Kobbei (also Kobbai, Kubay or Kubayh) is a former town in

North Darfur North Darfur State ( ar, ولاية شمال دارفور Wilāyat Šamāl Dārfūr; ''Shamal Darfor'') is one of the wilayat or states of Sudan. It is one of the five states composing the Darfur region. It has an area of 296,420 km2 and a ...

of western

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

, west of

Al-Fashir Al Fashir, Al-Fashir or El Fasher ( ar, الفاشر) is the capital city of North Darfur, Sudan. It is a large town in the Darfur region of northwestern Sudan, northeast of Nyala, Sudan. "Al-Fashir" (description) ''Encyclopædia Britann ...

. It is now deserted. At its peak in the 19th century it was a thriving town, the largest in Darfur, with a population of up to 8,000.Theobald, Alan Buchan (1965) ''ʼAlī Dīnār: Last Sultan of Darfur, 1898-1916'' Longmans, London, pp. 1-16, O'Fahey, Rex S. (2008) ''The Darfur Sultanate: A History'' Columbia University Press, New York
pages 251-252
It declined as the wells at the oasis dried up, and the caravans first slowed, due to conflicts with

al-Zubayr Rahma Mansur Al-Zubayr Rahma Mansur Pasha ( ar, الزبير رحمة منصور; 1830 – January 1913), also known as Sebehr Rahma or Rahama Zobeir, Hake, Alfred Egmont.The Story of Chinese Gordon, 1884. was a slave trader in the late 19th century. He late ...

to the south, and then stopped with the fall of the

Darfur Sultanate The Sultanate of Darfur was a pre-colonial state in present-day Sudan. It existed from 1603 to October 24, 1874, when it fell to the Sudanese warlord Rabih az-Zubayr and again from 1898 to 1916, when it was conquered by the British and integr ...

in 1874.Tubiana, Marie-José (editor) (1983) "Chapter 5 Translations and Commentray, Documents XLII to XLVII The merchants Muhummad Kannuna and 'Ali Bey Ibrahim al-Tirayfi" ''Land in Dar Fur: Charters and Related Documents from the Dar Fur Sultanate'' (Fontes Historiae Africanae: Series Arabica #3; translations by R. S. O'Fahey and M. I. Abu Salim) Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England
pages 106-107
O'Fahey, Rex S. "Introduction" ''In'' Marie-José (editor) (1983) ''Land in Dar Fur: Charters and Related Documents from the Dar Fur Sultanate'' (Fontes Historiae Africanae: Series Arabica #3; translations by R. S. O'Fahey and M. I. Abu Salim) Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, Englan
page 3
The ruins are located west of ''Jabal Kobbei'' (Mount Kobbei) along the ''Wadi Kobbei'' (Kobbei Arroyo) for approximately two miles. Kobbei was the major trading center of the Darfur Sultanate, but was dependent on long-distance trade both north-south, and to a slightly lesser extent east-west. Slaves from the south were a major component of the trade, as were ostrich feathers, camels,

ivory Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mammals is ...

and acacia tree gum. When al-Zubayr Rahma Mansur acquired holdings in the

Bahr el Ghazal Bahr el-Ghazal (Arabic بحر الغزال , also transliterated ''Bahr al-Ghazal'', ''Baḩr al-Ghazāl'', ''Bahr el-Gazel'', or versions of these without the hyphen) may refer to two distinct places, both named after ephemeral or dry rivers. Chad ...

, he diverted to

Khartoum Khartoum or Khartum ( ; ar, الخرطوم, Al-Khurṭūm, din, Kaartuɔ̈m) is the capital of Sudan. With a population of 5,274,321, its metropolitan area is the largest in Sudan. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile, flowing n ...

significant portions of the goods coming from the south. These diversions began in 1856 and the decline in trade was significant by 1860.

Notes

Populated places in North Darfur Darfur {{Sudan-geo-stub