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Nubian Civilizations inhabitants made many advances to help our life today. They domesticated animals, such as cattle and sheep. And used their meat, and made cheese, and milk. They used ostrich and bird eggs for food as well. starting to use their brains, they made clothing by skinning animals they domesticated, and didn't have to hunt for. Women wore simple, long skirts, and sometimes went around bare chested. Men wore tunics made of linens, and animal skins. Jewelry such as earrings, rings, necklaces, and bracelets were made by leather and bones from animals. Tools were made out of rock and animal bones. Nubian art was made into statues, hieroglyphics, and pottery. They used clay or any available resources.  |

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Kerma and its artifacts[edit]

Statues of pharaohs of the Nubian Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egyptdiscovered near Kerma.

By 1700 BCE, Kerma was host to a population of at least 10,000 people.[6] Different to those of ancient Egypt in theme and composition, Kerma's artefacts are characterized by extensive amounts of blue faience, which the Kermans developed techniques to work with independently of Egypt,[7] and by their work with glazed quartzite and architectural inlays.[8][9]

Kerma's cemetery and royal tombs[edit]

Kerma contains a cemetery with over 30,000 graves. The cemetery shows a general pattern of larger graves ringed by smaller ones, suggesting social stratification. The site includes at its southern boundary burial mounds, with four extending upwards of 90 metres (300 feet) in diameter. These are believed to be the graves of the city's final kings, some of which contain motifs and artwork reflecting Egyptian deities such as Horus. Generally, influence from Egypt may be observed in numerous burials, especially with regards to material evidence such as pottery and grave goods. For example, Second Intermediate Egyptian ceramics from Avaris, such as Tell el-Yahudiyeh Ware, have been discovered within Kerma burials.[10] In addition, artifacts such as scarab seals and amulets are prolific, indicating extensive trade with ancient Egypt as well as an exchange of cultural ideas.[11] After the sacking of Kerma, the cemetery was used to host the kings of the 25th or "Napatan" dynasty of the Kingdom of Kush from Upper (Southern) Nubia.

Archaeology[edit]

Early 20th century[edit]

Early archaeology at Kerma started with an Egyptian and Sudanese survey made by George A. Reisner, an American with joint appointments at Harvard University and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Reisner later led these two institutions, the so-called "Harvard-Boston" expedition during three field seasons at Kerma (1913-1916). He worked in Egypt and Sudan for 25 years, 1907-1932.[12]

As one of the earliest sites to be excavated in this region, Kerma and Reisner’s contributions to the region’s archaeology are fundamental. A basic chronology of Kerman culture was established based on the work of Reisner’s Harvard-Boston expedition (1913-1916); this provided the scaffolding for all other findings in the region. Reisner’s precise excavation techniques, site reports, and other publications made later reinterpretation of his results possible.

The Western Deffufa

The Lower/Western Deffufa (a massive tomb structure) was found closer to the river; the Upper/Eastern Deffufa is a few kilometers away from the river in a cemetery. Most burials were slightly flexed, lying on their sides. Reisner saw many links to ancient Egyptian culture through architectural techniques and the dimensions of the base of the Lower/Western Deffufa (52.3 m × 26.7 m, or 150 × 100 Egyptian cubits).[13] He assumed it was a fort. He did not conduct further excavations of the settlement suspected to surround the Lower Deffuffa.

The Upper/Eastern Deffufa was located amidst thousands of low, round graves, with clear stylistic differences between the northern, middle, and southern parts of the cemetery. The most elaborate tombs were found in the southern part of the cemetery. Reisner assumed that the large, quadrangular deffufa structures were funerary chapels associated with the largest mound graves, not tombs themselves.[14]He interpreted these based on his knowledge of ancient Egyptian funerary practices, and since many of the grave goods found were Egyptian, he had no reason to think otherwise.

George A. Reisner fit this archaeology into his understanding of ancient life along the Nile, assuming that Kerma was a satellite city of the ancient Egyptians. It was not until the late twentieth century that excavations by Charles Bonnet and the University of Geneva confirmed that this was not the case. They instead uncovered a vast independent urban complex that ruled most of the Third Cataract for centuries.

Late 20th century to present[edit]

For decades after Reisner’s excavations, his dismissal of the site as an Egyptian satellite fortified city was accepted. “The patient and diligent work of Bonnet and his colleagues unearthed the foundations of numerous houses, workshops, and palaces, proving that as early as 2000 B.C.E. Kerma was a large urban center, presumably the capital city and a burial ground of the kings of Kush”.[15] From 1977 to 2003, Bonnet and an international team of scholars excavated at Kerma.

