Upper Nile Puns

Hello and welcome to another post where I talk about all the pre-colonial African civs that are up for voting in hopes that you’ll not put them all last on the ballot! This time I’m covering the Upper Nile region. Honestly, there’s a lot here - six civs in total - so I’ll try to keep each one more brief than usual.

Aksum (Kaleb)

Aksum is one of the earliest forms of what could now be called Ethiopia. First forming out of the ashes of D’mt around the first century, Aksum quickly rose to dominate Red Sea trade. It had its own written language likely derived from Sabaean (in Yemen), built huge monuments only beaten out by Egypt’s, and may have even contributed to the fall of Kush (Nubia). Then, around 300 AD, Aksum’s king Ezana converted to Christianity, and things really picked up. Aksum’s peak came with king Kaleb, who in the sixth century conquered the Himyarite kingdom in Yemen due to the persecution of some Christians there. Eventually Yemen was lost again after a couple wars with the Sassanid Persians, but this is still notable as the only time a sub-Saharan African nation has conquered outside of Africa. Kaleb was also in contact with the Byzantines, and the two may have even been collaborating against the Sassanids.

After Kaleb’s abdication, Aksum began a slow decline, no longer minting currency and generally abandoning the coast in favor of the mountains. In the mid-600s, the Arab Rashidun Caliphate conquered Egypt and isolated Aksum from Europe, but a king of Aksum had happened to give Muhammad’s followers shelter at one point, so they were spared from invasion. Aksum continued to exist and even expand south until it was destroyed by Queen Gudit (of CBRX1 fame), after which the region would continue to vibe until the rise of the Zagwe Dynasty a century or so later.

tl;dr badass trade empire in Ethiopia/Eritrea that was pals with the Byzantines and conquered Yemen one time,, also built long sticks

Ethiopia (Zara Yaqob)

I’m going to tackle Ethiopia in chronological order, I hope that’s okay with you. So! After Aksum fell, the Zagwe dynasty arose in its place, but it probably didn’t have direct lineage from Aksum, so the Solomonic dynasty was able to take control from them in 1270 CE or so. By then, Ethiopia was decidedly surrounded by Muslim states, especially the Somali kingdoms to their east. While these two got along well enough at first, relations eventually soured, and the Sultanates of Ifat and the

I know the Egyptians used the Nile for transportation but I’m curious as if the Nile acted as a connector between the two Egypts, until they ultimately connected. Thanks!

How militarized was the African frontier for the Rome Empire? Were regions like Mauretania safer and more stable than those along the Rhine and Danube frontiers? Was their significant trade between Rome and its southern neighbors?

The Sudd is usually portrayed as an impenetrable swamp in South Sudan. Throughout history it has acted as a barrier to people attempting to find the source of the Nile. So on a whim, I took a look at the area via Google Earth. Yes, it's swampy with channels and lakes aplenty. BUT there is a clear channel that the White Nile follows all the way through the Sudd. It certainly seems navigable at this time. So the questions is what, if anything has changed? Why did this area present such a challenge when it seems like there is a clear way through (for at least part of the year)?