The Funj Kingdom of Sennar — The Meroitic Period

Crawford: The Sinarian Funj Kingdom

Date this chapter aired

Chapter one

Meroitic era

The Funj Kingdom was established in the year 1504, and at that time it was a federal union extending from the third cataract in the north to the Abyssinian border in the south. As for the eastern side, the extension of this union reached the Red Sea at Suakin, which is located on the lines of caravans coming from Berber and Shendi. The Banna Bedouins in the south-east were affiliated with this union. As for the west, the Sennar kings were able to impose their authority for a short period on the dry plain lands of Kordofan, and their authority even extended to include the Nuba Mountains[1]. It should be noted that in the second half of the eighteenth century, this western region played an important role in the history of the Kingdom of Sennar, whose southwestern borders reached the White Nile. There is a fundamental geographical difference between the northern part of this region and the rest of its parts, as the northern part located between Berber and the third cataract constitutes an area that rarely rains. Therefore, we find that the Nile strip alone is permanently inhabited, and agriculture in it depends entirely on the waters of the Nile. As for the southern part, it represents an area of ​​heavy rain, and the rate of rain increases with intensity as we head south, in contrast to the barren desert located between Halfa and Abu Hamad. Also, the flat lands between the Blue and White Nile and their tributaries are characterized by fertility that produces wheat. As for the northeastern part, although rainfall is not sufficient to produce regular crops or permanent residence, the environment is considered suitable for life and provides extended pastures. It can be said that the most fertile part of all regions of Sudan is the land of the island located between the Blue and White Nile.

This geographical disparity in Sudan is strongly imprinted on the mind of the traveler from Cairo to Sennar, as the train between Wadi Halfa and Abu Hamad passes through an area that is considered one of the most barren spots on the surface of the earth, an area that, with its rough, bleak plateaus and thirsty sands, forms a landscape with a lunar character. When the traveler arrives in Berber, his eyes fall on some shrubs. If his travel extends to his destination and he examines the land of the island with his eyes, as I did from the top of the granite island in Jebel Mouya in 1913, he will undoubtedly see an extended plain covered by a dense forest of thorn acacia trees, interspersed with villages crowded with huts built of thatch and fields planted with corn, the density of which is increasing in the area north of Sennar. itself, then it would be truly south of the desert.

The Blue Nile Valley does not run through desert lands, but rather through arable lands, which are lands that differ from the clay lands of Egypt, from the Red Nuba Heights, and from the green strip in the Dongola District, which has almost more common features with Egypt than with Sudan. For this reason, the Dongola District maintained its unique character. Although it belonged to the Kingdom of Sennar, the way of life of the people there was completely different from the way of life of the people in the Blue Nile.

It can be said that it would not be out of place to address part of the early history of the region, because most of this early history appeared in the spotlight during this twentieth century, when it was recorded in specialized publications. Geography imposed continuity in the history of the region, especially within the borders of administrative divisions, and the northern region was always the first to engage in the general course of history. Early history of the area

This chapter that I am writing now may not be part of our interest, but it is useful to point out that the history of the Kingdom of Meroe belongs to the space of archaeology, and the general lines of the history of the Kingdom of Meroe have already been traced by the experienced hand that revealed this history through archaeological excavation[2]. However, despite this, we are still waiting for the detailed results to be published.

It may also be useful to point out that a dynasty was established in Napata in the first half of the eighth century BC, and it achieved success during the reign of its king, Pia 740-715 BC (*), by subjugating all of Egypt under his rule. However, the Ethiopians (the Greek name for Kush is Ethiopia and the Ethiopians are therefore a reference to the Kushites: see Arkamani) after him did not succeed in retaining what they had achieved. Victory, as they were expelled from Egypt by the Assyrians, led by their king, Ashur bin Baal. Bia

It should also be noted that a century after Pia ruled Egypt in 650 BC. The capital was moved south from Napata to Meroe between Shendi and Al-Damir (Al-Bajrawiyah - present-day Kabushiya)[3], because it was safer as it was separated from the Egyptian enemy by a number of Nile gondolas. As for the Napata region, in later times it became inhabited by a tribe called the Shaiqiyya.

Meroe was also protected by the power of Sudan at all periods. The limit of distance disappeared, the Egyptian luster disappeared with it, and the country declined into a state of semi-barbarism (*). However, Napata retained some importance on the grounds that it was a center for priests who played an important role in the Sudanese kingdom, and it is not unlikely that the Sanctuary of Al-Dabba[4], located sixty-five miles downstream from Napata, inherited its sanctity[5]. The decline of the kingdom to the south led to the severing of communications with the northern world, and Ethiopia gradually disappeared behind a mythical fog, and became a land of wonders in the Greek novel as the source of civilization[6].

It is clear that shortly after the expulsion of the Ethiopians from Egypt, an incident occurred that concerned Sudan, when he was replaced by Psamatik I, King of Egypt from 663-609 BC. The Nubian garrison on its southern border with an Egyptian garrison, whose members were stationed on Elephantine Island near Aswan. Herodotus[7] narrates that the soldiers of the garrison, after their three-year shift in a place that, in their opinion, was their exile, became somewhat dissatisfied with the situation they had found themselves in, and then they announced their revolt. They marched along the Nile to Napata, where they offered their services to the Ethiopian king, who accepted them and gave them a piece of land inhabited by enemies of the king, and asked them to expel those enemies. They were able to achieve success and settle in That region, after several centuries, to establish a strong state. Historical reports have estimated their number at approximately two thousand and four hundred fighters, but it is a number that is clearly exaggerated.[8] I took this account from Pliny, and I can deal with this topic better in later pages of this book, as it is an important part of the overall problem of Sudanese topography in classical times. It is clear that the expulsion of the Ethiopians is far away

The main sources of confidence in this aspect come from Diodorus, Strabo, and Pliny [9] who says: “The Megabari, whom some writers call the Adiabari, lived in the city of Apollo facing Meroe, and some of them were nomads who lived on elephant meat.”

Diodorus[10] mentions that the Megabari used to fight with shields made of bull hides, clubs gilded with iron, arrows, and spears. They would tie the necks of their dead with the backs of their feet, and carry them to the top of a hill, where they would stone them with stones until they were completely covered. Then they would plant a sheep’s horn on each of these piles. They would fight among themselves for pastures, and the old people were among them. They tie themselves around the neck with the tail of a bull and remain in this state until they die.

