APPENDIX V

ACCOUNT OF RABEH

The following translation of a German account of Rabeh, written in 1899, is not without interest, though of course it is in several instances inaccurate. Herr Lippert’s chief informant appears to have been a man from Ghat. His Hausa is not always unexceptionable, and there is nothing to show that he was ever in Bornu or was actually an eyewitness of the events he describes. His account of Rabeh’s campaigns should be compared with that given in Decorse et Demombyne’s Rabah et les Arabes du Shari, and in Dujarric’s Vie de Rabah. Rabeh did not die of poison in 1897 but was killed in battle by the French in 1900.

Mittheilungen des Seminars für Orientalische Sprachen (Berlin) for 1899.

RABAH[503] by Julius Lippert

‘History is made by personalities.’ This maxim only holds good in a very limited sense for western states, but as regards the historical changes in the ‘Dark Continent’, and especially in the Sudan, it is absolutely true. The negro is entirely deficient in public spirit and other political virtues. In the same degree as the idea of the state is foreign to him,[504] he lacks also the sense of patriotism and loyalty to a dynasty. It remains a matter of indifference to him whom he serves, so long as he can do so with tolerable security for life and liberty. It is only by such considerations that the success is explicable of bold adventurers, who, relying on nothing but intelligence and energy above the average and the support of a handful of devoted adherents, were able to carve out mighty empires for themselves and overthrow ancient kingdoms, who owed their hundreds of years of existence solely to a political vis inertiae similar to their own on the part of the neighbouring states. Thus we see, to quote only two examples, how at the beginning of the nineteenth century Othman dan Fodio[505] with his numerically infinitely weaker Fulani conquered the various Hausa states and welded them into the kingdom of Sokoto. The Mahdi likewise in the ’eighties subdued the Egyptian Sudan for a time in spite of European administration. Now it may indeed be urged that both these men appeared also as religious reformers; and religious fanaticism is certainly always a mighty factor in favour of success. But in the case of Samory, whose capture the newspapers announced a few weeks ago, it was solely the power of personality, which enabled him after being expelled from one territory to conquer in a very short time a new dominion about as large as Germany, and since 1885 to oppose unaided with more or less success the superior military skill of the French.[506] It was personal ability also which enabled Rabeh, the brickmaker’s son, to raise himself to the position of king of the powerful state of Bornu, and would have let him accomplish even greater things, had not the assassin’s poison put a premature end to his career of conquest. Just in the last few weeks all kinds of accounts of this man have been current in the newspapers. These accounts, derived from a letter of the French traveller, Bonnel de Mezières,[507] specially concern us Germans, inasmuch as the scene of the events therein described is situated in the hinterland of our colony of the Kameruns; but it may also be of universal interest to find briefly described here the life and death of this personality.

My sources of information are chiefly the two documents printed with a translation in the appendix to this article.

1. A biography of Rabeh in Hausa, written down for me by Mohammed Beshir-al-Ghati, Reader in the Berlin School of Oriental Languages.

2. An Arabic letter to Mohammed Beshir from Abd-el-Kader ibn Al-Haji Isa Muzi from Ghadames, concerning the death of Rabeh.

In so far as I have made use of other sources of information, I have noted them in the proper places.

