Dongola was a province of Upper Nubia on both sides of the Nile, and the city was a centre for Nubian civilization, as manifested by its many archaeological remains from the Makurian and Islamic periods. Dongolawis originate from early indigenous Nubian Sub Saharan African inhabitants with many taking pride in their mostly non mixed ancestry; although always faced with criticism this helped preserve the Nilo Saharan Dongolawi Nubian language (known as Rutana ), however, cultural preferences are slowly changing. The remains of the revered Baqt Treaty are to be found in Dongola. The province of Dongola was part of the Makuria kingdom, which later became part of Egypt after Muhammad Ali Pasha ordered the invasion and occupation of Sudan in 1820; after which it was designated as a seat of a pasha. Its first governor was Abidin Bey.