QASR IBRIM

4km upstream on the East Bank is the island of Oasr lbrim (Gk Primis) which before the creation of the lake was a high bluff
overlooking the valley. This was a strategic site since ancient times and was often the scene of conflict as various factions fought for possession. Robert Legh, MP, was probably the first European to visit the site, in 1812. The Fort is doubtless of ancient origin, probably Middle Kingdom, although the earliest remains were a Stele of Amenhotep I. There are the remains of a Temple of Taharqa. After the death of Cleopatra in 28 BC the Nubians attacked S Egypt and occupied the fortress, but the Romans under Gaius Petronius, the governor, retaliated vigorously, drove the Nubians out and pushed back the S frontiers of Egypt. In 1173 the brother of ~alfil:i al-Din, To.ran-shah,
subdued Nubia and installed fellow Kurds in the fortress. After the destruction of Faris by the Muslims in the late 12C the seat of the bishopric moved to Qa~r Ibrim and the graves of several bishops have

QASR IBRIM
QASR IBRIM been excavated. The stone Church still has three walls standing. During the late 15C a southern tribe, the Fung, moved into Nubia and became the most powerful influence in the region. Although they were Muslims and their capital was in the far Sat Sinnar, they occupied Qasr lbrim. In the early 16C the Ottoman conqueror of Egypt, Salim, sent a force of Bosnians which reoccupied Qa~r Ibrim and were forgotten. Their descendants were to inhabit the pinnacle for 300 years. The church was converted into a mosque. Only when the recalcitrant bays fled S before Mu~ammad cAli in the early 19C were they displaced. The expedition ~f IsmaCU Pasha, son of M~ammad cAli, ousted the bays during his campaign for control of the Sudan in 1821. Qa~r lbrim has been investigated for the last 20 years by the EES who have unearthed a vast amount of Christian Nubian material.