An Arabic text found on a centuries-old pile of rubbish has confirmed the historical existence of an African king whose legendary status resembles that of King Arthur in Britain.
The document, related to the Nubian King Qashqash, moves him from a semi-legendary figure, mentioned only in later literature, to a historically verifiable monarch.
It represents the earliest contemporary archaeological evidence showing that the king exercised authority during a formative period in Sudan's pre-colonial history.
Old Dongola, located near the Nile River in northern Sudan, was once the capital of the Christian kingdom of Makuria. After the 14th century, the country entered a poorly documented period of transition, often described by historians as fragmentation and gradual Islamization, with the Arabic language replacing earlier written traditions. The lack of surviving documents has made it difficult to identify leaders and the manner in which power was exercised.
Like King Arthur in Britain, evidence for Qashqash's existence was previously limited to later tales that saw him as an ancestor of future rulers. However, the now-discovered Arabic fragment sheds light on the figure mentioned only in that context.
The text was found among piles of rubbish and has been dated to the 17th century, based on comparisons with records in the Sudanese text Ṭabaqāt, which documents the lives of Sudanese holy men and scholars. “Although the king’s order is undated, external evidence allows us to estimate its approximate time,” write the researchers, led by Tomasz Baranski of the University of Warsaw.
According to Ṭabaqāt, King Hasan, son of Qashqash, married his daughter to the renowned religious leader Muhammad b. ʿĪsa Suwār al-Dhahab, who was active in Old Dongola no later than the early to mid-17th century.
The order found reads: “From King Qashqash to Khiḍr, son of ŠHDT/ŠHB(T?). As soon as Muhammad al-ʿArab comes to you, take from him three ʾRDWYĀT and give him a sheep with its offspring, and collect it from ʿAbd al-Jābīr; and give it to the owner without delay. Do not hesitate! This is my letter/instruction to you. His scribe, Ḥamad, wrote it. Greetings. And you, Khiḍr, give ʿAbd al-Jābīr three pieces of cotton and a hat (or three cotton hats) and collect the sheep with its offspring for the owner.”
The text is not written in perfect classical Arabic, but in a vernacular form, a legacy of the cultural changes of the time. Scholars believe that Qashqash's rule may have begun as early as the late 16th century, making him a contemporary of Queen Elizabeth I of Britain.
The document was found inside a layer of rubble in the Dongola fortification building, known as the House of Mecca, a term referring to a minor king. The excavations, part of the UMMA project, revealed that the building differed significantly from the surrounding houses. Among other objects found were fine silk and cotton textiles, leather shoes, knife handles made of elephant or rhino horn, a gold ring and musket bullets, indicating an elite occupant.
These discoveries, together with the written order in the name of Qashqash, provide an important step towards understanding late medieval Nubia and one of its founding kings.
The study was published in the journal Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa. /GazetaExpress/
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