Bonnet’s Swiss team has excavated the following types of sites at Kerma: ancient town, princely tomb, temple, residential/administrative buildings, Napatan buildlings, Napatan potter’s workshop, Meroitic cemeteries, fortifications, and Neolithic grain pits and huts. Among many other unique finds, Bonnet uncovered a bronze forge in the Kerma main city. “It is within the walls of the religious center that a bronze workshop was built. The workshop consisted of multiple forges and the artisans’ techniques appear to have been quite elaborate. There is no comparable discovery in Egypt or in Sudan to help us interpret these remains” [16]

In 2003, black granite statues of pharaohs of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt were discovered near Kerma by Charles Bonnet and his archaeological team.[17][18][19]

Bioarchaeology[edit]

Mortuary practice in Kerma varied over time, and this is visible in the archaeological record. The large cemetery, around the Upper/Eastern Deffufa is arranged with older graves in the north and more recent (and complex) graves and tombs in the southern part. “In the Early Kerma period, 2500-2050BC, burials are marked by a low, circular superstructure of slabs of black sandstone, stuck into the ground in concentric circles. White quartz pebbles reinforce the structure”.[20] Smaller burials are found surrounding the larger tombs of important individuals. Tombs progress from simple mounds to Egyptian-inspired pyramid complexes. This transition does not begin until long after pyramids are out of fashion in Egypt.

Bonnet notes that sacrificial victims appear and become increasingly common in the Middle Kerma period. Because burial chambers can be easily entered, I would question the likelihood of the sacrifice of a wife and/or child when a man dies, without any ethnohistorical evidence to support this in this culture. In fact Buzon and Judd [21] question this assumption by analyzing traumata and indicators of skeletal stress in these “sacrificial victims.”

Most remains are found in a lightly contracted or contracted position on their sides. Because of the arid desert climate, natural mummification is very common. Without the normal processes of decomposition to skeletonize the body, soft tissues, hairs, and organic grave goods are still often found (e.g., textiles, feathers, leather, fingernails). Grave goods include faience beads, cattle skulls, and pottery. Skeletal collections, like other archaeological evidence, continue to be re-examined and re-interpreted as new research questions arise. Two recent studies highlight the kinds of questions that bioarchaeologists are asking of the skeletal material excavated from Kerma.

Kendall [22] suggests that large tombs in the Upper Deffufa contained the bodies of dozens or hundreds of sacrificed victims. A later bioarchaeological examination of “sacrificed” individuals from these contexts [23] showed no significant differences between the skeletal stress markers of sacrificed versus non-sacrificed individuals. They drew samples from the “sacrificial corridors” and interments outside of the large tumuli corridors. Accompanying individuals in the tumuli at Kerma are interpreted as wives sacrificed upon the death of the husband, but the bioarchaeological evidence does not support this archaeological conclusion. A prior study noted no difference in the frequency of traumatic injury.

Traumatic injury is viewed through the lens of modern traumatic injury patterns. “Many aspects of the Kerma injury pattern were comparable to clinical [modern] observations: males experienced a higher frequency of trauma, the middle-aged group exhibited the most trauma, the oldest age cohort revealed the least amount of accumulated injuries, a small group experienced multiple trauma and fractures occurred more frequently than dislocations or muscle pulls”. Parry fractures (often occur when an individual is fending off a blow from an attacker) are common. These do not necessarily result from assault, however, and Judd does acknowledge this. She does not use the same parsing strategy when considering Colles' fractures (of the wrist, usually occur when falling onto one’s hands) may result from being pushed from a height rather than interpersonal violence, and this is not acknowledged.[24]

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Kerma (also known as Dukki Gel) was the capital city of the Kerma Culture, which was located in present-day Sudan at least 5500 years ago.[1][2] Kerma is one of the largest archaeological sites in ancient Nubia. It has produced decades of extensive excavations and research, including thousands of graves and tombs and the residential quarters of the main city surrounding the Western/Lower Deffufa.

Around 3000 BCE, a cultural tradition began around Kerma. It was a large urban center that was built around a large adobe temple known as the Western Deffufa.[3]

As a capital city and location of royal burials, it sheds light on the complex social structure present in this society.

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Nubian architecture is diverse and ancient. Permanent villages have been found in Nubia which date from 6000 BC. These villages were roughly contemporary with the walled town of Jericho in Palestine.

