Chapters › Christian Nubia · Sudan – Middle Nile
'Abdallab chiefdom (Funj vassal)
1480 CE – 1821 CE Arabic under review
Approximate area of control
Research in progress No sourced map of this era's territory yet, so no area is drawn.
Dating note
Start 'late 15th c.' per Holt & Daly; 1480 is approximate. Qarri coordinates from Wikidata (settlement, approximate). End 1821 = Turco-Egyptian conquest.
Key events
- Founded by 'Abdallah Jamma' (Rufa'a) at the Blue/White Nile confluence, late 15th c.
- Prospered from tolls on desert nomads
- Recognised by Funj sultans as paramount chiefs of the Arabs
- Capital Qarri, later Halfayat al-Muluk; an 'Abdallabi chief ruled Quz Rajab on the Atbara
Capitals / sites
Qarri
Geopolitics
Vassal paramount chiefs under the Funj, centred at Qarri, later Halfayat al-Muluk; controlled Quz Rajab on the Atbara (Holt & Daly).
Culture
Founded in the late 15th century when an Arab population, 'probably of varied origins', settled at the Blue/White Nile junction under 'Abdallah Jamma' of the Rufa'a; the Rufa'a 'preserve some memory of a distinct origin' from the Juhayna (HD2011, intro p.5).
Economy
Wealth from tolls levied on desert nomads during their annual migration (Holt & Daly).
Regional power
- 'Abdallab: Research in progress unscored
Open data flags
- Pass 13 text: Arabic is a working translation; needs native review
- unscored