First Battle of Dongola
Encyclopedia
The First Battle of Dongola was a meeting engagement
or encounter between early Arab-Muslim forces
of the Rashidun Caliphate
and the Nubian-Christian
forces of the Kingdom of Makuria in 642
. The battle, which resulted in a Makurian victory, temporarily halted Arab incursions into Nubia
and set the tone for an atmosphere of hostility between the two cultures until the culmination of the Second Battle of Dongola
in 652
.
converted to Christianity. It included the kingdoms of Alodia
, Makuria
and Nobatia
, which rested on Egypt's southern border. Over a century later, the religion of Islam
united the nomadic Arab tribes into an expanding military and political force by AD 632
. In 640
, the military leader 'Amr ibn al-'As
conquered Egypt
from the Byzantine Empire
. To consolidate Muslim control over Egypt, it was inevitable to secure its western and southern borders. Amr accordingly sent expeditions to Byzantine North Africa
and Makuria's Nubia
.
against Makurra. They managed to get as far as Dongola, the capital of Makurra. However, in a rare turn of events, the Arab forces were beaten back.
According to historian Al-Baladhuri, the Muslims found that the Nubians fought strongly and met them with showers of arrows. The majority of the Arab forces returned with wounded and blinded eyes. It was thus that the Nubians were called 'the pupil smiters'. Al-Baladhuri also states, quoting from one of his sources that went to Nubia twice during the rule of `Umar ibn al-Khattab.
The Nubian victory at Dongola was one of the Rashidun Caliphate
's rare defeats during the mid-7th century. With their archers' deadly accuracy plus their own experienced cavalry forces, Makuria was able to shake the Amr's confidence enough for him to withdraw his forces from Nubia.
The Arab sources also make it clear there were no pitched battles in Nubia. Yet, they do mention an encounter
whereupon Uqba ibn Nafi
and his forces happened upon a concentration of Nubians that promptly gave battle before the Muslims could attack. In the ensuing engagement, he claims 250 Muslims lost their eyes.
Arab sources lend more credit to Nubian guerrilla tactics than a single decisive engagement. They claim that the Nubians would call out to their Muslim adversaries from afar where they would like their arrow wound. The Muslims would jokingly respond, and the arrow would strike them there invariably. This statement, along with a claim that Nubian horsemen were superior to Muslim cavalry in hit-and-run tactics, was used to support their position that the Nubians were besting them in skirmishes and not all-out battles.
Regardless of the situation, Uqba ibn Nafi
was unable to succeed with his expedition and wrote back to his cousin that he could not win against such tactics and that Nubia was a very poor land with no treasure worth fighting for. Uqba may not have been exaggerating, since Nubia is surrounded by formidable deserts. Upon receiving this news, Amr bin al-As asked his cousin to withdraw, which he did.
CE. This peace would last until the Second Battle of Dongola
, whose outcome would result in one of the longest peace treaties in recorded history.
Meeting engagement
A meeting engagement, a term used in warfare, is a combat action that occurs when a moving force, incompletely deployed for battle, engages an enemy at an unexpected time and place.-Description:...
or encounter between early Arab-Muslim forces
Rashidun army
The Rashidun Caliphate Army or Rashidun army was the primary military body of the Rashidun Caliphate's armed forces during the Muslim conquests of the 7th century, serving alongside the Rashidun Navy...
of the Rashidun Caliphate
Rashidun Caliphate
The Rashidun Caliphate , comprising the first four caliphs in Islam's history, was founded after Muhammad's death in 632, Year 10 A.H.. At its height, the Caliphate extended from the Arabian Peninsula, to the Levant, Caucasus and North Africa in the west, to the Iranian highlands and Central Asia...
and the Nubian-Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
forces of the Kingdom of Makuria in 642
642
Year 642 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 642 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Europe :* August 5 – In the Battle of...
