An Islamic state in nilotic Sudan: Fûnc Sultanate (1505-1821)

The Fûnc Sultanate (1505-1821) was established in the Nile Valley Sudan called Nilotic Sudan. In this region Fûncs ruled after the Christian Kingdom of Alve, formerly named Nubia. Islamization has been made by the Arab communities who came here both individually and tribally since the early periods of Islamic history. In time, these Arab communities became the sheikhs in the form of tribes by taking the local elements in the region under their sovereignty. The Fûncs, on the other hand, turned these sheikhs into a sub-element of their sheikhs in 1505 and became a regional power. Its capital is Sennar on the banks of the Blue Nile. The Sultanate reached its widest limits during the period of Sultan Bâdî Abu Dikn (1642-1677). During his reign, the borders of the state was from the Third Waterfall in the north to the furthest point of the Fazûglî Mountains in the south and from the Red Sea in the east to the White Nile or Kordofan in the west. 1762 was an important turning point in the Funic Sultanate, and from this date until the collapse of the state, the main rulers were the Hamacs who occupied the position of the vizier rather the Funic dynasty. As a result of the military operations carried out by Kavalali Mehmed Ali Pasha in 1820-1821, the Sultanate of Fûnc was destroyed and its lands became a part of the Khartoum-based Sudanese Kingdom, which was attached to the governor of Egypt. Keywords: Nilotic Sudan, Nubia, Fûnc, Sennar, Hamac