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

North Darfur North Darfur State ( 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 an estimated population of approximat ...

of western

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

, west of

Al-Fashir Al-Fashir or El Fasher () is the capital city of North Darfur, Sudan. It is a city in the Darfur region of southwestern Sudan, northeast of Nyala, Sudan. "Al-Fashir" (description) ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', 2007, webpage: A historical ...

. 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 (; c. 1830 – January 1913), also known as Sebehr Rahma or Rahama Zobeir, Hake, Alfred Egmont.The Story of Chinese Gordon, 1884. was a Sudanese slave trader and warlord in the late 19th century. He was later acknow ...

to the south, and then stopped with the fall of the Darfur Sultanate 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 Tooth, 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 mamm ...

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

Bahr el Ghazal Bahr el-Ghazal (, also transliterated ''Bahr al-Ghazal'', ''Baḥr 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 * Bahr el-Ghazal (wadi in ...

, he diverted to

Khartoum Khartoum or Khartum is the capital city of Sudan as well as Khartoum State. With an estimated population of 7.1 million people, Greater Khartoum is the largest urban area in Sudan. Khartoum is located at the confluence of the White Nile – flo ...

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 {{Sudan-geo-stub