Rabeh (i.e. the victor) belonged, like Zobehr Pasha, to the Arab family of the Ja’alin, who have their domicile on the upper Nile round about Khartum, but who are distributed all over the Eastern Sudan, and even as far as Bornu,[508] as Jellaba (i.e. importers, petty traders). His father was a poor brickmaker, who gained an honest livelihood by the work of his hands. That Rabeh has sometimes been falsely described as a slave of Zobehr’s is to be attributed to the fact that he attached himself in early youth to that extraordinary man, who, prior to his appearance as a public official, carried on the business of slave-raiding. Rabeh early became a loyal friend and useful assistant in Zobehr’s undertakings. It is certain that he took an active part both in the subjugation of the Bahr-el-Ghazal Province and in the conquest of Darfur. After Zobehr had gone on a mission of complaint to the Khedive in Cairo and had been detained in custody there, his son Suleiman, whom he had left behind as his representative, was driven by intrigues into rebellion, and Rabeh became one of the most prominent sub-commanders in the rebel army. The fortune of war was not favourable to the insurgents. After being totally defeated on repeated occasions, they were summoned by Gessi, the commander of the Government troops, to cease further resistance as useless and to surrender to him under promise of amnesty. In the rebel council of war which met to discuss these propositions, Suleiman and the majority of his lieutenants showed themselves inclined to capitulate on these terms, but Rabeh spoke energetically against the proposal. His advice was, either, at the price of abandoning the territories hitherto connected with their rule, to push westward with their forces, still by no means inconsiderable, where it would be easy to conquer a new dominion; or, if they were quite tired of fighting, to surrender not to Gessi, but direct to the Government authorities in Khartum. If neither of these two proposals should find acceptance, he would find himself compelled to separate from his former comrades and act on his own account. Neither alternative of Rabeh’s extremely judicious counsel was attended to; Suleiman and the majority of his sub-commanders gave themselves up to Gessi,[509] but Rabeh, after an affecting leave-taking from his old comrades-in-arms, marched away with his own troops, and those who had joined him from other detachments, to his camp in the uncertain future, accompanied by the notes of the far-sounding war-horn.[510]

At this point it may be fitting to insert a few words as to the resources which, at the outset, Rabeh was able to dispose of. I do not think that his army was ever at any one time much over 3,000 strong. Moreover, it was certainly only the minority of these troops that consisted of Ja’alin and Arabs of other tribes, though they formed the cavalry of the army, while the greater part must have been supplied according to requirements from the ‘Basingers’, i.e. negro soldiers disciplined on European lines, selected from captured slaves. One may quite fittingly compare them with the Mamelukes of Egypt or the Turkish Janissaries. From what I have heard from eyewitnesses of Rabeh’s battles in Bornu, he must also have had artillery at his disposal. It is not only obvious but confirmed by the course of events, that these well-armed and well-disciplined troops, in spite of their numerical weakness, represented a formidable force when opposed to barbarous negro empires, to whom fire-arms were certainly no longer entirely unknown, but amongst whom they had not long been in exclusive use.[511]

