DARFUR, a semi-independent kingdom of east central Africa, the westernmost province of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. It extends from about io° N. to 16° N. and from 21° E. to 27° 3o' E., has an area of some 15o,000 sq.m., and an estimated popula tion of 75o,000. It is bounded north by the Libyan desert, west by Wadai (French Congo), south by the Bahr-el-Ghazal and east by Kordofan. The two last-named districts are mudirias (prov inces) of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. The greater part of the country is a plateau from 2,000 tO 3,000 ft. above sea-level. A range of mountains of volcanic origin, the Jebel Marra, runs north and south about the line of the 24° E., and forms the water shed between the basins of the Nile and Lake Chad. About ioo m. long and 8o m. thick, its highest points attain from 5,000 to 6,000 ft. Eastward the mountains fall gradually into sandy, bush covered steppes. North-east of Jebel Marra lies the Jebel Medob (3,5oo ft. high), a range much distorted by volcanic action, and Bir-el-Melh, an extinct volcano with a crater 15o ft. deep. South of Jebel Marra are the plains of Dar Dima and Dar Uma; south west of the Marra the plain is 4,000 ft. above the sea. The mountains are scored by numerous khors, whose lower courses across the tableland represent the beds of former rivers, now dry except when scoured by torrents in the rainy season. In the west and south water can always be obtained in the dry season by digging 5 or 6 ft. below the surface of the khors.
The climate, except in the south, where the rains are heavy and the soil is a damp clay, is healthy except after the rains. The rainy season lasts for three months, from the middle of June to the middle of September. In the neighbourhood of the khors the vegetation is fairly rich. The chief trees are the acacias whence gum is obtained, and baobab (Adansonia digitata); while the sycamore and, in the Marra mountains, the Euphorbia candela brum are also found. In the southwest are densely forested regions. Cotton and tobacco are indigenous. The most fertile land is found on the slopes of the mountains, where wheat, durra, dukhn (a kind of millet and the staple food of the people) and other grains are grown. Other products are sesame, cotton, cucumbers, water-melons and onions.
Copper is obtained from Hofrat-el-Nahas in the south-east, iron is wrought in the south-west ; and there are deposits of rock salt in various places. Camels and cattle are both numerous and of excellent breeds. Horses are comparatively rare; they are a small but sturdy breed. Sheep and goats are numerous. The ostrich, common in the eastern steppes, is bred by various Arab tribes, its feathers forming a valuable article of trade.
Inhabitan.ts.—The population of Darfur consists of negroes and Arabs. The negro For, forming quite half the inhabitants, occupy the central highlands and part of the Dar Dima and Dar Uma districts; they speak a special language, and are sub divided into numerous tribes, of which the most influential are the Masabat, the Kunjara and the Kera. The Massalit are a negro tribe which, breaking off from the For some centuries back, have now much Arab blood, and speak Arabic; while the Tunjur are an Arab tribe which have incorporated a large For element, and no longer profess Mohammedanism. The Dago (Tago) formerly inhabited Jebel Marra, but they have been driven to the south and west, where they maintain a certain independence in Dar Sula. Genuine Arab tribes, e.g., the Baggara and Homr, are numerous, and they are partly nomadic and partly settled. The Arabs have not, generally speaking, mixed with the negro tribes. They are great hunters, making expeditions into the desert for five or six days at a time in search of ostriches.
Slaves, ostrich feathers, gum and ivory used to be the chief articles of trade, a caravan going annually by the Arbain ("Forty Days") road to Assiut in Egypt and taking back cloth, fire-arms and other articles. The slave trade has ceased, but feathers, gum and ivory still constitute the chief exports of the country. The principal imports are cotton goods, sugar and tea. There is also an active trade in camels and cattle.
The internal administration of the country is in the hands of the sultan, who is officially recognized as the agent of the Sudan government.
The capital and residence of the sultan is El-Fasher (pop. about io,000), on the western bank of the Wadi Tendelty. There are a few fine buildings, but the town consists mainly of tukls and box shaped straw sheds. It is soo m. W.S.W. of Khartum. Dara, a small market town, is II° m. S. of El-Fasher. Shakka is in the S.E. of the country near the Bahr-el-Homr, and was formerly the headquarters of the slave dealers.
History.—The Dago or Tago negroes, inhabitants of Jebel Marra, appear to have been the dominant race in Darfur in the earliest period to which the history of the country goes back. How long they ruled is uncertain, little being known of them save a list of kings. According to tradition the Tago dynasty was displaced and Mohammedanism introduced, about the i4th century, by Tunjur Arabs, who reached Darfur by way of Bornu and Wadai. The first Tunjur king was Ahmed-el-Makur, who married the daughter of the last Tago monarch. His great-grand son, the sultan Dali, a celebrated figure in Darfur histories, was on his mother's side a For, and thus was effected a union between the negro and Arab races. Dali divided the country into provinces, and established a penal code, which, under the title of Kitab Dali or Dali's Book, is still preserved, and shows principles essentially different from those of the Koran. His grandson Soleiman (usu ally distinguished by the Forian epithet Solon, the Arab or the Red) reigned from 1596 to 1637, and was a great warrior and a devoted Mohammedan. Soleiman's grandson, Ahmed Bahr (1682– '722), made Islam the religion of the State, and increased the prosperity of the country by encouraging immigration from Bornu and Bagirmi. His rule extended east of the Nile as far as the banks of the Atbara. Under succeeding monarchs the country, involved in wars with Sennar and Wadai, declined in importance.
The first European traveller known to have visited Darfur was William George Browne (q.v.), who spent two years at Kobbe. Gustav Nachtigal in 1873 spent some months in Dar fur, and since that time the country has become well known through the journeys of Gordon, Slatin and others.