Makuria

Makuria (to Arabs al-Mukurra or al-Muqurra) was a kingdom located in what is today Southern Egypt and Northern Sudan. It was one of a group of Nubian kingdoms that emerged in the centuries after the fall of Meroe in about AD 350. Makuria covered an area from the Third Cataract to somewhere between the Fifth and Sixth Cataracts. Its capital was Dongola (or Dunqulah), and the kingdom is sometimes known by the name of its capital.

By the end of the sixth century it had converted to Christianity, but the next century Egypt was conquered by the Islamic armies cutting Nubia off from the rest of Christendom. In 651 an Arab army invaded, but it was repulsed and a treaty known as the baqt was signed creating relative peace between the two sides for the next six centuries. Makuria expanded, annexing its northern neighbour Nobatia either at the time of the Arab invasion or during the reign of King Merkurios. The period from roughly 750 to 1150 saw the kingdom stable and prosperous, in what has been called its "Golden Age".^[1] However, increased aggression from Egypt, the Islamicization and Arabization of the populace, and internal discord saw the state collapse in the fourteenth century.

Sources

Makuria is by far the best known of the kingdoms of Christian Nubia, but there are still many gaps in our knowledge. The most important source of the history of the area has long been Arab travelers and historians. Many of these writers tended to be biased against their Christian neighbours, and these works are very much focused on military conflicts between Egypt and Nubia.^[2] One exception is 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.^[3]

The Nubians were quite a literate society, and a fair body of writing survives from the period. These documents were written in the Old Nubian language in a slightly modified version of the Coptic alphabet. Closely related to the modern Nubian languages these documents have long been deciphered. However, the vast majority of them are works dealing with religion or legal records and of little use to historians. The largest collection was found at Qasr Ibrim, and does contain some valuable governmental records.

Archaeology has in recent decades become one of the best sources of information on Makuria. The construction of the Aswan High Dam in 1964 promised to flood a huge area that had once been the northern half of Makuria. In 1960 UNESCO launched a massive effort to do as much archeological work as possible before this flooding occurred. Thousands of experts were brought from around the world. The most important Makurian sites looked at was 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 that gave important information on daily life in Medieval Nubia. All of these sites are in Lower Nubia, the only major archeological site in Makuria itself is the partial exploration of the capital at Old Dongola. ^[4]

History

Origins

The origins of Makuria are uncertain. Ptolemy mentions a Nubian people known as the Makkourae, who might be ancestors to the Makurians^[5]. The kingdom is believed to have formed in the fourth or fifth century. The first recorded mention of it is in a work by the sixth century John of Ephesus who decries its hostility to Monophysite missionaries traveling to Alodia. Soon after John of Biclarum wrote approvingly of Makuria's adoption of the rival Melkite faith.

The most important event in Makurian history was the defeat of an Arab army in 652. The Arabs had taken Egypt in 641, and the jihad soon turned south. At the Battle of Dongola in 652 this army was either defeated or stalemated by the Nubians. It is unclear how the Nubians achieved this feat, but Arab writers noted their great skill with the bow. This was the only major defeat suffered by an Arab army in the first century of Muslim expansion, and it led to an unprecedented agreement. A peace treaty known as the bakt was signed. This guaranteed peaceful relations. The Nubians agreed to send several hundred slaves each year to Egypt, while the Egyptians may have been obliged to send food and manufactured goods south.^[6] This treaty would stand for over six centuries.

At some point Makuria eventually merged with Nobatia to the north.^[7] The evidence for when this occurred is contradictory. The Arab accounts of the invasion in 652 only make reference to a single state based at Dongola. The baqt, negotiated by the Makurian king, applied to all of Nubia north of Alodia. This has led some scholars to feel that the two kingdoms were unified during this turbulent period. However, a book written in 690 makes clear that Makuria and Nobatia were still two separate and rather hostile kingdoms. Clear evidence for union is provided by an inscription from the reign of King Merkurios at Taifa that makes clear Nobatia was under Makurian control. Every source after this date has Nobtia under Makurian control. This leads other scholars to feel that the unification occurred during the reign of Merkurios, who was described as the "New Constantine" by John the Deacon.^[8]

