many other churches, at least two palaces, and a sizable monastery on its north side. Several houses were well equipped and had bath rooms and wall paintings. The Book of Knowledge, a travelogue compiled by a Spanish monk soon after 1348, mentions that Genoese merchants had settled in Old Dongola; they may have penetrated there as a consequence of the commercial treaty of 1290 between Genoa and Egypt. The Great Monastery of St Anthony About 1.5 km to the north-east of the citadel lies the so-called Kom H where the monastery was uncovered. According to the inscription it is dedicated to St Anthony the Great but the Monastery of the Holy Trinity is also referred to in literature. It was probably one of the first Christian building projects in Dongola. Archbishop of Dongola, Georgios, who died in 1113, was buried in one of the crypts in the church. The inscription on his funerary stela indicates that St Anthony the Great was the patron of the monastery. In the rich assemblage of texts in Greek, Coptic, and Old Nubian found in the archbishop's crypt, a dedication to the Holy Trinity also appears. Approximately 100 compositions, dated to the eleventh–thirteenth century, were uncovered on the walls of the monastery buildings. Many of these paintings are unique, both from the artistic and iconographical point of view. They depicted Christ, Mary, the Apostles, scenes from the Old and New Testament, as well as dignitaries. The Throne Hall The monumental representative building interpreted as the Throne Hall of the Makurian kings is a massive defence-like building of 28 m by 18 m by 12 m situated on a rocky spur to the east from the fortress. It was built in the 9th century. The building had two stories; the height of the walls was 6.5 m on the ground floor and 3.5 m on the upper floor. In 1317 it was turned into a mosque, an event which is preserved in a foundation stela erected by Sayf al-Din Abdullah Barshambu. The ceremonial Throne Hall on the first floor was turned into a prayer room. The mosque remained in use until 1969, when the building was converted in a historic monument. Decline However, during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries the town was in decline. It was attacked by Arabs several times. A surviving inscription erected in Old Dongola bears the date of 1317, is commonly understood