ABSTRACT
Bruce’s initial discovery of a Funj victory over the ‘Abdallab came as he inquired about the origin of the ‘relations of the king and great men at court’; who ‘are, as they are called, Funge, that is, Shangalla converted to Islamism, of the country [unknown to Bruce] whence those Shangalla came who drove out the Arabs [‘Abdallab] under Wed Ageeb [the ‘Abdallab ruler]’.4 Later Bruce received confirmation that this victory had taken place at the beginning of the dynasty and was related to the founding of Sinnar. ‘The Mek Ismail’, he learned, ‘is the twentieth king of the Funge in Sennaar, since the [Funj] conquest over the Arabs [‘Abdallab]’.5 Bruce’s final account was influenced by his belief that the Funj and the Shilluk were one and the same:
In the year 1504, a black nation, hitherto unknown, inhabiting the western banks of the Bahar el Abiad [White Nile], in about latitude 13°, made a descent, in a multitude of canoes, or boats, upon the Arab provinces [‘Abdallab territory], and in a battle near Herbagi [Arbaji], they defeated Wed Ageeb [the ‘Abdallab ruler] and forced him to a capitulation, by which the Arabs [‘Abdallab] were to pay their conquerors. . . .6