What this new merged kingdom should be called is unclear in both contemporary sources and among modern historians. Makuria remained in use as a geographic term for the southern half of the kingdom, but it was also used to describe the kingdom in its entirety. Some writers refer to it simply as Nubia, ignoring that southern Nubia was still under the independent kingdom of Alodia. It is also sometimes called the Kingdom of Dongola, after the capital city. It was also sometimes called the Kingdom of Makuria and Nobatia, perhaps implying a dual monarchy. Dotawo could be another name, or it could refer to an entirely separate kingdom.^[9]

Height

Makuria seems to have been stable and prosperous during the eighth and ninth centuries. During this period Egypt was weakened by frequent civil wars and the threat of invasion was low. Instead it was the Nubians who intervened in the affairs of their northern neighbour. Much of Upper Egypt was still Christian, and they looked to the Nubian kingdoms for protection. One report has a Nubian army sacking Cairo in the eighth century, but this is probably apocryphal. ^[10]

Not a great deal is known about Makuria during this period. One important story is that of Zacharias III sending his son Georgios to Baghdad to negotiate a reduction of the bakt. Georgios as king also plays a prominent role in the story of Arab adventurer al-Umari. The best evidence is archeological. This shows that the period was one of stability and seeming prosperity. Nubian pottery, painting, and architecture all reached their heights during this era. It also seems to have been a long period of stability in the Nile floods without the famine caused by small floods and the destruction caused by large ones.

Egypt and Makuria developed close and peaceful relations when Egypt was ruled by the Fatimids. The Shi'ite Fatimids had few allies in the Muslim world, and they turned to the southern Christians as allies.^[11] Fatimid power also depended upon the black slaves provided by Makuria, who were used to man the Fatimid army. Trade between the two states flourished: Egypt sent wheat, wine, and linen south while Makuria exported ivory, cattle, ostrich feathers, and slaves. Relations with Egypt soured when the Ayyubids came to power in 1171. Early in the Ayyubid period the Nubians invaded Egypt, perhaps in support of the Fatimid allies.^[12] The Ayyubid's repulsed their invasion and in response Salah-ed-din dispatched his brother Turan Shah to invaded Nubia. He defeated the Nubians, and for several years occupied Qasr Ibrim before retreating north. The Ayyubids dispatched an emissary to Makuria to see if it was worth conquering. He reported that the land was too poor and the Ayyubids seem to have largely ignored their southern neighbour for the next century.

Decline

During this period there are no records from travelers to Makuria and the events of the period from 1171 to 1272 has 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 the decline of Makuria is Ibn Khaldun, writing several decades later, who blamed it on Bedouin invasions and Nubian intermarriage with Arabs. The Ayyubids dealt very aggresively with the Bedouin tribes of the nearby deserts, forcing them south into conflict with the Nubians. Archeology gives clear evidence of increasing instability. Once unfortified cities gained city walls, the people retreated to better defended position like the cliff tops at Qasr Ibrim, and houses throughout the region were built far sturdier with secret storage hiding places for food and other valuables. Archeology also shows increased signs of Arabization and Islamicization. Free trade between the kingdoms was part of the bakt and over time Arab merchants became prominent in Dongola and other cities. Eventually the northern area, most of what was once Nobatia, had become largely Arabized and Islamicized. Largely independent of Dongola it was increasingly referred to as al-Maris.

While the desert tribes may have been the most important destructive force, the campaigns of the Egyptian Mamlukes are far better documented. An important component of the bakt was the promise that Makuria would secure Egypt's southern border against raids by desert nomads, like the Beja. The Makurian state could no longer do this, prompting interventions by Egyptian armies that further weakened it. In 1272 the Mamluk Sultan Baybars invaded, after King David I had attacked the Egyptian city of Aidhab, initiating several decades of intervention by the Mamlukes in Nubian affairs. Internal difficulties seem to have also hurt the kingdom. David's cousin Shekanda claimed the throne and travelled to Cairo to seek the support of the Mamelukes. They agreed and invaded Nubia in 1276 and Shekanda was placed on the throne. The Christian Shekanda then signed an agreement making Makuria a vassal of Egypt and a Mamluke garrison was stationed in Dongola. After only a few years of occupation Shamamun, another member of the Makurian royal family, led a rebellion that eventually defeated the Mamluk garrison. He offered the Egyptian an increase in the annual bakt payments in return for scrapping the obligations Shekanda had agreed to. The Mamluk's armies were occupied elsewhere and he agreed to this new arrangement.

