Ibrahim I Nikale (Ibrāhīm Nikale bin Biri) was the '' mai'' 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 ...

in 1290–1311.

Life

Ibrahim Nikale was the son of

Kashim Bir Kashim Bir (Kashim Biri bin Dunama), also called Bir and Othman, was '' mai'' 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, ...

and Kagudi. He was a grandson of

Dunama II Dabbalemi Dunama II Dabbalemi (Dunama Dibalemi Muḥammad bin ʿAbd al-Jalīl) was the '' mai'' of the Kanem–Bornu Empire in 1221–1259. Life Dunama Dabbalemi was the son of Abd al-Jalil II and Dibala. He succeeded his father as ''mai'' in 1221. A f ...

. Ibrahim succeeded his uncle

Dirke Kelem Dirke Kelem (Dirke Kelem bin Dunama) was '' mai'' 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. Th ...

as ''mai'' in 1290, after the sons of Dunama II had been engaged in a succession conflict and reigned in quick succession. Ibrahim became embroiled in succession conflicts of his own. He had at least two consorts, Hafsa and Fatima, and several sons. Ibrahim had one of his own sons killed, probably because this son had revolted against him. Ibrahim at some point made a

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

. Ibrahim was murdered by a man named Yerama Muhammad in 1311, and his body was thrown in the

Wau River The Wau River, or Wau Nahr (sometimes spelled Waw or Wow), is a river in South Sudan. It shares its name with Wau, the state capital of Western Bahr el Ghazal, where the river is located east of the international border with the Central African Re ...

. He was succeeded as ''mai'' by his cousin

Abdullah II Abdullah II (Abdullah bin Hussein; born 30 January 1962) is King of Jordan, having ascended the throne on 7 February 1999. He is a member of the Hashemites, who have been the reigning royal family of Jordan since 1921, and is traditionally reg ...

References

Rulers of the Kanem Empire 13th-century monarchs in Africa 14th-century monarchs in Africa {{Africa-royal-stub