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A Study of the Nubian Eparchos of Nobadia* the Function and Dignity

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A Study of the Nubian Eparchos of Nobadia* the Function and Dignity THE “LORD OF THE MOUNTAIN” A study of the Nubian eparchos of Nobadia* The function and dignity of eparchos of Nobadia constituted one of the most durable Christian institutions in Nubia, which at least existed from ca. 700 AD to ca. 1464 AD, these being the first and last date of the mention of such an eparchos in an official document. This article will study the institution of this eparchos in its different aspects during this period, bearing in mind that one should distinguish grosso modo between at least two periods, i.e. an early period (up to the 12th c.) and a later period (12th c. to the end of the 15th c.)1, based on the differences in documentation and on the evolution of the Nubian Medieval history. At the same time we bear in mind that this eparchos’ very existence and survival during almost 800 years and his powers as well as the role he played in preserving Christianity still remain partly enigmatic up till now. The controversy around the so-called ‘Dotawo problem’ has con- tributed to the complication of the issue. It is therefore of the utmost importance to study all available informa- tion on the eparchos of Nobadia in its entirety, trying to construct a synthetic picture, based on the existing (published) testimonia obtained from narrative (Arabic and other), epigraphic and pictorial sources as well as from the Qasr Ibrim archives. 1. Origin and prehistory of the office of the eparchos of Nobadia 1.1. It is generally accepted that after the unification of the Christian Nubian kingdoms of Nobadia and Makouria during (or by the end of) the 7th century AD, the capital of this united kingdom was situated in Dongola (Dunqula), while Nobadia was ruled by the king’s deputy, the eparchos, whose first capital city was Faras2. Kirwan placed the unifica- * I wish to express my sincere thanks to the National Research Foundation of South Africa as well as to the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which supported this research. 1 Plumley, partly relying on Adams’ work on Nubian pottery, has proposed the follow- ing sequence for Nubian Christian history: the Early Christian period (beginning 6th c.- ca. 850), the Classic Christian Period (ca. 850-1150), the Late Christian Period (ca. 1150- 1350), and the Final Period (ca. 1350-1528); see J.M. PLUMLEY, Qasr Ibrim and Islam, in Études et Travaux, 12 (1983), p. 160 (= PLUMLEY, Qasr Ibrim and Islam). 2 S. JAKOBIELSKI, Faras III. History of the Bishopric of Pachoras, Warsaw, 1972, p. 37 (= JAKOBIELSKI, Faras III). Le Muséon 124 (3-4), 303-355. doi: 10.2143/MUS.124.3.2141856 - Tous droits réservés. © Le Muséon, 2011. 994833_Mus2011_3-4_004_Hendrickx.indd4833_Mus2011_3-4_004_Hendrickx.indd 330303 116/12/116/12/11 009:359:35 304 B.C. HENDRICKX tion between 580 and 6523, while Fadl Hasan connects it with the politi- cal developments of 616 and 641 in Egypt4. This Sudanese scholar accepts that when the Arabs attacked Dongola in 651, this city was the capital of an already united kingdom5. The position of Kirwan and Fadl Hasan is re-enforced by the Arab chronographer Maqrizi, who writes that – at the time of the Arab invasion – there was only one king, Qali- durut, ruling over the Nubian territory as far as the frontier of Alwa6. This would certainly explain why the Arabs ‘bypassed’ Nobadia during their invasion. However, other scholars seem to prefer a later date, based on an alleged letter of the King of Makouria to Isaac, Monophysite Patri- arch of Alexandria (690-692), in which he complained that the Nobatae made it impossible for candidate bishops for Makouria to pass through Nobadia. The letter is described (not preserved) in Abba Mina’s Coptic Life of Isaac (ca. 700 AD)7. According to Jakobielski, this letter serves “as evidence that in 690 Nubia had still not been united”8 and that there was still a king in Faras at that time. However, Jakobielski subsequently appears to have changed his assessment, and later on, in his contribution 3 L.P. KIRWAN, Notes on the topography of the Christian Nubian Kingdoms, in Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, 21 (1935), p. 60-61. 4 Y. FADL HASAN, The Arabs and the Sudan, Edinburgh, 1967, p. 5 (= FADL HASAN, Arabs and Sudan): “Apparently about 616 the Nubians felt the pressure of the Persian onslaught and soon after 641 the Arabs, too, made their weight felt in Upper Egypt and in al-Maris. Subsequently the frontier clashes developed into raids. In its exposed position Bajrash felt vulnerable to the new danger and, united with its southern neighbour Dun- qula, was undoubtedly well defended by sheer distance, more cataracts and greater man- power.” 