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Author Topic: Black African Royalty: Mai Idris Alooma - Kanem-Bornu Empire
King_Scorpion
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Ask most folk, Black or White, if they've ever heard of the Kanem-Bornu Empire that existed in West Africa and Central Africa from the 9th century A.D. to the 19th century A.D. (so roughly from around 800AD-1800AD). This empire had periods of success and failure and there's still not a ton known about it. One of its greatest known leaders was Mai Idris Alooma who ruled from 1564-1596 (Mai means King). He was a most successful politician of the period who gained considerable international prestige. Mahmud Kati, the great Songhai historian, wrote that: "The mass of our contemporaries hold that there are four Sultans not counting the supreme Sultan [the Sultan of Constantinople] to wit - The Sultan of Baghdad, the Sultan of Cairo, the Sultan of Bornu [sic] and the Sultan of Melli [i.e. Mali]". Dr Heinrich Barth, the nineteenth century German traveller, described Idris as "an excellent prince, uniting in himself the most opposite qualities: warlike energy, combined with mildness and intelligence; courage, with circumspection and patience; severity with pious feelings".

His military prowess was outstanding with armies, possibly the first in Africa, to have muskets. Acquiring them from the Turkish Empire, "[n]orth, south, east, and west he carried his conquering arms", says Lady Lugard. "To give a list of the many [peoples] that he subdued could only weary the reader". Imam Ahmad, the royal chronicler and aide, wrote a detailed account of Idris' campaigns. Part of his first hand report reads as follows: "'Abd ul Jalil ibn Bi fled and escaped, fearing our army. He had left his wife, the daughter of Yarima, in his house, turning from her when he saw the dust of our army, rising to the skies. For he was certain that the safety of a man himself is better for him than the safety of his wife. So he fled, deserting his wife, since personal necessity is more compelling than the lack of a wife, as the author of the book Ifrikiya has said."

Idris reformed and standardised the judiciary by establishing a system of Islamic courts. He himself ruled according to Islamic political theory, taking a stand against, among other things, immorality in the capital. Oliver and Atmore wrote that: "[H]e presided over a court famous for the high standard of its legal and theological disputations". Like his Songhai contemporaries, he was a patron of learning, encouraging scholars from many other African countries to take up residence in Borno. He improved navigation on the Yobe River. He commissioned the building of longer, flat-bottomed boats initially for his navy. For land transportation, he imported a much greater number of camels replacing the dependence on mules, oxen and donkeys. The great Mai was also a builder, raising new brick mosques in the cities that replaced the older buildings. He also founded a hostel in Mecca for Borno pilgrims. Following the fall of Songhai in 1591, the great Mai became the undisputed champion of the Muslims in the region. The empire became the Borno Caliphate. Phillip Koslow, a modern historian, declared that: "His contemporary, Elizabeth I of England, a shrewd and strong-willed monarch who gave her name to an age and has been repeatedly celebrated in books and films, could hardly have claimed greater achievements in war, administration or diplomacy."


What's interesting about this above is how it is mentioned there are 4 Sultans of the Islamic world during that time period (outside of the Supreme Sultan...the Sultan of Sultans). Baghdad and Cairo being on that list is to be expected. But Mahmud Kati, the Songhai historian, also mentions the sultans of Mali and Bornu. This is major, but often looked over by those who take the time to study African history. It would mean Black Africans had equal power and authority in the Muslim world than what is typically acknowledged. Many people like to bring up the fact that Muslims...just like Europeans also bought slaves. And that the trans-Saharan slave trade was often just as brutal as the trans-Atlantic slave trade. While, this may be true...it's not close to being the entire story. To study African history is to accept that powerful African kingdoms and city-states during the Early Modern Era (Renassiance Period in Europe) like Great Benin, Dahomy, Kanem-Bornu, Kongo all sold slaves to both Muslims and Europeans. This was a very profitable, but highly destructive business and further research may show that had these African nations not depleted their own lands of vital members...they may not have gone into decline and would have progressed along with the Europeans.

