CHAD LIES WITHIN THE SAHEL, A BELT OF DRY, DUSTY SAVANNA THAT BORDERS THE SOUTHERN SAHARA DESERT. Its western borders line the shores of Lake Chad.Beyond the Desert
The lands of the Sahel (sah-HEL), the dry, dusty savanna that borders the southern Sahara, were not always as dusty and dry as they are today. About twelve thousand years ago, even the Sahara was moist and lush, the home of hippopotamuses and elephants. Early peoples left behind rock paintings in the far north of Chad in the Tibesti Mountains. The first paintings show hunters with dogs, but later examples show herders of cattle, sheep, and goats. Over thousands of years the climate changed, and overgrazing probably caused the lands to dry out.
To the west a large area of shallow water began to recede, leaving only Lake Chad. The surrounding lands served as pastures for cattle as early as 500 B.C.E. In southern Chad archaeologists have found pottery figures and funeral urns dating from about two thousand years ago. They have named this civilization the Sao (SOW) culture.
A number of large states developed in Chad from about 800 C.E. onward. The largest of these was Kanem, centered around Lake Chad. In medieval times it became part of the larger empire of Kanem-Bornu, which extended westward into what is now Nigeria. Kanem-Bornu lay on the crossroads of North African trading routes, which crossed the Sahara north to south and linked western Africa with Egypt and the Red Sea. Merchants dealt in slaves, gold, ivory, pottery, copper, and cotton.
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CLIMATE |
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Chad has a tropical climate, with most rain falling in the south between June and October. The far north is hot desert, which is gradually spreading southward into the dry grasslands of the central regions. A fierce dry wind, the harmattan, blows in from the desert during the winter.
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FACTS AND FIGURES |
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Official name: République du Tchad Status: Independent state Capital: N’Djamena Major towns: Sarh, Moundou, Abéché Area: 495,625 square miles (1,284,000 square kilometers) Population: 9,900,000 Population density: 20 per square mile (8 per square kilometer) Peoples: Over 200 ethnic groups speaking more than 100 languages Official languages: Arabic and French Currency: CFA franc National day: Independence Day (August 11) Country’s name: The country is named after Lake Chad on the western border. The origin of Lake Chad’s name is unknown.
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The faith of Islam reached Chad about 1000 C.E. New Islamic sultanates emerged in the 1500s and 1600s. The most powerful were Baguirmi (buh-GEER-mee) and Wadai (wuh-DIE). Their slave traders raided the southern tribes. From 1878 onward Baguirmi, Wadai, and Kanem-Bornu came under the domination of Rabah Zobayr, a slave trader from Sudan.
