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Alodia, also known as Alwa ( grc-gre, Aρουα, ''Aroua''; ar, علوة, ''ʿAlwa''), was a
medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
kingdom in what is now central and southern
Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...
. Its capital was the city of
Soba Soba ( or , "buckwheat") is a thin Japanese noodle made from buckwheat. The noodles are served either chilled with a dipping sauce, or hot in a noodle soup. The variety ''Nagano soba'' includes wheat flour. In Japan, soba noodles can be found ...
, located near modern-day
Khartoum Khartoum or Khartum ( ; ar, الخرطوم, Al-Khurṭūm, din, Kaartuɔ̈m) is the capital of Sudan. With a population of 5,274,321, its metropolitan area is the largest in Sudan. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile, flowing n ...
at the confluence of the
Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when ...
and
White Nile The White Nile ( ar, النيل الأبيض ') is a river in Africa, one of the two main tributaries of the Nile, the other being the Blue Nile. The name comes from the clay sediment carried in the water that changes the water to a pale color ...
rivers. Founded sometime after the ancient
kingdom of Kush The Kingdom of Kush (; Egyptian: 𓎡𓄿𓈙 𓈉 ''kꜣš'', Assyrian: ''Kûsi'', in LXX grc, Κυς and Κυσι ; cop, ''Ecōš''; he, כּוּשׁ ''Kūš'') was an ancient kingdom in Nubia, centered along the Nile Valley in wh ...
fell, around 350 AD, Alodia is first mentioned in historical records in 569. It was the last of the three Nubian kingdoms to convert to
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...
in 580, following Nobadia and
Makuria Makuria (Old Nubian: , ''Dotawo''; gr, Μακουρία, Makouria; ar, المقرة, al-Muqurra) was a Nubians, Nubian monarchy, kingdom located in what is today Northern Sudan and Southern Egypt. Makuria originally covered the area along the N ...
. It possibly reached its peak during the 9th–12th centuries when records show that it exceeded its northern neighbor, Makuria, with which it maintained close dynastic ties, in size, military power and economic prosperity. Being a large, multicultural state, Alodia was administered by a powerful king and provincial governors appointed by him. The capital Soba, described as a town of "extensive dwellings and churches full of gold and gardens", prospered as a trading hub. Goods arrived from Makuria, the Middle East, western Africa, India and even China. Literacy in both
Nubian Nubian may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Nubia, a region along the Nile river in Southern Egypt and northern Sudan. *Nubian people *Nubian languages *Anglo-Nubian goat, a breed of goat * Nubian ibex * , several ships of the Britis ...
and Greek flourished. From the 12th, and especially the 13th century, Alodia was declining, possibly because of invasions from the south, droughts and a shift of trade routes. In the 14th century, the country might have been ravaged by the
plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pes ...
, while
Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
tribes began to migrate into the Upper Nile valley. By around 1500 Soba had fallen to either Arabs or the Funj. This likely marked the end of Alodia, although some Sudanese oral traditions claimed that it survived in the form of the kingdom of Fazughli within the
Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
n–Sudanese borderlands. After the destruction of Soba, the Funj established the Sultanate of Sennar, ushering in a period of
Islamization Islamization, Islamicization, or Islamification ( ar, أسلمة, translit=aslamāh), refers to the process through which a society shifts towards the religion of Islam and becomes largely Muslim. Societal Islamization has historically occurr ...
and
Arabization Arabization or Arabisation ( ar, تعريب, ') describes both the process of growing Arab influence on non-Arab populations, causing a language shift by the latter's gradual adoption of the Arabic language and incorporation of Arab culture, aft ...
.


Sources

Alodia is by far the least studied of the three medieval
Nubia Nubia () ( Nobiin: Nobīn, ) is a region along the Nile river encompassing the area between the first cataract of the Nile (just south of Aswan in southern Egypt) and the confluence of the Blue and White Niles (in Khartoum in central Sud ...
n kingdoms, hence evidence is very slim. Most of what is known about it comes from a handful of medieval Arabic historians. The most important of these are the Islamic geographers al-Yaqubi (9th century), Ibn Hawqal and al-Aswani (10th century), who both visited the country, and the Copt Abu al-Makarim (12th century). The events around the Christianization of the kingdom in the 6th century were described by the contemporary
bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...
John of Ephesus; various post-medieval Sudanese sources address its fall. Al-Aswani noted that he interacted with a
Nubian Nubian may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Nubia, a region along the Nile river in Southern Egypt and northern Sudan. *Nubian people *Nubian languages *Anglo-Nubian goat, a breed of goat * Nubian ibex * , several ships of the Britis ...
historian who was "well-acquainted with the country of Alwa", but no medieval Nubian historiographical work has yet been discovered. While many Alodian sites are known, only the capital
Soba Soba ( or , "buckwheat") is a thin Japanese noodle made from buckwheat. The noodles are served either chilled with a dipping sauce, or hot in a noodle soup. The variety ''Nagano soba'' includes wheat flour. In Japan, soba noodles can be found ...
has been extensively excavated. Parts of this site were unearthed in the early 1950s, further excavations taking place in the 1980s and 1990s. A new multidisciplinary research project is scheduled to start in late 2019. Soba is approximately in size and is covered with numerous mounds of brick rubble previously belonging to monumental structures. Discoveries made so far include several churches, a palace, cemeteries and numerous small finds.