Burkhardt[11] matched the Megabari with the current Al-Mukbarab who live between Al-Damer and Shendi, and Georg Müller[12] accepted this matching, citing a papyrus dating back to the late third century BC, in which the name of a person called “Al-Makbar” who was born in Egypt from a Blimey father was mentioned, matching the second part of the word with the word that forms the second part of the name Astaporas (Atbara River). As for Rossini[13], he links the name of the river to the Bari, who are believed to have lived along an area larger than the Baria who currently represent them. However, I believe that this is questionable in its authenticity, and needs evidence to support it. Schaeffer [14] provides us with a more convincing interpretation of the word Astaporas on the basis that it consists of two Nubian words meaning “water coming from darkness.” This derivation is supported by a fact that Schaeffer did not understand, which is that the Atbara River was called the Black Sea, as recorded by Crump and English, and the first part of the name “ast” meant “water” in ancient Nubian, then it was transformed in modern Nubian into “ice,” and it may have been a city. Apollo is the "hierarchical religious city" of Aldahmer, because such religious associations are often possible.

Based on what was reported by Last[15], the Magrobi, who lived on the African, i.e., western, bank of the Nile, derived their name not from their long lives, but from the length of their bows. It is also possible that the Matitai lived in the Gash Delta[16], and the Habsodur stained their black bodies with red, as some tribes of southwestern Abyssinia do in present times[17].

Despite the serious attempts that were made to find out the homeland of these tribes from the tribes mentioned by Pliny, they failed.[18] However, Pliny’s most valuable contributions are considered very valuable to the geography of Sudan, especially in his lists in which he listed the names of places between Egypt and a point in the Blue Nile near Sennar. Two of these lists were taken from the lost writings attributed to Bion, Pliny's contemporary. These two lists specify the names of places on the eastern and western banks of the Nile, and there is a longer list taken from Juba[19], in addition to two short lists containing a few names recorded during the campaigns of Petronius and Nero. Ptolemy was the other ancient writer besides Pliny who gave successive place names. As for the geographer Rafini, he covered the names of regions on the coast with a few names that could be in the Abyssinian region, while the traveler Antoninus’s diary stopped at Corti in Lower Nubia.

The Pion lists are divided into two parts, the first part of which includes two covering the Nile Basin between Tacumbes (Korta facing the Allaqi Valley) and Meroe[20], and the second part includes one list covering the places between Sembobites and Meroe, arranged from south to north, and since the lists of the first part cover the same area as the Juba list, it is therefore appropriate to deal with all the lists together, and then devote a special section in which we deal with the region to the south. From Meroe.

First: North of Meroe

The two lists of Peon contain an equal number of names, i.e. twenty-five names on each bank of the Nile. Neither list mentions the name Napata, which leads us to conclude that the journey had followed the route of Al-Bayuda. This means that there would be fewer names over the distance of fifty and one hundred miles immediately preceding Meroe. This conclusion is confirmed by the lists themselves, as we find that they point to one place between Rahdata, which is definitely located in the Nile Valley and Gallus. Close to Meroe, that place is Burun, which has a water oasis in the middle, and perhaps in reference to the wells of the revolution near Jagadul, it indicates a large, square castle with rectangular side protrusions[21].

In order to be able to arrive at a reliable figure for the average distance separating the places mentioned in the lists, we had to exclude the last few stages, as they might confuse us in our calculations. It is clear that there are no names in the two Pune lists[22] that can be matched with absolute certainty except two names, each of which falls on a list. Be European.

A subsequent inference can be made that if Burun was a well in the Bayuda Desert, then Rahdatta, which was a center for the cult of a golden cat, must be the northern end point for crossing the desert[23], a point that is often near Korti. Assuming the validity of these correspondences and that we stand on a specific starting point, which is Takoums (Korti), it is possible to obtain three lines of specific lengths: Takoums to Magadha is 319 miles, Magadha to Rahdatta is 229 miles, and Tacumbes to Orbem is 428 miles. By dividing these distances by the number of intervals, we can get average distances ranging between 22, 26.1, and 25.17 per interval. These appear to be high distances when compared to a one-day trip, but we are not bound to believe that they were in reality, and we may be under the illusion that the places were arranged correctly, but This does not mean that Pune mentioned all the stops on the way.

The Juba list is much longer than the Pune list, because it contains the names of places on both banks of the Nile. It mentions Magada, on which the calculations based on it give an average of 17.7 for the previous stages. If this figure is used for the later stages, it places Bata at a distance of 566.4 miles, from the starting point at Tacumbes, and this agrees to some extent with the actual distance from Tacumbes to Napata, which is five hundred and sixty. mile.

The reading of the names in this part of the text seems confusing. Indeed, the separations between the words also seem unclear. Perhaps the correct reading of the name is Mathi Napata instead of Mathina Patta, and then matching it with Napata becomes a matter that does not need explanation, even if it does not find support from distance calculations. As for the fourth place after Pata, it is Joram. If we assume that this place is Jura Wells, and we assume a second starting point from Napata with a new average of 23.25, then the distance to Meroe will be 792.5 miles, which is consistent with the actual distance, which is eight hundred and eight miles. This is if we keep in mind that desert stages are often longer than our average[24].