II

With regard to the first decade (1880-90) of Rabeh’s adventurous career, only vague and scanty accounts are forthcoming to enable us to attain an assured knowledge of events. According to Mohammed’s information, he first of all invaded the country of the Dinkas (at the confluence of the Bahr-el-Ghazal and the Nile) and waged war with this tribe for three years. It is evident that this statement is based on a confusion with the before-mentioned conquest of the Bahr-el-Ghazal province by Zobehr. Ferryman states in his recently published work,[512] that Rabeh and his troops turned northwards, and after twice defeating the Sultan of Borku, received permission from him to establish themselves in the southern border districts of his empire. It must have been here that Rabeh, as well as the above-mentioned Sultan, received an invitation from the Mahdi, who had meanwhile seized possession of the whole Egyptian Sudan, to ally themselves with the new state, a course which they both declined with scorn. In the lengthy struggle that followed between the Mahdists and the border tribes belonging to the Sennusiya between Darfur and Wadai, Rabeh must have taken a vigorous part. So Ferryman says. I am able to refute this statement, which is offered without the slightest authority being quoted, as I consider it improbable from an impartial point of view. Borku is a small group of oases south-east of Tibesti, whose population Nachtigal asserts to be from 10,000 to 12,000.[513] To reach Borku from Gerra (in Southern Darfur), where Suleiman’s camp was situated at the time of his surrender, Rabeh would have to traverse either Darfur, occupied throughout its extent by the Egyptian troops, or else Northern Wadai, inhabited by wild hill-tribes, and make moreover a not inconsiderable desert march. Under these circumstances I cannot conceive what could have caused him to be attracted to this small and remote group of oases, where certainly much fighting but little booty was to be expected. Slatin Pasha states briefly that he was removed to ‘the remote districts of the south-west’.[514] This statement has very great probability on its side. Even Ferryman admits that he lived in the country of the Banda and Fertit before his attack on Bagirmi.[515] In the midst of these and other pagan Nyamnyam tribes south of Darfur and north of Upper Uele he found what he needed, viz. a suitable field for the capture of slaves, of whom he was in constant want as a medium of exchange for weapons and munitions. A full decade seems to have elapsed before the burning of towns and villages, necessarily consequent on his slave-raids, changed into a wilderness this formerly populous and flourishing district. It then became necessary to find a new field for this form of activity, which in Moslem eyes is by no means disgraceful, provided it is exercised at the expense of idolaters. He was prevented from penetrating farther south, where booty was easiest to be obtained, by considerations regarding the supply of munitions, which he procured from the north through the medium of his fellow-tribesmen, the Jellaba. For this reason he turned north-west and attempted to overrun the kingdom of Wadai. But here he must have met with energetic resistance, as was only to be expected from the close political organization of this coveted empire.[516] So after a short time he desisted from his attempts on Wadai, and made an incursion with his troops into Bagirmi, which lies to the south-west of the latter. Ferryman is aware[517] that during his stay in Dar-Banda and Dar-Fertit, Rabeh addressed a request to the Sultan of Bagirmi that he would promise a free passage from Kukawa, the capital of Bornu, through Bagirmi to his traders for the purpose of supplying him with munitions. Rabeh swore revenge against the Sultan for not complying with this request; he was at present, however, denied the opportunity of satisfying this feeling. The Sultan of Bagirmi sought in vain for assistance from the Courts of Wadai and Bornu. Refusing to acquiesce, yet not in a position to make head against his dreaded opponent in open battle, he threw himself into his fortified capital of Masseña, and surrendered the open country to the enemy. Rabeh quartered himself on the country in his usual fashion, collected a rich booty in slaves, and possessed himself of several of the larger towns, such as Gulfei and Logone. But he had no intention of establishing himself permanently in the country. He was inclined to this course by misleading reports that had reached him of the natural riches of Bornu and of its internal rottenness. He seems to have prepared long beforehand for an attack on this empire, whose prestige among the neighbouring peoples was still very great in spite of its rotten internal condition. He first sent secret emissaries charged to stir up the political differences, which, thanks to the weakness of the royal authority, consisted chiefly in the mutual rivalries of the court dignitaries, and at the same time to create a disposition favourable to himself. He then allied himself with the Fulani chieftain, Mallam[518] Hayatu, of Jamare, for the purpose of a joint invasion of Bornu. This prince, who, in contrast to the feeble successors on the throne of Sokoto of the great Othman dan Fodio, showed once more something of the warlike and statesmanlike ability of his ancestor, was at once ready for the undertaking against the hereditary enemy of the Fulani. Their united troops advanced into Bornu and pushed their way unopposed right up to the walls of Kukawa. The Sultan,[519] Abba Ashimi, here faced them for the first time, and thanks to superior forces succeeded in repulsing the assailants. Rabeh now spent several months in Bornu territory in a difficult position, during which the provisioning of his troops especially caused him great anxiety. It was just while he was at the height of his distress that the seed sown by his envoys reached maturity. Rabeh received an invitation from one of the chief Bornu court dignitaries to return to Kukawa, where he would assist him to obtain the mastery. He naturally did not wait to be asked twice, but immediately advanced again on the capital. Another battle was fought in front of the gates of the palace, and this time Rabeh was victorious, chiefly owing to his artillery, to which the enemy could oppose nothing similar. Abba Ashimi himself remained on the field.[520] In the campaign which followed and which led to the capture of the capital, his two nephews and successors, Abba Kiari and Abba Sanda[521] were slain. The conqueror entered Kukawa as the new Sultan.[522]

III

This event forms a turning-point in the history of Rabeh. Whilst he had hitherto been more or less a mere adventurer, he had now become at one blow the ruler of one of the most powerful Sultanates of the Sudan. Remembering the practical bent of his mind with its grasp of actualities, one might expect that he would at once be conscious of the problems and duties of his new position and that he would proceed energetically towards their accomplishment. Nor did he disappoint such expectations. He sought to revive the caravan-trade with Tripoli, which had been brought to a standstill owing to the unrest of recent years, by giving the traders assurance of the most perfect security, and by other concessions. His endeavours in this respect met with success.[523] He also entered into trade relations with the British ‘Niger Company’.[524] He removed his head-quarters from Kukawa, which is extremely unhealthy,[525] particularly in the rainy season, to the charmingly situated town of Dikoa,[526] on the Alo river south-east of Lake Chad. For the better protection of the frontier of his newly-won territory, he left strong garrisons in Gulfei on the Shari, and in Kusseri and Logone on the River Logone. In order to found a dynasty, whose legitimacy should be acknowledged even by the rulers of the neighbouring kingdoms, he married a daughter of his ally, Mallam Hayatu, who, on his side, took to wife a daughter of Rabeh’s.

