Bless and save. Christian murals in Sudan tell of the war

The capital of the state of Makuria and the ancient city of medieval Nubia in modern Sudan, Old Dongola was located on the east bank of the Nile, where caravans began their journey through the desert to other countries.

Researchers have been excavating the ruins of Old Dongola and have discovered richly decorated Christian frescoes. It is known that this city originated in the 4th-5th centuries AD. e. First as a fortress. Later, with the spread of Christianity in Nubia, the city was the capital of the state of Makuria, where several churches were also erected, writes HeritageDaily.

The ancient state of Mucurra arose in the 5th century AD after the collapse of the Nubian kingdom of Kush. It reached its peak between the 9th and 11th centuries AD and extended from the Third Cataract of the Nile to Abu Hamad, as well as to some regions of northern Kordofan.

Since 1964, Polish archaeologists have been excavating the city of Old Dongola.

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The researchers managed to find an underground room and a complex of vaults and domes built of mud brick dating back to the 16-19th century AD.

Archaeologists from the Center for Mediterranean Archeology at the University of Warsaw are conducting a research project called “UMMA – Urban Metamorphosis of a Community in a Medieval African Capital”.

Thanks to them, the researchers managed to find an underground room and a complex of vaults and domes built of mud brick dating back to the 16th-19th century AD during the Sennar Sultanate.

This is a feudal state that existed on the territory of modern Sudan in the XVI-XIX centuries. It consisted of Shinar and the Nile Valley from the Egyptian border to the mouth of the Blue Nile, including the historical region of Kordofan.

Several rooms are decorated with a collection of frescoes depicting Christ, the Archangel Michael, Mary and images of the Nubian ruler. Accompanying the artwork are inscriptions, one of which mentions King David several times and asks God to protect the city.

Archaeologists share: “He was one of the last rulers of Christian Macuria, whose reign marks the beginning of the end of the kingdom. For unknown reasons, King David attacked Egypt, who wanted revenge and invaded Nubia, conquering Dongolu for the first time in history. Perhaps the fresco was created when the Mamluk army approached the city or besieged it.

The room in which the inscriptions were found resembles a crypt and is located at a depth of several meters from the medieval ground level. It is located next to a large monumental building, which, according to the researchers, was the cathedral church of Dongola called “Great Church of Jesus”. It is mentioned in historical texts.

Previously, Focus talked about the found connection between the Sabaean and Israelite kingdoms of the times of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.

We also wrote about excavations on the largest building in Constantinople. The modest ruins of what was once the largest church in Constantinople and built like the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem are located in a small park right in the middle of Istanbul’s Fatih district.