220 THE NATIVE MANUSCRIPTS iv.d3.iii.

from the Kuran. On the back of this page, after an invocation to God, commences the historical portion of the work, as follows :

IV " Know that the Fung possessed and conquered the land of the Nuba early in the tenth century, in the year 910I. And [then] the town of Sennar was founded by King 'Omara Dunkas. The town of Arbagi was founded thirty years previously by Hegazi ibn Ma'in. V And in these countries neither schools for learning nor Kuran were in vogue; and it is said that a man might divorce his wife and she be married by another man on the selfsame day without

any period of probation {'idda), until Sheikh. . .{word missing)... el Kusayer el 'Araki^ came from Egypt and taught the people to observe the period of probation and dwelt on the White [Nile] and

built himself a castle, which is now known as ' the castle of Mahmud ' {Kusr Mahmud).

VI And early in the second half of the tenth century the Sultan

'Omara Abu Sakaykin appointed Sheikh 'Agib el Mangilak, and in the early days of [the latter's] rule Sheikh Ibrahim el Bulad came

from Egypt to the Shaiki'a country and there taught law [Khalil] and apostleship [risdla] ; and learning spread throughout the Gezira.

VII Then after a short time came Sheikh Tag el Din el Bahari^ from Baghdad and introduced Sufiism into the Fung court.

VIII Then came el Telemsani el Moghrabi; and he inspired Sheikh Muhammad^ ibn 'Isa Sowar el Dhahab, and instructed him in dogma, and taught him what pertains to the sphere of faith, and the interpretation of the Kuran, and its correct recital, and the methods of reading it and its syntax.

IX And the doctrine of the Unity of God and the art of reciting

the Kuran spread throughout the Gezira, for 'Abdulla el Aghbash^, and Nusr father*^ of the feki Abu Sinayna'^ at Arbagi, were his pupils in Kuranic teaching.

X Then arose Sheikh Idris^, who was not inspired by any other sheikh. Some say he was instructed by the Prophet, and others that

a man from the west [el moghrab], called 'Abd el Kafi, whom he met by the way, deputed him.

XI Shortly afterwards arose Sheikh Hasan^ walad Hasuna by the will of the Prophet of God, upon whom be the blessings of God.

XII Then came Sheikh Muhammad ihn. . .{word missing). . .[to]

the Berber country and introduced there the tenets of el Shafa'i; and these tenets spread in the Gezira.

1 1504 A.D.

2 No. 157. 3 No. 67.

* No. 191. 5 No. 31.

^ reading jJlj for jJ^

7 No. 51.

8 No. 141.

^ No. 132.