| Kanem Empire | ||||
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| Influence of Kanem Empire around 1200 AD | ||||
| Capital | Manan, Njimi | |||
| Language(s) | Kanembu | |||
| Religion | Islam since 1064 | |||
| Government | Monarchy | |||
| King (Mai) | ||||
| - c. 870 | Kakarah (first known king) | |||
| - 1376-1381 | 'Umar I | |||
| Historical era | Middle Ages | |||
| - Established | 600 BCE | |||
| - Invaded and forced to move to Bornu, thus consolidating Bornu Empire | 1380 CE | |||
| Area | ||||
| - 1200 | 776,996 km2 (300,000 sq mi) | |||
The Kanem Empire (ca. 600 BCE - 1380 CE) was located in the present countries of Chad, Nigeria and Libya.[1] At its height it encompassed an area covering not only much of Chad, but also parts of southern Libya (Fezzan), eastern Niger and north-eastern Nigeria. The history of the Empire is mainly known from the Royal Chronicle or Dīwān discovered in 1851 by the German traveller Heinrich Barth.[2]
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There are two views concerning the foundation of Kanem. The majority view based on previous scholarship is that the state was founded by local Zaghawa. According to recent research by historian Dierk Lange, the Kanem state was founded by immigrants from the Near East, however, due to its novelty this view is not yet widely accepted.
The information contained in the prologue and the first section of the Girgam provides evidence for the founding of Kanem by refugees from the collapsing Assyrian Empire: the names of biblical patriarchs point to Israelites, the names of ancient Mesopotamian kings indicate Babylonian contributions and the names of the last Assyrian kings bear witness of immigration in consequence of the fall of Assyria.[3] The royal titles offered by the Girgam and the origin-chronicles support the idea of mass immigration of various people formerly dominated by the Assyrians in consequence of the destruction of the Assyrian Empire by the invading Babylonian and Median armies in 612 BCE. The theory is further strengthened by linguistic and archeological evidence.[4] Writing in the ninth century, the celebrated Arab historian al-Ya'qubi seems to refer to this migration on the basis of Central Sudanic oral traditions when he describes the dispersion of people from Babylon which led to the foundation of Kanem and other states in West Africa.[5] Another theory proposes that the lost state of Agisymba (mentioned by Ptolemy in the middle of the 2nd century CE) was the antecedent of the Kanem Empire.[6]
According to the majority scholarly opinion, the empire of Kanem began forming around 700 CE under the nomadic Tebu-speaking Zaghawa.[7] Comparison of the information provided by the Dīwān and by Arab geographers shows that the Zaghawa were forced southwest towards the fertile lands around Lake Chad by political pressure and desertification in their former territory. The area already possessed independent, walled city-states belonging to the Sao culture. Under the leadership of the Duguwa dynasty, the Zaghawa would eventually dominate the Sao, but not before adopting many of their customs. War between the ruling establishment and the Sao continued in Bornu up to the late 16th century.
Though the Duguwa claim to descend from the same ancestor Sef as the Sayfawa, there must have existed a marked difference between the two, since the Dīwān clearly indicates that the rule of the Banū Dūkū finished with rise of the great Muslim king Hume (1068-1080).
The name of the Duguwa dynasty is derived from that of Dūkū, the third ruler mentioned in the Dīwān. Succeeding to Sef, the Banū Dūkū or Duguwa ruled until Abd al-Jalil (1064-1068), the first Muslim king of Kanem.[8] From the evidence provided by Arab geographers it appears that Kanem was located at the southern end of the trans-Saharan trade route between Tripoli and the region of Lake Chad and that it was dominated by the Zaghawa from their capital Manan.[9] The mais of the Duguwa were regarded as divine kings and belonged to the ruling establishment known in the internal records as Magumi and in the external sources as Zaghawa. Despite changes in dynastic power, the Magumi and the title of mai would persevere for over a thousand years.[10]
Writing in 873, the Arab historian al-Ya'qubi mentions that Kanem was dominated by the Zaghawa. It had a king called Kakarah whose power seems to have extended far to the west because "the king of Malal/Mali hated him". In particular he seems to have ruled over the Hausa who are said to have had a king from among the Zaghawa. Al-Muhallabi notes in the tenth century that Kanem extended over "fifteen stages in length and the same in width". [11]
Arabic texts provide some information concerning the rituals of kingship. Al-Muhallabi writes that the people "exalted and worshipped the king instead of Allah. They imagine that he does not eat any food... and if it happens that one of his subjects meets the camels carrying his provisions, he is killed instantly on the spot." Ibn Battuta reported with respect to his visit in Takedda in 1351 that the king of Bornu whould "appear to the people and would not address them except from behind a curtain".[12] According to the Dīwān, the Magira (queen mother) had such great power that she could order the imprisonment of the king. A similar institution existed in the neighbouring kingdom of Daura where the Magajiya was entitled to order the destitution of the king. Seclusion and other ritual restrictions to royal power were common in African sacred kingships.[13]
The name of the Sayfuwa dynasty is derived from that of Sēf, the first ruler mentioned in the Dīwān. Usually called Banū Sayf and hence Sayfuwa, the new dynasty should in contradistinction to the preceding Sefuwa-Duguwa be called more properly Sefuwa-Humewa .[14] Evidence derived from the writings of Arab geographers with respect to the disappearance of the Zaghawa from Kanem under the early Sefuwa-Humewa confirms that the fall of the Duguwa involved important changes.
