Sultanate of Dar al Kuti دار الكوتي | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1830–1911 | |||||||||
Status | Vassal state of Dar Runga (1830–1890) Vassal state of Rabih az-Zubayr (1890–1900) | ||||||||
Capital | |||||||||
Common languages | Arabic, other Nilo-Saharan languages | ||||||||
Religion | Islam (official), Traditional African religion | ||||||||
Government | Monarchy | ||||||||
Sheikh, emir | |||||||||
• 1830–1870 | Djougoultoum | ||||||||
• 1870–1890 | Kobur | ||||||||
• 1890-1911 | Muhammad al-Sanussi | ||||||||
Historical era | Late Modern Period | ||||||||
• Established | 1830 | ||||||||
• Rabih az-Zubayr deposes Kobur in favour of al-Sanussi | 1890 | ||||||||
• Disestablished | 1911 | ||||||||
• Final surrender of Kamun, Senussi's son | 1912 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
Today part of | Central African Republic Chad |
Dar al Kuti ('Dar al-Kuri' in some sources) was an Islamic state in the center and northwest of the present Central African Republic which existed from around 1830 until 17 December 1912. [1] From around 1800 the name Dar al-Kuti was given to a stretch of the frontier to the southwest of Wadai, a sultanate in the region of Lake Chad. The term "dar" signifies "abode" in Arabic, while the term "kuti" in the local language denotes a forest or densely-wooded area. [2]
Both Wadai and its western neighbour the Sultanate of Baguirmi (1522-1897) sent slaving expeditions Into the lands of the Sara, a Nilotic people to the south of Chad. By the early nineteenth century these expeditions had reached into the present day Central African Republic. At this time, the ruler of Baguirmi was the Mbang Bourgomanda, who had two sons, Abd el-Kader and Djougoultoum. When Abd el-Kader became sultan in 1826, he sought to distance his brother from power, and Djougoultoum fled to Wadai. [3] : 65
The Kalak (sultan) of Wadai sent Djougoultoum to the Dar Runga, governed by a sultan who was his tributary. Dar Runga was a military frontier between the Azoum and Aouk rivers. Djougoultoum married Fatme, daughter of Boker, the sultan of Dar Runga, and in 1830 settled in a still more southerly frontier region, Bilad al-Kuti, a zone for slave raiding south of the river Aouk. Bilad al-Kuti, or Dar al-Kuti, became a tributary region of Dar Runga, which in turn remained a tributary of Wadai. [3] : 65 [4]
Chá, on the river Diangara, a tributary of the Aouk, became the capital of this new province and Djougoultoum was appointed by Wadai as governor of Dar al-Kuti, which enjoyed a high degree of independence. The dates for his reign (1830-1870) are probably not exact, but he was the first governor of Dar al-Kuti. Its territory comprised fourteen villages (probably only its most significant settlements) and could be traversed in two days from east to west, indicating that it was small. [5]
In the late 1860s or early 1870s, a respected trader and faqih named Kobur was made governor of Dar al-Kuti (according to some sources he was the son of Djougoultoum). [6] His wealth and power probably derived from the ivory trade. While he was governor, groups of Wadai horsemen would appear in Dar al-Kuti from time to time to gather tribute and collect slaves from the regions of the Nduka and Banda peoples, which bordered on Kobur's domain. Kobur was careful to maintain good relations both with the larger Muslim realms to the north, as well as with his non-Muslim neighbours, the Nduka. Dar al-Kuti took part in the slave trade to a limited extent, but large-scale raids did not take place in the time of Kobur. [5]
The greatest threat to Dar al-Kuti was posed by Rabih az-Zubayr, a Sudanese commander and slave trader who was active in the central and northeastern regions of the modern Central African Republic, capturing many of the Banda people. In 1874 Rabih's lieutenants seized Kobur's capital, Chá, and the following year he was attacked on his other flank by the Banda. In 1880 Rabih agreed to stop his attacks on Dar al-Kuti in return for free passage across its lands to attack the Banda. [3] : 112
In 1890, seeking a more compliant protégé, Rabih deposed Kobur and installed Kobur's nephew Muhammad al-Sanussi as sheikh of both Dar al-Kuti and Dar Runga, [3] : 112 Al-Sanussi, born around 1850 in Wadai, was a member of the Sanusiyya order. His daughter Khadija was married to Rabih's son Fadlallah. [6] In the years that followed, Rabih continued to consolidate and expand Sanussi's authority. Any potential threats to his rule from Kobur were neutralised and Dar al-Kuti's sphere of influence expanded to include much of the modern Central African Republic. [5] Dar al-Kuti had been a tributary of Wadai before 1890, and its former overlords did not accept Rabih's seizure of control without resistance. In October 1894 the aguid of Wadai, Cherfeddine, attacked and destroyed Chá, the capital, forcing Sanussi to maintain an itinerant court for two years until he eventually founded a new fortified settlement, or tata, at N'Délé.
