Susam of Kanem

Susam, Sebu, or Sef was the legendary first mai (ruler) of the Kanem–Bornu Empire. Later legends credit Susam with uniting the local tribes of Kanem (modern-day southwestern Chad) and establishing the empire and its royal line. If a real historical figure, Susam would have ruled at the time of the empire's establishment, c. 700.

After the empire converted to Islam in the 11th century, legends of the ruling dynasty were Arabized and Susam was claimed to have been the 6th-century Himyarite prince Sayf ibn Dī Yazan, a medieval Islamic folk hero. Details of the Arabized legend are contradictory and were questioned as early as the 15th century.