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Wadai Sultanate
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Wadai Sultanate
The Wadai Sultanate (Arabic: سلطنة وداي Saltanat Waday, French: royaume du Ouaddaï, Fur: Burgu or Birgu; 1635–1912), sometimes referred to as the Maba Sultanate (French: Sultanat Maba), was an African sultanate located to the east of Lake Chad in present-day Chad and the Central African Republic. It emerged in the seventeenth century under the leadership of the first sultan, Abd al-Karim, who overthrew the ruling Tunjur people of the area. It bordered the Sultanate of Darfur and the Sultanate of Baguirmi.
Prior to the 1630s, the region was ruled by the Tunjur kingdom, established around the 15th century. Tunjur oral traditions say that the founder of the Tunjur kingdom in Darfur, Ahmad al-Ma'qur, had two sons called Ahmad Kanjar and Musa; Kanjar accordingly succeeded his father in Darfur and was the founder of the Kunjaara dynasty, while Musa went to Wadai and subjugated the region with the assistance of the Mahamid Arabs. McGregor wrote that many of the early heroes in tradition were later Islamised to strengthen the ruling dynasty's legitimacy.
In 1635, the Maba and other small groups in the region rallied to the Islamic banner of Abd al-Karim, who was descended from the Maba tribe noble family, and overthrew the ruling Tunjur dynasty, who at the time was led by a king named "Daud". Abd al-Karim secured and centralized his power in the area by marrying the Tunjur King Daud's daughter, Meiram Aisa, and then forming other marriage pacts with local dynasties and tribes, such as the Masalit and Dajo tribes.[citation needed] Abd al-Karim built his capital at Wara and founded the Kolak dynasty, and made Islam the state religion despite most commoners following traditional religions.
After Abd al-Karim's death, Wadai's history was marked by civil wars and hostile relations with Bornu and Darfur. Wadai's wealth came from slave trading and the procurement of slaves in raids. Throughout the 17th century, Wadai was a tributary of the Darfur, however towards the end of the century kolak Ya'qub Arus refused to pay tribute, securing Wadai's independence, likely owing to Wadai's growth in economic and military power. Darfur attacked Wadai but was defeated. Under Ya'qub's rule Wadai suffered a terrible drought.
Ya'qub's son, Joda, expanded the state southwards and into the Tunjur heartland of Mondo.
After 1804, during the reign of Muhammad Sabun (1804 – c. 1815), the Sultanate of Wadai began to expand its power as it profited considerably from its strategic position astride the trans-Saharan trade routes. In 1805 Wadai conquered Bagirmi, killed its ruler, and captured and sold 20,000 people into slavery. Bagirmi was reduced to a tributary. Sabun further extended his rule south to Dar Sila and Dar Runga. Around 1809/10 a new trade route to the north was found by a traveller from Jala, linking Ennedi, Kufra and Jalu-Awjila to Benghazi, and Sabun outfitted royal caravans to take advantage of it. This freed Wadai from being economically dependent on Bornu and Darfur. He began minting his own coinage and imported chain mail, moukhalas, and military advisers from North Africa, along with using the wealth generated from the trade of exotic animals like giraffes, lions, antelopes and camels, with there also being the trade of elephants and their ivory to fill the state's treasury.[citation needed] Sabun's death was followed by a period of intense instability, seeing six sultans in the 1820s and early 1830s, and Darfur took advantage of a disputed political succession in 1838 to put its own candidate (Muhammad al-Sharif) in power in return for tribute.
This did not last, and Sharif quickly regained Wadai's independence. Sharif conducted various military campaigns, sacking Bornu's capital (Kukawa) in 1846 and enforcing Bagirmi's tributary status. Darfur and Wadai's relations degenerated into raiding and counter-raiding. At Mecca, Sharif had met the founder of the Senussi Islamic brotherhood Muhammad ibn Ali as-Senussi, his movement being strong among the inhabitants of Cyrenaica (in present-day Libya). Sharif made Abéché the capital and closely controlled Senussi merchants, whose leaders controlled the towns of Jalu and Kufra along the recently found trade route.
Sharif's son, Ali ibn Muhammad Sharif, expanded economic and religious relations with the Senussi, as they became close allies. Both Sultan Ali's and his successor's reigns (Yusuf ibn Muhammad Sharif) enjoyed stability and prosperity. In the late 19th century, the region became unstable due to colonial expansion and the rise of al-Zubayr and the Mahdists, and Wadai and the Senussi's trade route from Wadai to Benghazi became the only reliable north–south route, with the Senussi ensuring security along it. This benefited Wadai greatly, and they expanded to control much of the Chad Basin, extending south to control Dar al Kuti. Wadai primarily exported slaves, ivory, and ostrich feathers, and imported firearms, manufactured goods, and rugs made of camel hair.
