Borno Under the Shehus

It is always pleasant to find serious material on Kanem-Borno via the internet. This short video offers a decent overview of the rise of the al-Kanemi dynasty of Borno in the 19th century. For more information, one should consult Louis Brenner's work for a detailed analysis of the rise of Shaykh Muhammad al-Amin al-Kanemi as the effective ruler of Borno. Brenner's study, although weaker in the second half on the decline of the Shehus, uses an effective combination of oral and textual sources to chronicle the political ascent of al-Kanemi from village mallam to founder of a new dynasty. One cannot understand Borno today without learning of the impact of the 19th century jihad of Uthman Dan Fodio, the demise of the Sayfawa, and the al-Kanemi dynasty "saving" Borno until its eventual conquest by Rabih in the 1890s.