Beja Kingdoms (original) (raw)

During the Middle ages there were five 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. These kingdoms were first noted by the famous Arab historian Al-Yaqubi during the 9th century A.D. The names of the kingdoms were , , Bazin, Jarin and Qat'a. These kingdoms bordered each other and the powerful Nubian Alodia kingdom. To the south of the Beja kingdoms was a Christian kingdom called Najashi. 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.