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Almáme Yusuf,

Almáme Birán,

Almáme Hammád,

Almáme Makhmúdo,

Almáme Mohammed el Amín,

son of Mohammed Birán.

Venture collects his information from two Moroccain merchants. Tombo very powerful. Marka, the Aswánek, in Bághena. Kawár, the Fulbe, in Másina.

Timbuktu, according to the very A.D. 1787. About this period falls the quarrel

doubtful statement of Shabíni,* under the supremacy of Háusa. If this were true, would be a very important fact; but it is evidently a mistake, A'usa being

meant.

Timbuktu, under the sovereignty of Mansong, at that time King of Bambara [very questionable].† Professor Ritter supposes the Moors to have been ejected at that time, so that Timbuktu became an independent Negro

town.

A.H. 12021203.

A.D. 1803

1804.

A.н. 1218.

A.D. 1804. A.H. 1219.

Mungo Park navigates the Niger. A.D. 1805-6. A.H. 1220-1.

Mohammed or Ahmed Lebbo brings the religious banner from Gando, and gradually acquires the supremacy in Másina over the native chiefs.

Lebbo commences hostilities with Mohammed Galáijo, the chief of Konári, vanquishes him, and forces him to retreat eastward.

Shabini, p. 12.

A.D. 1811. A.H. 1226. A.D. 1816. A.H. 12321233.

A.D. 1817. A.H. 1233.

A.D. 1820. A.H. 1236

1237.

between the Sheikh el Mukhtar el kebír and the Welád Bille, the former overthrowing the latter, with the assistance of the Méshedúf and the A'hel Zenághi.

El Mukhtár opens friendship with 'Othman dan Fódie, the Jihádi, who this year entered into open hostility against Bawa, the King of Góber, and brought about that immense revolution in the whole centre of Negroland.

About this period a great struggle between the Awelímmiden and the Tademékket.

The Fulbe make Gando, in Kebbi, the seat of their operations.

The Rumá, still powerful between
Sébi and Timbuktu, dominate
the passage of the Niger.
Sídi Mukhtár dies.

Great and sanguinary battle between the Songhay, Rumá, and Berabísh on the one side, and the Awelímmiden on the other, near the island Kúrkozay. Sheikh 'Othmán dan Fódie before his death divides his extensive dominions between his brother 'Abd-Alláhi and his son Bello, the former receiving all the western provinces along the Niger, with Gando as his capital, the latter the southeasterly provinces, with Sokoto.

Constant war between Másina and Bámbara.

+ Proceedings of the African Association, ii., p. 322.

Ritter, Erdkunde von Afrika, p. 446 seq., especially from Sidi Hámed's statement (p. 363).

Songhay.

EASTERN ROUTE FROM TAWA'T TO TIMBU’KTU.

Neighboring Kingdoms.

683

The Fulbe of Masina occupy Timbuktu in the beginning of the year. A.D. 1826. Major Laing left 'En-Sálah on the 10th of January; was attacked, A.H. 1242-3. and almost slain, in Wadi Ahennet, on the 27th (?), by a party of Tawárek; was received very kindly by Sidi Mohammed, the son of Sídi Mukhtar, in the hillet e' Sheikh Sídi Mukhtár, in A'zawád. Sídi Mohammed died in consequence of a contagious fever. Laing left this place about August 12th; arrived at Timbuktu August 18th; being ordered out of the town by the Fulbe, he left that place on September 22d, under the protection of A ́hmed Weled 'Abéda, and was murdered by him and

Hámed Weled Habib, probably

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COLLECTION OF ITINERARIES ILLUSTRATING THE WESTERN HALF OF THE DESERT, ITS DISTRICTS, AND ITS INHABITANTS, AND THE COURSE OF THE UPPER NIGER.

A. Eastern Route from Tawát to Mabrúk, and thence to Timbúktu. N.B.-The route proceeds from Aulef in Tidíkelt, which is situated one short day from A'kabli (this is the right accent), and three days from I'nsala or 'Aín Sálah, the distance between A'kabli and the latter place being about the same. Day.

2d. Teríshumín, a well.

4th. Derím.

7th. I'nzíze, a well. As far as this point the route follows a course a little E. of S. (evidently in the direction of Gógó), but from this point onward S.W.

