Makuria was a
kingdom located in what is today Northern
Sudan and Southern
Egypt. It was one of a group of
Nubian kingdoms that emerged in the centuries after the fall of the
Kushite Kingdom, which had dominated the region from approximately
800 BC to AD
350. Makuria originally covered the area along the
Nile River from the Third
Cataract to somewhere between the Fifth and Sixth Cataracts. It also had control over the trade routes, mines, and oases to the east and west. Its capital was
Dongola, and the kingdom is sometimes known by the name of its capital. By the end of the 6th century it had
converted to Christianity, but in the 7th century Egypt was conquered by the Islamic armies, and Nubia was cut off from the rest of
Christendom. In 651 an Arab army invaded, but it was repulsed and a treaty known as the
baqt was signed creating a relative peace between the two sides that lasted until the 13th century. Makuria expanded, annexing its northern neighbour
Nobatia either at the time of the Arab invasion or during the reign of King
Merkurios. The period from roughly 750 to 1150 saw the kingdom stable and prosperous, in what has been called the "
Golden Age". Increased aggression from Egypt, and internal discord led to the state's collapse in the 14th century.
