Breakthrough in myth of African ‘King Arthur’ after discovery in centuries-old rubbish pile
An Arabic text found on a centuries-old rubbish heap has confirmed the historical existence of an African King whose mythical status mirrors Britain’s King Arthur.
The document issued in the name of the Nubian King Qashqash turns him from a semi-legendary figure only mentioned in later literature into a historically verifiable monarch.
It is the earliest contemporary archaeological evidence that he exercised authority during a formative period in the pre-colonial history of Sudan.
Old Dongola borders River Nile in Northern Sudan and was once the capital of the Christian kingdom of Makuria.
The country entered a poorly documented transitional era after the 14th century.
This period, often described by historians as one of fragmentation and gradual Islamisation, saw Arabic increasingly replace earlier written traditions.
But a lack of surviving documents has obscured who ruled the city and how power was exercised.
Like Britain’s Arthur, the only evidence of Qashqash’s existence were later accounts indicating he was regarded as an ancestor of later rulers.
However the fragment of Arabic text helps shed light on a figure mentioned only in that context to date.
The document was found among rubbish heaps. Archaeologists have dated it to the 17th Century by matching it to records in the Sudanese text the Ṭabaqāt which records the lives of Sudanese holy men and scholars.
‘Although the king’s order lacks a date, external evidence allows us to estimate its approximate writing time,’ the research team, led by Tomasz Branski of the University of Warsaw, write.
‘According to the Ṭabaqāt, King Ḥasan, son of Kashkash, married his daughter to the famous religious leader Muḥammad b. ʿĪsa Suwār al-Dhahab. The latter was active in Old Dongola no later than the early to mid-seventeenth century.’
The order in question reads, ‘From King Qashqash to Khiḍr son of ŠHDT/ŠHB(T?). As soon as Muḥammad al-ʿArab comes to you, take from him three ʾRDWYĀT and give him a ewe and her offspring and collect, from ʿAbd al-Jābīr, the ewe and her offspring; and give them to their master without delay. Do not hesitate! This is my letter/reply to you. His scribe Ḥamad wrote it. Greetings.
‘And you, Khiḍr, give to ʿAbd al-Jābīr three cotton cloths and a head (or three cotton headwear) and collect the ewe and her offspring for their master.’
Intriguingly the text is not written in perfect classical Arabic but a colloquial version – which may be a legacy of the cultural change taking place in the area at the time.
Baranski and his team believe Qashqash’s rule could have started as early as the late 16th century, which would make him a contemporary of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth I.
‘Thus, King Qashqash, the father of King Ḥasan, seems to have held power at the latest by the early to mid-seventeenth century,’ the researchers write.
‘His rule may have begun as early as the second half of the 16th century, if it was prolonged. However, the deposition of the king’s order among rubbish heaps in Room U128 occurred later, during the mid- to late 17th century or even as late as the 18th century.’
The document was found amid a rubbish layer in a building inside Dongola’s citadel, a structure known locally as the House of the Mekk – a term referring to a minor king.
Excavations carried out as part of the UMMA project found that the building differed markedly from surrounding houses.
Among the other discoveries were silk and fine cotton textiles, leather footwear, a dagger handle carved from ivory or rhino horn, a gold ring and even musket balls. Archaeologists say the concentration of such objects points strongly to elite occupation.
Together with the written order bearing Qashqash’s name, the finds provide an important breakthrough into understanding late medieval Nubia and one of its founding Kings.
The research was published in the journal Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa.