Njimi was the capital of the Kanuri state of Kanem (later Kanem-Bornu),<ref name=":0">Template:Cite book</ref> north of Lake Chad, from the 11th through the 14th centuries. Founded by the Sefawa dynasty in the 11th century, the town dominated trans-Saharan trade in ivory and slaves between the central Sahara and Libya. The precise location of Njimi has yet to be determined.<ref name=":0" />