His energetic never-resting nature caused this internal political activity to be accompanied by efforts to enlarge his territory. He first attempted to chastise the hill tribes of Mandara, dwelling to the south of Bornu, who had made themselves troublesome by occasional plundering expeditions into the southerly districts of the empire. The aged king of Mandara himself fell into the hands of a punitive expedition. But, while Rabeh resolved humanely enough to dismiss the old man unharmed to his home, the latter’s son and successor allowed a son of Rabeh’s, who had fallen into captivity, to be executed. Another expedition—to Bedde—was certainly not designed for the occupation of this country, but for the capture of numerous slaves, who were carried off as welcome booty to Bornu. A raid into Miga[527] country had the same successful result. On the other hand, an expedition against Katagum miscarried; the valiant stand made by the king of this country forced Rabeh to retreat hurriedly on Bornu. The King of Misau got wind beforehand of an undertaking that had been planned against his country, and hastened to conclude an offensive and defensive alliance with the neighbouring rulers of Shira and Gombe in order to meet the threatened danger. When united they felt themselves strong enough to advance and attack Rabeh. The opposing armies came into collision on the march. A battle resulted, and after a desperate struggle Rabeh’s superior military skill secured him the victory. The losses of the allies were extraordinarily heavy; the King of Gombe himself was among the fallen. But even for the victor the day must have been very costly; for he returned to Bornu without further results.

So long as Rabeh confined his attacks to the small tribes living between Bornu and Sokoto—buffer-states one would call them in modern parlance—everything went very smoothly. But it is obvious that the moment he attacked the territory of a large neighbouring kingdom, complications of immeasurable import were bound to ensue. Such complications took place when he invaded Adamawa,[528] the great south-eastern vassal state of Sokoto, whence he brought home vast booty, especially in slaves. The governors of the neighbouring Hausa states then recovered from the indolence, with which they had hitherto viewed the success of Rabeh, and entered on an energetic course of action. They had to be prepared for the fact that it might be themselves on whom he would next lay hands. Fright effected what political insight had been unable to accomplish; they formed themselves into a league for the purpose of common defence in case of an attack on one of the confederates. Especially serious for Rabeh was the fact that his father-in-law and former ally, Hayatu, joined the league. Although he had founded his kingdom of Jamare in political rivalry with the Court of Wurno,[529] he was Fulani enough at heart to feel that the interests of his fellow tribesmen were not different from his own, in so far as the to be or not to be depended on himself. At first he attempted to intervene diplomatically. But when Rabeh, fully conscious of his power, haughtily repulsed these attempts, Hayatu came forward as leader at the head of the league. It may be that Rabeh feared the military force of the league, or the power of England that stood behind it, or something else; at any rate it is certain that for a time he abstained from further attempts against Sokoto—though an expedition against Kano may have been contemplated—and turned his attention to a problem which awaited solution within the compass of his own empire, viz. the reconquest of the recalcitrant Governor of Zinder. Zinder was the most north-westerly province of Bornu, but its governor had frequently shown himself refractory even in Shehu Umar’s time,[530] and had taken advantage of the confusion of recent years to free himself of even nominal dependence, and had also annexed the province of Munio which lay to the east of his own territory. After careful preparation Rabeh set out about the beginning of 1897; he was destined never to return to his capital alive. Mallam Hayatu, who, following in the lines of Oriental despots, thought cunning the better part of valour, got poison administered to him on the way to Zinder by means of his daughter, who, as mentioned above, had been married to Rabeh. Thus perished, in the midst of his activity, the still vigorous warrior at the age of fifty-eight.[531]

