Lost King of Dongola Confirmed by a 17th-Century Arabic Royal Order

The Meroe Pyramids in the North-East of Sudan. Inset, the manuscript.

March

/ 2026

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A single sheet of paper, roughly the size of a postcard, has rewritten a chapter of African history. Archaeologists from the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology at the University of Warsaw (PCMA UW), excavating at the medieval site of Old Dongola in northern Sudan, have recovered a 17th-century Arabic manuscript that confirms the historical existence of King Qasqash, a ruler previously dismissed by many historians as a semi-legendary figure.

The manuscript from Old Dongola which is a written order from King Qasqash. (PCMA)

The document was found within Building A.1, a large residential complex at Old Dongola that local oral tradition has long referred to as the "King's House." The site has previously yielded luxury items including silk, ivory, and rhinoceros horn, strongly suggesting it was a residence of the city's elite. The manuscript itself was not found in a place of honor; it was recovered from a rubbish deposit, discarded alongside organic waste. Yet its contents, once deciphered, proved to be anything but ordinary.

The Royal Order of King Qasqash

The manuscript is a written order issued directly in the name of King Qasqash, addressed to a subordinate named Khidr. Written in Arabic by a scribe named Hamad, the text instructs Khidr to receive three textile units from a man named Muhammad al-ʿArab and to provide him with a ewe and her offspring in exchange. Khidr is then directed to collect the animals from another individual, ʿAbd al-Jabir, and deliver them without delay.

As detailed in the full academic study, "The King of Nubia at work: archaeological context and text edition of a sixteenth/seventeenth-century Arabic letter from Old Dongola, Sudan", this seemingly mundane administrative note carries extraordinary historical weight. It is the first known document to bear the name of King Qasqash as a living ruler issuing orders, transforming him from a figure of legend into a documented historical actor. The text reveals a ruler managing exchanges and maintaining relationships within a local economy built on patronage. Textiles, in particular, appear to have functioned not only as commodities but as markers of political favor, a pattern well-documented in the rich history of the ancient Nubian Kingdom of Dongola.

Although undated, the archaeological context provides a reliable timeframe. Coins minted during the reign of Ottoman Sultan Murad IV (1623–1640) were found in the same room, placing their creation between the late 16th and early 17th centuries.

A Kingdom in Transition

Old Dongola was once the thriving capital of Makuria, one of the most significant medieval African states. The kingdom converted to Christianity by the end of the sixth century and maintained a unique cultural identity for centuries. However, by the mid-14th century, Makuria entered what historians often describe as its "Dark Ages," a period of gradual Arabization and Islamization.

The Qasqash manuscript sheds light on precisely this obscure transitional period. Analysis of the handwriting reveals that the scribe's command of Arabic was imperfect, featuring non-standard grammatical forms. This suggests that Arabic had become the primary written language of the royal court but had not yet been fully mastered by local officials, who likely continued to speak Nubian languages. This cultural resilience is vividly illustrated by the hidden medieval rooms found in Sudan, containing rare Nubian Christian art, discovered by the same Polish research team in 2023.

As noted in a recent report by the University of Warsaw, this transformation was not a sudden rupture but part of a much older pattern of interaction. Nubia's position as a corridor between the Mediterranean world and sub-Saharan Africa made it a perpetual crossroads of civilizations. This dynamic exchange of people, goods, and ideas has defined the region since the era of Nubia and the powerful Kingdom of Kush.

Representation of researchers examining the document. (PCMA)

Bridging Legend and History

Before this discovery, King Qasqash was known primarily from fragmentary references in the Kitāb al-Ṭabaqāt, a 19th-century bibliographical dictionary of Sudanese holy men compiled from oral traditions. The recovery of the manuscript demonstrates how the oral history preserved by the Dongola community over centuries can be validated by archaeological investigation.

The find also underscores the extraordinary research potential of Old Dongola, a site that continues to yield surprises. As excavations continue, researchers remain hopeful that further documents will emerge to fill in the gaps of a history that has long been obscured. The mystery of the miniature pyramids of Sudan is just one example of how much of Nubia's rich past remains to be uncovered.

Deep Dive: The Kingdom of Makuria, with its capital at Old Dongola, was one of the most significant medieval African states. Converting to Christianity by the end of the sixth century, it maintained a unique cultural identity for nearly a millennium, resisting Arab invasions and signing the Baqt Treaty. Its gradual Arabization and Islamization from the 14th century onward remains one of the most complex processes in African history.
Deep Dive: The Qasqash manuscript is a rare example of administrative documentation from post-medieval Nubia. Its linguistic analysis, revealing imperfect Arabic grammar alongside a traditional Nubian patronage economy, offers a uniquely detailed snapshot of a society in transition, where new languages and religions were being adopted without fully displacing the old ways of life.

By Marius Albertsen