The reign of Idris Alooma is the best documented of all of the
Sayfawa rulers owing to his chief
Imam,
Ahmad ibn Fartuwa, who recorded the first twelve years of his reign. Alooma introduced a number of legal and administrative reforms based on
Islamic law. He established
qadi courts to oversee legal proceedings, effectively separating the judiciary from the executive branch. Prior to his rule, only the ruling class and a number of clerical families had been Muslims and during the century-long decline of the empire, the significance of the religion had diminished. It was noted by Ibn Fartua that, during Alooma's reign, most of the Bornu notables converted to Islam. Alooma also sponsored the construction of numerous mosques and introduced the use of fired red
mud bricks in these constructions. The mud bricks replaced the more temporary reeds. Furthermore, he made at least two
pilgrimages to Mecca, where he arranged for the establishment of a hostel to be used by
pilgrims from his empire and a
date grove. in 1650 Government revenue came from tribute (or
booty if the recalcitrant people had to be conquered) and duties on and participation in
trade. Unlike
West Africa, the Chadian region did not have
gold. Still, it was central to one of the most convenient routes across the
Sahara desert. Between
Lake Chad and
Fezzan lay a sequence of well-spaced
wells and
oases and from Fezzan there were easy connections to North Africa and the
Mediterranean. Many products were sent north, including
natron (
sodium carbonate),
cotton,
kola nuts,
ivory,
ostrich feathers,
perfume,
wax, and
hides, but the most profitable trade was in
slaves. Imports included
salt,
horses,
silk,
glass, muskets, and
copper. He introduced the use of large boats capable of crossing the
Lake Chad 'rapidly' replacing the smaller
gagara boats from 'ancient times' which took two to three days to make the same journey. This allowed his army to travel faster and also supported trade in the region. Alooma also implemented the widespread establishment of
ribats, fortified military posts, to uphold his authority and secure control across the entirety of Bornu. Furthermore, he was credited with introducing the use of
camel cavalry in the
Lake Chad region. The town was encircled by a deep ditch and was situated to the east of
Mandara. Unlike similar towns in the region, Amsaka did not have a single ruler. He further described its inhabitants as "insolent, rebellious and very troublesome." Even before the establishment of
Ngazargamu in the late 15th-century, Amsaka had already gained a reputation as a mighty town that was heavily defended. Ibn Fartua remarked that Ali I Gaji used to make expeditions against "all the towns of the heathen except the land of Amsaka alone. The only reason they held off and left it alone was because of the power of its inhabitants in war and their stout defence of their town."
Mai Idris admired the town for its "stubbornness and exclusiveness and presumption." In 1575, he, alongside Yamtarawalla, the chief of the
Babur of
Biu, made an initial attempt to invade and sack Amsaka, but he faced a fierce resistance and was repelled. After this initial failure, he took the time to carefully consider his next move. Some years later, he launched a second invasion, this time with a large army. However, instead of directly assaulting the city, he ordered his eager army to encamp just outside the town's east gate and to begin filling the deep trench that surrounded it. The people of Amsaka responded by hurling spears, rocks, burning thatch, and pots of boiling human waste at Alooma's men filling the trench, but these efforts proved ineffective. They also showered the trench fillers with arrows, which likewise did not deter them. Each night, the people of Amsaka would attempt to remove the bundles of
guinea corn stalks that Alooma's army had placed in the trench. However, these actions did not discourage Mai Idris. In response, Mai Idris ordered that all the arrows fired at his army be collected, which caused the town's supply of arrowheads to start running low. He also ordered the construction of high platforms around the city, from which his musketeers could fire into Amsaka and provide cover for the trench fillers. Once the trench was successfully filled, Mai Idris commanded that the wooden
stockade surrounding the city be chopped down, ultimately leading to the dismantling of Amsaka's defenses. Muhammad's rule was short-lived as he was swiftly ousted by his uncle, Abd al-Jalil, who not only terminated the negotiations but also declined any alliance with Idris. This refusal led to a conflict where Idris's forces suffered significant losses but ultimately emerged victorious. As a result,
Njimi (the former capital of Kanem–Bornu) and the surrounding areas to the east were incorporated into Bornu, although the rulership of Kanem was reinstated to Muhammad. Idris left behind a strong party of local dignitaries, who were primarily
Shuwa Arabs, to support Muhammad's governance. However, circumstances necessitated Idris's return to Kanem, where he succeeded in fully annexing the region, thus integrating Kanem into the territory of Bornu.