In criticizing Rabeh we must be careful not to adopt the standpoint of Christian humanity; the character of his people and of his religion must be taken into consideration, which declare as permissible many things that are held by us to be abominably cruel. Thousands of unfortunates were enslaved by him and sold either in the Sudan itself or sent to North Africa. I have myself seen in Tunis and Tripoli quite a number of individuals who were recognizable as Rabeh’s slaves by the three oblique scars on each cheek. Any one who is acquainted with the conditions knows that for each of the slaves who reached their journey’s end, one must add at least five other individuals who perished either in the slave raids of the foregoing campaigns, on the journey, or through sickness following on a change of climate. This sum total of misery and destruction of family happiness constitutes a terrible indictment against their originator, but we must also again recollect that these slave raids were not for Rabeh an end in themselves, but only a means to an end, and that he not only understood how to destroy, but also how to build up. When we consider that, after becoming Sultan of Bornu, he endeavoured energetically to raise the condition of the country by a whole succession of peaceful measures, we can reconcile ourselves in some degree to his misdeeds; in fact, we may summarize our judgement of him by saying that he was—in the Shakespearian sense—a man. If one looks at the matter properly he may be described as the leaven of the Sudan; for Bornu, in particular, his mission was as much an historical necessity as the migration of nations was for the Roman Empire. As to whether his dynasty will have any permanence, who can tell? If it perishes with him, the fault lies not on him but adverse circumstances.

All that I have been able to discover as to the course of events after his death, is that one of his freedmen has undertaken the regency in the name of his son, who is still a minor, and that he has known how to guard up to the present the integrity of the empire. When M. Bonnel de Mezières,[532] and after him the newspapers, announce that Rabeh has banished Gaurang, King of Bagirmi, and occupied his capital, Masseña, it can only refer to this regent, even assuming that the news in this form proves right at all. At the same time it is not impossible that the conqueror is the King of Wadai, who certainly stands in the position of suzerain of Bagirmi.[533] Certainly once before, when the vassal chief, Abu Sikkin, showed himself recalcitrant, Masseña was occupied by King Ali of Wadai after a siege lasting several months.[534] In any case it is an exquisite irony of fate to see how the actors of the drama produced here are intermingled with one another, and behave themselves as if there was no world outside their own, whilst all the time the die has long been cast against them, and they have been divided up among the European Powers.

HISTORY OF RABEH ACCORDING TO MOHAMMED BESHIR

usili rabeh. ubansa mutum jalaba shi da basha alzubair mutane jalaba. uban rabeh shina yi gini kasa, talaka ne. babu shina da komi. rabeh ya tafi wurin basha alzubair ya zama galadimansa. suna tafiya darfur suna yi yaki dasu shekaru biyar. su ji labarin mutane masr su da ingliz suka tafi achikin darfur. su yi masa hila wayo suka che ka tafo. ya zo basha alzubair, su kama shi. galadimansa rabeh ya gudu ya tafi agarin janke (dinka) ya tafi shi da dakaransa shina yi yaki achikin janke shekaransa oku. ya tashi ya tafi agarin wadai shina yi yaki kwanansa goma sha bokkoi achikin kauye. ya tafi agarin bagirmi shina yi yaki da sarikin bagirmi shekaransa biyu. achikin bagirmi shina aikewa achikin barnuh[535] da samo shina yi magani dakeau domi bakinsu shi banban suna yi fada. ya rubutu ga malam hayatu laya ya che masa ina sonka da abuta. mallam hayatu ya che kua, nima ina sonka amma ka zo mu yi shawara zamu chi barnuh. rabeh ya che to mu gamu achikin hanya. ya tashi su gamu suka che mu je achikin barnuh mu chi barnuh. sarikin barnuh ya ji labari suna taruwa dayawa ya che ku yi shiri dakeau. rabeh ya zo barnuh achikin kofan gari, sarikin barnuh ya fita suna yi fada, sarikin barnuh ya kore rabeh. ya tafi akauye ya zamna, shina yi yungwa watansa tara achikin ankalaiwa suna zamne wuri daya. da su samau chimaka su komo achikin barnuh sun yi yaki. sarikin barnuh dakaransa su gudu suna barshi shina yi fada su kasheshi; aba hashim dafari aba kiari da aba sanda dan uwan aba kiari, su mutu. ya shiga barnuh ya zamna shekaransa oku da shashi. ya tafi agarin sarikin mandara ya kai yaki achikin mandara. ya kama sarikin mandara zofo ne ya kawoshi achikin barnuh. yaro sarikin mandara ya kama yaron rabeh. rabeh ya che da mutaninsa kada ku kasheshi wanan zofo ne. ya che masa yaron sarikin mandara aiko mani da ubana. ya che masa zan kasheshi zofo ya che, kadan na mutu da. safi kai kua ka mutu da azafari.[536] ya sakeshi ya tafi agarinsa mandara.

