kingdom · Egypt, North Africa and Sudan

Kingdom of al-Abwab

1276 CE – 1400 CE (approx.) · capital Kabushiya

A Christian Nubian kingdom on the Nile south of Makuria, once a province of Alodia, known mainly from Mamluk-era Arabic sources.

Origins

Al-Abwab, Arabic for 'the gates', was originally the northern province of Alodia, centred near Kabushiya close to the junction of the Nile and the Atbara. By 1276 it appears as an independent kingdom, apparently having broken away as Alodian power declined.

Rule and society

Almost nothing is known of its internal government. In 1276 its king Adur captured the fugitive Makurian king David, who had fled the Mamluk Sultanate's invasion, and handed him over to Sultan Baybars. Adur later corresponded with Sultan Qalawun, offering alliance against Makuria. Its people were Christian Nubians.

Decline and legacy

The kingdom fades from the record in the late 14th century, probably absorbed by advancing Arab tribes and the general collapse of Christian Nubia. The area later fell within the sphere of the Abdallab Sheikhdom and the Funj Sultanate.

Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.

Lineage

Alodia 500 CE – 1504 CEKingdom of al-Abwab

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Kingdom of al-Abwab. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-al-abwab
MLA
“Kingdom of al-Abwab.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-al-abwab. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Kingdom of al-Abwab.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-al-abwab.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Kingdom of al-Abwab’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-al-abwab (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