All of the information in this thread comes from a highly underrated book called When We Ruled by Robin Walker. It's almost 700 pages long and filled with priceless information you won't find anywhere on the internet. It touches on every region and every nation.

By the 17th century (now that Songhai had fallen), Kanem-Bornu was the leading Islamic presence in Black Africa...it was now a Caliphate that represented all of Africa. It's capital city was called Ngazargamu and was one of the largest cities on Earth (it may have been THE largest and if not definitely in the Top 3). By 1658 the metropolis, according to architectural scholar Susan Denyer, housed "about a quarter of a million people". It had 660 streets. Many were wide and unbending, reflective of town planning. The dendel, of high streets, were lined on both sides by trees that offered shade. These buildings must have been erected on an impressive scale. "Heinrich Barth, who inspected the remains of these walls during the 19th century declared that their worksmanship was equal in quality to the finest masonry he had seen in Europe."

It kinda makes me mad when I read from uneducated people that Great Zimbabwe is the only stone building in "Sub-Sarahan Africa." It's flat out false, there's just too much evidence that pre-colonial Africa was teeming with construction and development that would have even rivaled Europe.

Know your Black royalty, they once existed just like Europeans royals. They ruled over massive lands and commanded strong, central armies. Sadly, these kingdoms fell into decline and the scramble for Africa and colonialism in the 1700s and 1800s saw a lot of history destroyed, stolen, or lost. Almost all knowledge of these Black royals (who ruled in lands stretching from West Africa to East Africa) is gone. What we know is only bits and pieces of information. That's why it's important that African archeology is funded more.

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Brada-Anansi
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Good post Scorpion,yes we most definatly need to study more African civilization indepth instead of running after civilzations out side Africa be they of black origin or not. I read some where that the Kamem Bornu started out as two kingdoms Kanem and Bornu.

OK I did a quick wiki search just now.. this what they have.
Origins of Kanem

Origins
The empire of Kanem began forming around AD 700 under the nomadic Tebu-speaking Zaghawa. According to the Girgam, the Zaghawa were forced southwest towards the fertile lands around Lake Chad by political pressure and desiccation in their former range. The area already possessed independent, walled city-states belonging to the So culture. Under the leadership of the Duguwa dynasty, the Zaghawa would eventually dominate the So, but not before adopting many of their customs. War between the two continued up to the late 16th century.

One theory proposes that the lost state of Agisymba (mentioned by Ptolemy in the middle of the 2nd Century AD) was the antecedent of the Kanem Empire.
The Bornu origins
The Bornu Empire (1396-1893) was a medieval African state of Nigeria from 1389 to 1893. It was a continuation of the great Kanem Empire founded centuries earlier by the Sayfawa Dynasty. In time it would become even larger than Kanem incorporating areas that are today parts of Chad, Niger and Cameroon.

 -

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King_Scorpion
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quote:
Originally posted by Brada-Anansi:
Good post Scorpion,yes we most definatly need to study more African civilization indepth instead of running after civilzations out side Africa be they of black origin or not. I read some where that the Kamem Bornu started out as two kingdoms Kanem and Bornu.

OK I did a quick wiki search just now.. this what they have.
Origins of Kanem

Origins
The empire of Kanem began forming around AD 700 under the nomadic Tebu-speaking Zaghawa. According to the Girgam, the Zaghawa were forced southwest towards the fertile lands around Lake Chad by political pressure and desiccation in their former range. The area already possessed independent, walled city-states belonging to the So culture. Under the leadership of the Duguwa dynasty, the Zaghawa would eventually dominate the So, but not before adopting many of their customs. War between the two continued up to the late 16th century.

One theory proposes that the lost state of Agisymba (mentioned by Ptolemy in the middle of the 2nd Century AD) was the antecedent of the Kanem Empire.
The Bornu origins
The Bornu Empire (1396-1893) was a medieval African state of Nigeria from 1389 to 1893. It was a continuation of the great Kanem Empire founded centuries earlier by the Sayfawa Dynasty. In time it would become even larger than Kanem incorporating areas that are today parts of Chad, Niger and Cameroon.

