Ancient
History of Western Sudan
By:
Ibrahim.B.Musa
08/13/06
The
name Sudan is probably a confusing term, especially to modern learners
of
history as it is a recent name given to the current Republic of Sudan
governed
by its capital city Khartoum. Geographically, it is the
areabordered by Ethiopia andEritrea from the East, Egypt
and Libya
from the North, Chad and Central Africa from the West and Zaire, Uganda
and
Kenya from the South.
With
reference to ancient factsof history, to giveany piece of
information aboutancient history of Western Sudan, it is
necessary to
point out to two important historical facts. First, the origin of the
term
Sudan and the source from which it isderived. Second, what part
of Africa
is said to be known as Sudan in ancient history.
With
regards to the name Sudan, originally it comes from the
term`Bilad -al-
Sudan` which means “Land of Blacks”. So the term is a mere derivation
from the Arabic word ` Sauod` meaning ‘Blacks’ as an indication to the
skin
colour of the inhabitants living in the region. The term is said to be
used by
Arab travelers, geographers and historians who first wrote the history
of the
region.
In
course of the African part known as Sudan, ancient history indicates to
the
area lying from Ethiopia and Eritrea on the Eastern Coast of Africa
stretching
to Ghana, Guinea and Mali on the Western Coast of Africa. On such
basis,
ancient history divides the region into three divisions: Eastern Sudan,
Central
Sudan and Western Sudan.
Eastern
Sudan is referred to the area lying from Ethiopia in the East where the
Kingdom
of Iksum used to dominate, stretching to the region ofthe
current Republic of Sudan where the Nubian Kingdom used to dominate. On
other
hand, the area encompasses the broad expanse of savannastretching
between
the vast Sahara Desert to the North and the tropical rain forests of
Guinea
Coast to the southand north to Ghanaand Mali is
said to be known as Western Sudan.
The
period prior to Islamic contact with this region, is largely unknown
though
archaeological remains indicate to existence of inhabitants thousands
of years
ago, the result of which the study of ancient History of Western Sudan
begins
from the Medieval Age. Moreover, inspite of the tantalizing of
archaeological
remains, understanding of the great medieval kingdoms of ancient
Western Sudan
depends upon and limited by these early written sources.
Medievalempires
of Ghana, Mali andSonghai that controlled WesternSudan had
no fixed
geopoliticalboundariesor singular ethnic or national
identities.
Although each empire possessed important political and economic
centers, such
as Ghana’s Kombi Saleh and Songhai`s Gao, it is not certain that these
were
permanent capitals. Instead, the empires might have had ‘floating’
capitalsthat shiftedbetweena number of
urbanizedcentersor
traveled with their ruling monarchs. Furthermore, the empires of
Western Sudan
were unified by strong leadership, kin-based societies, and the trade
routes
they sought to dominate.
The
Islamic impact on these empires is usually related to the extensive
trading
networks andtrans-Saharan commerce which was developed in the 7th
century by Arab and Berbers. Naturally, the savanna region is
hospitable to both agriculture and livestock breeding as well as it is
ideallysituated for trade. Such properties made the
regionmore attractive toArab from northAfricato
impose
Islamic culture while seeking for a rich diversity of goods represented
in gold
and salt as well assearching for grazing land for their animals.
The
partof Africawhich is somewhat confusing tomodern
history,
isthe area lyingfrom Lake Chad stretching toDar fur
and
Kordofan and further east to the land of ancient Nubia. This is because
this
area is said to be known as Central Sudan in ancient history. The
history of the
regionin the period prior to Islamic contact is not known largely
though
some earliest records point out to the existence of Kanem Bornu,
Bagirmi and
Hausa kingdoms dominating the area around Lake Chad, and the Kingdom of
Daju
which is saidto be dominating the area around JebelMarra
stretching
to Kordofan in the East, and bordering Kanem and Bagirmi kingdoms in
the
West.
