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Abū l-Khayr Uruwī ibn Khiyākh

Metadata

Gender
Male
Dates
Active dates
1160–1171 CE
Social role
  • State official

Description / Bio

Eparch and ikhshīl in Ibrīm in 1160s–70s, i.e., royal deputy of the king of Dongola. Governed Lower Nubia from Qaṣr Ibrīm. Lamiʿ b. Ḥasan al-Kanzī refers to him as a "vizier of the king" (of Dongola); also titled "governor of the land of Marīs and its districts," which is southern Nubia. His main remit appears to have been relations with Muslim Egypt. Most frequent figure in the Qaṣr Ibrīm corpus. He was the son of the preceding eparch, hence Uruwī ibn Khiyākh or Uruwī Khiyākh (Old Nubian khoiak is the equivalent of the title ikhshīl). Also titled Master of the Horses or of the King's Horses, and "governor of the fortress of Ibrīm and the Land of Marīs." In Old Nubian documents, his name is ⲟⲩⲣⲟⲩⳣⲓ.

Marina Rustow, "Abū l-Khayr Uruwī ibn Khiyākh," available online through the Princeton Geniza Project at https://geniza.princeton.edu/people/uruwi-ibn-khiyakh/, accessed February 25, 2026.
https://geniza.princeton.edu/people/uruwi-ibn-khiyakh/