After a period of peace King Karanbas defaulted on these payments and the Egyptians again invaded. This time a Muslim member of the Makurian dynasty was placed on the throne. Sayf al-Din Abdullah Barshambu began converting the nation the Islam and in 1317 the Dongola cathedral was turned into a mosque. This was not accepted by other Makurian leaders and the nation fell into civil war and anarchy. The countryside came under the control of the raiding tribes from the desert, and the monarchy was left having effective control over little more than the capital. The last known evidence of the Makurian dynasty is a call for aid in 1397. In 1412, the Awlad Kenz took control of Nubia and part of Egypt above the Thebaid, and remained the effective rulers until 1517 when the area was conquered and amalgamated into Egypt by the armies of the Ottoman Sultan Selim.

Economy

The main economic activity in Makuria was farming, with farmers growing several crops a year of barley, millet, and also dates. The methods used were generally the same that had been used for millennia. One recent, but important, introduction was the saqiya, an oxen powered water wheel, was introduced in the Roman period and helped increase yields and population density.^[13] Settlement patterns indicate that land was divided into individual plots, rather than a manorial system. The peasants lived in houses built of sun dried brick clustered in small villages.

Important industries included the production of pottery, based at Faras, and weaving based at Dongola. Smaller local industries include leatherworking, metalworking, and the widespread production of baskets, mats, and sandals from palm fibre.^[14] Also important was the gold mined in the Red Sea Hills to the east of Makuria.^[15]

Makurian trade was largely by barter as the state never adopted a currency. In the north, however, Egyptian coins were common.^[16] Makurian trade with Egypt was of great import. From Egypt a wide array of luxury and manufactured goods were imported. The main Makurian export was slaves. The slaves sent north were likely not from Makuria itself, but rather from further south and west in Africa. Little is known about trade and relations with other parts of Africa. There is some archeological evidence of contacts and trade with the areas to the west such as Darfur and Kanem-Bornu, but few details. There seem to have been important political relations between Makuria and Christian Ethiopia to the west. For instance, in the 10th century, Georgios II successfully intervened on behalf of the unnamed ruler at that time, and persuaded Patriarch Philotheos of Alexandria to at last ordain an abuna, or metropolitan for the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. However, there is little evidence of much trade between the two.

Government

Makuria was a monarchy ruled by a king based in Dongola. The king was also considered a priest and could perform mass. ^[17] How succession was decided is not clear. Early writers indicate it was from father to son. After the eleventh century, however, it seems clear that Makuria was using to the uncle to sister's son system used for millennia in Kush. Shinnie speculates that the later form may have actually been used throughout, and the early Arab writers merely misunderstood the situation and incorrectly described Makurian succession as similar to what they were used to.^[18]

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 Qasr Ibrim is the Eparch of Nobatia who seems to have been the viceroy in that region after it was annexed to Makuria. The Eparch's records seem to make clear that he was responsible for trade and diplomacy with the Egyptians. Early records make it seem like the Eparch was appointed by the king, later one's indicate that the position had become hereditary.^[19] This office would eventually become that of the "Lord of the Horses" ruling the autonomous and then Egyptian controlled al-Maris.

The bishops might have played a role in the governance of the state. Ibn Selim el-Aswani noted that before the king responded to his mission he met with a council of bishops.^[20] 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.^[21] It is unclear what the reality was, but the Kingdom of Dotawo prominently mentioned in the Qasr Ibrim documents might be one of these sub-kingdoms.^[22]

Religion

One of the most debated issues among scholars is over the religion of Makuria. Up to the fifth century the old faith of Meroe seems to have remained strong, even while its counterpart in Egypt disappeared. In the fifth century the Nubians went so far as to launch an invasion of Egypt when the Christians tried to turn some of the main temples in churches.^[23] Archeological evidence in this period finds a number of Christian ornaments in Nubia. Some scholars feel that this implies that conversion from below was already taking place. Others argue that it is more likley that these reflected the faith of the manufacturers in Egypt, rather than the buyers in Nubia.

