |1512[195], a circumstance which | | |
| |clearly shows the elevated | | |
| |political views of that king. Of| | |
| |the other achievements of his | | |
| |brilliant career, we are | | |
| |unfortunately deprived by the | | |
| |loss or concealment of the | | |
| |contemporaneous account of his | | |
| |reign by the fákih Masfárma | | |
| |ʿOmár ben ʿOthmán, though I | | |
| |still entertain hopes that the | | |
| |work may some day or other come | | |
| |to light. | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| MOHAMMED. |A very powerful and mighty king,|Ghasréggomo. | 19. |
| |successful in all directions. He| | |
|Son of Edrís|vanquished and killed Kadé the | | A.H. |
| and Zíneb. |son of ʿAbd el Jelíl and Lifya, | | 933-951. |
| |who, only forty days after | | A.D. |
| |Mohammed had ascended the | |1526-1545.|
| |throne, came to attack him at | | |
| |Nathá; and in consequence of | | |
| |this victory kept Kánem in a | | |
| |state of strict obedience. His | | |
| |reign is very important to us, | | |
| |because he is one of the kings | | |
| |of Bórnu of whose conquests and | | |
| |activity towards the west we | | |
| |have obtained some positive | | |
| |account. For, as we learn from | | |
| |the Christian captive in | | |
| |Tripoli[196], Mohammed fought a | | |
| |great and celebrated battle with| | |
| |the king of Kébbi—probably Tómo,| | |
| |of the dynasty of the Kantá, who| | |
| |founded Birni-n-Kebbi. The | | |
| |“captive,” unfortunately, does | | |
| |not state what was the issue of | | |
| |the battle; but although we | | |
| |cannot agree with Mr. Blau, who | | |
| |interprets the words of our | | |
| |chronicle, “gareb hú ila hedúd | | |
| |el Kabará bememlekettihi,”[197] | | |
| |as if Mohammed had extended his | | |
| |empire as far as Kabara, the | | |
| |harbour of Timbúktu, we must | | |
| |conclude that he was victorious.| | |
| |Finally, to speak of the little | | |
| |we know, it must have been he | | |
| |who sent the embassy to Tripoli | | |
| |in the year 1534, if the date be| | |
| |correct. | | |
| | | | |
| |There is certainly, in the | | |
| |passage of our chronicle which | | |
| |relates to the reign of this | | |
| |king, some degree of confusion; | | |
| |and it is very unfortunate that,| | |
| |after having aspired to a little| | |
| |more completeness, it just | | |
| |becomes exceedingly brief and | | |
| |dry in the most interesting part| | |
| |of the history of the Bórnu | | |
| |kingdom. The confused passage | | |
| |has been taken into account in a| | |
| |preceding comment; and we are | | |
| |not able at present to explain | | |
| |why this energetic prince, who | | |
| |waged war on the opposite | | |
| |borders of his extensive empire,| | |
| |at immense distances from each | | |
| |other, can be said to have | | |
| |resided “nineteen [years] in | | |
| |Ladé.” But the fact may simply | | |
| |have been that he did not like | | |
| |to reside in the large capital | | |
| |or birni, Ghasréggomo, but | | |
| |preferred dwelling in a small | | |
| |neighbouring town; or perhaps it| | |
| |was one of the objects of his | | |
| |ambition to transfer the seat of| | |
| |government, from the place | | |
| |chosen by his predecessors, to | | |
| |some new place of his own | | |
| |choice. Even at the present day | | |
| |there is a place of the name of | | |
| |Ladé in the neighbourhood of | | |
| |Ghambarú; and another one is | | |
| |mentioned by Imám Áhmed, at four| | |
| |short days’ journey on the road | | |
| |to Kánem. | | |
| | | | |
| |Be this as it may, “the kingdom | | |
| |of Bórnu reached under Mohammed | | |
| |the highest pitch of its | | |
| |greatness.” I here, therefore, | | |
| |add a list of the twelve great | | |
| |offices, or ʿalám, which | | |
| |constituted the chief machinery | | |
| |of the empire, and which are | | |
| |already indicated by | | |
| |Makrízí[198] in the words, “and | | |
| |they have twelve princes.” Imám | | |
| |Áhmed calls these high officers | | |
| |generally “el akáber el áʿalám,”| | |
| |or “erbáb e’ dúleh,” or “el | | |
| |omrá.” They are all mentioned by| | |
| |him, except the gháladíma, the | | |
| |fugúma, and the kaghustémma:— | | |
| | | | |
| |_Kayghámma_, or _Keghámma_, | | |
| |corresponding to the seraskier | | |
| |(or commander-in-chief) of the | | |
| |Turkish empire, and possessing | | |
| |very great power. | | |
| | | | |
| |_Yeríma_, or _Híríma_ (both | | |
| |forms occur indiscriminately in | | |
| |Imám Áhmed’s history), the | | |
| |governor of Yerí, or “tsidí | | |
| |Yeríbe,” the district between | | |
| |Birni Ghasréggomo and | | |
| |Múniyó[199], the inhabitants of | | |
| |which are called by Imám Áhmed | | |
| |“áhel e’ shemál.” | | |
| | | | |
| |_Gháladíma_, the governor of the| | |
| |Gháladí, a province comprising | | |
| |the western countries, from | | |
| |Ngarú as far as the Kwára | | |
| |(called, by the Kanúri, Kwalla).| | |
| | | | |
| |_Chiróma_ (generally written by | | |
| |Imám Áhmed Thiróma, or Shiróma),| | |
| |the heir apparent, son or | | |
| |brother of the king. | | |
| | | | |
| |_Fugúma_, the governor in the | | |
| |interior of Ghasréggomo, with | | |
| |power over life and death. | | |
| | | | |
| |_Bágharíma_, sometimes mentioned| | |
| |as an officer of great | | |
| |importance, who, in the time of | | |
| |the civil wars, often raised his| | |
| |ambition even to the throne; but| | |
| |I have not been able to make out| | |
| |what the department, or | | |
| |province, called bágharí, really| | |
| |was. It has nothing whatever to | | |
| |do with Bagírmi. | | |
| | | | |
| |_Síntelma_. This title seems to | | |
| |belong originally to some | | |
| |department connected with the | | |
| |government of Kánem, but what | | |
| |were the duties of its office I | | |
| |cannot say. The title is still | | |
| |common in Bórnu, and will | | |
| |frequently occur in my | | |
| |narrative, though at present it | | |
| |is of little importance. | | |
| | | | |
| |_Kásalma_, or _Kájelma_, | | |
| |governor of the eastern | | |
| |provinces of Kánem. | | |
| | | | |
| |_Kaghustémma_, governor of | | |
| |Kaghústi, one of the western | | |
| |districts of Kánem. (See Vol. | | |
| |III. App. II.) | | |
| | | | |
| |_Arjinóma_. His province is not | | |
| |exactly known to me, except that| | |
| |it appears from Imám Áhmed, that| | |
| |he belonged to the governors of | | |
| |the northern provinces of the | | |
| |empire, “el omrá e’ shemalíyín.”| | |
| | | | |
| |_Mestréma_, or _Metréma_, chief | | |
| |eunuch of the harím. | | |
| | | | |
| |_Yíroma_ (not to be confounded | | |
| |with the Yeríma), under the | | |
| |mestréma, but nevertheless, at | | |
| |least in the time of Edrís | | |
| |Alawóma, an office of | | |
| |importance. | | |
| | | | |
| |The other governors of large | | |
| |towns, such as Wúdi, Díkowa, | | |
| |&c., had the title “mainta;” and| | |
| |there were many smaller charges,| | |
| |such as “búma,” probably | | |