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Kanem-Bornu Expansion

Type Event Region Africa Time 1351–1360

In the 1350s, the Kanem-Bornu Empire around Lake Chad under the Sayfawa dynasty kept expanding into Hausaland and the southern Sahel.

Timeline

  1. 1351–1354Southwestern shore of Lake Chad · Lake Chad BasinSayfawa rulers reorganized their cavalry-centered army, sustaining military expansion on the agricultural and fishing resources around Lake Chad, and used networks of Islamic scholars to strengthen the legitimacy of royal authority.
  2. 1354–1358Bornu region · BornuImperial forces pushed west, gradually controlling the periphery of the Hausa city-states, compelling local chiefs to pay tribute or convert, and bringing the Bornu region under direct imperial rule.
  3. 1356–1360Birni N'Konni · NigerThe empire consolidated control over the southern Saharan salt routes and slave trade routes, earning enormous revenue through trade taxes and caravan protection, and by around 1360 became a key relay polity linking North Africa with the West African interior.

Sources