Alodia
Alodia | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
6th century–c. 1500 | |||||||||||||
Possible flag according to the Traditional African religion | |||||||||||||
Government | Monarchy | ||||||||||||
Historical era | Middle Ages | ||||||||||||
• First mentioned | 6th century | ||||||||||||
• Destroyed | c. 1500 | ||||||||||||
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Today part of | Sudan Eritrea |
Alodia, also known as Alwa (
Founded sometime after the ancient
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
Sources
Alodia is by far the least studied of the three medieval
While many Alodian sites are known,[14] only the capital Soba has been extensively excavated.[15] Parts of this site were unearthed in the early 1950s, further excavations taking place in the 1980s and 1990s.[16] A new multidisciplinary research project was scheduled to start in late 2019.[17] Soba is approximately 2.75 km2 (1.06 sq mi) in size and is covered with numerous mounds of brick rubble previously belonging to monumental structures.[16] Discoveries made so far include several churches, a palace, cemeteries and numerous small finds.[18]
Geography
Alodia was located in Nubia, a region which, in the
To the west of the White Nile, Ibn Hawqal differentiated between Al-Jeblien, which was controlled by Makuria 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.[26] Nubian connections with Darfur have been suggested, but evidence is lacking.[27]
The northern region of Alodia probably extended from the confluence of the two Niles downstream to
Lying between the
History
Origins
The name Alodia might be of considerable antiquity, perhaps appearing first as Alut on a
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.[40] 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.[41] In the mid-4th century the Nubians occupied most of the area once controlled by Kush,[38] while it was limited to the northern reaches of the Butana.[42] 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.[43] 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.[38]
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.[44] Eventually, the region saw the development of regional centers whose ruling elites were buried in large tumuli.[45] Such tumuli, within what would become Alodia, are known from El-Hobagi, Jebel Qisi and perhaps Jebel Aulia.[46] The excavated tumuli of El-Hobagi are known to date to the late 4th century,[47] and contained an assortment of weaponry imitating Kushite royal funerary rituals.[48] Meanwhile, many Kushite temples and settlements, including the former capital Meroë, seem to have been largely abandoned.[49] The Kushites themselves were absorbed into the Nubians[50] and their language was replaced by Nubian.[51]
How the Kingdom of Alodia came into being is unknown.
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
Between 639 and 641, Muslim Arabs
Based on the archaeological evidence it has been suggested that Alodia's capital Soba underwent its peak development between the 9th and 12th centuries.[65] 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.[66]
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".
Ibn Hawqal's report describing Alodia's geography was largely confirmed by al-Aswani, a
Abu al-Makarim (12th century)[7] 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".[71] Two Alodian kings, Basil and Paul, are mentioned in 12th century Arabic letters from Qasr Ibrim.[69]
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.[72] Nubiologist Włodzimierz Godlewski states that it was under the Makurian king Merkurios (early 8th century) that the two kingdoms began to approach each other.[73] In 943 al Masudi wrote that the Makurian king ruled over Alodia, while Ibn Hawqal wrote that it was the other way around.[72] 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.[74] 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. 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.[75]
Decline
Archaeological evidence from Soba suggests a decline of the town, and therefore possibly the Alodian kingdom, from the 12th century.
