Home Region: East Africa (Africa)

Funj Sultanate

1504 CE 1820 CE

D G SC R

New EA et_funj_sultanate

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General Description

The Funj Sultanate was a kingdom in modern-day Sudan, Ethiopia and Eritrea. The Funj Sultanate was founded in 1504 after its first ruler, Amara Dunquas defeated the Christian Alwa Kingdom. The capital of the Funj Sultanate was at Sinnar in Sudan. Islam spread early in the kingdom as it was originally accepted by the nobles and sultans. As an important trading kingdom, Islam grew due to Muslim immigrants and scholars that arrived in the sultanate. These Islamic scholars and holy men created Quranic schools, established local saint veneration cults, and established Maliki law. As Islam became the kingdom’s state religion, Arabic became the official language of the sultanate. ^[1]
The Funj Sultanate depended heavily on caravan trade and the gold trade. The apex of the sultanate was during the reign of Badi II from 1644 to 1680. In the last half of the eighteenth century, the kingdom became fragmented as different nobles and elites competed for power. ^[2] The Funj Sultanate formally ended with Egyptian occupation in 1820-21. ^[1]

[1]: (Lapidus 2002, 431) Lapidus, Ira M. 2002. A History of Islamic Societies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/QW9XHCIW/collection

[2]: (Lapidus 2012, 621) Lapidus, Ira M. 2012. Islamic Societies to the Nineteenth Century: A Global History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/SRW6XCHP/collection

General Variables

Identity and Location

1 Utm Zone

1 Original Name

1 Capital

4 Alternative Name

Temporal Bounds

1 Peak Years

1 Duration

Political and Cultural Relations

1 Succeeding Entity

1 Relationship to preceding Entity

1 Polity Succession

Language

1 Linguistic Family

2 Language

Religion

1 Religious Tradition

Social Complexity Variables

Social Scale

Hierarchical Complexity

1 Settlement Hierarchy

1 Administrative Level

Professions

Bureaucracy Characteristics

Law

1 Judge

1 Formal Legal Code

1 Court

Specialized Buildings: polity owned

1 Market

1 Communal Building

1 Utilitarian Public Building

1 Knowledge Or Information Building

Transport Infrastructure

1 Road

1 Port

Special-purpose Sites

1 Trading Emporia

1 Special Purpose Site

1 Ceremonial Site

1 Burial Site

Information / Writing System

2 Written Record

2 Script

1 Phonetic Alphabetic Writing

Information / Kinds of Written Documents

1 Sacred Text

1 Religious Literature

1 History

1 Calendar

Information / Money

1 Precious Metal

2 Indigenous Coin

1 Foreign Coin

2 Article

Information / Postal System

Information / Measurement System

1 Weight Measurement System

1 Volume Measurement System

1 Time Measurement System

1 Length Measurement System

1 Area Measurement System

Warfare Variables (Military Technologies)

Fortifications

Military use of Metals

Projectiles

Handheld weapons

Animals used in warfare

Armor

Naval technology

Economy Variables (Luxury Goods) Coding in Progress.

Religion Variables Coding in Progress.

Crisis Consequence Cases Coding in Progress.

Power Transitions

21 Power Transition

Instability Events

34 Instability Event

General Variables

Identity and Location Funj Sultanate (et_funj_sultanate)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Utm Zone	37 N	1504 CE 1820 CE
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Original Name	Funj Sultanate	1504 CE 1820 CE
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Capital	Sinnar	1504 CE 1820 CE
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Alternative Name	Sultanate of Sennar	1504 CE 1820 CE
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Alternative Name	Kingdom of Sinnar	1504 CE 1820 CE
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Alternative Name	Sinnar-Funj	1504 CE 1820 CE
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Alternative Name	Funj Dynasty	1504 CE 1820 CE
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Temporal Bounds Funj Sultanate (et_funj_sultanate)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More
Peak Years	[1644 CE ➜ 1680 CE]
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Duration	[1504 CE ➜ 1820 CE]
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Political and Cultural Relations Funj Sultanate (et_funj_sultanate)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Succeeding Entity	Khedivate of Egypt	1504 CE 1820 CE
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Relationship to Preceding Entity	elite migration	1504 CE 1820 CE
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Preceding Entity	elite migration; Kingdom of Alwa [elite replacement] Update here
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Language Funj Sultanate (et_funj_sultanate)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Linguistic Family	Afro-Asiatic	1504 CE 1820 CE
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Language	Arabic	1504 CE 1820 CE
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Language	Funj	1504 CE 1820 CE
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Religion Funj Sultanate (et_funj_sultanate)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Religious Tradition	Islam	1504 CE 1820 CE
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Social Complexity Variables

