UNESCO Ancient Civilizations of Africa (Editor G. Mokhtar)

The spreading of Christianity in Nubia
By order of the empress Theodora the priest Julianos gave Monophysite
baptism only to the sovereigns of the country. Under the influence of
Christian Egypt most of its people had been strongly attracted to the new
faith and had adopted it much earlier. A church on the banks of the Nile
in an outlying district was serving a humble Christian community back in
the sixth century. The conversion of the Nobadian rulers to Christianity
was for them an important political act. They no longer had a well-defined
religious ideology with which to hold the people's allegiance and Christianity
now gave them access to Egypt, where since the fourth century
bishops had resided on the island of Philae. 14 Through Egypt they could
reach the Mediterranean and the centre of the civilization of that era -
Byzantium.
The kingdom of the Nobadae (Nüba in Arabic), known as Nobadia,
extended from Philae to the Second Cataract. Its capital was Faras. In
the south, as far as ancient Meroe, another Nubian kingdom emerged in
the sixth century with Old Dongola (Dungula in Arabic) as its capital.
This kingdom was later called Makuria (Muqurra in Arabic). In contrast
to northern Nubia, which had adopted the Monophysite doctrine, Makuria
was converted to orthodox Melkite by a mission which the emperor
Justinian sent out in 567-70. 15
As a result of the Polish excavations carried out at Old Dongola since
1964, four churches and the Christian royal palace have been identified. 16
One of these buildings dates back to the end of the seventh or the beginning
of the eighth century. Beneath it the remains of an earlier church built of
unbaked bricks have been discovered. This religious building, which was
not the cathedral, had five naves and was supported by sixteen granite
columns 5-20 metres in height. In view of the magnitude of the remains
discovered, there is reason to think that the enthusiastic descriptions
given by an Arab traveller in the eleventh century were historically
accurate: Dongola was an important capital, at least as regards its
monuments.
Finally, between 660 and 700 the Makurites also adopted the Monophysite
doctrine and the fact was not without important consequences.
Towards 580, with the support of the Nobadae, a Byzantine mission came
to Alodia and its leader, Bishop Longinos, noted that the country had
already been partly converted by the Aksumites. Towards the end of the
sixth century Nubia was therefore a Christian country consisting of three
kingdoms: Nobadia in the north, Makuria in the centre and Alodia in the
14. U. Monneret de Villard, 1938; H. Munier, 1943, pp. 8ff.
15. U. Monnerèt de Villard, 1938, p. 64; L. P. Kirwan, 1966, p. 127.
16. K. Michalowski, 1966, pp. 189-299; 1969, pp. 30-3; S. Jakobielski and A. Ostrasz;
S. Jakobielski and L. Krzyzaniak; K. Michalowski, pp. 163-6; S. Jakobielski, 1970, pp.
167fr; pp. 70-5; M. Martens, 1973, pp. 263-71; S. Jakobielski, 1975b, pp. 349-60.
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