Makuria

Coordinates: 18°13′28″N 30°44′33″E / 18.22444°N 30.74250°E / 18.22444; 30.74250
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Kingdom of Makuria
Arabic
)
al-Muqurra
5th century–1518
Late 15th/16th century
Flag of Makuria
The flag of Makuria according to the Book of Knowledge of All Kingdoms. c. 1350
The Kingdom of Makuria at its maximum territorial extent around 960, after a raid that reached as far north as Akhmim
The Kingdom of Makuria at its maximum territorial extent around 960, after a raid that reached as far north as Akhmim
CapitalDongola (until 1365)
Gebel Adda (from 1365)
Common languagesNubian
Coptic
Greek
Arabic[2]
Religion
  • Traditional African religion

  • Greek Orthodox Christianity
    (from mid 6th century)
  • Coptic Orthodox Christianity
    (from 7th or 8th century)
GovernmentMonarchy
King 
• fl. 651–652
Qalidurut (first known king)
• fl. 1463–1484
Joel (last known king)
History 
• Established
5th century
• Royal court fled to Gebel Adda, Dongola abandoned
1365
• Disestablished
1518
CurrencyGold

Solidus

Dircham
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Kingdom of Kush
Banu Kanz
Funj Sultanate
Egypt Eyalet
Today part ofSudan
Egypt

Makuria (

Arabic: المقرة, romanizedal-Muqurra) was a medieval Nubian kingdom in what is today northern Sudan and southern Egypt. Its capital was Dongola (Old Nubian: Tungul) in the fertile Dongola Reach
, and the kingdom is sometimes known by the name of its capital.

Coming into being after the collapse of the

Byzantine Egypt
.

In 651 an

Arab army invaded, but it was repulsed and a treaty known as the Baqt was signed to prevent further Arab invasions in exchange for 360 slaves each year that lasted until the 13th century. The period from the 9th to 11th century saw the peak of Makuria's cultural development: a brisk construction activity resulted in the construction of buildings like the Throne Hall, the great cruciform church (both in Dongola) or the Banganarti monastery, arts like wall paintings and finely crafted and decorated pottery flourished and Nubian grew to become the prevalent written language. Other written languages were Coptic, Greek and Arabic. Makuria also maintained close dynastic ties with the kingdom of Alodia to the south and exerted some influence in Upper Egypt and northern Kordofan
.

Increased aggression from

Bedouin incursions and possibly the plague and the shift of trade routes led to the state's decline in the 13th and 14th century. In the 1310s and 1320s it was briefly ruled by Muslim kings. Due to a civil war in 1365, the kingdom was reduced to a rump state that lost much of its southern territories, including Dongola. The last recorded king, probably residing in Gebel Adda, lived in the late 15th century. Makuria had finally disappeared by the 1560s, when the Ottomans occupied Lower Nubia. The former Makurian territories south of the 3rd cataract, including Dongola, had been annexed by the Islamic Funj Sultanate
by the early 16th century.

Sources

Makuria is much better known than its neighbor

Ibn Selim el-Aswani, an Egyptian diplomat who traveled to Dongola when Makuria was at the height of its power in the 10th century and left a detailed account.[4]

A model of the Faras Cathedral at the state of its excavation in the early 1960s. The discovery of the church and its magnificent paintings revolutionized the knowledge of Christian Nubia.

The Nubians were a literate society, and a fair body of writing survives from the period. These documents were written in the

uncial variety of the Greek alphabet extended with some Coptic symbols and some symbols unique to Nubian. Written in a language that is closely related to the modern Nobiin tongue, these documents have long been deciphered. However, the vast majority of them are works dealing with religion or legal records that are of little use to historians. The largest known collection, found at Qasr Ibrim, does contain some valuable governmental records.[5]

The construction of the

Aswan High Dam in 1964 threatened to flood what had once been the northern half of Makuria. In 1960, UNESCO launched a massive effort to do as much archaeological work as possible before the flooding occurred. Thousands of experts were brought from around the world over the next few years. Some of the more important Makurian sites looked at were the city of Faras and its cathedral, excavated by a team from Poland; the British work at Qasr Ibrim; and the University of Ghana's work at the town of Debeira West, which gave important information on daily life in medieval Nubia. All of these sites are in what was Nobatia; the only major archaeological site in Makuria itself is the partial exploration of the capital at Old Dongola.[6]

History

Early period (5th–8th century)

19th century ground plan of the tumulus field of Tanqasi (late 3rd—first half of the 6th century).[7] Since then, many new tumuli have been noted there,[8] although most of them still await excavation.[7]
Burial within a tumulus of the tumulus field of Kassinger Bahri (second half of the 4th century–early 6th century)[9]

By the early 4th century, if not before, the

Meroe was collapsing.[10] The region which would later constitute Makuria, i.e. the Nile Valley between the third Nile cataract and the great Nile bend of the fourth/fifth cataract, has been proposed to have seceded from Kush already in the 3rd century. Here, a homogenous and relatively isolated culture dubbed as "pre-Makuria" developed.[11] During the 4th and 5th centuries, the region of Napata, located near the fourth cataract and formerly being one of the most important political and sacred places of Kush, served as the center for a new regional elite buried in large tumuli like those at el Zuma or Tanqasi.[12] There was a significant population growth[13] accompanied by social transformations,[14] resulting in the absorption of the Kushites into the Nubians,[15] a people originally from Kordofan[16] that had settled in the Nile Valley in the 4th century AD.[17] Thus, a new Makurian society and state emerged[14] by the 5th century.[18] In the late 5th century one of the first Makurian kings[19] moved the power base of the still-developing kingdom from Napata to further downstream, where the fortress of Dongola, the new seat of the royal court, was founded[20] and which soon developed a vast urban district.[21] Many more fortresses were built along the banks of the Nile, probably not intended to serve a military purpose, but to foster urbanization.[19]

Already at the time of the foundation of Dongola contacts were maintained with the