Social Scale Funj Sultanate (et_funj_sultanate)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More

Hierarchical Complexity Funj Sultanate (et_funj_sultanate)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Settlement Hierarchy	3	1504 CE 1820 CE
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Administrative Level	7	1504 CE 1820 CE
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Professions Funj Sultanate (et_funj_sultanate)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More

Bureaucracy Characteristics Funj Sultanate (et_funj_sultanate)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More

Law Funj Sultanate (et_funj_sultanate)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Judge	Present	1504 CE 1820 CE
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Formal Legal Code	Present	1504 CE 1820 CE
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Court	Present	1504 CE 1820 CE
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Specialized Buildings: polity owned Funj Sultanate (et_funj_sultanate)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Market	Present	1504 CE 1820 CE
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Communal Building	Present	1504 CE 1820 CE
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Utilitarian Public Building	Present	1504 CE 1820 CE
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Knowledge Or Information Building	Present	1504 CE 1820 CE
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Transport Infrastructure Funj Sultanate (et_funj_sultanate)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Road	Present Inferred	1504 CE 1820 CE
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Port	Present	1504 CE 1820 CE
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Special-purpose Sites Funj Sultanate (et_funj_sultanate)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Trading Emporia	Present Inferred	1504 CE 1820 CE
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Special Purpose Site	Present	1504 CE 1820 CE
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Ceremonial Site	Present	1504 CE 1820 CE
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Burial Site	Present	1504 CE 1820 CE
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Information / Writing System Funj Sultanate (et_funj_sultanate)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Written Record	Present Inferred	1504 CE 1699 CE
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Written Record	Present	1700 CE 1820 CE
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Script	Present Inferred	1504 CE 1699 CE
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Script	Present	1700 CE 1820 CE
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Phonetic Alphabetic Writing	Present	1504 CE 1820 CE
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Information / Kinds of Written Documents Funj Sultanate (et_funj_sultanate)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Sacred Text	Present	1504 CE 1820 CE
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Religious Literature	Present Inferred	1504 CE 1820 CE
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History	Present	1504 CE 1820 CE
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Calendar	Present	1504 CE 1820 CE
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Information / Money Funj Sultanate (et_funj_sultanate)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Precious Metal	Present	1504 CE 1820 CE
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Indigenous Coin	Absent	1504 CE 1699 CE
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Indigenous Coin	Present	1700 CE 1820 CE
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Foreign Coin	Present	1504 CE 1820 CE
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Article	Present	1504 CE 1699 CE
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Article	Absent Inferred	1700 CE 1820 CE
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Information / Postal System Funj Sultanate (et_funj_sultanate)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More

Information / Measurement System Funj Sultanate (et_funj_sultanate)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Weight Measurement System	Present Inferred	1504 CE 1820 CE
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Volume Measurement System	Present Inferred	1504 CE 1820 CE
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Time Measurement System	Present Inferred	1504 CE 1820 CE
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Length Measurement System	Present Inferred	1504 CE 1820 CE
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Area Measurement System	Present Inferred	1504 CE 1820 CE
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Warfare Variables (Military Technologies)

Fortifications Funj Sultanate (et_funj_sultanate)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More

Military use of Metals Funj Sultanate (et_funj_sultanate)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More

Projectiles Funj Sultanate (et_funj_sultanate)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More

Handheld weapons Funj Sultanate (et_funj_sultanate)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More

Animals used in warfare Funj Sultanate (et_funj_sultanate)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More

Armor Funj Sultanate (et_funj_sultanate)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More

Naval technology Funj Sultanate (et_funj_sultanate)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More

Economy Variables (Luxury Goods)

Religion Variables

Moralizing Supernatural Punishment and Reward Funj Sultanate (et_funj_sultanate)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Moralizing Enforcement is Broad	Present	1504 CE 1820 CE
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Moralizing Supernatural Concern is Primary	Present	1504 CE 1820 CE
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Moralizing Enforcement is Agentic	Present	1504 CE 1820 CE
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Moralizing Enforcement in This Life	Present	1504 CE 1820 CE
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Moralizing Supernatural Punishment And Reward	Present	1504 CE 1820 CE
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Moralizing Religion Adopted by Commoners	Present	1504 CE 1820 CE
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Moralizing Enforcement is Targeted	Present	1504 CE 1820 CE
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Moralizing Enforcement in Afterlife	Present	1504 CE 1820 CE
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Moralizing Religion Adopted by Elites	Present	1504 CE 1820 CE
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Moralizing Enforcement of Rulers	Present	1504 CE 1820 CE
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Moralizing Enforcement is Certain	Present	1504 CE 1820 CE
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Human Sacrifice Funj Sultanate (et_funj_sultanate)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More