Medieval Nubia · about 550-1500

Christian Nubia and the Baqt treaty

For almost a thousand years, Christian kingdoms ruled the Nile south of Egypt. Students meet the archers of Makuria, the Baqt treaty that kept the peace with Muslim Egypt for centuries, and the painted cathedral of Faras.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
50 minutes
Ages
12–15
On the map
3 steps, AD 600 to AD 800
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

For almost a thousand years, Christian kingdoms ruled the Nile south of Egypt. Students meet the archers of Makuria, the Baqt treaty that kept the peace with Muslim Egypt for centuries, and the painted cathedral of Faras.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Name and locate the three Christian kingdoms of Nubia: Nobadia, Makuria and Alodia.
  • Explain what the Baqt treaty of 652 was and why both sides accepted it.
  • Describe how we know about Christian Nubia, from wall paintings to Arab writers.
2

Explore the map

15 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

AD 600

Three Nubian kingdoms

Open the map in AD 600. Follow the Nile south from Egypt. Find three kingdoms: Nobatia, Makkura (Makuria) and Alwa (Alodia). Which one lies furthest south?

Open this view on the map
b

AD 800

One kingdom less

Move the slider from 600 to 800. Which Nubian kingdom has disappeared from the map? Historians say Nobadia was joined to Makuria around 700.

Open this view on the map
c

AD 800

Drowned history

Zoom to the Nile near the 22nd parallel. The cathedral of Faras stood here; today the site lies under the lake of the Aswan High Dam. Its wall paintings were rescued in the 1960s.

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

15 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. Nubian archers defeated an Arab army at Dongola in 652. Why might both sides then prefer a treaty to more war?
  2. Under the Baqt, Nubia sent enslaved people to Egypt each year. What does this tell us about slavery in the medieval world?
  3. Christian Nubia lasted for centuries next to Muslim Egypt. What made that peace possible?
  4. The Faras paintings were rescued before the waters of a new dam rose. Was the dam worth the loss of ancient sites? Give both sides.
  5. Why is Christian Nubia much less known than medieval Europe, even though it lasted as long?
4

Game round

10 min

Play one round of Rule History as Justinian I, from whose capital Christian missionaries were sent to Nubia in the 540s. Discuss: what could Byzantium gain from friendly Christian kingdoms on the Nile?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

€19 per month unlocks every worksheet, every live lesson and the class workspace. The free lesson prints without a subscription.