Rashidun Caliphate

First Battle of Dongola
©Angus McBride
642 Jun 1

First Battle of Dongola

Dongola, Sudan

The First Battle of Dongola was a battle between early Arab-Muslim forces of the Rashidun Caliphate and the Nubian-Christian forces of the Kingdom of Makuria in 642. The battle, which resulted in a Makurian victory, temporarily halted Arab incursions into Nubia and set the tone for an atmosphere of hostility between the two cultures until the culmination of the Second Battle of Dongola in 652.