Cohen's description of the rise of the Pabir state is not clear.    From Wordnik.com.  ['At the Dawn of Tyranny'] Reference

The one circumstance Runciman does discuss that is about the origin of a pristine state, is that among the Pabir elaborated by Ronald Cohen.    From Wordnik.com.  ['At the Dawn of Tyranny'] Reference

At one point he writes that the pressure from the Borno state forced the Pabir kingdom "to evolve towards more centralized control and more hierarchy," which would imply that the Pabir state was already established before the Borno pressure.    From Wordnik.com.  ['At the Dawn of Tyranny'] Reference