Who were the people that could excercise authority over the Christian Nubians? What traces did they leave behind? In general we can distinguish between worldly and religious authorities: the royal family and the clergy. No statues or portraits on coins were made of them. They left their testimionies behind in the first place in the form of wall paintings in churches.
early 11th cent.
2nd half of the 12th cent.
early 11th cent.
These paintings show bishops, kings, and royal mothers in lavish garments that show their high position in society. Some of these garments and attributes are clearly inspired by Byzantine examples and this may have been a way to show that Byzantium was considered a role model by Nubian royalty and clergy. There are reasons to believe that the royal court had great influence on the Church and that this Byzantine inspiration was a way of expressing the concept of divine kingship, the conviction that kings were chosen by God to rule over Church and State. The present research project investigates this matter.
