Kingdom of al-Abwab

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al-Abwab
13th century–15th/16th century?
Coptic Orthodox Christianity
Islam
GovernmentMonarchy
• fl. 1276–1292
Adur
Historical eraLate Middle Ages
• Independence from Alodia
13th century
• Last mentioned
1367
• Disestablished
15th/16th century?
Preceded by		 Succeeded by
Alodia
Funj Sultanate
Today part ofSudan

The kingdom of al-Abwab was a

Funj sultanate
.

Location

Al-Abwab still has not been precisely located.

Meroe.[3] Archaeologist David Edwards states that the material culture of the Nile Valley between Abu Hamad, where the Nile bends westwards, and the Atbara was affiliated with Makuria rather than Alodia.[4]

History

Very little is known about the history of al-Abwab.

Aydhab and Aswan, provoking the Mamluk sultan Baybars to retaliate. In March 1276 the latter reached Dongola, where David was defeated in battle. Afterwards he fled to the kingdom of al-Abwab in the south. However, Adur, the king of al-Abwab, handed him over to the Muslims,[11] which, according to al-Nuwayri, happened after Adur defeated David in battle and captured him afterwards.[12] Al-Mufaddal stated that he handed David over because he was afraid of the Mamluk sultan.[10] In consequence of this war a Mamluk puppet king was instated in Dongola,[13] and was watched over by an Assassin from al-Abwab.[14]

In 1286 Adur is mentioned again. He is recorded as having sent an ambassador to the Mamluk sultan, who not only presented him with gifts in the form of an elephant and a giraffe, but also professed obedience to him.[9] Furthermore, the ambassador complained about the hostility of the Mamluk puppet king in Dongola.[15] Early the following year the Mamluks sent an ambassador back.[16] In 1290 Adur is said to have waged a campaign against a Makuria king named Any, who had fled the country in 1289. However, it is far from clear who Any was:[17] in 1289 the kings in Dongola were named Shemamun and Budemma.[18] It is possible that he was merely a chieftain. Apart from the war against Any, Adur was also engaged in a campaign against an unnamed king who had invaded the land of Anaj, possibly referring to Alodia. He claimed that once his campaigns were successful the entire Bilad al-Sudan would be under the authority of the Mamluk sultan.[19] In 1292 Adur was accused by the king of Makuria of devastating his country.[20]

In 1316 the Mamluks again invaded Makuria, intending to replace the disobedient king

Sawakin, then westwards to the Atbara, which they followed upstream until reaching Kassala. Ultimately failing to catch the nomads, the Mamluks marched back downstream the Atbara until reaching al-Abwab.[22] Al-Nuwayri claimed that al-Abwab's monarch, while too afraid to meet the army, sent them provisions. Despite this the Mamluk army began to plunder the country for food before finally continuing their march to Dongola.[23]

In the 14th and 15th centuries Bedouin tribes overran much of Sudan.[24] By 1367 it was recorded that the Mamluk sultan corresponded with a Shaikh Junayd of the Arab Jawabira tribe, a branch of the Banu Ikrima,[25] who had arrived in Nubia while accompanying the Mamluk invasions.[26] He was recorded by al-Qalqashandi to have resided in al-Abwab, together with another Arab tribal Shaikh named Sharif.[27]

There is no mention of al-Abwab in sources after the 14th century.

Funj sultanate, as Christian pottery has been found together with Funj pottery.[29] Thus, it has been concluded that the state "certainly" thrived until the 15th and possibly even the 16th century.[5] During the reign of the first Funj king, Amara Dunqas (r. 1504–1533/4), the Sudanese Nile Valley as far north as Dongola was unified under his rule.[30]

Religion

Al-Qashqandi wrote in 1412 that the king of al-Abwab had a similar titulature to the king of

Meroe) at the end of the 15th century.[32]

Annotations

  1. ^ Pottery discovered in a church in western Mograt Island is clearly linked to Makuria, although also showing some Alodian influence.[2]

Notes

  1. ^ Welsby 2014, pp. 187–188.
  2. ^ Weschenfelder 2009, pp. 93, 97.
  3. ^ Drzewiecki 2011, p. 96.
  4. ^ Edwards 2004, p. 224.
  5. ^ a b c Werner 2013, p. 127.
  6. ^ Zarroug 1991, pp. 21–22.
  7. ^ Zarroug 1991, pp. 19, 97.
  8. ^ Welsby 2002, p. 252.
  9. ^ a b c Welsby 2002, p. 254.
  10. ^ a b Vantini 1975, p. 499.
  11. ^ Welsby 2002, pp. 243–244.
  12. ^ Vantini 1975, p. 475.
  13. ^ Welsby 2002, p. 244.
  14. ^ a b Hasan 1967, p. 111.
  15. ^ Hasan 1967, p. 129.
  16. ^ Hasan 1967, p. 112.
  17. ^ Welsby 2002, pp. 254–255.
  18. ^ Werner 2013, p. 125.
  19. ^ Hasan 1967, p. 130.
  20. ^ Werner 2013, p. 126.
  21. ^ Hasan 1967, pp. 118–119.
  22. ^ Hasan 1967, pp. 76–78.
  23. ^ Vantini 1975, pp. 491–492.
  24. ^ Hasan 1967, p. 176.
  25. ^ Hasan 1967, p. 144.
  26. ^ Hasan 1967, p. 143.
  27. ^ Vantini 1975, p. 577.
  28. ^ Adams 1991, p. 38.
  29. ^ a b Werner 2013, p. 159.
  30. ^ O'Fahey & Spaulding 1974, p. 28.
  31. ^ Hasan 1967, p. 177.
  32. ^ Werner 2013, p. 156.

References

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