Map of the regions stretching from Lake Chad to Kordan by de Lauture
Le Comte d'Escayrac de Lauture's "Mémoire sur le Soudan, géographie naturelle et politique, histoire et ethnographie, mœurs et institutions de l'Empire des Fellatas, du Bornou, du Baguermi, du Waday, du Dar-Four, rédigé, d'après des renseignements entièrement nouveaux et accompagné d'une esquisse du Soudan oriental" is another significant source on Bagirmi history. Despite never traveling there, de Lauture's (any connection with the Lauture in Saint-Domingue/Haiti?) information on Bagirmi appears to be largely derived from an identifiable native. A shaykh named Ibrahim who met with the author in Cairo, this informant was also said to be related to the sultans of Bagirmi. This means that he presumably possessed more access to court traditions. Ibrahim also claimed to have participated in the wars with Borno in the time of al-Kanemi and was well-traveled. His information on the royal genealogies of Bagirmi and neighboring states in the "Land of the Blacks" demonstrates a number of problems, however.
So, what does this recounting of Bagirmi history reveal? Using an apparently flawed dating system, Ibrahim supplied dates that placed the first ruler of Bagirmi, Bernim-Besse, to about 243 years earlier. Some familiar elements in the founder of the royal line appear, such as his success as a hunter who shared meat with locals. However, his initial military ventures were not directed against the Bulala sultans of Fitri. Instead, it was against the Fulanis, particularly their chief Yawa (?), the chief of Djouba. This variation appears to be based on a kernel of truth as some Fulani groups were indeed settled in the region before the arrival of the Bagirmi founder. Indeed, the Islamization of the Bagirmi dynasty was perhaps shaped by these Fulanis, whose communities included Islamic scholars and preachers. There very well could have been conflict with some Fulani local communities in the beginning, too.
As for the origin of Bernim-Besse, he was allegedly a native of Yemen. Yet our author noticed a similarity in language and other traits between the people of Bagirmi and the Sara. Nachtigal and others, who actually traveled to the region, were perhaps closer to the truth when they noticed the probable Kenga origins of the Barma dynasty. Nonetheless, linguistic similarities of all these languages and a likely origin in central Africa seem justified.
Subsequently, our author lists a number of successors to Bernim-Besse consisting of brothers and their sons. Other sources likewise record a number of early mbang successors who were brothers of the first king. By the time of the 7th king, Malo, Islam was adopted. Another name for Malo, ghazi in de Lauture, seems to indicate this particular king engaged in a number of military campaigns. He was even said to have chased the Djouba Fellata out of Derkam, a group who obeyed a king named Yaya (was this a garbled allusion to the actions of Bernim-Besse against the Djouba?). To make things even more confusing, Malo ascended to the throne 28 years after his father, presumably meaning 28 years after his father's death. If so, there were then 5 kings in a very short period between Malo and his father. Overall, it would appear that Malo here is actually Nachtigal's Abdallah, who reigned c. 1568-1608. But aspects of Abdallah's reign were confusingly attributed to Malo, the brother he usurped the throne from.
Later Bagirmi kings are often recognizable in de Lauture's list, albeit the regnal lengths and accomplishments of some appear to be misplaced chronologically. The 8th king, a Soliman ban Bigli (the big king), was only king for 6 months because he abdicated to live a contemplative life on an island in the center of Lake Chad. This sounds like the later Abd al-Qadir Woli of Nachtigal's chronology (c. 1680-1707). However, the Bigli part of the name brings to mind Lanier's Abdel Mahamoud Begli, the successor to Oumar (Lanier's dynastic founder). The fact that these kings likely had multiple names explains why oral traditions may conflate traditions about one with their predecessors or successors. Alternatively, there very well could have been another short-lived reign in which another mbang abdicated, thereby causing his erasure from other lists of kings due to the brevity of his tenure.
Fortunately, some of de Lauture's information appears to confirm or match Nachtigal's data. For example, a fatsha named Kano appears in both of their works. According to the earlier list of kings by de Lauture, Kano was fatsha during the reign of Alàwin, the 13th mbang. The fatsha Kano led Bagirmi to victory against Wadai in this reign. He was also said to have taken Ilelat from Wadai. In Nachtigal's version, Kano participated in Bagirmi campaigns or raids against the Karka archipelago, Logone, Qo'ran, and Gawi. There is no mention in Nachtigal's account of a victory against Wadai, although it is certainly possible campaigns against the Qo'ran or Goran may have entailed raiding against Wadai (areas seen by Wadai as tributaries or on its frontier). Nachtigal's fatsha named Kano was associated with the reign of Abd-al-Qadir Woli, the king de Lauture called Soliman. Kano was apparently defeated by a kamkolak of Wadai.
Yet in other ways, de Lauture diverged significantly from Nachtigal on the length of the reigns of some of these rulers of the 1600s and 1700s. Bar, for instance, was only assigned a reign of 2 years while Nachtigal estimated several years. Then his brother, who does appear as a king in de Lauture's list, was not named as such by Nachtigal. Instead, Wanja reigned until his death from smallpox. After him, came Burkomanda. But, de Lauture placed Abd el Kader Kebir here instead, then Alawin, Abdala, and Bourkoumanda. The Bourkoumanda listed here, or Burkumanda, seized a short-lived Wadai ruler, Mohammed-Zaouni. Based on his placement in the kings list of Wadai, this appears to be an example of de Lauture's list mixing up Burkumanda I with Burkumanda II, although he also appears to have omitted the first Burkumanda from his list altogether. But the general chronology of Nachtigal, which dates the reign of Burkumanda I from 1635-1665, does include mention of conflict with Wadai. de Lauture also attributed the slaying of a Bagirmi king, Ab-Sekkin II, to Mohammed-el-Hadji whereas others see that as the result of his son's reign. Likewise, he seemed to believe the motives for Saboun's invasion of Wadai had more to do with avenging an earlier defeat when Mohammed-Zaouni was taken captive. This seems to be more of the result of Ibrahim wanting to avoid impugning the Bagirmi kings on moral grounds.
In conclusion, the royal list of de Lauture included some major errors in the list of kings and some of the events associated with their reigns. It nonetheless provides some details derived from a shaykh based on his understanding of Bagirmi's past and what he was willing to share with our Frenchman. Based on his own personal ties to the royal family, he may have sought to promote an image of Bagirmi strength and success, perhaps providing a motive for his claim of Bagirmi once taking captive a king of Wadai. On the other hand, the Wadai kings list is also difficult to reconstruct and rulers who only occupied the throne for a short period of time may have been omitted from some lists or genealogies. Despite its numerous inconsistencies and other problems, we find de Lauture's list useful and potentially instructive on some aspects of Bagirmi's history before the 1800s.