Study of a 16th-century Ethiopian monk’s account provides insights into ancient Dongola

A recent study by researchers Dr. Dorota Dzierzbicka and Dr. Daria Elagina re-examined and translated a rare first-hand account of a 16th-century Ethiopian monk visiting old Dongola, Sudan.

The work is published in the journal Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa.

The colophon was first transcribed and translated into Latin in the 1930s after being housed in the Vatican Library for centuries.

However, it did not come to the public’s attention until the 1990s when Ceccarelli-Morolli brought it to the attention of scholars of Nubian studies, showing that Dongola had already become a Muslim-dominated community by the 16th century.

The true extent of the information the colophon contained, however, was far greater, but it was not realized until recently.

This was likely due to the difficulty in accessing and understanding the document, explained Dr. Dzierzbicka and Dr. Elagina. “It is no surprise that the colophon’s significance for economic and social history has largely gone unnoticed until now. The 1930s edition and Latin translation of the colophon were difficult to access, and the commentary was very limited.

“What is more, since the text is in Ethiopic, it was easily overlooked by researchers in Nubian studies, who typically work with sources in Greek, Coptic, Old Nubian, and Arabic.

“On the other hand, the setting it describes is very far from Ethiopia, placing it outside the scope of interest of Ethiopian studies. Such a peculiar source requires an interdisciplinary, collaborative effort to fully appreciate its value.”

The text follows a series of religious hymns (malkǝ’) to Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary written by the 16th century Ethiopian monk Takla ‘Alfā during his stay in Dongola.

In it, Takla ‘Alfā provides important context to recent archaeological excavations undertaken by the ERC StG project “UMMA.”

“UMMA, which means ‘community’ in Arabic, is an acronym for ‘Urban Metamorphosis of the community of a Medieval African capital city.’ The project … was conducted in Dongola in 2018–2024 by a team from the Polish Center of Mediterranean Archaeology, University of Warsaw, headed by Artur Obłuski. Among its main objectives was to investigate the social and religious changes in Dongola following the decline of the Christian kingdom of Makuria…”

“The domestic assemblages are indicative of a rather egalitarian society, an exception being one very large building, the so-called House of the Mekk, or king, which was clearly inhabited by members of the elite. Objects found within included silk, musket balls, coins, and other items of prestige. Importantly, among the finds from the UMMA project excavations are letters, documents, and amulets written in Arabic.

“The fact that many of these texts came from the House of the Mekk links them to the elites, and one of them was even authored by a king of Dongola named Qashqash or Qushqush. The presence of Arabic writing, as well as the virtual disappearance of pigs from the archaeological record, are important indications of the transition to Islam,” Dr. Dzierzbicka and Dr. Elagina elaborated.

Particularly significant is Takla ‘Alfā’s mention of “gelaba” merchants in Dongola. This reference represents the earliest known use of this term in sources concerning Sudan, pushing back the documented presence of this merchant class by over a century.

According to Dr. Dzierzbicka and Dr. Elagina, gelaba “is a loanword from Arabic, which stands for long-distance traders, and it is in fact the earliest known mention of this term in our sources concerning Sudan. In later centuries, gelaba were very often mentioned as operators of caravans on a network of routes connecting the regions of modern-day Egypt, Sudan, and Chad. Their mention in this text shows that they were already a significant social group in the late 16th century, and that the routes traveled in the 17th and 18th centuries were already in operation.”

Not only does this reveal a significantly earlier emergence of this merchant class than previously believed, but it also provides context for when Dongola became a significant trade hub.

This, in turn, provides insights into some of the imported goods found during archaeological excavations, as explained by Dr. Dzierzbicka and Dr. Elagina, “The archaeological finds show a steady trickle of imported goods into the city, mainly from or through Egypt, especially in the 17th and 18th centuries.

“Takla ‘Alfā’s mention of gelaba and the obvious activity on the long-distance route he wanted to follow from Ethiopia, through Dongola, to Egypt and onward to Jerusalem, gives context to the non-local objects found during excavations. Importantly, the colophon shows that this traffic of commodities was already flourishing in the 16th century, for which our evidence is scarcer.”

Furthermore, according to Takla ‘Alfā’s account, all inhabitants of Dongola were already Islamized by 1596, much earlier than previously assumed from other scholarly sources.

Takla ‘Alfā’s account provides a rare glimpse into 16th-century Dongola and complements recent archaeological excavations. It provides a first-hand account detailing how Dongola was already fully Muslim by the early 16th century, as well as a thriving entrepot.

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