Political changes following the Arab invasion of the Byzantine empire and the express occupation of the African provinces along with Egypt in the end of the first half of the 7th century were also of significance for Nubia. The Arab expedition against Nobadia in 645 and the following expedition of Abdullah abu Sarh against Dongola in 652 were instrumental in leading to the unification of the kingdoms of Makuria and Nobadia into one state organism. The kings of Makuria seem to have played the dominant role in this process; it was the kings of Makuria who managed to bring about the union, defend Dongola against the Arabs and negotiate a baqt treaty with them. The treaty which Qalidurut signed with Abdullah abu Sarh became the basis of Nubia's relations with the Arab world until the mid 13th century. Nubia in phase II of the early period (mid 8th-eariy 9th century) experienced quick development. The state was consolidated with the capital at Dongola and a separate eparchy of Nobadia. The rite of the Nubian church was unified and all of Nubia subjected to the Coptic patriarch in Alexandria presumably at the turn of the 7th century in the reign of king Merkurios. In military terms, the kingdom was sufficiently powerful to permit king Kyriakos a successful intervention in Egypt in defense of the patriarch in the middle of the 8th century. Dongola's dominant position is evidenced in the architecture of Nubia and was presumably equally important in the development of wall painting known almost exclusively from Nobadia.
1) Architecture
The siege of Dongola resulted in the destruction of the two churches which lay outside the city walls. The Arab raids may have resulted in destruction in other settlements in Nubia, but there is no hard evidence.The Church of the Stone Pavement was rebuilt as a domed basilica with the dome supported on massive pillars. It therefore borrowed from Byzantine architecture of the post-Justinian period. Other changes in the interior and the furnishing included a smaller cruciform baptismal font built into the earlier pool and a new floor in the presbytery taking on the form of colored pebble mosaic. On the spot of the Old Church a completely new structure was erected - the Church of Granite Columns. It was a significant achievement of the local masons for an analysis of the plan compels us to consider it as a totally local design and realization. The cruciform interior inscribed into a compact basilical outline recalls such structures as the Mausoleum and the Church of the Stone Pavement, while the annexes are very similar to compartments preserved in the southern part of the Old Church, thus combining elements known from various other Dongolan structures. Inside the church to the west there was a narthex accessible only from the south; the center was occupied by the intersecting naves ending in apse at three of the ends, with the eastern one being the largest. The side aisles were divided by columns of grey granite. In the east end there were pastophoria connected by a corridor behind the apse. In the southern part of the structure there was a staircase and a side chapel with a cruciform baptismal font. On the northern side there were analogous rooms and the eastern one formed part of the prothesis. The eastern apse was filled by a synthronon, and the eastern part of the nave was set off by an altar screen.The corpus was probably developed not only by setoffs in the side walls articulating the transversal nave on the outside, but also by an appropriate articulation of cruciform design in the structure of the roof.
The Cathedral of Paulos in Faras, founded in 707, was probably influenced by trends coming from the capital at Dongola. The earlier three-aisled basilica was developed according to a model set by the Church of Granite Columns in Dongola. Some limitations issuing from the necessity to retain some parts of the earlier structure enforced a reduction of the metropolitan model and resulted in a lesser elegance of the final structure. The Paulos Cathedral also had a narthex preceding the church on the west with two entrances from the west and south. The corpus had a cruciform design, but only the eastern arm of the cross ended in an apse. In the eastern end of the building the pastophoria did not have the connecting passage behind the apse, the renovation here being limited to an enlarging of the apse alone. The side annexes were almost identical with the rooms in Dongola. The synthronon filled the apse and the altar was located in the eastern end of the nave and was screened off from the rest of the building by an altar screen. The southeastern room served as a baptistery and chapel. The prothesis was located in the northeastern room of the church.
Another important building erected after the kingdom's unification was the basilica at Qasr Ibrim which served as the cathedral there. It was built on the ruins of the Old Church and was an enormous structure with five aisles and an inner narthex. Its nave which was wider than the rest of the aisles was set apart by rows of granite columns while the side aisles were separated by pillars. The tripartite bema contained an apse with a stone synthronon and side rooms connected by a wide corridor east of the apse. The passage was justified to a degree by the presence of subterranean crypts. The Dongolan Church of the Stone Pavement constitutes the closest analogy to this building. Also the western end of the basilica at Qasr Ibrim was designed in a similar fashion as at Dongola, only the staircase leading to the gallery being located elsewhere, i.e., in the southwestern corner room.
