Emirate of Brakna
Emirate of Brakna | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17th century–1902 | |||||||
| Official languages | Arabic | ||||||
| Common languages | Hassaniya, Zenaga, Fula | ||||||
| Religion | Islam | ||||||
| Government | Monarchy | ||||||
| Emir | |||||||
| Historical era | Early Modern Period | ||||||
• Confederation founded | 17th century | ||||||
| 1673-77 | |||||||
• Declared a French protectorate | 1902 | ||||||
| |||||||
The Emirate of Brakna was a pre-colonial state in what is today southern Mauritania. Its name is shared with the modern Region of Brakna.
History
[edit]As the Maqil Arabs began moving into the Sahara Desert in the 14th century, they split into various clans. Brakna and Trarza are both subgroups of the Banu Hassan.[1]
The Brakna and Trarza allied to face the forces of Nasr ad-Din (Lamtuna) in the Char Bouba war of 1673-77.[2] Their victory gave both tribes control over the Gum arabic trade and strengthened them enough to establish the emirates.[3][4]
Brakna and Trarza fought a war from 1720-22 competing to obtain influence in the kingdoms of Waalo and Futa Toro, with a shifting set of alliances.[5] Brakna, under Emir Hamet Mokhtar, also allied with Abdul Kader during his revolution that established the Imamate of Futa Toro.[6]
References and notes
[edit]Citations
[edit]- ↑ Curtin, Philip (1971). "Jihad in West Africa: Early Phases and Inter-Relations in Mauritania and Senegal". Journal of African History. 12 (1): 12. Retrieved 16 May 2026.
- ↑ Levtzion, Nehemia (1975). "North-West Africa: from the Maghrib to the fringes of the forest". In Gray, Richard (ed.). The Cambridge History of Africa, Volume 4. Cambridge University Press. p. 201. ISBN 0-521-20413-5.
- ↑ Boulegue 2013, p. 420.
- ↑ Barry, Boubacar (1992). "Senegambia from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century: evolution of the Wolof, Sereer and 'Tukuloor'". In Ogot, B. A. (ed.). General History of Africa vol. V: Africa from the Sixteenth to the Eighteenth Century. UNESCO. p. 277. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
- ↑ Boulegue 2013, p. 421-2.
- ↑ Boulegue 2013, p. 448.
Bibliography
[edit]- Boulegue, Jean (2013). Les royaumes wolof dans l'espace sénégambien (XIIIe-XVIIIe siècle) (in French). Paris: Karthala Editions.