John of Biclar recorded that in around 568 Makuria had “received the faith of Christ”. In 573 a Makurian delegation arrived in Constantinople, offering ivory and a giraffe and declaring its good relationship with the Byzantines. Unlike Nobatia in the north (with which Makuria seemed to have been in enmity)[25] and Alodia in the south Makuria embraced the Chalcedonian doctrine.[26] The early ecclesiastical architecture at Dongola confirms the close relations maintained with the empire,[25] trade between the two states was flourishing.[27]

Ground plan of the "Old Church" in Dongola, founded in the mid-6th century

In the 7th century, Makuria annexed its northern neighbour Nobatia. While there are several contradicting theories,

Eparch.[37]

A Nubian archer on a Portuguese manuscript from the 16th century

Between 639 and 641 the Muslim Arabs overran

was besieged and bombarded by catapults. While they damaged parts of the town they could not penetrate the walls of the citadel.[41] Muslim sources highlight the skill of the Nubian archers in repelling the invasion.[42] With both sides being unable to decide the battle in their favour, abi Sarh and the Makurian king Qalidurut eventually met and drew up a treaty known as Baqt.[43] Initially it was a ceasefire also containing an annual exchange of goods (Makurian slaves for Egyptian wheat, textiles etc.),[44] an exchange typical for historical North East African states and perhaps being a continuation of terms already existing between the Nubians and Byzantines.[45] Probably in Umayyad times the treaty was expanded by regulating the safety of Nubians in Egypt and Muslims in Makuria.[46] While some modern scholars view the Baqt as a submission of Makuria to the Muslims it is clear that it was not: the exchanged goods were of equal value and Makuria was recognized as an independent state,[47] being one of the few to beat back the Arabs during the early Islamic expansion.[48] The Baqt would remain in force for more than six centuries,[49] although at times interrupted by mutual raids.[50]

The 8th century was a period of consolidation. Under king

Chinese traveller Du Huan.[59]

Zenith (9th–11th century)

Reconstruction of the 9th century "Cruciform Church" of Dongola. It was the largest church in the kingdom, measuring c. 28 x 37,3 x 34,8m.[60] It served as a source of inspiration not only for many Nubian, but even Ethiopian churches like the famous rock–hewn churches of Lalibela.[61]

The kingdom was at its peak between the 9th and 11th centuries.[62] During the reign of king Ioannes in the early 9th century, relations with Egypt were cut and the Baqt ceased to be paid. Upon Ioannes' death in 835 an Abbasid emissary arrived, demanding the Makurian payment of the missing 14 annual payments and threatening with war if the demands are not met.[63] Thus confronted with a demand for more than 5000 slaves,[50] Zakharias III "Augustus", the new king, had his son Georgios I crowned king, probably to increase his prestige, and sent him to the caliph in Baghdad to negotiate.[d] His travel drew much attention at the time.[65] The 12th century Syriac Patriarch Michael described Georgios and his retinue in some detail, writing that Georgios rode a camel, wielded a sceptre and a golden cross in his hands and that a red umbrella was carried over his head. He was accompanied by a bishop, horsemen and slaves, and to his left and right were young men wielding crosses.[66] A few months after Georgios arrived in Baghdad he, described as educated and well-mannered, managed to convince the caliph of remitting the Nubian debts and reducing the Baqt payments to a 3-year rhythm.[67] In 836[68] or early 837[69] he had returned to Nubia. After his return a new church was built in Dongola, the Cruciform Church, which had an approximate height of 28m and came to be the largest building in the entire kingdom.[70] A new palace, the so-called Throne Hall of Dongola, was also built,[71] showing strong Byzantine influences.[72]

In 831 a punitive campaign of the Abbasid Caliph al-Mutasim defeated the Beja east of Nubia. As a result, they had to submit to the Caliph, thus expanding nominal Muslim authority over much of the Sudanese Eastern Desert.[73] In 834 al-Mutasim ordered that the Egyptian Arab Bedouins, who had been declining as a military force since the rise of the Abbasids, were not to receive any more payments. Discontented and dispossessed, they pushed southwards. The road into Nubia was, however, blocked by Makuria: while there existed communities of Arab settlers in Lower Nubia the great mass of the Arab nomads was forced to settle among the Beja,[74] driven also by the motivation to exploit the local gold mines.[75] In the mid-9th century the Arab adventurer al-Umari hired a private army and settled at a mine near Abu Hamad in eastern Makuria. After a confrontation between both parties, al-Umari occupied Makurian territories along the Nile.[76] King Georgios I sent an elite force[77] commanded by his son in law, Nyuti,[78] but he failed to defeat the Arabs and rebelled against the crown himself. King Georgios then sent his oldest son, presumably the later Georgios II, but he was abandoned by his army and was forced to flee to Alodia. The Makurian king then sent another son, Zacharias, who worked together with al-Umari to kill Nyuti before eventually defeating al-Umari himself and pushing him into the desert.[77] Afterward, al-Umari attempted to establish himself in Lower Nubia, but was soon pushed out again before finally being murdered during the reign of the Tulunid Sultan Ahmad ibn Tulun (868-884).[79]

Mural from Sonqi Tino showing King Georgios II (r. late 10th century)

During the rule of the

Ibn Selim el-Aswani to the Makurian king Georgios III.[85] Georgios accepted the first request of the emissary, the resumption of the Baqt, but declined the second one, the conversion to Islam, after a lengthy discussion with his bishops and learned men and instead invited the Fatimid governor to embrace Christianity. Afterwards, he granted al-Aswani to celebrate Eid al-Adha outside of Dongola with drums and trumpets, though not without the discontent of some of his subjects.[86] Relations between Makuria and Fatimid Egypt were to remain peaceful, as the Fatimids needed the Nubians as allies against their Sunni enemies.[85]

13th-century depiction of a dignitary in the northern Ethiopian church of Qorqor Maryam. Nubian influence is not only suggested by the horned headgear the dignitary is wearing, resembling that of Nobadian eparchs,[87] but also by the style of the painting itself, executed in a Nubian style common during the 10th-12th centuries.[88]

