Massenya () is a small town located in the central-western part 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 ...

. It is the capital of the Chari-Baguirmi

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

and of the department of Baguirmi. Founded in the first half of the 16th century, Massenya was also the historical capital of the Kingdom of Baguirmi and the seat of the Mbang, or Sultan. It lies in the northwest of the Massenya Plain, an important wetland in the

Sahel The Sahel region (; ), or Sahelian acacia savanna, is a Biogeography, biogeographical region in Africa. It is the Ecotone, transition zone between the more humid Sudanian savannas to its south and the drier Sahara to the north. The Sahel has a ...

, which has been under the protection of the

Ramsar Convention The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of Ramsar site, Ramsar sites (wetlands). It is also known as the Convention on We ...

since 2008, and also located on the banks of the

Chari River The Chari River, or Shari River, is a long river, flowing in Central Africa. It is the main source of water of Lake Chad, which is located at the junction of four countries: Nigeria, Niger, Chad, and Cameroon. Geography The Chari River flows f ...

. The town is served by Massenya Airport. The town is divided into three districts. The Bagirmi district hosts the main market and the residence of the Bagirmi mbang. The Haussa district was founded by the Arab religious leader Gombo Mahamat Oumar Abakar, a close friend of Mbang Gaourang from

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

, who became the

imam Imam (; , '; : , ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Salah, Islamic prayers, serve as community leaders, ...

of the great mosque until his death. The Sara district contains the administrative buildings. The population is made up of various communities, including Sara, Fula, Bagirmi, Arab, Wadaï, Hadjarai, Bulala, Hausa, and Kanuri people.

History

The formation of the Kingdom of Bagirmi (c. 1522-1608) roughly coincides with the reigns of the first four monarchs. According to tradition, Dala Birni, the first sovereign, led a group of followers from the Kenga region around 1522. This group is said to have settled under a tamarind tree (''mas'' in tar barma), where a young Fulani wet nurse named ''Enya'' was found. It is believed that, in honor of the tree and the woman, the settlement formed around the site was called ''Massenya'', which became the kingdom's capital. The economy of Massenya flourished in the 17th century, especially due to the intensification of the slave trade in the region. The town housed the Sultan's palace and a court of justice and was protected by a seven-mile-long wall. Except for the government buildings and a stone mosque, the majority of the town consisted of simple mud huts. In the 1850s, the population of the town was estimated to be around 25,000 inhabitants. However, the military and commercial hegemony of Bagirmi faced several challenges. Between 1650 and 1675, the Kingdom of Bornu claimed sovereignty over Bagirmi, but this did not prevent the rulers of Bagirmi from sending invaders to Bornu. More significantly, the sultan of Wadai, Sabun, claimed

suzerainty A suzerain (, from Old French "above" + "supreme, chief") is a person, state (polity)">state or polity who has supremacy and dominant influence over the foreign policy">polity.html" ;"title="state (polity)">state or polity">state (polity)">st ...

over Bagirmi, and taking advantage of the decline of Bagirmi's power at the end of the 18th century, launched an offensive in 1805. He captured Massenya, massacred the mbang and his family, and subdued the local population, enslaving many. Sabun's invasion marked the beginning of a century of decline for the Kingdom of Bagirmi, which was repeatedly raided by the armies of Wadai. Massenya suffered heavy destruction, being partially devastated by the Wadai forces during a siege in 1870. However, the final destruction of the town occurred in 1894, when the army of

Rabih az-Zubayr Rabih az-Zubayr ibn Fadl Allah (; c. 1842 – April 22, 1900), also known as Rabih Fadlallah and usually known as Rabah in French, was a Sudanese warlord and slave trader who established a powerful empire east of Lake Chad, in today's Chad. B ...

History

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