Wadai Empire

Wadai Empire
← 1635–1909 →
Wadai and surrounding states in 1750.
Capital		Abeche
Languages		Maban
Religion		African Traditional Religion, later Islam (official 1635)
Government		Monarchy
Kolak
•	1603-1637	Abd al-Karim
•	1902-1909	Muhammad Doud Mourrah
Historical era		Early Modern Period
•	Established	1635
•	Disestablished	1909
Today part of		Central African Republic Chad

The Wadai Empire or Sultanate (French: royaume du Ouaddaï; 1635–1912) was a kingdom located to the east of Lake Chad in present-day Chad and in the Central African Republic. It emerged in the sixteenth century as an offshoot of the Sultanate of Darfur (in present-day Sudan) to the northeast of the Kingdom of Baguirmi.

Origins

In 1635, the Maba and other small groups in the region rallied to the Islamic banner of Abd al-Karim, who led an invasion from the east and overthrew the ruling Tunjur group. Abd al-Karim became the first Kolak or Sultan of a dynasty that lasted until the arrival of the French. During much of the 18th century, Wadai resisted reïncorporation into Darfur.

Expansion

After 1804, during the reign of Muhammad Sabun (r. 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. A new trade route to the north was found, via Ennedi, Kufra and Jalu-Awjila to Benghazi, and Sabun outfitted royal caravans to take advantage of it. He began minting his own coinage and imported chain mail, firearms, and military advisers from North Africa. Sabun's successors were less able than he, and Darfur took advantage of a disputed political succession in 1838 to put its own candidate in power in Ouara, the capital of Wadai. This tactic backfired, however, when Darfur's choice, Muhammad Sharif, rejected Darfur's meddling and asserted his own authority. In doing so, he gained acceptance from Wadai's various factions and went on to become Wadai's ablest ruler.

Sharif conducted military campaigns as far west as Bornu and eventually established Wadai's hegemony over Baguirmi and kingdoms as far away as the Chari River. In Mecca, Sharif had met the founder of the Senussi Islamic brotherhood, a movement that was strong among the inhabitants of Cyrenaica (in present-day Libya) and that was to become a dominant political force and source of resistance to French colonization.

Decline

Last charge of the cavalry. Armed with spear, bow and sword, and accompanied by deafening music, Wadai's forces held to the old methods- mass cavalry charges followed by the infantry. These were insufficient against modern weapons.

View of Abéché, with buildings constructed by the last sultan of Wadai, Ali Kolak. Photo after French annexation, c.1918

The militaristic Wadai opposed French domination until being overcome on June 6, 1909, with the occupation of the capital Abéché by French troops where a puppet sultan was installed. Resistance continued until the last independent sultan was captured in 1912 bringing the sultanate to an end. It became part of the independent Republic of Chad on that country's independence in 1960. The Ouaddaï Region of modern Chad covers part of the area of the old kingdom. Its chief town is Abéché.

See also

• Rulers of the Wadai Kingdom

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Library of Congress Country Studies. - Chad

External links

• www.waddai.com (Arabic)