Certain conversion came with a series of six century missions. The Byzantine Empire dispatched an official party to try and convert the kingdoms to Chalcedonian Christianity, but Empress Theodora reportedly conspired to delay the party to allow a group of Monophysites to arrive first.^[24] John of Ephesus reports that the Monophysites successfully converted the kingdoms of Nobatia and Alodia, but that Makuria remained hostile. John of Biclarum states that Makuria embraced 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.^[25]

After this point the exact course of Makurian Christianity is much disputed. It is clear that after the seventh century Makuria had become officially Coptic and loyal to the Coptic Patriarch of Alexandria; 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, and 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. Historians are also divided on whether this was the end of the Melkite/Coptic split. There is some evidence that a Melkite minority persisted until the end of the kingdom.

The church was divided into seven bishoprics: Kalabsha, Qupta, Qasr Ibrim, Faras, Sai, Dongola, and Suenkur.^[26] Unlike Ethiopia, it appears that no national church was established and all seven bishops reported directly to the 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.^[27]

Unlike in Egypt, there is not much evidence for monasticism in Makuria. According to Adams there are only three archeological sites that were 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 to Makuria.^[28]

The end of Christianity in Makuria is unclear, but we are offered a glimpse of the problems it faced from the account of the traveler Francisco Alvarez, who witnessed, while he at the court of Emperor Lebna Dengel in the 1520s, an embassy from the Nubian Christians, who came to him asking for priests, bishops, and other personnel desperately needed to keep Christianity alive in their land. Lebna Dengel declined to help, stating that he received his bishop from the patriarch of Alexandria, and that they too should go to him for help.^[29]

Culture

Christian Nubia was long considered something of a backwater, mainly because its graves were small and lacking the grave goods of previous eras.^[30] Modern scholars realize that this was due to cultural reasons, and that the Makurians actually had a rich and vibrant art and culture.

One of the most important discoveries of the rushed work prior to the flooding of Lower Nubia was the Cathedral of Faras. This large building had been completely filled with sand preserving a series of magnificent paintings. Similar, but less well preserved, paintings have been found at several other sites in Makuria, including palaces and private homes giving an overall impression of Makurian art.^[31] The style and content was heavily influenced by Byzantine art, and also showed influence from Egyptian Coptic art and from Palestine.^[32] Mainly religious in nature, it depicts many of the standard Christian scenes. Also illustrated are a number of Makurian kings and bishops, with noticeably darker skin than the Biblical figures.

Nubian pottery in this period is also notable. Shinnie refers to it as the "richest indigenous pottery tradition on the African continent." Scholars divide the pottery into three eras.^[33] The early period, from 550 to 650 according to Adams, or to 750 according the Shinnie, saw fairly simple pottery similar to that of the late Roman Empire. It also saw much of Nubian pottery imported from Egypt rather than produced domestically. Adams feels this trade ended with the invasion of 652, Shinnie links it to the collapse of Umayyad rule in 750. After this domestic production increased, with a major production facility at Faras. In this middle era that lasted until around 1100 the pottery was painted with floral and zoomorphic scenes and showed distinct Umayyad and even Sassanian influences.^[34] The late period 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.

There were a number of different languages in use in Makuria. In early centuries, when Byzantine influence was still strong, Greek was the primary written language and perhaps also the language used by the royal court. Greek continued to be used in later centuries for ceremonial purposes, such as on many gravestones, but these later inscriptions are marked by frequent spelling and grammar errors implying reduced knowledge of the language. Eventually Old Nubian, which was unquestionably the language used by most of the population, became the main written language. An Arab traveler to the region stated that Nobatia and Makuria spoke a different languages, almost all our documents are from what was Nobatia and this language seems ancestral to the modern Nobiin language. Adams notes that the ancient border between Makuria and Nobatia today is close to the border between the Nobiin and Dongolawi languages. Another important language in Makuria was Coptic. Links with Egyptian Christians were strong and Makuria seems to have made wide use of Coptic religious literature. Makuria also saw regular influxes of Coptic speaking refugees from Egypt. In the later years of the kingdom's existence Arabic became an increasingly important tongue. Arab traders were important throughout the area and Arabic seems to have become the language of commerce. As these traders settled each major community gained an Arab quarter.

