Old Dunqula

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Coordinates: 18 ° 13 '  N , 30 ° 45'  E

Map: Sudan
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Old Dunqula​
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Sudan
Location of Old Dunqula in Nubia (marked Dongola on the map)

Old Dunqula ( Old Nubian : Tungul , Arabic دنقلا القديمة Dunqulā al-qadīma , Sudanese-Arabic Dungulā il-gadīma ), often also Old Dongola , was the capital of the Nubian- Christian Empire of Makuria and is now in the Sudanese state of asch-Shamaliyya .

This ruined city should not be confused with the modern city of Dunqula , which is 50 kilometers further downstream, i.e. further north.

location

The place is at the beginning of a caravan route through the desert that shortened the curve of the Nile to the south . The city is located around 250 kilometers south of Lake Nubia , the Sudanese part of Lake Nasser , and around 450 kilometers northwest of Khartoum , on the right bank of the Nile. Alt Dunqula is close to the Letti Basin , which is an area that could be irrigated relatively easily and thus offered good opportunities for arable farming and for supplying a larger population. The city was on a rocky hill that dominated the whole area.

history

Church of the Granite Columns

The origins of the city are still unclear. They were founded as a fortress by one of the first rulers of Makuria, perhaps at the end of the fifth century. This fortress was part of a series of such fortifications that were built along the Nile. Due to its central location in the empire of Makuria, the place seems to have quickly gained in importance and was apparently made the capital of the young state at an early stage. However, the city was already of some size in the 6th century and had a stone city wall with a densely built-up urban area that took up an area of ​​4.75 hectares (350 × 150 meters). In the period that followed, the city grew considerably and the first churches, Building X and the so-called Old Church, could therefore only be built outside the city wall, as the actual city area was already completely built on.

Schematic plan of Old Dunqula in the Middle Ages

The old church was a three-aisled basilica built of adobe bricks , the central nave was twice as wide as the side aisles. The roof was supported by large rectangular pillars. Building X was made of red bricks and served as a memory of two people who were buried in a crypt below the building . It was a large building measuring 33.4 × 23.6 meters. At this point the church was later built with the stone floor. It is a five-aisled basilica. The old crypt remained accessible during this construction. Both churches were destroyed in 652 when the Arabs, led by Abdullah Abu Sarh, attacked the city and destroyed its main church. The city was not captured, but the city walls were strengthened using stones (columns and capitals) from the church with the stone floor.

Plan of the Church of the Granite Columns

The stone-floored church was rebuilt into a basilica with a dome, with the dome supported by massive columns.

On the site of the old church, a completely new structure was erected in the late 7th century - the Church of Granite Pillars . It was a five- aisle building . The main nave was much larger than the side aisles. There was a large apse at the end of the main nave, while there were also apses in the side aisles. The pillars of the main hall were made of granite with finely worked capitals. The windows of the church had ceramic grilles showing particularly artistic and imaginative patterns. This church may have served as a model for other Nubian churches as well. It is believed that it was the city's cathedral .

All these church buildings were richly decorated with wall paintings , fragments of which can still be found.

On Kom H the remains of a large monastery were excavated, which covered an area of ​​approx. 120 × 100 meters. It was founded by Bishop Joseph von Syene († April 28, 668), whose tombstone with a Coptic inscription was recently found in the ruins of the monastery church. The actual monastery building has so far only been excavated to a small extent, as the excavations have so far mainly concentrated on extensions. There were mainly residential and commercial buildings, but also several chapels. The monastery is known by the modern name Monastery of the Holy Trinity. There were many well-preserved wall paintings. The crypt in which Archbishop Giorgios was buried could also be found. The chamber was still in very good condition and covered over and over with texts. In two rooms completely unique paintings could be discovered showing a group of dancing men with musical instruments. Some of the figures are wearing masks. African and Arab traditions seem to unite here.

From the 7th to the 9th century, elaborate villas were built around 500 meters north of the city center, some of which were 100 to 120 square meters in size. Some of them had several floors. Toilets were in the basement, while the actual living quarters were upstairs. In one villa there was even a stove to heat the water, which served an adjoining bathroom. The walls of the bathroom were painted. The city grew further north from there and eventually encompassed an area of ​​2.6 × 0.9 kilometers. Churches and monasteries have been found scattered across the area, but it is unclear how densely populated the area was.

Flowering period in the 9th to 11th centuries

Reconstruction of the cruciform church
Plan of the palace district as it was excavated in recent years (as of 2003)

From the 9th to the 11th centuries, Dunqula and the Makuria Empire flourished. A total of 14 churches have been identified so far. New buildings were erected in the city. These include the throne room of the Royal Palace , which still stands today as it was later converted into a mosque . This hall was built from mud bricks. The walls are 1.1 meters thick. In some places, where it was necessary, baked bricks and stones were also used. The lower floor consisted of various vaulted rooms. It is probably storage rooms. The upper floor was reached via a large staircase. The actual throne hall was 7 × 7 meters and was supported by four pillars. This hall was surrounded by a kind of loggia with an apse at one end . The building was once decorated with wall paintings, but only a few remains have been found.

