388 A TROPICAL DEPENDENCY were met and successfully resisted by another Sheikh, Mohammed el Kanemi, who arose in Kanem, and took the reins of power from the effete sovereigns of Bornu.

This man, who founded the existing dynasty of Bornu, was visited by Major Denham in 1823, and is described by him as *'a most extraordinary instance in the Eastern world of fearless bravery, virtue, and simplicity." His career was remarkable enough to deserve something more than a passing mention. He was born in Fezzan, though of Kanem parents, having, it is said, on his father's side, some Moorish blood. He appears to have been, at least partly, educated in Egypt, and to have been already in the position of a Sheikh before he first visited the home of his parents in Kanem. Here he lived for some years, greatly beloved and respected for the extreme uprightness and benevolence of his life.

It was the conquest of Bornu by the Fulani which brought him into public life. Believing, or causing his Kanemi followers to believe, that he was inspired by a vision of the Almighty to undertake the liberation of the country, he collected a little body of the faithful, only 400 strong, and with them marched to a first encounter with the Fulani. He is said to have overthrown an army 8000 strong. The result was, of course, to bring more soldiers to his standard, and in ten months he was victorious in forty battles. It is said that he had all the qualifications of a great commander, but so little of personal ambition that when, after he had driven the Fulani out of Bornu, the people desired to make him Sultan, he refused the offer, and placed Mohammed, the brother of the deposed Sultan Achmet, on the throne. He refused all titles for himself, except that of ''Servant of God," but he kept the practical powers of a dictator, and, while he lived without ostentation, he was the head of the army, and the real ruler of the kingdom. He completely overthrew the Fulani, and defended the Empire of Bornu in many desperate campaigns against the attacks of Baghirmi. On the death