Muhammad V of Bornu

Muhammad V
Mai of the Kanem–Bornu Empire
Reign15th century (3–5 years)
c. 1467–1470[a]
PredecessorUmar II
SuccessorAli I Gaji
Diedc. 1470
Sahara
DynastySayfawa dynasty (Idrisid[b])
FatherMuhammad

Muhammad V[c] (Muḥammad bin Muḥammad[3]) was mai (ruler) of the Kanem–Bornu Empire in the mid-to-late 15th century, ruling approximately 1467–1470.[a] Muhammad ruled during the "Era of Instability", a chaotic period of internal and external conflict in the empire.

Life

Muhammad's father was also named Muhammad but it is not clear which Muhammad is meant in the sources. Cohen (1966) identified Muhammad's father as mai Muhammad IV.[4] Muhammad IV was a Dawudid (descendant of mai Dawud Nikalemi)[5] but the Dawudid branch of the imperial family had been defeated and driven from the empire by the Idrisid (descendant of mai Idris I Nikalemi) prince Ali Gaji some years prior.[1] Lange (1984) instead believed Muhammad V to have been a son of mai Muhammad III, who Lange interpreted as an Idrisid.[5]

Muhammad became mai in the mid-15th century,[3] during a time when Ali Gaji acted as a kingmaker in the empire.[1] Before becoming mai, Muhammad had been engaged in civil conflict against his predecessor, Umar II, and gradually gained the upper hand over the course of about a year.[6] Muhammad probably killed Umar.[6] Muhammad was remembered as a powerful and courageous ruler,[6] and a "warlike monarch",[7] though few details of his reign are recorded.[6]

Muhammad ruled for three or five years[a] and was succeeded as mai by Ali Gaji.[3][4] The site of Muhammad's death is variously recorded as "Breda", "Bérbéra",[6] or the "country of the Berbers",[7] terms that refer to the Sahara.[7]

Notes

  1. ^ a b c Different king lists (girgams) and chronicles translated in the 19th–20th centuries variously give Muhammad a reign of zero years (Urvoy), three years (Nachtigal, Landeroin), or five years (Barth, Palmer).[4] As a result of this, and due to different calculations for other mais, various dates have been given for his reign, including 1467–1471 (Barth), 1467–1472 (Palmer), 1369–1372 (Landeroin), and 1399–1402 (Nachtigal).[4] The placement of Muhammad V in the sequence of rulers differs considerably from the others in Landeroin and Nachtigal's lists.[4] Cohen (1966) considered a reign of five years to be most likely.[4] Lange (1984) dated Muhammad's reign to 1460–1465,[5] Stewart (1989) dated it to 1467–1472,[2] and Bosworth (2012) dated it to 1467–1472.[3]
  2. ^ The 14th and 15th centuries saw protracted civil wars between the rival Idrisid (descendants of Idris I Nikalemi) and Dawudid (descendants of Dawud Nikalemi) branches of the Sayfawa dynasty.[1]
  3. ^ Some chronologies of Kanem–Bornu rulers omit the 14th-century Muhammad II Manza, lowering the regnal numbers of later rulers of this name. This ruler is then considered Muhammad IV.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c Lange, Dierk (2012). "Ali Gajideni". Dictionary of African Biography. Oxford University Press. pp. 172–173. ISBN 978-0-19-538207-5.
  2. ^ a b Stewart, John (1989). African States and Rulers: An Encyclopedia of Native, Colonial and Independent States and Rulers Past and Present. McFarland & Company. p. 35.
  3. ^ a b c d Bosworth, Clifford Edmund (2012) [1996]. The New Islamic Dynasties: A Chronological and Genealogical Manual. Edinburgh University Press. pp. 126–127. ISBN 978-0-7486-2137-8.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Cohen, Ronald (1966). "The Bornu King Lists". Boston University Papers on Africa: Volume II: African History. Boston University Press. pp. 59, 64, 81.
  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. p. 261. ISBN 978-92-3-101710-0.
  6. ^ a b c d e 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. 643.
  7. ^ a b c 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. 115.
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