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Rh a flourishing Christian country. It needs an effort to imagine Dongola, of all places, as a centre of Christianity.

Apart from legends about the Eunuch of Queen Candace as a missionary, Barhebræus counts the conversion of Nubia as made under Justinian (523-565) by a Coptic monk, Julian. In any case, it seems due to the zeal of the monks of Upper Egypt. They preached the gospel south of their monasteries and converted tribes of blacks. These people got their bishops from Egypt, and so, like the Abyssinians, followed Egypt into Monophysism. The Syrian historian John of Ephesus, in the 6th century, took a great interest in the Nubian Church, and describes its origin and state at length. In the 7th century there was a mighty Christian kingdom of Nubia between Egypt and Abyssinia, which formed a great barrier to the Moslems of Egypt. Its capital was Dongola on the Nile. There was constantly fighting between the King of Nubia and the Moslems. The Moslems sent embassies to their neighbour, invaded his land or were invaded by him. From the ambassadors we have descriptions of this Church. They say that in the capital there were churches, well-built and large, full of golden ornaments. Under the king were thirteen governors, who were also bishops. The people are all Monophysites dependent on the Coptic Patriarch. Their holy books were written in Greek; but they had versions in their own language. The Nubians also came to the defence of the Copts.