Ibrahim II of Bornu

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Wikipedia

Ibrahim II
Mai of the Kanem–Bornu Empire
Reign15th century (7–8 years)
c. 1433–1440[a]
PredecessorAbdullah III Dakumuni
SuccessorKade III
Diedc. 1440
Zamtam, Bornu
DynastySayfawa dynasty (Dawudid[b])
FatherUthman III Kalinumuwa (?)

Ibrahim II (Ibrāhīm bin ʿUthmān[2]) was mai (ruler) of the Kanem–Bornu Empire in the early-to-mid 15th century, ruling approximately 1440–1444.[a] Ibrahim ruled during the "Era of Instability", a chaotic period of internal and external conflict in the empire.

Life

Ibrahim was the son of a mai named Uthman,[3] probably Uthman III Kalinumuwa.[4] The chronology of Ibrahim's reign is confused in the sources.[6] The girgam and diwan (later Kanem–Bornu sources) attribute Ibrahim a reign of seven or eight years and designates him as the successor of mai Abdullah III Dakumuni and the predecessor of Kade III.[2][3][6] Kade's father was also named Uthman[3] and he may thus have been Ibrahim's brother.[4]

An account of the reigns of different mais translated by the German explorer Heinrich Barth in the mid-19th century records that Ibrahim was placed on the throne by the kaigama (chief general) Abdullah Dighelma, who had been engaged in a civil war against Abdullah III Dakumuni. Upon Ibrahim's death, Dighelma is said to have made Abdullah III Dakumuni mai again.[6] Barth also contradictorily records that Ibrahim was murdered by Kade III, who then seized the throne.[6] Regardless of the chronology, Ibrahim is said to have been an unpopular ruler, who did not keep a regular court and rarely, if at all, showed himself to the public, inspiring discontent among the people.[6] He is said to not have "covered the land in his majesty" and to have "listened to hearsay".[7]

Ibrahim ruled for seven or eight years.[a] Ibrahim died at Zamtam in Bornu, north of modern-day Gamboru.[6][7]

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 Different king lists (girgams) and chronicles translated in the 19th–20th centuries assign Ibrahim a reign of 7 years (Palmer) or 8 years (Barth, Urvoy). He is omitted in the lists of Landeroin and Nachtigal.[3] As a result of this, and due to different calculations for other mais, various dates have been given for his reign, including 1442–1450 (Barth), 1436–1443 (Palmer), and 1432–1440 (Urvoy).[3] Cohen (1966) considered a reign of 8 years most likely.[3] Later authors have also proposed different dates. Lange (1984) and Stewart (1989) both assigned Ibrahim a 8-year reign, dated to 1431–1439[4] and 1442–1450,[5] respectively. Bosworth (2012) assigned Ibrahim a 7-year reign, dated to 1433–1440.[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]

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 0-7486-2137-7.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Cohen, Ronald (1966). "The Bornu King Lists". Boston University Papers on Africa: Volume II: African History. Boston University Press. pp. 58, 63, 81.
  4. 1 2 3 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.
  5. ↑ Stewart, John (1989). African States and Rulers: An Encyclopedia of Native, Colonial and Independent States and Rulers Past and Present. McFarland & Company. p. 35.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 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. 1 2 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.