The Sayfawa dynasty is the name of the kings (or mai, as they called themselves) of the Kanem-Bornu Empire, centered first in Kanem in western Chad, and then, after 1396, in Borno (today north-eastern Nigeria).

Theories on the origins of this dynasty vary. Many scholars assert that it may have been rooted in a Tubu expansion or comprised an indigenous dynasty. Other theories have also been made. The German historian Dierk Lange has argued that the advent of the Sayfawa dynasty came in the 11th century, when Hummay introduced Islam in Kanem. Lange adds that Hummay's advent represented the ascent of a Berber dynasty and ruling class over a previous Zaghawa one. The Sayfawa themselves claimed as their eponymous ancestor a late pre-islamic Yemenite king Sayf ibn Dhi Yazan. This tradition was first mentioned by the Andalusian scholar Ibn Said in the 13th century, and Lange believes it to be mainly the fruit of Muslim scholars who arrived to Kanem from regions where Himyarite traditions were strong.¹² Most historians agree however, that the leaders of this new dynasty were in fact ancestors of the Kanembu people[1].

The dynasty, one of Africa's longest living, lost the throne in 1846.

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