The kingdom of Makuria was, at least temporarily, exercising influence over the Nubian-speaking populations of

Philotheos and some Ethiopian monarch,[97] perhaps the late Aksumite emperor Anbessa Wudem or his successor Dil Ne’ad.[98] Ethiopian monks travelled through Nubia to reach Jerusalem,[99] a graffito from the church of Sonqi Tino testifies its visit by an Ethiopian abuna.[100] Such travellers also transmitted knowledge of Nubian architecture, which influenced several medieval Ethiopian churches.[61]

The 11th-century Banganarti church, initiated by Archbishop Georgios

During the second half of the 11th century, Makuria saw great cultural and religious reforms, referred to as "Nubization". The main initiator has been suggested to have been Georgios, the archbishop of Dongola and hence the head of the Makurian church.[101] He seems to have popularized the Nubian language as written language to counter the growing influence of Arabic in the Coptic Church[102] and introduced the cult of dead rulers and bishops as well as indigenous Nubian saints. A new, unique church was built in Banganarti, probably becoming one of the most important ones in the entire kingdom.[103] In the same period Makuria also began to adopt a new royal dress[104] and regalia and perhaps also Nubian terminology in administration and titles, all suggested to have initially come from Alodia in the south.[102][105]

Decline (12th century–1365)

Mural from Faras depicting King Moses Georgios (r. 1155–1190), who probably ruled over both Makuria and Alodia and who confronted Saladin during the early 1170s.
Reconstruction of the domed church of Adindan

In 1171 Saladin overthrew the Fatimid dynasty, which signaled new hostilities between Egypt and Nubia.[84] The following year,[106] a Makurian army pillaged Aswan and advanced even further north. It is not clear if this campaign was intended to aid the Fatimids or was merely a raid[84] exploiting the unstable situation in Egypt,[107] although the latter seems more likely, as the Makurians apparently soon withdrew.[108] To deal with the Nubians, Saladin sent his brother Turan-Shah. The latter conquered Qasr Ibrim in January 1173,[109] reportedly sacking it, taking many prisoners, pillaging the church and converting it into a mosque.[110] Afterward, he sent an emissary to the Makurian king, Moses Georgios,[111] intending to answer a previously requested peace treaty with a pair of arrows.[112] Probably ruling over both Makuria and Alodia,[92] Moses Georgios was a man confident in his ability to resist the Egyptians, stamping with hot iron a cross on the emissary's hand.[111] Turan Shah withdrew from Nubia but left a detachment of Kurdish troops in Qasr Ibrim, which would raid Lower Nubia for the next two years. Archaeological evidence links them with the destruction of the cathedral of Faras,[113] Abdallah Nirqi[114] and Debeira West.[citation needed] In 1175 a Nubian army finally arrived to confront the invaders at Adindan. Before battle, however, the Kurdish commander drowned while crossing the Nile, resulting in the retreat of Saladin's troops out of Nubia.[113] Afterwards there was peace for another 100 years.[84]

There are no records from travelers to Makuria from 1172 to 1268,[115] and the events of this period have long been a mystery, although modern discoveries have shed some light on this era. During this period Makuria seems to have entered a steep decline. The best source on this is Ibn Khaldun, writing in the 14th century, who blamed it on Bedouin invasions similar to what the Mamluks were dealing with. Other factors for the decline of Nubia might have been the change of African trade routes[116] and a severe dry period between 1150 and 1500.[117]

David
from Dongola

Matters would change with the rise of the

Aidhab,[121] located on an important pilgrimage route to Mecca. The Nubian army destroyed the town, causing “a blow to the very heart of Islam”.[122] A punitive Mamluk expedition was sent in response, but did not pass beyond the second cataract.[123] Three years later the Makurians attacked and destroyed Aswan,[121] but this time Mamluk Sultan Baybars responded with a well-equipped army setting off from Cairo in early 1276,[122] accompanied by a cousin of king David named Mashkouda[124] or Shekanda.[125] The Mamluks defeated the Nubians in three battles at Gebel Adda, Meinarti and finally at the Battle of Dongola. David fled upstream the Nile, eventually entering al-Abwab in the south,[126] which, previously being Alodia's northernmost province, had by this period become a kingdom of its own.[127] The king of al-Abwab, however, handed David over to Baybars, who had him executed.[128]

Ebstorf map of c. 1300.[130] The legend concerning Nubia reads: “The people who live here are called the Nubians. This people always go naked.[e] They are honest and devout Christians. They are rich in gold and live on trade. They have three kings and the same number of bishops.[f] They pay frequent visits to Jerusalem in vast crowds, carrying with them a lot of wealth which is offered to the Sepulchre of the Lord.”[132]

Thanks to the

Provencal dating to the second half of the 13th century/14th century.[144]

Internal difficulties seem to have also hurt the kingdom. King David's cousin Shekanda claimed the throne and traveled to Cairo to seek the support of the Mamluks. They agreed and took over Nubia in 1276, and placed Shekanda on the throne. The Christian Shekanda then signed an agreement making Makuria a vassal of Egypt, and a Mamluk garrison was stationed in Dongola. A few years later, Shamamun, another member of the Makurian royal family, led a rebellion against Shekanda to restore Makurian independence. He eventually defeated the Mamluk garrison and took the throne in 1286 after separating from Egypt and betraying the peace deal. He offered the Egyptians an increase in the annual Baqt payments in return for scrapping the obligations to which Shekanda had agreed. The Mamluk armies were occupied elsewhere, and the Sultan of Egypt agreed to this new arrangement.[citation needed]

The Throne Hall of Dongola, which was converted into a mosque in 1317
Arabic stela commemorating the conversion of the throne hall

After a period of peace, King Karanbas defaulted on these payments, and the Mamluks again occupied the kingdom in 1312. This time, a Muslim member of the Makurian dynasty was placed on the throne. Sayf al-Din Abdullah Barshambu began converting the nation to Islam and in 1317 the throne hall of Dongola was turned into a mosque. This was not accepted by other Makurian leaders and the nation fell into civil war and anarchy later that year. Barshambu was eventually killed and succeeded by Kanz ad-Dawla. While ruling, his tribe, the Banu Khanz, acted a puppet dynasty of the Mamluks.[145] King Karanbas tried to wrestle control from Kanz ad-Dwala in 1323 and eventually seized Dongola, but was ousted just one year later. He retreated to Aswan for another chance to seize the throne, but it never came.[146]

The ascension of the Muslim king Abdallah Barshambu and his transformation of the throne hall into a mosque has often been interpreted as the end of Christian Makuria. This conclusion is erroneous, since Christianity evidently remained vital in Nubia.

