A newly discovered document from the archaeological site of Old Dongola in Sudan has confirmed the historical existence of King Qashqash, a ruler who had previously been regarded as a semi-legendary figure in local historical traditions. The Arabic document offers a rare glimpse into how power was exercised in Nubia during the centuries after the decline of the medieval Christian kingdom of Makuria.
The document was uncovered during excavations conducted by researchers from the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology at the University of Warsaw. Their study of the find has been published in the journal Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa. The discovery is part of an ongoing project examining dozens of Arabic texts discovered at Old Dongola, including letters, legal notes, administrative documents, and amulets.
At the centre of the study is a short order issued in the name of King Qashqash. Although the text itself concerns routine matters, it provides valuable evidence for the political and social life of Dongola during a period when Sudan was undergoing significant changes linked to Arabisation and Islamisation.
The document contains instructions sent by the king to a subordinate named Khidr. In the order, Khidr is told to receive three units of cloth from a man named Muhammad al-ʿArab and give him a ewe and her lamb in exchange. The animals were to be collected from another individual, ʿAbd al-Jabir, suggesting that the transaction involved multiple participants and the coordination of goods within the king’s network.
Dorota Dzierzbicka and Tomasz Barański overlooking the document – photo by M. Rekłajtis / University of Warsaw
Although such exchanges might appear mundane, the researchers argue that they reflect the way rulers maintained relationships and authority within their communities. Rather than simple commercial trade, the order likely represents a form of reciprocal gift exchange through which kings reinforced loyalty and prestige among local elites and visiting merchants.
The document was discovered in a large residence within the citadel of Old Dongola, sometimes referred to locally as the “King’s House.” Archaeologists uncovered more than twenty Arabic documents in this building, along with artefacts that point to its elite character. These included textiles made from silk, cotton and linen, leather footwear, a dagger handle carved from ivory or rhinoceros horn, and even musket balls and a powder horn—objects associated with high status in the region during the period.
The sheet of paper containing the king’s order is relatively small and irregular in shape, suggesting it may have been only a draft rather than the final version of an official document. Its language also contains several grammatical irregularities, which the researchers interpret as evidence that Arabic was still developing as a written administrative language in the region at the time.
Dating the document required combining several types of evidence. Coins found in the same room were minted during the reign of the Ottoman sultan Murad IV, who ruled between 1623 and 1640, indicating that the deposit cannot be earlier than the seventeenth century. Other historical references suggest that King Qashqash himself probably ruled in the late sixteenth or early seventeenth century.
Graveyard at Old Dongola – photo by Hans Birger Nilsen / Wikimedia Commons
Before this discovery, Qashqash was known only from brief references in later historical writings, including Sudanese biographical traditions that mention him as an ancestor of prominent religious figures. The newly discovered document therefore provides the first direct evidence linking this figure to the political life of Old Dongola.
The find also highlights the importance of Old Dongola as a centre of power and cultural exchange in the centuries following the collapse of the medieval Nubian kingdoms. During this period the region was influenced by several political forces, including the Funj Sultanate and Ottoman Egypt, while local Nubian traditions continued to shape everyday life.
The discovery is one of the first results of ongoing research into the Arabic documents found at the site, which are helping historians reconstruct the political, economic, and linguistic history of Nubia during a poorly documented era.
The researchers say the wider importance of the find goes beyond confirming Qashqash’s existence:
The documentary sources uncovered at Old Dongola, including the king’s order, provide invaluable insights into the network of connections in Dongola before the colonial era, which began with the Turco-Egyptian invasion of Sudan in 1820. This evidence presents a unique opportunity to explore the linguistic transformations and cultural interactions that have shaped Nubia over time. While some terminology may be challenging to decipher, it also serves as a gateway to understanding the diverse traditions that have influenced pre-colonial Sudan, including those of Ottoman Egypt and the Funj Sultanate.
The article, “The King of Nubia at work: archaeological context and text edition of a sixteenth/seventeenth-century Arabic document from Old Dongola,” by Tomasz Barański, Artur Obłuski, and Maciej Wyżgoł, appears in Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa. Click here to read it.
To learn more about the archaeological project, UMMA-Urban Metamorphosis of the community of a Medieval African capital city, click here.