The syllable "i'n," or "'in," seems to be the old Berber-Semitic form for "aín."

14th. I'ndenán, a well, having crossed the desert tract called Tanezrúfet. 17th. I'n-tabórak; the last stage is only half a day's march.

19th. Moila.

22d. Taunant; the last stage is half a day's march.

24th. Mabrúk.

The ordinary and general road from Mabrúk to Timbuktu leads by A'arwán:

2 days. M'amún.

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Bú-Jebéha.
A'rawán.

}

I shall speak about these places in the general account of
A'zawád.

Tenég el haye, or Tenég el háj.
Timbuktu.

Between Tenég el háj and the town there are the following localities: El A'riye, El Ghába, El Meréra, A ́thelet el Megíl, E'llib el A'ghebe, Tiyáre el Jefál, Tiyaret el Wása.

Route from the hillet e' Sheikh el Mukhtár, generally called "el hilleh" (see the itinerary from Timbuktu to the hilleh, vol. iii., p. 310), to Tósaye, in long days' marches; direction, as my informant supposes, exactly S.:

Day.

1st. Núr, à mountain without water.

2d. A locality on this side of a place called Dergel.

3d. Kazúft, a large pond of water in the rainy season.

5th. Tósaye or Tósé, the great narrowing of the river (see the journal). From the hilleh to Gógó is reckoned a distance of eight days.

Day.

B. Route from I'nzize to Gógó.

4th. Tímmísau (hasi Músa? I think it can not be the well of that name on the direct road from Tawát to Mabrúk, which would give this whole route a far more westerly direction). Near the well is a rocky eminence like a castle, and famous on account of the tale of the footprint of Moses' horse, a story also attaching to the other well which I mentioned. It appears, from this route, that the arid desert, the Tanezrúfet, becomes narrower and more contracted toward the east.

7th. I'n-azál; the last march but half a day.

9th. Suk or "E' Súk" (Essuk), the ancient dwelling-place of the Kél e' Suk, now without settled inhabitants, situated between two "kódia" or hilly eminences, one lying toward the E. and the other toward the W., just as the ancient city of Tademékka is described, with which it was evidently identical (see the journal). The town was destroyed by the Songhay conqueror, Sonni 'Alí, in the latter half of the fifteenth century. The vale is said to be rich in trees.

11th. Gúnhan, another site of an ancient dwelling-place, and once the residence of the Kel-gúnhan, with a hilly eminence.

13th. Takerénnat, another site.

14th. Tel-ákkevín (or Tin-ákkevín), a well.

16th. Tin-óker; the last stage half a day's march.

18th. Gógó or Gágho, the last day again a short one.

C. Western Road from Aúlef to Mabrúk.

1st. Dhahar el hamár, a hilly chain called the ass's back-bone.

3d. El Immerághen.

5th. Wallen, a well.

12th. A'm-rannán, a well, two days W. from I'n-denán, having crossed the arid desert Tanezrúfet. In summer you travel here by night. In winter, traveling night and day, with only short halts, you may accomplish this march in four days.

17th. I'n-asserér, perhaps "the well of the stony tract," or hammáda, "serír" being the proper term for such a region.

20th. Tin-hekíkan, a well, in former times the common settlement of the tribe, which thence has received the name Kel-hekíkan. It is W. or S.W. of the well called Taunant (see preceding page).

22d. Mabrúk; the last day's march a short one.

D. A few particulars with regard to the region called A'zawád and the adjoining districts. The name A'zawád is a corruption due to the Arabs of the Berber name A'zawágh (pronounced A'zawár), which is common to many desert tracts. But the district which has become known to the Europeans under the name A'zawád comprises an extensive tract of country to the N. of Timbuktu, stretching northwestward as far

DISTRICT OF AʼZAWA'D.

685

as "El Juf," the great sink or "belly" of the desert, full of rock-salt, and to the N.N.E. a little to the N. of Mabruk, while its southern part, extending from the distance of one day's march from Timbuktu to about three days northward, is more properly called Tagánet. I will only add that Caillié mistook the name A'zawád, which he writes Zawát, for that of a tribe (vol. ii., p. 97, and elsewhere).

