Nobatia

Nobatia
ⲙⲓⲅⲛ̅
ⲙⲓⲅⲓⲧⲛ︦ ⲅⲟⲩⲗ
Nobatia ⲙⲓⲅⲛ̅; ⲙⲓⲅⲓⲧⲛ︦ ⲅⲟⲩⲗ
c. 400–7th century
	Nobatia and the other Christian Nubian kingdoms.
Capital	Pachoras
Common languages	Nubian; Greek; Coptic
Religion	Isis cult; Coptic Orthodox Christianity(From 543)
Government	Monarchy
King of Nobatia
• 450 A.D	Aburni(first known king)
Historical era	Late Antiquity/Early Middle Ages
• Established	c. 400
• Integrated into Makuria	7th century
Preceded by	Succeeded by
	Kingdom of Kush
Makuria
Today part of	Sudan; Egypt

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Nobatia/noʊˈbeɪʃə/orNobadia(/noʊˈbeɪdiə/;Greek:Νοβαδία,Nobadia;Old Nubian:ⲙⲓⲅⲛ̅Miginor ⲙⲓⲅⲓⲧⲛ︦ ⲅⲟⲩⲗ,Migitin Goullit. "of Nobadia's land"^[1]) was alate antiquekingdom inLower Nubia.Together with the two otherNubiankingdoms,MakuriaandAlodia,it succeeded thekingdom of Kush.After its establishment in around 400, Nobadia gradually expanded by defeating theBlemmyesin the north and incorporating the territory between the second and thirdNile cataractin the south. In 543, it converted toCoptic Christianity.It would then be annexed by Makuria, under unknown circumstances, during the 7th century.

History[edit]

The kingdom of Nobatia had been founded in the formerMeroiticprovince ofAkine,which comprised large parts of Lower Nubia and is speculated to have been autonomous already before the ultimate fall of the Kingdom of Kush in the mid 4th century.^[2]

While theNobatae/ˈnɒbəti/had been invited into the region from theWestern Desertby the Roman EmperorDiocletianin 297 AD, their kingdom only became tangible around 400 AD.^[3]Early Nobatia is quite likely the same civilization that is known to archeologists as theBallana culture.

Eventually, the Nobatae were successful in defeating theBlemmyes,and an inscription bySilko,"Basiliskos" of the Nobatae, claims to have driven the Blemmyes into theEastern Desert.Around this time the Nobatian capital was established atPakhoras(modernFaras); soon after, Nobatia converted tonon-Chalcedonian Christianity.

By 707, Nobatia had been annexed by their southern neighbor,Makuria.The circumstances of this merger are unknown. It is also unknown what happened to the Nobadian royal family.^[4]The merger most likely occurred before theMuslimconquest in 652, since the Arab histories speak of only one Christian state in Nubia and reached at least as far asOld Dongola.Nobatia seems to have maintained some autonomy in the new state. It was ruled by aneparchof Nobatia who was also titled theDomestikosof Pakhoras. These were originally appointed but seem to be dynastic in the later period. Some of their records have been found atFort Ibrim,presenting a figure with a great deal of power.

Nobatia՚s name is often given asal-MarisinArabichistories. The eparchate of Nobadia remained an integral part of the Kingdom of Makuria until Makuria's end, as is confirmed by a document from 1463 mentioning an eparch named Teedderre.^[5]^[6]

Wooden casket with ivory inlays,Jebel Adda(4th century)
Royal crown discovered inBallana(5th century)

Religion[edit]

Paganism[edit]

SincePtolemaictimes, the "state religion" of Lower Nubia had been theIsiscult ofPhilae.Its importance outlived the Ptolemaic and Meroitic period and Nubian pilgrims continued to travel to Philae.^[7]The temple on Philae was eventually shut down between 535 and 538 and Nubians were forbidden to enter.^[why?]^[8] Another Isis cult, the Greco-Romanmysteries of Isis,has been confirmed to be practised in Nobadia by an unearthed shrine in Qasr Ibrim. This cult was practised during Meroitic times as well.^[9]

Reliefs of the "Ethiopian" chamber inside the Isis temple of Philae, depicting pilgrims and priests from the south. The inscription in front of the third figure from the left is a letter describing the gifts of a diplomatic mission sent by KingTalakhidamaniof Kush.

Christianity[edit]

As confirmed by epigraphical and archaeological evidence, Christianity was already present among parts of the Nobadian society even before the official conversion of 543.^[10]The Nobadian elite might have started considering to convert to Christianity in the 530s, parallel to when the Isis temple was shut down.^[11]Christianity proceeded to spread through Nobadia on various levels at different speeds. Towns, for example, were quick in adopting the new religion, while the Christianization of the villages was not accomplished until the 7th–9th centuries.^[12]South of the second cataract, Christianity seems to have begun spreading later than in the north, possibly since the late 6th or early 7th century.^[13]Many ancient Egyptian temples were converted to churches and plastered with Christian wall paintings.

