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For centuries,King Qashqash existed only in oral traditions and scattered biographical texts. Historians knew the name, but they could not say with certainty whether he was a genuine ruler or a figure woven from legend. A newly discovered document from Sudan has now settled the question. The small, fragile scrap of paper, dated to the late sixteenth or early seventeenth century, bears an administrative order issued in the king’s name, offering the first tangible evidence that Qashqash was real and actively governing in the Nubian city of Old Dongola.
The find comes from excavations at Old Dongola, a site on the eastern bank of the Nile that once served as the capital of the Christian kingdom of Makuria. Researchers from the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology at the University of Warsaw uncovered the document in a rubbish layer inside a large residence known locally as the “King’s House.” The paper measures just four by three-and-a-half inches, but its contents have significantly expanded what scholars know about a poorly documented era in Nubian history.
For researchers studying the period after Makuria’s decline, contemporary written evidence has been exceedingly rare. The discovery of this document, alongside more than twenty other Arabic texts in the same building, represents a rare opportunity to understand how power operated in Nubia during a transformative era.
A King’s Orders, Penned on a Pocket-Sized Scrap
The text is brief and practical. King Qashqash issues an order to a subordinate named Khidr, instructing him to facilitate an exchange of goods. Khidr is told to receive three units of cloth from a man called Muhammad al-ʿArab. In return, he is to give Muhammad a ewe and her lamb, which are to be collected from another individual named ʿAbd al-Jabir. The transaction, while seemingly mundane, reveals the king’s direct involvement in the movement of goods within his network.
The order carries a direct, personal tone. “Do not hesitate! This is my letter/reply to you,” the note reads, according to the English translation provided in the Earth.com report. The phrasing suggests a degree of urgency and personal authority, distinguishing it from more formal bureaucratic documents of the period.
The language shows grammatical irregularities and compressed lettering that suggest Arabic was still developing as a written administrative language in the region at the time. The scribe who wrote it, identified as Hamad, was likely adapting a spoken form of the language to the page. The reverse side contains additional text, though damage makes it difficult to decipher.
Coins, Carbon Dating, and a Ruler’s Timeline
The document itself carries no date, so establishing its age required combining multiple lines of evidence. In the same room where the paper was found, archaeologists recovered eight silver coinsminted during the reign of the Ottoman sultan Murad IV, who ruled from 1623 to 1640. Those coins indicate that the deposit cannot be older than the early seventeenth century.
Radiocarbon dating of organic material from the same rubbish layer pushed the latest possible date to the late 1700s. Taken together with historical references, the researchers concluded that the document was most likely written in the late 1500s or early 1600s.
That places King Qashqash’s rule in a transitional period, after the decline of the medieval Christian kingdom of Makuria and before the Turco-Egyptian invasion of Sudan in 1820. The sixteenth and seventeenth centuries were a time when the Funj Sultanate exerted influence from the south, Ottoman Egypt projected power from the north, and local Nubian traditions continued to shape daily life.
From Legend to History: Why This Scrap Matters
Before this discovery, King Qashqash was known primarily from later Sudanese biographical traditions that mentioned him as an ancestor of prominent religious figures. A nineteenth-century book of biographies kept his name alive, but historians had no contemporary evidence to confirm his reign. Without such evidence, it was impossible to know whether he was a historical king or a figure whose memory had been reshaped over generations.
The newly discovered document changes that. In their published study, the researchers emphasize the significance of placing a previously uncertain figure within a verifiable historical framework. As quoted in Popular Mechanics, the authors state: “The king’s order we have discussed here represents a rare instance in which a figure previously confined to the domain of hagiographic literature and oral traditions can be situated within a verifiable historical framework supported by tangible archaeological evidence.”
Researchers also note the broader value of the documentary cache. According to the Medievalists.net article, the authors wrote: “The documentary sources uncovered at Old Dongola, including the king’s order, provide invaluable insights into the network of connections in Dongola before the colonial era, which began with the Turco-Egyptian invasion of Sudan in 1820.”
What Else Lay Hidden in the King’s House
The building where the document was found reflects the complex history of Old Dongola. Known as Building A.1, the large residence within the citadel contained more than twenty Arabic texts, along with artifacts that speak to its elite character. Excavators recovered textiles made from silk, cotton, and linen; leather footwear; a dagger handle carved from ivory or rhinoceros horn; and even musket balls.
The cache of documents includes letters, legal notes, and administrative records. Preliminary analysis suggests they formed part of a coherent communication network. Tomasz Barański, one of the researchers, offered insight into what further study may reveal. As reported by Earth.com, Barański said: “Preliminary analysis of the letters from Building A.1 suggests distinct patterns in the circulation of correspondence, hinting at a coherent communication network.”
For readers interested in ancientNubia or the history of pre-colonial Sudan, this find offers a rare window into a period often described as poorly documented. It also underscores how archaeological discoveries continue to refine what historians thought they knew about African kingdoms. A small administrative order, written on a piece of paper small enough to lose in a pocket, has confirmed what oral tradition preserved for centuries: that a king by that name once governed in Old Dongola.
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