Ain Farah

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Shard with a drawing of a fish found in 1929. The Christian symbol is regarded as evidence of a connection with the Nubian empires on the Nile

Ain Farah is a ruined medieval castle in Darfur in western Sudan . It is the second largest ruined city of the former Kingdom of Tunjur after Uri .

location

Ain Farah is located in the Furnung Mountains , a picturesque, relatively fertile hilly landscape with a few springs. The main town of the region is Kutum , 120 kilometers northwest of al-Fashir . Ain Farah is on a road about 15 kilometers northwest of Kutum and 25 kilometers from Uri in the same direction. The remains are on a hill about 100 meters high not far from spring lakes, which are used as cattle trough by the village of the same name and the residents of the wider area. Date palms thrive on the lakes . From there, access leads up through a dry valley that was previously secured by a wall at the rear.

history

The origin of the Tunjur is unclear. Immigration to Darfur from the north-west in the 13th century was suspected; according to another consideration, the Tunjur could be an offshoot from the Christian empire of Makuria on the Nile . In this case they would have been defeated by the Kanem Empire in the 13th century , in the first case by the Bornu Empire in the 16th century. Ain Farah could have existed as the location or even the capital of a Christian empire before the 13th century. Judging by the finds of broken pots with Christian symbols from Nubia, the buildings were laid out in Christian times (i.e. before the 14th century). So far it is the westernmost place where finds of Christian Nubia have appeared. Arkell interpreted the place as a monastery from the 10th century, in which there were two churches and at least 26 monk cells. The alleged connection of the place with Nubian-Christian empires is controversial. In the opinion of other experts and in the imagination of the local population, the buildings come from Shau Dorshid, the last Tunjur ruler from the 16th century, who had his capital here. His rule was ended by Ahmad al-Maqur, the first ruler of the Keira dynasty, which ruled the Fur Sultanate until 1916. In the entire Sudan belt widespread mythological legitimacy of the dynasty founder appears as the wise stranger who comes to an uncivilized raw land and culture, combined with bringing Islam.

investment

The entire facility, which extends from the mountain saddle to the ridge, has an urban character with an area of ​​around 500 × 800 meters. Large stone and brick walls can still be seen today. At the end of the ascent through the valley stands the large mosque on the saddle, the outer walls of which were made of natural stone; an inner wall and four angled pillars were made of burnt bricks. The western entrance of the higher castle can be reached via a serpentine road. In front of it lie the remains of the wall of circular cattle kraale on the slope . The first building in the castle is an iwan (audience hall), in which the remains of old slugs were found. It probably served the state administration. The need for such halls is seen as a sign of the Islamization of the state at the time. The palace made of fired bricks was reached via a battlement, the floor plan of which was no longer recognizable in 1980. Lintels and roof beams were made of wood. The round houses on the southern hill opposite the saddle were small and arranged in rows. 400 meters south, on another hill, are the walls of some brick houses, locally known as the "House of the Sultan's Mother", and the remains of a small mosque. Remnants of domed buildings of the Islamic worship of saints (qubbas) show that the square was still inhabited in Islamic times. The first Islamic preachers did not come to the Darfur region until the 16th century.

So far, only surveys , but no excavations, have taken place. Since the mid-1980s, the area has been difficult to reach due to civil wars in South Sudan and Darfur . There is evidence that iron processing took place in the area. The finds include around 200 iron beads.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ RS O'Fahey and Jay L. Spaulding: Kingdoms of the Sudan. Studies in African History. Methuen young books, London 1974, p. 113 f
  2. ↑ Derek A. Welsby: The Medieval Kingdoms of Nubia . London 2002, p. 87, ISBN 0-7141-1947-4
  3. ^ HG Balfour Paul: History and antiquities of Darfur. Sudan Antiquities Service, Khartoum 1955, p. 13
  4. ↑ Bernhard Streck, p. 192

literature

  • AJA Arkell: Christian Church and Monastery at Ain Farah, Darfur . In: Kush 7, 1959, pp. 115-119
  • RL de Neufville and AA Houghton III: A description of Ain Farah and Warah . In: Kush 13, 1965, pp. 195-204
  • Bernhard Streck: Sudan. Stone graves and living cultures on the Nile. DuMont, Cologne 1982, pp. 189-192
  • Jana Eger: A medieval monastery at Gebel al-Ain? in communications from the Sudan Archaeological Society in Berlin eV issue 22 2011 pages 115–120 online at academia.edu

Coordinates: 16 ° 45 ′ 37.1 ″  N , 29 ° 11 ′ 15.9 ″  E