Geography

Alodia was located in Nubia, a region which, in the
middle ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
, extended from Aswan in southern
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...
to an undetermined point south of the confluence of the
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...
and
Blue Nile The Blue Nile (; ) is a river originating at Lake Tana in Ethiopia. It travels for approximately through Ethiopia and Sudan. Along with the White Nile, it is one of the two major tributaries of the Nile and supplies about 85.6% of the water to ...
rivers. The heartland of the kingdom was the Gezira, a fertile plain bounded by the White Nile in the west and the Blue Nile in the east. In contrast to the White Nile Valley, the Blue Nile Valley is rich in known Alodian archaeological sites, among them Soba. The extent of the Alodian influence to the south is unclear, although it is likely that it bordered the
Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
n highlands. The southernmost known Alodian sites are in the proximity of
Sennar Sennar ( ar, سنار ') is a city on the Blue Nile in Sudan and possibly the capital of the state of Sennar. It remains publicly unclear whether Sennar or Singa is the capital of Sennar State. For several centuries it was the capital of the ...
. To the west of the White Nile, Ibn Hawqal differentiated between Al-Jeblien, which was controlled by
Makuria Makuria (Old Nubian: , ''Dotawo''; gr, Μακουρία, Makouria; ar, المقرة, al-Muqurra) was a Nubians, Nubian monarchy, kingdom located in what is today Northern Sudan and Southern Egypt. Makuria originally covered the area along the N ...
and probably corresponded with northern Kordofan, and the Alodian-controlled Al-Ahdin, which has been identified with the Nuba Mountains, and perhaps extended as far south as Jebel al Liri, near the modern border to
South Sudan South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of th ...
. Nubian connections with
Darfur Darfur ( ; ar, دار فور, Dār Fūr, lit=Realm of the Fur) is a region of western Sudan. ''Dār'' is an Arabic word meaning "home f – the region was named Dardaju ( ar, دار داجو, Dār Dājū, links=no) while ruled by the Daju ...
have been suggested, but evidence is lacking. The northern region of Alodia probably extended from the confluence of the two Niles downstream to
Abu Hamad Abu Hamad (Arabic: أبو حمد), also spelt 'Abu Hamed', is a town of Sudan on the right bank of the Nile, 345 mi by rail north of Khartoum. It stands at the centre of the great S-shaped bend of the Nile, and from it the railway to Wadi Ha ...
near Mograt Island. Abu Hamad likely constituted the northernmost outpost of the Alodian province known as al-Abwab ("the gates"), although some scholars also suggest a more southerly location, nearer the Atbara River. No evidence for a major Alodian settlement has been discovered north of the confluence of the two Niles, although several forts have been recorded there. Lying between the
Nile The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered the longest riv ...
and the Atbara was the
Butana The Butana (Arabic: البطانة, ''Buṭāna''), historically called the Island of Meroë, is the region between the Atbara and the Nile in the Sudan. South of Khartoum it is bordered by the Blue Nile and in the east by Lake Tana in Ethiopia. ...
, grassland suitable for
livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to ani ...
. Along the Atbara and the adjacent Gash Delta (near Kassala) many Christian sites have been noted. According to Ibn Hawqal, a vassal king loyal to Alodia governed the region around the Gash Delta. In fact, much of the Sudanese-Ethiopian-
Eritrea Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopi ...
n borderlands, once under control of the Ethiopian
kingdom of Aksum The Kingdom of Aksum ( gez, መንግሥተ አክሱም, ), also known as the Kingdom of Axum or the Aksumite Empire, was a kingdom centered in Northeast Africa and South Arabia from Classical antiquity to the Middle Ages. Based primarily in w ...
, appear to have been under Alodian influence. The accounts of both Ibn Hawqal and al-Aswani suggest that Alodia also controlled the
desert A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About on ...
along the
Red Sea The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; ...
coast.


History


Origins

The name Alodia might be of considerable antiquity, perhaps appearing first as ''Alut'' on a Kushite stela from the late 4th century BC. It appeared again as ''Alwa'' on a list of Kushite towns by the
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...
author
Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ' ...
(1st century AD), said to be located south of Meroe. Another town named ''Alwa'' is mentioned in a 4th-century Aksumite inscription, this time located near the confluence of the Nile and the Atbara rivers. By the early 4th century the kingdom of Kush, which used to control much of Sudan's riverbanks, was in decline, and Nubians (speakers of Nubian languages) began to settle in the Nile Valley. They originally lived west of the Nile, but changes in the climate forced them eastward, resulting in conflicts with Kush from at least the 1st-century BC. In the mid-4th century the Nubians occupied most of the area once controlled by Kush, while it was limited to the northern reaches of the Butana. An Aksumite inscription mentions how the warlike Nubians also threatened the borders of the Aksumite kingdom north of the Tekeze River, resulting in an Aksumite expedition. It describes a Nubian defeat by Aksumite forces and a subsequent march to the confluence of the Nile and Atbara. There the Aksumites plundered several Kushite towns, including Alwa. Archaeological evidence suggests the kingdom of Kush ceased to exist in the middle of the 4th century. It is not known whether the Aksumite expeditions played a direct role in its fall. It seems likely that the Aksumite presence in Nubia was short-lived. Eventually, the region saw the development of regional centres whose ruling elites were buried in large tumuli. Such tumuli, within what would become Alodia, are known from El-Hobagi, Jebel Qisi and perhaps Jebel Aulia. The excavated tumuli of El-Hobagi are known to date to the late 4th century, and contained an assortment of weaponry imitating Kushite royal funerary rituals. Meanwhile, many Kushite temples and settlements, including the former capital Meroe, seem to have been largely abandoned. The Kushites themselves were absorbed into the Nubians and their
language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of ...
was replaced by Nubian. How the kingdom of Alodia came into being is unknown. Its formation was completed by the mid-6th century, when it is said to have existed alongside the other Nubian kingdoms of Nobadia and Makuria in the north. Soba, which by the 6th century had developed into a major urban center, served as its capital. In 569 the kingdom of Alodia was mentioned for the first time, being described by John of Ephesus as a kingdom on the cusp of Christianization. Independently of John of Ephesus, the kingdom's existence is also verified by a late 6th century Greek document from
Byzantine Egypt , conventional_long_name = Roman Egypt , common_name = Egypt , subdivision = Province , nation = the Roman Empire , era = Late antiquity , capital = Alexandria , title_leader = Praefectus Augustalis , image_map = Roman ...
, describing the sale of an Alodian slave girl.