Shihab al-Umari claim that the contemporary Makurian kings were Muslims belonging to the Banu Khanz, while the general population remained Christian. Al-Umari also points out that Makuria was still dependent on the Mamluk Sultan.[148] On the other hand, he also remarks that the Makurian throne was seized in turns by Muslims and Christians.[149] Indeed, an Ethiopian monk who travelled through Nubia in around 1330, Gadla Ewostatewos, states that the Nubian king, who he claims to have met in person, was Christian.[150] In the Book of Knowledge of All Kingdoms, which relies on an anonymous traveller from the mid-14th century, it is claimed that the "Kingdom of Dongola" was inhabited by Christians and that its royal banner was a cross on white background (see flag).[141] Epigraphical evidence reveals the names of three Makurian kings: Siti and Abdallah Kanz ad-Dawla, both ruling during the 1330s, and Paper, who is dated to the mid 14th century.[151] The attestations of Siti's reign, all Nubian in nature, show that he still exercised control/influence over a vast territory from Lower Nubia to Kordofan,[152] suggesting that his kingdom entered the second half of the 14th century centralized, powerful and Christian.[153]

It was also in the mid 14th century, more particularly after 1347, when Nubia would have been devastated by the plague. Archaeology confirms a rapid decline of the Christian Nubian civilization since then. Due to their small population the plague might have cleansed entire landscapes from its Nubian inhabitants.[154]

View of Gebel Adda in 1910

In 1365, there occurred yet another short, but disastrous civil war. The current king was killed in battle by his rebelling nephew, who had allied himself with the Banu Ja'd tribe. The brother of the deceased king and his retinue fled to a town called Daw in the Arabic sources, most likely identical with Gebel Adda in Lower Nubia.[155] The usurper then killed the nobility of the Banu Ja'd, probably because he could not trust them anymore, and destroyed and pillaged Dongola, then traveled to Gebel Adda to ask his uncle for forgiveness. Thus Dongola was left to the Banu Ja'd and Gebel Adda became the new capital.[156]

Terminal period (1365–late 15th century)

The Makurian rump state

Minimum extension of the late Makurian kingdom

Both the usurper and the rightful heir, and most likely even the king that was killed during the usurpation, were Christian.[157] Now residing in Gebel Adda, the Makurian kings continued their Christian traditions.[158] They ruled over a reduced rump state with a confirmed north–south extension of around 100 km, albeit it might have been larger in reality.[159] Located in a strategically irrelevant periphery, the Mamluks left the kingdom alone.[158] In the sources this kingdom appears as Dotawo. Until recently it was commonly assumed that Dotawo was, before the Makurian court shifted its seat to Gebel Adda, just a vasal kingdom of Makuria, but it is now accepted that it was merely the Old Nubian self-designation for Makuria.[160]

The last known king is Joel, who is mentioned in a 1463 document and in an inscription from 1484. Perhaps it was under Joel when the kingdom witnessed a last, brief renaissance.[161] After the death or deposition of king Joel the kingdom might have collapsed.[162] The cathedral of Faras came out of use after the 15th century, just as Qasr Ibrim was abandoned by the late 15th century.[127] The palace of Gebel Adda came out of use after the 15th century as well.[159] In 1518, there is one last mention of a Nubian ruler, albeit it is unknown where he resided and if he was Christian or Muslim.[163] There were no traces of an independent Christian kingdom when the Ottomans occupied Lower Nubia in the 1560s,[162] while the Funj had come into possession of Upper Nubia south of the third cataract.

Further developments

Political

By the early 15th century, there is mention of a king of Dongola, most likely independent from the influence of the Egyptian sultans.

Friday prayers held in Dongola failed to mention them as well.[164] These new kings of Dongola were probably confronted with waves of Arab migrations and thus were too weak to conquer the Makurian splinter state of Lower Nubia.[165]

It is possible that some petty kingdoms that continued the Christian Nubian culture developed in the former Makurian territory, for example on Mograt island, north of

Abu Hamed.[166] Another small kingdom was the Kingdom of Kokka, probably founded in the 17th century in the no-mans-land between the Ottoman Empire in the north and the Funj in the south. Its organization and rituals bore clear similarities to those of Christian times.[167] Eventually the kings themselves were Christians until the 18th century.[168]

In 1412, the

Awlad Kenz took control of Nubia and part of Egypt above the Thebaid
.

Ethnographic and linguistic
Nubians of the early 19th century

The Nubians

Maharraqa, the Mahasi, who settled between Maharraqa and Kerma and the Danagla, the southernmost of the remaining Nile Valley Nubians. Some count the Danagla to the Ja'alin, since the Danagla also claim to belong to that Arab tribe, but they in fact still speak a Nubian language, Dongolawi.[172] North Kordofan, which was still a part of Makuria as late as the 1330s,[173] also underwent a linguistic Arabization similar to the Nile Valley upstream of Al Dabbah. Historical and linguistic evidence confirms that the locals were predominantly Nubian-speaking until the 19th century, with a language closely related to the Nile-Nubian dialects.[174]

Today, the Nubian language is in the process of being replaced by Arabic.[175] Furthermore, the Nubians have increasingly started to claim to be Arabs descending from Abbas, disregarding their Christian Nubian past.[176]

Culture

Christian Nubia was historicaly considered to be something of a backwater, because their graves were small and lacking the grave goods of previous eras.[177] Modern scholars understand that this was due to cultural differences, and that the Makurians actually had rich and vibrant arts and culture.