In the 8th century changes in the liturgical equipment were probably introduced into many village churches under Makurian influence. The most important change was the introduction of a synthronon into the apse and the moving of the altar more to the west, usually into the eastern end of the nave. The presbytery was in such cases screened off from the rest of the church. In the newly erected churches of Nobadia also the passage behind the apse was introduced wherever possible. An excellent example of the changes is the eastern end of the church at Naga Abdallah. It can be said that the basilical type of church became common in all of northern Nubia at this precise time. It was usually a small rectangular building with a tripartite western end and a tripartite bema with connecting passage behind the apse between the pastophoria. The body of the church was usually three-aisled with the slightly wider nave being separated from the aisles by massive pillars, usually two on each side. The nave was also higher than the aisles and the church usually had a gallery accessible via a staircase. An excellent example of this type of building id the Southern Church at Ihmindi, probably erected in the 9th century.
The architectural decoration is, in comparison with the earlier phase, much less frequently applied inside churches. The rule were granite columns, sometimes decorated with crosses on the upper parts of their shafts, used as supports in such complexes as the Church of the Granite Columns in Dongola, the Paulos Cathedral in Faras and the basilica at Qasr Ibrim. The surface of the greatly reduced capitals was carved with a shallow relief decoration of a very simple design. The volutes are in the form of narrow bands and just barely marked; between them there is a decorative element in the shape of a cross or a palmette, sometimes a monogram. The neck of the capitals is most often plain, although sometimes it is decorated with small leaves or simply a torus. It would appear that granite capitals were popular in Nobadia as a result of Makurian influence. In northern Nubia sandstone continued to be used, mostly as part of the entrance, with the lintels decorated with a sole flat cube in the center, inscribed with a cross in a wreath.
Not much can be said of civil architecture. Houses only rarely entered the scope of fieldwork and are rarely well dated when they did. Two interesting houses - House A and House PCH1 - were excavated in the northern -part of Dongola; both were built of mudbrick and had an upper floor. In both cases the entrances led to vestibules connected with a staircase. The groundfloor contained a number of rooms accessible from the vestibule or a transversal hall. In House A a bathroom was identified with two bathing pools, water installations and a furnace for heating water. Other public buildings were uncovered at Arminna West and in Faras where two palaces were discovered to the north of the cathedral and identified as eariy structures.
The interiors of Nubian churches of the Early Period, especially in northern Nubia, were often decorated with architectural friezes and niche finials, but there is no doubt that wall paintings were an element of church decoration right from the beginning. The oldest fragments of paintings are found inside baptismal pools in the Old Church and the Church of the Stone Pavement in Dongola; the waterproof plaster in these pools was done in imitation of marble revetment. But the oldest wall paintings have been preserved inside the churches of Nobadia and are dated to the 7th and 8th century. Interestingly, the religious wall paintings appeared outside churches, inside rockcut hermitages (The Grotto of the Anchorite at Faras), public buildings (South Palace at Faras) and even houses (House A in Dongola). The best preserved and most famous set of wall paintings of the Early Period comes from the Paulos Cathedral in Faras shortly after its establishment in 707. Until recently these paintings were considered the oldest from Nubia. Today, however, there is a number of paintings which can be dated to the 7th century, such as the murals from Abu Oda, part of the compositions from Wadi es Sebua, compositions from the synthronon of the First Cathedral at Faras, the Central Church at Abdallah Nirqi and possibly the compositions from the small church at Naga el Oqba.Painting dated to the 8th and early 9th century have been preserved in the Paulos Cathedral in Faras, but also in Wadi es Sebua, Serre Garb and House A in Dongola. On the grounds of the preserved remains, Faras may be distinguished as the most important center of wall painting in Nubia of the Early Period. However, a certain distinctness of the paintings from Dongola enjoins caution and indicates that Dongola may have been a center of equal, if not greater importance.
The style of Nubian paintings of the Early Period is fairly homogeneous. Drawing dominates the brushwork in bringing out the outlines of a picture. The figures are mostly shown frontally, statically, heavily proportioned, their massiveness accentuated by large feet. Robes are outlined schematically and are usually monochromatic. The expressiveness of the faces is in the setting of the wide open eyes which contrast with the simple outline of the nose and mouth. It would seem that the earlier paintings, dated to the 7th century, from Abu Oda and Wadi es Sebua, show movement with less constraint (martyr saint from the ceiling of the Abu Oda church) and the draping of the robes is also more free (St. Peter the Apostle from the west niche in the Wadi es Sebua church). Faces are also more three-dimensional through the stronger marking of shadows on the cheeks, as in the representation of St. Peter at Wadi es Sebua.Paintings are placed over 2 meters above the floor in monumental buildings, the exception being the apse and entrance to a church. The compositions give the impression of hanging icons, there not being any background and no line to indicate the level on which the figure is supposedly standing. Narrative scenes occur sporadically, but the subjects do not depart from the repertoire of icon painting: Ascension of Christ, Nativity, Three Hebrews in a Fiery Furnace, Christ appearing to St. Thomas. It would seem that icon painting played an important role in shaping both the style and choice of subject matter in early Nubian paintings.The general opinion is that early Nubian painting is stylistically very close to the Coptic paintings of Bawit and Sakkara. A closer look, however, at the faces of the saints and the compositions as a whole reveal that while this opinion is generally true, there are certain differences in the style and, most importantly, Nubian painting is more schematic. The complete lack of frescoes on the lower parts of walls in Nubian churches, so common in Coptic monasteries, suggests that the style was brought to Nubia in the late 6th or early 7th century and was quickly taken up by local workshops which already in the early 7th century were fully capable of executing the commissions of the local Nubian clergy and private founders.