saura maganan rabeh. basha malla karim na chikin barnuh ya aike[537] wurin rabeh ya che, ka zo ka shiga achikin garin barnuh. ya che ina da yungwa babu abinchi. sun tafo su shiga achikin gari ya zama sarikinsu. ya zauna watansa fudu ya tashi ya tafi achikin garin bade shina yi yaki da su, allah ya bashi nasara. ya kama mutane bade ya damresu achikin sasari ya kawosu achikin barnuh. ya koma ya tafi agarin mika suna yi yaki da sarikin mika. allah ya bashi nasara ya kashesu. ya tafi agarin katagum suna yi fada dakeau. sarikin katagum ya koreshi ya gudu ya komo achikin garinsa barnuh. ya zamna watansa biyar ya tashi ya tafi agarin miso. sarikin miso ya fita suna yi yaki shi da rabeh. sarikin miso ya aike wurin sarikin shira da wurin sarikin gombe su taru achikin garin miso. su tashi su tareshi achikkin hanya. suna yi yaki dakeau ya kashe masu mutane dayawa rabeh ya yi nasara dakeau. sarikin gombe ya mutu achikin yaki. rabeh ya komo achikin barnuh, ya zamna watansa tara. ya che ga mutaninsa ku yi shiri ku tafi achikin adamawa da yaki. su tafi su yi yaki achikin adamawa su kama mutane dayawa su damresu achikin sasari su kawosu daga barnuh. malam hayatu sarikin jamare ya ji labari ya che masa domi ka tafi achikin kasan kakanina? rabeh ya amsa masa na tafi. malam hayatu ya che, dakeau. ya aike masa da magani wurin matatasa yariniya malam hayatu shika aureta. ama rabeh shekaransa tokwos da hamsin ya mutu.

Translation

Rabeh’s origin. His father was a Jellaba man as also was Zobehr Pasha. Rabeh’s father was a poor man and a clay digger (for making bricks); he had no property. Rabeh went to Zobehr Pasha and became his lieutenant. They went to Darfur and made war there for five years. They heard news that the Egyptians and the English had come to Darfur. They (the English) laid a cunning trap for him (Zobehr) and said, ‘Come to us.’ They caught Zobehr Pasha. His lieutenant Rabeh fled and came to the Dinka country. He and his soldiers went and made war in the Dinka country for three years. He got up and went to Wadai and made war in the surrounding country for seventeen days. He went to Bagirmi and made war with the King of Bagirmi for two years. Whilst he was in Bagirmi he sent poison to Bornu and made powerful medicine because they were at strife. They made war. He wrote a letter to Mallam Hayatu and said to him: ‘I want to be your friend.’ Mallam Hayatu likewise said: ‘I like you, but come and let us consult how we shall conquer Bornu.’ Rabeh said: ‘Very well, let us meet on the road.’ He got up. They met and said: ‘Let us enter Bornu and conquer it.’ The King of Bornu heard news that they were assembling in large numbers and said (to his people): ‘Make careful preparations.’ Rabeh came to Bornu and reached the gate of the town [i.e. Kuka]. The King of Bornu came out and they fought. The King of Bornu repulsed Rabeh, who went into the surrounding villages where he sat down. He suffered from hunger for nine months in Ngellewa where they remained concentrated. When they got provisions they re-entered Bornu and made war. The King of Bornu’s soldiers fled and left him on the battlefield and he was killed, first of all Abba Ashimi died, then Abba Kiari and Abba Sanda, brother of Abba Kiari. He (Rabeh) entered Bornu and sat down there for three years and a half. He went to the King of Mandara and brought an army to Mandara. He caught the King of Mandara, who was an old man, and brought him to Bornu. The son of the King of Mandara caught a son of Rabeh’s. Rabeh said to his people, ‘Do not kill him, he is an old man.’ The son of the King of Mandara said to him, ‘Send me my father.’ He said to him, ‘I am going to kill him.’ The old man said: ‘If I die in the morning, you will die in the afternoon.’ He let him go and he went to his country of Mandara.