Languages

A page from an Old Nubian translation of Liber Institutionis Michaelis Archangelis from the 9th–10th century, found at Qasr Ibrim, now housed in the British Museum. The name of Michael appears in red.

Four languages were used in Makuria:

Nubian, Coptic, Greek and Arabic.[178] Nubian was represented by two dialects, with Nobiin being said to have been spoken in the Nobadia province in the north and Dongolawi in the Makurian heartland,[179] although in the Islamic period Nobiin is also attested to have been employed by the Shaigiya tribe in the southeastern Dongola Reach.[180]
The royal court employed Nobiin despite being located in Dongolawi-speaking territory. By the eight century Nobiin had been codified based on the Coptic alphabet,[181] but it was not until the 11th century when Nobiin had established itself as language of administrative, economic and religious documents.[182] The rise of Nobiin overlapped with the decline of the Coptic language in both Makuria and Egypt.[183] It has been suggested that before the rise of Nobiin as a literary language, Coptic served as official administrative language, but this seems doubtful; Coptic literary remains are virtually absent in the Makurian heartland.[184] In Nobadia, however, Coptic was fairly widespread,[185] probably even serving as a lingua franca.[183] Coptic also served as the language of communication with Egypt and the Coptic Church. Coptic refugees escaping Islamic persecution settled in Makuria, while Nubian priests and bishops would have studied in Egyptian monasteries.[186] Greek, the third language, was of great prestige and used in religious context, but does not seem to have been actually spoken (similar to Latin in medieval Europe).[187] Lastly, Arabic was used from the 11th and 12th centuries, superseding Coptic as language of commerce and diplomatic correspondences with Egypt. Furthermore, Arab traders and settlers were present in northern Nubia,[188] although the spoken language of the latter appears to have gradually shifted from Arabic to Nubian.[189]

Arts

Wallpaintings

As of 2019, around 650 murals distributed over 25 sites have been recorded,

Biblical figures
.

  • Gallery
  • Christ, Abu Oda (second half of the 7th century)
    Christ, Abu Oda (second half of the 7th century)
  • Saint Peter inserted into a Pharaonic painting, Wadi es-Sebua (late 7th-early 8th century)
    Wadi es-Sebua
    (late 7th-early 8th century)
  • St. Anne, Faras (8th-first half of the 9th century)
    St. Anne, Faras (8th-first half of the 9th century)
  • Apostle Saints Peter and John (8th-first half of the 10th century)
    Apostle Saints Peter and John (8th-first half of the 10th century)
  • Warrior saint with spear and shield, Faras (9th century)
    Warrior saint with spear and shield, Faras (9th century)
  • Archangel Gabriel with sword, Faras (9th-first quarter of the 10th century)
    Archangel Gabriel
    with sword, Faras (9th-first quarter of the 10th century)
  • Madonna and Christ Child, Faras (10th century)
    Madonna and Christ Child, Faras (10th century)
  • Three youths in the furnace, Faras (last quarter of the 10th century)
    Three youths in the furnace, Faras (last quarter of the 10th century)
  • Theophany and bishop, Abdallah Nirqi (late 10th-early 11th century)
    Theophany and bishop, Abdallah Nirqi (late 10th-early 11th century)
  • Magi on horseback, Faras (late 10th–early 11th century
    Magi on horseback, Faras (late 10th–early 11th century
  • Bishop Marianos with Madonna and Christ Child, Faras (first half of the 11th century)
  • Elaborate cross, Faras (11th century)
    Elaborate cross, Faras (11th century)
  • Nubian dignitary and Christ, Faras (12th century)
    Nubian dignitary and Christ, Faras (12th century)
  • Baptism of Christ, Old Dongola (12th–13th century)
    Baptism of Christ, Old Dongola (12th–13th century)
  • Warrior saint, Meinarti (late 13th-mid 14th century)
    Warrior saint, Meinarti (late 13th-mid 14th century)

Manuscript illustrations

  • Old Nubian manuscript from Serra East (973) showing some richly robed individual
    Old Nubian manuscript from Serra East (973) showing some richly robed individual
  • Detail of a manuscript from Serra East showing a sitting man
    Detail of a manuscript from Serra East showing a sitting man
  • Old Nubian manuscript from Qasr Ibrim showing a bishop
    Old Nubian manuscript from Qasr Ibrim showing a bishop
  • St. Menas and boatman on an Old Nubian manuscript found in Edfu
    St. Menas and boatman on an Old Nubian manuscript found in Edfu

Pottery

Sassanian influences.[194]
The late period during Makuria's decline saw domestic production again fall in favour of imports from Egypt. Pottery produced in Makuria became less ornate, but better control of firing temperatures allowed different colours of clay.

Role of women

Makurian princess protected by Virgin Mary and Christ Child, Faras (12th century)

The Christian Nubian society was matrilineal[195] and women enjoyed a high social standing.[196] The matrilineal succession gave the queen mother and the sister of the current king as forthcoming queen mother great political relevance.[195] This importance is attested by the fact that she constantly appears in legal documents.[197] Another female political title was the asta ("daughter"), perhaps some type of provincial representative.[196]

Women had access to education[196] and there is evidence that, like in Byzantine Egypt, female scribes existed.[198] Private land tenure was open to both men and women, meaning that both could own, buy and sell land. Transfers of land from mother to daughter were common.[199] They could also be the patrons of churches and wall paintings.[200] Inscriptions from the cathedral of Faras indicate that around every second wall painting had a female sponsor.[201]

Hygiene

Latrines were a common sight in Nubian domestic buildings.[202] In Dongola all houses had ceramic toilets.[203] Some houses in Cerra Matto (Serra East) featured privies with ceramic toilets, which were connected to a small chamber with a stone-lined clean out window to the outside and a brick ventilation flue.[204] Biconical pieces of clay served as the equivalent of toilet paper.[205]

