Arabic Document Found in 17th-Century Rubbish Heap Confirms Semi-Legendary Nubian King Qashqash

A small sheet of Arabic writing, discarded centuries ago in a refuse layer inside Old Dongola’s citadel, has transformed a semi-legendary name into a historically verifiable ruler. The document, issued in the name of King Qashqash, provides the first contemporary archaeological confirmation that this long-debated Nubian monarch truly existed and exercised authority during a pivotal period in Sudan’s pre-colonial history.

The discovery, first reported by Phys.org, is examined in detail in a recent peer-reviewed study published in Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa. By combining archaeological context, linguistic study, radiocarbon dating, and numismatic evidence, researchers reconstruct not only the document’s age but also its political significance.

From Literary Memory to Material Evidence

For generations, King Qashqash was known primarily from later religious and biographical traditions, especially the nineteenth-century Kitāb al-Ṭabaqāt. In that source, he appears as an ancestor of influential Islamic figures in the Dongola region. Yet until now, no contemporary document had confirmed that he was more than a remembered name embedded in oral and hagiographic literature.

Old Dongola, once the capital of the Christian Kingdom of Makuria, entered a poorly documented transitional era after the fourteenth century. Historians often describe this phase as one of fragmentation and gradual Islamization, when Arabic increasingly replaced earlier written traditions. The absence of firm documentary evidence from this period has long obscured the identities and authority of its rulers. The newly uncovered order changes that landscape decisively.

Discovery in the House of the Mekk

The document was unearthed in Building A.1 within Dongola’s citadel, a structure locally associated with the residence of the mekk, or minor king. Excavations conducted under the UMMA project revealed that this building stood apart from other contemporary houses in both scale and material richness. Textiles of silk and fine cotton, leather footwear, a dagger handle carved from ivory or rhino horn, a gold ring, and even musket balls were found among the remains. Such objects strongly suggest elite occupation.

Among more than twenty Arabic paper fragments discovered in the building was the order catalogued as Dongola inv. 1990. Though found in a rubbish layer, its content carries unmistakable royal authority. The text begins explicitly “From King Qashqash” and is addressed to a subordinate named Khiḍr.

The context of its deposition helps establish chronology. Ottoman silver coins discovered in the same room date to the early seventeenth century, while radiocarbon analysis of organic material from the surrounding deposit suggests disposal occurred no later than the eighteenth century. Internal historical references indicate that Qashqash likely ruled during the late sixteenth or early seventeenth century, making him one of the earliest securely attested post-medieval rulers of Dongola.

A King Engaged in Everyday Governance

What makes the document especially compelling is not grandeur, but ordinariness. The text does not record military triumphs or territorial claims. Instead, it details the exchange of livestock and textiles. The king instructs Khiḍr to collect goods described as ʾRDWYĀT—likely a type of textile—deliver a ewe and her offspring, and transfer cotton cloth or possibly cotton headwear to another individual. The order concludes with a brief greeting and identifies the royal scribe, Ḥamad.

This administrative tone presents Qashqash as a ruler deeply involved in micropolitics and economic management. The exchanges described resemble systems of reciprocal gift-giving common in pre-colonial Sudan, where textiles functioned not merely as commodities but as markers of status and instruments of political alliance. Rather than a monarch “always at war,” as earlier European travelers sometimes suggested, Qashqash appears as a king at work—overseeing trade relationships and maintaining social networks.

Linguistic Clues to Arabization

The language of the document offers rare insight into the cultural transformations underway in Dongola. Although written in Arabic, the text displays grammatical irregularities and colloquial features. Pronoun usage does not always align with classical standards, and certain spellings reflect spoken forms rather than formal orthography.

These details indicate that Arabic had become the primary written language of governance, yet it was still adapting to local linguistic realities. Nubian speech traditions continued to shape pronunciation and grammar, revealing a transitional phase in which Arabization unfolded gradually rather than abruptly. The document thus captures not only political authority but also linguistic evolution in motion.

Reframing Nubian Political History

The confirmation of King Qashqash’s existence reshapes our understanding of post-medieval Nubian rulership. Previously confined to later literary memory, he now stands as a historically grounded figure operating within complex networks linking local elites, merchants, and possibly itinerant Arab traders.

The discovery also strengthens the association between Building A.1 and royal authority, reinforcing indigenous traditions that identified it as a seat of power. In regions where written sources remain scarce, such convergence between archaeology and oral memory is particularly significant.

A Fragment That Restores a Dynasty

Beyond academic implications, the find has resonated locally. Families in the Dongola region who trace their ancestry to Qashqash reportedly view the document as tangible validation of long-preserved genealogical traditions. In this way, the rediscovered order bridges archival scholarship and living heritage.

Ultimately, the Arabic document from Old Dongola demonstrates how even a modest administrative note can transform historical narratives. A piece of paper once discarded as refuse now anchors a ruler in verifiable time and place. King Qashqash emerges not as a distant legend, but as a governing monarch managing livestock, textiles, and alliances in the shifting political landscape of early modern Nubia.

In a region often described through the lens of silence and loss, this fragile sheet speaks with remarkable clarity.

Barański, T., Obłuski, A., & Wyżgoł, M. (2026). The King of Nubia at work: archaeological context and text edition of a sixteenth/seventeenth-century Arabic document from Old Dongola. Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa, 1–26. https://doi.org/10.1080/0067270X.2026.2615518

Cover Image Credit: King’s Order (Side B). Credit: M. Rekłajtis/PCMA in Barański et al. 2026