It is much more difficult to establish the iconographic sources which Nubian painting drew upon. Stressing that stylistic models do not always go together with iconographic ones, K. Weitzmann indicated Palestine as a possible source of iconographic inspiration for the frescoes from Faras. The problem remains as to whether iconographic models came directly from Palestine or through Coptic Egypt or maybe also through Makuria (Dongola).The interiors of apses in the early churches in Nobadia are decorated architecturally on the most part: friezes, niches and pilasters (First Cathedral at Faras). How the conches of the niches were decorated remains an open question, since there is no evidence. Alreadt in the 7th century two-register compositions, which are common in Coptic churches and orattories, appear in Nubian apses. The Virgin and Child is shown standing or sitting on a throne in the company of the apostles on the lower parts of the apse's wall, e.g. Wadi es Sebua, Central Church at Abdallah Nirqi and Naga el Oqba. In the latter church the Virgin was adored by angels; the fragmentarily preserved painting appears to be the earliest in Nubia (first half of the 7th century) and possibly the closest to Coptic apse paintings. Representations of Christ in Glory and the four apocalyptical beings appear in the conches of Nubian apses as confirmed by a fragmentary painting in the conch of a 7th century church at Serre Garb depicting a cherubim with a human head. In later periods this type of apse decoration will be the sole iconographic subject used in Nubia. The composition in the apse of the Paulos Cathedral at Faras is an interesting example of local embellishment. A lower frieze was added showing a row of birds with spread wings below a series of arcades; the frieze was a reminiscence of the sculptured decoration found in the apse of the earlier basilica. Representations of Christ are few, but two are of special interest. Christ painted on the rock ceiling of the church in Abu Oda, holding a codex in his left hand and holding his right hand up in blessing, is similar to a representation of Christ on a damaged icon from the monastery of St. Catherine in the Sinai (B 12) which K. Weitzmann dates to the 6th-7th century and associates with Palestine. The other representation of Christ to garner special attention is the Christ Victor shown in House A in Dongola. Christ is depicted trampling a lion, dragon, basilisk and serpent with his bare feet; the legend describes him as the Sun of Justice, the accompanying inscription is a fragment of Psalm 90.3. This representation has a close analogy on ivory plaques used as part of the binding of codices. It is noteworthy that the representation of Christ on a plaque from Lorsch, now in the Vatican, which is so similar to the painting from Dongola, was probably inspired by the art of Constantinople.The Virgin Hodegetria preserved among Faras paintings from the Cathedral of Paulos is depicted standing, the Child on her left arm and her right hand held to her breast in the open-palm gesture of a supplicant. The Palestinian archetype of such a representation should be noted here.Archangels are frequent in early Nubian painting, appearing frequently at the main entrances as guardians of the interior (e.g. church in Abu Oda and the Paulos Cathedral at Faras) and sometimes as guardians of the stairwell containing the steps up to the church gallery, as in Faras.The apostles hold an important place among the saints, especially St. Peter and St. John. At Wadi es Sebua and Faras, St. Peter is shown with a large key and the legend (in the Paulos Cathedral) describing him as "St. Peter, leader of the apostles and holder of the key to the Heavenly Kingdom". These Nubian representations of the apostle clearly refer to apse compositions from both Nubia and Egypt and though there are some differences in the details a Coptic model seems highly probable. In eariy paintings the holy warriors: St. Theodore Stratelatos, St. George and St. Mercurios, are shown standing, dressed in military garb (Faras) or court dress (Wadi es Sebua and Dongola). Egyptian anchorites, monks and martyrs are strikingly unpopular. In the Cathedral of Paulos only one such picture, i.e., of Ammone, an anchorite from Tuna el Gebel, has survived. Paintings depicting St. Ignatios of Antioch and St. Cyprian present in the Paulos Cathedral at Faras as well as the extended composition of the Nativity in the church point to Palestinian influences in Nubian iconography.To sum up, Egyptian and Palestinian models, and even models directly from Constantinople with which Makuria had much closer ties than Nobadia, are present in Early Christian art from Nubia. The southern kingdom continued to have a dominating influence upon Nubian art after the kingdom's unification in the second half of the 7th century. The Nubian artistic community formed fairly early and gave religious architecture and wall painting a distinctly local flavor.