One house in Dongola featured a vaulted bathroom, fed by a system of pipes attached to a water tank.[206] A furnace heated up both the water and the air, which was circulated into the richly decorated bathroom via flues in the walls.[68] The monastic complex of Hambukol is thought to have had a room serving as a steam bath.[206] The Ghazali monastery in Wadi Abu Dom also might have featured several bathrooms.[207]

Government

An Eparch of Nobatia

Makuria was a monarchy ruled by a king based in Dongola. The king was also considered a priest and could perform mass. How succession was decided is not clear. Early writers indicate it was from father to son. After the 11th century, however, it seems clear that Makuria was using the uncle-to-sister's-son system favoured for millennia in Kush. Shinnie speculates that the later form may have actually been used throughout, and that the early Arab writers merely misunderstood the situation and incorrectly described Makurian succession as similar to what they were used to.[208] A Coptic source from the mid 8th century refers to king Cyriacos as "orthodox Abyssinian king of Makuria" as well as "Greek king", with "Abyssinian" probably reflecting the Miaphysite Coptic church and "Greek" the Byzantine Orthodox one.[209] In 1186 king Moses Georgios called himself "king of Alodia, Makuria, Nobadia, Dalmatia[g] and Axioma."[211]

Little is known about government below the king. A wide array of officials, generally using Byzantine titles, are mentioned, but their roles are never explained. One figure who is well-known, thanks to the documents found at

Eparch of Nobatia, who seems to have been the viceroy in that region after it was annexed to Makuria. The Eparch's records make clear that he was also responsible for trade and diplomacy with the Egyptians. Early records make it seem like the Eparch was appointed by the king, but later ones indicate that the position had become hereditary.[212] The elite of Makuria was drawn from noblemen who the Islamic sources called "princes". It was them who constituted the courtiers, military commanders and bishops. They were apparently powerful enough to openly exlaim their discontent and even depose the ruler if they were unhappy with him, despite claims in Islamic sources that the power of the Makurian king was absolute.[213] A selected few of them, the elders, constituted a council that assisted the king in his decision making. The elders aside it was also the queenmother who bore a key role in advising the king. In 1292 an unnamed Makurian king is even reported to have claimed that "it was only the women who direct the kings [...]"[214]

The

Ibn Selim el-Aswani noted that before the king responded to his mission he met with a council of bishops.[215] El-Aswani described a highly centralized state, but other writers state that Makuria was a federation of thirteen kingdoms presided over by the great king at Dongola.[216]

Kings

Religion

Paganism

Ghazali monastery on a mid-19th century painting by Karl Richard Lepsius

One of the most debated issues among scholars is over the religion of Makuria. Up to the 5th century the old faith of

Meroe seems to have remained strong, even while ancient Egyptian religion, its counterpart in Egypt, disappeared. In the 5th century the Nubians went so far as to launch an invasion of Egypt when the Christians there tried to turn some of the main temples into churches.[217] A portion of the Nubian population seemingly remained pagan as late as the 10th century, for el-Aswani reported that "[s]ome of them do not know the Creator and adore the Sun and the Day; some others adore whatever they like; trees or animals."[218]

Christianity

A painting from the Faras Cathedral depicting the birth of Jesus
Wood painting from Wadi Halfa depicting some Christian saint

Archaeological evidence in this period finds a number of Christian ornaments in Nubia, and some scholars feel that this implies that conversion from below was already taking place. Others argue that it is more likely that these reflected the faith of the manufacturers in Egypt rather than the buyers in Nubia.

Certain conversion came with a series of 6th-century missions. The

John of Biclarum states that Makuria then embraced the rival Byzantine Christianity. Archaeological evidence seems to point to a rapid conversion brought about by an official adoption of the new faith. Millennia-old traditions such as the building of elaborate tombs, and the burying of expensive grave goods with the dead were abandoned, and temples throughout the region seem to have been converted to churches. Churches eventually were built in virtually every town and village.[193]

After this point the exact course of Makurian Christianity is much disputed. It is clear that by c. 710 Makuria had become officially

Coptic Patriarch of Alexandria;[220] the king of Makuria became the defender of the patriarch of Alexandria, occasionally intervening militarily to protect him, as Kyriakos
did in 722. This same period saw Melkite Makuria absorb the Coptic Nobatia, historians have long wondered why the conquering state adopted the religion of its rival. It is fairly clear that Egyptian Coptic influence was far stronger in the region, and that Byzantine power was fading, and this might have played a role. Historians are also divided on whether this was the end of the Melkite/Coptic split as there is some evidence that a Melkite minority persisted until the end of the kingdom.

Church infrastructure

The Makurian church was divided into seven bishoprics:

Coptic Patriarch of Alexandria. The bishops were appointed by the Patriarch, not the king, though they seem to have largely been local Nubians rather than Egyptians.[222]

Monasticism

The Adam chapel of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, which during the Crusades was owned by Nubian monks.

Unlike in Egypt, there is not much evidence for monasticism in Makuria. According to Adams there are only three archaeological sites that are certainly monastic. All three are fairly small and quite Coptic, leading to the possibility that they were set up by Egyptian refugees rather than indigenous Makurians.[223] Since the 10th/11th century the Nubians had their own monastery in the Egyptian Wadi El Natrun valley.[224]

Islam

Muslim tombstone from Meinarti (11th century)

The Baqt guaranteed the security of Muslims travelling in Makuria,[225] but prohibited their settlement in the kingdom. However, the latter point was, not maintained:[226] Muslim migrants, probably merchants and artisans,[227] are confirmed to have settled in Lower Nubia from the 9th century and to have intermarried with the locals, thus laying the foundation for a small Muslim population[228] as far south as the Batn el-Hajar.[229] Arabic documents from Qasr Ibrim confirm that these Muslims had their own communal judiciary,[230] but still regarded the Eparch of Nobatia as their suzerain.[231] It seems likely that they had own mosques, though none have been identified archaeologically,[227] with a possible exception being in Gebel Adda.[226]

In Dongola, there was no larger number of Muslims until the end of the 13th century. Before that date, Muslim residents were limited to merchants and diplomats.[232] In the late 10th century, when al-Aswani came to Dongola, there was, despite being demanded in the Baqt, still no mosque; he and around 60 other Muslims had to pray outside of the city.[233] It is not until 1317, with the conversion of the throne hall by Abdallah Barshambu, when a mosque is firmly attested.[234] While the Jizya, the Islamic head tax enforced on non-Muslims, was established after the Mamluk invasion of 1276[235] and Makuria was periodically governed by Muslim kings since Abdallah Barshambu, the majority of the Nubians remained Christian.[236] The actual Islamization of Nubia began in the late 14th century, with the arrival of the first in a series of Muslim teachers propagating Islam.[237]

Economy

A Makurian dancing mask as depicted on a mural from Dongola.

