Summary

The Kanem and Borno sultanates durably marked the history of central Sahel. From the 11th century to the end of the 19th century, the Islamic dynasties of the Sayfāwa, the Bulālah, and the Kanemi ruled over the shores of Lake Chad and actively participated in trans-Saharan and trans-Sahelian trade. There were also the site of a rich architectural and written Islamic culture. From the 11th to the 14th centuries, the Sayfāwa dynasty ruled over Kanem. They were the first rulers of this area to adopt Sunni Maliki Islam. In the 14th century, they migrated to Borno where they restored their authority, while the Bulālah dynasty replaced them in Kanem. From the 14th to the 18th centuries, the sultans of Borno developed intense diplomatic and commercial relations with the Mediterranean world, from Morocco to Mecca. In the 19th century, the Kanemi dynasty replaced the Sayfāwa in Borno after the rise of the Sokoto Caliphate in the west. The Kanemi ruled for a century, until 1897, at the eve of European colonization of the region.