 -

Yea. They were two separate empires at one point in time. Eventually I think it just became Bornu, but people still say both. They also fought each other too.
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Brada-Anansi
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Wiki Source;
quote:
One theory proposes that the lost state of Agisymba (mentioned by Ptolemy in the middle of the 2nd Century AD) was the antecedent of the Kanem Empire.
If this statement is true then expect that organized state-hood goes back to the centries B.C in that area and was known to Egypto-Greeks..just how even further back one can go needs new search.
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Explorador
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quote:


His military prowess was outstanding with armies, possibly the first in Africa, to have muskets. Acquiring them from the Turkish Empire, "[n]orth, south, east, and west he carried his conquering arms", says Lady Lugard.

I question that, predicated on the findings of the first tangible evidence of portable gun firepower in the Northeastern corner of Africa; are we to assume musket technology bypassed that region and appeared first in the Kanem-Bornu polity? Hope "Africa" is not used in any context here that tacitly precludes coastal northern African areas.


quote:


What's interesting about this above is how it is mentioned there are 4 Sultans of the Islamic world during that time period (outside of the Supreme Sultan...the Sultan of Sultans). Baghdad and Cairo being on that list is to be expected. But Mahmud Kati, the Songhai historian, also mentions the sultans of Mali and Bornu. This is major, but often looked over by those who take the time to study African history. It would mean Black Africans had equal power and authority in the Muslim world than what is typically acknowledged.

As observed here on occasions before.


quote:
Many people like to bring up the fact that Muslims...just like Europeans also bought slaves. And that the trans-Saharan slave trade was often just as brutal as the trans-Atlantic slave trade. While, this may be true...it's not close to being the entire story. To study African history is to accept that powerful African kingdoms and city-states during the Early Modern Era (Renassiance Period in Europe) like Great Benin, Dahomy, Kanem-Bornu, Kongo all sold slaves to both Muslims and Europeans. This was a very profitable, but highly destructive business and further research may show that had these African nations not depleted their own lands of vital members...they may not have gone into decline and would have progressed along with the Europeans.
While the institution of slavery cannot possibly have had any positive impact on the African regions involved, from what I can discern, the decline in west African empires was primarily ushered by inter-regional empire rivalry and conflicts, and the weakening of the former trans-Saharan trade relations between coastal northern African complexes and those on the Sahel and below. This would be exploited by emerging European international players like say, the Portuguese for example.

quote:

It kinda makes me mad when I read from uneducated people that Great Zimbabwe is the only stone building in "Sub-Sarahan Africa." It's flat out false,

No doubt. This sort of mentality had cropped up even on this site, and was correspondingly put to question.
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kenndo
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Great stuff,more folks need to learn more about these Great African Civilizations instead of tyler perry movies and shows and other foolishness.

We need more tv shows,movies, story books etc etc...
about early africa.
Keep up the good work.

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kenndo
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quote:
Originally posted by Brada-Anansi:
Good post Scorpion,yes we most definatly need to study more African civilization indepth instead of running after civilzations out side Africa be they of black origin or not.


 -

Good point.
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-Just Call Me Jari-
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What I notice is that European Historians will try touse slavery and the Slave Trade as a way to "Degrade" these Empires. While I do have a problem with the fact that some of these Empires sold slaves in large numbers, most of these Empires became what they were by advanced infrastructure and city planning, advanced armies etc. Black Slaves only became a comdity when Europeans such as the Ottoman Turks and the Catholics banned the sale of white slaves. European/Eurocentric historians don't like to mention the European slave market in Iberia and North Africa, in Egypt etc. They don't like talking about the Tin Isle and Nordic slaves in Rome and Southern Europe..

