Although originally published in the 1970s, O'Fahey and Spaulding's study of Darfur and the Funj Sultanate contains some interesting arguments about the nature of the state and Islam in the Sudan from the 16th century through 19th centuries. Part One, covering the Funj state, relies on much richer textual sources while the study of Darfur under the Keira dynasty in the second section relies, necessarily, on oral traditions. It is in the first part of the book where one finds some rather intriguing suggestions and ideas about changes in the "Sudanic state" wrought by further Islamization and commerce.
Some of the changes noted by the authors for the Funj state, which took over lands once ruled by Christian Makuria and Alodia along the Nile (and parts of the Kordofan to the west), are particularly intriguing because they seem to follow similar patterns observed in other parts of the "Sudanic" belt of Africa, especially Borno. Here, I mean specifically, the role of Islam and Sufi brotherhoods, the weakening of central authority, and the creation of autonomous areas under the rule of spiritual leaders which further eroded centralized authority. The perception of the king as corrupt or powerless, I believe, and receiving criticism of Muslim holy men, was also occurring in other parts of the Sudanic region, especially by the the time of the jihadist movements in parts of the "Western Sudan" in the 18th century.
However, I am particularly interested in how the Funj state may have followed earlier Nubian political and social practices. While Spalding states the Funj were a southern Nubian people, I am still unsure what the scholarly consensus is about who the Funj actually were. It's possible their first king, Amara Dunqas in the early 16th century, was a Christian before the Funj kings converted to Islam. If true, then perhaps the Funj truly were a Nubian group or subject population of Christian Nubia. The description of the matrilineal descent system and rituals of kingship also bear an uncanny resemblance to earlier, perhaps deeply ancient, Nubian traditions of kingship. Even the double-horned cap worn by Funj kings and provincial rulers seem to resemble "Christian" Nubian two-horned caps.
And if the Funj gradually came to power in most of Nubia after the political fragmentation of the region into a plethora of captaincies ruled by minor princes with associated "castles" and churches, one wonders if the breakdown of Meroitic authority was also a similar process (of course, minus the influence of Islam and Arab or Mamluk invasions) to that of the fall of Christian Nubia. One could see an analogy of sorts to the conflicts of the Nobadia and Blemmyes (Beja?) in Lower Nubia during Late Antiquity and the gradual dissolution of centralized authority over the vast Middle Nile. Similarly, perhaps, conflicts over trade routes to the east (Red Sea) and south also played a role, with "Beja" rulers asserting themselves in the Nile Valley. But Meroitic civilization lived on to a certain degree among the Nuba/Noba and Blemmyes along the Nile, who appear to have retained a knowledge of Meroitic literacy and royal symbolism.
Moving on, the Funj state may, despite already being somewhat decentralized by recognizing the autonomy of the northern area of its kingdom after the rebellion of Ajib of Qarri, have represented the last of the ancient structure of Nubian or Nubian-like kingship. It is interesting to see how peripheral Islamization was to the early Funj state, too, only becoming more significant by the 1600s and 1700s. According to Spalding, Islam led to the changes in the nature of kingship and provided an ideology for a rising class of indigenous Sudanese merchants, which further eroded the king's authority. Foreign and local merchants began to undermine the king's control of commerce and led to social conflict between peasants and merchants (the latter engaged in grain hoarding and extortion). As the king's authority dwindled and local rulers acted autonomously, the rising "bourgeoisie" turned to orthodox Islam and commerce.
While Spaulding's theory of the decline of state-controlled commerce and rising social conflict with an indigenous merchant class in formation by the 18th century is provocative and interesting, it is not entirely clear how or why local merchants were drawn to Islam. If Islam became a "Protestant work ethic" of sorts to local traders who would resist the peasantry's lifestyle and the excesses of the nobility, why did such a dynamic not seem to weaken other states in the Sudanic belt? If the "Sudanic" state was partly based on royal control of long-distance trade, which certainly seems to be true in more than a few cases, why were other states able to persist while only securing trade routes and stability? What was the nature of trade and merchant classes prior to the Funj state? Were traders active in medieval Nubia mostly Muslim and/or state-sponsored? What about during Meroitic times or, even earlier, in the kingdom of Kush or Kerma? Was there ever any sort of "Christian" work ethic and proto-capitalist sentiment among Nubian traders and middleman during the pre-Funj "medieval" period? I have much to learn about Nubia.
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