Chapters › Christian Nubia · Egypt
Islamic Egypt (Rashidun–Fatimid–Ayyubid)
641 CE – 1250 CE Arabic under review
Approximate area of control
Research in progress No sourced map of this era's territory yet, so no area is drawn.
Key events
- Arab conquest 641
- Fatimid Cairo 969
Capitals / sites
Fustat / Cairo
Geopolitics
After Egypt came under Arab rule in 641, the Arabs signed a baqt with Nubia: an annual tribute of slaves and goods in return for food and clothing. Abdallah ibn Abi Sarh still raided Dongola in 651–2 (GHA II ch.12, p.333). Under the Fatimids relations were 'fairly friendly'. In 1102–3 the Nubian king handed the rebel Kanz al-Dawla back to Egypt, and troops were stationed at Aswan to guard the frontier (GHA IV ch.16, pp.399, 401). Ayyubid relations began in 1172 with a Nubian attack; Turan Shah counter-attacked and occupied Qasr Ibrim for a time (p.401). GHA III adds the treaty terms: no Arab attack on Nubia; free passage for travellers but not settlers; extradition of fugitives; upkeep of the mosque in Old Dongola; and an annual 360 slaves to the governor of Aswan, in exchange for 1,300 ardeb of wheat, 1,300 kanir of wine, linen and cloth (GHA III ch.8, pp.194–195). Muslim jurists treated the bakt as a trade treaty rather than a political instrument; raids and 'struggles for the gold or emerald mines' still occurred, but the land above Aswan stayed independent (ch.7, p.168). After King Zacharias stopped paying under Harun al-Rashid, his son Georgios went to Baghdad, and the 836–7 treaty made the bakt payable every three years and cancelled the arrears (ch.8, p.209). The Fatimids renewed the bakt (ch.7, p.182).
Culture
With the Arab conquest, 'Christian Nubia was severed from the Mediterranean culture for centuries' (GHA II ch.12, p.333), but links with the Coptic patriarchate of Alexandria continued, with the Nubian king acting as its protector (GHA IV ch.16, p.399). Excavated pottery shows Fatimid designs influencing Nubian manufacture (p.399). Kropáček says merchants did more to spread Islam than official Fatimid missionaries, and 'trade paved the way for Islamization' (p.401). Northern Nubia was progressively Arabized and Islamized between the 9th and 12th centuries (p.402).
Economy
Kropáček calls the baqt 'a convenient formula for economic interdependence', observed for six centuries despite occasional raids (GHA IV ch.16, p.398). Muslim merchants could travel freely in Nubia, though settlement was usually tolerated only in the northern borderland (p.401). Black troops of Sudani origin, 'largely obtained from Mukurra and 'Alwa', were an important part of the Fatimid army (p.401). In the 7th–11th centuries Nubia imported grain, wine, linen and cloth under the bakt, plus glass from Egypt. It exported mainly slaves, with gold, ivory and skins also traded. Internal trade was by barter; Egyptian coin circulated only in the north, and a customs frontier at Upper Maks ('Akasha) separated the foreign-trade zone from the royal-controlled heartland (GHA III ch.8, p.207). Jakobielski suggests Kordofan and Darfur may have supplied the bakt slaves (p.199).
Regional power
Research in progress We have not yet read a source for this section. It will be added once one is checked; nothing is filled in by guesswork.
Open data flags
- regional_power: no actors scored
- Pass 20 text: [WORKING TRANSLATION – needs native Arabic review] for every Arabic field
- Pass 21: GHA III ch.7–8 added
Sources
- K. Michałowski (1981) The spreading of Christianity in Nubia (General History of Africa II, ch.12) UNESCO link [en]
- L. Kropáček (1984) Nubia from the late 12th century to the Funj conquest in the early 16th century, ch.16 (General History of Africa IV) UNESCO / Heinemann / University of California Press link [en]
- T. Bianquis (1988) Egypt from the Arab conquest until the end of the Fatimid state (1171) (General History of Africa III, ch.7) UNESCO / Heinemann / University of California Press link [en]
- S. Jakobielski (1988) Christian Nubia at the height of its civilization (General History of Africa III, ch.8) UNESCO / Heinemann / University of California Press link [en]
- UNESCO International Scientific Committee General History of Africa, IV: Africa from the Twelfth to the Sixteenth Century UNESCO link [en]
- Wikipedia contributors Muslim conquest of Egypt Wikipedia link [en]
- Wikipedia contributors Fatimid Caliphate Wikipedia link [en]