In order to find a justification for this method, we must make some observations. It is clear that in any list of names of this kind the distance separating places is not equal, but at the same time, the closer it is to equality, the easier it will be for us then to determine it using the average distance. However, if the differences in distance are large, then this method will certainly and without a doubt prove a failure, but let us try to test this by applying this method to two well-known examples. Let us first take the actual route from Corta (Tacombs) to... Meroe via Napata, Sani and Jura, where the total distance in miles is eight hundred and eight miles. There is a list of recent places chosen at random for another purpose - the number of stages is thirty-two. If we divide the total distance of eight hundred miles by the number of stages of thirty-two we come up with a result of 25.5 miles per stage, while the actual stages that are now known all vary from forty-nine to ten miles. Long. If we draw a graph of our assumed 25.5 stages, it becomes clear that the error ranges from 71.25 of a mile to one mile, with an average error of 23.5 of a mile. The situation would not be better if we assumed that one place, Napata, had been identified. If we took an average of 22.4 of a slope, starting from Napata, the highest percentage of error would reach 52.6 of a slope, and the average actual error would rise to 26.37 of a slope. From here, it is completely clear that this method is useless in such a particular case, as as long as we do not know the size or direction of the error in a given case, we will not be any closer by using the average error [25]. If, on the other hand, the distances or stages are closer to being equal, then this method will be somewhat good. Let us take, for example, the railway line from London to York, which is a distance of one hundred and eighty-eight miles. If we choose nine places along this line, the distances between which vary from fourteen miles to twenty-nine miles, and we divide the total distance of one hundred and eighty-eight miles by an average of ten miles, we will come up with a result of 18.8 of a mile for one stage. We graphed this and found that the average error varied from eleven miles to eight-tenths of a mile, so the average error was 4.4 of a mile.

Perhaps we would get better results if we took a longer line, such as the railway line from London to Berwick, which has a distance of thirty-five and three hundred miles. If we applied a distance for the stage of 19.7 miles, we would find that York itself is located in this case at a distance of one hundred and twenty-seven miles instead of the real distance of one hundred and eighty-eight miles. Hence, we find that the error rate varies from nine miles to one mile, with an average error of 4.3 miles, which is equal to the true distance of one hundred and eighty-eight miles. 0.81 of the slope for one stage. Here we notice a significant improvement compared to the previous example, in which the average error was 23.5 of the slope, which is approximately 25.25 for an entire stage.

As for the example in which the average error was 4.3 of a mile, by addition and subtraction - without knowing in which direction the error is a decrease or increase - we obtain twice the average error of our hypothetical stages, and then the numbers obtained cover the locations of almost all places [26]. Accordingly, York is located at a distance of one hundred and ninety-seven miles instead of the real distance of one hundred and eighty-eight miles. So if we double the average error of 4.3 of a mile, we get 8.6 of a mile. Then we add this despite the one hundred and ninety-seven miles, so the result is two hundred and six-tenths of a mile. If we subtract the same number, i.e. 8.6, from one hundred and ninety-seven miles, the result will be eighty-eight, one hundred and four-tenths of a mile, and this gives us a location for the place within 17.2 of a mile. If Grantham is at a distance of ninety-eight and five-tenths of a mile (the real distance is one hundred-five miles), then its range will be between eighty-nine and nine-tenths of a mile and seven-hundred and ten miles, and from here we arrive at the conclusion that if the assumed conditions are true In fact, there will be no error in more than one stage, and by applying these numbers, our real and virtual places will be closer to the point.

Perhaps it is unfortunate that we do not find means to help us discover whether Pliny's lists are bad or good, that is, whether the distances are variable or constant. However, let us assume that they lie between the two extremes, and we adopt the number 0.21 of the slope relative to the average error in one stage, as is the case in the good list above. If we tried to test this through a specific place in Juba's list, it would become clear to us that the number would be good. Galis, for example, is located in a stage manner at a distance of four. Ninety-one hundred and seven-tenths of a mile, with an average stage of 17.7 of a mile. If we multiply this number by the number we have adopted as a percentage of the average error, we will obtain a result of 3.7. The range of Galis would fall between ninety-one and one hundred miles, and ninety-four and one hundred and four-tenths of a mile, while its actually measured position is ninety-two and one hundred miles.

The truth is that this method gives one an idea of the approximate location of places and where they should be searched for. At the same time, this method curbs those theoretical attempts practiced by Müller[27], through which his supposed matches were geographically impossible. However, if we could match any of the intermediate places in other ways, the review in this case would be possible, and the average distance would show us where we are heading in the search for the immediately preceding and succeeding places.

One can also compare the relative locations of places in the different lists, and thus the expected correspondence between Justinian in the lists provided by Bion and Ristain in the lists provided by Juba is confirmed by the locations 300 and 300.9 given in each list specifically by using the average method, just as the identity of Rimini in the lists provided by Bion with Bromo in the lists provided by Juba was actually confirmed by the two signatories. 372.2 and 371.7.

One must use one's judgment when applying this method. For example, one might expect the mentioned places to be closer together in a relatively barren or absolutely barren area.

It is possible that all three lists were based on journeys undertaken by their authors, but at the same time these journeys may not represent stages amounting to days’ marches, as the distances are very large in some cases. It is clear that the distance from Rhadatta, located in the Nile Valley, to Malos, near Meroe, is definitely not less than one hundred and fifty miles, and these cannot be covered in a two-day journey, and the average distances in the Nile Valley are large, ranging between 22 and 26.1 miles. And 26.13 and 17.7, according to what will become clear to us from the numbers printed elsewhere[28]. The average daily distance of a limited group of travelers was twenty-four miles, while the average distance traveled by a caravan in a single day was fourteen and nine-tenths of a mile. It is possible that only important places are mentioned south of Meroe, and in any case there are reasons to suppose that the description given was that of an actual journey.

It is noted that the first few names in all three lists are for places in Lower Nubia, which are outside the subject of this book and do not fall within my field of specialization. There are no apparent specific matches that raise astonishment, such as the mention of Qar located near Kura Mabin in the Juba List, which must be located less than a hundred miles south of Tacumbs in an area of ​​Nubian sandstones, which is geologically impossible[29]. It seems that the best explanation is that the last observation about the Nubian sandstones was a later insertion resulting from a confusion in nomenclature. It was expected that the second cataract would be mentioned, but there is no reference to it, except in one case, which is the adoption of what was suggested that the Puma mentioned in the Beon list is identical to the Boun (Bohen) mentioned in the Ptolemy list. However, the identity of the Puma with the Boone does not find support if we use the average method, where it is placed This road is about seventy-six, one hundred and twenty miles from Tacombs, in a range from seventy, one hundred and nine-tenths of a mile to one hundred and five-eighths of a mile, while Buhen is about fifty-one hundred miles south of Tacombs.

