650 
APPENDIX. 
Name of the King. 
Principal Events during the Reign of each King. 
Place where he 
died. 
Length of 
the Reign 
in Lunar 
Years. 
Edris Amsami, 
Or as he is more 
generally called, 
from Alawo, his 
place of burial, 
Alaw6ma, son of 
'AH ben Edrfs ben 
'Ali ben Ahmed 
Dunama ben 'Oth- 
man ben el Haj 
Edrfs. 
This is certainly the most important reign 
for us, as this excellent and energetic prince 
found in his imam, A'hmed ben Furtua 
(or ben Sof fya), a trustworthy and able his- 
torian, whose work has outlived the dy- 
nasty of the Sefuwa, and fallen into my 
hands. But, unfortunately, it comprises 
only the first twelve years of his reign, so 
that of the remaining twenty-one years, 
equally rich in events, we know nothing at 
all. The imam A'hmed wrote one part of 
his work evidently in the year of the Hejra 
990 or 991, at the end of Rejeb, in the 
capital Ghasreggomo ; the other part, which 
contains an account of the expeditions to 
Kanem, which likewise belong to the first 
years of the long reign of Edrfs, a little 
later. 
Edrfs Alawoma seems to have ascended the 
throne after a short interregnum, during 
which the reins of government were held 
by the queen mother, or magira, 'Aaisha 
Kel-eghrarmaram *, who appears to have 
been a very distinguished woman, probably 
of Berber origin, realizing to the Kanuri 
the ideal perfection of a female, and there- 
fore called " mai kamobe." Probably it 
was she who instilled into her son that 
harmonious union of warlike courage and 
vigour on the one hand, with mildness 
and justice on the other, which were the 
characteristic qualities of this excellent 
prince. Not long after his accession to 
the throne, he appears to have sent, pro- 
bably under the influence of his mother, 
an embassy to Tripoli, the secure inter- 
course with which place was very im= 
portant for any enterprising prince of 
Bdrnu ; and to this intercourse we evidently 
have to ascribe the very remarkable fact, 
that this king possessed already a good 
many musketeers, who decided the issue of 
the most serious battles. We find also in 
the imam's history an interesting account 
of a numerous caravan arriving from the 
north with a great many Arab horses for 
sale. I have no doubt that the French 
Prisoner in Tripoli was mistaken in as- 
Alawo. 
33. 
(not 53.) 
A.H. 
979—1011. 
A. D. 
1571-1603. 
* The name Kel-eghiarmar seems to indicate Berber origin. 
