Umar of Borno

Umar of Borno
Reign 4 June 1837 - December 1881
Predecessor Muhammad al-Amin al-Kanemi, Kanemi
Successor Bukar Kura
Issue
Bukar Kura
Father Muhammad al-Amin al-Kanemi
Died December 1881
Borno
Burial Kukawa
Religion Muslim

Umar I ibn Muhammad al-Amin (Arabic: اولعمر ابن محمد لرشيد‎) or Umar of Borno (died 1881) was Shehu (Sheik) of the Kanem-Bornu Empire and son of Muhammad al-Amin al-Kanemi.

Contents

Reign of Umar

Umar came to power at the death of his father in 1837.[1] Umar did not match his father's vitality and gradually allowed the kingdom to be ruled by advisers (wazirs). Umar ruled from 1837 until November 1853 when he was deposed by his brother `Abd ar-Rahman ibn Muhammad al-Amin who became Shehu. The latter only reigned until 1854 when Umar reconquered his throne.[2]

Umar ruled as Shehu for a second time from September 1854 to 1880. Borno began to decline, as a result of administrative disorganization, regional particularism, and attacks by the militant Ouaddai Empire to the east. The decline continued under Umar's sons, and in 1893 Rabih az-Zubayr, leading an invading army from eastern Sudan, conquered Borno.

Footnotes

  1. ^ Louis Brenner, The Shehus of Kukawa: A History of the Al-Kanemi Dynasty of Bornu, Oxford Studies in African Affairs (Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1973), p.72.
  2. ^ Louis Brenner, The Shehus of Kukawa: A History of the Al-Kanemi Dynasty of Bornu, Oxford Studies in African Affairs (Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1973), pp.78-79.

Bibliography

Dynasty

Umar of Borno
House of Kanemi
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Muhammad al-Amin al-Kanemi
2nd Shehu of Borno
1837-1853
Succeeded by
`Abd ar-Rahman ibn Muhammad al-Amin
Preceded by
`Abd ar-Rahman ibn Muhammad al-Amin
2nd Shehu of Borno
1854-1881
Succeeded by
Bukar Kura

External links