Chapters › Christian Nubia · Sudan – Middle Nile
Alodia (Alwa)
500 CE – 1504 CE Arabic under review
Approximate area of control
Research in progress No areas drawn: the file only has reference points.
Reference points
- Soba (capital) [low] — K. Michałowski (1981) The spreading of Christianity in Nubia (General History of Africa II, ch.12)
Dating note
Fall c.1504 traditional (Funj/'Abdallab). Soba point confirmed by Wikidata Q1247214 (15.524N 32.681E), consistent with the original; there is no Pleiades entry; no excavation-report coordinate checked.
Key events
- Christian kingdom on the Blue/White Nile
- Capital Soba
- Fell to Funj/Abdallab c.1504
Capitals / sites
Soba
Geopolitics
Southernmost of the three Christian Nubian kingdoms by the end of the 6th c. (Nobadia, Makuria, Alodia) (GHA II ch.12).
Culture
A Byzantine mission under Bishop Longinos reached Alodia c.580 with Nobadian support and found it already partly converted by the Aksumites (GHA II ch.12).
Economy
Kropáček says the usual picture of a flourishing Alodia rests mainly on Ibn Sulaym (from 975) and Abu Salih (early 13th c.), plus Muslim merchants' reports, 'for 'Alwa was a good market for the purchase of slaves'. Abu Salih describes the kingdom 'in full prosperity, with some 400 churches'. In its decline, Arab immigrants took control of pastures, and its human resources were 'probably already weakened by the slave trade' (GHA IV ch.16, p.406). No account of production or taxation was read. GHA III adds Ibn Salim al-Aswani's account, quoted by al-Maqrizi: Soba had magnificent buildings and gardens and 'churches overflowing with gold', and Alodia's king ruled 'a land that was far more fertile' than Makuria. Jakobielski stresses 'we know next to nothing of Alodia' (GHA III ch.8, p.196). Ibn Hawqal reports that pastoral peoples in Kordofan owed allegiance to the king of Makuria or of Alodia (p.199).
Regional power
Research in progress We have not yet read a source for this section. It will be added once one is checked; nothing is filled in by guesswork.
Open data flags
- regional_power: no actors scored
- Pass 20 text: [WORKING TRANSLATION – needs native Arabic review] for every Arabic field
- Pass 21: GHA III ch.7–8 added; Alodia evidence still largely from Ibn Salim via al-Maqrizi (second-hand)
Sources
- K. Michałowski (1981) The spreading of Christianity in Nubia (General History of Africa II, ch.12) UNESCO link [en]
- Derek A. Welsby (2002) The Medieval Kingdoms of Nubia: Pagans, Christians and Muslims along the Middle Nile British Museum Press link [en]
- L. Kropáček (1984) Nubia from the late 12th century to the Funj conquest in the early 16th century, ch.16 (General History of Africa IV) UNESCO / Heinemann / University of California Press link [en]
- S. Jakobielski (1988) Christian Nubia at the height of its civilization (General History of Africa III, ch.8) UNESCO / Heinemann / University of California Press link [en]
- Wikidata Q1247214 (coordinates) Wikimedia link [en]
- P.M. Holt & M.W. Daly (2011) A History of the Sudan: From the Coming of Islam to the Present Day Routledge (Pearson/Longman) link [en]
- Wikipedia contributors Alodia Wikipedia link [en]