or in Nubia. or in the Eastern Desert, they still adhered to their paganism, which encouraged King Sileko to eliminate the authority of the Beja and spread Christianity among them. From here, many of them became Christians and followed the Church of Alexandria according to the Jacobite doctrine. Nubia became a stronghold of Christianity, especially after the spread of Islam in Egypt, and the Church of Dongola, known as the Church of "Asnus," held great importance in Africa. Consequently, Nubia became the intermediary and spiritual link between the Coptic Church in Egypt and the Church of Abyssinia. King "Abernaymos," son of King Sileko, converted the temples of Kalabsha, Dakka, Wadi es-Sebua, and others into churches, and also converted the temple of Phila into a church. The Nubians turned to establishing monasteries. Dongola and its church remained safe for over a hundred years, founded by King Sileko, until the Islamic conquest of Egypt in 21 AH / 641 AD. As we saw in the previous chapter, this kingdom was the one that stood in the way of the Arab conquest. This stubborn resistance was encountered by the campaign of Uqba ibn Nafi al-Fihri, previously by Amr ibn al-As, and it clashed with the campaign of Abdullah ibn Sa'd ibn Abi Sarh. Despite the siege of Dongola, the kings organized resistance and inflicted upon the Arabs from their mountain fortresses and strongholds, causing them heavy losses and forcing them to cease their advance and return from whence they came. Thus, by the end of the sixth century AD, this part of Nubia, situated between the first and second cataracts, had converted to Christianity. The difficulty of communication between Nubia and the Roman Empire after the spread of Islam in Egypt was one of the reasons that made Egypt insistent on sending bishops, priests, and clergymen to these lands, which led to the Coptic Church in Egypt and its doctrine having supremacy in Nubia, and the rejection of the Chalcedonian doctrine that had prevailed previously. 102