Rabih az-Zubayr

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Rabih az-Zubayr ibn Fadl Allah
Ruler of Borno
Reign1894 – 1900
Bornc. 1842
DiedApril 22, 1900
Dikwa
IssueFadl-Allah

Rabih az-Zubayr ibn Fadl Allah or Rabih Fadlallah (

slave trader who established a powerful empire east of Lake Chad, in today's Chad
.

Born around 1842 to an Arabic tribe in Halfaya Al-Muluk, a suburb of

Sebehr Rahma
.

Lieutenant of al-Zubayr (1870–1879)

In the 19th century,

. Rabih, who was possibly a relative of al-Zubayr, was the chief lieutenant of the pasha.

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

Ouaddai
, a region he utterly devastated.

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.

Map of Rabih's domains in 1899

In 1887, Rabih's forces invaded Darfur, recruited bazingirs, and settled down in

Oubangui-Chari, deposed him and established in his place his nephew Mahdi al-Senoussi, on whom he imposed his suzerainty. This alliance was sealed by the marriage of Khadija, daughter of Al-Mahdi al-Senoussi, with Rabih's son Fadlallah. Together Mohammed and Rabih attacked Dar Runga, Kreich, Goula and then Banda Ngao
.

Approximate map of Rabih's empire in 1896

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

Abd ar Rahman Gwaranga for having signed a protectorate with the French. Gwaranga was besieged for three to five months in Manjaffa
, and was later forced to leave his capital, which was completely destroyed in March 1893.

Conquest of Borno (1893)

In 1893, Rabih also turned his attentions to the

Borno Empire of Shehu (king) Ashimi of Borno. Borno was a Sahelian
Kingdom that had existed for several centuries. That year, the empire consisted of 80,000 soldiers, mostly slaves commanded by slaves, and was in full decline.

On the road to Borno, Rabih made prisoner the sultan of

Komadougou Yobe from where he may have tried to negotiate with Rabih; but he was assassinated at the instigation of his nephew Kyari, who then became shehu and decided to fight Rabih. Rabih met Kyari at Gashegar, a two days' walk from Kukawa, the capital of Borno; Kiyari defeated Rabih and captured his camp. The following day Rabih gathered his forces, and ordered 100 lashes be given to all his bannermen, including his own favored son Fadlallah. Only Boubakar, who had fought bravely, was spared. Then he ordered a victorious counter-offensive; Kyari, who had refused to flee, was captured and beheaded. As for the capital city, Kukawa
, it was plundered and razed to the ground.

After the killing of Shehu Kyari in 1894, members of the

Damagaram, others to Kano, some to Kanem, another to Mandara, the remaining went into hiding inside Borno. Rabih later sent an invitation to the members of the Dynasty to come live with him in Dikwa, twenty-three members including two Shehus, Abubakar Garbai and Umar Sanda Kiarimi, accepted it.[2]

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)

Rabih's Empire and neighboring region, 1896

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

legal code based on sharia
, rationalized taxation through the creation of a budget, imposed on Borno a military dictatorship, which aroused the attention of the colonial powers. Émile Gentil was to speak of Rabih's reforms in Borno with a certain degree of interest; they would later inspire him in organizing the territory of Chad.

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

razzias to plunder and capture slaves; this was a return to the traditional activity of the sultans of Borno, which had been described in 1526 by Leo Africanus
. It is estimated that 1,500–2,000 slaves were exported every year by his vassal Mahdi as-Senoussi, excluding the deaths, casualties, and other losses he inflicted. The totals for Rabah must have been much higher.

Direct conflict with the French (1899–1900)

One of Rabih's cannons captured by the French

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

Joalland-Meynier column, which had marched from Niger
. Lamy assumed command of the combined forces.

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

External links