The southern Christian Nubian kingdom was established upon the ruins of Meroe presumably in the 5th century. Recent discoveries of tumuli situated south of the Atbara and Nile junction and dated to the Post-Meroitic period have brought extremely important evidence for understanding the early stages of the existence of Alodia and defining its distinctness in terms of pottery and burial customs. Alodia was Christianized by Bishop Longinus of Nobadia around 580 and found itself within the jurisdiction of the Coptic patriarch of Alexandria. We know nothing of Coptic Egypt's role in shaping the Alodian kingdom in the 6th and 7th centuries and research on the Christian period of Alodia is only beginning. The only evidence is from the capital of the kingdom, Soba, and is further limited by the deplorable state the ruins are in and imprecise stratigraphy. Thanks to the careful research of the British mission and speedy publication, it is possible to characterize the early religious architecture of Alodia, most probably from the second phase. The two monumental complexes A and B from Soba have turned out to be extremely interesting.
Building A measuring 30 x 25 m was clearly a developed three-aisled basilica preceded on the west by a narthex and having a tripartite bema in the east with a small apse in the central part, articulated in the structure's eastern facade. The narthex led to two long corridors on either side of the aisles; these may have been open corridors according to the excavators. Behind the apse there was a large tomb with two elongated rectangular rooms constituting a homogeneous structure with the eastern part of the basilica.The nave of the church was much wider than the aisles and corridors. There was an altar in the apse instead of the synthronon. Church A at Soba remained long in use and was rebuilt at one time.
Church B located to the south of Church A was a slightly smaller establishment measuring 24 x 22.5 m. It was a harmonious structure on a cruciform plan emphasized by four supports and corresponding pilasters. The entrance portico in the west led to an inner narthex. On the east the apse with altar was located between four pastophoria. On either side of the corpus there were long corridors. The plan is a classical cruciform design inscribed into a rectangle with the basilical character emphasized by a monumental western entrance on the main axis of the building.
The latest church built onto Church B from the south was Church C which was also the smallest of the three. It was a three-aisled basilica with a narthex and a tripartite bema wider than the corpus of the building.Although following different plans, the three structures constitute a homogeneous complex. They are undoubtedly early churches, erected sometime in the 8th century. On the face of the matter, they seem to have much in common with Dongolan churches and could be considered as modelled on these examples. However, the absence of a synthronon in the apse and the characteristically small apses closing off square sanctuaries rather exclude any direct relations of Soban architecture with that of Dongola. Neither are there any direct analogies with Nobadia. Consequently, we are forced to look for inspiration in the post-Justinian Byzantine architectural tradition, although a more complicated genesis of the Soban churches is not to be excluded. It is highly probable that we are dealing with a combination of a local tradition developed under Coptic and Aksum influence (the absence of a synthronon is an important indication here) and inspiration coming from the united Nubian kingdom; (the Church of the Granite Columns in Dongola would appear to be an excellent reference in this case). A degree of confirmation for this hypothesis is to be seen in the granite architectural elements uncovered at Soba by P. Shinnie. The fragments are very Dongotan in character and can be dated to the turn of the 7th century. Although at present too little is known of Alodian religious architecture to characterize it more closely, one thing is clear: this architecture developed independently of both Makuria and Nobadia.
The extensive building D refers to a local tradition which originates from Meroitic times. It was presumably a vast residence with an upper floor intended as residential quarters and a ground floor serving storage purposes. lt would hardly be surprising if the complex of three churches and a residence turned out to be an episcopal complex, a kind of episkopeion such as those known from Dongola, Faras and Qasr Ibrim.
