Fasama was a consort of ''mai''

Dunama I Umemi Dunama I Umemi (Dunama Umemi Muḥammad bin Hummay) was the '' mai'' of the Kanem–Bornu Empire in 1097–1150/1151. Name It is common for Kanem–Bornu rulers named ''Muhammad'' to also be called ''Dunama'', and vice versa. According to 19th-c ...

of the

Kanem–Bornu Empire The Kanem–Bornu Empire was an empire based around Lake Chad that once ruled areas which are now part of Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon, Libya, Algeria, Sudan, and Chad. The empire was sustained by the prosperous trans-Saharan trade and was one of the ...

(r. 1097–1150/1151) and the mother of Dunama's heir,

Bir I Othman Bir I Othman (ʿUthmān Biri bin Dunama) was the '' mai'' of the Kanem–Bornu Empire in 1150/1151–1174/1176. Life Bir was the son of Dunama I Umemi and Fasama. He succeeded his father as ''mai'' in 1150/1151, after Dunama was killed in Egypt ...

(r. 1150/1151–1174/1176). Fasama took power in the empire after Dunama's death in Egypt, with Bir I apparently being entirely under her influence during at least the early part of his reign. Fasama is even said to have imprisoned Bir at one point, illustrating the great power she commanded. Although she effectively ruled the empire, Fasama is generally excluded from lists of rulers of Kanem–Bornu.

References

{{Africa-royal-stub History of women in Chad History of women in Nigeria Rulers of the Kanem Empire