Daju kingdom  The Daju kingdom was a medieval monarchy that existed in Darfur (Sudan) from possibly the 12th–15th century. Its name stems from the Daju people, the ruling ethnic group. The Daju were eventually ousted from power by the Tunjur and the last Daju king subsequently fled to present-day Chad. The sources for the Daju kingdom are almost entirely local traditions collected in the 19th and 20th century and mentions by medieval Arab historians. According to oral traditions, the Daju arrived in Darfur from the east or south, most likely the Shendi region in Nubia. The Daju languages bear great similarity with Nobiin, matching between 10–25% of its vocabulary. Arkell claims that Daju pottery is virtually indistinguishable from that produced in the late Meroitic kingdom. Arriving in Darfur, the Daju probably supplanted the local Tora culture. The Daju established their kingdom in southern Jebel Marra, from where they also exercised their influence over the adjacent regions to the south and south-east. Since the 12th century they were mentioned by several contemporary Arab historians. The first is the Sicilian al-Idrisi, who wrote in 1154 that they flourished between the kingdom of Kanem and Nubia. The Daju were pagans and subjects of raiding by their neighbours. He also claims that they were in fact nomads breeding camels, only having two towns named "Tajuwa" and "Samna". The latter town, he claimed, was eventually destroyed by a Nubian governor. More than a century later, Ibn Sa'id writes that the Daju were now partially Islamized, while also adding that they have become vassals of Kanem. Arkell postulates that Kanem not only incorporated Darfur at this time, but even stretched as far east as the Nile Valley. This large empire eventually started to collapse after the death of Dunama Dabbalemi. The theory of a political dominance of Kanem over Darfur is, however, contested. Al-Maqrizi, who lived in the late 14th and early 15th century, repeats the information provided by Ibn Sa'id, while also adding that the Daju worked in stone and waged war against an otherwise unknown people named "Watkhu". In the 15th century the Tunjur arrived in Darfur, where they established themselves in northern Jebel Marra and ruled simultaneously with the Daju for some time.