Arabic document from 17th-cent. rubbish heap confirms semi-legendary Nubian king

by wglbon 3/3/2026, 2:49 AMwith 43 comments

by romanhnon 3/5/2026, 1:27 PM

I did not expect the recovered order that confirmed the existence of a (semi-)legendary Nubian king to basically be "Dear X, when you get here, please take some sheep from Y in exchange for some cotton cloths. Kthxbye! -King Qashqash".

by wglbon 3/3/2026, 2:50 AM

Paper at https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0067270X.2026.2... from Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa

by xrdon 3/5/2026, 12:23 PM

I just love the sounds in sentence "...Arabization of Dongola in the Funj period."

Dongola in the Funj period sounds like the place to be!

by Orason 3/5/2026, 10:16 AM

The writing style (in Arabic) feels like a message in a chat. It's a mix between dialect and official Arabic.

by syncsys87on 3/5/2026, 4:23 PM

Great find. This is the kind of content that makes HN worthwhile.

by coinon 3/5/2026, 3:13 PM

Please don’t edit the title

by nephihahaon 3/5/2026, 9:35 AM

That was interesting, notwithstanding the editorialising comments by Tomasz Barański.

by nwhnwhon 3/5/2026, 2:25 PM

Dots?