i8o THE PROGRESS THROUGH EGYPT ii. 2. xxxvii.
and repeatedly raided Egyptian territory in the neighbourhood of Aswan and 'Aidhab^. Daud wisely evaded an engagement and
retreated southwards, so that the troops sent against him had to be
content with capturing numbers of Nubians who had remained in
their villages and taking them to Egypt, where they were put to
death.
XXXVIII In 1276 Baybars dispatched a much larger army, composed
of regulars, provincials, and Beduins, under the command of Shams
el Din el Farakani and 'Izz el Din Aibek el Afram. They were also accompanied by Shekenda^, the son of Daud's sister, who had been
to complain to Baybars against his uncle.
The armies met somewhere between Aswan and Derr (}y and a
battle was fought in which the Nubians* were defeated and put to
flight.
El Afram then marched rapidly on Derr(?) and put it to the sword, while el Farakani pushed on beyond the second cataract by
land and river looting and slaughtering.
Kumr el Dowla, who was apparently the " Lord of the Mountain "
at the time, tendered his submission and swore allegiance to Shekenda.
El Afram then proceeded southwards taking large numbers of
prisoners, including Daud's wife, sister and brother: the king him-
self, however, evaded capture^. Shekenda was crowned king on
^ See Makrizi, Khetdt, ii, 586, and Burckhardt, p. 514. Bouriant writes "694"
(a.h.) by error for "674," but correctly converts the date to June, i27S-June, 1276. Lane-Poole (Hist. p. 271) gives the date of this affair as 1272-3. If Daud pillaged the country round 'Aidhab, he must have been in alliance with the Bega tribes who interposed between the Nile and the Red Sea coast.
^ Bouriant calls him "Skandah"; the MS. Hist. ICalaun gives " Meschkedet (Quatremere, 11, iii, etc.); Burckhardt gives "Shekendy" and notes "I find this name written in my MSS. Shekende, Sekebde, Tenekde, Sekende (Sju^ SjU^
6jjS^ djSjJ): see Nubia, pp. si 4., 52S. Ibn Khaldun (ed. ar. Vol. 5, p. 400, Bk. 11)
gives " Martashkin " (^^^-13 j-«) four times, and "Min Tashkil" (^*^iuJ t^j^) once—probably by misprint. Ibn Khaldun 's account also makes " Martashkin "
the uncle instead of nephew of Daud : it is less detailed than that of Makrfzi, and the main discrepancies will be mentioned.
^ Burckhardt, " Kallet Addo" (^jJI 4Jt^l, f.e. jjJt for jjJI). Seep. i6g, note.
* Makrfzi's statement that these " Nubians " were mounted on camels and clothed
in long black tunics (Burckhardt, "black dekadek") suggests that they were largely Nubianized Arabs (Beni Kanz?) or semi-arabicized Bega allies of the same. It
will be remembered that the Beni Kanz, who had amalgamated with the Nubians, were originally a branch of Rabi'a, the tribe which had amalgamated with the Bega; and the mention of 'Aidhab is significant. Black was the 'Abbasid colour, worn originally as a sign of mourning for el Hasan. A black robe is worn at the present day by the men throughout Upper Egypt and by the Barabra, 'Ababda, etc., in Lower Nubia. Its use declines further south.
^ Ibn Khaldun {loc. cit.) says Daud fled to el Abwab {i.e. Kabushia), but was seized by the Mek of that district and sent a prisoner to Baybars, who threw him into a dungeon and left him to die there.