Sites & cities that bear the name of Old Dongola

Old Dongola

Today in : Sudan
First trace of activity : ca. 5th century C.E
Last trace of activity : ca. 14th century C.E
Recorded names : Tungul, دنقلا العجوز, Dunqulā al-ʿAjūz

Description : Old Dongola (Old Nubian: Tungul; Arabic: دنقلا العجوز‎, Dunqulā al-ʿAjūz) is a deserted town in what is now Northern State, Sudan, located on the east bank of the Nile opposite the Wadi Howar. An important city in medieval Nubia, and the departure point for caravans west to Darfur and Kordofan, from the fourth to the fourteenth century Old Dongola was the capital of the Makurian state. A Polish archaeological team has been excavating the town since 1964. The urban center of the population moved downstream 80 km (50 miles) to the opposite side of the Nile during the nineteenth century, becoming the modern Dongola.

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