Old Dongola was an important city in medieval Nubia, and the departure point for caravans west to Darfur and Kordofan. Now, is a deserted town located on the east bank of the Nile (modern day north of Sudan.) Founded in the 5th century as a fortress, and a town soon evolved around it. Later it became the capital of Makurian state after the arrival of Christianity, and several churches were built. The ruins of churches, monasteries and a cathedral are still visible.
The kingdom was shattered by the Mamluks of Egypt who attacked since 1276, and Dongola finally fall in Mamluk’s hand in early 14th century, by the 18th century, the caravan route had shifted elsewhere and Dongola was definitively abandoned, its ruins left to the desert sands.
The Islamic cemetery with qubbas(an Arabic term for tomb structures, particularly Islamic domed shrines. ) are a testimony to the region’s continued ability to generate wealth in this period.
Citadel, Old Dongola, August 2018