Christianization and peak

John of Ephesus' account describes the events around the Christianization of Alodia in detail. As the southernmost of the three Nubian kingdoms, Alodia was the last to be converted to Christianity. According to John, the Alodian King was aware of the conversion of Nobadia in 543 and asked him to send a bishop who would also baptize his people. The request was granted in 580 and Longinus was sent, leading to the baptism of the King, his family and the local nobility. Thus, Alodia became a part of the Christian world under the Coptic Patriarchate of Alexandria. After conversion, several pagan temples, such as the one in Musawwarat es-Sufra, were probably converted into churches. The extent and speed with which Christianity spread among the Alodian populace is uncertain. Despite the conversion of the nobility, it is likely that Christianization of the rural population progressed only slowly, if at all. John of Ephesus' report also implies tensions between Alodia and Makuria. Several forts north of the confluence of the two Niles have recently been dated to this period. However, their occupation did not exceed the 7th century, suggesting that the Makurian-Alodian conflict was soon resolved. Between 639 and 641, Muslim Arabs conquered Egypt from the
Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
. Makuria, which by this time had been unified with Nobadia, fended off two subsequent
Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
invasions, one in 641/642 and another in 652. In the aftermath, Makuria and the Arabs agreed to sign the '' Baqt'', a peace treaty that included a yearly exchange of gifts and socioeconomic regulations between Arabs and Nubians. Alodia was explicitly mentioned in the treaty as not being affected by it. While the Arabs failed to conquer Nubia, they began to settle along the western coast of the Red Sea. They founded the port towns of Aydhab and Badi in the 7th century and Suakin, first mentioned in the 10th century. From the 9th century, they pushed further inland, settling among the Beja throughout the Eastern Desert. Arab influence would remain confined to the east of the Nile until the 14th century. Based on the archaeological evidence it has been suggested that Alodia's capital Soba underwent its peak development between the 9th and 12th centuries. In the 9th century, Alodia was, albeit briefly, described for the first time by the Arab historian al-Yaqubi. In his short account, Alodia is said to be the stronger of the two Nubian kingdoms, being a country requiring a three-month journey to cross. He also recorded that Muslims would occasionally travel there. A century later, in the mid-10th century, Alodia was visited by traveler and historian Ibn Hawqal, resulting in the most comprehensive known account of the kingdom. He described the geography and people of Alodia in considerable detail, giving the impression of a large, polyethnic state. He also noted its prosperity, having an "uninterrupted chain of villages and a continuous strip of cultivated lands". When Ibn Hawqal arrived, the ruling king was named Eusebius, who was, upon his death, succeeded by his nephew Stephanos. Another Alodian king from this period was David, who is known from a tombstone in Soba. His rule was initially dated to 999–1015, but based on paleographical grounds it is now dated more broadly, to the 9th or 10th centuries. Ibn Hawqal's report describing Alodia's geography was largely confirmed by al-Aswani, a Fatimid ambassador sent to Makuria, who went on to travel to Alodia. In a similar manner to al-Yaqubi's description of 100 years before, Alodia was noted as being more powerful than Makuria, more extensive and having a larger army. The capital Soba was a prosperous town with "fine buildings, and extensive dwellings and churches full of gold and gardens", while also having a large Muslim quarter. Abu al-Makarim (12th century) was the last historian to refer to Alodia in detail. It was still described as a large, Christian kingdom housing around 400 churches. A particularly large and finely constructed one was said to be located in Soba, called the "Church of Manbali". Two Alodian kings, Basil and Paul, are mentioned in 12th century Arabic letters from Qasr Ibrim. There is evidence that at certain periods there were close relations between the Alodian and the Makurian royal families. It is possible that the throne frequently passed to a king whose father was of the royal family of the other state. Nubiologist Włodzimierz Godlewski states that it was under the Makurian king Merkurios (early 8th century) that the two kingdoms began to approach each other. In 943 al Masudi wrote that the Makurian king ruled over Alodia, while Ibn Hawqal wrote that it was the other way around. The 11th century saw the appearance of a new royal crown in Makurian art; it has been suggested that this derived from the Alodian court. King Mouses Georgios, who is known to have ruled in Makuria in the second half of the 12th century, most likely ruled both kingdoms via a
personal union A personal union is the combination of two or more states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct. A real union, by contrast, would involve the constituent states being to some extent interli ...
. Considering that in his royal title ("king of the Arouades and Makuritai") Alodia is mentioned before Makuria, he might have initially been an Alodian king.


