sultanate · Egypt, North Africa and Sudan

Bulala Sultanate

1350 CE – 1900 CE (approx.) · capital Yao

A Muslim dynasty of the Lake Fitri region that drove the Sayfawa kings out of Kanem in the 14th century and survived as the Sultanate of Fitri.

Origins

The Bulala were a people around Lake Fitri in central Chad whose ruling house was related to the Sayfawa dynasty of the Kanem-Bornu Empire. In the second half of the 14th century they waged repeated wars on Kanem, killing several Sayfawa kings and forcing the dynasty to abandon its capital Njimi and move west of Lake Chad to Bornu.

Rule and society

For over a century the Bulala ruled Kanem from bases near Lake Fitri, controlling trade routes between the Nile and the Chad basin. Their state was a Muslim sultanate supported by cattle-keeping and agricultural subjects. Few internal details survive; most information comes from Bornu chronicles hostile to them.

Decline and legacy

Bornu's Idris Katakarmabi defeated the Bulala in the early 16th century and reoccupied Njimi, and Idris Alooma later pushed them back further. The Bulala retreated to Fitri, later paying tribute to the Wadai Empire. The Sultanate of Fitri at Yao came under French rule around 1900 and survives as a traditional authority in Chad.

Connections (2)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Bulala Sultanate. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/bulala-sultanate
MLA
“Bulala Sultanate.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/bulala-sultanate. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Bulala Sultanate.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/bulala-sultanate.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Bulala Sultanate’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/bulala-sultanate (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