syncretic Christians, had converted to Islam. They probably converted to ease their rule over their Muslim subjects and to facilitate trade with neighbouring countries like Egypt. Their embracement of Islam was, however, only nominal and, in fact, the Funj effectively even delayed the Islamization of Nubia, as they temporarily strengthened African sacral traditions instead. The monarchy they established was divine, similar to that of many other African states: The Funj Sultan had hundreds of wives and spent most of his reign within the palace, secluded from his subjects and maintaining contact only with a handful of officials. He was not allowed to be seen eating. On the rare occasion he appeared in public he did so only with a veil and accompanied by much pomp. The Sultan was judged regularly and, if found wanting, could be executed. All Funj, but especially the Sultan, were believed to be able to detect sorcery. Islamic talismans written in Sennar were believed to have special powers due to the proximity to the Sultan. Among the populace even the basics of Islamic faith were not widely known. Pork and beer were consumed as staple food throughout much of the kingdom, the death of an important individual would be mourned by "communal dancing, self-mutilation and rolling in the ashes of the feast-fire". At least in some regions, elderly, crippled and others who believed to be a burden for their relatives and friends were expected to request to be buried alive or otherwise disposed. As late as the late 17th century the Funj Sultanate was still recorded to not follow the "laws of the Turks”, i. e. Islam. Thus, until the 18th century Islam was not much more than a facade. Despite this, the Funj acted as sponsors of Islam from the very beginning, encouraging the settlement of Muslim holy men in their domain. In the later period civil wars forced the peasants to look to the holy men for protection; the sultans lost the peasant population to the Ulama. Christianity The collapse of the Christian Nubian states went hand in hand with the collapse of the Christian institutions. The Christian faith, however, would continue to exist, although gradually declining. By the sixteenth century large portions of Nubia's population would still have been Christian. Dongola, the former capital and Christian center of the Makurian kingdom, was recorded to have been largely Islamized by the turn of the