Muhammad al-Amin al-Kanemi

Shehu Muhammad al-Amin al-Kanemi
"Alameen Ben Mohammed El Kanemy" by engraver Edward Francis Finden in Dixon Denham's memoir of his travel to Bornu, Narrative of travels and discoveries in Northern and Central Africa, in the years 1822, 1823, and 1824. Vol I Fontpiece, (1826)
Shehu of Bornu
In office 1809 – 8 June 1837
Monarchs	Dunama IX Lefiami Muhammad Dunama IX Lefiami (restored) Ibrahim IV
Preceded by	position established
Succeeded by	Umar I ibn Muhammad al-Amin
Personal details
Born	Muhammad bin Muhammad Ninka 1776 Murzuk
Died	June 8, 1837(1837-06-08) (aged 60–61) Kukawa
Resting place	Kukawa, Borno State, Nigeria
Children	Salih Umar I Abd ar-Rahman
Nickname	Shehu Laminu

Shehu Muhammad al-Amîn al-Kanemi (Arabic: محمد الأمين بن محمد الكانمي, romanized: Muḥammad al-Amīn bin Muḥammad al-Kanamī; 1776 – 8 June 1837) was an Islamic scholar, teacher, religious and political leader who advised and eventually supplanted the Sayfawa dynasty of the Kanem–Bornu Empire. In 1846, al-Kanemi's son Umar I ibn Muhammad al-Amin became the sole ruler of Borno, an event which marked the end of the Sayfawa dynasty's 800 year rule. The current Shehu of Bornu, a traditional ruler whose seat remains in modern Borno State, Nigeria, is descended from al-Kanemi.

Early life and career

al-Kanemi was born in Murzuk in 1776. His father, Muhammad Ninka, was a well-known local Kanembu mallam ('Islamic teacher') from Fahi, a village near Mao in the Kanem Province of the Kanem-Bornu Empire. His mother was the daughter of a wealthy Arab trader from Fun. He spent much of his early years in Murzuk, where he was taught the Qur'an. To further his studies, he travelled to other places, including Tripoli, to study under various scholars.

In the 1790s, al-Kanemi accompanied his father on a pilgrimage to Mecca. His father died in Medina during this pilgrimage. He stayed in the Middle East for about a decade, furthering his religious studies. On his way back to Murzuk and Kanem, he stayed in Ngala with his first wife, Yamba, and their son, Salih. Later, he was joined by two Shuwa Arab mallams, Muhammad Tirab of Baghirmi and Ibrahim Wadaima of Wadai, whom he had met during his travels. In Ngala, he quickly amassed a large number of students and further increased his influence by marrying a daughter of the Mai (ruler) of Ngala.

Sokoto jihad in Bornu

Main article: Jihad of Usman dan Fodio § In Kanem-Bornu

Outbreak of hostilities

While al-Kanemi was still in Ngala, he heard of the Sokoto jihad, which was launched in 1804 in Hausaland and reached Bornu by 1805. The movement was led by Shehu Usman dan Fodio, a Fulani preacher and scholar who aimed to reform Islam in Hausaland. A year after Usman's call to jihad, several local Fulani leaders in Bornu received flags from Sokoto and launched the jihad in the western and southern parts of Bornu.

The Mai of Bornu, Ahmad ibn Ali, dispatched several expeditions under the command of the Kaigama to confront the southern Fulani, but his forces were defeated. Recognizing the severity of the situation, the Mai sent a letter to Shehu Usman, questioning the justification for the uprisings in his territory, arguing that his people were already Muslims. Sokoto responded by claiming no prior knowledge of the jihad in Bornu and ordered the Bornu Fulani to cease hostilities. Additionally, the Mai was invited to join the jihad. The letter, written by Muhammad Bello, Usman's son, reached Mai Ahmad as he was preparing to attack the western Fulani. The Mai found Sokoto's proposals completely unacceptable, viewing the Bornu Fulani as rebels against his authority who were actively waging war against his people and himself.

Despite initial victories against the Fulani, the Mai's army eventually suffered a devastating defeat, resulting in the deaths of several important Bornu leaders, including the Galadima. With support from Sokoto, the Bornu Fulani began advancing further into Bornu territory. In 1808, Birni Gazargamu, the capital of Kanem-Bornu, was captured by the Fulani, forcing Mai Ahmad to flee. Due to his old age and blindness, the Mai abdicated in favour of his son, Dunama, hoping he would be able to quell the rebellion and reclaim the capital.

