Dikwa today is a medium sized town northeast of Maiduguri on the border of the vast firki-plains south of Lake Chad. Although today of minor importance it has witnessed more vital times even before it became the capital of the usurper Rabeh in 1893 after he destroyed Kukawa, the 19th century capital of the Bonro empire. The site of the old palace is now under protection of the National Commission of Museums and Monuments and parts of the buildings have been reerected, also recently a museum has been opened within the site. The photograph shows the palace site in the at the beginning of this century when it was occupied by the German colonial troops commander.
Dikwa is believed to have been founded as a colony of the Borno Empire sometime in the 16th century, as a stronghold within an area that has repeatedly challenged Borno's domination. The dikwama, the traditional rulers of Dikwa were able to rule relativeley independent in the area and developed their own small 'state'. With the general decline of the Borno Empire and heavy taxes imposed on the inhabitants the loyalty of the small 'states' bordering Borno heartland weakened and Dikwa broke away with the advent of Rabeh when the dikwama submitted to the warlord in 1892 and joined the invading troops.
The British traveller Dixon Denham experienced Dikwa ("Deegoa") in 1823 as "a large walled town, goverened by a sultan subject to the shehu (sheikh) of Borno with "a population of thirty thousand". At the time of the German traveller Heinrich Barth, who visited Dikwa ("Diköa") in 1851, it was a town of some 25.000 inhabitants and an impressive wall standing up to 10 m and in good condition. Later in the century the German traveller Gerhard Rohlfs described Dikwa as a town of minor importance within the Borno empire and completely controlled by Kukawa. Referring to the history of the area south of the lake, he mentions that it used to be an independent 'kingdom' and was still the seat of a 'Sultan', who at the time of Rohlfs was degraded to a district head. The town walls were still standing but obviously were in a state of decay. Nevertheless the Sultan inhabited a palace structure notably larger than the other buildings. It is probably there that Rabeh build his palace which is being described as a most impressive sight by the various early colonial writers and in fact must have dominated the town. Although the French campaign against Dikwa resulted in the partial destruction of the stronghold large areas of the Old City remained intact. Upon arrival in 1902 the Germans mapped the town.
The palace was occupied by the colonial troops and the Germans build their barracks making use of many of the old buildings including the walls which were described by the German colonial officer Hans Dominik as having been three meters high. The German garrison was abandoned without fight in course of the French conquest of Northern Cameroon in 1915 and Dikwa soon came under British domination and the District officer installed himself in Rabeh's palace.
Excavations together with the Borno Historical Society immediately at Rabeh's palace have produced ceramics solely of traditional wares. Vessel types are still in use today as are many of the designs. These show that the pottery found must have been produced in the vicinity of Dikwa. The ceramics are associated with an extensive ash layer which probably dates to the times when Rabeh build his palace and destroyed previous buildings in the area.
Except a British coin from 1958, no artefacts from the colonial period were found.
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