Sayfawa dynasty


Sayfawa dynasty, Sefouwa, Sefawa, or Sefuwa dynasty is the name of the Muslim kings of the Kanem–Bornu Empire, centered first in Kanem in western Chad, and then, after 1380, in Borno.
The dynasty was rooted in the Tubu expansion by the Kanembu.
"The legendary eponymous ancestor of the Saifawa, as the Maghumi are called, only became in Muslim times Saif, the 'lion of Yaman.' The pre-Muslim dynasty is known as the Duguwa Dynasty.

Sayfawa-Humewa kings in Kanem

The chronology of the Sefuwa concerns the rule of the Sayfawa dynasty first over Kanem, then over Kanem-Bornu and finally, since c. 1380, over Bornu alone. The chronology of kings has been ascertained from dynastic records of the Sefuwa on the basis of lengths of reign for the successive kings, found in the Girgam. African historians presently use several conflicting chronologies for the history of Kanem-Bornu. Below a list of the main kings of the Empire with the conflicting chronologies is provided.
Name of the king Barth 1857Palmer 1936Urvoy 1941
Hume1086–10971086–10971085–1097
Dunama Dibbalemi1221–1259/601221–12591210–1224
Ali Gajideni1472–15041476–15031473–1507
Idris Katakarmabe1505–15261503–15261507–1529
Idris Alauma1572–16031570-1602/31580–1617