David (Makuria)

David , Arabic Dawud; was a Nubian king who ruled the kingdom of Makuria from around 1268 to 1272 (according to other sources until 1275/76) . The events surrounding this and the following Nubian rulers are primarily attested to by the Arab historian Ibn Chaldun .

According to Ibn Chaldun, the Nubian king Mintashkil (his name appears in the sources in very different spellings and it is doubtful whether he was really a king ) came to Cairo around 1272 (or 1276) and asked Sultan Baibars I for help against his Nephew David, who has usurped power. It is known from various sources that a David attacked the port city of Aidhab on the Red Sea in 1272 and brought back many prisoners and rich booty from there. In 1275 the Nubians - led by King David personally - sacked Aswan and destroyed the water wheels (sakiyas) on the Nile, the basis of Egyptian agriculture. They again took many prisoners and ransacked the department stores. This is one of the few times that a Nubian army actively attacked Egypt . Both times it was probably the same King David, possibly also father and son.

The Egyptians considered the request for help in the controversy for the throne as a favorable opportunity to invade Nubia. In January 1276, Baibars sent an army of 300 Mamluk horsemen, infantry and Arab Bedouins from Cairo , who joined as auxiliary workers. The expedition moved on both sides of the Nile, in parts by boat upstream. There were battles at Gebel Adda (in Arabic sources Daw ) and on the island of Meinarti (near today's Wadi Halfa ). On March 31, 1276, the soldiers reached Alt Dunqula , where the final battle took place and the Nubians had to flee. Egyptian forces burned parts of the city, including a church that King David built to commemorate the victory in Aidhab. David fled first to the west side of the Nile, then to the king of al-Abwab . His brother Sanko and the royal wives were captured by the Egyptians. The Egyptians then placed Shekanda on the throne of Makuria, who submitted to the sultan's sovereignty. This was a major setback for Christians in Nubia. From this time on, Makuria lost its independence and became the plaything of the sultans, who repeatedly intervened in the politics of the state.

The Mamluk troops returned to Cairo on June 2, 1276. They brought back 10,000 Nubian slaves as booty, each of which was sold in the Cairo market for three dirhams. 20 princes of the royal family of Dunqula were also captured. On June 27, King David and his brother Sanko arrived in Cairo in shackles. David had been handed over by the king of al-Abwab.

The king is named in an inscription in a church in Banganarti .

See also

• List of the Nubian kings

literature

• Derek A. Welsby : The Medieval Kingdoms of Nubia. Pagans, Christians and Muslims along the Middle Nile . British Museum Press, London 2002, pp. 243-244, ISBN 0-7141-1947-4
• Giovanni Vantini: Christianity in the Sudan. Collegio delle Missioni Africane. EMI, Bologna 1981, pp. 172-176