Decline

Archaeological evidence from Soba suggests a decline of the town, and therefore possibly the Alodian kingdom, from the 12th century. By 1300 the decline of Alodia was well advanced. No pottery or glassware postdating the 13th century has been identified at Soba. Two churches were apparently destroyed during the 13th century, although they were rebuilt shortly afterwards. It has been suggested that Alodia was under attack by an African, possibly Nilotic, people called Damadim who originated from the border region of modern Sudan and South Sudan, along the Bahr el Ghazal River. According to geographer Ibn Sa'id al-Maghribi, they attacked Nubia in 1220. Soba may have been conquered at this time, suffering occupation and destruction. In the late 13th century, another invasion by an unspecified people from the south occurred. In the same period poet al-Harrani wrote that Alodia's capital was now called Waylula, described as "very large" and "built on the west bank of the Nile". In the early 14th century geographer Shamsaddin al-Dimashqi wrote that the capital was a place named Kusha, located far from the Nile, where water had to be obtained from wells. The contemporary Italian-
Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bale ...
n Dulcert map features both Alodia ("Coale") and Soba ("Sobaa"). Economic factors also seem to have played a part in Alodia's decline. From the 10th to 12th centuries the
East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historica ...
n coast saw the rise of new trading cities such as
Kilwa Kilwa Kisiwani (English: ''Kilwa Island'') is an island, national historic site, and hamlet community located in the township of Kilwa Masoko, the district seat of Kilwa District in the Tanzanian region of Lindi Region in southern Tanzania. Ki ...
. These were direct mercantile competitors since they exported similar goods to Nubia. A period of severe droughts occurring in Sub-Saharan Africa between 1150 and 1500 would have affected the Nubian economy as well. Archeobotanical evidence from Soba suggests the town suffered from overgrazing and overcultivation. By 1276 al-Abwab, previously described as the northernmost Alodian province, was recorded as an independent splinter kingdom ruling over vast territories. The precise circumstances of its secession and its relations with Alodia thereafter remain unknown. Based on pottery finds it has been suggested that al-Abwab continued to thrive until the 15th and perhaps even the 16th century. In 1286 a Mamluke prince sent messengers to several rulers in central Sudan. It is not clear if they were still subject to the king in Soba or if they were independent, implying a fragmentation of Alodia into multiple petty states by the late 13th century. In 1317 a Mamluk expedition pursued Arab brigands as far south as Kassala in Taka (one of the regions which received a Mamluk messenger in 1286), marching through al-Abwab and Makuria on their return. During the 14th and 15th centuries much of what is now Sudan was overrun by
Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
tribes and briefly conquered by the Adal Sultanate. They perhaps profited from the
plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pes ...
which might have ravaged Nubia in the mid-14th century killing many sedentary Nubians, but not affecting the nomadic Arabs. They would have then intermixed with the remaining local population, gradually taking control over land and people, greatly benefiting from their large population in spreading their culture. The first recorded Arab migration to Nubia dates to 1324. It was the disintegration of Makuria in the late 14th century that, according to archaeologist William Y. Adams, caused the "flood gates" to "burst wide open". Many, initially coming from Egypt, followed the course of the Nile until they reached Al Dabbah. Here they headed west to migrate along the
Wadi Al-Malik Wadi Al-Malik is the bed of an extinct river in Sudan. Following the Central African Shear Zone, it stretches for 560 km from the lake of Umm Badr in North Kurdufan NE-trending to the great bend of the Nile near Al Dabbah.Intisar Soghayrou ...
to reach Darfur or Kordofan. Alodia, in particular the Butana and the Gezira, was the target of those Arabs who had lived among the Beja in the Eastern Desert for centuries. Initially, the kingdom was able to exercise authority over some of the newly arrived Arab groups, forcing them to pay tribute. The situation grew increasingly precarious as more Arabs arrived. By the second half of the 15th century, Arabs had settled in the entire central Sudanese Nile valley, except for the area around Soba, which was all that was left of Alodia's domain. In 1474 it was recorded that Arabs founded the town of Arbaji on the Blue Nile, which would quickly develop into an important centre of commerce and Islamic learning. In around 1500 the Nubians were recorded to be in a state of total political fragmentation, as they had no king, but 150 independent lordships centered around castles on both sides of the Nile. Archaeology attests that Soba was largely ruined by this time.