The idea that Great Zimbabwe is the only Stone building or Structure on so called "Black Africa" is laughable at best.

quote:
Originally posted by King_Scorpion:
Ask most folk, Black or White, if they've ever heard of the Kanem-Bornu Empire that existed in West Africa and Central Africa from the 9th century A.D. to the 19th century A.D. (so roughly from around 800AD-1800AD). This empire had periods of success and failure and there's still not a ton known about it. One of its greatest known leaders was Mai Idris Alooma who ruled from 1564-1596 (Mai means King). He was a most successful politician of the period who gained considerable international prestige. Mahmud Kati, the great Songhai historian, wrote that: "The mass of our contemporaries hold that there are four Sultans not counting the supreme Sultan [the Sultan of Constantinople] to wit - The Sultan of Baghdad, the Sultan of Cairo, the Sultan of Bornu [sic] and the Sultan of Melli [i.e. Mali]". Dr Heinrich Barth, the nineteenth century German traveller, described Idris as "an excellent prince, uniting in himself the most opposite qualities: warlike energy, combined with mildness and intelligence; courage, with circumspection and patience; severity with pious feelings".

His military prowess was outstanding with armies, possibly the first in Africa, to have muskets. Acquiring them from the Turkish Empire, "[n]orth, south, east, and west he carried his conquering arms", says Lady Lugard. "To give a list of the many [peoples] that he subdued could only weary the reader". Imam Ahmad, the royal chronicler and aide, wrote a detailed account of Idris' campaigns. Part of his first hand report reads as follows: "'Abd ul Jalil ibn Bi fled and escaped, fearing our army. He had left his wife, the daughter of Yarima, in his house, turning from her when he saw the dust of our army, rising to the skies. For he was certain that the safety of a man himself is better for him than the safety of his wife. So he fled, deserting his wife, since personal necessity is more compelling than the lack of a wife, as the author of the book Ifrikiya has said."

Idris reformed and standardised the judiciary by establishing a system of Islamic courts. He himself ruled according to Islamic political theory, taking a stand against, among other things, immorality in the capital. Oliver and Atmore wrote that: "[H]e presided over a court famous for the high standard of its legal and theological disputations". Like his Songhai contemporaries, he was a patron of learning, encouraging scholars from many other African countries to take up residence in Borno. He improved navigation on the Yobe River. He commissioned the building of longer, flat-bottomed boats initially for his navy. For land transportation, he imported a much greater number of camels replacing the dependence on mules, oxen and donkeys. The great Mai was also a builder, raising new brick mosques in the cities that replaced the older buildings. He also founded a hostel in Mecca for Borno pilgrims. Following the fall of Songhai in 1591, the great Mai became the undisputed champion of the Muslims in the region. The empire became the Borno Caliphate. Phillip Koslow, a modern historian, declared that: "His contemporary, Elizabeth I of England, a shrewd and strong-willed monarch who gave her name to an age and has been repeatedly celebrated in books and films, could hardly have claimed greater achievements in war, administration or diplomacy."


What's interesting about this above is how it is mentioned there are 4 Sultans of the Islamic world during that time period (outside of the Supreme Sultan...the Sultan of Sultans). Baghdad and Cairo being on that list is to be expected. But Mahmud Kati, the Songhai historian, also mentions the sultans of Mali and Bornu. This is major, but often looked over by those who take the time to study African history. It would mean Black Africans had equal power and authority in the Muslim world than what is typically acknowledged. Many people like to bring up the fact that Muslims...just like Europeans also bought slaves. And that the trans-Saharan slave trade was often just as brutal as the trans-Atlantic slave trade. While, this may be true...it's not close to being the entire story. To study African history is to accept that powerful African kingdoms and city-states during the Early Modern Era (Renassiance Period in Europe) like Great Benin, Dahomy, Kanem-Bornu, Kongo all sold slaves to both Muslims and Europeans. This was a very profitable, but highly destructive business and further research may show that had these African nations not depleted their own lands of vital members...they may not have gone into decline and would have progressed along with the Europeans.

All of the information in this thread comes from a highly underrated book called When We Ruled by Robin Walker. It's almost 700 pages long and filled with priceless information you won't find anywhere on the internet. It touches on every region and every nation.

