Abdullah III
Mai of the Bornu Empire
About Abdullah III
Abdullah IV (ʿAbdallāh bin Dunama Muḥammad ), called Abdullah Dunamami, was mai (ruler) of the Kanem–Bornu Empire in the mid-16th century, ruling approximately 1555–1563, (The king lists (girgams) and chronicles translated in the 19th–20th centuries (by Barth, Nachtigal, Landeroin, Palmer, Urvoy) broadly agree that Abdullah ruled for seven years.) Landeroin specifies a slightly shorter 6 years and 10 months. Ali is most often interpreted as having served as regent for Abdullah,
The German explorer Heinrich Barth, who visited Bornu in the 1850s and translated Bornuan royal chronicles, noted that under Abdullah "nothing very remarkable seems to have happened". The first settlement of Fula people in Bornu dates to Abdullah's time.
Abdullah ruled for six to eight years. According to Barth, Abdullah died at a site named Kítaba. A girgam translated by Richmond Palmer in 1926 also places Abdullahs' death at Kítaba (though here spelled Kitala) but a girgam translated by Palmer in 1912 instead places his death and burial at Ngazargamu. He was succeeded on the throne by Aissa Koli, whose relation to other rulers of the empire varies depending on the source.
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Frequently asked questions
Who was Abdullah III?
mai of the Bornu Empire
Sources & further reading
· DBpedia: Abdullah IV Dunamami
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Abdullah III. https://biography.guide/abdullah-iii/
MLA: "Abdullah III." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/abdullah-iii/.
Chicago: "Abdullah III." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/abdullah-iii/.
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