Relations with North Africa and the Ottoman empire In the late 16th century, the North African region saw an increase in
Ottoman presence. Following the conquest of the
Maghreb, the Ottoman influence, initially confined to the coastal regions and the vicinity of
Tripoli, began to expand southward, particularly toward the
Lake Chad region of Bornu. Spearheading this expansion was Mahmut Bey, a
sanjak of the
eyalet of Tripoli. In 1577–8, Mahmut successfully seized the
Fezzan oases, leading to the expulsion of the
Awlad Muhammad dynasty, which had governed Fezzan for fifty years, to
Katsina, a
Hausa city-state likely under Bornu control. in
Bilma, located on the
Bornu-
Kaouar-
Fezzan-
Tripoli trade route. The fort was under Kanem-Bornu during the reign of
Mai Idris in the late 16th-century.The developments in Fezzan directly impacted Bornu's interests, given Fezzan's crucial position as a
commercial crossroads in the Central Sahara. In response, Alooma dispatched his envoy, al-hajj Yusuf, to
Istanbul, asking the Ottomans to relinquish the fortress known as
Fezzān or ''Qal'at Q.rân
(according to B. G. Martin, it was likely located in Bilma in modern-day Niger Republic). This fortress, situated along the trade route connecting Bornu with the Libyan coast, was a pivotal asset. While Sultan Murad III refused to cede the conquered territory to mai
Idris, he gave strict orders to Mahmut and the beylerbeyi of Tripoli to maintain amicable relations with Bornu and its subjects. Throughout the 1570s, interactions between Bornu and the Ottomans persisted, with Alooma sending delegations to Istanbul on two more occasions, the last being in 1579. The Ottoman Sultan further urged the beylerbeyis'' of
Egypt and
Tunis to foster friendly ties with Bornu and ensure the protection of Bornu
pilgrims en route to Mecca. from where the
Awlad Muhammad dynasty ruled
Fezzan. After the
Ottoman capture of Fezzan in the late 16th-century, they occupied the castle and maintained a garrison there. The motivations, implications, and outcomes of this diplomatic mission remain ambiguous, both from the perspectives of Bornu and Morocco. It is widely believed that al-Mansur sought to establish a caliphate to rival the Ottoman Empire, using this embassy to advance that objective. However,
mai Idris's intentions remain unclear. Shortly after the final envoy from
mai Idris to al-Mansur, between 1582–3 and 1585, the entire Ottoman garrison in Fezzan was slaughtered, leading to the return of the
Awlad Muhammad dynasty from
Katsina to resume their governance of the region. According to historian Remi Dewière, the proximity of these events may not have been coincidental and Idris Alooma may have strategized the reconquest of Fezzan. Dewière argued that the bay'ah pledge by Alooma was 'purely symbolic' and that he exploited the rivalry between al-Mansur and Murad III "in order to resolve a local issue." Given the Islamic legitimacy of the Ottoman sultans as protectors of the
Holy cities of Islam, with
Tripoli and
Cairo serving as vital economic partners under Ottoman control, aligning with al-Mansur, a rival caliph, provided Alooma with an opportunity to challenge Ottoman hegemony and the Islamic legacy in Fezzan. However, not acknowledging al-Mansur as the legitimate Caliph of Islam meant that any action against the Ottomans could be interpreted as an affront to the ulama. Following the restoration of the Awlad Muhammad dynasty, Bornu regained control of the Bornu-Tripoli trade route, previously under Ottoman authority. == Death ==