Biri III

Biri Uthman or Uthman Biri (Biri, Biri ʿUthmān, ʿUthmān Biri, or ʿUthmān bin Idrīs ), enumerated as Biri III, was mai (ruler) of the Kanem–Bornu Empire in the late 14th and early 15th century, ruling approximately 1390–1422. (Different king lists (girgams) and chronicles translated in the 19th–20th centuries assign Biri a reign of 32 years (Urvoy) or 33 years (Barth, Palmer).) Stewart dated it to 1400–1432, In the letter, Biri refers to them as Judham Arabs and accuses them of causing much devastation in Bornu through constant slave raiding. The Banu Judham were Yemeni Arabs who were influential in Fatimid Egypt but lost much of their status with the rise of the Ayyubid dynasty in the 12th century, leading them to revolt. Subsequent Mamluk sultans were more aggressive in crushing the rebellion. The Banu Judham were forced out of Egypt and migrated south. By Biri's reign in the late 14th century, they had established themselves in the Chad Basin.

The site of Biri's death is recorded as Kanántú, which may have been located in the territory later occupied by the Sultanate of Bagirmi.