Ngala was later attacked by a local Fulani leader, Muhammad Wabi, with the support of Goni Mukhtar, a key leader in the jihad in Bornu. al-Kanemi, leading a small group of students, mallams, and a few Kanembu and Shuwa Arab mercenaries, successfully defended Ngala and defeated Wabi's forces. This minor victory brought him some recognition in the region. Upon hearing of al-Kanemi's success, Mai Dunama called upon him to assist in the effort to recapture Birni Gazargamu.

Liberation of Birni Gazargamu

Many accounts of al-Kanemi’s involvement in the liberation of Birni have been embellished with legend and myth. However, it is clear that he focused more on spiritual rather than military means to secure the victory. Traditional stories suggest that al-Kanemi isolated himself in prayer for several days, after which he created a religious charm by inscribing Arabic formulas on a small calabash. He then instructed the Mai to smash the calabash on the ground just before his army engaged the Fulani forces. Dunama followed the instructions, and Birni Gazargamu was recaptured. After suffering heavy casualties, including the death of Goni Mukhtar, the Fulani fled the area.

Map of the Sokoto Caliphate in 1870 and surrounding states, including Bornu

Although the Mai held a military advantage over the Fulani, al-Kanemi's contribution to this victory was clear. According to Dr. Heinrich Barth, a German explorer who visited Bornu in the 1850s, "the inspiring fanaticism of [al-Kanemi], and by the courage and valour of his Kanembu spearmen" led to the victory at Birni Gazargamu.

Ideological defense against the jihad

al-Kanemi waged his war against Sokoto not only with weapons but also with letters as he desired to thwart dan Fodio's jihad with the same ideological weapons. He carried on a series of theological, legal and political debates by letter with Usman dan Fodio, and later with his son and successor, Muhammed Bello, Caliph of Sokoto. As the expansion of Sokoto was predicated upon a struggle against paganism, apostasy and misrule, al-Kanemi challenged the right of his neighbours to strike at a state which had been Muslim for at least 800 years. These debates, often on the nature of jihad and Muslim rule, remained as points of contention in modern Nigeria.

Rise to fame

After the battle, al-Kanemi’s reputation in Bornu grew rapidly, and his fame spread throughout the kingdom. In gratitude, Mai Dunama gifted him money, cattle, and slaves. After receiving these gifts, al-Kanemi returned to Ngala to continue his religious studies. However, in 1809, a Fulani force led by Ibrahim Zaki advanced from Katagum to Gazargamu, forcing the Mai to flee his capital once again. He summoned al-Kanemi, and together they marched against Ibrahim Zaki, only to discover that he had already abandoned the capital and returned to Katagum. Shortly after their arrival, Muhammad Manga, son and successor of Goni Mukhtar, launched attacks on the region around Birni Gazargamu and Alau. al-Kanemi led a force against Manga, chasing him beyond Damaturu.

Mai Dunama increasingly relied on al-Kanemi’s military expertise, significantly boosting al-Kanemi’s influence in Bornu. In 1809, he requested a fief around Ngurno, a Kanembu area, which was granted by the Mai. al-Kanemi moved there with a large retinue of Shuwa Arabs and Kanembu followers. Mai Dunama decided not to return to Birni Gazaragamu as he considered the area to exposed to the Fulani. Instead, he moved to the eastern provinces of Bornu, never settling in one place for more than a few months. This constant movement, coupled with his inability to effectively end the Fulani hostilities, made him unpopular among his courtiers. His growing friendship with al-Kanemi further damaged his standing with the titled courtiers, eventually leading to a palace revolt in which Dunama was deposed and replaced by his uncle, Muhammad Ngileruma.

Shehu of Bornu

Official seal of al-Kanemi

When al-Kanemi rose to power after the Fulani jihad, he did not totally reorganise the Sayfawa kingdom: he only tried to insert his men in the existing framework of the Sayfawa territorial fiefs, the chima chidibe. Cohen argued that the main political organisation of nineteenth century Borno was based on personal relationships and that al-Kanemi took part in a patron-client relationship. The rule of al-Kanemi's and his successors were marked by the production of a remarkable written administrative and diplomatic production. More than a hundred diplomatic letters are preserved between 1823 and 1918. They all bear validation marks that show a strong visual identity and the work of an established administration.