Gallery
Copy of aCopticinscription in theTemple of Dendur,commemorating the conversion of the temple into a church during the reign of king Eirpanome (mid-6th century)
Coptic inscriptions in theTemple of Kalabshacommemorating its conversion into a church by a certain bishop Paul
Early-7th-century frieze fragment of theFaras cathedral
The convertedTemple of Amadawith the now-demolished Christian dome
Damaged paintings of Christian saints inside the temple of Amada
Plan of the Christian church (red) inserted into the temple ofWadi es-Sebua
Christian painting ofSt. Peterin the temple of Wadi es-Sebua
Christian wall paintings in the temple of Kalabsha
Painting ofChriston the ceiling of the convertedTemple of Abu OdanearGebel Adda

Military culture[edit]

Nothing is known about the organization of the Nobatian army.^[14]Many of the weapons employed by the Nobatians had come from the Meroitic period.^[15]

Missile weapons[edit]

Archaeology from the pagan period confirms the relevance archery had for the Nubians and therefore also the Nobatians.^[16]The slightlyreflexed longsbows,which are attested for Kushite mercenaries since theMiddle Kingdom,were replaced by reflexcompositebows during the Meroitic or post-Meroitic period, measuring around one meter and originally designed to beshot from horseback.^[17]One simple woodenself bowis known from an early Nobadian burial in Qustul.^[18]The Nobadians shot barbed and possiblypoisoned arrowsof around 50 cm length.^[19]To store the arrows, they used quivers made of tanned leather from long-necked animals such as goats or gazelles. Additionally, they were enhanced with straps, flaps and elaborate decoration.^[20]The quivers were possibly worn on the front rather than on the back.^[21]On the hand holding the bow, the archers wore bracelets to protect the hand from injuries while drawing thebowstring.For the nobility, the bracelets could be made of silver, while poorer versions were made of rawhide.^[22]Furthermore, the archers worethumb rings,measuring between three and four cm.^[23]Thus, Nubian archers would have employed a drawing technique very similar to the Persian and Chinese ones, both of which also reliant on thumb rings.^[24]

At Qasr Ibrim, twocrossbowdarts have been discovered. The use of crossbows had hitherto been unattested in Nubia.^[25]

Melee weapons[edit]

A weapon characteristic for the Nobadians was a type of short sword.^[26]It has a straight hollow-ground blade which was sharpened only on one edge and was therefore not designed to thrust, but to hack.^[27]Apart from said swords, there were also lances, some of them with large blades, as well ashalberds.It is possible that the large-bladed lances and the halberds were only ceremonial.^[28]

Body protection[edit]

Nobadian warriors and their leadership made use of shields and body armour, most of it manufactured from leather.^[26]^[27]Fragments of thick hide have been found in the royal tombs of Qustul, suggesting that the principal interment was usually buried while wearing armour.^[29]A well-preserved and richly decorated breastplate made of oxhide comes from Qasr Ibrim,^[27]while a comparable, but more fragmentary piece was discovered atGebel Adda,albeit this one was made of reptile hide, possibly from a crocodile.^[30]Another fragment which possibly once constituted a body armour comes from Qustul. It consists of several layers of tanned leather and was studded with lead rosettes.^[26]

Notes[edit]

^Pierce, Richard. "Nubian Toponyms in Medieval Nubian Sources".Dotawo: A Journal of Nubian Studies.4.
^Obluski 2014,pp. 195–196.
^Obluski 2014,p. 35.
^Welsby 2002,p. 88.
^Lajtar 2011,p. 123.
^Werner 2013,pp. 145–146.
^Adams 2013,p. 154-155.
^Obluski 2014,p. 170.
^Adams 2013,p. 155-156.
^Obluski 2014,pp. 171, 173–174.
^Obluski 2014,p. 171.
^Obluski 2014,pp. 173–175.
^Obluski 2014,pp. 177–178.
^Welsby 2002,p. 82.
^Williams 1991,p. 76.
^Welsby 2002,p. 78.
^Zielinski 2015,p. 794.
^Williams 1991,p. 84.
^Williams 1991,p. 77.
^Williams 1991,p. 78.
^Zielinski 2015,p. 801.
^Zielinski 2015,p. 795.
^Zielinski 2015,p. 798.
^Zielinski 2015,p. 798-899.
^Adams 2013,p. 138.
^^a ^b ^cWilliams 1991,p. 87.
^^a ^b ^cWelsby 2002,p. 80.
^Welsby 2002,p. 79.
^Welsby 2002,p. 80-81.
^Hubert & Edwards 2010,p. 87.

References[edit]

Adams, William Y. (2013).Qasr Ibrim: The Ballana Phase.Egypt Exploration Society.ISBN 978-0856982163.
Hubert, Reinhard; Edwards, David N. (2010)."Gebel Abba Cemetery One, 1963. Post-medieval reuse of X-Group tumuli".Sudan&Nubia.14:83–90.
Lajtar, Adam (2011). "Qasr Ibrim's last land sale, AD 1463 (EA 90225)".Nubian Voices. Studies in Christian Nubian Culture.
Obluski, Artur (2014).The Rise of Nobadia. Social Changes in Northern Nubia in Late Antiquity.University of Warsaw Faculty of Law and Administration.ISBN 978-8392591993.
Welsby, Derek (2002).The Medieval Kingdoms of Nubia. Pagans, Christians and Muslims along the Middle Nile.The British Museum.ISBN 0714119474.
Werner, Roland (2013).Das Christentum in Nubien. Geschichte und Gestalt einer afrikanischen Kirche.Lit.
Williams, Bruce Beyer (1991).Noubadian X-Group Remains from Royal Complexes in Cemeteries Q and 219 and from Private Cemeteries Q, R, V, W, B, J and M at Qustul and Ballana.The University of Chicago.
Zielinski, Lukasz (2015)."New insights into Nubian archery".Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean.24(1): 791–801.