- Kanembu people
The Kanembu are an
ethnic group ofChad , generally considered the modern descendants of theKanem-Borno Empire . ref|USCountryStudies The Kanembu number an estimated 655,000 people,fact|date=January 2008 located primarily in Chad'sLac Prefecture but also in Chari-Baguirmi and Kanem prefectures. ref|Ethnologue They speak theKanembu language , a variant of Kanuri, with many speaking Arabic as a second language. ref|EthnologueHistory
At the end of the twelfth century, the Kanembu moved into what is today
Kanem Prefecture . They gradually became sedentary and established a capital atNjimi ; at the same time, they continued to expand militarily establishing theKanem Empire . The peak of this early kingdom came with the rule of Mai (King)Dunama Dabbalemi of theSayfawa dynasty , who reigned from1221 to1259 . He was the first of the Kanembu to convert to Islam and he declaredjihad against the surrounding tribes and initiated an extended period of conquest. After consolidating their territory around Lake Chad they struck north at theFezzan and west at the Hausa lands.By the end of the fourteenth century, however, internal division had severely weakened the Kanem empire, forcing the Sayfawa dynasty to relocate to Borno on the western shore of
Lake Chad . The intermarriage of the Kanem with the local people of this area created a new ethnic group, theKanuri ; the Kanembu retain close family ties with the Kanuri to this day. ref|USCountryStudiesNotes
# [http://countrystudies.us/chad/6.htm US Country Studies: Chad]
# [http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=kbl Ethnologue entry on Kanembu]
# [http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=kbl Ethnologue entry on Kanembu]
# [http://countrystudies.us/chad/6.htm US Country Studies: Kanem-Borno]External links
* [http://countrystudies.us/chad/6.htm US Country Studies: Chad]
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