By the 17th century (now that Songhai had fallen), Kanem-Bornu was the leading Islamic presence in Black Africa...it was now a Caliphate that represented all of Africa. It's capital city was called Ngazargamu and was one of the largest cities on Earth (it may have been THE largest and if not definitely in the Top 3). By 1658 the metropolis, according to architectural scholar Susan Denyer, housed "about a quarter of a million people". It had 660 streets. Many were wide and unbending, reflective of town planning. The dendel, of high streets, were lined on both sides by trees that offered shade. These buildings must have been erected on an impressive scale. "Heinrich Barth, who inspected the remains of these walls during the 19th century declared that their worksmanship was equal in quality to the finest masonry he had seen in Europe."

It kinda makes me mad when I read from uneducated people that Great Zimbabwe is the only stone building in "Sub-Sarahan Africa." It's flat out false, there's just too much evidence that pre-colonial Africa was teeming with construction and development that would have even rivaled Europe.

Know your Black royalty, they once existed just like Europeans royals. They ruled over massive lands and commanded strong, central armies. Sadly, these kingdoms fell into decline and the scramble for Africa and colonialism in the 1700s and 1800s saw a lot of history destroyed, stolen, or lost. Almost all knowledge of these Black royals (who ruled in lands stretching from West Africa to East Africa) is gone. What we know is only bits and pieces of information. That's why it's important that African archeology is funded more.


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kenndo
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Ngazargamu

Gazargamo was the capital of the Bornu Empire from ca. 1460 to 1809. Situated 150 km west of Lake Chad in the Yobe State of modern Nigeria the impressive remains of the town(city) are still visible. The surrounding wall is 6.6 km long and in parts it is still up to 5 m. high. The town was built by Mai Ali Gaji (1455-1487) after the final defeat of the Dawudid branch of the Sefuwa ruling dynasty.

The city was then an important centre for trade and learning, at its height home to around 20,000 inhabitants.

In 1809, after several years of indecisive warfare, Gazargamo was besieged and destroyed by Malam Zaki, in the Fulani jihad.

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Selassie der könig
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quote:
Originally posted by King_Scorpion:
Ask most folk, Black or White, if they've ever heard of the Kanem-Bornu Empire that existed in West Africa and Central Africa from the 9th century A.D. to the 19th century A.D. (so roughly from around 800AD-1800AD). This empire had periods of success and failure and there's still not a ton known about it. One of its greatest known leaders was Mai Idris Alooma who ruled from 1564-1596 (Mai means King). He was a most successful politician of the period who gained considerable international prestige. Mahmud Kati, the great Songhai historian, wrote that: "The mass of our contemporaries hold that there are four Sultans not counting the supreme Sultan [the Sultan of Constantinople] to wit - The Sultan of Baghdad, the Sultan of Cairo, the Sultan of Bornu [sic] and the Sultan of Melli [i.e. Mali]". Dr Heinrich Barth, the nineteenth century German traveller, described Idris as "an excellent prince, uniting in himself the most opposite qualities: warlike energy, combined with mildness and intelligence; courage, with circumspection and patience; severity with pious feelings".

His military prowess was outstanding with armies, possibly the first in Africa, to have muskets. Acquiring them from the Turkish Empire, "[n]orth, south, east, and west he carried his conquering arms", says Lady Lugard. "To give a list of the many [peoples] that he subdued could only weary the reader". Imam Ahmad, the royal chronicler and aide, wrote a detailed account of Idris' campaigns. Part of his first hand report reads as follows: "'Abd ul Jalil ibn Bi fled and escaped, fearing our army. He had left his wife, the daughter of Yarima, in his house, turning from her when he saw the dust of our army, rising to the skies. For he was certain that the safety of a man himself is better for him than the safety of his wife. So he fled, deserting his wife, since personal necessity is more compelling than the lack of a wife, as the author of the book Ifrikiya has said."

