Rabih az-Zubayr
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Rabih az-Zubayr ibn Fadl Allah | |
---|---|
Ruler of Borno | |
Reign | 1894 – 1900 |
Born | c. 1842 |
Died | April 22, 1900 Dikwa |
Issue | Fadl-Allah |
Rabih az-Zubayr ibn Fadl Allah or Rabih Fadlallah (
.Born around 1842 to an Arabic tribe in Halfaya Al-Muluk, a suburb of
Lieutenant of al-Zubayr (1870–1879)
In the 19th century,
Warlord (1879–1890)
To escape from Egypt, Rabih left the Bahr el Ghazal, heading south with 700–800 bazingiris and 400 rifles. Using the tactics of the Khartumi, in the 1880s he carved out a kingdom between the basins of the
In 1885, he attempted to return in Sudan following the invitation of the Mahdi Muhammad Ahmad, who had taken Khartoum from Egypt. The Mahdi had sent as ambassadors Zin el-Abeddin and Jabar, and Rabih followed them back to Darfur, proposing to meet the Mahdi at Omdurman; but when he learned of a plot to kill him, he changed his mind and returned to Chad.
In 1887, Rabih's forces invaded Darfur, recruited bazingirs, and settled down in
First confrontations with France (1891–1893)
Mohammed al-Senoussi's alliance with Rabih worried the colonial powers, especially France that was considering taking control of central Africa. Mohammed al-Senoussi remained faithful to Rabih and in 1891 killed the French Paul Crampel in Dar Banda. Rabih recovered the expedition's weapons.
In the south-east of
Conquest of Borno (1893)
In 1893, Rabih also turned his attentions to the
On the road to Borno, Rabih made prisoner the sultan of
After the killing of Shehu Kyari in 1894, members of the
Rabih made Dikwa his capital, and there built a palace which was to win later the admiration of the French governor Émile Gentil. Local legend says that during construction there was a shortage of water, and blood was substituted to mix with sand for its walls.
Borno's Lord (1893–1900)
Wanting to modernize his army, Rabih attempted in 1895 to make an accord with Royal Niger Company in Yola and Ibi so to obtain gunpowder and ammunition, but without success. He started confronting the Company in 1896 and the following year even started marching on Kano, while his vassal Muhammad al-Senussi in Dar al Kuti founded a fortified capital, Ndele, between Bahr Aouk and the Ubangi River, which the Senussites held until 1911.
For seven years Rabih was shehu of the Borno Empire, and spent much effort to reinvigorate a decadent empire that had until then maintained the same feudal structures it had in the 16th century. Rabih kept the vassal sultans in place, but subjected them to his lieutenants, who were mostly Arab Sudanese like he was. He promulgated a
Much is told about his brutality (for example, he once had one of his concubines executed because she kept a talisman designed to obtain Rabih's love, and with her the marabout who had deciphered the talisman); or about the evenings he passed listening to Ali, the poet who sang his exploits.
More importantly, Rabih launched a regular series of
Direct conflict with the French (1899–1900)
In 1899 Rabah had at his disposal 10,000 men among infantry and cavalry, all provided with rifles (mostly obsolete, except for 400 rifles of newer make), plus a great number of auxiliaries equipped with spears or bows. He kept garrisons at Baggara and Karnak Logone.
In 1899, Rabih received in
It was only after Gentil arrived in Kanem, in April 1900, did he realise that Dikwa was in "German" Borno. Meaning the French troops will not be able to enter Dikwa because of international convention. Gentil decided to get the Sultan of Baghirmi, Gwarang, to write to Shehu Umar Kura a letter complaining about Rabih's aggression in his territory and to ask the Shehu for aid. The Shehu then replied him, under the instruction of the French, that he himself did not have enough capabilities to attack Rabih. He then authorised Gwarang and his allies, the French, to enter Borno to defeat Rabih. Therefore, Gentil gets his legal basis for an invasion of Dikwa by getting a legitimate invitiation from the ruler of Borno.[3]
The final showdown between Rabih and the French took place on April 22, 1900. The French forces consisted of 700 men, plus the 600 riflemen and 200 cavalry provided by the allied Sultanate of Baghirmi. Leaving Kousséri in three columns, the French attacked Rabih's camp. Although the commander Lamy was killed in the ensuing battle, Rabih's forces were overwhelmed and, while fleeing across the Chari River, Rabih was killed.
Rabih's son, Fadl-Allah, was in Logone at the time of his death. On learning of his father's death, he returned to Dikwa and collected his father's belongings and remaining family. With an army of 5,000, he retreated south, eventually settling in Kopchi then later Mubi in the Adamawa Emirate. He rested there for a bit then he moved to Kilba. From there, he sent a message to a British "Resident", Hewby, at Ibi asking the British to recognise him as the Ruler of Borno. The British sent Major McClintock to interview Fadl-Allah regarding the recognition and the Major was impressed with him, recommending he be recognised without delay. But the High Commissioner, Frederick Lugard, had gone on leave to Britain, meaning the recognition would be delayed. Fadl-Allah sent a force to retake Dikwa from Shehu Abubakar Garbai. On August 23, 1901, the Shehu's troops, with a few French troops, marched to Gujba where they fought and killed Fadl-Allah.[4]
References
- Gaston Dujarric, La vie du sultan Rabah, Paris, 1902
- Von Oppenheim, Rabeh und das Tsadseegebiet, Berlin, 1902
- A. Babikir, L'Empire du Rabih, Paris, 1954
- Encyclopædia Britannica, "Rabih az-Zubayr", (2000)
- Hachette.
- Amegboh, Joseph, and Cécile Clairval, Rabah : Conquérant Des Pays Tchadiens, Grandes Figures Africaines (Paris: Dakar ; Abidjan : [Afrique Biblio Club] ; [Nouvelles Éditions Africaines], 1976).
- Horowitz, Michael, ‘Ba Karim: An Account of Rabeh’s Wars’, African Historical Studies, 3 (1970), 391–402.
- Mohammed, Kyari, Borno in the Rabih Years, 1893-1901 : the Rise and Crash of a Predatory State (Maiduguri Nigeria: University of Maiduguri, 2006).
- Specific
- .
- ^ Tukur, Mahmud Modibbo. British Colonisation of Northern Nigeria, 1897-1914: A Reinterpretation of Colonial Sources. p. 31.
- ^ Tukur, Mahmud Modibbo. British Colonisation of Northern Nigeria, 1897-1914: A Reinterpretation of Colonial Sources. pp. 33–34.
- ^ British Colonisation of Northern Nigeria, 1897-1914: A Reinterpretation of Colonial Sources. pp. 34–35.
External links
- Cana, Frank Richardson (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 22 (11th ed.). pp. 765–766. .