[7] In 1886 the Sudanese warlord Rabih az-Zubayr crossed the Chari, and in 1887 started raiding southern Bagirmi for slaves.

Gaourang was hostile due to the way that Rabih had treated his southern vassals, and sent a defiant reply that invited war.

The Sheikh of Bornu, Hashimi bin Umar, refused to send help, perhaps because Bagirmi had always resisted paying tribute and perhaps because he wanted to avoid engaging with Rabih.

Sultan Yusuf of Wadai, for whom Bagirmi was an important vassal state, and who had lost much territory to Rabih, responded to the appeal.

[10] In 1897 the French colonial officer Émile Gentil travelled via the Congo and Ubangi to the Chari, and then to Bagirmi, where he was told that Rabih had been responsible for the death of the explorer Paul Crampel.

He attacked the town of Goulfei, where he massacred almost all the population in punishment for the welcome they had given to Gentil, and threatened Gaourang in his capital of Massenya.

Gaourang promised to join Lamy in an attack on Kousséri, which the French wanted to use as a base for operations against Rabih.

[14] After Rabih's death Gaourang was allowed to resume sovereignty over a part of his former sultanate, although the French had taken the delta of the Chari.

Since his land had been reduced to poverty by Rabih and the Wadai the amount was set at 2,000 loads of beef, or 132 tonnes.

The Sultan had been placed in charge of a force of 50 guards with rapid-fire rifles and 30 cavalry men, mainly employed as couriers.

She turned out to be an old man with a white beard who was performing the functions of the queen mother, who had died some years ago.

[28] Gaourang had lost income through the reduction of slave trading imposed by the French, who also disapproved of his making eunuchs for sale in Mecca and Istanbul.

[12] Eventually an agreement was made to pay tax in kind at so much per hut, cow, sheep or horse, avoiding the subject of slaves.

[29] In late December 1905 Gaourang left Tchekna for Fort Lamy, and early in 1906 signed a new treaty that explicitly prohibited raising taxes by slavery.

[30] His contribution was reduced to 53 tonnes of beef to provision the garrisons of Tchekna (Masenya), Fort-Bretonnet (Bousso) and Fort de Cointet (Mandjaffa), plus a payment of 1240 thalers.

Gaourang was on his way north to pay his respects to Colonel Victor Emmanuel Largeau, Commander of the Military Territory of the Chad.