# Sayfawa dynasty

Sayfawa dynasty, Sefouwa, Sefawa, or Sefuwa dynasty is the name of the Tumagrhara Clan, or Tomagra , or Toumaghra means (owner of Tibesti) is Muslim kings (Mai means lord, Derde meams King of Kings, he has immortal status.. (never say derdre is dead), Derde is religious and political leader.) of the Kanem–Bornu Empire, centered first in Kanem in western Chad, and then, after 1380, in Borno (today north-eastern Nigeria).
The dynasty was rooted in the Tubu or Toubou expansion by the Kanembu.
"The legendary eponymous ancestor of the Saifawa, as the Maghumi are called, only became in Muslim times Saif, the 'lion of Yaman.'$^{:9}$ The pre-Muslim dynasty is known as the Duguwa dynasty.$^{:26}$

## Sayfawa-Humewa kings in Kanem

The chronology of the Sefuwa concerns the rule of the Sayfawa dynasty first over Kanem, then over the Kanem–Bornu and finally, since c. 1380, over Bornu alone. The chronology of kings has been ascertained from dynastic records of the Sefuwa on the basis of lengths of reign for the successive kings (mai), found in the Girgam. African historians presently use several conflicting chronologies for the history of Kanem–Bornu. Below a list of the main kings of the Empire with the conflicting chronologies is provided.
| Name of the king (mai) | Barth 1857 | Palmer 1936 | Urvoy 1941 |
| (12) Hume | 1086–1097 | 1086–1097 | 1085–1097 |
| (17) Dunama Dibbalemi | 1221–1259/60 | 1221–1259 | 1210–1224 |
| (47) Ali Gajideni | 1472–1504 | 1476–1503 | 1473–1507 |
| (48) Idris Katakarmabe | 1505–1526 | 1503–1526 | 1507–1529 |
| (53) Idris Alauma | 1572–1603 | 1570-1602/3 | 1580–1617 |
List of rulers of the Sayfawa dynasty according to John Stewart's African States and Rulers (1989).
| # | Name | Reign Start | Reign End |
| Kanem (1085 – 1256) (Succeeded the Duguwa dynasty which had ruled since 784) ||||
| 1 | Hume | 1085 | 1097 |
| 2 | Dunama I | 1097 | 1150 |
| 3 | Biri I | 1150 | 1176 |
| 4 | Bikorom (or Dala, or Abdallah I) | 1176 | 1194 |
| 5 | Abdul Jalil (or Jilim) | 1194 | 1221 |
| 6 | Dunama Dibbalemi | 1221 | 1256 |
| Kanem-Bornu (c. 1256 – c. 1400) ||||
| - | Dunama Dibbalemi | 1256 | 1259 |
| 7 | Kade | 1259 | 1260 |
| 8 | Kashim Biri (or Abdul Kadim) | 1260 | 1288 |
| 9 | Biri II Ibrahim | 1288 | 1307 |
| 10 | Ibrahim I | 1307 | 1326 |
| 11 | Abdullah II | 1326 | 1346 |
| 12 | Selma | 1346 | 1350 |
| 13 | Kure Gana es-Saghir | 1350 | 1351 |
| 14 | Kure Kura al-Kabir | 1351 | 1352 |
| 15 | Muhammad I | 1352 | 1353 |
| 16 | Idris I Nigalemi | 1353 | 1377 |
| 17 | Daud Nigalemi | 1377 | 1386 |
| 18 | Uthman I | 1386 | 1391 |
| 19 | Uthman II | 1391 | 1392 |
| 20 | Abu Bakr Liyatu | 1392 | 1394 |
| 21 | Umar ibn Idris | 1394 | 1398 |
| 22 | Sa'id | 1398 | 1399 |
| 23 | Kade Afunu | 1399 | 1400 |
| Bornu Empire (c. 1400 – 1846) ||||
| 24 | Biri III | 1400 | 1432 |
| 25 | Uthman III Kaliwama | 1432 | 1433 |
| 26 | Dunama III | 1433 | 1435 |
| 27 | Abdullah III Dakumuni | 1435 | 1442 |
| 28 | Ibrahim II | 1442 | 1450 |
| 29 | Kadai | 1450 | 1451 |
| 30 | Ahmad Dunama IV | 1451 | 1455 |
| 31 | Muhammad II | 1455 | 1456 |
| 32 | Amr | 1456 | 1456 |
| 33 | Muhammad III | 1456 | 1456 |
| 34 | Ghaji | 1456 | 1461 |
| 35 | Uthman IV | 1461 | 1466 |
| 36 | Umar II | 1466 | 1467 |
| 37 | Muhammad IV | 1467 | 1472 |
| 38 | Ali Gajideni | 1472 | 1504 |
| 39 | Idris Katakarmabe | 1504 | 1526 |
| 40 | Muhammad V Aminami | 1526 | 1545 |
| 41 | Ali II Zainami | 1545 | 1546 |
| 42 | Dunama V Ngumaramma | 1546 | 1563 |
| 43 | Dala (or Abdullah) | 1563 | 1570 |
| 44 | Aissa Koli | 1570 | 1580 |
| 45 | Idris Alooma | 1580 | 1603 |
| 46 | Muhammad Bukalmarami | 1603 | 1617 |
| 47 | Ibrahim III | 1617 | 1625 |
| 48 | Umar III | 1625 | 1645 |
| 49 | Ali III | 1645 | 1685 |
| 50 | Idris IV | 1685 | 1704 |
| 51 | Dunama VI | 1704 | 1723 |
| 52 | Hamdan | 1723 | 1737 |
| 53 | Muhammad VII Erghamma | 1737 | 1752 |
| 54 | Dunama VII Ghana | 1752 | 1755 |
| 55 | Ali IV ibn Haj Hamdun | 1755 | 1793 |
| 56 | Ahmad ibn Ali | 1793 | March 1808 |
| 57 | Dunama IX Lefiami | 1808 | 1810 |
| 58 | Muhammad VIII | 1810 | 1814 |
| - | Dunama Lefiami (Restored) | 1814 | 1817 |
| 59 | Ibrahim | 1817 | 1846 |
| 60 | Ali Delatumi | 1846 | 1846 |
The Sayfawa dynasty ended in 1846 and was succeeded by a series of Sheikhs who ruled the Bornu empire until 1893.