Ali I Gaji

Ali I Gaji (‘Alī Ghājī Kanuri bin Dunama), also called Ali Gajideni, Ali Dunamami, Ali Zenamami,^: 122 and mistakenly Ali Gazi, was the mai of the Kanem–Bornu Empire in 1470–1503.

Ali is considered one of the greatest rulers of the empire. He put an end to a century of civil conflict and unrest and began a new period of imperial expansion. Ali founded Ngazargamu, the first substantial capital in a century, and the focal point of the central Sudan region for the next three centuries. Bornu regained its prestige under Ali and was noted for its participation in the trans-Saharan trade, as noted by the Arab traveler Leo Africanus.