Kanem kingdom embraces Islam at Lake Chad
1008
Rulers of the Kanem kingdom on the shores of Lake Chad began adopting Islam through contact with trans-Saharan traders from North Africa. The conversion, gradual and syncretic, positioned Kanem as a crucial link between the Mediterranean commercial world and the gold and slave networks of the central African interior. The royal dynasty, the Sayfawa, would rule continuously for over seven hundred years, one of the longest reigns in world history.
In context
Also in 1008 (3 other events on record)
- Battle of Waihind crushes Hindu Shahis · South Asia · War
- Suryavarman I consolidates power at Angkor · Southeast Asia · Politics
- Murasaki Shikibu's diary at court · East Asia · Culture
Before and after in Africa
Before and after in Religion
Era
High Middle Ages (1000–1300), one of 1,306 events from that era on Saeculum.