and Nubia. The following year, a Makurian army pillaged Aswan and advanced even further north. It is not clear if this campaign was intended to aid the Fatimids or was merely a raid exploiting the unstable situation in Egypt, although the latter seems more likely, as the Makurians apparently soon withdrew. To deal with the Nubians, Saladin sent his brother Turan-Shah. The latter conquered Qasr Ibrim in January 1173, reportedly sacking it, taking many prisoners, pillaging the church and converting it into a mosque. Afterward, he sent an emissary to the Makurian king, Moses Georgios, intending to answer a previously requested peace treaty with a pair of arrows. Probably ruling over both Makuria and Alodia, Moses Georgios was a man confident in his ability to resist the Egyptians, stamping with hot iron a cross on the emissary's hand. Turan Shah withdrew from Nubia but left a detachment of Kurdish troops in Qasr Ibrim, which would raid Lower Nubia for the next two years. Archaeological evidence links them with the destruction of the cathedral of Faras, Abdallah Nirqi and Debeira West. In 1175 a Nubian army finally arrived to confront the invaders at Adindan. Before battle, however, the Kurdish commander drowned while crossing the Nile, resulting in the retreat of Saladin's troops out of Nubia. Afterwards there was peace for another 100 years. There are no records from travelers to Makuria from 1172 to 1268, and the events of this period have long been a mystery, although modern discoveries have shed some light on this era. During this period Makuria seems to have entered a steep decline. The best source on this is Ibn Khaldun, writing in the 14th century, who blamed it on Bedouin invasions similar to what the Mamluks were dealing with. Other factors for the decline of Nubia might have been the change of African trade routes and a severe dry period between 1150 and 1500. Matters would change with the rise of the Mamluks and Sultan Baybars in 1260. In 1265 a Mamluk army allegedly raided Makuria as far south as Dongola while also expanding southwards along the African Red Sea coast, thus threatening the Nubians. In 1272 king David marched east and attacked the port town of Aidhab, located on an important pilgrimage route to Mecca. The Nubian army destroyed the town, causing “a blow to the very heart of Islam”. A punitive Mamluk expedition was