The main economic activity in Makuria was agriculture, with farmers growing several crops a year of

oxen-powered water wheel, that was introduced in the Roman period and helped increase yields and population density.[238] Settlement patterns indicate that land was divided into individual plots rather than as in a manorial system. The peasants lived in small villages composed of clustered houses of sun-dried brick
.

A Nubian saqiya wheel in the 19th century

Important industries included the production of

Red Sea Hills to the east of Makuria.[193]

Cattle were of great economic importance. It is possible that their breeding and marketing was controlled by the central administration. A great assemblage of 13th century cattle bones from Old Dongola has been linked with a mass slaughter by the invading Mamluks, who attempted to weaken the Makurian economy.[240]

Financial transaction scene from Dongola (12th century)

Makurian trade was largely by barter as the state never adopted a

Ethiopian Orthodox Church. However, there is little evidence of much other interaction between the two Christian states.[citation needed
]

See also

Annotations

  1. ^ Theory I places that event at the time of the Sasanian invasion, theory II at the time between the first and second Arab invasion, i.e. 642 and 652, and the third at the turn of the seventh century.[28]
  2. ^ It has also been argued that the bishopric was not founded, but merely reestablished.[35]
  3. ^ Recently it has been suggested that the Arabs fought the Nubians not in Nubia, but in Upper Egypt, which remained a battle zone contested by both parties until the Arab conquest of Aswan in 652.[39]
  4. ^ Zakharias, presumably already quite powerful during the lifetime of Ioannes, was the husband of a sister of Ioannes. The matrilinear Nubian succession demanded that only the son of the king's sister could be the next king, hence making Zakharias an illegitimate king in contrast to his son Georgios.[64]
  5. ^ The claim of complete nakedness should not be taken for a fact, as it reflects an ancient stereotype.[131]
  6. ^ This might be a reference to the original three kingdoms of Nobatia, Makuria and Alodia, unless the author was implying the semi-autonomous status of Nobatia within Makuria.[131]
  7. ^ "Dalmatia" or "Damaltia" is probably an error for Tolmeita (ancient Ptolemais in Libya), which was a part of the patriarch of Alexandria's title: "archbishop of the great city of Alexandria and the city of Babylon (Cairo), and Nobadia, Alodia, Makuria, Dalmatia and Axioma (Axum)." It has been proposed that there was some confusion in the 1186 document between the titles of the king and the patriarch.[210]

