Biri IV

Mai of the Kanem–Bornu Empire From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Biri IV (Biri bin Dunama[2]) was briefly mai (ruler) of the Kanem–Bornu Empire in the mid-15th century, ruling approximately 1444–1445.[a] Biri ruled during the "Era of Instability", a chaotic period of internal and external conflict in the empire.

Reign15th century (1–6 years)
c. 1444–1445[a]
PredecessorKade III
SuccessorDunama V Ahmad
Diedc. 1445
Quick facts Mai of the Kanem–Bornu Empire, Reign ...
Biri IV
Mai of the Kanem–Bornu Empire
Reign15th century (1–6 years)
c. 1444–1445[a]
PredecessorKade III
SuccessorDunama V Ahmad
Diedc. 1445
DynastySayfawa dynasty (Idrisid[b])
FatherDunama IV (?)
Close

Life

Biri was the son of a mai named Dunama, probably Dunama IV.[3] Biri became mai in the mid-15th century,[2] after his predecessor Kade III[2][3] had been defeated by the rival claimant Dunama V Ahmad.[6] Biri ruled only briefly[a] before he was succeeded by Dunama V Ahmad.[2][3]

Notes

  1. [a]
    Biri is omitted in the 19th–20th century king lists (girgams) published by Barth, Palmer, and Urvoy. Nachtigal and Landeroin both assign Biri a 6-year reign.[3] Nachtigal dated his reign to 1455–1461 and Landeroin dated it to 1427–1433.[3] Among later scholars, Biri is also omitted by Lange (1984)[4] and Stewart (1989).[5] Cohen (1966) assigned Biri a reign of a single year without comment, contradicting Nachtigal and Landeroin's lists.[3] Bosworth (2012) followed Cohen's assessment of a single year, dating Biri's reign to 1444–1445.[2]
  2. [b]
    The 14th and 15th centuries saw protracted civil wars between the rival Idrisid (descendants of Idris I Nikalemi) and Dawudid (descendants of Dawud Nikalemi) branches of the Sayfawa dynasty.[1]

References

Related Articles

Wikiwand AI