186 Darfiir.

the first arrivals being two brothers, Ali and Ahmed, who settled with their flocks on the western slopes of Jebel Marra. Of these brothers, Ahmed, nicknamed El Makur, was destined to become the founder of a new dynasty in Darfur. He became very popular with the then king Kor who not only gave him his favourite daughter as wife, but nonxinated him as his successor to the throne. Accordingly on Kor's death Ahmed succeeded to the throne of Darfur, and on the news spreading to the Tungur of Wadai and Bornu, they flocked into the country in such numbers as to partially displace the Teigo. The only small settlements now left of the former rulers are near Dara, where there is a Dago sheikh, and also at Dar Sula, a long way to the west, where there is a semi-independent ruler called "Sultan Bekhit El Dagawi."

A regular male succession was now established and a great grandson of Ahmed's was the celebrated Sultan Dali, who wrote the Kitab-DaU or Penal Code. Another noted Sultan was Suleiman who took the name of Solon, who being the son of an Arab mother and himself married to an Arab woman, introduced Arab blood into the Royal DARFUR OIRL.

Fora.

Family. It was through him, some 400 years ago, that the country became Moslemised, and his descendants now proudly boast of their Arab descent and quite ignore the black element which is undoubtedly there, and which may accoimt for the bitter enmity which exists between the ruling Darfur family and the Nomad Arabs of the country. At the end of the I8th century Sultan Abdel Rahman married a Beigo girl and her son, Mohammed EI Fadl, became Sultan about the beginning of the next century. The Beigo tribe, originally slaves, were from that time declared free.

To turn to more recent times, Darfur has during the last 20 years been so devastated and depopulated that many formerly important tribes such as the Maharia, Nawaiba, Mahamid, Ereigat, Beni, Hussein, etc., have become so disintegrated and scattered that they now practically cease to exist as tribes and are seldom heard of.

The population of Darfur, prior to the Mahdi's revolt, was estimated at 1,. 500,000. It is now probably less than half that number.

The Masabat and Kunjaea, the ruling class of Foes, have their centre at El Fasher.