DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.47598#0163
MSS which are now in Cambridge and, by means of photographs and hand copies, on those MSS,
very considerable in quantity, which are in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
The languages represented in written form at Ibrim are : Ancient Egyptian; Meroitic, Greek, Coptic,
Old Nubian, Arabic, and apparently Turkish3. With the exception of Turkish all these languages
are represented in monumental form on the fortress or in its vicinity. Apart from Ancient
Egyptian all appear in manuscript form of one kind or another. Omitting the use of stone, wood,
and pottery, the materials used form recording comprise: papyrus, parchment, leather, and paper.
If the monumental inscriptions are included, the time span represented by writting on Ibrim
stretches from the 8th year of Amenhotpe I (c. 1543 B.C.)4 down to the final desertion of the site
in 1812 A.D.
It is not my intention to deal in this paper with the earlier examples of writting on Ibrim, important
and interesting as these are, but to confine my observations to those MSS which are clearly
connected with the Christian Period of Nubian History. Even so in the time alloted to me it will
not be possible to attempt more than a brief survey of the MSS from Christian times.
Reference has already been made to the Stele of Bishop Marianos of Pachoras. This stele is in point
of fact the earliest self dated Christian object so far discovered at Ibrim. Marianos died in 1036.
The latest written Christian date found up to the present on Ibrim is 1464, i.e. some 64 years
before the occupation of the fortress by the Bosnian garrison sent there by the Sultan Suliman the
Magnificent. This 15th century date may for the purpose of this paper serve to fix the termination
of the period under consideration. The beginning of the period cannot, however, be determined by
the date of Marianos’ death in the 11th century. The handwriting of some of the MSS suggests that
we must go back to the early 9th century at least and probably to the 8th century for some of the
material. But for the purpose of this paper we may assume that the period of time represented
extends over seven centuries. In the first three centuries the languages are Greek, Coptic, and Old
Nubian. From the 12th century onwards Greek and Coptic would seem to have disappeared, but
Old Nubian continued to flourish along side of Arabic.
The bulk of the MSS have come from four areas in the fortress. These are: the floor of the Nave
of the Cathedral ; the second of the rock cut tombs to the south of the Cathedral ; a small area
between the north and east stairways to the south west of the Cathedral; and the area of the open
courtyard in the centre of the west fortifications, which hitherto for the want of a better name has
been called the Podium.
As to when the various MSS were placed in these four areas where they were found is still a matter
for speculation. There is some evidence to suggest that the dispersal of the MSS fragments over the
floor of the Cathedral may not have occurred until after the burial of Bishop Timotheos under the
entrance to the North Crypt. Since Timotheos was consecrated in 1372 and the evidence of his
Scrolls shows that he was not able to proceed immediately after his consecration to Nubia, we may
suppose that the earliest date for his death would have been at the beginning of 1373. The means
employed to conceal the place of his burial suggest that the Cathedral was still in use at that time.
It has not yet been possible to arrive at a date for the destruction of the Cathedral which may have
been the result of an earth tremor affecting the unsatisfactory foundations of the north wall5. It is
not impossible that the dispersal of the fragments of MSS which almost certainly came from the
Cathedral Library did not take place until well into the 15th century (Fig. 1).
On the other hand from evidence provided by the contents of some of the Arabic MSS which were
found in the second of the rock cut tombs it would appear that they in company with other MSS
were tumbled down onto the floor of this tomb not earlier than the beginning of the 14th century.
3 I am informed by Dr. Martin Hinds who is working on the late 17th—early 18th century archive of MSS found on
Ibrim during that 1966 Expedition that there are examples of Turkish among the Arabic documents.
4 Cf. Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, L (1964), pl. I, 3.
5 The greater part of the Cathedral was built on the gebel, but from the north east of the building as far as the west
end of the nave and narthex a triangular section had been built up with roughly hewn blocks of sandstone. The badly
constructed foundations can be clearly seen beneath the exterior of the north wall.
