Dar Sila is the name of the wandering

sultanate This article includes a list of successive Islamic state, Islamic states and History of Islam, Muslim dynasties beginning with the time of the Islamic prophet Muhammad (570–632 CE) and the early Muslim conquests that Spread of Islam, spread Isla ...

of the Dar Sila Daju, a multi-tribal

ethnic An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...

group in

Chad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Repub ...

and Sudan. The number of the people in this group exceeds 50,000. They speak the Sila language, a Nilo-Saharan language. Most members of this ethnic group are Muslims.

Location

Geographically, Dar Sila is located in southeastern territory of the Republic of Chad. It borders the

Salamat Region Salamat is one of the 23 regions of Chad, located in the south-east of the country. The region's capital is Am Timan. It corresponds to the former prefecture of the same name. Geography Salamat borders Sila Region to the north, the Central ...

of Chad in the southwest,

Ouaddaï Region Ouaddaï ( ar, وداي) is a region of Chad, located in the south-east of the country, with its capital at Abéché. Prior to 2002 it was known as Ouaddaï Prefecture; in 2008 the southern portions of Ouaddaï (the Sila Department and Djour ...

in the north and

Assoungha Assoungha is one of three departments in Ouaddaï, a region of Chad. Its capital is Adré. Sub-prefectures Assoungha is divided into four sub-prefectures: * Adré * Hadjer Hadid * Mabrone * Borota * Molou * Tourane See also * Regions of ...

Department of Chad in the southeast, and Darfur Region of Sudan to the east.

Capital

Its

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used fo ...

is Goz Beïda which means in

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walte ...

"the white sand dune".

History

L'armée Dadjo entourant Bakhit, sultan du Dar Sila

Its history goes back to Darfur when Sultan Omar Kasefroge, the last sultan of Darfur during the Daju rule of this area, who ordered removal of Jabel Daju in order to join the other 99 Daju Jabels. Consequently, many adults and warriors died. According to Colonel Largeau, Commander in Chief of Goz Beida during the French invasion of Dar Sila, a

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced ...

was found at the palace of the Sultan Moustafa walad Sultan Bakhit tracing the origin of the Daju. It states that the Daju came and ruled Darfur long ago from

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the north and Oman to the northeast an ...

in 619 to 892 until 1212 AD then left Jabel Marra to Hajar Kadjano in 1417 to 1612 A.D. The above dates suggest that they might have reached Dar Sila in 1613 to 1614 A.D.

Chronology of sultans

Chronology of the Sultans of Dar Sila began with one of Kaseforge's sons, Sultan Ahmed al-Daj. He was followed by Sultan Ibrahim, Sultan Adam, Sultan Hassaballah, Sultan Habib, Sultan Shuaeib, Sultan Salih, Sultan Issa Hajar, Sultan Abd el-Karim, Sultan Abd el-Latif, Sultan El-Haj Bolad, Sultan Ishaq Abu-Risha, Sultan Mohamed Bakhit and his son Sultan Moustafa. A brother of Sultan Ahmed el-Daj called Farouk "Ferne" refused to live in one sultanate in Dar Sila. Therefore he led his clans and soldiers to settle in Mongo where he established another small sultanate known as Dar Daju in the Guera Province to the west of Dar Sila.

References

*LARGEAU, (Colonel), ''Instructions au capitaine Gillet, commandant du poste de Goz Beida'': 3 javier 1912 (Archive Goz Beida). *LARGEAU, (Colonel), La situation du Territoire militaire du Tchad au d'ebut de 1912: Bulletin du Comit'e de l'Afrique francaise. Renseignements coloniaux, 1913. {{Authority control History of Chad Sultanates