Sayfawa dynasty

Sayfawa dynasty or more properly Sefuwa dynasty is the name of the kings (or mai, as they called themselves) of the Kanem-Bornu Empire, centered first in Kanem in western Chad, and then, after 1380, in Borno (today north-eastern Nigeria).

Theories on the origins of this dynasty vary. Many scholars assert that it may have been rooted in a Tubu expansion or comprised an indigenous dynasty. Other theories have also been made. The German historian Dierk Lange has argued that the advent of the Sayfawa dynasty came in the 11th century, when Hummay consolidated Islam in Kanem. Lange adds that Hummay's advent represented the ascent of a Berber dynasty over the previous Duguwa Zaghawa one.^[1]

In the Islamic period the Sayfawa themselves claimed as their eponymous ancestor the late pre-Islamic Yemenite hero Sayf ibn Dhi Yazan, hence their amended name Sayf-awa. This tradition was first mentioned by the Andalusian scholar Ibn Said in the 13th century, and Lange believes it to be mainly the fruit of the reinterpretation of an indigenous tradition by Muslim scholars who arrived to Kanem from regions where Himyarite traditions were strong.^[2] Formerly most historians thought, that the leaders of this new dynasty belonged to the indigenous Kanembu.^[3]

According to recent research, Kanem was founded by immigrants from the collapsing Assyrian Empire, claiming descent from Sef (1)/Sargon of Akkad, hence their name Sef-uwa. The Duguwa traced their ancestry in addition to Duku (2), the third figure of the list, and should therefore be properly designated as Sefuwa-Duguwa. From Hummay (12) onward the Sefuwa should more properly be called Sefuwa-Humewa or Sayfawa-Humewa, according to the ancestral figures Sef/Sipa (Sargon of Akkad) - in the Islamic period identified with Sayf b. Dhi Yazan - and the dynastic founder Hume (1068-1080).^[4]

The dynasty, one of Africa's longest living, lost the throne in 1846.

1 Table of Sefuwa-Duguwa kings in Kanem
2 Sayfawa-Humewa kings in Kanem
3 Sayfawa kings in Bornu
4 See also
5 References
6 Bibliography

Table of Sefuwa-Duguwa kings in Kanem

Name of the king	Earlier dating ^[5]	Historical name and dating ^[6]	Historical identity
(1) Sef	c. 700	Sargon of Akkad (2334-2279)	Founder of the Akkadian Empire
(2) Ibrahim	c. 740	Abraham	Legendary Israelite patriarch
(3) Dugu	c. 785	Hammurabi (1792-1750)	Founder of the Amorite Empire
(4) Fune	c. 835	Pûl/Tiglath-pileser III (744-727)	Founder of Neo-Assyrian Empire
(5) Arsu	c. 893	Rusâ/Ursâ I (730-713)	6th Urartian king
(6) Katur	c. 942	Kutir-Nahhunte (1185-1155)	85th Elamite king
(7) Buyuma	c. 961	Bunuma-Addu (c. 1770)	1st king of Nihrija/Nairi
(8) Bulu	c. 1019	Nabopolassar (626-605)	1st Neo-Babylonian king
(9) Arku	c. 1035	Assur-uballit II (612-609)	Last king of Assyria
(10) Shu	c. 1077	Sammuramat (810-807)	Regent during the infancy of Adad-nirari III (810-783)
Unknown	?	?
Kak.r.ah	.	.	Local king c. 870 CE^[7]
Unknown	?	?
(11) Abd al-Jalil/Selma	c. 1081	First Duguwa king (1064-1068)	First Muslim ruler of Kanem

Sayfawa-Humewa kings in Kanem

Hume or Hummay	1068–1080^[8]
Dunama I ibn Hummay	1080–1133
Bir I or Biri I	1133–1160
Abdallah I or Bikorom or Dala I	1160–1176
Salmama I or Abd al-Jalil	1176–1203
Dunama II Dabbalemi	1203–1242
Kaday I	1242–1270
Biri I or Kashim Biri	1270–1290
Ibrahim I	1290–1310
Abdallah II	1310–1328
Salmama II	1328–1332
Kuri Ghana	1332–1333
Kuri Kura	1334–1335
Muhammad I	1334–1335
Idris I Nigalemi	1335–1359
Dawud Nigalemi	1359–1369
Uthman I	1369–1373
Uthman II	1373–1375
Abu Bakr Liyatu	1375–1376
Umar I or Umar ibn Idris	1376–1381

