The rulers of the

Wadai Sultanate The Wadai Sultanate ( ''Saltanat Waday'', , Fur: ''Burgu'' or ''Birgu''; 1635–1912), sometimes referred to as the Maba Sultanate (), was an African sultanate located to the east of Lake Chad in present-day Chad and the Central African Republi ...

ruled a territory today located in the north of the Republic of Chad. There have been three states of Wadai, with the first dated to pre-

1500 Year 1500 ( MD) was a leap year starting on Wednesday in the Julian calendar. The year 1500 was not a leap year in the proleptic Gregorian calendar. The year 1500 was the last year of the 15th century and the first year of the 16th century. ...

. In the

14th century The 14th century lasted from 1 January 1301 (represented by the Roman numerals MCCCI) to 31 December 1400 (MCD). It is estimated that the century witnessed the death of more than 45 million lives from political and natural disasters in both Euro ...

, Wadai became a "quasi independent" state of the

Maba people The Maba, also called Bargo or Wadai people, are a Sunni Muslim ethnic group found primarily in the mountains of Wadai region in eastern Chad and southern Sudan. Their population is estimated to be about 542,000. Other estimates place the total n ...

but was destroyed at end of the

15th century The 15th century was the century which spans the Julian calendar dates from 1 January 1401 (represented by the Roman numerals MCDI) to 31 December 1500 (MD). In Europe, the 15th century includes parts of the Late Middle Ages, the Early Re ...

. A second Wadai state grew out of the first and was conquered by the Tunjur kingdom in the

16th century The 16th century began with the Julian calendar, Julian year 1501 (represented by the Roman numerals MDI) and ended with either the Julian or the Gregorian calendar, Gregorian year 1600 (MDC), depending on the reckoning used (the Gregorian calend ...

. In 1611, a Maba named Abd al-Krim expelled the Tunjur and became the first ''Kolak'' (King) in 1635, marking the beginning of the third Wadai state.

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

invaded Wadai in 1909 and annexed it to the territory of

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 ...

. French military rule ended in 1935 and a new ''Kolak'' was installed, though with very limited powers over the

Ouaddaï prefecture Ouaddaï may refer to: * Ouaddaï highlands, an area in eastern Chad along the border with Sudan * Ouaddaï Prefecture, a former political prefecture of Chad * Ouaddaï Region, a political region of Chad created in 2002 * Wadai Empire (1635–1 ...

. The state was suppressed France from 1912 to 1935 and by the

government from 1960 to 1970. The current ''Kolak'' Cherif Abdelhadi Mahdi was appointed by the central government of Chad, which caused uproar because he was not related to his predecessor. However, he is descended from ''Kolak'' Muhammad Sharif (r. 1843–1858). The previous ''Kolak'' was dismissed in July 2019 following ethnic clashes in the region.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wadai, Rulers Political history of Chad Lists of rulers in Africa rulers of Wadai

See also

References