The tract of A'zawád, although appearing to us a most sterile tract of country, and thus characterized already by Arab travelers from the N., as E'bn Batuta and Leo Africanus, is a sort of Paradise to the wandering Moorish Arab born in these climes. For in the more favored localities of this district he finds plenty of food for his camels, and even for a few heads of cattle, while the transport of the salt of Taödénni to A'rawán and Timbuktu affords him the means of obtaining corn and any thing else he may be in want of. There are four small towns in A'zawád, the most considerable of which is A'rawán, a town small in extent, such as described by Caillié,* the number of its inhabitants scarcely exceeding 1500, but a very important place for this part of the world, and where a great deal of business is transacted, principally in gold, as I have described on a former occasion (p. 360, et seq.). On account of this trade several Ghadámsiye merchants are established here. It is a fact which was unknown before, but which is indisputable, that the original inhabitants of this place, as well as of the whole of A'zawád, belong to the Songhay nation, the Songhay-kiní, even at the present day, being the favored idiom of which all the inhabitants, including the Arab residents, make use. The present chief or head man of the town is Sídi Mohammed, a younger son of the notorious chief El Habib Weled Sídi A ́hmed Agáde, who died the year previous to my arrival in Timbúktu. The younger son gained the precedence over his elder brother O'ba, who has performed a pilgrimage to Mekka solely on account of his mother being the sister of Hamed Weled 'Abéda Weled Rehál, the chief of the Bérabísh, and the murderer of Major Laing. The family of El Habib belongs to the I'gelád, forming at present a small section of the large group of the A'welímmiden. They are now only distinguished by their learning, but formerly they were very powerful, and, together with the Imedídderen, were the most ancient inhabitants of the locality of Timbúktu. The inhabitants of A'rawán pay an annual tribute of sixty mithkál of gold to the Hogár, in order not to be molested by their continual predatory incursions.

The three other small towns or permanent dwelling-places in A'zawád, viz., BúJebéha, M'amún, and Mabrúk, all lying in a line N.N.E. from A'rawán, almost at the equal distance from each other of two days' easy traveling with camels, are much smaller and less considerable than A'rawán. Of rather more importance at present than the two others is Bú-Jebéha, which is principally inhabited by Kél e' Súk, and has a little commerce; but Mabrúk seems to have been of great importance in former times, when it was inhabited by Songhay people, had a Songhay name-Mabruk being a comparatively modern name given to it by the Arabs-and was the market of Waláta. In some respects this place might seem to have a right to be identified with the ancient Aúdaghost; and there are certainly the sites of some former dwelling-places in the neighborhood, especially Tel-Aröást, two days N.E. either from Mabrúk or from the hilleh; but in another place I have explained (vol. iii., p. 658) why we have to seek the site of Aúdaghost in quite a different locality. There are some valleys clad with palm-trees to the east of Mabrúk (see vol. i., Appendix, p. 607), especially the valley called Tesillíte, which produces two different kinds of dates, viz., the tíssagín and the tin-áser. The names of the respective chiefs of the three places are Mohammed Weled Sídi 'Omár, the chief of the tribe of the Ergageda in M'amún; Najib Weled el Mústapha el Kél e' Suki (the same who signed the letter of A'wáb, the chief of the Tademékket, giving a complete imána to the English in the territory comprised between Gundam, Bamba, Timbúktu, A'rawán, and Bú-Jebéha), together with 'Azizi in Bú-Jebéha, and Méni Weled Sídi 'Omár in Mabrúk.†

There was formerly in A'zawád another place with a permanent settlement, called "El Hilleh," or "Hillet e' Sheikh Sídi Mukhtár," which I have mentioned in a former place (vol. i., p. 602, and vol. iii., p. 310), two days east of M'amun,‡ and

Caillis's Travels to Timbuctoo, vol. ii., p. 99, et seq. According to my information, A'rawán seems to lie from Timbúktu about 15° W. from N.

† No merchant from the north can pass Bú-Jeb ha, and certainly not A'rawán, unless he be escorted by some well-known person belonging to the tribe of the Tademikket.

The position which I have assigned to these places in the map which I sent home from Timbúktu is slightly erroneous.

about the same distance from Mabruk, but this place was deserted a few years ago, on account of the well Bú-Lanwar, which is stated to have had a depth of forty fathoms, having fallen to ruins. The hilleh was situated in the "batn" or valley at the northern foot of a black rocky chain of hills called "Ellib el Hejar." To the north is another chain or ellib east of the hilleh; but on this side, still in the batn, is a locality called "El Mádher," with good pasturage for horses. Other wellknown localities thereabout are Shirshe el Kebíra and Shirshe e' Seghíra.