There is no doubt that attempts to identify individual places in the lists are made solely by the similarity of ancient names to modern names, which should not be encouraged, because we know the extent of the chaos that our ancient topographers created by using this method on Romano-British place names. However, some attempts seem not impossible in view of the evidence of the distance used here. For example, Müller [30] matched Sura 377.5 with Zuarat 384, and I followed him in that. Nobis, for example, which was mentioned in the lists of Pune and Juba, should be Barnabas mentioned in the Harseutef Stele[31] because it was mentioned after Jamtam (Kawa), and I placed it on the island of Arqu, as it was certain that there was an important residential site there in the days of Pune and Juba, and because the distances agree well with this correspondence[32].

Also, from the descriptive text of Rhodatta, we conclude that it must be an inhabited place, located on the bank of the Nile, and the place next to it, Burun, must be far from it for the same reason. Malus must be beyond Meroë in or near Mutmir, facing the roads that cross the desert to the Nile. The Rahdatta-Meroi section also corresponds to a newly recorded caravan route, which makes it necessary for Rahdatta to be the name of the ancient site of Korti or of a currently abandoned site near it.

The names of the places located on the left bank of the Nile seem more easily recognizable, and my identifications apply mainly to verbal similarities, which makes them unreliable. The name Orbi seems to be a guess identical with Orbeam, and Molon, which the Greeks called Ύπατoν, refers to a high place like a moat. This identity is more plausible if we read the name Kolon instead of Molon, because the word “Kol” in the language Nubian means hill, but there is no manuscript source to support such a reading.  It should be noted that the current name of the hill on which the castle was built - according to what the mayor of Al-Khandaq told me on March 27, 1950 - is Jala Geli, which is a word that means red hill in the local dialect that is in the mouths of people in that region.

Some of the names on Juba's list have previously been discussed. The matching of Goram, for example, with Jura does not depend solely on the similarity between the two names, as it is possible that the Goram Desert, which is written in different ways, and which is very well-known and identified in early European maps in this place, and there is an Arab researcher called Khojlin who was concerned that the names of the places he mentions are correct, we see him calling Jura the name of villages in his map [33], and Juba’s description of Goram as an island - if the text is intact - could refer to The entire area is at the bend of the Nile, and I expect that the meaningless phrase “Ab Asar” that came after that is the result of a corruption in the text, which concealed the name of a place.

Pliny gives us two other lists containing the names of places. The first list includes the cities captured by the Roman general Petronius during his campaign that took place between the years twenty-five and one BC. These places were mentioned on the basis that they were likely to have been listed in order from north to south. These cities are Psalkhin, Primi, Buchin, Forum Kamposis, Athenaeum, and Stadisim. Monier de Villard-Boches [34] matched the site of Meroe called Baqa near Pers, and he matched Athename with the place called in the Egyptian hieroglyph Het-Te, and with the Meroe of Atti (current Sadanga), and he matched Stadisim with the third cataract. If this last matching is correct and the places are in their correct order, then there will be no objection to the other matches. However, the reading by Kambosis It is not confirmed, and the location of this place is far to the north, and does not agree with Ptolemy’s list. Buchis was mentioned by Stephen of Byzantium on the basis that it was an Ethiopian city located near the third cataract.

As for the second of Pliny's lists, it is specific to the places visited by Nero's soldiers[35], and although the distances have been clarified, they have varied in different manuscripts, and the first manuscript is free from error. It is mentioned that Tarqidum is seventy or eighty Roman miles - the equivalent of sixty-six or seventy-five English miles - from Napata, and is usually proven by a bear, which is the correct distance. By the river, and old Dongola comes in accordance with the next stage, in that it is - according to Pliny - six hundred Roman miles, which is equivalent to one hundred English miles, south of Kerma over the third cataract, and it is almost the correct distance, seventy English miles, from Napata via the desert road. If Tarqidum is in or near Old Dongola, it will be Petara in or near Kerma. At that time, it appeared to be an inhabited station, and here, somewhere, were the islands of Qaqa and Arcola. We usually take Pliny’s words in a sense that makes us imagine that the two islands were between Petara and Tarqidum. However, I believe that his words do not prevent us from assigning the two islands a location further to the north. Here, de Villard suggests that Erkula means the island of the mountain "Kul", and he identifies Erkula and Qaqard with the islands of Varet and Sai[36]. This is precisely better than matching them with the island of Arqu, which is located exactly between Petara (Kerma) and Assina, which is located near the northeastern end of the current land route, that is, about twenty-one English miles from Kerma to Farik. Assina can be identified with Nauri. It is located not far from Fareeq, as it has a history that extends back to the eras of the New Kingdom of Egypt[37].

The next stage of sixty-four Roman miles or sixty English miles takes us almost to Kusha[38], but I believe that the beginning of the Ethiopian region called Ebonymeton was at Akasha, twenty-four miles to the north, and this agrees well with Ptolemy's list if we accept de Villard's definition that Akasha formed the southern border of the thirteenth Roman province (the Triacachians).

De Villard explains that the Apontemitai lived directly to the south of the Triaksachians. The distances so far seem to match well, but beyond that there is a defect, as the indicated distance between the area of Apotimiton (Okasha) and Herasikamenos (Al-Mahrakah) is one hundred and ninety-two Roman miles, that is, one hundred and eighty English miles, while the actual measured distance between them is two hundred and twenty-one English miles, and this means a decrease of forty-one English miles. We can easily explain this deficiency if we assume that Ptolemy omitted a stage spontaneously at the beginning. Just as, by analogy backwards - that is, to the north - we find that a distance of one hundred and twenty Roman miles, or one hundred and twelve English miles, will take us to Plana. Likewise, we will reach a distance of seventy-two Roman miles, or sixty-seven English miles, north from Plana to Corsco, which is located forty-one English miles, or forty-three miles. Roman to the south of the cemetery (Herasicaminos). The error may have resulted from confusion between the two Roman numerals LXXII- XLII, and this means that Tama falls at the site of Ballana[39].