The Classical Period, 9th - 11th centuries
The classical period in Nubian art should presumably be connected with the rule of a dynasty established by King loannes in the early twenties of the 9th century. It is not certain whether the actual founder of the one and only royal dynasty in Christian Nubia in which the son inherited directly from the father was loannes or his son Zacharias who not only took over from his father, contrary to Nubian custom which preferred to give the succession to the son of the sister of the dying king, but also in a highly capable way made his son Georgios his successor. Nubian community was unfavorably disposed to this custom which was foreign to Nubian tradition and gave vent to its displeasure on several occasions, both inside the country and abroad, a fact of particular importance during the visit Georgios I paid in Baghdad. Nevertheless, the dynasty implemented with obvious determination the Byzantine understanding of the role of the ruler in the political and cultural life of the country. This led in effect to new architectural projects emphasizing the king's power, such as the Throne Hall and the Cruciform Church in Dongola, while in the visual arts it bore fruit in the form of the exceptionally colorful and ornamental Nubian style best represented in the mural decoration of the Cathedral of Petros in Pachoras and the church in Sonqi Tino.The following kings, confirmed either in documents or historical records, belong to the dynasty:
IOANNES
ZACHARIAS I
GEORGIOS I
ZACHARIAS II
GEORGIOS II
RAPHAEL
Raphael's son
The close of the dynasty falls about the middle of the 11th century. It would seem that king Solomon reactivated the custom of the throne being inherited by the son of the sister of the dying king.A matter of unquestioned importance for the development of Nubian culture in this period were the new relations with the Islamic world which resulted in long years of peace for Nubia and a mutual openness in political, social and cultural relations. Nubia became widely known in the Moslem world at this time, on one hand thanks to the visit in Baghdad in 835 of Georgios I, then heir to the throne, a visit which was extensively reported by a number of historians, and on the other hand thanks to a lengthy description of Nubia written by Ibn Salim al Aswani following his journey to Nubia in 970 in the capacity of an official representative of Gawhar a! Sigeli, the conqueror of Egypt for the Fatimids. To return to Georgios's trip to Baghdad, it would seem that it had a tremendous impact upon Nubian art, providing the heir and his entourage with the opportunity to visit not only the caliph's capital but also the countries on the way, Egypt and Palestine, from where many new architectural models were brought back as well as a number of new iconographic subjects to be used in wall painting.The Classical Period in Nubian art is apparently to be subdivided into two phases which are more visible in painting than in architecture:
I. mid 9th - mid 10th century
II. mid 10th - early 11th century
It should be kept in mind, however, that this subdivision might be misleading being as it is based upon the evidence of changes in Nubian painting evidenced on the walls of the cathedral at Pachoras. It could even be suggested that Dongola remained the leading center and the changes at Pachoras are only a belated version of the changes taking place in the capital of the country, of which scholars today have no knowledge lacking the evidence of paintings from Dongola.
Of the several buildings erected in Dongola during this time, two are of particular importance, not only as the most important achievements of Nubian architecture in general, but also as symbols of the kingdom for which they were considered by the Nubians. These two are the Throne Hall and the Commemorative Building-Cruciform Church.The Throne Hall survived down to our times. In 1317 it was transformed into a Mosque and caravanseray and underwent considerable changes, particularly following damages in the late 13th century. It managed, however, to preserve much of its original appearance, on the groundfloor as well as the storey. It was a rectangular structure with a projecting apse in the eastern facade, a rarity in Nubia, built on a rocky eminence to the east of the citadel. The main entrance in the western wall led up a monumental staircase which gave access to the first floor and the terrace on the roof of the complex. The first floor was occupied by a square room measuring 7.20 m to the side with a shallow niche in the middle of the eastern wall. The wooden ceiling of the room was supported on four granite pillars. Some preserved beams permit the reconstruction of a coffered ceiling on the four sides. What the central part looked like it is difficult to say; the roof here should have been raised in respect to the sides in order to provide a way of lighting the dim interior. There were three layers of paintings on the walls, covered finally by plain plaster when the structure served as a mosque. A fragment of frieze crowning the walls is all that has been preserved of the original decor.The main room was surrounded by a corridor which was presumably open to the outside on the north and south and which on the east was connected with the apse, suggesting that this section might have served as a chapel. On the west there were two comer rooms, a kind of vestibule-waiting room, and the staircase which led higher up to the terrace on the roof. The numerous opportunities to enjoy the view, from the windows in the staircase, the arcaded corridors on either side of the hall and the roof, suggest an architect receptive to the beauty of the landscape and enjoined to provide visitors to the audience hall with a chance to admire the king's domain.There were three separate entrances in the walls of the groundfloor which consisted of a series of narrow and very high rooms (1.60 - 2.80 m in width, 6.20 m high) . The rooms formed two complexes, presumably of a domestic service character, although their specific functions can only be presumed. The fundamental role of these rooms was to elevate the throne hall as much as possible above the city.There can be no doubt that the Dongola structure was modeled on Byzantine architecture, especially the Magna ~ura, great throne hall of the Byzantine emperors in Constantinople. It served the same functions and was similar in architectural terms.
