II. 2. XXXIII. AND THE INVASION OF DONGOLA 177

XXXII In 1 1 74 Kanz el Dowla revolted with a following of Arabs

and blacks and invaded Egypt in the Fatimite interest. Saladin sent

his brother Melik el 'Adil against him, a battle was fought near Tud,

and the Nubians were completely defeated. Kanz el Dowla himself

was captured and put to death^.

With the death of Saladin in 1193 the main centre of power and

of interest moves from Egypt to Syria^ and the continued record of

wars with the Crusaders seldom touches our main thesis^,

XXXIII We gather some valuable information concerning Nubia in

the early years of the thirteenth century from Abu Salih the Armenian *,

though his value is greatly decreased by his obvious confusion between

Abyssinia and Nubia and by his credulity.

The best-known place-names in Nubia were still, as in el Mas'udi's

day, Maris, Mukurra, Dongola, and 'Aloa.

Man's was the name of the most northernly province, which

stretched southwards from the Egyptian border by Aswan to Korosko,

that is to about 60 miles north of Wadi Haifa. Its capital was

Bujaras "which is a well-populated city: there is the dwelling place

of Jausar, who wore the turban and the two horns and the golden

bracelet." This description is extremely interesting. The two horns

at once suggest the takia^, or two-horned cap, of the Fung king and his Mangils; and the golden bracelet has surely survived in

the name of the great Sowar el Dhahab ("Bracelet of Gold") family who still reside in Dongola and claim to be Bedayria of the Dah- MASHIA section. Mukurra was the district stretching from Korosko

southwards. It probably contained seven episcopal sees, namely

Korti, Ibrim, Bucaras (Bujaras), Dongola, Sai, Termus and Suenkur^, and certainly numerous monasteries and churches.

'Aloa lay near the junction of the Niles. The name generally refers

to the district of which Soba was the capital, but is also used, by Abu Salih, for instance, for Soba itself.

The description given by Abu Salih of this district with its gar-

risons and 400 churches of the Jacobite Christians will be quoted

^ Makrizi, Kit. el Seluk, pp. ii8, 119; Khetdt, 11, 574; Burckhardt, Nubia,

p. 518; and Ibn Khaldun (ed. ar. Vol. 5, p. 289, Bk. 11). I have followed Makrizi's version. Ibn Khaldun attributes the revolt to Kanz el Dowla's annoyance at certain lands near Aswan being allotted by Saladin to one of his amfrs. He also

differs as to the name of the leader of the punitive expedition.

^ Lane-Poole, p. 212.

^ Makrfzi {Kit. el Seluk, p. 464) mentions a revolt of Arabs in the Sa'fd in

1 240-1.

* See Abu Salih pp. 260 et seq. and notes by Evetts and Butler. Abu Salih's work was composed about 1208 a.d.: see p. x (Evetts).

^ See Part III, sub " "Abdullab." See also Part I, Chap, i, xvii, for what may be a Ilimyarite parallel. * So Vansleb.