Kanem-Bornu Trans-Saharan Trade

Timeline

1. 1561–1565Bornu–Fezzan trade route · BornuThe Sefuwa mai court managed northbound salt transport and southbound kola nut and ivory trade by licensing caravan leaders and collecting transit taxes; camel trains resupplied at oasis relay stations, and Bornu merchants settled accounts in copper coins and cloth, maintaining steady cargo flows with North African Muslim trading networks.
2. 1563–1568Lake Chad Basin · Lake Chad BasinThe Bornu court incorporated the fishing and salt-producing areas around Lake Chad, Hausa towns, and steppe nomadic peoples into a tribute–trade network; slaves and livestock converged on the capital via inland waterways and land routes, then were re-exported north along trans-Saharan routes or east along the Darfur trade road, forming a multi-tiered transshipment system.
3. 1569–1570Ngazargamu · BornuAround the accession of the new mai Idris Aluma, caravan escorts and tariff collection were strengthened, with trade revenue funding firearms purchases and cavalry expansion; the trans-Saharan caravan system thus became more tightly bound to military state-building, laying the groundwork for Bornu's expansion at the end of the 16th century.