Dunama Dabbalemi, or Dounama Dibbalém, of the Sayfawa dynasty, was the mai (king) of the Kanem Empire, in present-day Chad, from 1210 to 1224.
[1][2][3] A fervent Muslim, Dabbalemi initiated diplomatic exchanges with sultans in North Africa and apparently arranged for the establishment of a special hostel in Cairo to facilitate pilgrimages to Mecca.
[4] During his reign, he declared jihad against the surrounding tribes and initiated an extended period of conquest, allegedly arriving to have under his command a cavalry 40,000 strong.
[5] He is also credited with destroying the mune, a mysterious object believed to possess unknown powers, possibly a symbol of divine kingship.
It was probably destroyed so to cancel an important symbol of pre-Muslim beliefs, and to prove his determination in contrasting what he saw as the lax faith of his predecessors.