Idris reformed and standardised the judiciary by establishing a system of Islamic courts. He himself ruled according to Islamic political theory, taking a stand against, among other things, immorality in the capital. Oliver and Atmore wrote that: "[H]e presided over a court famous for the high standard of its legal and theological disputations". Like his Songhai contemporaries, he was a patron of learning, encouraging scholars from many other African countries to take up residence in Borno. He improved navigation on the Yobe River. He commissioned the building of longer, flat-bottomed boats initially for his navy. For land transportation, he imported a much greater number of camels replacing the dependence on mules, oxen and donkeys. The great Mai was also a builder, raising new brick mosques in the cities that replaced the older buildings. He also founded a hostel in Mecca for Borno pilgrims. Following the fall of Songhai in 1591, the great Mai became the undisputed champion of the Muslims in the region. The empire became the Borno Caliphate. Phillip Koslow, a modern historian, declared that: "His contemporary, Elizabeth I of England, a shrewd and strong-willed monarch who gave her name to an age and has been repeatedly celebrated in books and films, could hardly have claimed greater achievements in war, administration or diplomacy."


What's interesting about this above is how it is mentioned there are 4 Sultans of the Islamic world during that time period (outside of the Supreme Sultan...the Sultan of Sultans). Baghdad and Cairo being on that list is to be expected. But Mahmud Kati, the Songhai historian, also mentions the sultans of Mali and Bornu. This is major, but often looked over by those who take the time to study African history. It would mean Black Africans had equal power and authority in the Muslim world than what is typically acknowledged. Many people like to bring up the fact that Muslims...just like Europeans also bought slaves. And that the trans-Saharan slave trade was often just as brutal as the trans-Atlantic slave trade. While, this may be true...it's not close to being the entire story. To study African history is to accept that powerful African kingdoms and city-states during the Early Modern Era (Renassiance Period in Europe) like Great Benin, Dahomy, Kanem-Bornu, Kongo all sold slaves to both Muslims and Europeans. This was a very profitable, but highly destructive business and further research may show that had these African nations not depleted their own lands of vital members...they may not have gone into decline and would have progressed along with the Europeans.

All of the information in this thread comes from a highly underrated book called When We Ruled by Robin Walker. It's almost 700 pages long and filled with priceless information you won't find anywhere on the internet. It touches on every region and every nation.

By the 17th century (now that Songhai had fallen), Kanem-Bornu was the leading Islamic presence in Black Africa...it was now a Caliphate that represented all of Africa. It's capital city was called Ngazargamu and was one of the largest cities on Earth (it may have been THE largest and if not definitely in the Top 3). By 1658 the metropolis, according to architectural scholar Susan Denyer, housed "about a quarter of a million people". It had 660 streets. Many were wide and unbending, reflective of town planning. The dendel, of high streets, were lined on both sides by trees that offered shade. These buildings must have been erected on an impressive scale. "Heinrich Barth, who inspected the remains of these walls during the 19th century declared that their worksmanship was equal in quality to the finest masonry he had seen in Europe."

It kinda makes me mad when I read from uneducated people that Great Zimbabwe is the only stone building in "Sub-Sarahan Africa." It's flat out false, there's just too much evidence that pre-colonial Africa was teeming with construction and development that would have even rivaled Europe.

Know your Black royalty, they once existed just like Europeans royals. They ruled over massive lands and commanded strong, central armies. Sadly, these kingdoms fell into decline and the scramble for Africa and colonialism in the 1700s and 1800s saw a lot of history destroyed, stolen, or lost. Almost all knowledge of these Black royals (who ruled in lands stretching from West Africa to East Africa) is gone. What we know is only bits and pieces of information. That's why it's important that African archeology is funded more.

Great info!
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Son of Ra
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Bump...I want to learn more about this empire. I can barely find ANYTHING on it on the internet.
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Son of Ra
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Bump...Don't forget this thread Ausar.
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Son of Ra
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Check this thread out PreColonialAfrica13, it may interest you.
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PreColonialAfrica13
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Fascinating, there is much work to be done to uncover this great empire. While it is true that the king of kanem-bornu had a legion of iron-helmeted musketeers trained by the Ottomans, I do not believe they were the first firearm using people in Africa. I believe the Ethiopians and Somal Adal sultanate both utilized portuguese and arab/ottoman muskets in the early 16th century, as well as Cannon. And let's not forget Morocco!

I found some cool pictures in a book called the horizon history of Africa, apparently the king addressed his court inside a golden cage? Was this for protection? He was carried around in it as well.