It can be said that if we add up the stages, the total distance between Sini and Meroe will amount to nine hundred and forty-one Roman miles. If the first stage is corrected - relying on Antonin's trip log - from fifty-four miles to eighty miles, which is the correct distance, then we get nine hundred and sixty-seven Roman miles. If we add the supposed decrease of forty-two miles, we get a total of nine thousand Roman miles, while the distance The actual measured length of the Nile from Sini to Meroe is seventeen thousand Roman miles, and from here it is clear to us that the distance after correction shows an amazing convergence with the soldiers’ record. One can imagine that during their march of more than a thousand miles, Ptolemy's soldiers made an error not exceeding one mile for every eight miles, that is, a rate of 0.8%. There is no doubt that the correction we introduced is what supported these numbers, since without adding forty-two miles, the corrected distance of ninety-six hundred Roman miles becomes absolutely wrong. Moreover, Pliny himself gives in his twelfth book two distances: eight hundred and seventy-three miles [40] and ninety-six and nine hundred miles, or with a variable reading, eight hundred and ninety-six miles.

Tadau Island is located facing Meroe, and its name seems to find an echo in the name of the island Tadara shown on Hoskins’ map to the south of Shalala Island, which is likely to be the current island of Shebellia. Tadara was mentioned in the text (p. 65) on the basis that it faces the village that does not exist now, which was called Wadi Yusuf on the west bank, and the map does not indicate the presence of an island there at the present time[41].

Müller[42] matches Taddu with Tathys mentioned in Ptolemy's record, but according to Ptolemy himself, Tathys was a site on the west bank of the Nile at the same latitude as Primis Megali, which is usually identified without good evidence with Berber.

I have previously discussed some of the names of places mentioned by Ptolemy, and the remaining few of these places can be roughly determined. Ptolemy was aware of the great bend of the Nile, but that bend distorted his determination of the locations. Therefore, confidence in the distances he gives can only be in the areas directly adjacent to Meroe. In addition to the errors resulting from the bend of the Nile, its longitudinal distances are almost impossible. In that it gives the Nile Valley a width of hundreds of miles in some places. One point worth noting is that three places Καμβνσον ταμιεια, Έρχοας, and Σαταχθα are all located on the same latitude south of Primis Micra Πριμις μικρα, which indicates that these places were located somewhere in the strip. The Nile to the south of Old Dongola, where the course of the river is from east to west. Wainwright - without indicating a reference - identified Primis Mikra with Kawa [43]. Φθονρι could be Orunarti (Pet-ouri). The truth is that identifying the other names requires knowledge of the ancient Egyptian language, and for that reason I limited myself to what I mentioned previously, and this is considered bad luck.

Second: To the south of Merwa

Ptolemy gives a location for Meroe at latitude 16º and 25", which is a location about thirty geographical miles away from its correct location, but Ptolemy's calculations were based on an incorrect estimate of the Earth's circumference equal to five hundred dimensional measures, which is equivalent to fifty geographical miles or fifty-eight and three-tenths of the English mile[44]. The longitude lines between Meroe and Daru indicate that Ptolemy believed that the Nile flowed along this distance to the north. It runs regularly, and hence his determinations of latitudes were as distances on the course of the Nile, not as actual differences in latitudes. However, the actual course in this part of the Nile is not straight, as its actual course from Khartoum is eighty English miles away from the longitude in which it runs at Meroe. The first place south of Meroe that Ptolemy mentions is Kush, which he placed at a distance of 1 degree and 10" across from Meroe. It is equal to fifty-eight and three-tenths of an English mile per degree or sixty-eight Roman miles. This makes SaKush at the site of Hajar al-Dil, which is nine miles from present-day Wadbanga, which can be matched with the site of Tuli SaKush.

I expect that the SaKush mentioned in Ptolemy’s record coincides with the Tuli mentioned by Aristocrian, since Ptolemy seems to have adopted Aristocrian as his reference. Likewise, the other places mentioned by the Aristocrian Issar and Darrow [45] coincide with the Aser and Darrow mentioned in Ptolemy. Aristocrian says that Tuli, which is SaKush, is located five days away from Meroe, and therefore Ptolemy is as if he translated the five-day journey. To a latitudinal distance equal to 10 degrees, which means that 10 degrees is equal to sixty-eight English miles. If we divide these miles by the five days, it will give us an estimate of thirteen and six-tenths of an English mile for a one-day trip according to what was stated by Ptolemy. This estimate is almost consistent with my personal estimate of fourteen-nine-tenths of a mile[46]. Accordingly, I want to try to assume that a one-day trip was counted by Ptolemy. It is equal to thirteen and six-tenths of an English mile. If we translate the line's transverse distance into English miles, we can obtain the following results:

The Aristocrians say that Issar, which Ptolemy calls Asar, is located seventeen days' journey south of Meroe, and as we have explained, Ptolemy placed Darrow in a place that exactly corresponds to that distance, and I think there is little doubt that Ptolemy misunderstood the Aristocrians[47]. Looking at Pliny's account taken from the Aristocrians, the aforementioned order of places is as follows: Meroe, Tuli, Asar, and Darrow. Pliny did not mention that Daru is located south of Asar, but rather mentioned that it is located on the bank facing Asar.

The relative position of the two places was explained in Pliny's account, quoted by Bion, and this is what modern scholars have misunderstood. Bion was describing a twenty-day journey north from Symbobites to Meroe, and then Asar (Asar), Ardi (Daro), Medo, and Garoe, and then the names of thirteen places, all unknown, indicate a total journey that lasted twelve days. It seems to me that the journey consisted of two parts, the first part was One of them was southerly from Sembobets to Garowe down the Blue Nile, and the second was northerly from Garowe to Meroe. There is a similar division mentioned in the testimony of Aristocrians that the Ethiopian Nubians were eight days away from Sembobites, and this is what makes the border in the same place, i.e. Garowe. If we subtract eight days from the twenty days of the journey, we are left with twelve days for the journey south of Meroe, and this leads us to the question: Where was the location of Garowe[48]?

To answer, we say that Al-Jadid is located between Al-Aylafun and the island of Rhodes near Katrang, a distance of twelve days’ journey up the river, that is, at a rate of thirteen and six-tenths of a mile per day. This means that Garowe is a distance of sixty-three and one hundred and twenty miles from Meroe. In this particular place, one would expect to discover such a division, especially if we know that there is a boat crossing the river in El Jadid whose services Bruce and others later benefited from.