Rulers

Note that dates are quite uncertain for most Makurian rulers.

Notes

^ K. Michalowski, "The Spreading of Christianity in Nubia," p. 338
^ P.L. & M. Shinnie, "New Light on Medieval Nubia."
^ William Y. Adams Nubia: Corridor to Africa p. 257
^ Wlodzimierz Godlewski. "The Birth of Nubian Art."
^ Adams Corridor to Africa p. 442
^ Jay Sapulding. "Medieval Christian Nubia and the Islamic World: A Reconsideration of the Baqt Treaty," International Journal of African Historical Studies XXVIII, 3 (1995).
^ See William Y. Adams "The United Kingdom of Makouria and Nobadia: A Medieval Nubian Anomaly" for a full discussion of this issue.
^ P.L. Shinnie Ancient Nubia p. 124.
^ Adams "The United Kingdom" p. 257.
^ Adams Corridor to Africa p. 456
^ L. Kropacek, "Nubia from the late twelfth century to the Funj conquest in the early fifteenth century," p. 399
^ ibid p. 401
^ P.L. Shinnie, "Christian Nubia." g. 556
^ S. Jakobielski "Christian Nubia at the Height of its Civilization," pg. 207
^ Shinnie, "New Light"
^ Jakobielski p. 207
^ Shinnie, "Christian Nubia." p. 581
^ ibid. p. 581
^ Adams "The United Kingdom" p. 258
^ Jakobielski p. 211
^ Louis V. Zabkar, "The Eparch of Nobatia as King," Journal of Near Eastern Studies. 1963.
^ Adams "The United Kingdom" p. 259
^ Adams Corridor to Africa p. 440
^ Adams Corridor to Africa p. 441
^ Shinnie, "New Light"
^ Shinnie, "Christian Nubia." p. 583
^ Adams Corridor to Africa p. 472
^ Adams Corridor to Africa p. 478
^ C.F. Beckingham and G.W.B. Huntingford, The Prester John of the Indies (Cambridge: Hakluyt Society, 1961), pp. 460-462.
^ Adams Corridor to Africa p. 495
^ Wlodzimierz Godlewski. "The Birth of Nubian Art." p. 255
^ ibid p. 256
^ Shinnie, "New Light"
^ Shinnie, "Christian Nubia." p. 570

References

Adams, William Y. Nubia: Corridor to Africa. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1977.
Adams, William Y. "The United Kingdom of Makouria and Nobadia: A Medieval Nubian Anomaly." Egypt and Africa: Nubia from Prehistory to Islam edited by W.V. Davies. London: British Museum Press, 1991.
E.A. Wallis Budge. A History of Ethiopia: Nubia and Abyssinia, 1928. Oosterhout, the Netherlands: Anthropological Publications, 1970.
Godlewski, Wlodzimierz. "The Birth of Nubain Art: Some Remarks." Egypt and Africa: Nubia from Prehistory to Islam edited by W.V. Davies. London: British Museum Press, 1991.
Jakobielski, S. "Christian Nubia at the Height of its Civilization." UNESCO General History of Africa, Volume III.
Kropacek, L. "Nubia from the late twelfth century to the Funj conquest in the early fifteenth century", UNESCO General History of Africa, Volume IV.
Michalowski, K. "The Spreading of Christianity in Nubia." UNESCO General History of Africa, Volume II.
Shinnie, P.L. Ancient Nubia London: Kegan Paul, 1996
Shinnie, P.L. "Christian Nubia." The Cambridge History of Africa: Volume 2, From c. 500 BC to AD 1050. editor J. D. Fage. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1979.
Shinnie, P.L. & M. "New Light on Medieval Nubia." Journal of African History. VI, 3. 1965.

External links

http://lexicorient.com/e.o/sudan_5.htm