Dunama Lefiami was the ''Mai'' (sultan) of the Kanem-Bornu Empire, located in what is now

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

, Cameroon and Chad during the early nineteenth century.

Life

Dunama succeeded his father

Ahmad Ahmad ( ar, أحمد, ʾAḥmad) is an Arabic male given name common in most parts of the Muslim world. Other spellings of the name include Ahmed and Ahmet. Etymology The word derives from the root (ḥ-m-d), from the Arabic (), from the ve ...

, an old and blind Mai who abdicated after the

Fulani Jihad The Fulani War of 1804–1808, also known as the Fulani Jihad or Jihad of Usman dan Fodio, was a military conflict in present-day Nigeria and Cameroon. The war began when Usman Dan Fodiyo, a prominent Islamic scholar and teacher, was exiled ...

resulted in the capture of

Ngazargamu Ngazargamu, Birni Ngazargamu, Birnin Gazargamu, Gazargamo or N'gazargamu, was the capital of the Bornu Empire from ca. 1460 to 1809. Situated west of Lake Chad in the Yobe State of modern Nigeria, the remains of the former capital city are still v ...

. Mai Dunama enlisted the support of

Muhammad al-Amin al-Kanemi Shehu al-Hajj Muhammad al-Amîn ibn Muhammad al-Kânemî ( ar, محمد الأمين بن محمد الكانمي) (1776–1837) was an Islamic scholar, teacher, religious and political leader who advised and eventually supplanted the Sayfawa dy ...

, to counter the Fulani in word and battle. Dunama rewarded al-Kanemi with slaves and goods, after the defeat of Goni Mukhtar. In 1809, after Ngazarmu was again captured, the noblemen forced Dubama to abdicate, and Dunama's uncle Muhammad Ngileruma was made Mai. By 1813, the courtiers grew tired of Ngileruma, and reinstated Dunama as Mai. Mai Dunama was killed in battle when he led a revolt against al-Kanemi in 1819-20.Herbert Richmond Palmer, ''The Bornu Sahara and Sudan'' (London: John Murray, 1936), pp. 95,259-268. Dunama was succeeded by his son,

Ibrahim Ibrahim ( ar, إبراهيم, links=no ') is the Arabic name for Abraham, a Biblical patriarch and prophet in Islam. For the Islamic view of Ibrahim, see Abraham in Islam. Ibrahim may also refer to: * Ibrahim (name), a name (and list of people ...

References

Rulers of the Bornu Empire 19th-century monarchs in Africa Nigerian warriors Kanuri warriors Kanuri people Muslim monarchs African people of Arab descent Nigerian people of Arab descent African warriors {{Africa-royal-stub