Soba

Situated on the north bank of the Blue Nile, a few km above its confluence with the White Nile (modern Khartoum). Soba was throughout its history the capital of the medieval kingdom of Alodia. It is described in Arabic sources as a large and rich city, but this could not be confirmed archaeologically because of very poor preservation. Limited excavations by the British Institute in Eastern Africa in between 1981 and 1986 did reveal remains of three large churches and possibly several smaller ones. Much of the site is being destroyed by the expansion of Khartoum.

Sources: Shinnie 1961; Welsby and Daniels 1991; Welsby 1998.

(Contributed by William Y. Adams.)