Muhammad I Kure

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Muhammad I Kure
Mai of the Kanem–Bornu Empire
Reign14th century (1–2 years)
c. 1328–1329[a]
PredecessorKure II Kura
SuccessorIdris I Nikalemi
Diedc. 1329
"Nánigham", "Nânigam Tagár'an", or "Galbewa"
DynastySayfawa dynasty
FatherAbdullah II Kademi
MotherKagala

Muhammad I (Muḥammad bin ʿAbdallāh[1]), also recorded as Kure[2] and Kure Muhammad,[3] was briefly mai (ruler) of the Kanem–Bornu Empire in the early 14th century, ruling approximately 1328–1329.[a]

Life

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Muhammad was a son of mai Abdullah II Kademi.[4] Muhammad's mother was named Kagala.[4] He succeeded his brother Kure II Kura as mai[4] in the early 14th century,[1] after Kure died in battle against the Sao of Bornu.[5][7] The Sao lived south of Lake Chad and had been greatly reduced, but not completely subjugated or wiped out, under earlier mais. The Sao rose up against the empire in the time of mai Selema III, another of Muhammad's brothers.[7] Before Muhammad's reign, the conflict with the Sao had claimed the lives of three of his brothers; Selema, Kure I Gana, and Kure II.[7]

After a short reign,[a] Muhammad suffered the same fate, killed by the Sao[5][7] at a site recorded as Nánigham,[7] Nânigam Tagár'an,[8] or Galbewa.[2] With Muhammad's death the sons of Abdullah II were extinguished and the throne passed to Idris I Nikalemi, son of Abdullah II's cousin Ibrahim I Nikale.[4][7]

Notes

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  1. ^ a b c King lists (girgams) and chronicles translated in the 19th–20th centuries assign Muhammad a reign of 1 year (Barth, Palmer) or 2 years (Urvoy). He is omitted in the lists of Nachtigal and Landeroin.[4] Due to this and to differing dates and calculations for other mais, various dates have been given for his reign, including 1352 (Barth), 1351–1352 (Palmer), and 1326–1328 (Urvoy).[4] Cohen (1966) considered a reign of one year most likely.[4] Lange (1984) dated Muhammad's reign to 1341–1342,[5] Stewart (1989) dated it to 1352–1353,[6] and Bosworth (2012) dated it to 1328–1329.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Bosworth, Clifford Edmund (2012) [1996]. The New Islamic Dynasties: A Chronological and Genealogical Manual. Edinburgh University Press. p. 126. ISBN 0-7486-2137-7.
  2. ^ a b Palmer, H. R. (1912). "The Bornu Girgam". Journal of the Royal African Society. 12 (45): 76–77. ISSN 0368-4016.
  3. ^ Palmer, H. R. (2019) [1928]. "LVI.–List of Mais of Bornu down to 1808 A.D. with Approximate Dates". Sudanese Memoirs: Template Subtitle. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-429-60370-9.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Cohen, Ronald (1966). "The Bornu King Lists". Boston University Papers on Africa: Volume II: African History. Boston University Press. pp. 52, 57, 62, 80.
  5. ^ a b c Lange, Dierk (1984). "The kingdoms and peoples of Chad". In Niane, Djibril Tamsir (ed.). General history of Africa, IV: Africa from the twelfth to the sixteenth century. University of California. pp. 261, 263. ISBN 978-92-3-101710-0.
  6. ^ Stewart, John (1989). African States and Rulers: An Encyclopedia of Native, Colonial and Independent States and Rulers Past and Present. McFarland & Company. p. 146.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Barth, Heinrich (1857). Travels and Discoveries in North and Central Africa: Being a Journal of an Expedition Undertaken under the Auspices of H.B.M.'s Government, in the Years 1849–1855. Longmans. p. 639.
  8. ^ Palmer, H. R. (1926). History Of The First Twelve Years Of The Reign Of Mai Idris Alooma Of Bornu (1571–1583) (Fartua, Ahmed Ibn). p. 112.