Sayfawa kings in Bornu

Said	1381–1382^[9]
Kaday II	1382–1383
Bir III	1383-1415
Uthman III Kaliwama	1415-1415
Dunama III	1415-1417
Abdallah III Dakumuni	1417-1425
Ibrahim II	1425-1433
Kaday III	1433-1434
Ahmad Dunama IV	1434-1438
Muhammad II	1438
Amr	1438-1439
Muhammad III	1439
Ghazi or Ghaji	1439-1444
Uthman IV	1444-1449
Umar II	1449-1450
Muhammad IV	1450-1455
Ali Gazi or Ali Ghajideni	1455-1487
Idris Katarkamabi	1487-1509
Muhammad V Aminami	1509-1538
Ali II of Bornu	1538-1539
Dunama V Ngumarsmma	1539-1557
Dala or Abd Allah	1557-1564
Aissa Kili	(legendary)
Idris III Alauma or Idris Alooma	1564-1596^[10]
Muhammed VI Bukalmarami	1596-1612
Ibrahim III of Bornu	1612-1619
Umar\| (Hadj)	1619-1639
Ali II	1639-1677
Idris IV of Bornu	1677-1696
Dunama VII	1696-1715
Hamdan (Hadj)	1715-1729
Muhammad VII of Bornu	1729-1744
Dunama VIII Gana	1744-1447
Ali III	1747-1792
Ahmad	1792-1808
Dunama IX Lefiami	1808-1816
Muhammad VIII	1816-1820
Ibrahim IV of Bornu	1820-1846
Ali V Dalatumi	1846

References

^ Lange, Diwan, 95-107.
^ Levtzion, "The Sahara and the Sudan", 682-683; Lange, "Kingdoms", 238-265.
^ US Country Studies: Chad
^ Lange, Founding of Kanem, 27-38.
^ Urvoy, Empire, 26.
^ Lange: Founding of Kanem, 13-16.
^ Levtzion/Hopkins, Corpus, 21.
^ Dates calculated on the basis of Lange, Diwan, 65-77; id., Kingdoms, 552.
^ Dates calculated on the basis of Lange, Diwan, 77-94; id., Kingdoms, 552.
^ From now on dates follow Lange, Diwan, 80-94.

Bibliography

Barkindo, Bawuro (1985). "The early states of the Central Sudan", in: J. Ajayi and M. Crowder (eds.), The History of West Africa, vol. I, 3rd ed. Harlow, 225-254.
Barth, Heinrich (1858). "Chronological table, containing a list of the Sefuwa", in: Travel and Discoveries in North and Central Africa. Vol. II, New York, 581-602.
Lange, Dierk (1977). Le Dīwān des sultans du Kanem-Bornu. Wiesbaden (has a different chronology from the one given above).
---- (1984). "The kingdoms and peoples of Chad", in: D. T. Niane (ed.), General History of Africa, vol. IV, UNESCO, London 1984, 238-265.
---- (2004): Ancient Kingdoms of West Africa, Dettelbach.
---- (2011): The Founding of Kanem by Assyrian Refugees ca. 600 BCE: Documentary, Linguistic, and Archaeological Evidence, Boston, Working Papers in African Studies N° 265.
Lavers, John (1993). "Adventures in the chronology of the states of the Chad Basin". In: D. Barreteau and C. v. Graffenried (eds.), Datations et chronologies dans le Bassin du Lac Chad, Paris, 255-267.
Levtzion, Nehemia (1978):"The Saharan and the Sudan from the Arab conquest of the Maghrib to the rise of the Almoravids", in: J. D. Fage (ed.), The Cambridge History of Africa, vol. II, Cambridge 1978, pp. 637-684.
Nehemia Levtzion und John Hopkins (1981): Corpus of Early Arabic Sources for West African History, Cambridge.
Smith, Abdullahi (1971). The early states of the Central Sudan, in: J. Ajayi and M. Crowder (Hg.), History of West Africa. Vol. I, 1. Ausg., London, 158-183.
Stewart, John (1989). African States and Rulers: An encyclopedia of Native, Colonial and Independent States and Rulers Past and Present. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. p. 395 Pages. ISBN 0-89950-390-X.
Urvoy, Yves (1941). "Chronologie du Bornou", Journal de la Société des Africanistes, 11, 21-31.