Fall

It is unclear if the kingdom of Alodia was destroyed by the Arabs under Abdallah Jammah or by the Funj, an African group from the south led by their king Amara Dunqas. Most modern scholars agree now that it fell due to the Arabs. Abdallah Jammah ("Abdallah the gatherer"), the eponymous ancestor of the Sudanese Abdallab tribe, was a Rufa'a Arab who, according to Sudanese traditions, settled in the Nile Valley after coming from the east. He consolidated his power and established his capital at Qerri, just north of the confluence of the two Niles. In the late 15th century he gathered the Arab tribes to act against the Alodian "tyranny", as it is called, which has been interpreted as having a religious-economic motive. The Muslim Arabs no longer accepted the rule of, nor taxation by, a Christian ruler. Under Abdallah's leadership Alodia and its capital Soba were destroyed, resulting in rich booty such as a "bejeweled crown" and a "famous necklace of pearls and rubies". According to another tradition recorded in old documents from
Shendi Shendi or Shandi ( ar, شندي) is a small city in northern Sudan, situated on the southeastern bank of the Nile River 150 km northeast of Khartoum. Shandi is also about 45 km southwest of the ancient city of Meroë. Located in the ...
, Soba was destroyed by Abdallah Jammah in 1509 having already been attacked in 1474. The idea of uniting the Arabs against Alodia is said to have already been on the mind of an
emir Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cer ...
who lived between 1439 and 1459. To this end, he migrated from Bara in Kordofan to a mountain near
Ed Dueim Ed Dueim (Arabic الدويم, also Romanized as ''ad-Duwaym'', ''Ad Douiem'', ''Al Dewaym'', ''Dewaim'' etc.) is one of the largest cities along the White Nile in Sudan. Ed Dueim is on the west bank of the White Nile, between Khartoum and Kosti ...
on the White Nile. Under his grandson, called Emir Humaydan, the White Nile was crossed. There he met other Arab tribes and attacked Alodia. The king of Alodia was killed, but the "patriarch", probably the
archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdio ...
of Soba, managed to flee. He soon returned to Soba. A puppet king was crowned and an army of Nubians, Beja and Abyssinians was assembled to fight "for the sake of religion". Meanwhile, the Arab alliance was about to fracture, but Abdallah Jammah reunited them, while also allying with the Funj king Amara Dunqas. Together they finally defeated and killed the patriarch, razing Soba afterwards and enslaving its population. The ''
Funj Chronicle The ''Funj Chronicle'' is an Arabic history of the Funj Sultanate and the early years of Ottoman rule in the Sudan. It originally covered the period from 1504 to 1838, but continuations bring it down to 1871. It has been translated into English. ...
'', a multi-authored history of the
Funj Sultanate The Funj Sultanate, also known as Funjistan, Sultanate of Sennar (after its capital Sennar) or Blue Sultanate due to the traditional Sudanese convention of referring to black people as blue () was a monarchy in what is now Sudan, northwestern E ...
compiled in the 19th century, ascribes the destruction of Alodia to King Amara Dunqas; he was also allied with Abdallah Jammah. This attack is dated to the 9th century after the Hijra ( 1396–1494). Afterwards, Soba is said to have served as the capital of the Funj until the foundation of Sennar in 1504. The '' Tabaqat Dayfallah'', a history of
Sufism Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality ...
in Sudan ( 1700), briefly mentions that the Funj attacked and defeated the "kingdom of the Nuba" in 1504–1505.


Legacy

Historian Jay Spaulding proposes that the fall of Soba was not necessarily the end of Alodia. According to the
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
traveler David Reubeni, who visited the country in 1523, there was still a "kingdom of Soba" on the eastern bank of the Blue Nile, although he explicitly noted Soba itself was in ruins. This matches the oral traditions from the Upper Blue Nile, which claim that Alodia survived Soba's fall and still existed along the Blue Nile. It had gradually retreated to the mountains of Fazughli in the Ethiopian-Sudanese borderlands, forming the kingdom of Fazughli. Recent excavations in western Ethiopia seem to confirm the theory of an Alodian migration. The Funj eventually conquered Fazughli in 1685 and its population, known as Hamaj, became a fundamental part of Sennar, eventually seizing power in 1761–1762. As recently as 1930 Hamaj villagers in the southern Gezira would swear by "Soba the home of my grandfathers and grandmothers which can make the stone float and the cotton ball sink". In 1504–1505 the Funj founded the Funj sultanate, incorporating Abdallah Jammah's domain, which, according to some traditions, happened after a battle where Amara Dunqas defeated him. The Funj maintained some medieval Nubian customs like the wearing of crowns with features resembling bovine horns, called ''taqiya umm qarnein'', the shaving of the head of a king upon his coronation, and, according to Jay Spaulding, the custom of raising princes separately from their mothers, under strict confinement. The aftermath of Alodia's fall saw extensive
Arabization Arabization or Arabisation ( ar, تعريب, ') describes both the process of growing Arab influence on non-Arab populations, causing a language shift by the latter's gradual adoption of the Arabic language and incorporation of Arab culture, aft ...
, with the Nubians embracing the tribal system of the Arab migrants. Those living along the Nile between al Dabbah in the north and the confluence of the two Niles in the south were subsumed into the Ja'alin tribe. To the east, west and south of the Ja'alin the country was now dominated by tribes claiming a Juhaynah ancestry. In the area around Soba, the tribal Abdallab identity prevailed. The Nubian language was spoken in central Sudan until the 19th century, when it was replaced by
Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
. Sudanese Arabic preserves many words of Nubian origin, and Nubian place names can be found as far south as the Blue Nile state. The fate of Christianity in the region remains largely unknown. The church institutions would have collapsed together with the fall of the kingdom, resulting in the decline of the Christian faith and the rise of Islam in its stead. Islamized groups from northern Nubia began to proselytize the Gezira. As early as 1523 King Amara Dunqas, who was initially a Pagan or nominal Christian, was recorded to be Muslim. Nevertheless, in the 16th century large portions of the Nubians still regarded themselves as Christians. A traveler who visited Nubia around 1500 confirms this, while also saying that the Nubians were so lacking in Christian instruction they had no knowledge of the faith. In 1520 Nubian ambassadors reached Ethiopia and petitioned the Emperor for priests. They claimed that no more priests could reach Nubia because of the wars between Muslims, leading to a decline of Christianity in their land. In the first half of the 17th century, a prophecy made by the Sudanese Sheikh Idris Wad al-Arbab mentioned a church in the Nuba Mountains. As late as the early 1770s there was said to be a Christian princedom in the Ethiopian-Sudanese border area, called Shaira. Apotropaic rituals stemming from Christian practices outlived the conversion to Islam. As late as the 20th century several practices of undoubtedly Christian origin were "common, though of course not universal, in
Omdurman Omdurman (standard ar, أم درمان ''Umm Durmān'') is a city in Sudan. It is the most populated city in the country, and thus also in the State of Khartoum. Omdurman lies on the west bank of the River Nile, opposite and northwest of the ...
, the Gezira and Kordofan", usually revolving around the application of crosses on humans and objects. Soba, which remained inhabited until at least the early 17th century, served, among many other ruined Alodian sites, as a steady supply of bricks and stones for nearby Qubba shrines, dedicated to Sufi holy men. During the early 19th century many of the remaining bricks in Soba were plundered for the construction of
Khartoum Khartoum or Khartum ( ; ar, الخرطوم, Al-Khurṭūm, din, Kaartuɔ̈m) is the capital of Sudan. With a population of 5,274,321, its metropolitan area is the largest in Sudan. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile, flowing n ...
, the new capital of Turkish Sudan.


