Manan

Manan, also called Matan, was the capital of Kanem and had become notable before 1000 CE.¹ Al-Idrissi mentioned its continued existence in the 12th century², but it was no longer the capital.³ It was probably located northeast of Lake Chad in today's Kanem Prefecture, Tchad (Chad).⁴

Maps

Footnotes

1. The state was a predecessor to the Sayfawa state of Kanem, and is conventionally given the same name. The tenth century sources called Manan the capital of the Kingdom of the Zaghawa (Cambridge History of Africa, Volume 2, John D. Fage et al, eds.
2. The Cambridge History of Africa, Volume 1, John D. Fage, ed.
3. This is said to have happened when the Sayfawa dynastry took over in the second half of the 11th century (kanoonline.com/smf/index.php?topic=3155.0, accessed 7/17/2010).
4. See discussion in A.D.H. Bivar and P.L;. Shinnie, 'Old Kanuri Capitals' in Papers in African Prehistory, J.D. Fage and R.A. Oliver, eds. (Cambridge University Press, 1970). Proposed locations range from Diffa Prefecture, Niger to Batha Prefecture, Tchad.