Ali Dinar | |
---|---|
Sultan of Darfur | |
Reign | 21 March 1899 – 6 November 1916 |
Predecessor | Position re-established |
Successor | Position abolished |
Born | 1856 |
Died | 6 November 1916 Jebel Juba, Darfur | (aged 59–60)
Dynasty | Keira dynasty |
Father | Zakariyyā b. Muḥammad al-Faḍl |
Ali Dinar (Arabic: علي دينار, romanized: ʿAlī Dīnār; c. 1865 – 6 November 1916) was the last sultan of Darfur and ruler from the Keira dynasty.
Ali Dinar first succeeded to the throne of Darfur in 1891 after his cousin, the "shadow sultan" Abū’l-Khayrāt, was killed by his slaves.[1] Shortly afterwards, Ali Dinar began negotiating with the Mahdist amīr Maḥmūd w. Aḥmad (commander-to-be at the Battle of Atbara) for his surrender. Ali Dinar officially surrendered in Mahdist occupied al-Fāshir on October 13, 1891.[2]
After briefly being sent to Omdurman, Ali Dinar entered the service of amīr Ibrāhīm al-Khalīl, Mahdist commander of jihādiyya. In 1896 Ali Dinar accompanied Ibrāhīm al-Khalīl to fight in the Nuba Mountains.[3]
As the Battle of Omdurman approached Ali Dinar planned his desertion back to Darfur. Just before or during the battle he put his plan into effect, taking with him many notables of the old sultanate.[4] Returning to Darfur, Ali Dinar reestablished the Darfur Sultanate.[5]
In 1915 Ali Dinar declared his support to the Ottoman Empire in the First World War, which led the British government to dispatch the invasion of Darfur, in which he was killed in action, after which his sultanate was incorporated into Anglo-Egyptian Sudan.[6]