102
very considerable in quantity, which are in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
The languages represented in written form at Ibrim are : Ancient Egyptian; Meroitic, Greek, Coptic,
Old Nubian, Arabic, and apparently Turkish3. With the exception of Turkish all these languages
are represented in monumental form on the fortress or in its vicinity. Apart from Ancient
Egyptian all appear in manuscript form of one kind or another. Omitting the use of stone, wood,
and pottery, the materials used form recording comprise: papyrus, parchment, leather, and paper.
If the monumental inscriptions are included, the time span represented by writting on Ibrim
stretches from the 8th year of Amenhotpe I (c. 1543 B.C.)4 down to the final desertion of the site
in 1812 A.D.
It is not my intention to deal in this paper with the earlier examples of writting on Ibrim, important
and interesting as these are, but to confine my observations to those MSS which are clearly
connected with the Christian Period of Nubian History. Even so in the time alloted to me it will
not be possible to attempt more than a brief survey of the MSS from Christian times.
Reference has already been made to the Stele of Bishop Marianos of Pachoras. This stele is in point
of fact the earliest self dated Christian object so far discovered at Ibrim. Marianos died in 1036.
The latest written Christian date found up to the present on Ibrim is 1464, i.e. some 64 years
before the occupation of the fortress by the Bosnian garrison sent there by the Sultan Suliman the
Magnificent. This 15th century date may for the purpose of this paper serve to fix the termination
of the period under consideration. The beginning of the period cannot, however, be determined by
the date of Marianos’ death in the 11th century. The handwriting of some of the MSS suggests that
we must go back to the early 9th century at least and probably to the 8th century for some of the
material. But for the purpose of this paper we may assume that the period of time represented
extends over seven centuries. In the first three centuries the languages are Greek, Coptic, and Old
Nubian. From the 12th century onwards Greek and Coptic would seem to have disappeared, but
Old Nubian continued to flourish along side of Arabic.
The bulk of the MSS have come from four areas in the fortress. These are: the floor of the Nave
of the Cathedral ; the second of the rock cut tombs to the south of the Cathedral ; a small area
between the north and east stairways to the south west of the Cathedral; and the area of the open
courtyard in the centre of the west fortifications, which hitherto for the want of a better name has
been called the Podium.
As to when the various MSS were placed in these four areas where they were found is still a matter
for speculation. There is some evidence to suggest that the dispersal of the MSS fragments over the
floor of the Cathedral may not have occurred until after the burial of Bishop Timotheos under the
entrance to the North Crypt. Since Timotheos was consecrated in 1372 and the evidence of his
Scrolls shows that he was not able to proceed immediately after his consecration to Nubia, we may
suppose that the earliest date for his death would have been at the beginning of 1373. The means
employed to conceal the place of his burial suggest that the Cathedral was still in use at that time.
It has not yet been possible to arrive at a date for the destruction of the Cathedral which may have
been the result of an earth tremor affecting the unsatisfactory foundations of the north wall5. It is
not impossible that the dispersal of the fragments of MSS which almost certainly came from the
Cathedral Library did not take place until well into the 15th century (Fig. 1).
On the other hand from evidence provided by the contents of some of the Arabic MSS which were
found in the second of the rock cut tombs it would appear that they in company with other MSS
were tumbled down onto the floor of this tomb not earlier than the beginning of the 14th century.
3 I am informed by Dr. Martin Hinds who is working on the late 17th—early 18th century archive of MSS found on
Ibrim during that 1966 Expedition that there are examples of Turkish among the Arabic documents.
4 Cf. Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, L (1964), pl. I, 3.
5 The greater part of the Cathedral was built on the gebel, but from the north east of the building as far as the west
end of the nave and narthex a triangular section had been built up with roughly hewn blocks of sandstone. The badly
constructed foundations can be clearly seen beneath the exterior of the north wall.
102