Only one test can be made against these calculations, which is that Asar - according to Estorion - was located at a distance of seventeen days from Meroe. If we add five days to the twelve days, and Symbobites - according to what was reported from Peon - was located at a distance of seventeen days from Meroe, then Asar must be three days away from Symbobites, which is a distance that makes it - if we subtract forty miles and eight-tenths of a mile from the total distance of two hundred and seventy-two miles - a distance of one and thirty-one and two hundred and twenty English miles, and this of course depends on the occurrence of the assumed daily travel. The same, except that it was calculated to the south of Meroe, while the calculation of the other days, that is, the three days to the north of Symbobites, which was not mentioned by Ptolemy.

The agreement within three days confirms what we assumed, which is that Ptolemy reversed the locations of Asar and Daru, and this is what makes it possible to search for Asar on the map at a point located thirty and two hundred miles south of Meroe, up the river. This point is located exactly at the site of Arbagi near Hasahisa, while the location of Sembobites is specified at two hundred and seventy-two miles from Meroe in Horga, which is located five days from the entrance to the Dinder River.

It is possible to explain the confusion that Ptolemy fell into in contrast to the sites of Asar and Daro in a better way if we assume that the two sites formed a dual city, the two parts of which were separated by the Blue Nile, and because Ptolemy did not realize this fact, he placed the two at a distance of one degree, separating one from the other. Here we can take Pliny's words that refer to a dual city when he mentioned that Asar, the headquarters of the Egyptians fleeing from Psamtik, was twelve days away from Tuli, and on the other side they had a headquarters in Daru.

There are important sites on both banks of the Nile in the immediate vicinity of Al-Hasahisa, as the map of the Sudanese Survey Authority’s Quarterly Million No. 55 shows the presence of Christian ruins in both Al-Hasahisa on the left bank and at the bend of the Nile on the right bank. The village of Sveta may tempt one to match it with the village of Safta, which Al-Masoudi refers to [49], and says that it was built by the hands of the Nuba Alwa, and it appears that it is Soba. The same, as Burkhardt rightly points out that the word Soba could easily be mistakenly translated into Arabic Safarta, and in Dabna Ashmiya, located near Hillat Bilal, an hour and a half away from Rifa'ah, there is an ancient site recorded by the Arab geographer Khojlin[50].

We must not give too much weight to the ancient sites here, as there are many ancient sites. For example, there is Abu Haraz, which is located twenty-three miles to the south, but it is worth mentioning that Al-Hasahisa and Rifa’a today form a dual city similar to Asar and Daru. However, in addition to calculating distances, the Abu Haraz region has justifications that make it claim to be identical with Asar and Daru, and the most likely of these justifications is the ruins. The residential site composed of unhewn stones recorded by Linnan near the entrance to Al-Rahad[51]. He also pointed to brick residential sites five miles from Abu Haraz[52]. In the Funj era, Abu Haraz was the last crossing on the Blue Nile for travelers heading south. If they had not used it, they would have had to cross Rahad and Dandir together.

Daru is the place that Ezana called in his famous inscription in Axum, an inscription dating back to a little before the middle of the fourth century AD. Daru was mentioned in that inscription after Alwa to the south of it. It is possible that Alwa was Meroe itself, as both Griffiths and Crawfoot see it. It is said that it was on the Sida River, which was joined by the Blue Nile. The inscription later mentions that Daru was one of Cities built with stones are in contrast to those built with straw, and this is what highlights evidence in favor of the site near Abu Haraz, which is built with stones.

In short, if the calculation of distances indicates that Arbagi (Al-Hasahisa) is considered a possible location for Asar and Daro, given that it was a dual city or for either of them the most southerly located, and if it was not a dual city, then there is other evidence that would point to the area adjacent to Abu Haraz, and we must remember that Sembopines was three days or forty miles south of Asar and Daru, then its location in the event that it was Asar and Daro in Arbagi is as I mentioned in Horga. However, if Asar and Daro are near Abu Haraz, then in this case Sembobites is in Wad al-Haddad, facing which is the island of Dekine, to the south of which extends a chain of large islands on the Blue Nile to Sennar[53].

I cannot get away from my mind the idea that one of those islands must be Symbopites, which is a correspondence that comes in harmony with Herodotus’ statement in which he indicates that those fleeing from Psamtik, whose center was in Symbopites, settled in a place many days south of Meroe, which is equal to Elephantine from Meroe. Here we must assume that Herodotus does not refer to Meroe, which later became the capital of the kingdom, since Napata It was the capital of the kingdom in his era[54].

The distance between Elephantine and Napata is thirty-two and six hundred miles, and from Napata to Wad al-Haddad is a distance of twenty-five and six hundred miles. Therefore, the size of the error here is only seven miles. At a distance of this length and with the measurement methods available at that time, the size of the error represents nothing significant. It is also natural that Herodotus’s statement does not prevent it from being consistent with any of the other islands located between Wad al-Haddad and Sinnar.

There is no doubt that the evidence of previous and empirically assumed correspondences is completely independent of any mental similarities between ancient and modern place names, but if the similarities that I am trying to draw attention to are not linguistically acceptable, that does not make the other arguments worthless. If that is the case, then can it find an echo of Sembobites in the word Shambata, which is the name that was given to the Arabs living on the banks of the Blue Nile between Wadal Abbas and Sennar? I did not find any reference to them, neither in McMichael's history nor elsewhere, except that the name of Shambata appears on the map of the Sudanese Survey Authority, indicating a village and a forest located twelve miles south of Dekine, and directly to the north, the island of Faraj Abu Dhayr, which in turn can claim to be identical with Sembobets, since there must be a relationship between Sembobets and the Sembritai who lived there.

Rosini[55] makes a suggestion that the names of Aristocrian indicate his use of pre-Hellenic commercial references. To clarify his point, he referred to tribal names somewhere in this region, such as Bitwa-en-Bari, meaning Mount Bari, and Bitwa-en-Fani, meaning Mount Fani. Then Rosini surprisingly mentions that Aristocrian was a nephew of the historian Chrysippus, who lived in the period between 280-207 BC.

