page_title: Throne Hall of Dongola
section_title: Mosque (1317–1969)
hierarchical_section_title: Throne Hall of Dongola / History / Mosque (1317–1969)
caption_attribution_description: English: The Throne Hall of Dongola in 1821, as seen by Frederic Cailliaud.
context_page_description: The Throne Hall of Dongola, also known as the Mosque Building, is an archaeological site in Old Dongola, Sudan. It is a two-storey brick building situated on a rocky hill, overlooking the town and the Nile valley. It was originally built in the 9th century, serving as the richly adorned representative building of the Makurian kings. In 1317, during the period of Makurian decline, it was converted into a mosque, serving this purpose until it was closed and turned into a historic monument in 1969. Shortly afterwards Polish archaeologists began to excavate the building. It has been described as possibly "the most important, symbolic edifice in the medieval history of Sudan". It is presently the oldest preserved mosque in Sudan.
context_section_description: In 1316, the Mamluks intervened into Makurian affairs once more, intending to install prince Barshambu on the throne. In contrast to the kings before him, he was a Muslim. On May 29, 1317 he converted the Throne Hall into a mosque, as is confirmed by a marble inscription. Alterations to the building, especially in the central hall on the upper floor, were made according to its new function, such as the inclusion of a mihrab and the application of plaster over the Christian wall paintings. Barshambu was not popular among his subjects due to his attitude and his reforms; Nubiologist Wlodziemierz Godlewski postulates that the conversion of the Throne Hall might have played a part in his fall. Barshambu was eventually murdered by his own followers in the same year. After his death Makuria was ruled by both Muslim and Christian kings. None of them dared to restore the former function of the building, as the Mamluk sultans supported its new function.
  A civil war caused the destruction of Old Dongola in 1365. The Makurian kings fled to Lower Nubia in the north, where they would maintain themselves for approximately 150 years. Old Dongola, abandoned by Makuria, came under the control of the Arabic Banu Ja'd tribe and eventually a new political entity, the so-called "Kingdom of Dongola Town", which was incorporated into the Funj sultanate during the early-16th century. The building is recorded to have served as a residence for Mecca pilgrims. However, during the 17th–19th centuries the ground floor was probably inaccessible.
  In the second half of the 18th century a local sheikh Sati Hamid Sawar is recorded to have renovated the mosque extensively.
  From the early 19th century the building was repeatedly described by western travellers and researchers. In the late-19th century Old Dongola was abandoned, probably for economic reasons, but the mosque remained in use. In 1906 it was extensively documented for the first time. One year later it received another restoration by Ahmed Helmi, naib of the mamur of Debba; numerous others conducted by the Sudan Antiquities Service and various museums followed in the mid-20th century.  It ceased operating as a place of worship in 1969, but it has been preserved and is presently the oldest preserved mosque in Sudan.
caption: The mosque in 1821
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