Trade and Wadis System(s) in Muslim Sudan

Abstract

The Sudan belt stretches from the east to west across Africa south of the Sahara. Despite divisions and the rivalries that caused them, there seems to have long been a remarkably free flow of people and ideas along the Sudan belt, which still continues today. This book deals with one unit of this stretch, namely the present Republic of Sudan, the largest country in Africa in terms of area, at almost 2.6 million square kilometers. The earliest contacts between the Sudan and the outside world were through trade routes. In each historical epoch changes took place involving the nature of the route, the means of transportation used, items of trade conveyed and development of trade centres where the caravan routes converged. The present volume analyses this trade, with a special focus on the role of the Wadis, seasonal and/or dry water courses, which cross uninhabitable lands and afford safe routes for traders.