Kanem-Bornu Expansion

Name: Kanem-Bornu Expansion
Start: 1120
End: 1129

Type Event Region Central Africa Time 1120–1129

In the 1120s, the Kanem kingdom around Lake Chad, under the Sayfawa dynasty, kept expanding, integrating Sahelian peoples through Islamic governance …

Timeline

1120–1125Northeast of Lake Chad · ChadSayfawa kings based their rule on Lake Chad's rich fishing and agricultural resources, strengthened the tribute system over vassal tribes, and won political support from Arab merchants and North African suzerains by converting to Islam.
1126–1129Bornu region · NigeriaKanem cavalry pushed south, conquering or extracting tribute from multiple Sahel tribes, extending control over the southern trans-Saharan trade routes and slave trade channels; the kingdom's influence reached as far as present-day northern Nigeria.

Sources

Kanem-Bornu https://www.britannica.com/place/Kanem-Bornu
The Kanem-Bornu Empire https://www.worldhistory.org/Kanem-Bornu_Empire/