. The battle, which resulted in a Makurian victory, temporarily halted Arab incursions into Nubia
Nubia
Nubia is a region along the Nile river, which is located in northern Sudan and southern Egypt.There were a number of small Nubian kingdoms throughout the Middle Ages, the last of which collapsed in 1504, when Nubia became divided between Egypt and the Sennar sultanate resulting in the Arabization...
and set the tone for an atmosphere of hostility between the two cultures until the culmination of the Second Battle of Dongola
Second Battle of Dongola
The Second Battle of Dongola or Siege of Dongola was a military engagement between early Arab-Egyptian forces of the Rashidun Caliphate and the Nubian-Christian forces of the Kingdom of Makuria in 652. The battle ended Muslim expansion into Nubia, establishing trade and a historic peace between the...
in 652
652
Year 652 was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 652 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Africa :* Second Battle of Dongola between Makuria and...
.
Background
In the 6th century the area that had once been under the domination of the Kingdom of KushKingdom of Kush
The native name of the Kingdom was likely kaš, recorded in Egyptian as .The name Kash is probably connected to Cush in the Hebrew Bible , son of Ham ....
converted to Christianity. It included the kingdoms of Alodia
Alodia
Alodia or Alwa was the southernmost of the three kingdoms of Christian Nubia; the other two were Nobatia and Makuria to the north.Much about this kingdom is still unknown, despite its thousand year existence and considerable power and geographic size. Due to fewer excavations far less is known...
, Makuria
Makuria
The Kingdom of Makuria was a kingdom located in what is today Northern Sudan and Southern Egypt. It was one of a group of Nubian kingdoms that emerged during the decline of the Aksumite Empire, which it had been part of from approximately 4BC to AD 950...
and Nobatia
Nobatia
Nobatia or Nobadia was an ancient African Christian kingdom in Lower Nubia and subsequently a region of the larger Nubian Kingdom of Makuria...
, which rested on Egypt's southern border. Over a century later, the religion of Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
united the nomadic Arab tribes into an expanding military and political force by AD 632
632
Year 632 was a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 632 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Asia :* January 27 – Annular eclipse of the...
. In 640
640
Year 640 was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 640 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Europe :* Tulga succeeds his father Suinthila as king...
, the military leader 'Amr ibn al-'As
'Amr ibn al-'As
`Amr ibn al-`As was an Arab military commander who is most noted for leading the Muslim conquest of Egypt in 640. A contemporary of Muhammad, and one of the Sahaba , who rose quickly through the Muslim hierarchy following his conversion to Islam in the year 8 AH...
conquered Egypt
Muslim conquest of Egypt
At the commencement of the Muslims conquest of Egypt, Egypt was part of the Byzantine Empire with its capital in Constantinople. However, it had been occupied just a decade before by the Persian Empire under Khosrau II...
from the Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
. To consolidate Muslim control over Egypt, it was inevitable to secure its western and southern borders. Amr accordingly sent expeditions to Byzantine North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
and Makuria's Nubia
Nubia
Nubia is a region along the Nile river, which is located in northern Sudan and southern Egypt.There were a number of small Nubian kingdoms throughout the Middle Ages, the last of which collapsed in 1504, when Nubia became divided between Egypt and the Sennar sultanate resulting in the Arabization...
.
Battle
In 642, 'Amr ibn al-'As sent a column of 20,000 horsemen under his cousin Uqba ibn NafiUqba ibn Nafi
Uqba ibn Nafi was an Arab hero and general who was serving the Umayyad dynasty, in Amir Muavia and Yazid periods, who began the Islamic conquest of the Maghreb, including present-day Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Morocco in North Africa. He was the nephew of 'Amr ibn al-'As. Uqba is often surnamed...
against Makurra. They managed to get as far as Dongola, the capital of Makurra. However, in a rare turn of events, the Arab forces were beaten back.
According to historian Al-Baladhuri, the Muslims found that the Nubians fought strongly and met them with showers of arrows. The majority of the Arab forces returned with wounded and blinded eyes. It was thus that the Nubians were called 'the pupil smiters'. Al-Baladhuri also states, quoting from one of his sources that went to Nubia twice during the rule of `Umar ibn al-Khattab.