In the 1890s Dar al-Kuti began to come under pressure from France. Various explorers ventured into this part of Africa, seeking routes to link the basins of the Ubangi and Shari Rivers. A number of them, including Léon de Poumayrac and fr:Alfred Fourneau, reached areas close to Dar al-Kuti, and in 1891 Paul Crampel was killed together with his companions by Sanussi. [7]
On 28 August 1897, Sanussi agreed to the establishment of a French protectorate over Dar al-Kuti through a treaty of trade and alliance signed by Mohammed el-Sanussi and Émile Gentil. The treaty was revised twice, on 18 February 1903 and 26 January 1908, but Dar al-Kuti retained its independence until the death of Sanussi on 12 January 1911. He left behind at least two sons, Kamun, who took the throne, and Kangaya, as well as the daughter, Hadia, who had married Fadlallah.
The French authorities of French Equatorial Africa long tolerated indegenous slavery, but finally acted against the slave trade of the Sultan of Dar Kuti in 1908, and took action against his slave raids in 1911, declaring the slaves of Dar al Kuti free. [8]
The French decided the time had come to take most of Dar al-Kuti under direct control. Kamun fled east to Ouanda Djallé, and continued resisting French forces until 17 December 1912, when Ouanda Djallé fell to Captain Souclier and Kamun went into exile in Sudan. [5] After absorption into the French colonial territory of Ubangi-Shari, Dar al-Kuti became an administrative division (circonscription) and, between 1937 and 1946, a département. Since 1946 the region has been known as the Autonomous District of N'Délé (1946-1961), the Autonomous Prefecture of N'Délé (1961-1964), and, after 1964, as the Prefecture of Bamingui-Bangoran. [5]
Émile Gentil was a French colonial administrator, naval officer, and military leader. He is best known for heading two military missions to conquer and consolidate territories north from modern Gabon to Chad.
The Sultanate or Kingdom of Bagirmi or Baghermi was an Islamic sultanate southeast of Lake Chad in central Africa. It was founded in either 1480 or 1522 and lasted until 1897, when it became a French protectorate. Its capital was Massenya, north of the Chari River and close to the border to modern Cameroon. The kings wore the title Mbang.
N'Délé or Ndele is a market town and sub prefecture in the north eastern Central African Republic, lying east of the Bamingui-Bangoran National Park. Ndélé is the capital of Bamingui-Bangoran, one of the 16 prefectures of the Central African Republic. N'Délé had a population of 10,850 as of the 2003 census; and a calculated 2013 population of 13,704.
The Banda people are an ethnic group of the Central African Republic. They are likewise found in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cameroon, and South Sudan. They were severely affected by slave raids of the 19th century and slave trading out of Africa. Under French colonial rule, most converted to Christianity but retained elements of their traditional religious systems and values.
The Wadai Sultanate, sometimes referred to as the Maba Sultanate, 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 occupied land previously held by the Sultanate of Darfur to the northeast of the Sultanate of Baguirmi.
Rabih az-Zubayr ibn Fadl Allah or Rabih Fadlallah, usually known as Rabah in French, was a Sudanese warlord and slave trader who established a powerful empire east of Lake Chad, in today's Chad.
Dār Fertit is a historical term for the lowlands south of Darfur and east of the highlands in the east of the modern-day Central African Republic that contain tributaries of the White Nile River. This region included parts of southwestern Sudan and northwestern South Sudan. In the present era, Fertit is a catch-all word for non-Dinka, non-Arab, non-Luo, non-Fur groups and tribes in Western Bahr el Ghazal, South Sudan. Even though these groups often speak different languages and have a history of inter-tribal violence, they have become more unified over time, mostly out of opposition to the Dinka people.