The exact end of the Meroe kingdom is not known. Reisner dated the last king of Meroe to the years 340-355 AD[56]. However, Monier de Villard does not agree with Reisner, and places the end of the kingdom at the beginning of the fourth century or the end of the third century AD[57]. This event represents great importance for Sudanese archaeology, which must be content for the time being to place an end to the Meroe era in about the year 300 AD. It is true that King Tekirir Amani had sent a mission to Philae (Aswan) after the year 254 AD. However, evidence of the end of the Meroe kingdom is found in two inscriptions, the first of which was found in Aksum and the second in Meroe. The first inscription was written in the Ethiopic and Greek languages[58] and is a complete text, while the second inscription was in Greek only, and is just a part of the text. In the first inscription, Ezana describes himself as king of Axum, Himyar, Raydan, Saba, Salihin, Siyamu, Beja, and Kasu. The general style of the text is similar to the style of later historical records. The inscription later states that King Ezana launched a campaign against the Nuba who rose up and attacked the Mangurtu, Hausa, and Baria populations. He fought them and won a battle at the Kimalki ford in the Takazi (Atbara River), and on the same day he sent He sent forces to Sidon (the Nile), to the cities with straw walls, and those whose walls were made of stone, and among the latter were Alwa and Daru, and those forces were victorious. He also sent forces to Halin, Dakan, Sabarat, Qalaha, and his way down the river to the four cities built of straw belonging to the Nuba and to the city of Negus. Among the stone cities that the Nuba captured were the cities of Tapito and Vertoni, and the forces penetrated She crossed over to the land of the Red Nuba and then returned safely, taking the captives with her. Then we read after that what it says: I established a throne at the confluence of the two rivers Sid and Takazi in front of the city with stone walls located on this island. This is followed by a list of prisoners and spoils without mentioning the names.

This inscription is a contemporary record of the occupation of part of the former Kingdom of Meroe by an Abyssinian army. Therefore, it is striking that we do not find anything in the inscription indicating the name of Meroe. We can interpret this in two ways: either that Meroe was mentioned under another name or that it had previously been possessed and destroyed. There is an opinion that says that it was referred to as Alwa. Kammerer tried to prove that Alwa is Meroe itself. Perhaps it was possible that it was Meroe had been destroyed shortly before Ezana by one of his predecessors, the Abyssinian kings.

Villard attributes the second inscription, the part found in Meroe, to one of those kings, and it is considered clear evidence of the occupation. However, the piece of stone that contained the inscription does not allow space for the long protocol drawn up by Ezana. Hence, it would be more appropriate to attribute this inscription to one of the previous kings of Ezana, and this king used a shorter protocol. All that remains of the protocol

The place where Ezana established his throne was the confluence of the Atbara River with the Nile River. Caio had noticed, at the point on the island directly north of Al-Damir, a village called Agad (Aqri), the name of which still exists a little to the south. The current name of the area is Al-Muqrin, which is an old Arabic name. There are a number of mounds and the site deserves archaeological excavation. A small mound at the head of the island can be seen from the train window. Sais claimed what he thought. It is the throne of Ezana.

There is an important economic fact revealed by the inscription, which is that cotton was grown in the region, and this confirms that cotton was not introduced to Sudan by the Arabs. Cotton was not grown in ancient Egypt, but it was known, and it was grown in Christian Nubia, and it formed one of the products that were exchanged in the Baqt agreement.

Footnotes

[1] Here and later we will distinguish between Nuba and Nubia. Nuba means the mountain region located in South Kordofan, and its inhabitants are referred to as Nubians. As for Nubia, it means that part of the Nile Valley located between the First Cataract in the north and the Third Cataract in the south, and its inhabitants are called Nubians.

[2] See: Reisner’s articles in the Sudan Magazine in the SNR blogs in the years 1919-1922, as well as in the Journal of Egyptian Antiquities JEA, issue nine, 1923, pages 34-77. Complete reports on his excavations are being prepared for publication by Dawes Dunham, the first of which, “The Crow,” was published in early 1951 by Harvard and Cambridge University Press. Reisner also contributed a number of papers about his work to the Bulletin of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. [Currently, all results have been published - Translator].

(*) Piya is the correct name instead of the incorrect name Ankhi previously used for the Kushite king [translated].

[3] Confusion occurred as Napata was later called Meroe and both Napata and the southern capital formed a field of pyramids.

*This point of view is based on a completely false premise that has been completely disproved. For more on the subject, see: Osama Abdel-Rahman Elnur, “The Historical Recording of the Ancient Sudanese Civilization (Critical Study), The Arab Historian, No.

[4] In Sudanese colloquial language, Dabba means a hill in a flat area. There may be a connection with the Abyssinian word "Debra", which came to mean monastery. The original meaning of the word "Dabir" from which it is derived is "mountain", and the derived meaning comes from the fact that monasteries were in most cases built on hilltops. I am indebted to Mr. Buxton for those facts.

[5] For the bear, see the two pages....? Radhata, where, according to Bion (Pliny, VI §35) a golden cat was worshiped, may be somewhere in the vicinity.

[6] Breasted, History of Egypt, 1925, 560-1

[7] Herodotus, Book Two, 30. The Arabic text of Herodotus related to Kush (Nilotic Ethiopia) can be found in full in Arabic in: Osama Abd al-Rahman al-Nur, Arkamani.. Ibid. [Appendix - 1].

[8] Budge, A.E.W., A History of Ethiopia, Nubia and Abyssinia, vol. II, 54

[9] Ibid., p. 10

[10] Diodorus of Sicily, Historical Geography, Book III, 33, 1-5

[11] Burckhardt, J.L., Travels in Nubia, London 1919, 272

[12] ZÄS, LV, 1918, 79-81

[13] RSO, VI, 1914, 393

[14] ZÄS, XXXIII, 1895, 97-9

[15] Classical Quarterly, XVII, 1923, 35- 6; see: Herodotus, Book III, 21, 3:23

[16] Rossini, 1928, 107-8

[17] On the highest tomat: see p. ....? Below

[18] Some of them will be discussed in other contents of this book.

[19] See S.Gsell, Juba II, savant et ecrivain, Revue Africaine LXVIII, 1927, 169- 197

[20] To avoid confusion, we say that Meroe refers to the location between Shendi and the Atbara River. The northern capital near present-day Meroe was originally called Napata.