With
respect to the Islamic contact with the region as mentioned by Al-haj
Mekki
Abdallah Al-tijani theChadianresearcher, the
impact of
the Islamicculture on the kingdoms around Lake Chad, especially
Kanem
Bornu took place around 666 when Muslim scouts had reached the region
of Kowra
headed by Ogba-ibn Nafi’ the Muslim commander who was sent from Egypt
to
discover the region. Since that time, theimpact had been going on
until
it reached the highest peak by the beginning of the 7th
century by
means of extensive trade and Arab search for grazing land.Even
thekingdoms of Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Hausaand Songhai,
are said to have known Islam through Kanem Bornu which used to dominate
a large
area around Lake Chad.
By the
end of the 12th to the beginning of the 13th
century,
Kanem Bornu wasn’t strong enough the
result of
which it lost a large part of it to be under the
dynasty of
Tunjur who themselves in 1635 were displaced by Waddai from that
part to
be the Kingdom of Waddai. Waddai ruled the area lying from
the east
of Lake Chad stretching to the western part of Dar fur from 1635 to
1909 and
was ended by the French colonization. It is strongly believed
that the
founder of Waddai, Abd-al-kareem ibn Salih is originally from
theAbbasid
family.HeleftBagdadafter the Abbasid dynasty
had been
destroyed.
The
Daju kingdom used to rule a large area stretching from east of
Kanemin
the West to Dar fur and Kordofanin the East during the period
prior to
the Islamic contact. It was displaced by Tunjur in about the end of the
13th
to thebeginning of the 14th century. Islam is said to
be
introduced to Dar fur by Tunjur who claim of being Arab origin reached
Dar fur
by way of Bornu and Waddai. The first Tunjur king is said to have been
Ahmed-el-Makurwho married the daughter of the last Daju
monarch.
His
Grandson Sultan Dali, a celebrated figure in the Historyof Dar
fur was a
Fur on his mother’s side, and thus he brought the dynasty closer to the
people
it ruled. He divided the country into provinces, and established a
penal code
under the title of ‘Kitab Dali’ meaning ‘Dali’s Book’. This code
is still
preserved and differs in some respects from Quranic law.
His
grandson Soleiman Solon as the name is derived from the Fur word
‘solonger’
which means the Arab referringto his red skin, reigned from 1596
to 1637.
He was known as a great warrior and a devoted Muslim, and is said to be
the
founder of the Keira dynasty.From 1682 to 1722 the country
wasruledby Solon’s grandson Ahmed Bakrn who concentrated on
Islamicculture and increasedthis byencouraging
immigration
from Bornu, Bagirmi and Waddai. His rule extended east of the Nile as
far
asthe banks of Atbara. His death caused a fatal crisisto
the
kingdom as a civil war broke out due to his sons conflicts over
succession to
be on the throne. Obviously, this directly led the kingdom to
internaldivisions
andseriousweakness,the
result ofwhichit was targeted by Sennar and
Waddai.
One of
the most capable monarchs during this period was Sultan Mohammed
Terab,oneof Ahmed Bakr’s sonswholed a number of
successful campaignsagainst the Funj in 1785, but he could not go
farther
than Omdurman as he was stopped by the Nile, and was not able to get
his army
across the river. Unwilling to give up his project, Terab remained in
Omdurman
for three months and returned to Dar fur having his army disaffected.
His death
is said to be caused by his wifewho poisoned
him
at theinstiga- tions of disaffectedchiefs. Thethrone
instead
of going to his son, went to his brother Abd-er Rahman el- Rashid
during whose
reign Napoleon Bonaparte was campaigning in Egypt. He wrote to the
French General
congratulating him on his victory over Mamelukes, the result of which
Bonaparte
in his reply asked the Sultan to send him 2000 black slaves, strong and
vigorous. Moreover, el-Rashid established a new capital as the
royal
township in Al-fashir in 1791.
Mohammed
–el-Fadli, the son of Abder Rahman was for sometime under the control
of an
energetic eunuch, Mohammed Kurra, but he ultimately made himself
independent.
