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A recent study published in Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa explores new historical evidence of one of pre-colonial Dongola's earliest rulers. Previously considered semi-legendary, the discovery of a document in which orders were issued in the name of King Qashqash provides evidence of his existence and details his social interactions, rulership, and the Arabization of Dongola in the Funj period.

History of Old Dongola's Dark Ages
Old Dongola was once the capital of Makuria, a Christian Kingdom located in modern-day Northern Sudan. However, by the mid-14th century, it entered what is known as "the Dark Ages" in Sudanese history, no longer serving as the capital of Makuria. Very little is known about the succeeding three centuries and the gradual period of Arabization and Islamization of ancient Nubia.

As lead author Tomasz Barański explains, however, this transformation was far from sudden. "Nubia was not a marginal or isolated region of the Nile Valley, but a pivotal corridor connecting the Mediterranean world to sub-Saharan Africa. Rather than a civilizational dead end, Nubia functioned for millennia as a dynamic zone of movement for people, goods, and ideas. Through Nubia passed commodities such as gold, ivory, and enslaved people, but it also enabled the exchange of less tangible elements: technologies, religious beliefs, and political models.
"Moreover, Nubian communities were not passive recipients of outside influence; they actively shaped and adapted the flows passing through this corridor. This long history of exchange helps us understand later cultural transformations in the region, including Arabization and Islamization. These were not sudden ruptures, but part of a much older pattern of interaction, negotiation, and adaptation that has characterized Sudan throughout history."

However, as Dongola entered the "Dark Ages," it gradually shrank in size until it encompassed only the central citadel and its immediate surroundings. A few mentions of the city and its rulers are made, including fragmentary references to a man named Qashqash, who, according to the Kitāb al-Ṭabaqāt, a 19th-century bibliographical dictionary compiled from oral stories about Sudanese holy men, is said to be the great-grandfather Sheikh Ḥilālī, the son of Muḥammad b. ʿĪsā Suwār al-Dhahab ("Golden Bracelet"), one of the most important holy figures in Sudan, even today.
From King Qashqash to Khidr

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Feb 28, 2026
Other Sciences Archaeology
Arabic document from 17th-century rubbish heap confirms existence of semi-legendary Nubian king
by Sandee Oster, Phys.org

edited by Gaby Clark, reviewed by Robert Egan

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Arabic Document from 17th-Century Rubbish Heap Confirms Existence of Semi-Legendary Nubian King
King's Order (Side B). Credit: M. Rekłajtis/PCMA in Barański et al. 2026

A recent study published in Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa explores new historical evidence of one of pre-colonial Dongola's earliest rulers. Previously considered semi-legendary, the discovery of a document in which orders were issued in the name of King Qashqash provides evidence of his existence and details his social interactions, rulership, and the Arabization of Dongola in the Funj period.

History of Old Dongola's Dark Ages
Old Dongola was once the capital of Makuria, a Christian Kingdom located in modern-day Northern Sudan. However, by the mid-14th century, it entered what is known as "the Dark Ages" in Sudanese history, no longer serving as the capital of Makuria. Very little is known about the succeeding three centuries and the gradual period of Arabization and Islamization of ancient Nubia.

As lead author Tomasz Barański explains, however, this transformation was far from sudden. "Nubia was not a marginal or isolated region of the Nile Valley, but a pivotal corridor connecting the Mediterranean world to sub-Saharan Africa. Rather than a civilizational dead end, Nubia functioned for millennia as a dynamic zone of movement for people, goods, and ideas. Through Nubia passed commodities such as gold, ivory, and enslaved people, but it also enabled the exchange of less tangible elements: technologies, religious beliefs, and political models.

"Moreover, Nubian communities were not passive recipients of outside influence; they actively shaped and adapted the flows passing through this corridor. This long history of exchange helps us understand later cultural transformations in the region, including Arabization and Islamization. These were not sudden ruptures, but part of a much older pattern of interaction, negotiation, and adaptation that has characterized Sudan throughout history."

Arabic Document from 17th-Century Rubbish Heap Confirms Existence of Semi-Legendary Nubian King
King's order (Side A) Credit: M. Rekłajtis/PCMA in Barański et al. 2026

However, as Dongola entered the "Dark Ages," it gradually shrank in size until it encompassed only the central citadel and its immediate surroundings. A few mentions of the city and its rulers are made, including fragmentary references to a man named Qashqash, who, according to the Kitāb al-Ṭabaqāt, a 19th-century bibliographical dictionary compiled from oral stories about Sudanese holy men, is said to be the great-grandfather Sheikh Ḥilālī, the son of Muḥammad b. ʿĪsā Suwār al-Dhahab ("Golden Bracelet"), one of the most important holy figures in Sudan, even today.

From King Qashqash to Khidr
In 2018, the "Urban Metamorphosis of the community of a Medieval African capital city" (UMMA) project launched a new chapter in the investigation of Dongola's past, including the investigation of the citadel and its surroundings.

During this time, researchers excavated Building A.1, which, according to local oral tradition, was the residence of Dongola's kings. Beyond finding various materials linked to elite contexts, including cotton, linen, silk, leather shoes, ivory, or rhino-horn dagger handle, and a gold ring, over 23 new Arabic texts were recovered, including an order by King Qashqash recovered from a rubbish heap.

The order reads, "From King Qashqash to Khiḍr son of ŠHDT/ŠHB(T?). As soon as Muḥammad al-ʿArab comes to you, take from him three ʾRDWYĀT and give him a ewe and her offspring and collect, from ʿAbd al-Jābīr, the ewe and her offspring; and give them to their master without delay. Do not hesitate! This is my letter/reply to you. His scribe Ḥamad wrote it. Greetings.

