Dar al Kuti

Central African Republic, 1830–1912. Draft, not yet reviewed

Dar al Kuti was an Islamic state in the center and northwest of the present Central African Republic which existed from around 1830 until 17 December 1912. Djougoultoum was appointed by Wadai as governor of Dar al-Kuti, which enjoyed a high degree of independence. On 28 August 1897, Sanussi agreed to the establishment of a French protectorate over Dar al-Kuti through a treaty of trade and alliance signed by Mohammed el-Sanussi and Émile Gentil. Kamun continued resisting French forces until 17 December 1912, when Ouanda Djallé fell to Captain Souclier and Kamun went into exile in Sudan.

Seat of power: Ndélé

No rulers documented for this era yet.

Culture

• The term dar signifies abode in Arabic, while the term kuti in the local language denotes a forest or densely-wooded area.
• Wadai and its western neighbour the Sultanate of Baguirmi both sent slaving expeditions into the lands of the Sara, a Nilotic people to the south of Chad.
• Dar al-Kuti took part in the slave trade to a limited extent, but large-scale raids did not take place in the time of Kobur.
• In October 1894 the aguid of Wadai, Cherfeddine, attacked and destroyed Chá, the capital, forcing Sanussi to maintain an itinerant court for two years until he eventually founded a new fortified settlement at N'Délé.

Picture

The greatest threat to Dar al-Kuti was posed by Rabih az-Zubayr, a Sudanese commander and slave trader.

Image: Arrantzaleak, CC BY-SA 4.0, file

Sources

• Dar al Kuti (Wikipedia)
• Dar al Kuti (Wikidata)
• About the picture (Wikipedia)

Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.