Periodic Reporting for period 1 - IaM NUBIAN (Identity and Memory in Christian Nubia: A study on strategies of (self-)presentation and preservation of the past in medieval African society)
Período documentado: 2019-09-01 hasta 2021-08-31
The research on the Christian kingdoms of Nubia (Nobadia, Makuria, and Alwa) existing in the Middle Nile Valley between the 6th and the 15th centuries has recently intensified. New studies applying the newest methodologies bring us closer to understanding the history and society of the Christian Nubians, who once were able to halt the Islamic conquest of central Africa and produced outstanding culture, but now are practically unknown to a wider public.
The IaM NUBIAN project fits into this trend, proposing a new research perspective: identity and memory studies. These two research fields have already been successfully employed for other ancient and medieval cultures. However, in most cases, they were applied to well-researched cultures. Christian Nubia represents an opposite pole, as the repertoire of study material is quite limited and the basic facts about the history of the land are still largely unknown. By applying the methodologies of identity and memory studies, we are thus able to go beyond the most general image of Nubian society: a pious Christian community, focused on the salvation of their souls and aspiring to belong to the Oriental Christian oikoumene. The new research allows us to study, for instance, what the mindset of an average Nubian was, what it meant for them to be part of this society, or what drove them to follow external models in different aspects of their life.
The main objective of the project is to study medieval Nubian written sources (Greek, Coptic, Old Nubian, and Arabic), both their content and context, to see how and to what end their authors encoded information about themselves, their compatriots, and the history of the kingdom. By singling out various identity markers (e.g. names, designations of functions and family relations, or epithets) and proper understanding of their meaning, it is possible to see the focal points of (self-)presentation of different groups of Christian Nubian society, be it religion, ethnicity, or social position. On the other hand, the Nubian memory, meaning both "big" national history and "small" personal histories, can be accessed through the analysis of the contents and context of texts inscribed on the walls of buildings. The fact of being publicly displayed made them truly interactive conveyors of "historical" messages. Finally, the project also aims at studying how medieval Nubians were perceived by the outside world, most notably by the inhabitants of the Islamic empire, Nubia's closest neighbour (and enemy). Here, the research focuses on the narrative techniques used by foreign authors to characterise the Nubians.
The IaM NUBIAN project fits into this trend, proposing a new research perspective: identity and memory studies. These two research fields have already been successfully employed for other ancient and medieval cultures. However, in most cases, they were applied to well-researched cultures. Christian Nubia represents an opposite pole, as the repertoire of study material is quite limited and the basic facts about the history of the land are still largely unknown. By applying the methodologies of identity and memory studies, we are thus able to go beyond the most general image of Nubian society: a pious Christian community, focused on the salvation of their souls and aspiring to belong to the Oriental Christian oikoumene. The new research allows us to study, for instance, what the mindset of an average Nubian was, what it meant for them to be part of this society, or what drove them to follow external models in different aspects of their life.
The main objective of the project is to study medieval Nubian written sources (Greek, Coptic, Old Nubian, and Arabic), both their content and context, to see how and to what end their authors encoded information about themselves, their compatriots, and the history of the kingdom. By singling out various identity markers (e.g. names, designations of functions and family relations, or epithets) and proper understanding of their meaning, it is possible to see the focal points of (self-)presentation of different groups of Christian Nubian society, be it religion, ethnicity, or social position. On the other hand, the Nubian memory, meaning both "big" national history and "small" personal histories, can be accessed through the analysis of the contents and context of texts inscribed on the walls of buildings. The fact of being publicly displayed made them truly interactive conveyors of "historical" messages. Finally, the project also aims at studying how medieval Nubians were perceived by the outside world, most notably by the inhabitants of the Islamic empire, Nubia's closest neighbour (and enemy). Here, the research focuses on the narrative techniques used by foreign authors to characterise the Nubians.
The work on the project focused on three tasks, the study of (1) Nubian identity(-ies), (2) Nubian memory, and (3) references to Nubians in external sources.
The first task involved primarily the preparation of the Database of Medieval Nubian Identity Markers (DBMNIM), which records instances of words and phrases occurring in Nubian sources that reveal identities of persons described with them. Nearly 4,500 texts have been scrutinised and produced almost 8,500 attestations of identity markers, classified in several larger groups (personal names, titles, functions, epithets, expressions of family relations, etc.) The data collected in the DBMNIM is publicly available at https://zenodo.org/record/5584706#.YXFISS8RqCM. The research has revealed that, in spite of the richness of Nubian identity markers, we still struggle to uncover the identity of persons, especially their gender or ethnicity. Religion is relatively easiest to recognise, but social status remains a mystery in many cases. The results of this task were presented during two conferences, one on Arabic names (co-authored with N. Vanthieghem; Warsaw, December 2019) and the other on problems with recognising Nubian identities (Berlin, December 2020), and a public lecture on Arabic and Blemmyan names (Leiden, February 2020). In addition, an article with a case study of a woman identified as a deacon was submitted to the Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies (peer-reviewed and accepted for publication, but pending the final approval by the referee). The results have also been applied in practice by creating a Nubian character for a roleplaying game set in 8th-century Egypt. An episode of this game was released as a podcast (https://www.manchestergamestudies.org/blog/2021/5/6/dice-on-the-nile-ttrpg-actual-play-podcast) followed by an on-line panel discussion on historical roleplaying games (Manchester, May 2021; https://www.manchestergamestudies.org/blog/2021/5/12/dice-on-the-nile-roleplaying-history).