A newly discovered document from the archaeological site of Old Dongola in Sudan has confirmed the historical existence of King Qashqash, a ruler who had previously been regarded as a semi-legendary figure in local historical traditions. The Arabic document offers a rare glimpse into how power was exercised in Nubia during the centuries after the decline of the medieval Christian kingdom of Makuria.
The document was uncovered during excavations conducted by researchers from the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology at the University of Warsaw. Their study of the find has been published in the journal Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa. The discovery is part of an ongoing project examining dozens of Arabic texts discovered at Old Dongola, including letters, legal notes, administrative documents, and amulets.
At the centre of the study is a short order issued in the name of King Qashqash. Although the text itself concerns routine matters, it provides valuable evidence for the political and social life of Dongola during a period when Sudan was undergoing significant changes linked to Arabisation and Islamisation.
The document contains instructions sent by the king to a subordinate named Khidr. In the order, Khidr is told to receive three units of cloth from a man named Muhammad al-ʿArab and give him a ewe and her lamb in exchange. The animals were to be collected from another individual, ʿAbd al-Jabir, suggesting that the transaction involved multiple participants and the coordination of goods within the king’s network.
Although such exchanges might appear mundane, the researchers argue that they reflect the way rulers maintained relationships and authority within their communities. Rather than simple commercial trade, the order likely represents a form of reciprocal gift exchange through which kings reinforced loyalty and prestige among local elites and visiting merchants.
The document was discovered in a large residence within the citadel of Old Dongola, sometimes referred to locally as the “King’s House.” Archaeologists uncovered more than twenty Arabic documents in this building, along with artefacts that point to its elite character. These included textiles made from silk, cotton and linen, leather footwear, a dagger handle carved from ivory or rhinoceros horn, and even musket balls and a powder horn—objects associated with high status in the region during the period.
The sheet of paper containing the king’s order is relatively small and irregular in shape, suggesting it may have been only a draft rather than the final version of an official document. Its language also contains several grammatical irregularities, which the researchers interpret as evidence that Arabic was still developing as a written administrative language in the region at the time.
Dating the document required combining several types of evidence. Coins found in the same room were minted during the reign of the Ottoman sultan Murad IV, who ruled between 1623 and 1640, indicating that the deposit cannot be earlier than the seventeenth century. Other historical references suggest that King Qashqash himself probably ruled in the late sixteenth or early seventeenth century.
Before this discovery, Qashqash was known only from brief references in later historical writings, including Sudanese biographical traditions that mention him as an ancestor of prominent religious figures. The newly discovered document therefore provides the first direct evidence linking this figure to the political life of Old Dongola.
The find also highlights the importance of Old Dongola as a centre of power and cultural exchange in the centuries following the collapse of the medieval Nubian kingdoms. During this period the region was influenced by several political forces, including the Funj Sultanate and Ottoman Egypt, while local Nubian traditions continued to shape everyday life.
The discovery is one of the first results of ongoing research into the Arabic documents found at the site, which are helping historians reconstruct the political, economic, and linguistic history of Nubia during a poorly documented era.
The researchers say the wider importance of the find goes beyond confirming Qashqash’s existence:
The documentary sources uncovered at Old Dongola, including the king’s order, provide invaluable insights into the network of connections in Dongola before the colonial era, which began with the Turco-Egyptian invasion of Sudan in 1820. This evidence presents a unique opportunity to explore the linguistic transformations and cultural interactions that have shaped Nubia over time. While some terminology may be challenging to decipher, it also serves as a gateway to understanding the diverse traditions that have influenced pre-colonial Sudan, including those of Ottoman Egypt and the Funj Sultanate.
The article, “The King of Nubia at work: archaeological context and text edition of a sixteenth/seventeenth-century Arabic document from Old Dongola,” by Tomasz Barański, Artur Obłuski, and Maciej Wyżgoł, appears in Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa. Click here to read it.
To learn more about the archaeological project, UMMA-Urban Metamorphosis of the community of a Medieval African capital city, click here.
Top Image: The king’s order from Old Dongola (inv. 1990, side A) © M. Rekłajtis/PCMA.
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