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Introduction

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 October 2009

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Summary

GENERAL BACKGROUND

The Shendi region lies between the more fertile savanna to the south and the desert to the north, and receives an annual rainfall of about 100–50 mm. It is part of the semi-desert Sahelian borderland of the Sudanic Belt extending all the way across Africa south of the Sahara. Permanent cultivation is possible therefore only on the banks of the Nile, but whenever the rainy season (June–September) is good, cultivation of grain is possible in the inland depressions and watercourses (wādī), of which there are many on both sides of the Nile. The surrounding steppes are the homeland of the nomads who herd cattle, sheep, goats and camels, and engage in wādī cultivation.

The area under study, also called the Shendi Reach, lay within the heartlands of the ancient Cushitic civilizations and formed the core of the kingdom of Meroe. The remains of the city of Meroe, which flourished between 500 BC and 300 AD, including pyramids, palaces, temples, baths and huge mounds of iron-slag, can be seen not far from present-day Shendi. In the fourth century, Meroe succumbed to attacks from Axum, and by the end of the sixth century the successor kingdoms of Nobatia and Makuria (Dongola) in the north and Alodia (Ar. 'Alwā) on the Blue Nile, had adopted Christianity.

In the seventh century the Arabs occupied Egypt, but made no sustained effort to conquer Nubia. However, Arabs and Islam penetrated slowly up the Nile and across the desert from the Red Sea and in 1323 the first Muslim king ascended the throne of Dongola.

Type
Chapter
Information
Prelude to the Mahdiyya
Peasants and Traders in the Shendi Region, 1821–1885
, pp. 1 - 6
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 1989

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  • Introduction
  • Anders Bjørkelo
  • Book: Prelude to the Mahdiyya
  • Online publication: 31 October 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511563010.004
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  • Introduction
  • Anders Bjørkelo
  • Book: Prelude to the Mahdiyya
  • Online publication: 31 October 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511563010.004
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Introduction
  • Anders Bjørkelo
  • Book: Prelude to the Mahdiyya
  • Online publication: 31 October 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511563010.004
Available formats
×