Muqurra

Muqurra 

(also Mukurra), an early feudal state in the Nile Valley, between the Second Cataract of the Nile River and the mouth of the Atbara River, in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Sudan. The state existed from the sixth to approximately the 16th century. Its capital was the city of Old Dongola. The population, primarily comprising the Nobatae, accepted Christianity in the sixth century. In the seventh century, Muqurra extended its authority to include the Christian kingdom of Alodia (Alwa).

Muqurra flourished in the 12th century, principally owing to trade in cattle, iron, and slaves. Beginning in the 13th century, there were recurrent invasions by Arabs from the north, leading to the Arab colonization of Muqurra and the dissemination of Islam in the state.

REFERENCES

Drevnie i srednevekovye istochniki po etnografii i istorii narodov Afriki iuzhnee Sakhary. Vol. 1 : Arabskie istochniki VII-X vekov. Moscow-Leningrad, 1960. Vol. 2 : Arabskie istochniki X-XII vekov. Moscow-Leningrad, 1965.
Arkell, A. J. A History of the Sudan: From the Earliest Times to 1821 [2nd ed.]. London, 1961.