Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It borders Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west. Due to its distance from the sea and its largely desert climate, the country is sometimes referred to as the "Dead Heart of Africa".
The Kanem–Bornu Empire existed in areas which are now part of Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon, Libya and Chad. It was known to the Arabian geographers as the Kanem Empire from the 8th century AD onward and lasted as the independent kingdom of Bornu until 1900.
Central Africa is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries according to different definitions. Middle Africa is an analogous term used by the United Nations in its geoscheme for Africa and consists of the following countries: Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Rwanda, and São Tomé and Príncipe. These eleven countries are members of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS). Six of those countries are also members of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC) and share a common currency, the Central African CFA franc.
The Kanuri people are an African ethnic group living largely in the lands of the former Kanem and Bornu Empires in Niger, Nigeria, Chad, and Cameroon. As well as a diaspora community residing in Sudan. Those generally termed Kanuri include several subgroups and dialect groups, some of whom identify as distinct from the Kanuri. Most trace their origins to ruling lineages of the medieval Kanem-Bornu Empire, and its client states or provinces. In contrast to the neighboring Toubou or Zaghawa pastoralists, Kanuri groups have traditionally been sedentary, engaging in farming, fishing the Chad Basin, trade, and salt processing.
Ngazargamu, Birni Ngazargamu, Birnin Gazargamu, Gazargamo or N'gazargamu, was the capital of the Bornu Empire from ca. 1460 to 1809. Situated 150 km (93 mi) west of Lake Chad in the Yobe State of modern Nigeria, the remains of the former capital city are still visible. The surrounding wall is 6.6 km (4.1 mi) long and in parts it is still up to 5 m (16 ft) high.
The Sultanate or Kingdom of Bagirmi or Baghermi was a kingdom and Islamic sultanate southeast of Lake Chad in central Africa. It was founded in either 1480 or 1522 and lasted until 1897, when it became a French protectorate. Its capital was Massenya, north of the Chari River and close to the border to modern Cameroon. The kings wore the title Mbang.
The Kanembu are an ethnic group of Chad, generally considered the modern descendants of the Kanem-Bornu Empire. The Kanembu are estimated to number 1,815,270 people, located primarily in Chad's Lac Prefecture but also in Chari-Baguirmi and Kanem prefectures. They speak the Kanembu language, which the Kanuri language is closely related to, with many speaking Arabic and sometimes nowadays French as a second language.
The Wadai Sultanate, sometimes referred to as the Maba Sultanate, was an African sultanate located to the east of Lake Chad in present-day Chad and the Central African Republic. It emerged in the seventeenth century under the leadership of the first sultan, Abd al-Karim, who overthrew the ruling Tunjur people of the area. It occupied land previously held by the Sultanate of Darfur to the northeast of the Sultanate of Baguirmi.
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.
al-Haj Idris Alooma was Mai (ruler) of the Bornu empire, covering parts of Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Nigeria. His achievements are primarily chronicled by Ahmad bin Fartuwa, his chief Imam. His reign marked the end of the Kanem civil wars within the state, reuniting N'jimi, the former capital, under Sayfawa control. Furthermore, he introduced significant legal reforms based on Islamic law, establishing qadi courts that operated independently from the executive branch. He is credited with leading the empire to what is often regarded as its zenith during the late 16th-century and early 17th-century.
The Lisi people are three closely associated Chadian ethnic groups living in the same geographical area, represented by the Batha and Chari-Baguirmi prefectures: the Bilala (136,000), the Kuka (76,000) and the Medogo (19,000).
The Buduma are an ethnic group of Chad, Cameroon, and Nigeria who inhabit many of the islands of Lake Chad. They are predominantly fishers and cattle-herders. In the past, the Buduma carried out violent raids on the cattle herds of their neighbors. They were feared villains with aggressive reputations; thus, they were respected and left alone for many years, protected by their own habitat of water and reeds.
Ahmad bin Furtu or Ibn Furtu was the sixteenth century grand Imam of the Bornu Empire and the chronicler of Mai Idris Alooma (1564–1596).
Omar Ibn Idris, or Umar Idrismi, Idris Dunama III, was the ruler of the Kanem Empire from 1372 to 1380. He moved the capital from Njimi, Kanem to Kaga, located on the western edge of Lake Chad in present day Borno State, Nigeria.
Ali Gaji was the Mai (ruler) of Bornu Empire from 1472 or 1476 until 1503 or 1507. He is regarded as one of the "greatest rulers" of the empire and is attributed with ushering in the second era of Kanem-Bornu, following a century-long civil war that had divided the realm. He implemented reforms and put an end to internal conflicts that had plagued the empire and waged several successful wars with his neighbours. Additionally, he founded Birnin N'gazargamu, a capital city that remained the seat of the empire for over three centuries. During his reign, Bornu regained its prestige and was noted for its participation in the trans-Saharan trade, as noted by the Arab traveler Leo Africanus.
The Ngizim people live in Yobe State, northeastern Nigeria. As of 1993, there were an estimated 80,000 Ngizim. The tribe lives primarily in Potiskum, the largest city in Yobe State and originally a Ngizim town, as well as the areas to the east and south of the city. Ngizim populations once inhabited parts of Borno and Jigawa states, but have since lost their cultural identity after being assimilated into other ethnic groups. The Ngizim speak a Chadic language also called Ngizim.
Shehu al-Hajj Muhammad al-Amîn ibn Muhammad al-Kânemî (1776–1837) 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 eight hundred year rule. The current Shehu of Bornu, a traditional ruler whose seat remains in modern Borno State, Nigeria, is descended from Al-Kanemi.
The Chad Basin is the largest endorheic basin in Africa, centered approximately on Lake Chad. It has no outlet to the sea and contains large areas of semi-arid desert and savanna. The drainage basin is approximately coterminous with the sedimentary basin of the same name, but extends further to the northeast and east.
The medieval and early modern history of Africa spans from the medieval and early modern period until the colonial period in the history of Africa.
