WADAI, Formerly, one of the most powerful native States of the Sudan. and now in the French sphere of influence, situated in North Central Africa. east of Lake Chad. It is bounded on the north by the Sahara Desert, on the east by Darfur, on the south by the French Congo, and on the west by Bagirmi and the Sahara region (Map: Africa, D 3). Its area with dependencies is given as 370.000 square miles. It is a long, narrow, semi-civilized State. stretching from north to south. It largely possesses the character of a region of steppes, with here and there naked mountain groups. In the southwest lies a wild, broken, thick-forested region, where the (lucre Mountains reach over 3000 feet. In the east is the Tir range, 2000 feet high. The watercourses dry up during the year. except the Aukadebbe in the south—an important trihootar;y of the Shari. The most important oases are the Bahr-es-Salamat and the Batha. From the last the Fitri Lake, east of the mouth of the Shari, gathers its waters. Wadai is espe cially arid in the north. The flora and fauna are similar to those of Boman. The region is fairly fertile. The main food crops are rice and wheat. The leading occupation is pastoral. Cattle, horses, and camels are raised of a superior kind. Ostrich feathers, ivory, and slaves are the promi nent items in the trade. The population is about
2,000,000. The Mabas are the foremost race and form about one-seventh of the population— a negro people of the Mohammedan faith and be longing to the Senussi sect. Arabs are numerous. Market communities take the place of cities. Vas sal States are Fitri, East Kanem, and Runga. Aheshe is now the Sultan's capital.
The Wadai kingdom was founded in 1635, and paid tribute to both Bonin and Darfur. The country has had powerful rulers. The Sultan All conquered. after about ISO, the territory of Runga. the east half of Kanem. and also Borku. The Sudanese Rabaj conquered \Wadai during I 892 93, and extended his rule to surrounding States. The present native conditions of political rule are not definitely known. In 1903 a revolution occurred owing to local political feuds, and a new Sultan was enthroned. Eduard Vogel the first European to enter the land, about the nnt(11e of the nineteenth century. NaehtigaI ex plored it in 1873 and Matteuei and Ala.ssuri in 1879. By the Attglo-Freneh agreement of 1898 99 the region passed definitely to the French, but European influence is 1 n yet scarcely known in the Wadai dominions.