The Zaghawa are an ethnic group of eastern Chad

Chad

Chad , officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west...

 and western Sudan

Sudan

Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...

, including Darfur

Darfur

Darfur is a region in western Sudan. An independent sultanate for several hundred years, it was incorporated into Sudan by Anglo-Egyptian forces in 1916. The region is divided into three federal states: West Darfur, South Darfur, and North Darfur...

.

The Kanemite

Kanem Empire

The Kanem Empire was located in the present countries of Chad, Nigeria and Libya. At its height it encompassed an area covering not only much of Chad, but also parts of southern Libya , eastern Niger and north-eastern Nigeria...

 royal history, the Girgam

Girgam

Dīwān is the Arabic and Girgam is the older designation of the royal chronicle of Kanem-Bornu. The latter name is also used for written historical records in some kingdoms west of Bornu, including Daura, Fika and Mandara....

, refers to the Zaghawa people as the Duguwa

Duguwa Dynasty

The Duguwa dynasty is the line of kings of the Kanem Empire prior to the rise of the Islamic Seyfawa dynasty in 1068. According to the Girgam, the Duguwa kings were the kings of Kanem whose dynastic name is derived from Duku, the third king of the Duguwa...

. Today, Zaghawa refer to themselves as the Beri, while the name "Zaghawa" comes from the nearby Arab

Arab

Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...

 peoples and became better known. They have their own language, which is also called Zaghawa

Zaghawa language

The Zaghawa language is a Saharan language spoken by the Zaghawa people of eastern central Chad and northwestern Sudan ....

, and the breed of sheep that they herd is called Zaghawa by the Arabs.