Battle of Amja

Rabih az-Zubayr's army numbered about 3,000 men, half of whom were armed with rifles and muskets.^[2] The force commanded by Momman Tahr was significantly larger and consisted mostly of cavalry. Some sources claim that Tahr commanded as many as 30,000 men, though this might be an exaggeration.^[2]

Rabih's forces were on a raised fossil dune, fronted by clay that had been made sticky after recent rain.^[1] Rabih further positioned his army so that his right flank was protected by a swamp.^[2]

Sources about the battle claim that Tahr made a tactical blunder, leading a frontal charge through the swamp in an attempt to catch Rabih by surprise.^[1][2] During this charge, a large segment of cavalry are said to have become stuck in the swamp and then shot down by Rabih's riflemen.^[2] Lavers (1993) doubted this account since Tahr was an experienced general, who along with several of his officers would have had experience with the region. Lavers proposed that the battle took place on the onset of the wet season and that the horses instead became stuck in wet clay.^[1]

After the stuck cavalry was decimated, the rest of the Kanem–Bornu army fled.^[1][2] Momman Tahr and two leading kachellas (generals) were captured in the battle and were executed by Rabih.^[2]