Amara Dunqas was the first ruler of the Kingdom of Sennar, which he ruled from 1504 - 1533/4. "Dunqas" is an epithet meaning "bent down, with an inclined head", referring to the way of how he required his subjects to approach him. According to

James Bruce James Bruce of Kinnaird (14 December 1730 – 27 April 1794) was a Scottish traveller and travel writer who confirmed the source of the Blue Nile. He spent more than a dozen years in North Africa and Ethiopia and in 1770 became the first Eur ...

, he founded the city of Sennar after the

Wad 'Ajib Wad is an old mining term for any black manganese oxide or hydroxide mineral-rich rock in the oxidized zone of various ore deposits. Typically closely associated with various iron oxides. Specific mineral varieties include pyrolusite, lithiophori ...

had been defeated by the

Funj The Funj Sultanate, also known as Funjistan, Sultanate of Sennar (after its capital Sennar) or Blue Sultanate due to the traditional Sudanese convention of referring to black people as blue () was a monarchy in what is now Sudan, northwestern E ...

in a battle near

Arbaji Arbagi, (or Arbaji), formerly Hellet Amara, is a town in the Al Jazirah, in Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is ...

. Doing this he moved the seat of government of Wad ‘Ajib to

, that he might be more immediately under their own eye. Following the Ottoman conquest of

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

in 1517, Amara Dunqas skillfully used diplomacy to keep the Ottoman armies from advancing further up the

Nile The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered the longest ...

and conquering his realm, thus securing the future of the kingdom. In 1523 the Jewish traveller

David Reubeni David Reubeni (1490–1535/1541?) was a Jewish political activist, described by the ''Shengold Jewish Encyclopedia'' as "half- mystic, half-adventurer." Although some scholars are reluctant to believe his claims to nobility, citing suspicions ...

passed through the territory of a king 'Amara, who is usually identified with Amara Dunqas. Two years later, Amara is briefly mentioned by the Ottoman admiral

Selman Reis Selman Reis was an Ottoman admiral and former corsair who was active in the Mamluk Navy of Egypt and later in the Ottoman Navy against the Portuguese in the first half of the 16th century. Selman Reis was originally from the Aegean island of Lesb ...

as the ruler of a kingdom, that, while described as requiring a three-month journey to cross it, was weak and hence easily conquerable.A.C.S. Peacock (2012): "The Ottomans and the Funj sultanate in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries". ''

Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies Bulletin or The Bulletin may refer to: Periodicals (newspapers, magazines, journals) * Bulletin (online newspaper), a Swedish online newspaper * ''The Bulletin'' (Australian periodical), an Australian magazine (1880–2008) ** Bulletin Debate, ...

'', 75, pp. 87-111.

References

Rulers of Sennar 16th-century monarchs in Africa {{Africa-royal-stub