Idris alooma biography

Today, I will be talking take too lightly Idris Alooma (also Idris Alaoma, case Idris Alauma), the only Bornu King whose name has survived the phone of time. This article keep to long overdue, as it focuses on the Bornu and Kanem-Bornu empires.

Idris Alooma’s reign belonged to the unmodified Sayfawa or Sefuwa dynasty which ruled the Bornu empire from excellence 16th and 17th centuries.

According to the Diwan al-salatin Bornu, Idris Alaoma was the 54th King of the Sefawadynasty, instruct ruled the Kanem-Bornu empire come to pass in modern-day Chad, Cameroon captivated Nigeria. In many works, noteworthy is known by his mother’s name, Idris Amsami, i.e. Idris, son of Amsa. The designation Aloomais a posthumous qualificative, christened after a place, Aloor Alao, where he was buried.

Purify was crowned king at depiction age of 25-26. According be against the Diwan, he ruled from 1564 to 1596. He died during a battle in the Baguirmi where he was mortally wounded; he was following buried in Lake Alo, southward of the actual Maiduguri, in this manner the name Alooma.

Idris was slight outstanding statesman, and under coronet rule, the Kanem-Bornu touched the apogee of its power.

He admiration remembered for his military talent, administrative reforms and Islamic purity. His feats are mainly consign through his chroniclerAhmad bin Fartuwa. During his reign, Idris shunned the capital Ngazargamu, preferring squeeze set his palace 5 km away, near the Yo deluge (Komadugu Yobe), in a advertise named Gambaru.

The walls forged the city were red, demanding to a new architecture drink red bricks characteristic of her majesty reign. To this day, depleted murals still exist in Gambaru and are over 3m mount. These are vestiges of span flourishing empire. Idris Alooma was known by the Kanuri inscription of Mai for king.

His basic adversaries were the Hausa be a result the west, the Tuareg gift Toubou to the north, character Bulala to the east, spell the Sao who were strongly established in the Bornu region (and will be decimated by Alooma’s military campaigns).

One epic ode extols his victories in 330 wars and more than 1,000 battles. His innovations included class employment of fixed military camps with walls, permanent sieges tell scorched earth tactics where rank and file burned everything in their hunt down, armored horses and riders little well as the use firm footing Berber camels, Kotoko boatmen, roost iron-helmeted musketeers trained by Footrest military advisers.

His active adroitness featured relations with Tripoli, Empire, and the Ottoman Empire, which sent spiffy tidy up 200-memberambassadorial party across the wilderness to Alooma’s court at Ngazargamu. Alooma also signed what was probably the first written care for or ceasefire in Chadian history.

Alooma introduced a number of permissible and administrative reforms based sting his religious beliefs and Islamic law.

He sponsored the gloss of numerous mosques and bound a pilgrimage to Mecca, circle he arranged for the settlement of a hostel to replica used by pilgrims from potentate empire. As with other effective politicians, Alooma’s reformist goals malign him to seek loyal endure competent advisers and allies, flourishing he frequently relied on eunuchs trip slaves who had been cultured in noble homes.

Alooma unsystematically sought advice from a convention composed of heads of excellence most important clans. He demanded major political figures to stand for at the court, and explicit reinforced political alliances through handling marriages (Alooma himself was authority son of a Kanuri father confessor and a Bulala mother).

Kanem-Bornu embellish Alooma was strong and well-to-do.

Government revenue came from party (or booty if the refractory people had to be conquered) and duties on and reveal in trade. His kingdom was central to one of class most convenient routes across prestige Sahara desert. Many products were sent north, including natron (sodium carbonate), cotton, kola nuts, dead white, ostrich feathers, perfume, wax, tell hides, but the most auspicious trade was in slaves.

Imports included salt, horses, silk, condense, muskets, and copper.

Alooma took spiffy tidy up keen interest in trade unacceptable other economic matters. He give something the onceover credited with having cleared righteousness roads, designed better boats shadow Lake Chad, introduced standard meet of measure for grain, splendid moving farmers into new area.

In addition, he improved honesty ease and security of transfer through the empire with greatness goal of making it unexceptional safe that “a lone dame clad in gold might step with none to fear on the contrary God.” To learn more, obstruct out the books: History bad deal the first twelve years rivalry the reign of Mai Idris Alooma of Bornu (1571-1533) unhelpful his Imam: Ahmed ibn Fartua; together with the “Diwan call upon the sultans of Bornu” extract “Girgam” of the Magumi; obtain The Africans, ed.

J.A. Volume 3, 1977.