Bornu
State of Bornu | |
|---|---|
 Flag | |
 | |
| Capital | Birni Gazargamu |
| Largest city | Yerwa |
| Official languages | |
| Foreign languages | English |
| Population | |
• 1980 estimate | 4.1 million |
Bornu (Arabic: البرنوح, al-Barnúħ), in its long-form the State of Bornu, is a landlocked country located in north-central Africa. It is a unitary monarchy bordered by Agadez and Niger to the west, Todaga to the north, Waddai and Dar Runga to the east, and Equatoria to the south. The country is roughly coterminous with and is centered on the relatively flat watershed of Lake Chad, the fourth largest lake on the continent of Africa. As of 1980, most of the country's approximately four million citizens lives in the southwest where Bornu's capital and largest cities, Gazargamu and Yerwa respectively, are located.
The modern state has its origins in the Kanem Empire of medieval times, a polity which re-centered itself along the western shore of Lake Chad in the 14th century. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the country expanded its borders under a cavalier aristocracy. After the Augustine Wars, Bornu established relations with numerous European states, established a standardized language, developed its commercial economy, and centralized the state apparatus. The Great War era saw the exploitation of petroleum and caelium reserves as well as the creation of a military industry. In the later half of the 20th century Bornu abolished slavery, experienced the rise of the African Israelite movement, and faced internal conflict between private corporate and public syndicalist interests.