[21] Gleichen I, 316; SNR,IX,29 {Jackson}

[22] I followed the custom of orthographic writing as mentioned in the Detlefson edition

[23] This is on the basis that the beginning of the journey is from south to north (translator)

[24] To obtain an average, I have adopted the four stages of the list, but in reality the first stage of the route from Napata to Goram was very short, about eleven miles up the valley to Al-Bilal, facing Badri Island, where the desert journey began (the first stage of most caravan journeys is usually short, and for this reason). Based on this assumption we can get an average of  27.3 and Meroe would be 816.8 miles away.

[25] For example Napata is 71.25 miles upriver, at 631.25 instead of 560. If we apply the average and say that it must lie at 631.25, plus or minus 23.5 (= 654.5 and 608), the error will still be 94.5 and 48 miles.

[26] The only exception is York, which is a worthless number

[27] Ptolemy, 1883, 772

[28] Appendix 10

[29] I have to thank Mr. Broomhead of the Geological Survey and Mr. Noble for kindly informing me that bitumen has not been observed anywhere over the whole extent covered by these lists, and that its presence there is unlikely. There is a mountain called Kuramba, eighteen miles from Massawa, which is marked in Münzinger's map Ostafrikanische Studien. It is also mentioned (Gorimba or Gorumba) in Hoglin's article [Pet.Erg.No.13, 1864, 42]. It is near Eilat, where there is a hot spring, and it seems to be a more suitable place for a tar well in Tuminiya. Mostly the confusion is the result of confusion with this location in the East.

[30] Ptolemy, p. 769

[31]Budge, Annals of Nubian Kings, 1912, 121

[32] Dunham believed that the two statues on the island of Arko belonged to King Natakamani, who ruled Meroe between 25 BC and 25 AD. JEA,xxxiii,65 Since his writing, Abbath Macadam has confirmed this identification of Arquo Island. Relying on very different material, Macadam wrote the book of Nobi Harseutef on the island of Arquo. The Temples of Kawa, I, 1949, p.

[33]   Reise nach Abessinien, Jena, 1869

[34] Villard, op. cit., 10

[35] Villard refers to Shor's work Die Orient-politk des Kaisers Nero, pp.40ff.  The specific date of the mission was discussed. See Villard p.37

[36] Faret (Linan), Furiat (Hoskins), Awtia (Kayo), Ardwan (a map of a quarter of a million areas that indicates mountains called Kaljil, Dima, and others without names). There is a mountain called Kul Geli (= Red Hill) directly below the fourth waterfall (map a quarter of a million pages - Meroe)

[37] Naori contains a large obelisk of Pharaoh Seti I and also the ruins of a medieval castle (see JEA, vol.

[38] Another reading gives 54

[39] The corrected text reads as follows: A Syene Hieran Sycaminon LIV m.p. (Aswan-Maharraqa) [Inde XLII

m.p.(near Korosko?] Inde Tama,LXXIIm.p. (Ballana?) Regionem Euonymiton Aethiopum primarm cxx m.p.(Akasha)

[40] It seems that Pliny misread his own text (as I did to begin with) and took his distance to the island of Meroe (871 Roman miles), not realizing the 70 miles to Meroe itself.

[41] The disappearance of an island in the course of the Nile River is familiar to the residents of that region, as they have become accustomed to the disappearance of islands and the emergence of others due to the destructive effects of the recurring Nile floods over the years (the translator).

[42] Ptolemy, p. 771

[43] The Egyptian name for a niche discussed in A History of Ancient Geogaphy, by H.F. Tozer, 2^nd.      Ed., 1935, 341 Reisner in SNR, XII, 87-8

[45] The text refers to Daron and later to Darden, but the more correct form Daru is fixed in the Ezana inscription, and so I stick to it throughout the book.

[46] See Appendix 10

[47] That Ptolemy reversed the locations in this region is indicated by the fact that he places the mouth of the Estababus (Blue Nile) to the south of Daru and the mouth of the Estabaros (Atbara River), which makes it a branch of the former, further to the south. Ezana's text makes it clear that Daru (= Darun) was upstream from the mouth of the Atbara River, where Ezana set up his camp.

[48] You might be tempted to match it with Qarya simply because of the similarity of the two names, but there is no way of 12 Ubeda between Qarya and Meroe, and there is no ancient site in Qarya.

[49] Burckhardt, 515, Satire from the Burckhardt Manuscript (British Museum, 30, 240A, file 32)

[50] Reise nach Abessinien, 1868, 449

[51]  Journal.RGS,11,1832,188

[52] It is possible that the same location recorded by Khojlin as Bint Abi Hajal is near the village of Muhammad Abu Ashra, an hour north of Abu Haraz (1868, 449 and map).

[53] On February 6, 1950, I made a special trip from Sennar along the eastern bank to Wad al-Abbas to see those islands. The one called Farah Abu Dhair was just a shifting sand bank, but rather clay like the rest of the island, and had rocky heights reaching 30 feet in height. At this time, when the level of the Nile decreases, it is separated from the eastern bank by a shallow channel. It is covered by dense trees. The island facing Wad al-Abbas looks very similar to it and is said to be inhabited only by Bedouins (the map is inaccurate). One or both of the two islands contain an ancient, undiscovered site. It is not easy to reach them, and even the residents know little about it - one man who has lived in Wad al-Abbas all his life has never seen it. It seems that the two islands have not been visited by any European. Conducting an archaeological survey of the two islands and other islands there is urgent.

[54] This hypothesis is necessary if it is necessary to extract meaning from his statement. If he meant the city of Meroe, then, even if we take into account its shortest distance from Elephantine in a straight line, the location of the fleeing soldiers would be impossible further to the south or south-east on the White Nile beyond Fashoda or in the heart of the Ethiopian highlands.

[55] Ǽgyptus vi,1925,21-3.

[56]  JEA,IX,1923,76

[57]  Monier de Villard, 37

[58]  Deutsche Axum Expedition (Berlin Mus., 1913) vol.iv,No.11; Kammerer,92-7; Ruppell,L. Reise in Abessinien (Frankfurt, 1838), 178; Dillmann, Zeitschr.der D.Morgenland Ges.,I,357; MacMichael,I,-46-7.