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 physically confirmed the source of the Blue Nile. He spent more than a dozen years in North and East Africa and in 1770 became the fir ...
, he founded the city of Sennar after the
Wad 'Ajib had been defeated by the
Funj in a battle near
Arbaji. Doing this he moved the seat of government of Wad ‘Ajib to
Arbaji, that he might be more immediately under their own eye.
Following the
Ottoman conquest of
Egypt
Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
in 1517, Amara Dunqas skillfully used diplomacy to keep the Ottoman armies from advancing further up the
Nile
The Nile (also known as the Nile River or River Nile) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the List of river sy ...
and conquering his realm, thus securing the future of the kingdom.
In 1523 the Jewish traveller
David Reubeni 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 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'', 75, pp. 87-111.]
References
Funj sultans
16th-century monarchs in Africa
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