Idris I of Kanem

al-Ḥājj Idris I (Idrīs bin Ibrāhīm Nikale ), called Idris Nikalemi Idris was the progenitor of the Idrisid line of the Sayfawa dynasty, which competed for the throne with the rival Dawudid line (descendants of his brother and successor Dawud Nikalemi) in the century following his death.

Life Idris was a son of mai Ibrahim I Nikale. Idris succeeded Muhammad I Kure as mai The Sao lived south of Lake Chad and had been greatly reduced, but not completely subjugated or wiped out, under earlier mais and had risen up against the empire in Selema's reign. The deaths of Muhammad and his brothers extinguished the line of mai Abdullah II Kademi, which enabled Idris's rise to the throne.

Idris ruled for 24 or 25 years, a significantly longer time than his direct predecessors, but it is unknown if he was more successful against the Sao as little is recorded of his reign overall. Idris at some point made a pilgrimage to Mecca, and is therefore also called al-Ḥājj Idris.

According to later tradition, Idris died at Njimi, the imperial capital. A contradictory tradition instead places his death at Damasak, which in Idris's time was a major Sao stronghold. Damasak is considered the more reliable account. If Idris died at Damasak, he might have died on a military campaign against the Sao. Idris was succeeded as mai by his half-brother Dawud Nikalemi. Dawud became mai over several sons of Idris, which led to civil war. The succession conflict resulted in the division of the Sayfawa dynasty into the rival Idrisid and Dawudid branches, who competed over the throne for the next century.