Ali Dinar (Arabic: علي دينار, romanized: ʿAlī Dīnār; c. 1865 – 6 November 1916) was the last sultan of Darfur and ruler from the Keira dynasty.
Ali Dinar | |
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![]() Ali Dinar after his death in battle in 1916 | |
Sultan of Darfur | |
Reign | 21 March 1899 – 6 November 1916 |
Predecessor | Position re-established |
Successor | Position abolished |
Born | 1856 |
Died | 6 November 1916 Jebel Juba, Darfur | (aged 59–60)
Dynasty | Keira dynasty |
Father | Zakariyyā b. Muḥammad al-Faḍl |
Ali Dinar first succeeded to the throne of Darfur in 1891 after his cousin, the "shadow sultan" Abū’l-Khayrāt, was killed by his slaves.[1] Shortly afterwards, Ali Dinar began negotiating with the Mahdist amīr Maḥmūd w. Aḥmad (commander-to-be at the Battle of Atbara) for his surrender. Ali Dinar officially surrendered in Mahdist occupied al-Fāshir on October 13, 1891.[2]
After briefly being sent to Omdurman, Ali Dinar entered the service of amīr Ibrāhīm al-Khalīl, Mahdist commander of jihādiyya. In 1896 Ali Dinar accompanied Ibrāhīm al-Khalīl to fight in the Nuba Mountains.[3]
As the Battle of Omdurman approached Ali Dinar planned his desertion back to Darfur. Just before or during the battle he put his plan into effect, taking with him many notables of the old sultanate.[4] Returning to Darfur, Ali Dinar reestablished the Darfur Sultanate.[5]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/96/%D9%83%D8%B3%D9%83%D8%B1%D8%A9_%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B3%D9%85_%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%8A_%D8%AF%D9%8A%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%B1.jpg/220px-%D9%83%D8%B3%D9%83%D8%B1%D8%A9_%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B3%D9%85_%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%8A_%D8%AF%D9%8A%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%B1.jpg)
In 1915 Ali Dinar declared his support to the Ottoman Empire in the First World War, which led the British government to dispatch the invasion of Darfur, in which he was killed in action, after which his sultanate was incorporated into Anglo-Egyptian Sudan.[6]
Further reading
edit- Lidwien Kapteijns, Mahdist Faith and Sudanic Tradition: A History of the Masālīt Sultanate, 1870-1930 (New York: Routledge, 2017 [originally published 1982]).
- Musa al-Mubarak Hasan, Tarikh Dar Fur al-siyasi, 1882-1898 ['A Political History of Darfur'] (Khartoum: Khartoum University Press, n.d. [1970]).
References
edit- A.B. Theobald, 'Alī Dīnār, Last Sultan of Darfur, 1898–1916 (London: Longmans, 1965).
- Entry in the Encyclopædia Britannica
- J.A. Gillan, "Darfur 1916" Sudan Notes and Records 22, no. 1 (1939), 1-25.
- Jay Spaulding, Lidwien Kapteijns, An Islamic alliance: ʻAlī Dīnār and the Sānūsiyya, 1906-1916 at Google Books
- Lidwien Kaptejins and Jay Spaulding, "Gifts Worthy of Kings: An Episode in Dar Fur - Taqali Relations" Sudanic Africa 1 (1990), 61-70.
- R.S. O'Fahey, The Darfur Sultanate: A History (New York: Columbia University Press, 2008).
- ^ O'Fahey, R.S. (2008). The Darfur Sultanate: A History. New York: Columbia University Press. pp. 283–284. ISBN 978-0-231-70038-2.
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: CS1 maint: date and year (link) - ^ Theobald, A.B. (1965). 'Alī Dīnār, Last Sultan of Darfur, 1898–1916. London: Longmans. p. 29. OCLC 25827495.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: date and year (link) - ^ Kapteijns, Lidwien; Spaulding, Jay (1990). "Gifts Worthy of Kings: An Episode in Dar Fur - Taqali Relations". Sudanic Africa. 1: 63 – via Jstor.
- ^ O'Fahey, Darfur Sultanate, 286. Theobald, 'Alī Dīnār, 30-31 n 4.
- ^ The process is detailed on O'Fahey, Darfur Sultanate, 286-297.
- ^ Gillan, J.A. (1939). "Darfur, 1916". Sudan Notes and Records. 22 (1): 1–25 – via Jstor.