Sebehr Rahma

Al-Zubayr Rahma Mansur (Arabic: الزبير رحمة منصور‎‎) (also Sebehr Rahma, Rahama Zobeir) was a slave trader in the late 19th century. He later became a pasha and Sudanese governor.

His reputation as a of General Charles Gordon meant he was bestowed a near-mythic status in England, where he was referred to as "the richest and worst", a "Slaver King" "who [had] chained lions as part of his escort".

Born in 1830, Rahma came from the Gemaab section of the Ja'Alin, an Arab tribe from Northern Sudan.

He began his large-scale business in 1856, when he left Khartoum with a small army, to set up a network of trading forts known as zaribas, focusing his efforts on slave trading and ivory sales. At its height his trading empire, backed by a personal army, controlled much the Bahr el Ghazal as well as what are today parts of Chad and the Central African Republic.

In 1871, at the height of his power, Rahma was visited by Georg Schweinfurth, who described the slavetrader's court as "little less than princely".Isma'il Pasha of Egypt desired control over the region, but Rahma defeated a mercenary army sent against him. Instead in 1873 Isma'il added the region to his empire by acknowledging Rahma's power and granting him the title of Governor over Bahr el Ghazal.

Eventually Rahma controlled 30 zaribas, and earned the titles of bey and Pasha, after allying himself, and his lieutenant Rabih az-Zubayr, with the khedive Ismail Pasha briefly during the invasion of Darfur, where he led the southern forces. He was referred to as "the Black Pasha", and ultimately wished to become Governor General.

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