Several men supported al-Kanemi's rise to power in Bornu; they include his childhood friend al-Hajj Sudani, a Toubou trader and family friend al-Hajj Malia, his eldest brother-in-law from his wife's family who led the Kanembu Kuburi in Kanem as Shettima Kuburi, and three Shuwa Arabs: Mallam Muhammad Tirab of Baghirimi, Mallam Ibrahim Wadaima of Wadai, and Mallam Ahmed Gonomi.

The 1823 reception of Denham and Clapperton to Mai Ibrahim at Birnin Kafela

It is not clear as to what extent al-Kanemi was dominating the whole territory of Borno after the Fulani jihad, he might have been at the head of a personal principality or might have overthrowned the power of the mai. This process which may have been longer than Brenner suggested is not very well documented. Oral history and European explorers' narratives show al-Kanemi's rise to power. In this version of early nineteenth century history, al-Kanemi assumed power in the 1810s without any competition from Dunama IX Lefiami before 1820. al-Kanemi became more and more indispensable to the mai. Several of Dunama's coterie were believed to have been behind an attempt to kill the Shehu in 1820. At this date, Dunama and king Burgomanda of Baguirmi plotted to get rid of al-Kanemi. This failed foreign intervention and Dunama was replaced by Mai Ibrahim. al-Kanemi, while still the titular subject of the new mai, had his own seals struck as Shehu of all Bornu.

In 1814, al-Kanemi constructed the new city of Kukawa, which became the de facto capital of Borno, as al-Kanemi took the title Shehu.

About 1819–1820, Dunama rose up in revolt against al-Kanemi, and was subsequently killed in battle. al-Kanemi then made Dunama's brother, Ibrahim, the new mai. Then in the 1820s, al-Kanemi drove the Fulani out of Bornu, challenging the Sokoto Caliphate, and occupying the Deya-Damaturu area. This was followed by the occupation of the Kotoko kingdom city states of Kusseri, Ngulfai, and Logone, after defeating the Bagirmi in 1824.

Sayfawa mais remained titular monarchs after al-Kameni's death in 1837.

Tomb of Muhammad al-Amin al-Kanemi, Kukawa, Borno State, Nigeria

In 1846 the last mai, in league with the Ouaddai Empire, precipitated a civil war, resisted by al-Kanemi's son, Umar (1837–1881). It was at that point that Umar became sole ruler, thus ending one of the longest dynastic reigns in African history.

Appearance and image

al-Kanemi as seen by Dixon Denham

In February 1823, a British expedition led by Major Dixon Denham and Captain Hugh Clapperton arrived in Borno. They were introduced to al-Kanemi. In his travel narrative published in 1826, Dixon Denham described al-Kanemi:

Nature has bestowed on him all the qualifications for a great commander; an enterprising genius, sound judgment, features engaging, with a demeanour gentle and conciliating: and so little of vanity was there mixed with his ambition, that he refused the offer of being made sultan

— Dixon Denham

Bibliography

• Brenner, Louis, The Shehus of Kukawa: A History of the Al-Kanemi Dynasty of Bornu, Oxford Studies in African Affairs (Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1973).
• Cohen, Ronald, The Kanuri of Bornu, Case Studies in Cultural Anthropology (New York: Holt, 1967).
• Denham, Dixon and Captain Clapperton and the Late Doctor Oudney, Narrative of Travels and Discoveries in Northern and Central Africa, (Boston: Cummings, Hilliards and Co., 1826).
• Isichei, Elizabeth, A History of African Societies to 1870 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997), pp. 318–320, ISBN 0-521-45599-5.
• Lange, Dierk, 'The kingdoms and peoples of Chad', in General history of Africa, ed. by Djibril Tamsir Niane, IV (London: Unesco, Heinemann, 1984), pp. 238–265.
• Last, Murray, ‘Le Califat De Sokoto Et Borno', in Histoire Generale De l'Afrique, Rev. ed. (Paris: Presence Africaine, 1986), pp. 599–646.
• Lavers, John, "The Al- Kanimiyyin Shehus: a Working Chronology" in Berichte des Sonderforschungsbereichs, 268, Bd. 2, Frankfurt a. M. 1993: 179-186.
• Oliver, Roland & Anthony Atmore (2005). Africa Since 1800, Fifth Edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-83615-8.
• Palmer, Herbert Richmond, The Bornu Sahara and Sudan (London: John Murray, 1936).
• Taher, Mohamed (1997). Encyclopedic Survey of Islamic Dynasties A Continuing Series. New Delhi: Anmol Publications PVT. LTD. ISBN 81-261-0403-1.

External links

• Kanuri Studies Association