On the Nile on the hill known as the Acropolis , the remains of another palace ( B in the picture) with several floors have been excavated in recent years . The palace is close to the city wall (red on the map). Next to the palace was a small cross-shaped building richly decorated with paintings, which was used at times as a church ( C ) and was probably built as early as the 6th century. Some of the walls of the palace were built in stone. The building was probably used in the 17th century, after the fall of Makuria.

The cruciform church replaced the church with the stone floor . The cruciform church , probably Church of the big Jesus called, consisted of a 14 × 14-foot core building from which four arms went out, one of which served three as input, while the fourth was longer and over the crypts of building X was. The crypts of the previous church buildings had therefore still retained their importance. The walls are 1.1 meters thick and some of them are still up to 4 meters high. Columns, bases and capitals were made of granite. In the middle, a dome that was about 14 meters high is assumed. In the middle of the church hall stood four pillars, which, however, did not support the roof, but rather carried beams, from which lamps in turn hung. This church was possibly built by King Zacharias I , whose son returned from Baghdad in 835–837. The church has few parallels in Nubia, but there are similar church buildings in Syria , Palestine and Asia Minor .

The church of the granite pillars was expanded and at the turn of the 10th to the 11th century received a number of additional pillars, this time made of bricks.

In the 12th century, Abu Salih describes the city and names the many churches, large houses and wide streets. While al-Masudi reports that the city consists only of reed huts, except for the king's palace.

The end of Old Dunqula as the capital

After the 11th century, the city faced decline. The old churches were partially renovated and new churches were built, but they were rather small. In the 13th century the Makuria empire fell apart and Dunqula lost its importance. The Nubian rulers converted to Islam and the throne room was converted into a mosque in 1317, which is still remembered by a memorial stone. Under the Fung it was the capital of the northernmost province. Today Dunqula is an insignificant village.

Excavations

Dunqula has been excavated by a Polish team since 1964 . The structures mentioned were excavated. In addition, many Greek texts have been found, most of which date to the 8th and 9th centuries.

literature

  • Daniel Gazda: Monastery Church on Kom H in Old Dongola. Third and Fourth Season of Excavations (2004, 2004/5) . In: Polish Archeology in the Mediterranean . tape 16 , 2005, ISSN  1234-5415 , p. 285–295 ( edu.pl [PDF; 1000 kB ]).
  • Przemysław M. Gartkiewicz: The cathedral in Old Dongola and its antecedents. = Katedra w Starej Dongoli i poprzedzające ją budowle . Éditions Scientifique de Pologne, Varsovie 1990, ISBN 83-01-04459-4 .
  • Stefan Jakobielski, Piotr O. Scholz (ed.): Dongola studies. 35 years of Polish research in the center of the Makuritic Empire (=  Bibliotheca Nubica et Aethiopica . Volume 7 ). Zas Pan, Warszawa 2001, ISBN 83-901809-9-5 .
  • Wilfried Seipel (Ed.): Faras. The cathedral from the desert sand . Skira et al., Milan 2002, ISBN 3-85497-042-0 , p. 61–62 (brief summary of the excavations).
  • Derek A. Welsby : The Medieval Kingdoms of Nubia. Pagans, Christians and Muslims on the Middle Nile . The British Museum Press, London 2002, ISBN 0-7141-1947-4 , pp. 118-120 .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Frank Joachim: Archeology in Sudan. In: SAG-Online.de . Archived from the original on September 23, 2004 ; accessed on October 15, 2019 (picture of the granite pillars today).
  2. ↑ Małgorzata Martens-Czarnecka: Wall Paintings discovered in Dongola in the 2004 Season. (pdf, 930 kB) In: Polish Archeology in the Mediterranean 16. ISSN  1234-5415 , 2004, pp. 273-284 , archived from the original on November 11, 2014 ; accessed on October 15, 2019 (English). Two unique murals from the Monastery on Kom H in Old Dongola. (No longer available online.) 11th International Conference of Nubian Studies, formerly in the original ; accessed on October 15, 2019 (English).  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )
    @1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.nubia2006.uw.edu.pl
  3. ^ Włodzimierz Godlewski: Old Dongola, Kom A (Acropolis). 2003. In: Polish Archeology in the Mediterranean. Volume 15, 2003, pp. 193-223.
  4. ^ Wlodzimierz Godlewski: Christian Nubia - After the Nubian Campaign. In: Arkamani, Sudan Electronic Journal of Archeology and Anthropology. October 2004, archived from the original on September 13, 2009 ; accessed on October 15, 2019 (English).

Web links

Commons : Alt Dunqula  - collection of images, videos and audio files