Zacharias III of Makuria


Zacharias III was a ruler of the Nubian kingdom of Makuria.

Life

Zacharias was born around 795 in Dongola, probably the son of the nobleman Ioannes and an anonymous woman of the Makurian royal family. Ioannes ascended to the Dongolan throne around 800, however it was Makurian tradition for the crown to pass from the king to his sororal nephew. Through unknown Zacharias was able to his succeed his father in the 820s when he ascended to the throne of Dongola and took the Roman imperial title of Augustus.

Reign

Zacharias initially exploited the ongoing chaos of the Fourth Fitna by continuing his predecessors' policy of refusing to send the annual baqt tribute of slaves to Egypt but intermittent invasions from the Abbasids had made the situation untenable and open rebellion had erupted against Zacharias. In 834, the new caliph al-Mu'tasim attempted to re-impose the baqt by threatening war unless the missing fourteen years worth of tribute weren't paid in full. The Patriarch of Alexandria Joseph I, wishing to mediate peace between the two, sent his own letter to Zacharias advising him to obey the caliph. With rebellions confining Zacharias to Dongola, the king knew it would be near-impossible to gather the required 5,000 slaves and in 835 sent his 20-year old son Georgios I to Baghdad as an envoy. Before he left, Zacharias proclaimed Georgios as his heir and may have bestowed upon him the title of caesar. Georgios, aided by Joseph, was successful in his mission and al-Mu'tasim reduced the baqt payment to once every three years. After Georgios' triumphant return to Dongola in early 837, Zacharias rebuilt the Great Church of Jesus in gratitude for his son's safe return. Zacharias ruled with his son for the rest of his reign.

Death and Succession

Little else is known of Zacharias' life. As Georgios I was reigning alone in the 850s, Zacharias likely died in the first half of the decade.

Family

Zacharias had three known children :
  • Georgios I of Makuria, caesar during his father's reign.
  • Princess Kosma, whose son Niuty was Georgios' heir before a failed rebellion.
  • Ioannes, protomeizoteros and eparch of Gadera during Georgios' reign.