Administration

While information about Alodia's government is sparse, it was likely similar to that of Makuria. The head of state was the king who, according to al-Aswani, reigned as an absolute monarch. He was recorded to be able to enslave any of his subjects at will, who would not oppose his decision, but prostrated themselves before him. As in Makuria, succession to the Alodian throne was
matrilineal Matrilineality is the tracing of kinship through the female line. It may also correlate with a social system in which each person is identified with their matriline – their mother's lineage – and which can involve the inheritance ...
: it was the son of the king's sister, not his son who succeeded to the throne. There might be evidence a mobile royal encampment existed, although the translation of the original source, Abu al-Makarim, is not certain. Similar mobile courts are known to have existed in the early Funj sultanate, Ethiopia and
Darfur Darfur ( ; ar, دار فور, Dār Fūr, lit=Realm of the Fur) is a region of western Sudan. ''Dār'' is an Arabic word meaning "home f – the region was named Dardaju ( ar, دار داجو, Dār Dājū, links=no) while ruled by the Daju ...
. The kingdom was divided into several provinces under the sovereignty of Soba. It seems delegates of the king governed these provinces. Al-Aswani stated that the governor of the northern al-Abwab province was appointed by the king. This was similar to what Ibn Hawqal recorded for the Gash Delta region, which was ruled by an appointed Arabophone (Arabic speaker). In 1286, Mamluk emissaries were sent to several rulers in central Sudan. It is unclear whether those rulers were actually independent, or if they remained subordinate to the king of Alodia. If the latter was the case, this would provide an understanding of the kingdom's territorial organization. The "
Sahib Sahib or Saheb (; ) is an Arabic title meaning 'companion'. It was historically used for the first caliph Abu Bakr in the Quran. The title is still applied to the caliph by Sunni Muslims. As a loanword, ''Sahib'' has passed into several langu ...
" of al-Abwab seems certain to have been independent. Apart from al-Abwab, the following regions are mentioned: Al-Anag (possibly Fazughli); Ari; Barah; Befal; Danfou; Kedru (possibly after Kadero, a village north of Khartoum); Kersa (the Gezira); and Taka (the region around the Gash Delta). State and church were intertwined in Alodia, with the Alodian kings probably serving as its patrons. Coptic documents observed by Johann Michael Vansleb during the later 17th century list the following bishoprics in the Alodian kingdom: Arodias, Borra, Gagara, Martin, Banazi, and Menkesa. "Arodias" may refer to the bishopric in Soba. The bishops were dependent on the patriarch of Alexandria. Alodia may have had a standing army, in which cavalry likely projected force and symbolized royal authority deep into the provinces. Because of their speed, horses were also important for communication, providing a rapid courier service between the capital and the provinces. Aside from horses, boats also played a central role in transportation infrastructure.


Culture


Languages

While Alodia was polyethnic, and hence polylingual, it was essentially a Nubian state whose majority spoke a Nubian language. Based on a few inscriptions found in Alodian territory it has been suggested that the Alodians spoke a dialect distinct from Old Nobiin of northern Nubia, dubbed as ''Alwan-Nubian''. This assumption rests primarily on the script used in these inscriptions, which, while also being based on the
Greek alphabet The Greek alphabet has been used to write the Greek language since the late 9th or early 8th century BCE. It is derived from the earlier Phoenician alphabet, and was the earliest known alphabetic script to have distinct letters for vowels as ...
, differs from that employed in Makuria by making no use of Coptic
diacritic A diacritic (also diacritical mark, diacritical point, diacritical sign, or accent) is a glyph added to a letter or to a basic glyph. The term derives from the Ancient Greek (, "distinguishing"), from (, "to distinguish"). The word ''diacrit ...
s and instead having special characters based on Meroitic hieroglyphs. However, ultimately the classification of this language and its relationship to Old Nobiin has yet to be specified. In the 1830s it was said a Nubian language was still being spoken as far south as
Berber Berber or Berbers may refer to: Ethnic group * Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa * Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages Places * Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile People with the surname * Ady Berber (1913–19 ...
near the junction of the Nile and the Atbara. It was supposedly similar to Kenzi but with many differences. Although Greek, a prestigious sacral language, was used, it does not appear to have been spoken. An example of the use of Greek in Alodia is the tombstone of King David from Soba, where it is written with quite correct grammar. Al-Aswani noted that books were written in Greek and then translated into Nubian. The Christian
liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...
was also in Greek. Coptic was probably used to communicate with the Patriarch of Alexandria, but written Coptic remains are very sparse. Apart from Nubian, a multitude of languages were spoken throughout the kingdom. In the Nuba mountains several Kordofanian languages occurred together with Hill Nubian dialects. Upstream along the Blue Nile Eastern Sudanic languages like Berta or Gumuz were spoken. In the eastern territories lived the Beja, who spoke their own
Cushitic The Cushitic languages are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They are spoken primarily in the Horn of Africa, with minorities speaking Cushitic languages to the north in Egypt and the Sudan, and to the south in Kenya and Tanzania. As o ...
language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of ...
, as did the Semitic Arabs and the Tigre.