Economic factors also seem to have played a part in Alodia's decline. From the 10th to 12th centuries the
By 1276 al-Abwab, previously described as the northernmost Alodian province, was recorded as an
During the 14th and 15th centuries much of what is now Sudan was overrun by
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.[105] By the second half of the 15th century, Arabs had settled in the entire central Sudanese Nile valley, except for the area around Soba,[98] which was all that was left of Alodia's domain.[106] In 1474[107] 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.[108] 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.[77] Archaeology attests that Soba was largely ruined by this time.[10]
Fall
It is unclear if the Kingdom of Alodia was destroyed by the Arabs under
Abdallah Jammah ("Abdallah the gatherer"), the eponymous ancestor[111] of the Sudanese Abdallab tribe, was a Rufa'a[112] 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.[113] 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,[114] resulting in rich booty such as a "bejeweled crown" and a "famous necklace of pearls and rubies".[113]
According to another tradition recorded in old documents from Shendi, 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 who lived between 1439 and 1459. To this end, he migrated from Bara in Kordofan to a mountain near Ed Dueim 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 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.[11]
The Funj Chronicle, a multi-authored[115] history of the Funj Sultanate compiled in the 19th century, ascribes the destruction of Alodia to King Amara Dunqas; he was also allied with Abdallah Jammah.[110] This attack is dated to the 9th century after the Hijra (c. 1396–1494). Afterwards, Soba is said to have served as the capital of the Funj until the foundation of Sennar in 1504.[116] The Tabaqat Dayfallah, a history of Sufism in Sudan (c. 1700), briefly mentions that the Funj attacked and defeated the "kingdom of the Nuba" in 1504–1505.[117]
Legacy
Historian
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.[121] The Funj maintained some medieval Nubian customs like the wearing of crowns with features resembling bovine horns, called taqiya umm qarnein,[122] the shaving of the head of a king upon his coronation,[123] and, according to Jay Spaulding, the custom of raising princes separately from their mothers, under strict confinement.[124]
The aftermath of Alodia's fall saw extensive
The fate of Christianity in the region remains largely unknown.
Soba, which remained inhabited until at least the early 17th century,
Administration
While information about Alodia's government is sparse,
The kingdom was divided into several provinces under the sovereignty of Soba.[157] It seems delegates of the king governed these provinces.[152] Al-Aswani stated that the governor of the northern al-Abwab province was appointed by the king.[158] This was similar to what Ibn Hawqal recorded for the Gash Delta region, which was ruled by an appointed Arabophone (Arabic speaker).[35] In 1286, Mamluk emissaries were sent to several rulers in central Sudan. It is unclear whether those rulers were actually independent,[77] 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" of al-Abwab[92] seems certain to have been independent.[90] 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).[159]
State and church were intertwined in Alodia,[160] with the Alodian kings probably serving as its patrons.[161] 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.[162] "Arodias" may refer to the bishopric in Soba.[160] The bishops were dependent on the patriarch of Alexandria.[4]
Alodia may have had a standing army,[159] in which cavalry likely projected force and symbolized royal authority deep into the provinces.[163] Because of their speed, horses were also important for communication, providing a rapid courier service between the capital and the provinces.[163] Aside from horses, boats also played a central role in transportation infrastructure.[164]
Name | Date of rule | Comment |
---|---|---|
Giorgios | ? | Recorded on an inscription at Soba.[69] |
David | 9th or 10th century | Recorded on his tombstone at Soba. Initially thought to have ruled from 999 to 1015, but now proposed to have lived in the 9th / 10th centuries.[70] |
Eusebios | c. 938–955 | Mentioned by Ibn Hawqal.[69][165] |
Stephanos | c. 955 | Mentioned by Ibn Hawqal.[69][165] |
Mouses Georgios | c. 1155–1190 | Joint ruler of Makuria and Alodia. Recorded on letters from Qasr Ibrim and a graffito from Faras.[75] |
?Basil | 12th century | Recorded on an Arabic letter from Qasr Ibrim[69] and a graffito from Meroë(?).[166] |
?Paul | 12th century | Recorded on an Arabic letter from Qasr Ibrim.[69] |
Culture
Languages
While Alodia was polyethnic, and hence polylingual,
Although Greek, a prestigious sacral language, was used, it does not appear to have been spoken.[173] 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.[174] Al-Aswani noted that books were written in Greek and then translated into Nubian.[4] The Christian liturgy was also in Greek.[175] Coptic was probably used to communicate with the Patriarch of Alexandria,[153] but written Coptic remains are very sparse.[176]
Apart from Nubian, a multitude of languages were spoken throughout the kingdom. In the Nuba mountains several
Church architecture
The existence of 400 churches has been recorded throughout the kingdom; most have yet to be located.[177] 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.[178] A hypothetical church was recently discovered in Abu Erteila in the western Butana.[179] Churches "A"–"C" as well as the "Mound C" church were basilicas 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.[177]