"One day they came out against us and formed a line; we wanted to use swords, but we were not able to, and they shot at us and put out eyes to the number of one hundred and fifty."
The Nubian victory at Dongola was one of the Rashidun Caliphate
Rashidun Caliphate
The Rashidun Caliphate , comprising the first four caliphs in Islam's history, was founded after Muhammad's death in 632, Year 10 A.H.. At its height, the Caliphate extended from the Arabian Peninsula, to the Levant, Caucasus and North Africa in the west, to the Iranian highlands and Central Asia...
's rare defeats during the mid-7th century. With their archers' deadly accuracy plus their own experienced cavalry forces, Makuria was able to shake the Amr's confidence enough for him to withdraw his forces from Nubia.
Arab Withdrawal from Nubia
Arab sources claim that the expedition into Nubia was not a Muslim defeat while at the same time acknowledging it was not a success. The expedition into Nubia, as well as the more successful expedition into Byzantine North Africa, were undertaken by 'Amr ibn al-'As on his own accord. He believed that they would be easy victories and would inform the caliph after the conquests.The Arab sources also make it clear there were no pitched battles in Nubia. Yet, they do mention an encounter
Meeting engagement
A meeting engagement, a term used in warfare, is a combat action that occurs when a moving force, incompletely deployed for battle, engages an enemy at an unexpected time and place.-Description:...
whereupon Uqba ibn Nafi
Uqba ibn Nafi
Uqba ibn Nafi was an Arab hero and general who was serving the Umayyad dynasty, in Amir Muavia and Yazid periods, who began the Islamic conquest of the Maghreb, including present-day Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Morocco in North Africa. He was the nephew of 'Amr ibn al-'As. Uqba is often surnamed...
and his forces happened upon a concentration of Nubians that promptly gave battle before the Muslims could attack. In the ensuing engagement, he claims 250 Muslims lost their eyes.
Arab sources lend more credit to Nubian guerrilla tactics than a single decisive engagement. They claim that the Nubians would call out to their Muslim adversaries from afar where they would like their arrow wound. The Muslims would jokingly respond, and the arrow would strike them there invariably. This statement, along with a claim that Nubian horsemen were superior to Muslim cavalry in hit-and-run tactics, was used to support their position that the Nubians were besting them in skirmishes and not all-out battles.
Regardless of the situation, Uqba ibn Nafi
Uqba ibn Nafi
Uqba ibn Nafi was an Arab hero and general who was serving the Umayyad dynasty, in Amir Muavia and Yazid periods, who began the Islamic conquest of the Maghreb, including present-day Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Morocco in North Africa. He was the nephew of 'Amr ibn al-'As. Uqba is often surnamed...
was unable to succeed with his expedition and wrote back to his cousin that he could not win against such tactics and that Nubia was a very poor land with no treasure worth fighting for. Uqba may not have been exaggerating, since Nubia is surrounded by formidable deserts. Upon receiving this news, Amr bin al-As asked his cousin to withdraw, which he did.
Aftermath
Al-Baladhuri states 'Amr decided to withdraw his forces for two principal reasons. One reason is that there was little treasure to be had. The second being that the Nubian military proved considerable. Thus, it was thought better to make peace. However; he was unwilling to stop campaigning elsewhere, and peace between the Muslim Egypt and Christian Makurra only really materialized upon the succession of Abdullah Ibn Sa'ad in 645645
Year 645 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 645 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Byzantine Empire :* The Byzantines recapture...
CE. This peace would last until the Second Battle of Dongola
Second Battle of Dongola
The Second Battle of Dongola or Siege of Dongola was a military engagement between early Arab-Egyptian forces of the Rashidun Caliphate and the Nubian-Christian forces of the Kingdom of Makuria in 652. The battle ended Muslim expansion into Nubia, establishing trade and a historic peace between the...
, whose outcome would result in one of the longest peace treaties in recorded history.