Dongola, also spelled Dunqulah, is the capital of the state of Northern Sudan, on the banks of the Nile, and a former Latin Catholic bishopric. It should not be confused with Old Dongola, an ancient city located 80 km upstream on the opposite bank.
Etymology
The word Dongola comes from the Nubian word "Doñqal" which means red brick, as most buildings were made of bricks, thus provoking one of ancient Nubia's biggest industries. A more modern use of the word is to describe a strong and hard bulwark, that being so Dongola is often called "the Resident of a large Nile castle". When Khedive Ismail Pasha made it the center of his army during the invasion of Sudan in 1821, Dongola was a “shouña”, meaning a center in which taxes and tithe money represented in the crops, grains, and beasts were collected before being sent to the Sultan of Funj in Sennar who ruled the region. He called it "Aorita", which is a :ar:السودان_الإنجليزي_المصري|Turkish-Egyptian military term that means the military division or the headquarters of the military division, and the people misrepresented the word to "Al-Urdy" and then finally to "Al-Ardi", which became a title for Dongola.
History
Dongola was a province of Upper Nubia on both sides of the Nile, and the city was a centre for Nubian civilization, as manifested by its many archaeological remains from the Makurian and Islamic periods. Dongolawis originate from early indigenous Nubian Sub Saharan African inhabitants with many taking pride in their mostly non mixed ancestry; although always faced with criticism this helped preserve the Nilo Saharan Dongolawi Nubian language, however, cultural preferences are slowly changing. The remains of the revered Baqt Treaty are to be found in Dongola. The province of Dongola was part of the Makuria kingdom, which later became part of Egypt after Muhammad Ali Pasha ordered the invasion and occupation of Sudan in 1820; after which it was designated as a seat of a pasha. Its first governor was Abidin Bey. Modern Dongola was established in early 1812 after Nubian Mamluks escaped massacres envisioned Muhammed Ali Pasha. In 1821 however, Muhammad Ali's forces, lead by his son Ismail Pasha, successfully conquered Dongola where he set up an army base named Al-A'oritah, thus forcing Mamluks and the indigenous to move to Shendi Dongola was the scene of a victory by General Herbert Kitchener over the indigenous Mahdist Muslim tribes in 1899 who later turned it into a british-egyptian army base with the objective of collecting and storing weapons, gear and resources. Dongola was a considered an all time base for sending campaign reports to Britain, and the first English press release was issued in the name of Dongola Star, with news of the British-Egyptian army in Sudan. Kitcheners forces have been known for extreme brutality, killing over 15,000 in the Battle of Omdurman before conquering Dongola, and later on proceeded killing the wounded, raising the overall death toll to over 50,000. Dongola Road and Dongola Avenue in the Bishopston area of Bristol were named after this event; as was Dongola Road in Tottenham, North London which runs next to Kitchener Road. There is also a Dongola Road in Jersey. Dongola, Illinois, in the United States, was established in the 1850s, and named for Dongola.
The Nile Expedition of 1884–1885 to relieve Gordon at Khartoum passed through the area. Regiments were challenged to race up the river by boat, and this gave rise to the English regatta competition of dongola racing.
Climate
Dongola has a hot desert climate. Dongola is located in one of the hottest, sunniest and driest regions in the world.
