The Chronology of the Sefuwa (Kanem-Bornu) concerns the rule of the Sefuwa

Sayfawa dynasty

Sayfawa dynasty or more properly Sefuwa dynasty is the name of the kings of the Kanem-Bornu Empire, centered first in Kanem in western Chad, and then, after 1380, in Borno ....

 dynasty first over Kanem

Kanem Empire

The Kanem Empire was located in the present countries of Chad, Nigeria and Libya. At its height it encompassed an area covering not only much of Chad, but also parts of southern Libya , eastern Niger and north-eastern Nigeria...

, then over Kanem-Bornu and finally, since c. 1380, over Bornu

Bornu Empire

The Bornu Empire was an African state of Nigeria from 1396 to 1893. It was a continuation of the great Kanem Empire founded centuries earlier by the Sayfawa Dynasty...

 alone. African historians presently use several conflicting chronologies for the history of Kanem-Bornu. Below the general principals for such a chronology are established and a list of the main kings of the Empire with the conflicting chronologies is provided.

Dating the kings of Kanem-Bornu

The Chronology of the Sefuwa kings of Kanem-Bornu

Kanem

Kanem may refer to:* Kanem Empire* Kanem Prefecture* Kanem Region* Kanem Department...

 has been delt with on the basis of the lengths of reign provided by the dynastic records of the Sefuwa for the successive kings (mai) by three different authors (a fourth author published only the results of his chronological considerations). The variations between the five available chronologies result from the combination of the internal data and the external synchronisms. The differences between the proposed chronologies are mainly explained by the fact that the authors of the first studies did not take into account some synchronisms discovered later. With respect to the Sefuwa-Duguwa kings it should be noted that the first ten were ancient Near Eastern kings and that only the eleventh, Abd al-Jalil (1064–1068), ruled in Kanem.

Name of the king (mai)	Barth 1857 Heinrich Barth Heinrich Barth was a German explorer of Africa and scholar.Barth is one of the greatest of the European explorers of Africa, not necessarily because of the length of his travels or the time he spent alone without European company in Africa, but because of his singular character.-Biography:Barth...	Palmer 1936 Herbert Richmond Palmer Sir Herbert Richmond Palmer KCMG CBE was an English barrister, who became a colonial supervisor for Britain during the inter-World War period...	Urvoy 1941 Yves Urvoy Yves Urvoy was a French historian of former French colonial holdings in Africa. His works include:*Histoire des populations du Soudan central *Histoire de l'empire de Bornou... ,	Lange 1977	Lange 2004
(12) Hume Hummay Hummay was the founder and mai of the Sefuwa dynasty of the Kanem-Empire in the region of Lake Chad. He discarded the Sefuwa-Duguwa from power and ruled from 1068 to 1080. The dynasty founded by him was to survive until 1846. His rule had important consequences because of the spead of Islam...	1086–1097	1086–1097	1085–1097	1075–1086	1068–1080
(17) Dunama Dibbalemi Dunama Dabbalemi Dunama Dabbalemi, of the Sayfawa dynasty, was the mai of the Kanem Empire, in present-day Chad, from 1203 to 1243.A fervent Muslim, Dabbalemi initiated diplomatic exchanges with sultans in North Africa and apparently arranged for the establishment of a special hostel in Cairo to facilitate...	1221–1259	1221–1259	1210–1224	1210–1248	1203–1242
(48) Ali Gajideni Ali Gazi Ali Gazi was a ruler of the Bornu Empire. Prior to his reign, the Sefuwa ruling house had split into two ruling branches. The result was palace intrigues and internal strife...	1472–1504	1476–1503	1473–1507	1465–1497	1455–1487
(49) Idris Katakarmabe	1504–1526	1503–1526	1507–1529	1465–1497	1487–1509
(54) Idris Alauma Idris Alooma Idris Alooma was mai of the Kanem-Bornu Empire, located mainly in Chad and Nigeria. His name is more properly written Idris Alawma or Idris Alauma. An outstanding statesman, under his rule Kanem-Bornu touched the zenith of its power.Idris is remembered for his military skills, administrative...	1571–1603	1570-1602/3	1580–1616	1564–1596	1564–1596

External links

• Chronology, ed. 1911; see also Encyclopædia Britannica, 4th ed., Chicago 1980, vol. 4, 572-582.
• Regnal Chronologies