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Wadai Sultanate
The Wadai Sultanate (Arabic: سلطنة وداي Saltanat Waday, French: royaume du Ouaddaï, Fur: Burgu or Birgu; 1635–1912), sometimes referred to as the Maba Sultanate (French: Sultanat Maba), was an African sultanate located to the east of Lake Chad in present-day Chad and the Central African Republic. It emerged in the seventeenth century under the leadership of the first sultan, Abd al-Karim, who overthrew the ruling Tunjur people of the area. It bordered the Sultanate of Darfur and the Sultanate of Baguirmi.
Prior to the 1630s, the region was ruled by the Tunjur kingdom, established around the 15th century. Tunjur oral traditions say that the founder of the Tunjur kingdom in Darfur, Ahmad al-Ma'qur, had two sons called Ahmad Kanjar and Musa; Kanjar accordingly succeeded his father in Darfur and was the founder of the Kunjaara dynasty, while Musa went to Wadai and subjugated the region with the assistance of the Mahamid Arabs. McGregor wrote that many of the early heroes in tradition were later Islamised to strengthen the ruling dynasty's legitimacy.
In 1635, the Maba and other small groups in the region rallied to the Islamic banner of Abd al-Karim, who was descended from the Maba tribe noble family, and overthrew the ruling Tunjur dynasty, who at the time was led by a king named "Daud". Abd al-Karim secured and centralized his power in the area by marrying the Tunjur King Daud's daughter, Meiram Aisa, and then forming other marriage pacts with local dynasties and tribes, such as the Masalit and Dajo tribes.[citation needed] Abd al-Karim built his capital at Wara and founded the Kolak dynasty, and made Islam the state religion despite most commoners following traditional religions.
After Abd al-Karim's death, Wadai's history was marked by civil wars and hostile relations with Bornu and Darfur. Wadai's wealth came from slave trading and the procurement of slaves in raids. Throughout the 17th century, Wadai was a tributary of the Darfur, however towards the end of the century kolak Ya'qub Arus refused to pay tribute, securing Wadai's independence, likely owing to Wadai's growth in economic and military power. Darfur attacked Wadai but was defeated. Under Ya'qub's rule Wadai suffered a terrible drought.
Ya'qub's son, Joda, expanded the state southwards and into the Tunjur heartland of Mondo.
After 1804, during the reign of Muhammad Sabun (1804 – c. 1815), the Sultanate of Wadai began to expand its power as it profited considerably from its strategic position astride the trans-Saharan trade routes. In 1805 Wadai conquered Bagirmi, killed its ruler, and captured and sold 20,000 people into slavery. Bagirmi was reduced to a tributary. Sabun further extended his rule south to Dar Sila and Dar Runga. Around 1809/10 a new trade route to the north was found by a traveller from Jala, linking Ennedi, Kufra and Jalu-Awjila to Benghazi, and Sabun outfitted royal caravans to take advantage of it. This freed Wadai from being economically dependent on Bornu and Darfur. He began minting his own coinage and imported chain mail, moukhalas, and military advisers from North Africa, along with using the wealth generated from the trade of exotic animals like giraffes, lions, antelopes and camels, with there also being the trade of elephants and their ivory to fill the state's treasury.[citation needed] Sabun's death was followed by a period of intense instability, seeing six sultans in the 1820s and early 1830s, and Darfur took advantage of a disputed political succession in 1838 to put its own candidate (Muhammad al-Sharif) in power in return for tribute.
This did not last, and Sharif quickly regained Wadai's independence. Sharif conducted various military campaigns, sacking Bornu's capital (Kukawa) in 1846 and enforcing Bagirmi's tributary status. Darfur and Wadai's relations degenerated into raiding and counter-raiding. At Mecca, Sharif had met the founder of the Senussi Islamic brotherhood Muhammad ibn Ali as-Senussi, his movement being strong among the inhabitants of Cyrenaica (in present-day Libya). Sharif made Abéché the capital and closely controlled Senussi merchants, whose leaders controlled the towns of Jalu and Kufra along the recently found trade route.
Sharif's son, Ali ibn Muhammad Sharif, expanded economic and religious relations with the Senussi, as they became close allies. Both Sultan Ali's and his successor's reigns (Yusuf ibn Muhammad Sharif) enjoyed stability and prosperity. In the late 19th century, the region became unstable due to colonial expansion and the rise of al-Zubayr and the Mahdists, and Wadai and the Senussi's trade route from Wadai to Benghazi became the only reliable north–south route, with the Senussi ensuring security along it. This benefited Wadai greatly, and they expanded to control much of the Chad Basin, extending south to control Dar al Kuti. Wadai primarily exported slaves, ivory, and ostrich feathers, and imported firearms, manufactured goods, and rugs made of camel hair.
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