The second task focused on an analysis of one case study, the cathedral of Faras. The site has been studied comprehensively for the first time and has revealed its function as a true "lieu de mémoir", a display of Nubian history and memory. The study underlines the role of the Nubian Church in preserving and broadcasting the Nubian identity and memory. This analysis was presented on two occasions, during an on-line seminar at the University of Warsaw (October 2020) and an on-line workshop at Leiden University (January 2021). It also served as a material for a blog post (https://www.leidenmedievalistsblog.nl/articles/the-cathedral-of-faras-rediscovering-the-submerged-nubian-site-of-remembrance). A research paper has been submitted for publication in Dumbarton Oaks Papers and is currently being peer-reviewed.
For the third task, a survey of external literary sources in Arabic, Greek, and Syriac, has been conducted in search for passages in which Nubians are characterised. While in most cases, these are laconic and stereotypical statements, a few fragments appeared relevant, including the story of the Makurian king George travelling in 836 to Samarra for an audience with the caliph, preserved in Christian Arabic, Muslim Arabic, and Christian Syriac versions. An analysis of these passages was presented during an on-line workshop at Leiden University (August 2021). It has revealed that the authors had their own ideological agendas in presenting the Nubian ruler.
The first task involved primarily the preparation of the Database of Medieval Nubian Identity Markers (DBMNIM), which records instances of words and phrases occurring in Nubian sources that reveal identities of persons described with them. Nearly 4,500 texts have been scrutinised and produced almost 8,500 attestations of identity markers, classified in several larger groups (personal names, titles, functions, epithets, expressions of family relations, etc.) The data collected in the DBMNIM is publicly available at https://zenodo.org/record/5584706#.YXFISS8RqCM. The research has revealed that, in spite of the richness of Nubian identity markers, we still struggle to uncover the identity of persons, especially their gender or ethnicity. Religion is relatively easiest to recognise, but social status remains a mystery in many cases. The results of this task were presented during two conferences, one on Arabic names (co-authored with N. Vanthieghem; Warsaw, December 2019) and the other on problems with recognising Nubian identities (Berlin, December 2020), and a public lecture on Arabic and Blemmyan names (Leiden, February 2020). In addition, an article with a case study of a woman identified as a deacon was submitted to the Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies (peer-reviewed and accepted for publication, but pending the final approval by the referee). The results have also been applied in practice by creating a Nubian character for a roleplaying game set in 8th-century Egypt. An episode of this game was released as a podcast (https://www.manchestergamestudies.org/blog/2021/5/6/dice-on-the-nile-ttrpg-actual-play-podcast) followed by an on-line panel discussion on historical roleplaying games (Manchester, May 2021; https://www.manchestergamestudies.org/blog/2021/5/12/dice-on-the-nile-roleplaying-history).
The second task focused on an analysis of one case study, the cathedral of Faras. The site has been studied comprehensively for the first time and has revealed its function as a true "lieu de mémoir", a display of Nubian history and memory. The study underlines the role of the Nubian Church in preserving and broadcasting the Nubian identity and memory. This analysis was presented on two occasions, during an on-line seminar at the University of Warsaw (October 2020) and an on-line workshop at Leiden University (January 2021). It also served as a material for a blog post (https://www.leidenmedievalistsblog.nl/articles/the-cathedral-of-faras-rediscovering-the-submerged-nubian-site-of-remembrance). A research paper has been submitted for publication in Dumbarton Oaks Papers and is currently being peer-reviewed.
For the third task, a survey of external literary sources in Arabic, Greek, and Syriac, has been conducted in search for passages in which Nubians are characterised. While in most cases, these are laconic and stereotypical statements, a few fragments appeared relevant, including the story of the Makurian king George travelling in 836 to Samarra for an audience with the caliph, preserved in Christian Arabic, Muslim Arabic, and Christian Syriac versions. An analysis of these passages was presented during an on-line workshop at Leiden University (August 2021). It has revealed that the authors had their own ideological agendas in presenting the Nubian ruler.
IaM NUBIAN was the first attempt to apply the methodologies of social studies to research on Christian Nubia. In this sense, its possible impact involves first and foremost the academic community. The results appear encouraging and they will hopefully pave the way for a broader application of these research methods in studying the region. They may even contribute to developing a more general method for employing identity and memory studies in other premodern societies. On the other hand, thanks to organising two international workshops and participating in a number of scientific meetings involving representatives of various fields of research, the project has potentially influenced the development of Christian Nubian studies as a discipline, generating a broader scholarly interest outside the field and providing opportunities for comparative research.
Through the project's public communication activities, the knowledge about the existence of the Christian Nubian kingdoms, which is practically non-existent among the wider public, was broadcast. Especially encouraging is the large audience attending the on-line panel on roleplaying games, during which Nubian identity issues were also discussed. The event has revealed the potential of identity studies for developing historically reliable roleplaying systems set in premodern societies.
Through the project's public communication activities, the knowledge about the existence of the Christian Nubian kingdoms, which is practically non-existent among the wider public, was broadcast. Especially encouraging is the large audience attending the on-line panel on roleplaying games, during which Nubian identity issues were also discussed. The event has revealed the potential of identity studies for developing historically reliable roleplaying systems set in premodern societies.