5 Ibidem. 6 H.A. MACMICHAEL, A History of the Arabs in the Sudan, London – Cambridge, 1967, vol. I, p. 157-158 (= MACMICHAEL, History). Other scholars, such as M.M. MUS’AD (Islam in Medieval Nubia, in Nubie [Cahiers d’histoire égyptienne, 10], Le Caire, 1967, p. 165-176) and some earlier authors, have also opted for an early date of unification. Maqrizi (15th c.), relying on earlier sources, such as Ibn Selim Al-Aswani, writes that after a first invasion by ‘Amr ibn Al-‘As, a peace was concluded between Arabs and Nubians, which after some years was broken by the Nubians. Then followed the second invasion, which resulted in the baqt. Evliya Çelebi (17th c.), relying on Muslim tradition, states that Qasr Ibrim was captured following a siege of 2 months by the companions of the Prophet, among whom ‘Amr. This information, if correct, refers thus to the first inva- sion (a while after 641 AD), when resistance in the North was existing. Does it refer to the existence of an official (such as the eparchos), who had fortified himself at Ibrim? (cf. PLUMLEY, Qasr Ibrim and Islam, p. 158). 7 Of the Coptic Life of Isaac, there is an Arabic version by Severus, written 300 years after the Life of Isaac – See G. VANTINI, Oriental Sources concerning Nubia, Heidelberg – Warsaw, 1975, p. 36-38 (= VANTINI, OSN); JAKOBIELSKI, Faras III, p. 36; U. MONNERET DE VILLARD, Storia della Nubia Cristiana, Rome, 1938, p. 78-80 (= MONNERET DE VILLARD, Storia) – In this article we use the sources compiled by VANTINI, OSN, except where it is indicated otherwise. 8 JAKOBIELSKI, Faras III, p. 36. 994833_Mus2011_3-4_004_Hendrickx.indd4833_Mus2011_3-4_004_Hendrickx.indd 330404 116/12/116/12/11 009:359:35 THE “LORD OF THE MOUNTAIN" 305 to the UNESCO General History of Africa, he stated that “it appears that, at the time of the invasion, northern and central Nubia were united under King Qalidurut of Dongola”9. In fact, the content of the letter may lead to contradictory conclusions and is open to many interpretations, mainly because of the use of ‘Mauretania’ for Nobadia and the interpretation of the term ‘king’10. Finally, and probably most important, the Baqt agree- ment itself states that the king of Dongola ruled over Nubia “from the frontier of the land of Aswan to the border of the land of Alwa” and does not refer to any king of Nobadia11. In fact, the ‘bypassing’ of Nobadia by the Arab invaders can thus be explained as follows: (i) there was already a unified Nubia, presumably under King Qali- durut of Makouria; (ii) Nobadia was a weak kingdom, in good terms with Egypt, and therefore bypassed without any problem by the invaders, or (iii) Nobadia was a weak kingdom in disarray or in a state of anarchy and collapse, and it disintegrated on the occasion of the Arab invasion. Consequently, (i) after 651/2 Nubia remained unified, as it was before that date, or (ii) in or immediately after 651/2 the kingdom of Nobadia was absorbed by Makouria12. 1.2. The king of Makouria was (or became) represented by the epar- chos of Nobadia, presumably modelled on the Egyptian example, where the wadi was not only the successor of the Byzantine eparchos, but even preserved the Greek title of symboulos at least until the end of the 7th century13. The prototype of the Nubian eparchos was the Roman 9 S. JAKOBIELSKI, Christian Nubia at the height of its civilization, in I. HRBEK (ed.), General History of Africa. Abridged edition. Vol. III. Africa from the Seventh to the Elev- enth Century, Berkeley, 1992, p. 103 (= JAKOBIELSKI, Christian Nubia). 10 It is not certain what kind of a ‘king’ (pouro) is meant. It could be a ‘local king’ or even an important local chief – VANTINI, OSN, p. 36, note 2, remarks that different expla- nations have been proposed for the expression ‘king of Mauretania’, such as the king of the Beja or the ruler of the Sukkot territory lying south of the Second Cataract. 11 In the first paragraph of the text of the agreement in Maqrizi (VANTINI, OSN, p. 640). See also W.Y. ADAMS, Nubia. Corridor to Africa, Princeton, 1984, p. 451-454 (= ADAMS, Nubia). 12 L. Török, following Kirwan, also came to the conclusion that “the unification should reasonably be dated between the two Arab invasions of 641 and 652” (L. TÖRÖK, Money, economy and administration in Christian Nubia, in Études nubiennes [IFAO. Bi- bliothèque d’Étude, 77], Le Caire, 1978, p. 287-311 [= TÖRÖK, Money], here p. 289). 13 For the continuation of Byzantine titles and administration in Egypt after the Mus- 994833_Mus2011_3-4_004_Hendrickx.indd4833_Mus2011_3-4_004_Hendrickx.indd 330505 116/12/116/12/11 009:359:35 306 B.C. HENDRICKX (and later the Byzantine) eparchos (praefectus) of Egypt, the equestrian governor with wide military, administrative, economic and judicial pow- ers14.
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