The other splendid structure to be erected in Dongola in this period is the Cruciform Church, built on top of the levelled remains of an earlier domed basilica. As the name suggests, it was a monumental structure based on a cruciform plan. The square central space (14 x 14 m) opened onto the arms through two-storey porticoes. Three of the arms served as entrances; the fourth, eastern arm was slightly longer than the others and separated from the body of the church. The porticoes were structurally reinforced on the outside by buttresses, obviously explained by the presence of a great dome above the square central space of the building, which rose to a total height of 28 m. This was doubtless the largest and the most difficult structure to be built in Nubia and appears almost impossible in view of our knowledge of the possibilities of Nubian architecture of the period. The Cruciform Church most probably served two functions. The eastern arm which was situated above the crypts belonging still to the first Commemorative Building (BX) presumably acted as a chapel devoted to the worship of persons buried in the crypts. This is proved by a table altar near the eastern wall of the space and a large Latin cross of brick on the floor almost filling the whole interior. Between the columns of the eastem portico there was a small synthronon which was semicircular on the outside. The eastern portico was cut off with wooden partitions and served as pastophoria. The spot of the altar has not been determined. It is probable that a ciborium was located in the center of the square central space, at the intersection of the building's axes. The ciborium had a dome supported on four low columns. Four other columns around the ciborium, with no evidence of structural ties with the building's walls, presumably supported beams used to hang lights or ex vota. Instead of an altar inside the ciborium, there may have been a large silver cross which the Mameluke armies took from the city upon conquering it in 1276. Thus, it is highly probable that the Cruciform Church was a monumental commemorative building modelled on the cruciform commemorative structures which were popular in Syria and Palestine. It was most probably commissioned by King Zacharias in thanksgiving for his son's fortunate return from the trip to Baghdad in 835-837.
The small church DC built on the northern outskirts of the town is apparently from the same period. Only vestiges of it have been preserved, but enough to determine that it was also a cruciform structure measuring 19.5 x 12 m. Its eastern and western sections were tripartite Nubian-fashion. A synthronon presumably filled the apse of the church which had sacristies on either side, connected by a passage running behind the apse. The square central space of the complex most probably had a flat wooden roof supported on four granite columns. The DC church fits very well in the Dongolan architectural tradition, referring to the episcopal church with granite columns as well as to basilican foundations.
A new church, the so-called Church on the Southern Slope of the Kom, was built at Pachoras by lesu, eparch of Nobadia in 930. Preserved only fragmentarily, the church, which was located south of the Paulos cathedral, was found to be a small three-aisled basilica measuring 16 x 10 m. The aisles of equal width were separated by rows of granite columns which were without doubt prepared for some earlier project. The eastern part of the church had a typically Nubian design: an apse without a synthronon (?) with a room on either side connected by a passage behind the apse. The Pachoras church sits well in the architecture of phase I of the Classical period during which columns were still commonly used to support ceilings. It is interesting to note the absence of a synthronon in this case, an extremely rare feature in the 10th century, which was to become the rule in new structures in the 11th century and later.
During this period a number of small churches were erected in Nobadia; these complexes appear to be reduced versions of a basilica with one outstanding feature which is the presence of four pillars supporting a central dome. The best examples are the Southern Church in Ihmindi and the Double Church at Tamit, both with the typical Nubian tripartite design of the western and eastern sections with the passage behind the apse connecting the pastophoria.
A very interesting complex is the church at Kulb which combines two Nubian traditions originating from the four-column churches as well as the cruciform buildings in Dongola. It is definitely an excellent example of the two traditions being combined in one. The date of this establishment is unclear, but considering that the dome covering the central space of the building, which measures 6.60 x 7.20 m, was the next largest in Nubia after the Cruciform Church in Dongola, its erection should be tentatively placed at the turn of the 9th century. There can be no doubt that it is a wholly Nubian design and P. Grossmann is unjustified in connecting it with Egyptian buildings from the mid 11th century onward.
The two large monastic complexes at Qasr el Wizz and Ghazali can be dated to the turn of the 9th century. The former of the two, located near Pachoras and connected with the bishopric, has been excavated completely and its is practically the only monastery in Nubia to have been fully recorded and published. The monastery church was undoubtedly an earlier foundation, presumably erected in the 7th century. There is no certainty that a monastery had existed on the spot at the time, although logically it would be difficult to find an explanation for the location of a church were it not supposed to serve monks or anchorites. The monastic complex was a compact group of buildings surrounded by a wall with several gates, suggesting it was not meant to be a defensive establishment. The monastery itself was made up of the church, quarters for the monks connected with a large refectory, kitchen and domestic courtyard. The small three-aisled basilica was given an exterior narthex on the west and a typically Nubian tripartite western section consisting of two rooms and a staircase . In the eastern end a tomb with two crypts was incorporated into the church and the area around the tomb was taken advantage of to enlarge the pastophoria and the eastern corridor connecting the sacristies behind the apse. On the southern side of the church an entrance vestibule was added along with two amfiladed halls of undetermined function which are connected with the eastern part of the building. The inside of the church was also altered during this renovation: the pillars were reinforced presumably in connection with the appearance of a gallery above the original basilica and a synthronon was introduced in the apse. The monks' quarters were doubtless storeyed and presumably followed the same plan on each floor, i.e., cells with benches-cum-beds set on either side of a central corridor. The corridor led on the north to a square room with a centrally-placed pillar supporting a ceiling consisting of four flat domes. In the four corners of the room there were semicircular structures serving as benches for the monks to sit on during common meals. The kitchen adjoined the refectory on the east and the space between the kitchen and the church, to the east of the living quarters, was an inner courtyard.
