Wadai Sultanate

Sultanate of Wadai سلطنة وداي
1501–1912
Wadai and surrounding states in 1750.
Capital	Ouara(1635–1850) Abeche(1850–1911)
Common languages	Maba,Chadian Arabic,Tunjur,Fur
Religion	Traditional African religion,laterIslam(official 1635)
Government	Monarchy
Kolak
• 1603–1637	Abd al-KarimAl Abbasi
• 1902–1909	Dud Murra of Wadai
• 1909-1912	'Asil Kolak
Historical era	Early modern period
• Established	1501
• Abd al-Karim overthrows the Tunjur King Daud	1635
• Disestablished	1912
• Wadai reconstituted under French suzerainty	1935
Preceded by Succeeded by Tunjur kingdom Sultanate of Darfur French Equatorial Africa
Today part of	Central African Republic Chad Sudan

TheWadai Sultanate(Arabic:سلطنة ودايSaltanat Waday,French:royaume du Ouaddaï,Fur:BurguorBirgu;1501–1912), sometimes referred to as theMaba Sultanate(French:Sultanat Maba), was an African sultanate located to the east ofLake Chadin present-dayChadand theCentral African Republic.It emerged in the seventeenth century under the leadership of the first sultan,Abd al-Karim,who overthrew the rulingTunjurpeople of the area. It occupied land previously held by theSultanate of Darfur(in present-daySudan) to the northeast of theSultanate of Baguirmi.

History

Origins

Prior to the 1630s, Wadai region people, also known as Bargo, was a pre-IslamicTunjurkingdom, established around 1501.The Arab migrants to the area for trade which became Wadai claimed to be descendants of theAbbasid Caliphs,specifically fromSalih ibn Abdallah ibn Abbas.Yame, a Bargo leader brought Islam to their people after he himself embraced Islam, Arab migrants settled inDebba,near the future capital ofOuara(Wara).

In 1635, theBargoand other small groups in the region rallied to the Islamic banner ofAbd al-Karim,who was descended from theBargotribe noble family, led an empire from the lake of Chad to Darfur empire and overthrew the rulingTunjurdynasty (who originated from the east inDarfur), 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 theMasalitandDajotribes. Abd al-Karim became the first Kolak (Sultan) of a dynasty that lasted until the arrival of theFrench.

During much of the 17th and 18th century, the history of Wadai is marked by wars between Wadai and theSultanate of Darfur,Bagirmi,MasalitKanem-Bornu.They fought for a period to rule the Wadai's regions.Under the rule of Abd al-Karim's grandson, Ya'qub Arus (1681–1707), the country suffered terrible drought that lasted for several years.

Expansion

After 1804, during the reign ofMuhammad Sabun(r. 1804 – c. 1815), the Sultanate of Wadai began to expand its power as it profited considerably from its strategic position astride thetrans-Saharan trade routes.A new trade route to the north was found, viaEnnedi,KufraandJalu-AwjilatoBenghazi,and Sabun outfitted royal caravans to take advantage of it. He began minting his owncoinageand importedchain mail,moukhalas,and military advisers fromNorth 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 theirivoryto fill the state's treasury. Many kingdoms were either conquered or forced to become tributaries, giving horses for the cavalry and trade, servants for the Kolak along withslaves.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 inOuara,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 asBornuand eventually established Wadai's hegemony over the Bagirmi Sultanate and other kingdoms as far away as theChari River.Sharif ruled between 1835 and 1858; he introduced theSanusiyahIslamic brotherhood to the region. InMecca,Sharif had met the founder of theSanusiyahIslamic brotherhoodMuhammad ibn Ali as-Senussi,his movement being strong among the inhabitants ofCyrenaica(in present-dayLibya), which became a dominant political force and source of resistance toFrench colonization.

Decline

Main article:Ouaddai War

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.

Europeans under the German Gustav Nachtigal first explored the area in 1873. It would eventually lose its independence from the French in 1904. However, fighting against the French still continued until 1908 when SultanDoud Murraproclaimed jihad against the French. However, by 1912 the French managed to pacify the region and abolished the sultanate.

The Wadai Sultanate was reconstituted under French suzerainty in 1935, withMuhammad Urada ibn Ibrahimbecoming Kolak, or sultan. The sultanate continues under the suzerainty of the Republic of Chad and its current Kolak since 1977 isIbrahim ibn Muhammad Urada.

It became a part of the independent Republic ofChadon the day of the country's independence in 1960. TheOuaddaï Regionof modern Chad covers part of the area of the old kingdom. Its major town isAbéché.

Military

UnderAbd al-Karim Sabunin the early 19th century, Wadai forces were equipped withchain mailand firearms.In the 1840s–50s, Wadai possessed 300 guns. The figure went upwards to 4000flintlockmusketsby the 1870s.Sultan Ali (1858–1874) hired Turkish and Egyptian mechanics to cast 12 bronze and smallcalibercannons.These cannons lackedcarriagesandGustav Nachtigalconcluded in the 19th century that they were ineffective.

Wadai warriors in the mid 19th century

Wadai could deploy about 5–6000cavalryof which a third of the cavalry men worequilted armorwhiles several more wore steel armor.Infantry could amount up to 56–60,000. The army was divided into two wings and a centre with the Sultan located behind the centre. The Sultan was protected byshield bearerswho bore iron shields as well as "the troop of path makers" who cleared way for the Sultan's mobility through the bush. There existed thekorayatwho were mostly armed withlances.Theaqidstood at the centre with royal slaves armed with muskets.Evidence exists for the use of explosives in warfare such as thesiegeofMassenyain 1870. Under directions from a man ofBornu,the army of Sultan Ali (1858–1874) buried a copper-coated basket full of gunpowder near the walls of Massenya. The basket was connected to the Wadai camp by gunpowder wrapped in cloth and further covered with dirt. The cloth was lit from its end leading to an explosion of the mine and the breach of Massenya's walls.

Tactics

Wadai forces were noted by French sources for their poor gun handling and insufficient training. In 1902, a French source fromDar Kutistates the Wadai army preferred to go on offence with cavalry and rely on firearms only for defense.Another source within that period documented that Wadai soldiers;

are deployed in one or more lines.... They advance under fire in dashes,from shelter to shelter. They shoot badly and only at short range, when they come within 400 metres from the enemy. Their shooting at any rate is only effective from this point, since they do not know how to make use of gunsights. This is, however, no great disadvantage for them, for extensive fields of fire are rare in the wooded country where we did battle with them.... They fight generally on foot and in order. They employ firearms and appear not to like hand-to-hand fighting.... On the defensive they adopt the same tactic as in attack, defending the terrain step by step, retiring from shelter to shelter...

Outflankingandencirclementwere documented as a tactic of Wadai for the first time in 1908.

Gallery

• 
  Wadai sultanate east ofLake Chadaround 1890s
• 
  View ofAbéché,with buildings constructed by the last sultan of Wadai,'Asil Kolak.Photo after French annexation,c. 1918

See also

• List of rulers of Wadai
• Dar al Kuti

References

Bibliography

• Nachtigal, Gustav (2021).Sahara and Sudan IV: Wadai and Darfur.Univ of California Press.ISBN9780520329126.

External links

• www.waddai.com(in Arabic)