Chari-Baguirmi is one of the 18 regions of Chad (Decrees N° 415/PR/MAT/02 and 419/PR/MAT/02), and its capital is Massenya. It is composed by part of the former Chari-Baguirmi Prefecture (sub-prefectures of Massenya and Bousso and part of the sub-prefecture of N'Djamena).

Subdivisions

The Chari-Baguirmi region is divided in 3 departments: Baguirmi Massenya Dourbali, Chari Mandélia Koundoul, Loug Chari Bousso Bä Illi,

Demography

The main ethnico-linguistic groups are Arabs (more than 33 %), Fula, Barma, Kanuri and Ngambay.

Baguirmi Kingdom

The Baguirmi or Bagirmi Kingdom was an Islamic kingdom or sultanate that existed in the 16th and 17th centuries southeast of Lake Chad in what is now the country of Chad. Baguirmi emerged to the southeast of the Kanem-Bornu Empire. Under the reign of Abdullah IV (1568–1598), Islam was adopted, and the state became a sultanate, using judicial and administrative procedures. Later, a palace and court were constructed in the capital city of Massenya.

Baguirmi's political history was a function of its strength and unity in relation to its larger neighbors. Absorbed into Kanem-Bornu during the reign of Alooma, Baguirmi broke free later in the 1600s, only to be returned to tributary status in the mid-1700s. During periods of strength, the sultanate became imperialistic. It established control over small feudal kingdoms on its peripheries and entered into alliances with nearby nomadic peoples. Early in the 19th century, Baguirmi fell into decay and was threatened militarily by the nearby Ouaddai Kingdom. Although Baguirmi resisted, it accepted tributary status in order to obtain help from Ouaddai in putting down internal dissension. When Rabih az-Zubayr's forces burned Massenya in 1893, the twenty-fifth sultan, Abd ar Rahman Gwaranga, sought and received protectorate status from France in 1897.

The language of the state, Baguirmi, is still spoken today, with 44,761 speakers as of 1993, primarily in the Chari Baguirmi region. The empire now exists as an informal entity in the department of Baguirmi, with its capital at Massenya. The rulers have the title Mbang.