When Greek was an African Language | Page 7

these three developments mark the end of the ancient
history of Nubia. [30] As usual, our limited sources preclude a
detailed narrative of these events, allowing only brief snapshots of
scattered episodes such as the defeat of the Blemmyes by the Nobadian
king Silko in the mid-fifth century AD, the evangelization of Nubia by
missionaries sent by the Roman emperor Justinian and his wife
Theodora in 541 AD, and, most remarkable, the dramatic defeat of two
Arab invasions of Nubia and the consequent conclusion of a unique
treaty in 652 AD—the so-called baqt—that guaranteed the
independence of the Nubian kingdoms—now reduced to two, Makuria
and Alwa—for over 500 years. [31] This was the only time in the
Middle Ages that Muslims exempted a non-Muslim state from
conquest.
Archaeology makes clear the scope and scale of the transformation.
Throughout Nubia from Philae in the north to Musawarat es Sofra in
the south worship of the old gods of Egypt and Kush ceased and

temples were re-consecrated as churches while new churches and
monasteries were built. From a land of Egyptian style temples Nubia
became a land of churches—well over a hundred are known. [32] Nor
was the change limited to the public aspects of religion. Pagan symbols
disappeared from Nubian pottery. The most dramatic change, however,
was at the personal level in funerary religion and it is visible
archaeologically in cemeteries throughout Nubia.
For millennia the peoples of Nubia had provided the dead with
elaborate tombs, rich funerary gifts, and ritual offerings. Suddenly, this
all ended. In Christian Nubia the dead were buried in Spartan graves
that, according to the archaeologist William Y. Adams, were "narrow
vertical slot[s] in which the body" was "laid on its back…without any
covering except perhaps for a crude 'lean-to' of bricks over the face…"
and "wrapped in a shroud" accompanied by only "a few small articles
of personal jewelry…." [33] It was as though a chasm had opened
between the newly Christianized Nubian kingdoms and the Pharaonic
traditions that had been introduced into Nubia by the pharaohs of the 25
&supth; th dynasty over a millennium and a half before. Few aspects of
Kushite elite culture crossed that chasm. One of those privileged few
was the Greek language. Indeed, the Middle Ages were to be the
golden age of Greek culture—Christian Greek culture, to be sure—in
Nubia.
This is not the place or the time to rehearse the long history of the
Nubian Christian kingdoms. Suffice to say that the Arab geographers
describe both Makuria and Alwa as strong and prosperous states with
numerous cities and towns. Makuria—our sources primarily concern
Makuria—not only maintained its independence until the 14 &supth; th
century AD but was strong enough to intervene in Egyptian affairs and
on one occasion in the mid 8 &supth; th century the Makurian king
Kyriakos even forced the emir of Egypt to release the Coptic Patriarch
of Alexandria from prison.
The revelation of the place of Greek cultural elements in the lives of
these kingdoms has been gradual and is still ongoing, but already it is
clear that Greek was the official language of government and religion

for most of their history. The distinguished church historian W. H. C.
Friend well summed up the initial impression created by the wide use
of Greek and the extensive influence of Christian Greek art in Medieval
Nubia in the title of one of his articles: "Nubia as an Outpost of
Byzantine Cultural Influence". [34] So, for example, Christian
Nubian political terminology is almost entirely borrowed from the late
Roman Empire. Terms such as basileus, eparchos, domestikos,
meizoteris, and even Hellenized Latin terms such as rix=rex,
primikerios, not to mention, Augustus and Caesar, abound. One king of
Makuria was even called the "New Constantine". [35]
At first glance, we seem to be looking at a Nubian version of the late
Roman imperial government, but first impressions are often misleading,
and that is the case here. The Nubian kingdoms were not
bureaucratically organized centralized states like the Roman Empire,
but segmentary states like Kush and other African states. [36] They
consisted, that is, of alliances of regional monarchies linked to a
paramount ruler by personal ties, and that reality is reflected in the use
of these terms with basileus and Augustus referring to paramount rulers,
eparchos and rix to regional governors, and those such as domesitkos to
the paramount's household. In other words, Roman terms were not
mechanically copied but selectively borrowed and adapted to a new
Nubian reality.
The glory of Medieval Nubian civilization was its religious art.
[37] Only brief allusions in Arab accounts and a few