ALODIA

The first mention of Alodia in history appears around the year 500 CE, where it preceded the decline of the Meroë kingdom and People [i]. While a strong kingdom at its height, in the 1500s, Alodia began to suffer attacks from Muslim tribes; most notably from the northern Sudanese Muslim leader, Abdallah Jamma [ii], who captured the capital of Alodia. From there, Alodia’s decline was furthered by the Funji who conquered Alodia in 1504. Alodia’s presence in Sudan was then succeeded by the civilization of the Fazughli [iii], which continued independently until 1615. Remnants of Alodia may have remained as late as 1523 [iv].

As one of the three Nubian kingdoms, it is likely that Alodia had allies in the other two Nubian kingdoms [v], Nobatia [vi] and Makuria [vii]. As a Christian civilization, Alodia found allies in other Christian nations but staunch enemies in Islamist kingdoms and tribes. Alodia’s most notable ally took the form of the Islamist fighter, Abdallah Jamma, who captured the Alodian capital of Soba in the year 1504. Along with Abdallah Jamma were other Arab tribes that fought against Alodia and sought to create an Islamist kingdom in its place. They wished for Islamist civilizations rather than the current Christian civilization of Alodia.

Alodia’s greatest modern influence is its legacy of Soba as a central trading hub for nearby countries where silk, riches, spices, and other luxurious goods passed through its borders to surrounding nations. This can be seen with the phrase that Sudanese use as a figure of speech when telling stories or declaring promises “I Swear by Soba,” [viii] that was used as recently as 1990, as a declaration to the wonder and awe the city inspired. Alodia also made its mark through the Nubian language, which carries much influence on Sudanese Arabic [ix], as it includes several different words from the Nubian vocabulary.

The ruling system in Alodia was like the two other Nubian kingdoms. It was composed of a head of state who was an Absolute Monarch [x] with the power to enslave anyone and see his will carried out without any restrictions. Alodian power passed through Matrilineal Succession [xi] instead of patrilineal. The kingdom itself was divided into multiple provinces, with various forms of nobility or governors for each district that all answered to the absolute monarch. While there is no substantial supporting evidence, it is supposed that Alodia may have held a large Standing Army [xii] as another source of power and stability.

Alodia is the least studied of the three medieval Nubian kingdoms. Most of what is known about it comes from a handful of medieval Arabic historians [xiii]. The most important of these are the Islamic geographers al-Yaqubi [xiv] (9th century), Ibn Hawqal [xv] and al-Aswani [xvi] (10th century). The events around the Christianization of the kingdom in the 6th century were described by the contemporary bishop John of Ephesus [xvii] Al-Aswani noted that he interacted with a Nubian historian who was "well-acquainted with the country of Alwa” [xviii]. The capital Soba was described as a town of "extensive dwellings and churches full of gold and gardens,” [xix].

Alodia’s legacy lies in its construction and cultivation of its capital city as a major trading hub and economic center for the surrounding nations. Beyond this, Alodia was also quite skilled at Pottery and Ceramics [xx]. Archeology shows that Alodian civilizations developed the creation of complex objects such as grinding stones and perfectly spherical stones. Alodian ware inspired a type of ceramics known as the Jeb Mahadid Tradition [xxi], which introduced the type of ware doka, which is used for making bread. Soba Ware [xxii] is another known type of pottery studied by archeologists as dishware from an ancient civilization that has lasted centuries.

Alodia was mainly an agricultural society and harvested products such as Sorgum [xxiii] (a large foundation of the Alodian diet as well as the diet of surrounding nations) and many fruits such as figs and dates. Their livestock farmers were also often Nomad Farmers [xxiv], who wandered throughout the land with their livestock rather than owning and cultivating property. Much of Alodia’s economic gains derived from their capital city Soba, which was a Trading hub [xxv] for countries from the Middle East and Africa, as well as India and China. In Soba luxury materials such as silk and beads were traded among various nations.