As for the capital, sources are conflicting, anywhere from 20,000 to half a million people lived in it? Sometimes it's referred to more as a "town" than a capital city. Whatever it is, it was certainly grand, Kanem-Bornu really needs to be given more credit, it survived into the 20th century.

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The wood town is just another word for city too.You know the town of Gao,Timbuktu,London,New York etc...

So sometimes cities are called towns,but of course Gao London,Timbuktu ETC... ARE really cities.

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Kanem-Bornu, along with Nubia (ancient, Christian and Islamic) are my two favorite African civilizations.

The Mai (ruler of Kanem-Bornu) was a semi-divine figure. According to the people's belief, he didn't eat or drink or sleep (or even go to the bathroom lol) because he was not a regular human being. He was always isolated and secluded from the common people because of his divine status. So whenever he allowed people to come see him at his palace, he stayed behind a cage and was heavily veiled so no one could see him. It was a great taboo for people to come close to him, that’s the reason for the cage.

People could only speak to him through intermediaries. And I remember reading that if any commoner happened to see him eat or drink he was put to death (I have to double check this).

This belief in a semi-divine ruler of course came into conflict with the Kanembu people’s adoption of Islam.

I see the semi-divine nature of the Kanem-Bornu mai as similar to Egyptian beliefs that the pharaoh was a god or son of the gods. I believe you can see some of the same traditional ideas in neighboring Sudan, amongst the Funj of Sennar Sultanate, before Islamization grew stronger.

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Firewall
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Edited-

quote:


The word town is just another word for city too.You know the town of Gao,Timbuktu,London,New York etc...


Kanem-Bornu in a really interesting civilization.
I would really like to see a movie about too or series or mini-series.
If anyone could do it first it will be the nigerians.

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PreColonialAfrica13
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Agreed, there is far too little information about it, I guess funding excavations and igniting interest in history is tricky, as Chad(heart of Kanem-Bornu) is a very underdeveloped and poor country.
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Djehuti
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Didn't the Kanem Bornu Empire exist in the Sahel and Sahara region of Chad and Niger? I know they were one of African empires that became wealthy through the trans-saharan trade.
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Son of Ra
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Yes and also Southern Libya and Northern Nigeria.
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Son of Ra
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 -
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When the sultan gives audience to strangers, he sits in a kind of cage, made of the bamboo, through the bars of which he looks on his visitors, who are not allowed to approach within seventy or eighty yards of his person.
Narrative of Travels and Discoveries in Northern and Central Africa
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Ish Geber
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^Nice nice nice...
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Son of Ra
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Thanks. [Smile]
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Amun-Ra The Ultimate
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It's tough to analyze situation like this when there's a play of power. On one hand, you got colonization and jihad. On the other hand, you got other people just trying to survive. Especially with the European slave trade and colonization. At one point, it becomes "If you can't beat them, join them" for certain people/past leaders. I don't think there's any people in the world who would accept to enslave their own people (aka their own ethnic group) without a conducting environment. An environment where other people got superior military/economic power. It's mostly about bringing one group of Africans (closer to Europeans colonizer, Jihadist) against other groups of Africans. Divide and rule so to say.

Even against the jihad/forced islamification. There's a lot of African population who resisted in different manner. Some completely rejected the islamification (some wodaabe groups for example), others integrated it along side their own local beliefs, or anything in between.

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Djehuti
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quote:
Originally posted by Son of Ra:

 -
quote:
When the sultan gives audience to strangers, he sits in a kind of cage, made of the bamboo, through the bars of which he looks on his visitors, who are not allowed to approach within seventy or eighty yards of his person.
Narrative of Travels and Discoveries in Northern and Central Africa
This custom is a remnant of the ancient belief in divine kingship present in countless African cultures. Even though many of these groups converted to Islam or Christianity (in the case of Ethiopia), the customs and traditions of divine kingship was so strong that even if the monarch was no longer officially recognized as a god he was still segregated and treated in special ways that other people would not. This meant not being too close to his presence, or having any physical contact, or not looking at him directly in the eyes etc.
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