- Sayfawa dynasty
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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.
Contents
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 See also
- Chronology of the Sayfawa (Kanem-Bornu)
- Kanem Empire
- List of Sunni Muslim dynasties
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.
Categories:- Muslim dynasties
- History of Islam
- History of Chad
- Bornu Empire
- Kanem Empire
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