Bagirmi and Wadai, in addition to Kanem-Borno,…

Bagirmi and Wadai, in addition to Kanem-Borno, are prominent in the region of modern Chad.

The kingdom of Bagirmi had emerged to the southeast of Kanem-Borno in the sixteenth century.

Under the reign of Abdullah IV (1568-98), Islam was adopted, and the state became a sultanate, using Islamic judicial and administrative procedures.

Later, a palace and court were constructed in the capital city of Massenya.

Bagirmi 's political history is a function of its strength and unity in relation to its larger neighbors.

Absorbed into Kanem-Borno during the reign of Aluma, Bagirmi had broken free later in the 1600s, only to be returned to tributary status in the mid-1700s.

During periods of strength, the sultanate becomes imperialistic.

It establishes control over small feudal kingdoms on its peripheries and enters into alliances with nearby nomadic peoples.

Early in the nineteenth century, Bagirmi falls into decay and is threatened militarily by the nearby kingdom of Wadai.

Although Bagirmi resists, it accepts tributary status in order to obtain help from Wadai in putting down internal dissension.

When Rabih Fadlallah 's forces burn Massenya in 1893, the twenty-fifth sultan, Abd ar Rahman Gwaranga, will seek and receive protectorate status from the French.