Dunama Muhammad was probably a son of
mai Muhammad VI Aminami. Some accounts claim that Dunama had all of Ali II's sons killed (with the exception of
Idris Alooma, who was hidden away) in order to avoid the possibility of one of them taking the throne. Dunama's reign saw renewed conflict with the
Bilala, who governed
Kanem as vassals of the empire. The
Bilala ruler of Kanem, Abd al-Jalil, attacked Dunama at a site called Berberuwá. Dunama was victorious, driving Abd al-Jalil back to Kanem and defeating him in a battle there as well. The heir to the Bilala throne was killed at this second battle. The Bilala were reduced to vassals again, though people from Kanem continued to sometimes go on raids into
Bornu, the empire's heartland. There is considerable variation in the regnal dates assigned to Dunama; he may have ruled for less than ten years or for over twenty. Dunama died at
Ngazargamu and was succeeded as
mai by his son
Abdullah IV Dunamami. == Notes ==