Dar Sila is the name of the wandering

sultanate Sultan (; ', ) is a Royal and noble ranks, position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". La ...

of the Dar Sila Daju, a multi-tribal

ethnic An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, re ...

group in

Chad Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North Africa, North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to Chad–Libya border, the north, Sudan to Chad–Sudan border, the east, the Central Afric ...

and

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 ...

. The number of the people in this group exceeds 50,000. They speak the Sila language, a

Nilo-Saharan language The Nilo-Saharan languages are a proposed family of around 210 African languages spoken by somewhere around 70 million speakers, mainly in the upper parts of the Chari and Nile rivers, including historic Nubia, north of where the two tributarie ...

. Most members of this ethnic group are

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

Location

Geographically, Dar Sila is located in southeastern territory of the Republic of Chad. It borders the

Salamat Region Salamat is one of the 23 provinces of Chad, located in the south-east of the country. The region's capital is Am Timan. It corresponds to the former prefecture of the same name. Geography Salamat borders Sila Region to the north, the Central ...

of Chad in the southwest,

Ouaddaï Region Ouaddaï may refer to: * Ouaddaï highlands, an area in eastern Chad along the border with Sudan * Ouaddaï Prefecture Ouaddaï may refer to: * Ouaddaï highlands, an area in eastern Chad along the border with Sudan * Ouaddaï Prefecture, a form ...

in the north and Assoungha Department of Chad in the southeast, and

Darfur Darfur ( ; ) is a region of western Sudan. ''Dār'' is an Arabic word meaning "home f – the region was named Dardaju () while ruled by the Daju, who migrated from Meroë , and it was renamed Dartunjur () when the Tunjur ruled the area. ...

Region of

to the east.

Capital

Its

capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

Goz Beïda Goz Beïda () is a town located in eastern Chad. It is the capital of the Sila Region, Sila Regions of Chad, region and the Kimiti Departments of Chad, department. Prior to 2008, Goz Beïda was part of the Ouaddaï Region's former Sila Department. ...

which means in

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

"the white sand dune".

History

Its history goes back to

when Sultan Omar Kasefroge, the last

sultan Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...

of Darfur during the Daju rule of this area, who ordered removal of Jabel Daju in order to join the other 99 Daju Jabels. Consequently, many adults and warriors died. According to Colonel Largeau, Commander in Chief of Goz Beida during the French invasion of Dar Sila, a

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand or typewritten, as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in some indirect or automated way. More recently, the term has ...

was found at the palace of the Sultan Moustafa walad Sultan Bakhit tracing the origin of the Daju. It states that the Daju came and ruled Darfur long ago from

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

in 619 to 892 until 1212 AD then left Jabel Marra to Hajar Kadjano in 1417 to 1612 A.D. The above dates suggest that they might have reached Dar Sila in 1613 to 1614 A.D.

Chronology of sultans

Chronology of the Sultans of Dar Sila began with one of Kaseforge's sons, Sultan Ahmed al-Daj. He was followed by Sultan Ibrahim, Sultan Adam, Sultan Hassaballah, Sultan Habib, Sultan Shuaeib, Sultan Salih, Sultan Issa Hajar, Sultan Abd el-Karim, Sultan Abd el-Latif, Sultan El-Haj Bolad, Sultan Ishaq Abu-Risha, Sultan Mohamed Bakhit and his son Sultan Moustafa. A brother of Sultan Ahmed el-Daj called Farouk "Ferne" refused to live in one sultanate in Dar Sila. Therefore he led his clans and soldiers to settle in Mongo where he established another small sultanate known as Dar Daju in the Guera Province to the west of Dar Sila.

References

*LARGEAU, (Colonel), ''Instructions au capitaine Gillet, commandant du poste de Goz Beida'': 3 javier 1912 (Archive Goz Beida). *LARGEAU, (Colonel), La situation du Territoire militaire du Tchad au d'ebut de 1912: Bulletin du Comit'e de l'Afrique francaise. Renseignements coloniaux, 1913. {{Authority control 2nd millennium in Chad Sultanates

Location

Capital

History

Chronology of sultans

See also

References