The major factor that influenced the history of the state of Kanem was the early penetration of Islam. North African traders, Berbers and Arabs, brought the new religion. In 1068, a Muslim official by the name of Hummay removed the last Duguwa king Abd al-Jalil or Selma from power and thus established the new dynasty named after him Humewa (Arabic: Banū Hume).[15]
The establishment of the Sefuwa dynasty (later known as Sayfawa) meant radical changes for the Kanem Empire. First, it meant the Islamization of the court and state policies. Second, the identification of founders had to be revised. After the 13th century, the empire began associating Mai Sef with the legendary Yemenite hero Sayf ibn Dhī Yazan. Hence, it became customary to call the new ruling dynasty by the Arabized name Sayfawa instead of the more appropriate name Sefuwa.
The coming of Islam corresponded in Kanem to the demise of the Duguwa and the rise of the Sayfawa. Islam provided the ruling Sayfawa with a new power base, facilitating the expansion to Bornu west of Lake Chad and thus the rise of the Kanem-Bornu Empire.
Islam offered the Sayfawa rulers the advantage of new ideas from Arabia and the Mediterranean world, as well as literacy in administration. But many people resisted the new religion, favouring traditional beliefs and practices. When Hummay had assumed power on the basis of his strong Islamic following, for example, it is believed that the Sefuwa-Duguwa began some kind of internal opposition. This pattern of conflict and compromise with Islam occurs repeatedly in Chad's history.
By the 12th century, the Sayfawa ruled all over Kanem. At the same time, the Kanembu people drew closer to the new rulers and increased the growing population in Njimi. Even though the Kanembu became the main power base of the Sayfawa, Kanem's rulers continued to travel frequently throughout the kingdom and especially towards Bornu, west of lake Chad. Herders and farmers alike recognized the government's power and acknowledged their allegiance by paying tribute.
Kanem's expansion peaked during the long reign of the energetic Mai Dunama Dabbalemi (ca. 1203–1242), also of the Sayfawa dynasty. Dabbalemi initiated diplomatic exchanges with sultans in North Africa and arranged for the establishment of a special hostel in Cairo to facilitate pilgrimages to Mecca. During his reign, he declared jihad against some neighbouring tribes and initiated an extended period of conquest. After consolidating their territory around Lake Chad, the Fezzan region (in present-day Libya) fell under Kanem's authority, and the empire's influence extended westward to Kano (in present-day Nigeria), eastward to Ouaddaï, and southward to the Adamawa grasslands (in present-day Cameroon). However, he also destroyed the national Mune cult and thus precipitated widespread revolt culminating in the uprise of the Tubu and the Bulala. The former could be quenched but the latter continued to linger on and finally led to the retreat of the Sayfawa from Kanem to Bornu c. 1380.
Dabbalemi devised a system to reward military commanders with authority over the people they conquered. This system, however, tempted military officers to pass their positions to their sons, thus transforming the office from one based on achievement and loyalty to the mai into one based on hereditary nobility. Dabbalemi was able to suppress this tendency, but after his death, dissension among his sons weakened the Sayfawa Dynasty. Dynastic feuds degenerated into civil war, and Kanem's outlying peoples soon ceased paying tribute.
After the death of Dunama Dabbalemi Kanem soon fell into a downward spiral. By the end of the 14th century, internal struggles and external attacks forced the Sayfuwa to leave their ancient capital Njimi in Kanem and to establish their court in Bornu. Desiccation and foreign incursions contributed to the destitution of Kanem and its desorganization in the nineteenth century.
Between 1342 and 1352, the Sao, who had dominated Kanem prior to the Zaghawa, killed four mais in battle. These defeats also contributed to the weakening of Sayfawa power in Kanem.[16]
The death knell of Sefawa power in Kanem was dealt by the Bulala, invaders from the area around Lake Fitri to the east claiming also descent from Sef. By 1380, the Bulala had driven the Sayfawa from their capital. The Sayfawa and their followers were forced to withdraw to their province west of Lake Chad, eventually establishing a new empire in Bornu.[17]
The Bulala of Kanem were decisively defeated by Idris Alooma in the battle of Kiyayeka in 1577. He first installed a tributary Bulala king but later nomminated his slave official Dalatu Afno as governor of Kanem. Descendants of this official were known as the Dalatoa and they are still today in Mao the traditional kings of Kanem.
Expelled from Tripolitania the Awlad Sulayman established themselves in Kanem in 1846. On account of their connections with the defeated Sayfawa the Kanemi Shehus of Kukawa in Bornu recognized the Awlad Sulayman as their official representatives in Kanem without pushing them to abolish the dynasty of the Dalatoa.
After Rabih's defeat at Kusseri in 1900, French troops occupied Kanem and integrated it into the newly created Protectorat du Tchad.
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