Egyptian Sudan 162 The Mashar and the Muslim Arab tribes, and a year with the tribal chiefs and the non-Muslim Mashar?

*** As for the Bahr el Ghazal province, it is separated from Darfur and Kordofan to the north by the Bahr el Arab and Bahr el Ghazal, and separated from Fashoda province by the Bahr el Jebel. Mountains separate it to the west from French Congo, and it connects to Belgian Congo to the south. All the inhabitants of Bahr el Ghazal are Sudanese, and they trade in beads and iron.

This province revolted after the rise of the Mahdi. Labbayn Bey was its governor and Mahmoud el Halawi was inspector-general to prevent the slave trade. Mahmoud succeeded in quelling the revolt and sending reinforcements to Emin Pasha in Equatoria. The matter ended with Labbayn surrendering to the Mahdi's governor. As for Emin Pasha, he held his ground in Equatoria, and his story is a strange one that indicates the intentions of the great powers from that time.

The Dervishes evacuated Bahr el Ghazal in 1886. On July 14, 1894, the French concluded an agreement with the Congo government that the Bahr el Ghazal region would be within their sphere of influence. They established military posts at Dam el Zir, Bahr el Arab, Armbek, Ayalk, and the El Rik project. Then they advanced to Fashoda and occupied it until they agreed with the great powers to withdraw from it and from Bahr el Ghazal in 1898. In 1900, the Sirdar sent a force that occupied Bahr el Ghazal and made Wau the capital of that region.

*** As for Equatoria, the Egyptians took possession of it in 1872. The Crown Prince of England asked Khedive Ismail to make Gordon the governor of Equatoria, and he appointed him from 1874 to 1876. Then Emin Pasha took over. However, the British, who disliked the Egyptian government's withdrawal from Sudan, wanted the Egyptian foothold in Equatoria to remain. They filled the world with morning cries and lamentations for the misfortune of "Emin Pasha," and began to appeal.