page_title: Daju kingdom
section_title: Trading and cultural relations with Medieval Nubia
hierarchical_section_title: Daju kingdom / Trading and cultural relations with Medieval Nubia
caption_attribution_description: Pottery sherd found at Ain Farah, Sudan; the sherd is christian Nubian
context_page_description: The Daju kingdom was a medieval monarchy that existed in Darfur from possibly the 12th–15th century. Its name stems from the Daju people, the ruling ethnic group. The Daju were eventually ousted from power by the Tunjur and the last Daju king subsequently fled to present-day Chad. The sources for the Daju kingdom are almost entirely local traditions collected in the 19th and 20th century and mentions by medieval Arab historians.
context_section_description: The Jewish merchant Benjamin of Tudela wrote in the 12th century that the Nubian kingdom of Alodia maintained a trading network terminating in Zwila, Libya, suggesting that the trade route went through Darfur. Two Christian Nubian pottery sherds, datable to the mid-6th century-1100, were allegedly discovered in Ain Farah. It has been suggested that aspects of the Medieval Nubian culture, like for example the purse as part of the royal regalia, were transmitted to the Chad basin through the Darfur area.
caption: One of the two Nubian pottery sherds allegedly discovered in Ain Farah.
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