Dunama V Ahmad

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Wikipedia

Dunama V Ahmad
Mai of the Kanem–Bornu Empire
Reign15th century (4 years)
c. 1445–1449[a]
PredecessorBiri IV
SuccessorMuhammad III
Diedc. 1449
"Aghakúwah"
SpouseZainab
IssueAli I Gaji
DynastySayfawa dynasty (Idrisid[b])
FatherBiri III Uthman

Ahmad Dunama (Aḥmad Dunama bin Biri[2]), enumerated as Dunama V,[c] was mai (ruler) of the Kanem–Bornu Empire in the mid-15th century, ruling approximately 1445–1449.[a] Dunama ruled during the "Era of Instability", a chaotic period of internal and external conflict in the empire.

Life

Dunama was a son of mai Biri III Uthman.[4] Before he became mai, Dunama was a rival claimant in dynastic conflicts against his predecessors.[6] Dunama defeated and killed mai Kade III[6] and became mai himself after the brief reign of mai Biri IV.[4]

Dunama ruled for four years.[a] The site of Dunama's death is recorded as Aghakúwah (or variations there of, such as Kowwa).[6][7] Dunama was succeeded as mai by Muhammad III.[2][4]

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 All king lists (girgams) and chronicles translated in the 19th–20th centuries (Barth, Palmer, Urvoy, Nachtigal, Landeroin) agree that Dunama ruled for four years.[4] Due to differing dates and calculations for other mais, various dates have been given for his reign, including 1451–1455 (Barth), 1444–1448 (Palmer), 1446–1450 (Urvoy), 1433–1437 (Nachtigal), and 1461–1465 (Landeroin).[4] Lange (1984) dated Dunama's reign to 1440–1444,[5] Stewart (1989) dated it to 1451–1455,[3] and Bosworth (2012) dated it to 1445–1449.[2]
  2. ↑ The 14th and 15th centuries saw protracted civil wars between the rival Idrisid (descendants of Idris I Nikalemi) and Dawudid (descendants of Dawud Nikalemi) branches of the Sayfawa dynasty.[1]
  3. ↑ Some chronologies of Kanem–Bornu rulers omit the 14th-century Dunama III, lowering the regnal numbers of later rulers of this name. This ruler is then considered Dunama IV.[3]

References

  1. ↑ Lange, Dierk (2012). "Ali Gajideni". Dictionary of African Biography. Oxford University Press. pp. 172–173. ISBN 978-0-19-538207-5.
  2. 1 2 3 Bosworth, Clifford Edmund (2012) [1996]. The New Islamic Dynasties: A Chronological and Genealogical Manual. Edinburgh University Press. pp. 126–127. ISBN 978-0-7486-2137-8.
  3. 1 2 Stewart, John (1989). African States and Rulers: An Encyclopedia of Native, Colonial and Independent States and Rulers Past and Present. McFarland & Company. p. 35.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Cohen, Ronald (1966). "The Bornu King Lists". Boston University Papers on Africa: Volume II: African History. Boston University Press. pp. 58, 63, 81.
  5. ↑ Lange, Dierk (1984). "The kingdoms and peoples of Chad". In Niane, Djibril Tamsir (ed.). General history of Africa, IV: Africa from the twelfth to the sixteenth century. University of California. p. 261. ISBN 978-92-3-101710-0.
  6. 1 2 3 Barth, Heinrich (1857). Travels and Discoveries in North and Central Africa: Being a Journal of an Expedition Undertaken under the Auspices of H.B.M.'s Government, in the Years 1849–1855. Longmans. p. 642.
  7. ↑ Palmer, H. R. (1926). History Of The First Twelve Years Of The Reign Of Mai Idris Alooma Of Bornu (1571–1583) (Fartua, Ahmed Ibn). p. 114.