The monastery at Qasr el Wizz was definitely connected with Pachoras and at least some of the bishops of Pachoras came from the ranks of the local monks. Architecturally, the complex is close to Egyptian models, particularly the monasteries from the southern Thebaid (Esna, Assuan). This is understandable if we keep in mind the importance Egyptian monasticism had for the Christianization of Nubia and the presence of Egyptian monks and their role in disseminating knowledge of the Coptic language and literature in Nubia.ln this context it is highly surprising to note the presence of a Coptic community in the monastery at Ghazali in Wadi Abu Dom south of Merawi. This isolated complex was also surrounded by a wall with a number of gates and consisted of a large church, living quarters connected with a refectory which was a large room with semicircular benches for the monks. Only the church has been investigated to some extent. It is an early three-aisled basilica with wooden ceilings supported on granite columns which were in the Classical period removed to make room for pillars supporting a central dome and vaults. The presence of an earlier church is proof that the monastery at Ghazali was also established earlier on and was presumably enlarged in the Classical period. Explorations of the complex are urgently necessary.
Paintings of phase I of the Classical period have been preserved in the Paulos Cathedral at Pachoras where they can be surely dated to a period earlier than the middle of the 10th century. However, paintings with similar stylistic features are to be found inside the churches at Wadi es Sebua, Naga es Sheima and the Church on the Southern Slope in Faras. The paintings in the Faras cathedral deserve an extensive discussion.Of fundamental importance to the dating of the Faras cathedral murals is the portrait of Bishop Kyros preserved today in the National Museum in Khartoum. Bishop Kyros held office in 866-~02 and the portrait presumably comes from the late sixties of the 9th century. It is an exceptional representation among all the portraits of church dignitaries discovered in the cathedral. The bishop is shown standing alone, without benefactors. The almost white robes contrasting with the swarthy skin of the face and hands make him a monumental figure. Colors - green and tones of brown - bring out the great book held by the bishop in his left hand and the elements decorating the omophorion. Attention concentrates upon the aged face with a very elaborate beard and almost "Chinese" moustache and a particularly fleshy nose. An straight lock of hair escapes from under the white shawl covering the hair and falls onto the forehead. In no way does the style of this painting recall earlier representations.
A number of other paintings in the cathedral presumably date from the episcopacy of Kyros, including St. John Chrysostomos, a representation of a deacon which was probably part of a larger scene, the procession of Nubians at a great cross and a representation of the Queen in a crown under the protection of an archangel. The latter painting may even be slightly earlier than the portrait of Kyros; it shows a woman of white skin, in all certainty a woman who had come to Nubia from the distant north, possibly as the wife of one of the rulers of Nubia. In his discussion of the Faras paintings, K. Weitzmann devoted some space to the representation of St. John Chrysostomos, detecting Syro-Palestinian influences in it. Obviously, there is a definite change in style to be noted at Faras in the second half of the 9th century. The fact corresponds in terms of chronology with the appearance of new buildings in Dongola modelled on Byzantine designs, the Throne Hall and Cruciform Church. In this context, the appearance of a portrait of a queen with non-Nubian features at Faras gains special importance. Although there are no mentions of a foreign marriage of any of the Nubian kings of the 9th century, it is possible considering the time and historical circumstances that the woman whose image was painted on the walls of the cathedral at Faras was the wife of Georgios, the Nubian prince who had travelled to Baghdad in 835. Thus, the striking portrait of a Nubian queen from the Faras cathedral may be an important additional justification for the appearance of new sources of inspiration in the art of Nubia of the times.
Under the episcopacy of Kyros or his successor part of the cathedral interiors, the prothesis and staircase, were renovated and new paintings made to decorate their walls. The new representations included crosses with basketwork decorating the arms, friezes crowning the walls, niche decorations and a number of figural representations of saints: Aaron ? and St. Peter the Evangelist ? as well as angels. One of the representations, a bust of an archangel now in the Faras gallery of the National Museum in Warsaw, appears to be of particular importance for the definition of the Classical style in Nubian painting. K. Michabwski dated it to the first half of the 10th century and there can be no doubt that the stylistic features of the representation are very close to the paintings made in the cathedral in the times of Bishop Petros in the second half of the 10th century. Thus, the archangel is perhaps the oldest example of painting of phase II of the Classical period. Undoubtedly Classical period phase I are the paintings from Naga es Sheima, preserved in part only, today in the Kunsthistorische Museen in Vienna. The most interesting painting in this group is a great representation reconstructed in two separate pieces, depicting a great boat carrying Nubians; the oars are manned by angels and all the travellers are under the protection of a large archangel with spread wings. The painting leaves the impression of being an eschatological representation and recalls the fragmentarily preserved scene of the procession of Nubians at a cross from Faras. Both paintings were located on the southern side of the respective churches.
There can be no doubt that the period between the middle of the 10th century and the first quarter of the 11th was the acme of Nubian art and the most developed manifestation of local culture only insignificantly drawing on the outside wortd. The Nubian character is easily recognizable during this time and especially so in painting. !t is a time of prosperity and good relations with Egypt of the Fatimids. In later records there is a description of Nubia left by Ibn Salim al Aswani, official representative to Nubia of Gawhar al-Sigeli who conquered Egypt for the Fatimids. This description is perhaps the fullest picture of Nubia at our disposal. Restrictions of space allow me only to signal the achievements of the period and I feel justified in doing so considering the attention which has already been paid to the arc9itecture and painting of the times in recent publications. There is no necessity for introducing any corrections in what has already been written beside emphasizing once again the capital's role as a source of inspiration. This is particularly well visible in architecture and almost untraceable in painting since all the evidence we have from this period comes from Nobadia and is considered the best Nubian painting has to offer. The paintings can be admired today in the national museums in Khartoum and in Warsaw as well as the Vatican Museum which holds the representation of Three Youths in a Fiery Furnace from Sonqi Tino. Even so, caution is advised until Dongola paintings of the Classical period have been discovered. The vigor of the Dongola artistic milieu in respect to architecture is so evident that a similar role in painting cannot be excluded.
The most important achievement of the period is undoubtedly the renovation of two great complexes: the Church of Granite Columns in Dongola and the Cathedral at Faras. The basilican interiors of these two structures covered with flat wooden roofs were replaced by hall churches with flat domes and a central dominating dome at the intersection of the main axes of the building. Of the two, the changes in the Dongolan church were clearly the more important ones and the whole project was definitely more ambitious. The work did not interfere with the existing granite columns, reinforcing them only with two rows of round pillars in the naves of the complex. The rebuilding shows clear influences of the architectonic ideas standing behind the design of the Cruciform Church with its great central dome and columned porticos. A reconstruction of the second stage of the Church of Granite Columns done by P. Gartkiewicz is convincing, with only the chronology requiring revision. The rebuilding probably took place a whole 50 years earlier than suggested so far and definitely before the erection of the cathedral of Petros in Faras which had already undergone some rebuilding under Petros' predecessor Aaron (953-972). The Faras cathedral had its vaults supported on pillars which encased the earlier columns and a central dome at the intersection of the barrel-vaulted naves.
The rebuilding of the churches at Dongola and Faras was followed by changes in provincial architecture as well. An excellent realization according to new requirements, the Church of Raphael at Tamit can be dated to the turn of the 10th century. Another extraordinary building from the late 10th century is the small church in Sonqi Tino which is an example of a cruciform structure inscribed in a square plan. Two changes in the liturgical furnishing of this church are noteworthy: the rectangular apse does not have a synthronon and is directly connected with the side rooms. Tripartite bema without a synthronon, such as this, will become common in the Late Period.
The best paintings of this phase of the Classical Period come from the Cathedral of Petros at Faras and Sonqi Tino, but examples have also been preserved in the Central Church at Abdallah Nirqi, the Church of Raphael at Tamit, the Throne Hall in Dongola and at Wadi es Sebua, although the latter could be slightly earlier. The period saw a growing conservatism of the iconographic program used to decorate the inside of churches. Beside the apse, which in Nubia is always decorated by a homogeneous representation symbolizing the Ascension (in the bottom register the Mother of God between apostles and in the conch Christ in Glory and four apocalyptical beings), the Nativity scene is always located on the eastern wall of the northern aisle, Christ with Cup in the prothesis, St. John the Baptist and St. Stephanos in the baptistery; at the entrance archangels appear and usually representations of Three Youths in a Fiery Fumace.New iconographic subjects also appear in this per iod: the Maiestas Crucis, triple representations of Christ, Nursing Mother of God. Holy Warriors on Horseback. The number of portrait representatipns also increases. In the Cathedral of Petros at Faras the portraits from the period include that of bishop Aaron in the apse (Bishop loannes according to S. Jakobielski) and King Zacharias II (Georgios I according to K. Michalowski), Bishop Petros and King Georgios II in the baptistery, a princess in a crown of thorns (St. Damian according to K. Michalowski) and Martha, Mother of Kings on the southern wall of the cathedral. The portrait of Bishop Marianos is most probably the last painting of the Classical period in the Petros Cathedral. Interestingly enough, there are no portraits of eparchs from this time. These do not make their appearance in the cathedral before the Late Period. Of course, portrait representations are not restricted to episcopal churches alone. They are present also in other church complexes such as the churches at Abdallah Nirqi and Sonqi Tino.