page_title: Qasr Ibrim
section_title: A center of Christianity
hierarchical_section_title: Qasr Ibrim / History / A center of Christianity
caption_attribution_description: English: This sandstone stela dates back to the 10th to 11th century CE. The inscription is Greek. It mentions Georgios, bishop of Ibrim. Found inside the second tomb, south of the church at Qasr Ibrim, Lower Nubia, modern-day Egypt. It is currently housed in the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London. With thanks to the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, UCL.
context_page_description: Qasr Ibrim is an archaeological site in Lower Nubia, located in the modern country of Egypt. The name dates far back into antiquity; it was Pedeme to the Meroitic inhabitants, and Primis to the Romans. The site has a long history of occupation, ranging from as early as the eighth century BCE to 1813 CE, and was an economic, political, and religious center. Originally it was a major city perched on a cliff above the Nile, but the flooding of Lake Nasser after the construction of the Aswan High Dam transformed it into an island and flooded its outskirts. Qasr Ibrim is the only major archaeological site in Lower Nubia to have survived the Nile floods. Both prior to and after the Nile floods, it has remained a major site for archaeological investigations.
context_section_description: During Roman times the town was one of the last bastions of paganism, its six temples converting to Christianity two centuries later than the rest of Egypt. It then became one of the main Christian centers in Lower Nubia. Christianity first came to Qasr Ibrim in the 6th century, but had little effect. It wasn't until the city became part of the kingdom of Makuria, in the early 8th century, that Qasr Ibrim became a center for Christianity. This continued even through the fifteenth century when the Makurian kingdom became Islamic. The city held out against Islam until the 16th century, when a unit of Bosnian soldiers, part of the Ottoman army, occupied the site. The Bosnian soldiers stayed on and eventually married into the local Nubian community, using part of the cathedral as a mosque.
  Two churches remain on the site. The Taharqa Church was most likely built between 542-580 CE, this would make it one of Nubia's earliest churches. Like many of the first churches in Nubia, it would have been constructed within the walls of the already present temples. Qasr Ibrim's cathedral was built later, though the date of construction in unclear. Archaeologists currently believe it was constructed in the first half of the eighth century.
caption: Stela of Georgios, bishop of Ibrim, 10th to 11th century CE, currently housed in the Petrie Museum
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