Ouaddai Empire

Chad, 1635–1909. Draft, not yet reviewed

The Wadai Sultanate or Wadai Empire was an African sultanate located to the east of Lake Chad in present-day Chad and the Central African Republic. It emerged in the seventeenth century under the leadership of the first sultan, Abd al-Karim, who overthrew the ruling Tunjur people of the area. Abd al-Karim built his capital at Wara and founded the Kolak dynasty, and made Islam the state religion despite most commoners following traditional religions. In 1909, French troops invaded the Kingdom and established a garrison in Abéché, forcing the sultan to renounce his throne.

Seat of power: Abéché

No rulers documented for this era yet.

Culture

• The wealth of Wadai came from slave trading and the procurement of slaves in raids.
• In 1805 Wadai conquered Bagirmi, killed its ruler, and captured and sold 20,000 people into slavery.
• Sharif made Abéché the capital and closely controlled Senussi merchants, whose leaders controlled the towns of Jalu and Kufra along the recently found trade route.
• The city of Abéché contains the remnants of the ancient capital, including palaces, mosques, and the tombs of former sultans.

Picture

Abéché is a city in central-eastern Chad and the capital of the Ouaddaï Region.

Image: Dans, CC BY-SA 3.0, file

Sources

• Wadai Sultanate (Wikipedia)
• Ouaddai Empire (Wikidata)
• About the picture (Wikipedia)

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