The Mandara Kingdom (sometimes called Wandala or the Kingdom of Medra) was an

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

n kingdom in the Mandara Mountains of what is today

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

. The Mandara people are descended from the kingdom's inhabitants.

History

Tradition states that Mandara was founded shortly before 1500 by a female ruler named ''Soukda'' and a non-Mandarawa hunter named ''Gaya''. The kingdom was first referred to by

Fra Mauro Fra Mauro, O.S.B. Cam., (c.1400–1464) was an Italian ( Venetian) cartographer who lived in the Republic of Venice. He created the most detailed and accurate map of the world up until that time, the Fra Mauro map. Mauro was a monk of the Ca ...

(in 1459) and

Leo Africanus Johannes Leo Africanus (born al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad al-Wazzān al-Zayyātī al-Fasī, ; – ) was an Andalusi diplomat and author who is best known for his 1526 book '' Cosmographia et geographia de Affrica'', later publish ...

(in 1526); the provenance of its name remains uncertain. Medra is mostly likely the original name of Mandara, one letter being obliterated in Leo's Arabic notes. Leo acknowledges the Kingdom of Medra (Mandara) for their good governors and rulers. The inhabitants of Medra are rich and industrious people, visited often, and great lovers of

justice In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the most plausible candidate for a core definition comes from the ''Institutes (Justinian), Inst ...

and equity. The region of Medra is listed on the Africae Tabula Nova in 1570. Leo Africanus visited the Kingdom of Medra, located in the south. For the kingdom's first century of history, its rulers warred with neighbouring groups in an effort to expand their territories. After conquering the Dulo (or Duolo) and establishing the capital at Dulo c. 1580, the dynasty of Sankre, a war leader, began. When the Dulo made an attempt to seize the throne, the Bornu kingdom supported the claim of Aldawa Nanda, a member of Sankre's house. Emperor Idris Alaoma of Borno personally installed Nanda as king in 1614. Bornu thus attained an influential position over Mandara. Mai Bukar Aji, the 25th king, made Mandara a

sultan Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...

ate c. 1715, which it would remain for nearly two hundred years. Muslim visitors converted Bukar to

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

, and the Islamicisation of the kingdom would continue for most of the next century. The kingdom experienced a golden age of sorts under Bukar and his successor, Bukar Guiana (1773-1828). Around 1781, the Mandara defeated the kingdom of Borno in a major battle, further expanding their control in the region. At the peak of her power at the turn of the century, Mandara received tribute from some 15

chiefdom A chiefdom is a political organization of people representation (politics), represented or government, governed by a tribal chief, chief. Chiefdoms have been discussed, depending on their scope, as a stateless society, stateless, state (polity) ...

s. However, the kingdom faced a setback in 1809, when

Modibo Adama Adama ɓii Ardo Hassana (1786 – 1847), more commonly known as Modibbo Adama (''Modibbo'' meaning "learned man"), was a Fulani scholar from the Yillaga (Yirlaɓe) clan. He led a jihad into the region of Fombina (in modern-day Cameroon and Niger ...

, a

Fulani The Fula, Fulani, or Fulɓe people are an ethnic group in Sahara, Sahel and West Africa, widely dispersed across the region. Inhabiting many countries, they live mainly in West Africa and northern parts of Central Africa, South Sudan, Darfur, ...

disciple of

Usman dan Fodio Shehu Usman dan Fodio (; full name; 15 December 1754 – 20 April 1817). (Uthman ibn Muhammad ibn Uthman ibn Saalih ibn Haarun ibn Muhammad Ghurdu ibn Muhammad Jubba ibn Muhammad Sambo ibn Maysiran ibn Ayyub ibn Buba Baba ibn Musa Jokolli ibn ...

, led a

jihad ''Jihad'' (; ) is an Arabic word that means "exerting", "striving", or "struggling", particularly with a praiseworthy aim. In an Islamic context, it encompasses almost any effort to make personal and social life conform with God in Islam, God ...

against Mandara. Adama briefly seized Dulo, though the Mandara counterattack soon drove him from the kingdom's borders. Adama's defeat prompted Borno to ally with Mandara once again against the Fulani invaders. Upon the death of ruler Bukai Dgjiama, Mandara's non-Muslim tributaries rose up, and the Fulani attacked once more. By 1850, Borno could not pass up the opportunity to attack the weakened kingdom. This renewed conflict began to sap the kingdom's strength, paving the way for the invasion of Muhammad Ahmad's forces in the 1880s. In 1895 or 1896, Muhammad Ahmad's army destroyed Dulo, marking a further decline in Mandara power. However, the kingdom continued to exist, repelling continual Fulani raids until it finally fell to them in 1893. English explorer Dixon Denham accompanied a slave-raiding expedition from Borno into the Mandara kingdom in February 1823; though he barely escaped with his life following the raiders' defeat, he brought back one of the first European accounts of the kingdom. In 1902, the kingdom was conquered by

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, passing then to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in 1918. In 1960, the Mandara kingdom became a part of newly independent Cameroon.

Rulers of Mandara

Names and dates taken from John Stewart's ''African States and Rulers'' (Third edition, 2006).

References

{{Reflist *Barkindo, Bawuro Mubi (1989). ''The Sultanate of Mandara to 1902''. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag. *DeLancey, Mark W., and DeLancey, Mark Dike (2000). ''Historical Dictionary of the Republic of Cameroon''. 3rd ed. *Fanso, V. G. (1989). ''Cameroon History for Secondary Schools and Colleges: Volume 1: Prehistoric Times to the Nineteenth Century''. London: Macmillan Education Ltd. Mandara Cameroon history-related lists Mandara Countries in medieval Africa History of Cameroon States and territories established in the 15th century Former monarchies of Africa Former countries in Africa

History

Rulers of Mandara

See also

References