Kanem Kingdom: Parts of the countries of Niger, Chad, Cameroons, and Nigeria were all within the Kanem Kingdom’s vast territory. The Chad Basin, which spans more than 300,000 square miles, roughly corresponds to the boundaries of the empire. The lake that exists now is a condensed form of a much bigger region that scientists now refer to as Mega-Chad. After 8,000 BCE, the Sahara began to dry up, leading to a gradual loss of the Mega-Chad region.
It is undeniable that the colonization of the productive regions of the MegaChad lakes is where Kanem Kingdom’s roots may be found. According to the historical data, there were possibly two lakes in the first century BCE. The Jurab Depression, as it is currently known, served as a connecting link between the two lakes.
The two lakes were arranged in this way until the Bahr al-Ghazal entry of Lake Chad were blocked with sediment some 250 years ago, at which point the water ceased flowing. The abundance of food must have been given by the lake’s lush soil to the hunters and gatherers who had developed a Middle Stone Age to New Stone Age society.
Groups of Stone Age people arrived in the region southwest of Lake Chad between 2,000 and 1,000 BCE. They first visited the region infrequently, but later they started to colonize the low hills next to the flood plain. They gradually improved their homes as they raised their islands above the flood plains by accumulating clay on the first plane.
In addition to hunting, they tamed cattle. A food-producing society may have developed in this region before 1,000 BCE, based on the pottery of these people. Masakwa, a kind of sorghum, is thought to have been quite widely grown in these regions.
The historical evidence points to Chadic speakers as the first residents of this area. Understanding the commencement of the process of state creation in the Lake Chad region requires an understanding of the early history of the settlements in this area. The Hamitic theory is one early explanation for the genesis of nations. According to the Hamitic theory, Semitic peoples from the north conquered and established themselves as politically centralized governments among the underdeveloped Negroid peoples that lived in the Lake Chad region.
The formation of states in the Lake Chad region, according to a different perspective, did not occur as a consequence of invasion by a superior external force, but rather as a result of cultural exchange and reworking between the northern residents and the area’s indigenous people.
The Fezzan, which was once ruled by the Garamantes in ancient times, borders the Lake Chad area in the north. By the fifth century, the Garamantes had succeeded in creating a consolidated state in the Fezzan. Trade links with Mediterranean towns were governed by this state. Although it’s unknown how closely they were connected to the interior, the evidence points to the fact that they occasionally planned incursions to the south. The Zaghawa lived south of the Fezzan. In the ninth century, Muslim scholars’ writings first mention the Zaghawa.
The first person to mention that they were from a place called Kanem was Al-Yaqubi. There were also the Hawdin, Mallel, and al-Qaqu in this region. It appears that some elements of Kanem’s political structure combined Mallel and Zaghawa political practices. For instance, the kings of Kanem kingdom adopted the title of mais, which belonged to the rulers of Mallel. By the eleventh century, the king of Kanem kingdom had expanded his domain to include the crucial Kawar oasis.
The area east of Lake Chad had at that point developed into a loosely structured polity. It had developed through the union of many tiny, competing nations, most likely under the direction of the Zaghawa. The emergence of these nations had been aided by the expansion of trade as well as the auxiliary requirements of security and transportation. Additionally, by the eleventh century, the emerging state had acquired control of the strategically located Kawar oasis, which boosted cross-border trade even more.
The Saifawa dynasty established its overlordship over the other Zaghawa families after a period of bitter conflict, according to the oral legends of the people, and governed Kanem for a thousand years. The legends claim that Sayf b. Dhi Yazan was the dynasty’s founder.
The Saifawa dynasty united the many communities in the region, established a state east of Lake Chad with a capital at Njimi, and started an imperial expansion effort. Despite the Saifawa dynasty’s lengthy reign, it was in no way a totalitarian regime.
By means of a royal council, the mais governed. The empire was further split into provinces, each of which had a significant administrative and economic center. The mais mother, older sister, and first wife were accorded significant privileges, and the royal family generally maintained control over the governmental system while ensuring the dynasty’s continuation. The Kanem kingdom ruling class converted to Islam in the eleventh century.
