Rabih az-Zubayr's forces burned Massenya in 1893, the 25th sultan, Abd ar Rahman Gaourang, moved his government to Chekna. During the Scramble for Africa, the Third French Republic became interested in connecting its possessions across the breadth of Africa, permitting a Dakar–Djibouti railway. Rabih killed Paul Crampel, the leader of the first French expedition through the area but Emile Gentil secured a protectorate over Bagirmi from its sultan in 1897. French ambitions in Sudan were blocked following the Fashoda Crisis the next year, and their authority over the Bagirmi itself was not secured until after the death of Rabih and his sons in 1901. Towns grew up around the French Fort Lamy at the confluence of the Logone and Shari and Fort de Cointet on the middle Shari. The population of the district was reckoned as 100,000 in 1903 and, by the time of the First World War, most of its trade was being conducted with Khartoum in Sudan through the Wadai Empire and with Yola in Nigeria along the Benue. Legacy The Baguirmi language is still spoken today, with 44,761 speakers , primarily in the Chari-Baguirmi Region. The empire now exists as an informal entity in the Baguirmi Department, with its capital at Massenya. Its rulers continue to bear the title "Mbang". See also Rulers of Bagirmi History of Chad Notes References Further reading . 2nd millennium in Chad Muslim empires Countries in precolonial Africa History of Central Africa Sultanates Bornu Empire French Equatorial Africa 16th century in Africa 17th century in Africa Former countries Former sultanates