Of the wells of A'zawád, the following are the most notorious: first, in the southern part of the district, toward Tagánet, M'amún, different from the place of the same name; E'nnefís, a copious well, two hours S.W. from M'amún, and situated in a hilly district, thickly clad with underwood, and containing quarries of a beautiful black limestone, from which the Tawárek manufacture their heavy arm-rings or áshebe; Meréta, Makhmúd, Shiker, Gír, Kartál, a very copious well, 'En-filfil, and others. Farther to the N. and N.W. are the wells Halul, El Hóde, Shebi, Temandórit, Tékarát, Aníshay, A'shorát, a well where the Sheikh Ahmed el Bakay, in the early part of his life, resided for a long time, A'nnazau, to the north of Mabrúk; Alibáda ('Alí Bábá?), Bú el Mehane or Bel Mehán, the well mentioned in the itinerary (vol. iii., p. 310) as distant about ten miles from the hilleh, Belbót, S. of Bel Mehán; I'rakshíwen; Merzáhe, S. of the latter; Megágelát, two days S. of the hilleh, and others.

The most famous wells in the district called Tagánet are Wén-alshín, situated at the distance of four days from Timbuktu and three from the hilleh, where Mohammed e' Seghír, El Bakay's elder brother, usually encamps part of the year; Tin-tatís, half a day S.W. from the former; 'En-óshif, I'mmilásh, 'En-gíbe, 'En-séek, 'Enodéke, a well where Bábá, a younger brother of El Bakáy, has his encampment, three days south from M'amún, four days N. E. from Timbuktu; A'menshór, A'rrazaf, 'Aruk, El Makhmúd, different from the well of the same name mentioned above; Igárre, Mérizík, Twil, Waruzíl.

Toward the north, the district of A'zawád is separated from the dreary and waterless desert known by the general Berber name of Tanezrufet (meaning "arid hammada") by the two small districts called "Afeléle" (meaning the little desert, or "afélle"), and north of it A'hrér. Afeléle is a highly favored region for the breeding of camels, and contains some famous valleys, or "wádián," such as Tekhatímit or Teshatímit, Afúd-énakan or Afúd-n-akán, Tadulílit, 'Abatól, Shánisín, Agár, and others. A herér, likewise, is considered by the Arabs as a fine country, diversified by hill and dale, with plenty of wells, and even temporary torrents. This is the district in one of the valleys of which, "Wádí A herér," Major Laing was attacked and almost killed by the Tawárek.

Toward the east, the districts of A'zawad and Tagánet are limited by several smaller ones, where the Arab population is greatly mixed with the Berber or Tawárek element, especially the I'foghas. At the same time these districts separate A'zawád from A'derár, the fine hilly country of the Awelímmiden, which is excellent not only for the breed of camels, but also for that of cattle. These intermediate districts are I'm-eggelúla, a district of about two days' extent in every direction, consisting of black soil, and furnished with shallow wells; E. and E.Ñ. E. of Tagánet is Tilimsi, a district rich in food for the camel; E.N.E. of the hillet e' Sheikh el Mukhtár is another district called Timitrén, with many wells and a few villages; and E.N. E. of the latter, the district called Tirésht, or Tighésht, bordering on A'derár.

Of Arab tribes in A'zawád and the adjoining districts I have first to mention several sections of the great tribe of the Kunta, who are distinguished by their purer blood and by their learning above almost all the tribes of the desert.

The Kunta are divided into the following sections:

The Ergageda, who were formerly regarded as the Welaye, or the holy tribe. The Welád el Wáfi, at present the Welaye, with the Sheikh Ahmed el Bakay as Welí, while his elder brother, Sídi Mohammed, exercises great authority over the whole of A'zawád. The Welád el Wáfi cultivate the friendship of the Hogár, while the Welád Sídi Mukhtár are the deadly enemies of the latter. They are subdivided into three divisions, called

El Mesadhefa, Welád ben Haiballa, and Welád ben 'Abd e' Rahmán. The Welád Sídi Mukhtár.

El Hemmál.

The Togát also are said to belong to the Kunta.

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