# Rabih Breaks Away (1879)

URL: https://allhistories.com/chad/timeline/1879-rabih-breaks-away
Location: Dar Kuti, Central African Republic
Themes: battle

In the late 1870s the Egyptian government in Sudan, under General Charles Gordon, moved to suppress the slave trade and the power of Zubayr's family. Zubayr's son Sulayman rebelled and was defeated by Romolo Gessi, an Italian in Egyptian service. Rabih, born around 1842 near Khartoum, had served Zubayr since his youth and had risen to command some of his best troops. In 1879 Sulayman surrendered and was executed. Rabih, one of his ablest commanders, refused to submit and marched west with several hundred well-armed bazingers. Through the 1880s he operated on the southern margins of Wadai, in Dar Banda and Dar Kuti, raiding the Sara, Banda and other peoples for slaves and recruits and building up a disciplined army of several thousand riflemen. He kept up contacts with the Mahdist movement in Sudan, and supplied himself with firearms through trade and capture. Rabih's band grew into a predatory state that became the main obstacle to French ambitions in the Lake Chad basin. His raids depopulated large parts of what is now southern Chad and the northern Central African Republic, and his alliance with the sultan of Dar al-Kuti extended that destruction. His followers called him by his master's name, and Europeans came to know him as Rabih az-Zubayr. At this point in the timeline (1879), the Shehu of Bornu was Umar Kura (3 September 1854 – December 1881 (second reign)); the Kolak (Sultan) of Wadai was Yusuf (1874–1898); the Mbang of Bagirmi was Muhammad IV Abu Sekkin (1871–1884).

## Why it matters
Rabih's breakaway created the military power that would overrun Baguirmi and Bornu in the 1890s.

Ruler at the Time: [Umar Kura (1854–1881)](https://allhistories.com/chad/rulers/umar-kura-2)

Kolak (Sultan) of Wadai: Yusuf
Mbang of Bagirmi: Muhammad IV Abu Sekkin

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Rabih az-Zubayr](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabih_az-Zubayr)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica — Rabih az-Zubayr](https://www.britannica.com/search?query=Rabih+az-Zubayr)
- [Wikipedia — Dar al Kuti](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dar_al_Kuti)
- [Wikipedia — Jihads, Slave Raids And Rabih (period overview)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wadai_Sultanate)