Alodia

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For the saint, see Nunilo and Alodia.

Alodia

6th century–c. 1500

Estimated extent of Alodia in the 10th century

Capital Soba

Common languages Nubian

Greek (liturgical)

Others[a]

Religion Coptic Orthodox Christianity

Government Monarchy

Historical era Middle Ages

• First mentioned 6th century

• Destroyed c. 1500

Preceded by Succeeded by
 Kingdom
of Kush Funj
Sultanate

Kingdom of
Fazughli
Kingdom of
al-Abwab

Today part of Sudan

Alodia (Greek: Ἀλοδία), also known as Alwa (Arabic: ‫علوة‬, ʿAlwa), was a medieval Nubian kingdom
[3]

in what is now central and southern Sudan. Its capital was the city of Soba, located near modern-
day Khartoum at the confluence of the Blue and White Nile rivers.
Founded sometime after the ancient kingdom of Kush fell, in 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 in 580 following Nobadia and Makuria. 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 administrated 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,
[4]

India and even China. Literacy in both Nubian 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, while Arab 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 Ethiopian-Sudanese borderlands. After the destruction of Soba, the Funj established
the Sultanate of Sennar, ushering in a period of Islamization and Arabization.

Contents

 1Sources
 2Geography
 3History
o 3.1Origins
o 3.2Christianization and peak
o 3.3Decline
o 3.4Fall
o 3.5Legacy
 4Administration
 5Culture
o 5.1Languages
o 5.2Church architecture
o 5.3Pottery
 6Economy
o 6.1Agriculture
o 6.2Trade
 7Notes
 8References
o 8.1Citations
 o 8.2Bibliography
 9External links

Sources[edit]

Column remains of the "Mound C"-church, Soba

Alodia is by far the least studied of the three medieval Nubian kingdoms, hence evidence is very [5]

slim. What is known about it comes mostly from a handful of medieval Arabic historians. The most
[6]

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 [7]

century). The events around the Christianization of the kingdom in the 6th century were described
[8]

by the contemporary bishop John of Ephesus; various post-medieval Sudanese sources address its
[9]

fall. Al-Aswani noted that he interacted with a Nubian historian who was "well-acquainted with the
[10][11]

country of Alwa", but no medieval Nubian historiographical work has yet been discovered.
[12] [13]

While many Alodian sites are known, only the capital Soba has been extensively excavated. Parts
[14] [15]

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
[16] [17]

approximately 2.75 km (1.06 sq mi) in size and is covered with numerous mounds of brick rubble
2

previously belonging to monumental structures. Discoveries made so far include several churches,
[16]

a palace, cemeteries and numerous small finds. [18]

Geography[edit]
Alodia was located in Nubia, a region which, in the middle ages, extended from Aswan in
southern Egypt to an undetermined point south of the confuence of the White and Blue
Nile rivers. The heartland of the kingdom was the Gezira, a fertile plain bounded by the White Nile
[19]

in the west and the Blue Nile in the east. In contrast to the White Nile Valley, the Blue Nile Valley is
[20]

rich in known Alodian archaeological sites, among them Soba. The extent of the Alodian influence [21]

to the south is unclear, although it is likely that it bordered the Ethiopian highlands. The
[22] [23]

southernmost known Alodian sites are in the proximity of Sennar. [b]

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. Nubian connections with Darfur have been
[26]

suggested, but evidence is lacking. [27]

The northern region of Alodia probably extended from the confluence of the two Niles downstream
to Abu Hamad near Mograt Island. Abu Hamad likely constituted the northernmost outpost of the
[28]

Alodian province known as al-Abwab ("the gates"), although some scholars also suggest a more [29]

southerly location, nearer the Atbara River. No evidence for a major Alodian settlement has been
[30]
discovered north of the confluence of the two Niles, although several forts have been recorded[31]

there. [32]

Lying between the Nile and the Atbara was the Butana, grassland suitable for livestock. Along the [33] [28]

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
[34]

Delta. The accounts of both Ibn Hawqal and al-Aswani suggest that Alodia also controlled
[35]

the desert along the Red Sea coast. [23]

History[edit]
Origins[edit]
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 author Pliny the Elder (1st century AD), said to be located south of Meroe. Another [36]

town named Alwa is mentioned in a 4th-century Aksumite inscription, this time located near the
confluence of the Nile and the Atbara rivers. [37]

Kushite bronze figurine, 1st century BC. The Meroitic inscription on its underside identifies the captive individual as a Nubian king.[38]

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
v