Second Battle of Dongola The Second Battle of Dongola or Siege of Dongola was a military engagement between early Arab - Egyptian forces of the Rashidun Caliphate and the Nubian - Christian forces of the Kingdom of Makuria in 652 . The battle ended Muslim expansion into Nubia , establishing trade and a historic peace between the Muslim world and a Christian nation . As a result , Makuria was able to grow into a regional power that would dominate Nubia for the over 500 years . Background . Relations between the kingdom of Makuria and Rashidun Egypt had gotten off to a rocky start in 642 with the First Battle of Dongola . After their defeat , the Arabs withdrew from Nubia and something of a peace had been established by 645 . According to the 14th - century Arab - Egyptian historian al - Maqrizi , Makuria did something to violate the truce . It was then that Abdullah Ibn Sa ' ad , the successor of the first governor of Arab Egypt , invaded Makuria in an attempt to bring the Makurians to heel . At this time , northern and central Nubia were united under the Makurian king Qalidurut . Battle . Abdullah marched a force of 5 , 000 men , equipped with a catapult , to the Makurian capital of Dongola in 651 . He then laid siege to the city , putting his cavalry in the precarious situation of storming a walled city defended by the infamous Nubian archers . An Arab poet describing the battle quotes : " My eyes ne ' er saw another fight like Damqula , < br > With rushing horses loaded down with coats of mail . " During the battle the town ' s cathedral was damaged by catapult fire . The casualties incurred by Abdullah ' s forces were heavy , particularly to his cavalry , and Qalidurit did not sue for peace . In the end , Abdullah called off the siege and negotiated the baqt , one of the most famous documents in medieval history . The Aftermath and the Baqt . The details of the second Battle of Dongola are scarce , but we do know that the forces of the caliphate suffered enough casualties that taking their objective - the city of Dongola - was no longer possible . A negotiated truce known as the Baqt was agreed upon by both sides and lasted for six centuries . It set up trade relations between Muslim Egypt and Christian Nubia . It involved the exchange of wheat , barley , wine , horses and linen from Egypt for 360 slaves per year from Nubia . This was an arrangement greatly in Nubia ' s favor . Nubia ' s Position in the Muslim World . The baqt was without precedent in the early history of Islam . Also new to the paradigm of Muslim - Non Muslim Relations was Nubia ' s status as a land free from conquest . Traditionally , the world was divided into two spheres according to early Muslim thought . There was the Dar el - Islam or " House of the Faithful " which included all Muslim nations . On the opposite side of this was the Dar al - Harb meaning " House of the Enemy " , composed of pretty much all other nations ( Christian , Animist , etc . ) . It was the duty of the caliphate to expand unto the Dar el - Harb , but Nubia was made the exception . It was a Christian region where its rulers did business with Muslim rulers on equal terms well until the 12th century when the power of Nubia began to wane . As a result of the battle and the baqt , Islam was kept at bay and Christian Nubia had the space to flourish for the next 600 years .