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 28 m × 24.5 m (92 ft × 80 ft) and the second 27 m × 22.5 m (89 ft × 74 ft). Church "C" was much smaller [180] and built after the other two churches, probably after c. 900.[78] The three churches had many similarities, including having a narthex, wide entrances on the main east-west axis and a pulpit along the north side of the nave. Differences are evident in the thickness of the bricks used. Church "C" lacked outer aisles.[181] It seems probable that the complex was the ecclesiastical center of Soba, if not the entire kingdom.[182]
Church "E", on a natural mount, was 16.4 m × 10.6 m (54 ft × 35 ft) in size (and like all red brick structures in Soba heavily robbed).[183] Its layout was unusual,[184] such as its L-shaped narthex.[185] 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.[186]
The "Mound C" church, perhaps the oldest of the churches of Soba,[187] was around 13.5 m (44 ft) in length. It was the only Alodian church known to have incorporated stone columns.[177] Very little remains of it and its walls, probably made of red bricks, have completely disappeared. Five capitals have been noted, belonging to a style that appeared in Nubia at the turn of the 8th century.[188]
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.[189] It was rectangular and slightly skewed, being 8.6 m–8.8 m × 7.4 m–7.6 m (28 ft–29 ft × 24 ft–25 ft) in size. It was divided into one large and three small rooms.[184] The roof, of an indeterminate shape, was supported by wooden beams.[190] 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.[184]
The southernmost known Nubian church was in Saqadi,[24] a red brick building[191] inserted into a pre-existing building of unknown nature.[177] 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.[191]
Nubian church architecture was greatly influenced by that of Egypt, Syria and Armenia.[192] The constellation of the "Mound B" complex might reflect Byzantine influences.[193] The relations between the church architecture of Makuria and Alodia remain uncertain.[194] What seems clear is that Alodian churches lacked eastern entrances and tribunes, features characteristic for churches in northern Nubia.[195] Furthermore, Alodian churches used more wood.[193] Similarities with medieval Ethiopian church architecture are harder to find, only a few details matching.[191]
Pottery
In medieval Nubia, pottery and its decoration were appreciated as an art form.[196] 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.[197]
"Soba Ware" was a type of wheel-made
Economy
Agriculture
Alodia was in the
Sedentary farmers formed one part of Alodia's agriculture, the other consisted of nomads practicing animal husbandry.
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
Exports from Alodia likely included raw materials such as gold, ivory, salt and other tropical products,[229] as well as hides.[230] According to an oral tradition Arab merchants came to Alodia to sell silk and textiles, receiving beads, elephant teeth and leather in return.[231] At Soba silk and flax have been found, both probably originating from Egypt.[232] Most of the glass found there was also imported.[79] 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.[233] Slaves are commonly assumed to have been exported by medieval Nubia.[234] Adams postulates that Alodia was a specialized slave-trading state that exploited the pagan populations to the west and south.[235] Evidence for a regulated slave trade is very limited.[236][e] It is only from the 16th century, after the fall of the Christian kingdoms, that such evidence begins to appear.[238]
Notes
- ^ Kordofanian languages; various Eastern Sudanic languages spoken in the Upper Blue Nile Valley (for example Berta); Arabic, Beja;[1] and Tigre[2]
- ^ "The most southerly church known, which presumably was within the kingdom of Alwa, lay at Saqadi 50 km to the west of Sennar",[24] while "the most southerly find of Alwan material on the Blue Nile is a pottery chalice, from Khalil el-Kubra 40 km upstream of Sennar".[25]
- ^ In 1918 it was recorded that in parts of Omdurman, the Gezira and Kordofan, practices of Christian origin included the marking of crosses on foreheads of newborns or on stomachs of sick boys as well as putting straw crosses on bowls of milk.[144] In 1927 it was recorded that along the White Nile, crosses were painted on bowls filled with wheat.[145] In 1930 it was not only recorded that youths in Fazughli and the Gezira would be painted with crosses, but also that coins with crosses were worn to provide assistance against illnesses.[146] A very similar custom was known from Lower Nubia, where women wore such coins on special holidays. It seems likely that this was a living memory of the Jizya tax, which was enforced on Christians who refused to convert to Islam.[147] Christianizing rituals are also known from the Nuba mountains: crosses were painted on foreheads and breasts and were applied to blankets and baskets.[148]
- ^ John of Ephesus wrote of Aksumites in Alodia, possibly referring to merchants,[223] while the contemporary Cosmas Indicopleustes reported Aksumite trade expeditions into the Blue Nile Valley, so arguably in the Alodian sphere of influence. In the 12th century al-Idrisi made mention of a trading town in the northern Butana, a place "where merchants from Nubia and Ethiopia gather together with those from Egypt".[224] Historian Mordechai Abir suggests that merchants from the Zagwe kingdom traveled through Alodia to reach Egypt.[225] Some Ethiopian traditions recall a people named "Soba Noba".[226]
- Chad basin instead. (In Fatimid sources they appear as Zuwayla, indicating an origin from Zuwila in Fezzan.)[237]
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- ^ Welsby 1996, p. 188.
