Duguwa dynasty

The Duguwa were the first ruling dynasty of the Kingdom of Kanem, north-east of Lake Chad. Known from the royal chronicle of Kanem and from Arab geographers, who linked the kingdom with the Zaghawa people, they ruled from around the ninth century until the late eleventh century. They were then displaced by the Sayfawa, who adopted Islam as the religion of the court and ruled Kanem and later Bornu for some eight centuries.