Church architecture

The existence of 400 churches has been recorded throughout the kingdom; most have yet to be located. Only seven have been identified so far, given the simple names of church "A", "B", "C", "E", the "Mound C" church in Soba, the church in Saqadi and the temple-church in Musawwarat as-Sufra. A hypothetical church was recently discovered in Abu Erteila in the western Butana. Churches "A"–"C" as well as the "Mound C" church were
basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its nam ...
s comparable to the largest Makurian churches. The Saqadi church was an insertion into a pre-existing structure. Church "E" and the church of Musawwarat es-Sufra were "normal" churches. Thus, the known Alodian houses of worship can be categorized into three classes. On "Mound B" in Soba lay the standalone complex of the three churches "A", "B" and "C". Churches "A" and "B", both probably built in the mid-9th century, were large buildings, the first measuring and the second . Church "C" was much smaller and built after the other two churches, probably after 900. The three churches had many similarities, including having a
narthex The narthex is an architectural element typical of early Christian and Byzantine basilicas and churches consisting of the entrance or lobby area, located at the west end of the nave, opposite the church's main altar. Traditionally the narth ...
, wide entrances on the main east-west axis and a
pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, acces ...
along the north side of the
nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-typ ...
. Differences are evident in the thickness of the bricks used. Church "C" lacked outer
aisle An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, certain types of buildings, such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, pa ...
s. It seems probable that the complex was the ecclesiastical center of Soba, if not the entire kingdom. Church "E", on a natural mount, was in size (and like all red brick structures in Soba heavily robbed). Its layout was unusual, such as its L-shaped narthex. The roof was supported by wooden beams resting on stone pedestals. The internal walls used to be covered by painted whitewashed mud; the external walls were rendered in white lime mortar. The "Mound C" church, perhaps the oldest of the churches of Soba, was around in length. It was the only Alodian church known to have incorporated stone columns. Very little remains of it and its walls, probably made of red bricks, have completely disappeared. Five
capitals Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used fo ...
have been noted, belonging to a style that appeared in Nubia at the turn of the 8th century. The church of Musawwarat es-Sufra, called "Temple III A", was initially a pagan temple but was converted into a church, probably soon after the royal conversion in 580. It was rectangular and slightly skewed, being in size. It was divided into one large and three small rooms. The roof, of an indeterminate shape, was supported by wooden beams. Despite originally being a Kushite temple it still bears similarities to purpose-built churches, for example having an entrance on both the north and south sides. The southernmost known Nubian church was in Saqadi, a red brick building inserted into a pre-existing building of unknown nature. It had a nave, where two L-shaped walls projected, and at least two aisles with rectangular brick piers between, as well as a range of possibly three rooms across the western end, which was a typically Nubian arrangement. Nubian church architecture was greatly influenced by that of Egypt,
Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
and
Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''O ...
. The constellation of the "Mound B" complex might reflect Byzantine influences. The relations between the church architecture of Makuria and Alodia remain uncertain. What seems clear is that Alodian churches lacked eastern entrances and
tribunes Tribune () was the title of various elected officials in ancient Rome. The two most important were the tribunes of the plebs and the military tribunes. For most of Roman history, a college of ten tribunes of the plebs acted as a check on th ...
, features characteristic for churches in northern Nubia. Furthermore, Alodian churches used more wood. Similarities with medieval Ethiopian church architecture are harder to find, only a few details matching.


Pottery

In medieval Nubia, pottery and its decoration were appreciated as an art form. Until the 7th century, the most common pottery type found at Soba was the so-called "Red Ware". These wheel-made hemispherical bowls were made of red or orange slip and painted with separated motifs such as boxes with inner cross-hatchings, stylized floral motifs or crosses. The outlines of the motifs were drawn in black while the interiors were white. In their design, they are a direct continuation of Kushite styles, with possible influences from Aksumite Ethiopia. Due to their relative rarity, it has been suggested that they were imported, although they bear similarities to the pottery type, known as " Soba Ware", that succeeded them. "Soba Ware" was a type of wheel-made pottery with a distinctive decoration very different from that found in the rest of Nubia. The shape of the pottery was diverse, as was the repertoire of painted decoration. One of the most distinctive features was the use of faces as painted decoration. They were simplified, if not geometric, in form and with big round eyes. This style is foreign to Makuria and Egypt, but bears a resemblance to paintings and manuscripts from Ethiopia. It is possible the potters copied these motifs from local church murals. Also unique was the application of animal-shaped bosses ( protomes). Glazed vessels were also produced, copying
Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
n aquamaniles without reaching their quality. Beginning in the 9th century, "Soba Ware" was increasingly replaced by fine ware imported from Makuria.