- ^ Edwards 2004, p. 222.
- ^ Welsby 1998, pp. 28–29.
- ^ a b c Welsby 2002, p. 154.
- ^ Welsby 1998, p. 275.
- ^ Welsby 1998, pp. 30–32.
- ^ Welsby 1996, p. 187.
- ^ Welsby & Daniels 1991, pp. 321–322.
- ^ Török 1974, p. 100.
- ^ Török 1974, p. 95.
- ^ a b c Welsby & Daniels 1991, p. 322.
- ^ Welsby 2002, p. 155.
- ^ a b Werner 2013, p. 164.
- ^ Welsby 2002, p. 149.
- ^ Welsby 1996, p. 189.
- ^ Welsby 2002, p. 194.
- ^ Danys & Zielinska 2017, pp. 177–178.
- ^ Danys & Zielinska 2017, p. 182.
- ^ Welsby 2002, p. 234.
- ^ Danys & Zielinska 2017, pp. 179–181.
- ^ Welsby 2002, p. 235.
- ^ Danys & Zielinska 2017, p. 180.
- ^ Welsby 2002, pp. 194–195.
- ^ Danys & Zielinska 2017, p. 183.
- ^ Welsby 2002, p. 185.
- ^ Zarroug 1991, pp. 77–79.
- ^ Zarroug 1991, p. 75.
- ^ Welsby & Daniels 1991, pp. 265–267.
- ^ Vantini 1975, p. 613.
- ^ Welsby 2002, p. 186.
- ^ Vantini 1975, p. 274.
- ^ Welsby & Daniels 1991, p. 273.
- ^ Welsby & Daniels 1991, Table 16.
- ^ a b Welsby 2002, p. 188.
- ^ a b Welsby 1998, p. 245.
- ^ a b Welsby 2002, p. 187.
- ^ Welsby 1998, p. 241.
- ^ Welsby 1998, p. 240.
- ^ Werner 2013, p. 166.
- ^ Welsby 2002, p. 213.
- ^ Zarroug 1991, p. 87.
- ^ Welsby 2002, pp. 214–215.
- ^ Hatke 2013, §5.3.
- ^ Welsby 2002, p. 215.
- ^ Abir 1980, p. 15.
- ^ Brita 2014, p. 517.
- ^ Zarroug 1991, p. 86.
- ^ Hasan 1967, p. 46.
- ^ Zarroug 1991, p. 84.
- ^ Zarroug 1991, p. 82.
- ^ Abd ar-Rahman 2011, p. 52.
- ^ Welsby & Daniels 1991, p. 307.
- ^ Hess 1965, p. 17.
- ^ Edwards 2011, pp. 87–88.
- ^ Adams 1977, p. 471.
- ^ Edwards 2011, p. 103.
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15°31′26″N 32°40′51″E / 15.52389°N 32.68083°E
Further reading
- Drzewiecki, Mariusz; Michalik, Tomasz (2021). "The beginnings of the Alwan capital of Soba in light of new archaeological evidence". Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean. 30/2 (30/2). University of Warsaw: 419–438. S2CID 247652880.
- Drzewiecki, Mariusz; Ryndziewicz, Robert (2019). "Developing a New Approach to Research at Soba, the Capital of the Medieval Kingdom of Alwa" (PDF). Archaeologies: Journal of the World Archaeological Congress. 15 (2): 314–337. S2CID 200040640.
- Gerhards, Gabriel (2021). "Some notes on the Christian medieval heritage of the Gezira (central Sudan)". Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean. 30/2 (30/2). University of Warsaw: 439–460. S2CID 247653902.