Before his death in 1838,he had devoted himself largely to the
subjection
of thesemi- independent Arab tribes, notably Rizeigat, thousands
of whom
he slew. In 1821 he lost the province of Kordofan which was conquered
by the
Turks. After his death, his third son Mohammed Hassan was appointed as
his
successor, but he went blind in 1856 leaving the rest of his reign to
his
sister Zamzam.
By the
beginning of 1856, a Khartoum businessman al-Zubayr Rahama began to set
up
operations in the land Southof Dar Fur, a kind of network trading
posts
defended by armed forces and soon he had a sprawling stateunder
his
rule. He issaidto be dealing with slaves and ivory
trade
which he used to send from Bahr-el-Ghazal to Asyut and Khartoum
through Dar fur. This went on for some years and soon Sultan
Ibrahim, the
youngest son and the successor of Hassan found himself engaged in
conflicts
with al-Zubayr.
Al-
Zubayr, after earlier conflicts with the Egyptians, had become their
ally and
in cooperation with them, heagreed to conquer Dar fur and ignited
a war
on the area. This resulted in the destruction of the kingdom and
Ibrahim’s
being slain leaving the throne for his uncle Hasaballa,who was
also
captured by the troop of the Khedive in 1875 and was sent to Cairo with
his
family. By now Dar fur was restive under Egyptian rule until 1879
in which
The General Gordon suggested the reinstatementof theancient
royal
family. As a result, Slatin Bey was appointed as a governor to defend
the
province against theforces of Mohammed Ahmad al-Mahdi led by a
Rizeigat
sheik called Maddibo. Slatin was obliged to surrender in 1883, and Dar
fur was
incorporated into the Mahdi’s dominions.
After
defeating Abdallah-al-tayshi, Mahdi’s successor in Omdurman in 1898,
and the
beginning of the new Anglo-Egyptian Government in Sudan, Ali Dinar, the
grandson of Mohammed-el-Fadli was recognized as the Sultan of Dar fur.
Ali
Dinar, after being kept as a prisoner in Omdurman during Mahdi’s era,
in 1916
during the First Word Warallied with theOttoman Empire and
declared
a war on Britain. This war ended in killing Ali Dinar and Dar fur’s
being
incorporated into Britishruled Sudan. Since that time Dar
fur had
been a part of the Republic of Sudan until 1956 the year in which Sudan
was
announced as an independent country, and since the independence Dar fur
has
been a part of the Republic of Sudan up to the current burning
situation.
To
conclude, with consideration to the historical facts which have already
been
mentioned, Dar fur and Kordofan have nothing to do with ancient History
of
Western Sudan as they are said to be known as Central Sudan. Therefore,
focusing on the History of Dar fur and Kordofan under the title Western
Sudan
is always referred to the modern history of Sudan, particularly from
the period
when the region became a part of theRepublic of Sudan. In ancient
history, Werstern Sudan is different from what is supposed to be, the
result of which it seems somewhat confusing.
Sources:
English
1- www.ancientsudan.org/geography.
2-
http://en.Wikipedia.org/Sudan free encyclopedia.
3-
Reference.com/encyclopedia/Darfur.
4- http://www.metmuseum.org/empires of western sudan/special special topics page/timelineofArtHistory.
Arabic
5- ÇáÍÇÌ ãßí ÚÈÏ Çááå ÇáÊÌÇäí: ØÑíÞ
ÇáåÏì æ
ÇáÑÔÇÏ Ýí ÇáÊÕæÝ ÇáÞæíã æÊÇÑíÎ
ÏÎæá ÇáÅÓáÇã æ ÇáØÑíÞÉ ÇáÊÌÇäíÉ Ýí ÊÔÇÏ, ÇáØÈÚÉ ÇáÎÇãÓÉ, ÇáãÑæÉ
ááØÈÇÚÉ æ
ÇáäÔÑ(ÈÏæä ÊÇÑíÎ, Õ91 ,100.
The Defense Language
Institute, Middle East School (1)
Monterey,
California.
|