马库里亚

Makuria (Old Nubian: ⲇⲱⲧⲁⲩⲟ, Dotawo; Greek: Μακουρία, romanized: Makouria; Arabic: المقرة, romanized: al-Muqurra) was a medieval Nubian kingdom in what is today northern Sudan and southern Egypt. Its capital was Dongola (Old Nubian: ⲧⲟⲩⲅⲅⲟⲩⲗ, Touggoul) in the Dongola Reach, about halfway between the 3rd and 4th Nile cataract.

Coming into being after the collapse of the Kingdom of Kush in the 4th century, it originally covered the Nile Valley from the 3rd cataract to somewhere south of Abu Hamed at Mograt Island. The capital of Dongola was founded around 500 and soon after, in the mid-6th century, Makuria converted to Christianity. Probably in the early 7th century Makuria annexed its northern neighbour Nobatia, now sharing a border with Byzantine Egypt.

In 652 a Rashidun Arab army invaded and besieged Dongola, but was repulsed. Both sides signed the Baqt treaty which would ensure largely uninterrupted peace between Egypt and Makuria until the 13th century. The period from the 9th to 11th century saw the peak of Makuria's cultural development resulting in the construction of buildings like the Throne Hall of Dongola, the great cruciform church of Dongola, and the Banganarti monastery, alongside the development of arts such as wall paintings and finely crafted and decorated pottery. Nubian became increasingly important as written language, but Coptic, Greek and Arabic are also recorded. Makuria maintained close dynastic ties with the fellow Nubian kingdom of Alodia to the south and expanded into northern Kordofan, while also exterting a limited political and cultural influence in Upper Egypt as far north as Akhmim.

History

Early period (5th–8th century)

By the early 4th century, if not before, the Kingdom of Kush with its capital Meroe was collapsing. 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.……

Government

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 12th century, however, it seems clear that Makuria was using the uncle-to-sister's-son system.……

Culture

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

Languages

Nubian

In the riverine territories of Makuria the population spoke two Nubian languages: Old Nobiin, which was spoken in what was once Nobatia from the 1st cataract to about the 3rd cataract;……

Religion

Paganism

One of the most debated issues among scholars is over the religion of Makuria. Up to the 5th century the old faith of Meroe, the Kushite religion seems to have remained strong, even while ancient Egyptian religion, its counterpart in Egypt, disappeared.……

Christianity

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.……

Economy

The main economic activity in Makuria was agriculture, with farmers growing several crops a year of barley, millet, and dates. The methods used were generally the same that had been used for millennia. Small plots of well irrigated land were lined along the banks of the Nile, which would be fertilized by the river's annual flooding.……

Contact with Latin Europe

Thanks to the crusades western Europe grew increasingly aware of the existence of Christian Nubia during the 12th and 13th centuries. By the early 14th century there were even proposals to ally with the Nubians for another crusade against the Mamluks.……