Mythical African king is proved real as archaeologists dig up an order he wrote 500 years ago

An African king long thought to be a mythical figure has been proven to have existed. Archaeologists have found proof that Nubian King Qashqash lived hundreds of years ago in the Christian kingdom of Makuria. Digging through the ruins of the ancient city of Old Dongola in northern Sudan revealed a scrap of paper carrying an administrative order issued in the name of King Qashqash. It was part of the nearly two dozen pieces of the 500-year-old paper that were found in the ruins. The study published in Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa states that excavation was carried out at a structure that was once the residence of a high-status leader. It is located near the eastern bank of the Nile, and is known as building A.1, or the House of the Mekk. The edict is in Arabic and simply carries an order on textiles and livestock for the subordinate. It bears the name of King Qashqash, who has remained a fictional person till now.

Makurian history was slowly erased

Study authors wrote that "numismatic evidence, radiocarbon dating, and written sources" were used to investigate "rulership, social interactions, and Arabization in Dongola during the Funj period." The researchers added that the discovery of a paper with the king's order, among other findings at Old Dongola, offers an insight into the network of connections before the colonial era started. The Kingdom of Makuria flourished in the medieval era. However, it started declining after the 14th century, which also caused its history to be slowly deleted. Historians did not have much to study after one point, especially empirical evidence from the 16th and 17th centuries. There was nothing to prove the existence of King Qashqash, leading to him becoming a fictional king in the absence of proof.

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Dating the paper and other material discovered

Determining the age of the paper depended on nearby organic material and the coins, since the order did not have a date. "Although the archaeological context suggests a later date, internal analysis and comparisons with other sources indicate that it most likely dates to the late 16th or early 17th century," the authors wrote. The researchers stated that the size of the building was a clue that a powerful figure higher up in the social order owned it. They came across more than 20 letters, notes, and legal records, along with textiles, jewellery, leather shoes and a dagger handle crafted from ivory or rhino horn.

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The 4 by 3.5-inch scrap was written by Hamad, the court scribe, and was addressed to a person named Khidr. King Qashqash ordered him to get an ewe from someone named Abd al-Jabir, give it to Muhammad al-Arab and take three textile units in exchange. The study authors wrote that it represents "a rare instance in which a figure previously confined to the domain of hagiographic literature and oral traditions can be situated within a verifiable historical framework" with archaeological evidence backing it.