BORNU, bor-m17/ (from the tribe Berauni, Bernoulli). A State of the Sudan, oecupying the northeastern c•d of Northern Nigeria. be tween latitudes 11° and 15° N. and longitudes 10° and 15° E.. and hounded by Sokoto. the Sa hara. Lake Chad. and Kamernn (Map: Africa.
3). 1 ts area is estimated at 50,000 square miles. The surface is mostly level, with the exception of the southwestern part, where some of the mountains rise to an elevation of about 2000 feet. The climate is excessively hot and unhealthful, the temperature not infre quently rising above 100° during the summer. The rainy season lasts from five to seven months, and prodnilq, malaria and other diseases. The two principal rivers are the Shari and the Waube, both of which fall into Lake Chad. The soil is fertile. and. altinnigh the cultivation is very imperfect. produces plentiful crops of maize, millet, barley, rice. various kinds of pulse, cotton. and indigo. in its flora and fauna Bornu does not differ mueli from the rest of Northern Nigeria. The industries of Bonin are not nu merous, and arc chiefly confined to manufac ture of cotton fabrics. In former years were very extensively dealt in, and exported to many countries, slave-hunting constituting at that time one of the principal occulta tions of the natives. At the head of the State is a Sheik. who has absolute power. Be is as sisted by a council. Bornu is divided into sev eral provinces, and has also a number of vassal States and dependencies. There is an army of
about 5000 men. The eapital is Kuka (q.v.), with a population of about 60,000. The popula tion of Bornu is estimated at 5,000,000, and consists of a number of mixed negro races. The bulk of the population are known as the Ka nowry, who are charneterized by a finer physique and a higher standard of intelligence than the rest of the population. The territory of Bornu was invaded in the Twelfth Century by the Moham medan ruler of Kanein. After 200 years of war fare the aborigines were either extirpated or completely subjected, and from 1353 a line of kings ruled over the country. I3ornn was at the height of its power at the close of the Sixteenth Century, when its western frontier extended to the Niger River. After 1600 it un derwent a rapid decline. in the beginning of the Nineteenth Century it was conquered by the Fellatahs, whose yoke, however, was soon shaken off, under the leadership of a fanatical fakir, named INIohammed el Kanemi. whose services were called in by the Sultan. Mohammed founded the town of Kuka, and ruled there under the title of Sheik, while the Sultan enjoyed only nominal power. Mohammed's son, Omar, be came Sultan as well as Sheik. In 1882 Omar was succeeded by the Sultan Abu Bekr. Our scant knowledge of the country is due to the travels of Barth. Naehtigal. and subsequent French and German explorers.