L. The Nubian Christian Kingdoms: 600-1500 AD

1. The Christianization of Nubia

In the fourth century AD, the Ethiopian kingdom of Axum declared itself Christian, and soon the Christian Byzantine court at Constantinople concluded a military and trade alliance with it. In AD 524, the Byzantines pledged to supply Axum with mercenary troops drawn from the Nubian tribes of the Blemmyes and Nobadae to assist it in its invasion of Yemen. At this point it seemed desirable to the Byzantine emperor, as a matter of border security, to convert the Blemmyes and Nobadae to Christianity. This occurred about 540, and the temple of Isis at Philae was finally closed by the emperor Justinian without apparent incident. The Christianization of Lower Nubia, however, was probably not entirely peaceful. In 1986, the Egypt Exploration Society under the direction of Boyce Driscell discovered the ruins of the last Post-Meroitic (i.e. "pagan") temple at Qasr Ibrim, which had been desecrated and destroyed in a single violent episode in the sixth century AD. Here were smashed Egyptian statues, overthrown altars, fragments of magnificent textiles from the sanctuary, all viciously torn to shreds, and painted wooden panels, reminiscent of Christian icons but portraying Egyptian deities or symbolic animals, which had been scattered wildly about. It seemed to be the decisive and vivid end of Egyptian and Meroitic antiquity and the ancient religion.

In the sixth century AD two competing Christian doctrines upset the Eastern church, and supporters of each doctrine attempted to secure a foothold in Nubia, which became an arena for the religious, ideological and political struggle occurring elsewhere in the Eastern world. One, called the Monophysite ("One Body") doctrine, held that Jesus had but one nature that was both human and divine. This doctrine was supported by the native clergies of Egypt, Armenia, and Syria. The other, called the Dyophysite ("Two-Body") doctrine, held that Jesus had separate human and divine natures. This concept was held sacred by the clergy of Byzantium. In AD 451, the Monophysite doctrine was offically declared a heresy by Byzantium, but in Egypt it remained strong primarily because it gave the Egyptian church a means of asserting its ideological and political independence from the Byzantine church and government.

2. The Nubian Christian Kingdoms

Nubia in the sixth century AD was divided into three kingdoms: a northern, called Nobatia, which extended roughly from the First Cataract south to the Third; a central, called Makuria, which extended from the Third Cataract south to the Sixth; and a southern called Alwa, which extended from the Sixth Cataract southward up the Blue Nile to the no-man's land between it and the Abyssinian (Ethiopian) kingdom of Axum. Competing Monophysite and Dyophysite missionaries to Nobatia resulted in its conversion to Monophysitism in 543 and its becoming allied to the Egyptian Coptic church. Since the Nubian kingdoms were all mutually mistrustful of each other, Makuria embraced the Dyophysite doctrine and became allied with Byzantium in 570. Alwa, in 580, then became Monopysite in opposition to Makuria on its north and Axum in the south, both of which were Dyophysite. By the mid-seventh century, however, as Egypt fell first to the invading armies of the Persians (616-629) and then to the Arabs (639-641), Makuria absorbed Nobatia and became Monopysite - as an extension of the Egyptian Coptic Church, which retained independence under the early Egyptian Arab rulers because it opposed Byzantium.

Although the Coptic Christian Church in Egypt was allowed to exist under Islam, it became marginalized. With the advent of secure Islamic control over the eastern Mediterranean and Red Sea, both Alwa and Axum soon also became Monophysite, now recognizing the authority of the Egyptian Coptic patriarch, because they, too, were cut off from the protection of Byzantium. Local political and religious rivalries were now subordinated to the greater threat, which was Islam.

The Arab armies that subdued Egypt also attempted to conquer Nubia in 642 and again in 652. In the first confrontation, the Arabs were repulsed decisively by Nubian archers, which, after three millennia, were still devastatingly effective. In the second confrontation, the Arabs, who were now armed with coats of mail, were more successful, and this led both sides to make a treaty. This "pact" (known, in fact, as the "Baqt," from the Greek pakton) declared that the Arab authorities in Egypt would make no further attacks on Nubia if the Nubians provided an annual tribute of 360 slaves and allowed a mosque to be built in the center of their capital at Old Dongola. The contract was signed, and it remained in effect for six centuries.

From the late seventh to the fifteenth century, Nubia had two Christian kingdoms, each with its own ruler. Old Dongola, the capital of Makuria, is now the largest Christian archaeological site in the Sudan (currently being excavated by a Polish team from the National Museum, Warsaw, under the direction of Dr, W, Godlewski). The capital of Alwa was Soba, a smaller site on the north bank of the Blue Nile, about 15 miles upstream from modern Khartoum. There were thirteen episcopal sees or provinces, each with its own bishop and each with its own cathedral, and every settlement had at least one church. The cathedrals were among the greatest architectural and artistic achievements of the age, as revealed by the well preserved cathedral found at Faras during the 1960's by Polish archaeologists. These cathedrals, built with assistance from Byzantine architects and artists, were, after the eighth century, entirely decorated on the interior with spectacular, brilliantly painted frescoes of scenes and figures from the Old and New Testaments. Although Faras cathedral was flooded by the Aswan Dam, its frescoes fortunately could be saved and now grace both the Sudan National Museum in Khartoum and the Warsaw Museum in Poland

There were also monasteries for the training of monks. A particularly picturesque ruined medieval monastery can still be seen at Ghazali (ÔGazelle'), located in an isolated desert area about 12 miles from the Nile opposite ancient Napata (Gebel Barkal). The ruined church, outbuildings, and cemetery of monks' graves lie on the edge of a wadi ("dry streambed") near several lovely stands of palms.

The adoption of Christianity by the Nubians allowed them to replace the secretive ancient Egyptian cults, to which they had so long been attached, with a new religion that was easy to grasp and which welcomed the common man. Unlike the old religion, which excluded the people from the temple sanctuaries and the presence of the gods, Christianity provided the people with holy places built within their settlements and into which they were invited and given direct personal access to the Divinity. The new faith also provided simple concepts for living and promised social equality after death.

Although the rule of the Nubian Christian kings was considered to have divine sanction, the rulers themselves were no longer considered divine; they were mere servants of God, required to follow the same rules as all men. The only divine king was Jesus himself, and only he could be celebrated in art, architecture, and literature. The medieval Nubian kings, thus, are known only from texts. The royal tomb, as a symbol of authority, ceased to exist, and tombs of Christian Nubian kings are not known. Similarly, the graves of private citizens are small and plain, and no one - from king to commoner - was any longer buried with personal possessions and offerings. Only bishops seem to have received special burials; they were placed in vaulted chambers; they were dressed in their robes wearing their rings, and sometimes, as in most ancient times, were buried lying on their beds. The interior walls of the vaults were whitewashed on their interiors and inscribed with New Testament texts.

The Christian era in Nubia marked a return to literacy, although literacy in the Middle Ages was primarily a possession of church personnel. Despite the allegiance of the Nubian church to the Egyptian church, the church language was primarily Greek as opposed to Coptic. By the later Middle Ages, the Nubians used their own language but wrote it in Greek letters.

Eventually the authority of the Nubian kings declined. Increasing power was assumed by local chiefs, who began to put more effort into building castles than churches. Churches became increasingly smaller, while castles, as in Europe of the same period, became the most common monuments of the age - as well as symbols of Nubia's growing instability. By 1400, Nubia had become a "maze of warring principalities" and now lay vulnerable to immigrants bearing Islam.