Kanem–Bornu Empire

A long-lived state around Lake Chad that comprised the kingdoms of Kanem and Bornu and endured, with shifting centers and dynasties, from about the ninth to the nineteenth century.

Lake Chad: A large, shallow lake in the Sahel at the meeting point of Chad, Cameroon, Niger, and Nigeria. Its shifting shorelands anchored Kanem and later Bornu.
Mai: A title used by rulers of Kanem and Bornu. The mai headed the court and embodied dynastic authority.
Mai Hummay: A ruler who established Sefuwa rule in Kanem in the late eleventh century. His accession began the dynasty that later governed Bornu.
Bornu: A kingdom west of Lake Chad that became the principal center of the Kanem–Bornu state. Bornu preserved the state after the court left Kanem.
Kanem: A kingdom east of Lake Chad that became the eastern core of the Kanem–Bornu state. This was the empire’s earliest center and namesake.
Kanem–Bornu cavalry: Mounted forces used by Kanem–Bornu rulers in warfare and state expansion. Cavalry gave rulers mobility across the Sahel and surrounding plains.
Dunama Dabbalemi: A thirteenth-century mai of Kanem associated with expansion and the strengthening of royal authority. His reign marks Kanem’s power before prolonged dynastic conflict.
Ngazargamu: A major capital of Bornu established by Mai Ali Gaji in the fifteenth century. Its growth made Bornu a durable political and commercial center.
Duguwa dynasty: The ruling dynasty associated with early Kanem before the rise of the Sefuwa. Its rule precedes the dynasty that consolidated Kanem’s Islamic monarchy.
Trans-Saharan trade: The exchange of goods and people across the Sahara by caravan routes linking North and West Africa. Trade connected the empire’s rulers and merchants to North African markets.

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