Duguwa dynasty
The Duguwa dynasty is the line of kings (mai) of the Kanem Empire prior to the rise of the Islamic Seyfawa dynasty in 1068. According to the Girgam, the Duguwa kings were the kings of Kanem whose dynastic name is derived from Duku, the third king of the Duguwa. Comparisons with accounts from Arab geographers show that the Duguwa were the kings of the ruling class called Zaghawa. Up to recently historians believed that the Duguwa kings mentioned in the Girgam ruled in Kanem just before the first Muslim kings.[1] From more extensive research it results however, that all the Duguwa kings except one were ancient Near Eastern rulers. Their names and titles bear witness of the founding of Kanem by refugees from the Assyrian Empire c. 600 BCE.[2]
Table of Duguwa kings
| Name of the king | Earlier dating [3] | Historical name and dating [4] | Historical identity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sef | c. 700 | Sargon of Akkad (2334-2279) | Founder of the Akkadian Empire |
| Ibrahim | c. 740 | Abraham | Legendary Israelite patriarch |
| Dugu | c. 785 | Hammurabi (1792-1750) | Founder of the Amorite Empire |
| Fune | c. 835 | Pûl/Tiglath-pileser III (744-727) | Founder of Neo-Assyrian Empire |
| Arsu | c. 893 | Rusâ/Ursâ I (730-713) | 6th Urartian king |
| Katur | c. 942 | Kuter-Nahhunte (1730-1700) | 22nd Elamite king |
| Buyuma | c. 961 | Bunuma-Addu (c. 1770) | 1st king of Nihrija/Nairi |
| Bulu | c. 1019 | Nabopolassar (626-605) | 1st Neo-Babylonian king |
| Arku | c. 1035 | Assur-uballit II (612-609) | Last king of Assyria |
| Shu | c. 1077 | Sammuramat (810-807) | Regent during the infancy of Adad-nirari III (810-783) |
| Unknown | ? | ? | |
| Kak.r.ah | . | . | Local king c. 970 CE |
| Unknown | ? | ? | |
| Abd al-Djalil/Selma | c. 1081 | First Duguwa king (1064-1068) | First Muslim ruler of Kanem |
References
- ^ Smith: Early states, 167.
- ^ Lange: Founding of Kanem, 13-18.
- ^ Urvoy, Empire, 26.
- ^ Lange: Founding of Kanem, 13-16.
Literature
- Dierk Lange: The founding of Kanem by Assyrian Refugees ca. 600 BCE: Documentary, Linguistic, and Archaeological Evidence, Boston, Working Papers in African Studies N° 265, 2011.
- Abdullahi Smith: The early states of the Central Sudan, in: J. Ajayi and M. Crowder (ed.), History of West Africa, vol. I, 1st ed., London, 1971, 158-183.
- Yves Urvoy: L'empire du Bornou, Paris 1949.