chain mail cavalry of Bornu

Arab geographers speak of an empire called Kanem as early as the 9th century AD. At its height, the kingdom controlled territory from Libya to Lake Chad to Kano in Nigeria and lasted, in varying forms, until 1893.

Kanem was originally a confederation of various ethnic groups near Lake Chad, but by 1068 AD a dynasty known as Sayfuwa was established. In the thirteenth century the new kingdom began upon a conquest of their neighbors, setting off a massive expansion. Led by the ruler Mai Dunama Dibbalemi (1221-1259), Kanem's expansion peaked substantially. Dabbalemi began diplomatic exchanges with Muslim sultans in North Africa and even established a special hostel in Cairo, Egypt for pilgrimages to Mecca. Declaring physical jihad (holy war) against surrounding minor states, he set about conquering and bringing numerous regions in North and West Africa under his control.

At Kanem's height, the kingdom controlled territory from Libya to Lake Chad to Kano in Nigeria. These were strategic areas, as all the commercial traffic through North Africa had to pass through Kanem territory. In the late 1300's, civil strife within Kanem began to seriously weaken the empire. By the early 1400's, power shifted from Kanem to Bornu, a kingdom south and west of Lake Chad. Intermarriage of the people of Kanem and Bornu created a new ethnic group, the Kanuri. When Songhai fell, this new Kanuri Empire of Bornu grew rapidly, enough so to unite the kingdom of Bornu with Kanem during the reign of Idris Alawma (1575-1610).

A fervent Muslim, Idris Alawma set about building an Islamic state all the way west into Hausaland in northern Nigeria. Alawma is remembered for his military prowess and administrative reforms. An epic poem of the period extolled his victories in over 300 wars and more than 1,000 battles. His innovations included the use of armored horses and riders, Berber camelry, Kotoko boatmen, and iron-helmeted musketeers trained by Turkish military advisers. Alawma kept up diplomatic relations with Tripoli, Egypt, and the Ottoman Empire, which sent a 200-member ambassadorial party across the desert to Alawma's court at Ngazargamu. This state would last for another two hundred years, but in 1846, it finally succumbed to the growing power of the Hausa states.

Modern rendition of Idris Alawma, sultan of Bornu, 16th Century

Kanem-Bornu under Alawma grew strong and wealthy, mostly due to the trans-Saharan routes it controlled. Numerous products were sent north, including natron (sodium carbonate), cotton, kola nuts, ivory, ostrich feathers, perfume, wax, and hides. Imports included salt, horses, silks, glass, muskets, and copper—to enrich elites and bolster the empire. Yet, all too common at the time, the most important and wealth generating commodities sent East, were slaves—making Kanem a key part of the East African slave trade that sent a steady supply of human property to the Middle East and Asia.

As ruler, Alawma also set upon important administrative and economic reforms, including numerous domestic building projects. He is credited with having the roads cleared, designing better boats for Lake Chad, introducing standard units of measure for grain, and moving farmers into new lands. In addition, he improved the ease and security of transit through the empire. It was common legend that in his empire, "a lone woman clad in gold might walk with none to fear but God."

Bornu horsemen playing the frum frums

The administrative reforms and military prowess of Alawma sustained his empire until the late1700s, during which time Fulani peoples from the west began invading the Hausa states over which Kanem-Bornu had established control. Following numerous other setbacks, the empire would diminish back into a kingdom, until it was finally conquered by a Sudanese army in the late 1890s.