SOAS Research Online

Abstract

The object of this study is to describe and analyse the main trends in the political history of the Keira sultanate of Dar Far until its incorporation into the Turco-Egyptian Sudan in 1874. In the first two chapters, after a brief description of the geography and ethnography of the Dar Far region, the early history of the area and the various traditions of origin concerning the Keira Sultanate are discussed. Chapter three outlines the early relations between the Keira royal family and the Fur tribe and the expansion of the sultanate under Sultans Sulayman and Ahmad Bukr with the subsequent struggles for power within the ruling group. The growing strength of the sultan's position vis-a-vis his chiefs is the main theme of chapter four and is illustrated in the expansion of the sultanate eastwards into Kordofan, the increasing reliance of the sultans on slaves as soldiers and officials and in the outcome of the succession crisis after the death of Sultan Muhammad Tayrab. With the consolidation of the sultan's power by the reforms of Sultan 'Abd al-Rahman, chapter five describes the establishment of al-Fashir as the capital and the sultanate's relations with the outside world. The last two chapters consider the development of court politics in al-Fashir and the rise of a new class of officials and the decline of the power of the old chiefly class and the Keira family. The sultanate's increasing isolation following the Turco-Egyptian conquest of Kordofan in 1821 and the hostile relations with the Arab tribes of southern Dar Fur are discussed. It was from the south that the final threat to the sultanate came in the form of the invasion of al-Zubayr Rahma in 1874.