Economy


Agriculture

Alodia was in the savannah belt, giving it an economic advantage over its northern neighbor Makuria. According to al-Aswani the "provisions of the country of Alwa and their king" came from Kersa, which has been identified with the Gezira. North of the confluence of the two Niles agriculture was limited to farms along the river watered by devices like the shadoof or the more sophisticated sakia. In contrast, the farmers of the Gezira profited from sufficient rainfall to make rainfall cultivation the economic mainstay. Archaeological records have provided insight into the types of food grown and consumed in Alodia. At Soba, the primary cereal was
sorghum ''Sorghum'' () is a genus of about 25 species of flowering plants in the grass family (Poaceae). Some of these species are grown as cereals for human consumption and some in pastures for animals. One species is grown for grain, while many other ...
, although
barley Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley p ...
and
millet Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most species generally referred to as millets belong to the tribe Paniceae, but some millets a ...
were also known to be consumed. Al-Aswani noted that sorghum was used to make
beer Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...
and said that
vineyard A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineyard ...
s were quite rare in Alodia compared to Makuria. There is archaeological evidence of grapes. According to al-Idrisi,
onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus '' Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the on ...
s, horseradish,
cucumber Cucumber (''Cucumis sativus'') is a widely-cultivated creeping vine plant in the Cucurbitaceae family that bears usually cylindrical fruits, which are used as culinary vegetables.watermelons and rapeseed were also cultivated, but none were found at Soba. Instead, figs, acacia fruits, doum palm fruits and dates have been identified. Sedentary farmers formed one part of Alodia's agriculture, the other consisted of nomads practicing animal husbandry. The relationship between these two groups was symbiotic, resulting in an exchange of goods. Al-Aswani wrote that
beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). In prehistoric times, humankind hunted aurochs and later domesticated them. Since that time, numerous breeds of cattle have been bred specifically for the quality or quantit ...
was plentiful in Alodia, which he attributed to the bountiful grazing land. Archaeological evidence from Soba attests to the relevance
cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ...
had there, as most animal bones are attributed to that species, followed by those of
sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticate ...
and
goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...
s.
Chickens The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adult m ...
were probably also bred at Soba, although available archaeological proof is very limited, probably due to the fragile nature of bird bones. No remains of pigs have been identified. Camel remains have been noted, but none bore signs of butchery. Fishing and hunting made only minor contributions to the overall diet of Soba.


Trade

Trade was an important source of income for the people of Alodia. Soba served as a trading hub with north-south and east-west trade routes; goods arrived in the kingdom from Makuria, the
Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
, western Africa,
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
and
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
. Trade with Makuria probably ran through the Bayuda Desert, following
Wadi Abu Dom Wadi Abu Dom is an arid valley in Sudan. Situated in the Bayuda Desert, it runs from the central Bayuda approximately 150 km down to the Nile. Several archaeological sites, e.g. Umm Ruweim and the monastery of Ghazali are located at Wadi Abu Dom ...
or
Wadi Muqaddam Geography Wadi Muqaddam is a dry water course some 320 km extending from beyond Omdurman north to the great bend of the Nile near Korti. It gives its name to the geological Wadi Milk Formation. Delimiting the Bayuda Desert to the west it stil ...
, while another route went from near Abu Hamad to Korosko in Lower Nubia. A route going east originated around Berber near the confluence of the Nile and the Atbara, terminating in Badi, Suakin and Dahlak. Merchant
Benjamin of Tudela Benjamin of Tudela ( he, בִּנְיָמִין מִטּוּדֶלָה, ; ar, بنيامين التطيلي ''Binyamin al-Tutayli'';‎ Tudela, Kingdom of Navarre, 1130 Castile, 1173) was a medieval Jewish traveler who visited Europe, Asia, an ...
mentions a route heading west, going from Alodia to Zuwila in Fezzan. Archaeological evidence for trade with Ethiopia is virtually absent, although trading relations are suggested by other evidence. Trading with the outside world was handled predominantly by Arab merchants. Muslim merchants were recorded as having traversed Nubia, some living in a district in Soba. Exports from Alodia likely included raw materials such as
gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...
,
ivory Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mammals i ...
,
salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quant ...
and other tropical products, as well as hides. According to an oral tradition Arab merchants came to Alodia to sell silk and textiles, receiving beads, elephant teeth and leather in return. At Soba silk and flax have been found, both probably originating from Egypt. Most of the glass found there was also imported. Benjamin of Tudela claimed merchants traveling from Alodia to Zuwila carried hides, wheat, fruits, legumes and salt, while carrying gold and precious stones on their return. Slaves are commonly assumed to have been exported by medieval Nubia. Adams postulates that Alodia was a specialized slave-trading state that exploited the pagan populations to the west and south. Evidence for a regulated slave trade is very limited. It is only from the 16th century, after the fall of the Christian kingdoms, that such evidence begins to appear.


Notes


References


Citations


Sources

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Further reading

* * *


External links


Builders of forts. Did Meroitic rulers build fortifications? Fortified sites and politics in Upper Nubia during the fall of Meroe and rise of the Kingdom of AlwaSoba. The Heart of Alwa
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