Adam Łajtar AGONISTIC TERMINOLOGY IN CHRISTIAN NUBIA * Nubia, the southern neighbour of Egypt stretched along the Middle Nile Valley, was part of the Christian oikoumene between the sixth and the late fifteenth centuries. 1 Christianity was adopted in Nubia as a state religion thanks to the efforts of three evangelization missions, which took place in 542–545, 569–575, and 580–588. The missions were carried out with Egyptian means and forces, but underpinned by the partial consent of the imperial court in Constantinople. 2 With their newly acquired Christian faith, the Nubians took on the cultural baggage of Christianity, which included pat- terns of visual and literary culture. It is a well known fact that the Christian * I would like to thank Ewa Wipszycka and an anonymous reviewer for their remarks, which enriched the paper. 1 For Nubians and Nubia with focus on its medieval history, see W. Y. Adams, Nubia, Cor- ridor to Africa, Princeton – London 1977, passim, especially pp. 433–546; D. A. Welsby, Te Medieval Kingdoms of Nubia. Pagans, Christians and Muslims along the Middle Nile, London 2002; R. Werner, Das Christentum in Nubien. Gescicte und Gestalt einer afrikaniscen Kirce [= Studien zur Orientaliscen Kircengescicte 48], Münster 2013. 2 For the Christianization of Nubia, see S. G. Richter, Studien zur Christianisierung Nubiens [= Spracen und Kulturen des cristlicen Orients 11], Wiesbaden 2002; J. H. F. Dijkstra, Philae and the End of Ancient Egyptian Religion. A Regional Study of Religious Transformation (298–642 CE) [= Orientalia Lovaniensia analecta 173], Leuven – Paris – Dudley MA 2008, pp. 271–304.