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Kingdom of Makuria in Nubia

Type Event Region Africa Time 1035–1040

In the late 1030s, the Christian kingdom of Makuria in northern Nubia maintained independence between the Fatimid Caliphate and the Byzantine Empire,…

Timeline

  1. 1035–1039Dongola · SudanThe Makurian king 'Kula' ruled from Dongola over territory between the Third and Fourth Cataracts, with cathedrals and monasteries throughout the valley. The kingdom used Old Nubian and Greek in church liturgy; farmers grew wheat and sorghum on the Nile floodplain, and church lands enjoyed tax exemptions.
  2. 1039Aswan frontier · EgyptMakuria and Fatimid Egypt maintained peace under the Baqt treaty: Nubia supplied slaves and ivory, Egypt provided textiles and episcopal consecrations. Fatimid central power weakened in the 1030s, but border trade and diplomacy continued, and the Nubian Christian world remained relatively stable.
  3. 1039–1040Southern Nubia · SudanMakuria maintained complex relations with the Christian kingdom of Alwa to the south and pagan tribes further south, with Nile shipping linking upstream and downstream trade. Church architecture and mural art continued to develop in the 1030s, reflecting the distinctive aesthetic tradition of Nubian Christian civilization.

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