The story of Rabeh continued. Pasha Malla Karim of Bornu sent to Rabeh and said, ‘Come, enter the town of Bornu.’ He said: ‘I am hungry, I have no food.’ They met, they entered the town, he became their king. He sat down for four months. He got up and went to Bedde country. He made war with them. God gave him the victory. He caught the Bedde people and bound them in chains and brought them to Bornu. He came back, he went to Mika[538] country. They made war with the King of Mika. God gave him the victory. He killed them. He went to Katagum. There was a stiff fight. The King of Katagum repulsed him. He fled and came back to his own country of Bornu, where he sat down for five months. He got up and went to Misau. The King of Misau came out and he and Rabeh fought. The King of Misau sent to the King of Shira and to the King of Gombe (telling them) to assemble inside the town of Misau. They got up and met on the road. There was a stiff fight, but Rabeh killed many of their men and gained a brilliant victory. The King of Gombe died in the battle. Rabeh returned to Bornu, where he sat down nine months. He said to his people: ‘Prepare yourselves and go with an army to Adamawa.’ They went and made war in Adamawa. They caught many men and bound them in chains and brought them to Bornu. Mallam Hayatu, the King of Jamare, heard the news and said to him: ‘Why have you entered the country of my fathers?’ Rabeh answered him: ‘I have entered it. (What about it?)’ Mallam Hayatu said: ‘Good!’ He sent him poison through his wife. Rabeh had married Mallam Hayatu’s daughter. Now Rabeh was fifty-eight years old when he died.

II

From a Letter of Abd-el-Kadir ibn Al-haji Isa Muzi of Ghadames to Mohammed Beshir, dated 17 Rejeb, 1315 (i.e. 12 December, 1897).[539]

. . . And if you inquire as to the state of affairs in the Sudan, know that everything is in order. Only a letter has reached Ghadames from the Sudan, in which they have informed us that Rabeh has of a truth been killed by poison. The Sultan of Jamare said: ‘Assemble yourselves, ye Sultans of the Sudan.’ They said: ‘Let us prepare ourselves and fight against Rabeh.’ And the Sultan of Mandara and the Sultan of Bagirmi and the Sultan of Kano and the Sultan of Katsena and the Sultan of Daura and the Sultan of Kazaure and the Sultan of Zaria and the Sultan of Bauchi and the Sultan of Bedde and the Sultan of Damerghu and the Sultan of Tanamari and the Sultan of Gagiduna and the Sultan of Asben they all assembled themselves (and said): ‘Let us march against Rabeh and kill him.’ His father-in-law, Mallam Hayatu, was he who killed him by poison. He sent the poison to his daughter with the message: ‘Give it thy husband.’ After that[540] he said to his son-in-law: ‘Why have you taken the land of my fathers?’ Rabeh answered and said unto him: ‘I have taken it.’ Then he went away, prepared the poison and said to her: ‘Give it to thy husband.’ And now Rabeh is dead. It is six months ago since I read it in the letter from the Sudan.

[p. 263] From a Letter of Herr Hans Resener, Editor of the Aegyptischer Kurier, to the Editor of the Mittheilungen.

. . . Herr Julius Lippert in his article on Rabeh, the notorious ruler of the Kingdoms of the Central Sudan, which is shortly to appear in your valuable periodical, states: ‘his father was a poor brickmaker, who gained an honest livelihood by the work of his hands. That Rabeh has sometimes been falsely described as a slave of Zobehr’s is to be attributed to the fact that he attached himself in early youth to that extraordinary man, who prior to his appearance as a public official carried on the business of slave-raiding. Rabeh early became a loyal friend and useful assistant in Zobehr’s undertakings.’

I may be permitted to observe on the contrary that Zobehr Pasha has more than once represented to me that his relationship to Rabeh was as follows—Rabeh’s father was a slave of Zobehr’s father. The lot of a slave in Africa who happens to be in good hands is by no means hard, he eats out of the same dish as his master, &c., &c. Rabeh was brought up in familiar intercourse with Zobehr without any distinction or preference being made; the fact that Rabeh was a slave of Zobehr’s father did not prevent this. At the same time Rabeh was Zobehr’s foster-brother; Zobehr always had a great affection for him and when his (Zobehr’s) father died, he gave Rabeh his freedom.