Passion or Profession: Military Leader

Period: c. 1840–1900

Rabih was a military commander under Sudanese prince Az-Zubayr Pasha, who led an unsuccessful rebellion against Egyptian rule of Sudan in 1878. Rabih and his troops then escaped to what is now Chad and, in a series of conquests, put the region under their control. Further expansion was prevented by French interests in central Africa, and Rabih was killed in a battle with French forces in 1900.