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Muhammad 'Abd al-Karim Sabun (died 1815) was (Sultan) of Wadai, a Muslim state in what is now eastern
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 Republic ...
, from 1804 to 1815. He pursued an expansionist policy, and was the greatest of the rulers of Wadai.


Accession

Abd al-Karim Sabun ascended the throne of Wadai on
Rajab Rajab ( ar, رَجَب) is the seventh month of the Islamic calendar. The lexical definition of the classical Arabic verb ''rajaba'' is "to respect" which could also mean "be awe or be in fear", of which Rajab is a derivative. This month is re ...
1219 (May–June 1804). Sabun was the eldest son of the ineffective ''Kolak''
Salih Derret Salih (; ar, صَالِحٌ, Ṣāliḥ, lit=Pious), also spelled Saleh (), is an Arabs, Arab Prophets and messengers in Islam, prophet mentioned in the Quran who prophesied to the tribe of Thamud in pre-Islamic Arabia, ancient Arabia, before t ...
. As the result of a conspiracy, his father was killed and Sabun assumed the throne. His father's other children were not yet grown, but his brother Asad posed a threat. Asad fled to Darfur, but was lured back on the pretense that he had support for his claim to the throne. He was then seized, taken to the capital, Wara, and blinded. Sabun became ruler of a state that under Salih Derret controlled the area of the east-central
Chad Basin The Chad Basin is the largest endorheic basin in Africa, centered on Lake Chad. It has no outlet to the sea and contains large areas of semi-arid desert and savanna. The drainage basin is roughly coterminous with the sedimentary basin of the sam ...
south of the
Sahara , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...
and north of the Bahr es Salamat, between Kanem in the west and the
Sultanate of Darfur 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 integrat ...
in the east.


Military conflict

Sabun supplied his army with chain mail and firearms, dispatching them on looting expeditions against Bornu and Baguirmi. Around 1805 or 1806, Sabun used the excuse that Abder Rahman Gaurang I of Baguirmi had sinfully married his own sister as a reason to attack. He captured the capital,
Massenya Massenya ( ar, ماسينيا) is a small town in Chad. It is the capital of the region of Chari-Baguirmi and of the department of Baguirmi. Massenya was also the historical capital of the Kingdom of Baguirmi The Sultanate or Kingdom of Bagi ...
, and killed the ''mbang'' and his family. He took a huge booty including 20,000 slaves, and appointed a puppet ruler in Bagirmi. For many years after this, the Wadai armies freely plundered their southern neighbor. Wadai suffered raids from Dar Tama, a vassal kingdom of Darfur. Sabun complained about the raids to
Muhammad al-Fadl Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد;  570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mono ...
of Darfur and received a conciliatory reply, but the raids continued. Sabun eventually invaded Dar Tama, supported by twenty-two musketeers from the
Fezzan Fezzan ( , ; ber, ⴼⵣⵣⴰⵏ, Fezzan; ar, فزان, Fizzān; la, Phazania) is the southwestern region of modern Libya. It is largely desert, but broken by mountains, uplands, and dry river valleys (wadis) in the north, where oases enable ...
,
Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to: Cities and other geographic units Greece *Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...
and
Benghazi Benghazi () , ; it, Bengasi; tr, Bingazi; ber, Bernîk, script=Latn; also: ''Bengasi'', ''Benghasi'', ''Banghāzī'', ''Binghāzī'', ''Bengazi''; grc, Βερενίκη (''Berenice'') and ''Hesperides''., group=note (''lit. Son of he Ghazi ...
. The Tama ''malik'', Ahmad, had to take refuge in Darfur. After further fighting, Ahmad was forced to submit to Sabun and to agree to pay annual tribute of a thousand slaves and a hundred horses. The number of slaves was later reduced to one hundred. Sabun also made tributary states of Dar Sila and Dar Runga.


Trade

Sabun promoted trade and promoted Islam. During his reign, Sabun gained control of a large part of the trade from the central
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 ...
to Tripoli via the
Fezzan Fezzan ( , ; ber, ⴼⵣⵣⴰⵏ, Fezzan; ar, فزان, Fizzān; la, Phazania) is the southwestern region of modern Libya. It is largely desert, but broken by mountains, uplands, and dry river valleys (wadis) in the north, where oases enable ...
. Around 1810 a Majabra trader from
Jalu Jalu, Jallow, or Gialo ( ar, جالو) is a town in the Al Wahat District in northeastern Libya in the Jalo oasis. An oasis, a city, and it is the main center of the oasis region in eastern Libya.  It is located at the confluence of longitude an ...
in Cyrenaica named Schehaymah became lost while travelling to Wadai via
Murzuk Murzuk, Murzuq, Murzug or Merzug ( ar, مرزق) is an oasis town and the capital of the Murzuq District in the Fezzan region of southwest Libya.Robinson, Harry (1960) "Murzuq" ''The Mediterranean Lands'' University Tutorial Press, London, p. 414 ...
in the Fezzan. He was found by some
Bidayat Tuba, also Bidayat (Bideyat), is a dialect of the Zaghawa language found in Chad and western Sudan. In contrast to their Zaghawa kin, Bidayat speakers are more nomadic. This difference led early ethnographers to refer to them as different gro ...
, who took him via Ounianga to Wara, the old capital of Wadai. Sabun agreed with Schehaymah's proposal to open a caravan route to Benghazi along a direct route through
Kufra Kufra () is a basinBertarelli (1929), p. 514. and oasis group in the Kufra District of southeastern Cyrenaica in Libya. At the end of nineteenth century Kufra became the centre and holy place of the Senussi order. It also played a minor role in ...
, and
Awjila Awjila (Awjila language, Berber: ''Awilan'', ''Awjila'', ''Awgila''; ar, أوجلة; Latin: ''Augila'') is an oasis town in the Al Wahat District in the Cyrenaica region of northeastern Libya. Since classical times it has been known as a place wh ...
/ Jalu. This new route would bypass both Fezzan and Darfur, states that until then had controlled the eastern Saharan trade. The first caravans traveled the route between 1809 and 1820.


Legacy

Sabun died in 1230 (1815/6). He was preparing to invade Bornu at the time of his death. His death was followed by a prolonged succession struggle. Sabun's younger brother, Muhammad al-Sharif, finally gained power in 1838 as a client of the Sultan of Darfur.


References

Notes Citations Sources * * * * * {{refend Year of birth unknown 1815 deaths 19th-century monarchs in Africa 19th century in Chad