During the Middle Ages there were six Beja kingdoms that were established. These kingdoms stretched from the lowlands of Eritrea to Aswan in Egypt. The Beja kingdoms occupied much of the former territory of the Aksum empire.[1][2] These kingdoms were first noted by the famous Arab historian Al-Yaqubi during the 9th century A.D.[2] The names of the kingdoms were Nagash, Tankish, Belgin, Bazin, Jarin and Qita'a. These kingdoms bordered each other and the powerful Nubian Alodia kingdom.[2] To the south of the Beja kingdoms was a Christian kingdom called Najashi.[1] Gold, precious stones and emeralds were found in many of the kingdoms. Al-Yaqubi noted that Muslim Arabs visited the kingdoms for trading purposes. He also noted that Arabs worked in the mines of the kingdoms.[1]
The rise of the Beja tribes was one of the main reasons for the demise of the Aksumite empire in the 7th century. Raids and invasions by the Beja tribes weakened the state of the Aksum empire. Also due to the rise of Islam they lost control of their trading routes on the Red Sea coast. The Beja capitalized on this and managed to take over much of Aksum's territory. Towards the end of the 7th century A.D, a powerful Beja tribe called the Zanafaj acquired a unified structure and penetrated the Eritrean plateau through the valley of Gash-Barka and raided the Aksumites. Much of the Eritrean Highlands were overrun by Beja tribes and many of the dispersed Aksumites fled southwards. After the fall of Aksum the coastal regions were occupied by the Beja.[1]
The Beja kingdoms were subdivided by tribes and clans. These clans were noted by Al-Yaqubi to be the Hedareb, Suhab, Amarar, Kubir, Manasa, Ras'a, Arbari'a and Zanafaj. It is also noted that the Kunama were a part of the Bazin kingdom, due the fact that they are called Bazen by Abyssinians.[1][2] The Beja tribes were on good terms with Muslim Arabs that worked and visited their kingdoms.[1] At the time that Al-Yaqubi visited the kingdoms, the Bazin kingdom was at war with the Nubian kingdom of Alodia.[2] The Beja kingdoms were warlike and powerful nations who were skilled at warfare. There was a Beja tribe that was described as a warrior clan. The name of the clan was Dar As-Sawa. The young men of this particular tribe were sent to military training school, where they were trained for war and combat.[2]
The inhabitants of the kingdoms that were located in Eritrea were agriculturalist and pastoralist. These kingdoms established some of the modern day cities. After 600 years,[3] the former Beja kingdoms were replaced by the powerful Belew kingdom (also called Mezega/Bellou/Kelew) whom were also Beja (Balaw).[3][4][5]
^ abcdefTrimingham, John Spencer (2008). Islam in ethiopia (First ed.). Boca Raton, FL. ISBN 9781315888262.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^ abcdefYaʻqūbī, Aḥmad ibn Abī Yaʻqūb,? (2018). The Works of Ibn Wāḍiḥ al-Yaʻqūbı̄ : an English translation. Leiden. ISBN 9789004364165.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ ab"Settlement of Societies in Eritrea". Eritrea Ministry Of Information. 14 October 2009.
^Vol. 31, No. 1, JUNE 1950 of Sudan Notes and Records on JSTOR.
^Smidt, Wolbert (2011). "Preliminary Report on an Ethnohistorical Research Among the Ch'aré People, a Hidden Ethnic Splinter Group in Western Tigray" (PDF). Northeast African Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities. 1: 115–116. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2024-03-13. Retrieved 2024-03-13.
there were six Bejakingdoms that were established. These kingdoms stretched from the lowlands of Eritrea to Aswan in Egypt. The Bejakingdoms occupied much...
The Beja people (Arabic: البجا, Beja: Oobja, Tigre: በጃ) are a Cushitic ethnic group native to the Eastern Desert, inhabiting a coastal area from southeastern...
Baqlin kingdom.It was one of the five Bejakingdoms noted by Al-Yaqubi. During the Middle Ages there were five Bejakingdoms established. These kingdoms stretched...
This is a list of kingdoms and empires in Africa throughout history. The vast majority of kingdoms included in this list existed prior to the Scramble...
Beja Airport (Portuguese: Aeroporto de Beja; IATA: BYJ, ICAO: LPBJ) is a Portuguese airport that opened doors to civilian flights on April 15, 2011. Beja...
Noba. With the collapse of the Kingdom of Aksum in the year 960 CE, Beja clans invaded and established several kingdoms in present-day Eritrea, including...
romanized: al-ʿabābdah or Arabic: العبّادي, romanized: al-ʿabbādī) are an Arab or Beja tribe in eastern Egypt and Sudan. Historically, most were Bedouins living...
Umayyad Caliphate from 702 to 750. The Beja people would also come to rule within Massawa during the BejaKingdoms from the year 740 to the 14th century...
Egypt, such as the veneration of Amun, and the royal families of both kingdoms occasionally intermarried, Kushite culture, language and ethnicity was...
culture that flourished in Late Antiquity. Their identification with the Beja people who have inhabited the same region since the Middle Ages is generally...
Hadendoa (or Hadendowa) is the name of a nomadic subdivision of the Beja people, known for their support of the Mahdiyyah rebellion during the 1880s to...
are a nomadic and pastoralist people, related to the Tigrinya and to the Beja people. They are a predominantly Muslim nomadic people who inhabit the northern...
"kingdoms" denoted by very large nucleated communities with one or more elite residences appears to have existed in the early period of the kingdom of...
that the Medjay spoke an ancient Cushitic language related to the Cushitic Beja language and that the Blemmyes were a subdivision of the Medjay. Rilly (2019)...
young age, John II of Portugal was not popular among the peers of the kingdom since he was immune to external influence and appeared to despise intrigue...
I as sole monarch Portuguese royalty Preceded by Francisco Lord of the House of the Infantado Duke of Beja 5 July 1717 – 6 July 1760 Succeeded by João...
According to Al-Yaqubi, it was one of six Beja polities that existed in the region during the 9th century. The kingdom's territory was located between Aswan...
War in Darfur Eastern Sudan Ethnic group: Beja Proposed autonomous area area: Beja state Political groups: Beja Congress Zanzibar Ethnic group: Arabs,...
Christian kingdoms of the north often had to pay tribute to the Caliph, the disintegration of the Caliphate left the rival Muslim kingdoms much weaker...
The Kingdom of Tankish was an early medieval kingdom centered in Northeast Africa. According to Al-Yaqubi, it was one of six Beja polities that existed...
It corresponds to the districts of Beja, Évora, Portalegre, and Alentejo Litoral. Its main cities are Évora, Beja, Sines, Serpa, Estremoz, Elvas, and...
The Kingdom of Nagash was an early medieval kingdom centered in Northeast Africa. According to Al-Yaqubi, it is one of six Beja polities that existed...
Kingdom of Limmu-Ennarea (1801–1890) Kingdom of Gera (1835–1887) Eritrea Sultanate of Dahlak (1050–1557) BejaKingdom (930–1500) Djibouti Tadjoura Sultanate...
Global Information