The Wadai War, also known as the Ouaddai War, was waged by France and its African allies against the Wadai Empire and its allies from 1906 to 1912. Located in what today would be eastern Chad and western Sudan, Wadai fiercely resisted the French invasion. Regardless, much of Wadai including its capital Abéché fell to the invaders in 1909, forcing the empire's ruler Dud Murra to continue his resistance from outlying provinces and allied states. He managed to gain the support of the Sultanate of Darfur and Dar Masalit, and used these areas as rear bases during his attempts to oust the French. Doing so, he enjoyed some success, and inflicted several defeats on French-led forces. In order to legitimize their intervention, the French installed Dud Murra's relative Adam Asil as puppet ruler in Wadai. After losing most of his forces and allies, Dud Murra was forced to surrender in 1911. Regardless, unrest initially continued: a major anti-French revolt broke out soon after Dud Murra's defeat, and an anti-European conspiracy was allegedly organized with the support of Adam Asil. The last effective anti-French resistance in Wadai was suppressed by 1912 and the region remained a part of French colonial empire until 1960.
Ouanda Djallé is a sub-prefecture and town in the prefecture of Vakaga in the Central African Republic. It is located 130 km south of Birao. By population it is one of the smallest sub-prefectures in the country.
Dar Runga was a sultanate in what is today southern Chad. It was a tributary state of the Ouaddai Empire. It was conquered by Rabih az-Zubayr in 1890 and annexed to its former vassal, the sultanate of Dar al Kuti.
Paul Crampel was a French explorer who explored Africa in the areas of present-day Gabon and Chad. He was killed while on an expedition to Lake Chad.
Muhammad 'Abd al-Karim Sabun was (Sultan) of Wadai, a Muslim state in what is now eastern Chad, from 1804 to 1815. He pursued an expansionist policy, and was the greatest of the rulers of Wadai.
The Republic of Logone, also known as Dar al-Kuti, is a partially realized, self-declared autonomous region and proto-state internationally recognised as part of the Central African Republic. It was formed by the Muslim rebel movement Popular Front for the Rebirth of Central African Republic (FPRC) with support of other armed groups on 14 December 2015.
Jean Jacques Marie Ferdinand de Béhagle was a French explorer of Africa. He served with the colonial service in Algeria and travelled in the Congo and Ubangi region. While attempting to find a viable land route from the Congo to the Mediterranean via Chad he was taken prisoner by Rabih az-Zubayr and hanged.
Abd ar-Rahman Gaourang II was Mbang of Bagirmi from 1885 to 1918. He came to power at a time when the sultanate was in terminal decline, subject to both Wadai and Bornu. The Sudanese warlord Rabih az-Zubayr made him his vassal in 1893. Gaourang signed a treaty that made his sultanate a French protectorate in 1897. After the final defeat of Rabih in 1900 he ruled as a subordinate of the French in Chad until his death in 1918.
Muhammad Salih bin Yusuf, known as Dud Murra or Dudmurrah, was the last independent ruler, or kolak, of the Wadai Empire. He allied with the Sanusi, powerful traders of the eastern Sahara, and with the Sultan of Darfur to resist French aggression in the eastern Sahel, but was defeated. His sultanate was incorporated in the French military territory of Chad.
Léon-Charles-Édouard Hanolet was a Belgian soldier, explorer and colonial administrator. He is known for his explorations in 1894–1895 in what is now the Central African Republic, which led to an agreement between France and Belgium that the Ubangi-Mbomou rivers would form the boundary between their territories. He defended the Lado Enclave against the retreating Mahdist forces in 1898.
Central African nationality law is regulated by the Constitution of the Central African Republic, as amended; the Central African Republic's Nationality Code, and its revisions; and various international agreements to which the country is a signatory. These laws determine who is, or is eligible to be, a national of the Central African Republic. The legal means to acquire nationality, formal legal membership in a nation, differ from the domestic relationship of rights and obligations between a national and the nation, known as citizenship. Central African nationality is typically obtained under the principle of jus sanguinis, i.e. by birth in the Central African Republic or abroad to parents with Central African nationality. It can be granted to persons with an affiliation to the country, or to a permanent resident who has lived in the country for a given period of time through naturalization.
Patriotic Rally for the Renewal of the Central African Republic was an armed group in the Central African Republic based in northern part of the country, in Ouadda and Sam Ouandja in Haute-Kotto and Tiringoulou in Vakaga.
Gula, also spelled Goula, is an ethnic group who lives in Central African Republic, Chad, and Sudan. In the Central African Republic, they live in the northern regions of Vakaga, Bamingui-Bangoran, and Haute-Kotto.