Second battle of Dongola

Relations between the kingdom of Makuria and Rashidun Egypt had gotten off to a rocky start in 642 with the first battle of Dongola.

[1] It was then that Abdallah ibn Sa'd, the successor of the first governor of Arab Egypt, invaded Makuria in an attempt to bring the Makurians to heel.

[1] He was equipped with heavy cavalry and a catapult (manjaniq), probably a traction trebuchet,[5] which according to al-Maqrizi the Makurians had never seen before.

The 10th-century Shiite historian Ahmad al-Kufi, who had no sympathy for the forces of the caliph, had an even stronger opinion: "The Muslims had never [before] suffered a loss like the one they had in Nubia.

"[8] An Arab poet describing the battle wrote:[9] "My eyes ne'er saw another fight like Damqula [Dongola], With rushing horses loaded down with coats of mail."

[3] 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.

It involved the exchange of wheat, barley, wine, horses and linen from Egypt for 360 slaves per year from Nubia.