Makuria

Kingdom of Makuria[1] ⲇⲱⲧⲁⲩⲟ (Old Nubian) Dotawo Μακουρία (Greek) Makouria المقرة (Arabic) al-Muqurra
5th century–1518 Late 15th/16th century
The Kingdom of Makuria at its maximum territorial extent around 960, after a raid that reached as far north as Akhmim
Capital	Dongola (until 1365) Gebel Adda (from 1365)
Common languages	Nubian Coptic Greek Arabic[2]
Religion	Kushite religion Traditional African religion Greek Orthodox Christianity (from mid 6th century) Coptic Orthodox Christianity (from 7th or 8th century)
Government	Monarchy
King
• fl. 651–652	Qalidurut (first known king)
• fl. 1463–1484	Joel (last known king)
• c. 1520–1526	Queen Gaua (new last known ruler)
History
• Established	5th century
• Royal court fled to Gebel Adda, Dongola abandoned	1365
• Disestablished	1518
Currency	Gold Solidus Dircham
Preceded by Succeeded by Kingdom of Kush Banu Kanz Funj Sultanate
Today part of	Sudan Egypt

Makuria (Old Nubian: ⲇⲱⲧⲁⲩⲟ, Dotawo; Greek: Μακουρία, romanized: Makouria; Arabic: المقرة, romanized: al-Muqurra) was a medieval Nubian kingdom in what is today northern Sudan and southern Egypt. Its capital was Dongola (Old Nubian: Tungul) in the fertile Dongola Reach, and the kingdom is sometimes known by the name of its capital.

Coming into being after the collapse of the Kingdom of Kush in the 4th century, it originally covered the Nile Valley from the 3rd cataract to somewhere south of Abu Hamed at Mograt Island. The capital of Dongola was founded around 500 and soon after, in the mid-6th century, Makuria converted to Christianity. Probably in the early 7th century Makuria annexed its northern neighbour Nobatia, now sharing a border with Byzantine Egypt.

In 651 an Arab army invaded, but it was repulsed and a treaty known as the Baqt was signed to prevent further Arab invasions in exchange for 360 slaves each year that lasted until the 13th century. The period from the 9th to 11th century saw the peak of Makuria's cultural development: a brisk construction activity resulted in the construction of buildings like the Throne Hall, the great cruciform church (both in Dongola) or the Banganarti monastery, arts like wall paintings and finely crafted and decorated pottery flourished and Nubian grew to become the prevalent written language. Other written languages were Coptic, Greek and Arabic. Makuria also maintained close dynastic ties with the kingdom of Alodia to the south and exerted some influence in Upper Egypt and northern Kordofan.

Increased aggression from Mamluk Egypt, internal discord, Bedouin incursions and possibly the plague and the shift of trade routes led to the state's decline in the 13th and 14th century. In the 1310s and 1320s it was briefly ruled by Muslim kings. Due to a civil war in 1365, the kingdom was reduced to a rump state that lost much of its southern territories, including Dongola. The last recorded king, probably residing in Gebel Adda, lived in the late 15th century. Makuria had finally disappeared by the 1560s, when the Ottomans occupied Lower Nubia. The former Makurian territories south of the 3rd cataract, including Dongola, had been annexed by the Islamic Funj Sultanate by the early 16th century.