Notes

  1. ^ Murray, John (1822). "Kingdom of Makuria". Dorota Dzierzbicka. 22 (22): 663–677.
  2. ^ Welsby 2002, p. 239.
  3. ^ Shinnie 1965, p. 266.
  4. ^ Adams 1977, p. 257.
  5. ^ Bowersock, Brown & Grabar 2000, p. 614.
  6. ^ Godlewski 1991, pp. 253–256.
  7. ^ a b Wyzgol & El-Tayeb 2018, p. 287.
  8. ^ Wyzgol & El-Tayeb 2018, Fig. 10.
  9. ^ Kołosowska & El-Tayeb 2007, p. 35.
  10. ^ Edwards 2004, p. 182.
  11. ^ Lohwasser 2013, pp. 279–285.
  12. ^ Godlewski 2014, pp. 161–162.
  13. ^ Werner 2013, p. 42.
  14. ^ a b Godlewski 2014, p. 161.
  15. ^ Werner 2013, p. 39.
  16. ^ Werner 2013, pp. 32–33.
  17. ^ Rilly 2008, pp. 214–217.
  18. ^ Godlewski 2013b, p. 5.
  19. ^ a b Godlewski 2013b, p. 7.
  20. ^ Godlewski 2013b, p. 17.
  21. ^ Godlewski 2014, p. 10.
  22. ^ Werner 2013, p. 43.
  23. ^ Welsby 2002, pp. 31–33.
  24. ^ Werner 2013, p. 58.
  25. ^ a b Welsby 2002, p. 33.
  26. ^ Werner 2013, pp. 58, 62–65.
  27. ^ Wyzgol 2018, p. 785.
  28. ^ Werner 2013, pp. 73–74.
  29. ^ Werner 2013, pp. 73–77.
  30. ^ a b c Godlewski 2013b, p. 90.
  31. ^ Werner 2013, p. 77.
  32. ^ Godlewski 2013b, p. 85.
  33. ^ Werner 2013, pp. 76, note 84.
  34. ^ Godlewski 2013c, p. 90.
  35. ^ Werner 2013, pp. 77–78.
  36. ^ Welsby 2002, p. 88.
  37. ^ Werner 2013, p. 254.
  38. ^ Welsby 2002, pp. 48–49.
  39. ^ Bruning 2018, pp. 94–96.
  40. ^ Werner 2013, pp. 66–67.
  41. ^ Godlewski 2013a, p. 91.
  42. ^ Welsby 2002, p. 69.
  43. ^ Werner 2013, p. 68.
  44. ^ Werner 2013, pp. 70–72.
  45. ^ Ruffini 2012, pp. 7–8.
  46. ^ Werner 2013, pp. 73, 71.
  47. ^ Ruffini 2012, p. 7.
  48. ^ Welsby 2002, p. 68.
  49. ^ Werner 2013, p. 70.
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  51. ^ Werner 2013, p. 82.
  52. ^ Obłuski 2019, p. 310.
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  54. ^ a b c Werner 2013, p. 84.
  55. ^ Adams 1977, p. 454.
  56. ^ Hasan 1967, p. 29.
  57. ^ Shinnie 1971, p. 45.
  58. ^ Werner 2013, p. 86, note 37.
  59. ^ Smidt 2005, p. 128.
  60. ^ Godlewski 2013b, pp. 11, 39.
  61. ^ a b Fritsch 2018, pp. 290–291.
  62. ^ Godlewski 2002, p. 75.
  63. ^ Werner 2013, p. 88.
  64. ^ Godlewski 2002, pp. 76–77.
  65. ^ Werner 2013, p. 89.
  66. ^ Vantini 1975, p. 318.
  67. ^ Werner 2013, pp. 89–91.
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  69. ^ Werner 2013, p. 91.
  70. ^ Godlewski 2013b, p. 11.
  71. ^ Obłuski et al. 2013, Table 1.
  72. ^ Godlewski 2013b, p. 12.
  73. ^ Adams 1977, pp. 553–554.
  74. ^ Adams 1977, pp. 552–553.
  75. ^ Godlewski 2002, p. 84.
  76. ^ Werner 2013, pp. 94–95, note 50.
  77. ^ a b Godlewski 2002, p. 85.
  78. ^ Werner 2013, p. 95.
  79. ^ Werner 2013, p. 96.
  80. ^ Hasan 1967, p. 91.
  81. ^ Werner 2013, pp. 99–100, notes 16 and 17.
  82. ^ Werner 2013, p. 101.
  83. .
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  85. ^ a b Werner 2013, p. 102.
  86. ^ Hasan 1967, p. 92.
  87. ^ Lepage & Mercier 2005, pp. 120–121.
  88. ^ Chojnacki 2005, p. 184.
  89. ^ Hesse 2002, pp. 18, 23.
  90. ^ Welsby 2014, pp. 187–188.
  91. ^ Welsby 2002, p. 89.
  92. ^ a b Lajtar 2009, pp. 93–94.
  93. ^ Danys & Zielinska 2017, pp. 182–184.
  94. ^ Lajtar & Ochala 2017, p. 264.
  95. ^ Welsby 2002, pp. 214–215.
  96. ^ Hendrickx 2018, p. 1, note 1.
  97. ^ Werner 2013, p. 103.
  98. ^ Hendrickx 2018, p. 17.
  99. ^ Obłuski 2019, p. 126.
  100. ^ Lajtar & Ochala 2017, pp. 262–264.
  101. ^ Godlewski 2013a, pp. 671, 672.
  102. ^ a b Godlewski 2013a, p. 669.
  103. ^ Godlewski 2013a, pp. 672–674.
  104. ^ Wozniak 2014, pp. 939–940.
  105. ^ Wozniak 2014, p. 940.
  106. ^ Welsby 2002, p. 75.
  107. ^ Plumley 1983, p. 162.
  108. ^ Ruffini 2012, pp. 249–250.
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  110. ^ Plumley 1983, pp. 162–163.
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  115. ^ Adams 1977, p. 522.
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  122. ^ a b Gazda 2005, p. 95.
  123. ^ Seignobos 2016, p. 554.
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  125. ^ Welsby 2002, p. 244.
  126. ^ Werner 2013, pp. 120–122.
  127. ^ a b Welsby 2002, p. 254.
  128. ^ Werner 2013, pp. 122–123.
  129. ^ von den Brincken 2014, pp. 45, 49–50.
  130. ^ von den Brincken 2014, p. 48.
  131. ^ a b Seignobos 2014, p. 1000.
  132. ^ Seignobos 2014, pp. 999–1000.
  133. ^ a b Łajtar & Płóciennik 2011, p. 110.
  134. ^ Seignobos 2012, pp. 307–311.
  135. ^ Simmons 2019, pp. 35–46.
  136. ^ Werner 2013, p. 128.
  137. ^ Łajtar & Płóciennik 2011, p. 111.
  138. ^ Łajtar & Płóciennik 2011, pp. 114–116.
  139. ^ Borowski 2019, pp. 103–106.
  140. ^ Werner 2013, p. 133.
  141. ^ a b Werner 2013, pp. 134–135.
  142. ^ Ruffini 2012, pp. 162–263.
  143. ^ Borowski 2019, p. 106.
  144. ^ Łajtar & Płóciennik 2011, p. 43.
  145. ^ O'Fahey & Spaulding 1974, p. 17.
  146. ^ Welsby 2002, p. 248.
  147. ^ Werner 2013, p. 138.
  148. ^ Werner 2013, pp. 139–140, note 25.
  149. ^ Zurawski 2014, p. 82.
  150. ^ Werner 2013, p. 140.
  151. ^ Werner 2013, pp. 140–141.
  152. ^ Ochala 2011, pp. 154–155.
  153. ^ Ruffini 2012, pp. 253–254.
  154. ^ Werner 2013, pp. 141–143.
  155. ^ Welsby 2002, pp. 248–250.
  156. ^ Werner 2013, pp. 143–144.
  157. ^ Werner 2013, p. 144.
  158. ^ a b Welsby 2002, p. 253.
  159. ^ a b Werner 2013, p. 145.
  160. ^ Ruffini 2012, p. 9.
  161. ^ Lajtar 2011, pp. 130–131.
  162. ^ a b Ruffini 2012, p. 256.
  163. ^ Werner 2013, p. 149.
  164. ^ Zurawski 2014, p. 85.
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  166. ^ Werner 2013, p. 150.
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  169. ^ Adams 1977, pp. 557–558.
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  171. ^ Adams 1977, p. 562.
  172. ^ Adams 1977, pp. 559–560.
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  180. ^ Bechhaus-Gerst 1996, pp. 25–26.
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References

Further reading

External links

18°13′28″N 30°44′33″E / 18.22444°N 30.74250°E / 18.22444; 30.74250