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VIIᵉ siècle – XIIᵉ siècle

Zaghawa

Central Sahara and central Sudan

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The Zaghawa were a Tubu-related people whose historical communities occupied areas around Kanem, Kawar, Tibesti, Borku, Ennedi, and territories north of Wadai and northwest of Darfur. Medieval Arabic writers used the name broadly for branches of the Tubu, while distinguishing some groups such as the Goran and certain nomads. Zaghawa communities practiced pastoralism and agriculture, founded or inhabited Kanem, and became involved in trans-Saharan trade.

Territoire · Peuple

Poursuivre l’exploration

Demander à Uriti

  • Qui sont les Zaghawa et comment vivaient-ils ?
  • Quel rôle joue Zaghawa dans la région Central Sahara and central Sudan ?
  • Quel lien entre Zaghawa et Tubu ?
  • À propos de Zaghawa : peux-tu préciser « Tubu-related central Saharan people » ?

Le récit

A Tubu-related Saharan people

The Zaghawa belonged to the broad Tubu or Teda-Daza world described across the central Sahara and central Sudan. Their communities occupied the southern fringe of Fezzan, the Djado plateau, Tibesti, Borku, the Bodélé basin, Bahr al-Ghazal, Ennedi, and areas north of Wadai and northwest of Darfur. The excerpt emphasizes that the name Zaghawa had a broad and shifting usage among medieval Arab geographers.

The name appears in early Arabic references alongside other Sudanese peoples. Wahb ibn Munabbih, writing before 728, mentioned the Zaghawa and the Goran, while al-Khwarizmi later included Zaghawa among Sudanese toponyms. Al-Yaqubi reported that Zaghawa were among the enslaved people exported from Zawila and also described them as inhabitants of Kanem, where they lived in reed huts and founded a kingdom.

Medieval descriptions distinguish between Zaghawa branches and their political centres. Al-Muhallabi placed a large Zaghawa state south of the Maghrib and near Nubia. Al-Idrisi described a Zaghawa centre near Andjimi and noted camel-breeding branches around it, while also naming Saghawa and Shama as other centres. Some Zaghawa groups were likely independent of the king of Kanem, even though the northern frontier of Kanem was said to reach Bilma and al-Kasaba in Kawar.

The Zaghawa economy combined pastoralism and cultivation. Communities in Saghawa and Shama lived from the milk, butter, and meat of their herds and also cultivated sorghum. The Sadrata, a Berber group living among them, were nomads whose way of life resembled that of the Zaghawa and who were described as undergoing assimilation into the Teda-Daza-Zaghawa population.

Repères

  • Tubu-related central Saharan people
  • Communities around Kanem and Kawar
  • Pastoralism and sorghum cultivation
  • Broad medieval geographical designation
  • Connected to trans-Saharan trade

Confiance

moyenne

Ce niveau qualifie la précision des dates, localisations et limites disponibles dans le corpus actuel.

Source

General history of Africa, III: Africa from the seventh to the eleventh century

Point de départ pour aller plus loin — pas une bibliographie exhaustive.

RessourcesCarte
PeupleConfiance moyenne

VIIᵉ siècle – XIIᵉ siècle

Zaghawa

Central Sahara and central Sudan

Écouter
Comparer
Voir dans la constellation

Traduction non disponible · Original (anglais) · français indisponible

Se connecter

The Zaghawa were a Tubu-related people whose historical communities occupied areas around Kanem, Kawar, Tibesti, Borku, Ennedi, and territories north of Wadai and northwest of Darfur. Medieval Arabic writers used the name broadly for branches of the Tubu, while distinguishing some groups such as the Goran and certain nomads. Zaghawa communities practiced pastoralism and agriculture, founded or inhabited Kanem, and became involved in trans-Saharan trade.

Territoire · Peuple

Poursuivre l’exploration

Demander à Uriti

  • Qui sont les Zaghawa et comment vivaient-ils ?
  • Quel rôle joue Zaghawa dans la région Central Sahara and central Sudan ?
  • Quel lien entre Zaghawa et Tubu ?
  • À propos de Zaghawa : peux-tu préciser « Tubu-related central Saharan people » ?

Le récit

A Tubu-related Saharan people

The Zaghawa belonged to the broad Tubu or Teda-Daza world described across the central Sahara and central Sudan. Their communities occupied the southern fringe of Fezzan, the Djado plateau, Tibesti, Borku, the Bodélé basin, Bahr al-Ghazal, Ennedi, and areas north of Wadai and northwest of Darfur. The excerpt emphasizes that the name Zaghawa had a broad and shifting usage among medieval Arab geographers.

The name appears in early Arabic references alongside other Sudanese peoples. Wahb ibn Munabbih, writing before 728, mentioned the Zaghawa and the Goran, while al-Khwarizmi later included Zaghawa among Sudanese toponyms. Al-Yaqubi reported that Zaghawa were among the enslaved people exported from Zawila and also described them as inhabitants of Kanem, where they lived in reed huts and founded a kingdom.

Medieval descriptions distinguish between Zaghawa branches and their political centres. Al-Muhallabi placed a large Zaghawa state south of the Maghrib and near Nubia. Al-Idrisi described a Zaghawa centre near Andjimi and noted camel-breeding branches around it, while also naming Saghawa and Shama as other centres. Some Zaghawa groups were likely independent of the king of Kanem, even though the northern frontier of Kanem was said to reach Bilma and al-Kasaba in Kawar.

The Zaghawa economy combined pastoralism and cultivation. Communities in Saghawa and Shama lived from the milk, butter, and meat of their herds and also cultivated sorghum. The Sadrata, a Berber group living among them, were nomads whose way of life resembled that of the Zaghawa and who were described as undergoing assimilation into the Teda-Daza-Zaghawa population.

Repères

  • Tubu-related central Saharan people
  • Communities around Kanem and Kawar
  • Pastoralism and sorghum cultivation
  • Broad medieval geographical designation
  • Connected to trans-Saharan trade

Confiance

moyenne

Ce niveau qualifie la précision des dates, localisations et limites disponibles dans le corpus actuel.

Source

General history of Africa, III: Africa from the seventh to the eleventh century

Point de départ pour aller plus loin — pas une bibliographie exhaustive.

Continuer le voyage

Chemins liés

D’autres chemins liés à cette histoire.

  • KawarPeuple·VIIᵉ siècle — XIIIᵉ siècle