The sultanate of Wadai had begun to…

The sultanate of Wadai had begun to expand its power in about 1800, during the reign of Sabun.

A new trade route north—via Ennedi, Al Kufrah, and Benghazi—had been discovered, and Sabun had outfitted royal caravans to take advantage of it.

He began minting his own coinage and imported chain mail, firearms, and military advisers from North Africa.

Sabun's successors are less able than he, and Darfur had taken took advantage of a disputed political succession in 1838 to put its own candidate in power in Ouara, the capital of Wadai.

This tactic backfires, however, when Darfur' s choice, Muhammad Sharif, rejects Darfur's meddling and asserts his own authority.

In doing so, he gains acceptance from Wadai's various factions and goes on to become Wadai's ablest ruler.