"And you, Khiḍr, give to ʿAbd al-Jābīr three cotton cloths and a head (or three cotton headwear) and collect the ewe and her offspring for their master."
Insights into Old Dongola
The document confirms the existence of the semi-legendary Qashqash and provides evidence of the earliest known post-medieval ruler of Dongola. Analysis of the text reveals linguistic insights, including that the scribe was not fully literate in Classic Arabic and made use of possessive pronouns without distinguishing number or gender, and compressed lettering resembling colloquial speech rather than classic Arabic. The writing reveals insights into how Arabic was becoming the primary written language of the royal court, though it was likely not yet adopted as the city's native language.
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South Korea's tax service shared the seed phrases for seized wallets in a press release. The contents were then taken, but ultimately returned.
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In brief
The South Korean National Tax Service (NTS) shared seed phrases from seized crypto wallets in a press release.The contents of the wallets—valued around $4.8 million at face value—were then swiped, but returned.The token was highly illiquid, and the perpetrator would not have been able to get anywhere near the face value.
The first rule of self-custodying crypto is that you do not tell anyone your seed phrase—a set of 12 or 24 words that unlocks the private key to the wallet, therefore enabling control of the digital assets inside.
South Korea’s National Tax Service (NTS) broke that rule in a very public fashion this week, publishing a photo of hand-written seed phrases in a press release and enabling an unidentified actor to make off with tokens valued at $4.8 million at face value, according to a local news report from Maeli Business Newspaper. But the highly illiquid tokens have since been returned.
The incident occurred after the NTS completed a search and seizure of high-value tax delinquents and subsequently photographed some of its haul to share in a press release. In that release, one individual’s lot, labeled as “Case 3,” included multiple Ledger hardware devices and their respective seed phrases, according to the report.
“This is like advertising to open your wallet and take your money,” Professor Cho Jae-woo of Hansung University told the publication.

Upon publication of the release, an individual did just that, pulling contents from at least three wallets into an Ethereum address ending in “86c12” before transferring them again.

On-chain data shows that three distinct addresses holding a total of 4 million Pre-Retogeum (PRTG)—valued at $4.8 million based on the token’s current price—were funded with a negligible amount of Ethereum to cover transaction fees before the user transferred their respective PRTG tokens to “86c12.”
The three addresses, which have not made any transactions since January 2023, held 40% of the total supply of the PRTG token—a defunct Ethereum-based token that boasts only 1,500 holders and 1,600 transfers all-time.
While initial reports noted the token’s $4.8 million face value, if the thief tried to sell these tokens, they would have not been able to recoup anywhere near that amount given very limited liquidity. The token lists no trading pairs on decentralized exchanges, and is only listed on one centralized exchange—MEXC—where it registered 24-hour volumes of only $332.

According to CoinGecko, the exchange’s liquidity for the PRTG-USDT trading pair is so small that only $59 in volume would send the price down 2%. For comparison, to move Bitcoin down 2% down on MEXC, a trader would need to sell around $2.6 million worth of the top crypto coin.
Perhaps that understanding is why on Friday morning, about 20 hours after initially moving the PRTG tokens, an address tied to the original “86c12” address transferred all the tokens back to their original wallets.

The hiccup is just the latest in a string of apparent crypto blunders for officials in South Korea. Earlier this week, it was discovered that $1.4 million in BTC went missing four years ago thanks to police not adhering to proper crypto custody guidelines.

Bitcoin price approaches the previously broken lower consolidation boundary, rejection suggests a downside target below $60,000.US-listed spot ETFs attracted over $257 million on Tuesday, the largest single-day inflow since February 6.Tensions between the US and Iran ahead of the third round of nuclear talks on Thursday could bring fresh volatility toward BTC.Bitcoin (BTC) is attempting a cautious recovery as it approaches the previously broken lower consolidation boundary around $66,000 at the time of writing on Thursday. Institutional demand shows mild signs of recovery, as spot Bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) recorded inflows on Tuesday. Meanwhile, rising geopolitical tensions between the US and Iran ahead of renewed nuclear talks on Thursday could trigger volatility for the Crypto King.
Bitcoin optimism soars in tandem with Trump’s speech
Bitcoin price recovers slightly, trading above $65,000 during the early European trading session on Wednesday. The Santiment chart below shows that the social commentary across X, Reddit, Telegram, and other platforms reaches the highest ratio of bullish vs. bearish comments in 4 weeks following President Trump’s State of the Union speech.
The analyst noted, “If retail Fear of missing out (FOMO) remains high, and there’s a consensus that ‘the bear cycle is ending, this can halt rallies due to the crowd’s consistent history of getting crypto’s price moves wrong."

BTC positive and negative sentiment ratio chart. Source: Santiment

Tensions between the US and Iran cap Bitcoin recovery
Market participants are closely monitoring developments surrounding US-Iran tensions ahead of nuclear talks in Geneva on Thursday. The US embassy in Lebanon on Monday evacuated “dozens of its staff members” as a precaution amid anticipated regional developments, keeping a lid on risk-on sentiment.
Moreover, any signs of rising tensions between the US and Iran could further dampen the risk sentiment, prompting investors to move towards safe-haven assets such as Gold (XAU), while weighing on Bitcoin.
Bitcoin optimism soars in tandem with Trump’s speech
Bitcoin price recovers slightly, trading above $65,000 during the early European trading session on Wednesday. The Santiment chart below shows that the social commentary across X, Reddit, Telegram, and other platforms reaches the highest ratio of bullish vs. bearish comments in 4 weeks following President Trump’s State of the Union speech.
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