Kanem-Bornu Empire: Encyclopedia II - Kanem-Bornu Empire - Origins

Kanem-Bornu Empire - Origins

The Kanem Empire originated in the 9th century AD to the northeast of Lake Chad, located on the trans-Saharan trade routes that linked sub-Saharan Africa with the Middle East. It was formed from a confederation of nomadic peoples who spoke languages of the Teda–Daza (Toubou) group. One theory, based on early Arabic sources, suggests that the dominance of the Zaghawa people bound the confederation together. But local oral traditions omit the Zaghawa and refer instead to a legendary Arab, Sayf ben Dhi Yazan - believed by some to have been a Yemeni - who assumed leadership of the Magoumi clan and began the Sayfawa dynastic lineage. Historians agree that the leaders of the new state were ancestors of the Kanembu people. The leaders adopted the title mai, or king, and their subjects regarded them as divine.

One factor that influenced the formation of states in Chad was the penetration of Islam during the 10th century. Arabs migrating from the north and east brought the new religion. Toward the end of the 11th century, the Sayfawa king, Mai Hummay, converted to Islam (some historians believe that it was Humai rather than Sayf ben Dhi Yazan who established the Sayfawa lineage as the ruling dynasty of Kanem). Islam offered the Sayfawa rulers the advantages of new ideas from Arabia and the Mediterranean world, as well as literacy in administration. But many people resisted the new religion in favor of traditional beliefs and practices. When Humai converted, for example, it is believed that the Zaghawa broke from the empire and moved east. This pattern of conflict and compromise with Islam occurs repeatedly in Chadian history.

Prior to the 12th century, the nomadic Sayfawa confederation expanded southward into Kanem (the word for "south" in the Teda language). By the 13th century, Kanem's rule expanded. At the same time, the Kanembu people became more sedentary and established a capital at Njimi, northeast of Lake Chad. Even though the Kanembu were becoming more sedentary, Kanem's rulers continued to travel frequently throughout the kingdom to remind the herders and farmers of the government's power and to allow them to demonstrate their allegiance by paying tribute.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Origins", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki