From 7th century
Dongola and the Nile frontier between Nubia and Egypt
The bakt was a treaty or non-aggression pact concluded after the Arab invasion of Dongola led by ʿAbdallah ibn Abī Sarḥ in 651. It regulated relations between Muslim Egypt and Christian Nubia and is described as a distinctive form of agreement without precedent in the Muslim world. Its terms were preserved in the Khitat of al-Maqrīzī, although the extract does not reproduce the full treaty.
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The Story
The bakt emerged after the Arab invasion of Dongola led by ʿAbdallah ibn Abī Sarḥ in 651. Rather than establishing direct conquest of central Nubia, the settlement created a negotiated relationship between the Muslim power in Egypt and the Christian kingdom to the south of the First Cataract. Its conclusion formed one of the foundations for the subsequent relations between the two regions.
The agreement was a special form of treaty, described as a truce or pact of non-aggression. Its distinctiveness lay in the fact that it had no known precedent in the Muslim world. The settlement was made at Dongola, and the account emphasizes that the Arab commander signed one treaty there rather than negotiating a separate agreement with Nobadia.
The complete text of the bakt was preserved in al-Maqrīzī’s Khitat. The treaty is therefore presented as both a political settlement and a key textual witness to early relations between Christian Nubia and Muslim Egypt. The extract does not provide its clauses, so the precise obligations imposed on either side remain outside this proposal.
From 7th century
Dongola and the Nile frontier between Nubia and Egypt
The bakt was a treaty or non-aggression pact concluded after the Arab invasion of Dongola led by ʿAbdallah ibn Abī Sarḥ in 651. It regulated relations between Muslim Egypt and Christian Nubia and is described as a distinctive form of agreement without precedent in the Muslim world. Its terms were preserved in the Khitat of al-Maqrīzī, although the extract does not reproduce the full treaty.
Continue exploring
The Story
The bakt emerged after the Arab invasion of Dongola led by ʿAbdallah ibn Abī Sarḥ in 651. Rather than establishing direct conquest of central Nubia, the settlement created a negotiated relationship between the Muslim power in Egypt and the Christian kingdom to the south of the First Cataract. Its conclusion formed one of the foundations for the subsequent relations between the two regions.
The agreement was a special form of treaty, described as a truce or pact of non-aggression. Its distinctiveness lay in the fact that it had no known precedent in the Muslim world. The settlement was made at Dongola, and the account emphasizes that the Arab commander signed one treaty there rather than negotiating a separate agreement with Nobadia.
The complete text of the bakt was preserved in al-Maqrīzī’s Khitat. The treaty is therefore presented as both a political settlement and a key textual witness to early relations between Christian Nubia and Muslim Egypt. The extract does not provide its clauses, so the precise obligations imposed on either side remain outside this proposal.
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