Dr Vincent Hiribarren's new book A History of Borno: Trans-Saharan African Empire to Failing Nigerian State has been published by Hurst Publishers.

Borno (in northeast Nigeria) is notorious today as the home of an Islamist terrorist group, Boko Haram, whose insurgency is a major security threat, but it was once the heartland of the Kanuri-speaking royal empire of Kanem-Borno, renowned throughout Africa and beyond, which in its later incarnation, the Bornu Empire, lasted from 1380 to 1893. This book offers the reader the first modern history of Borno, drawing upon sources in London, Berlin, Paris, Kaduna and Maiduguri and recently released ‘migrated archives’.

The Department of History will host a launch event for the book on Thursday 15 June from 17.30 on the 8th Floor of the Strand Building - all are welcome.