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History[edit]

Marble portrait of a Nubian, late 2nd century BC[4]

A Nubian woman circa 1900

Further information: Nubia

The Nubian people historically inhabited the region south of Egypt, known today as Sudan, where they settled mainly along the banks of the Nile. They were noted for their horsemanship, riding their horses bareback. They were light, mobile and efficient this way, and became valued for cavalry duties in later years.

They speak Nubian language, an Eastern Sudanic language that is part of the Nilo-Saharan phylum.

The Old Nubian language is attested from the 8th century, and is the oldest recorded language of Africa outside of the Afro-Asiatic group. It was the language of the Noba nomads who occupied the Nile between the First and Third Cataracts and also of the Makorae nomads who occupied the land between the Third and Fourth Cataracts, following the collapse of the Kingdom of Kush sometime in the 4th century AD. The Makorae were a separate tribe who eventually conquered or inherited the lands of the Noba: they established a Byzantine-influenced state called the Kingdom of Makuria, which administered the Noba lands separately as the eparchy of Nobadia. Nobadia was converted to Miaphysitism by the Orthodox priest Julian and Bishop Longinus of Constantinople, and thereafter received its bishops from the Pope of Alexandria.

The name "Nubia" or "Nubian" has a contested origin. It may originate with an ancient Egyptian noun, nebu, meaning gold. Another etymology claims that it originates with the name of a distinct group of people, the Noubai, living in the area that would become known as Nubia. Scholars may also refer to Nubians as Kushites, a reference to the Kush, the territory of the Nubians as it was called by Ancient Egyptians.[5] It may originate with the Greek historian Strabo, who referred to the Nubas people.[6]

The earliest history of ancient Nubia comes from the Paleolithic Era of 300,000 years ago. By around 6000 BCE, the Nubians had developed an agricultural economy and had contact with Egypt. The Nubians began using a system of writing relatively late in their history, when they adopted the Egyptian system. Ancient Nubian history is categorized according to the following periods:[7]

A-group culture (3700-2800 BCE)

C-group culture (2300-1600 BCE)

Kingdom of Kerma (2500-1500 BCE)

Nubian contemporaries of Egyptian New Kingdom (1550-1069 BCE)

Kingdom of Napata and Egypt's Nubian dynasty XXV (1000-653 BCE)

Kingdom of Napata (1000-275 BCE)

Kingdom of Meroe (275 BCE-300/350 CE)

Kingdom of Makuria (340-1317 CE)

Kingdom of Nobatia (350–650 CE)

Kingdom of Alodia (600s–1504 CE)

Nubia consisted of four regions with varied agriculture and landscapes. The Nile river and its valley lay in the north and central parts of Nubia, allowing farming using irrigation. The western Sudan had a mixture of peasant agriculture and nomadism. Eastern Sudan had primarily nomadism, with a few areas of irrigation and agriculture. Finally, there was the fertile pastoral region of the south, where Nubia's larger agricultural communities were located.[8]

Nubia was dominated by kings from clans that controlled the gold mines. Trade in exotic goods from other parts of Africa—ivory, animal skins—passed to Egypt through Nubia.

Modern Nubians[edit]

Nubian wedding near Aswan

The descendants of the ancient Nubians still inhabit the general area of what was ancient Nubia. Today, they live in what is called the former Old Nubia, which is mainly in modern Egypt. Nubians have been resettled in large numbers (an estimated 50,000 people) away from southern Egypt since the 1960s, when the Aswan High Dam was built on the Nile, flooding ancestral lands.[9] Some resettled Nubians continue working as farmers (sharecroppers) on resettlement farms whose landowners live elsewhere; most work in Egypt's cities. Whereas Arabic was once only learned by Nubian men who travelled for work, it is increasingly being learned by Nubian women who have access to school, radio and television. Nubian women are working outside the home in increasing numbers.[9]

In the 1973 Arab–Israeli War Egypt employed Nubian people as codetalkers.[10][11][12]

Culture[edit]

Old Nubian manuscript

Nubians have developed a common identity which has been celebrated in poetry, novels, music and storytelling.[13]

Nubians in modern Sudan include the Danaqla around Dongola Reach, the Mahas from the Third Cataract to Wadi Halfa, and the Sikurta around Aswan. These Nubians write using their own script. They also practice scarification: Mahas men and women have three scars on each cheek, while the Danaqla wear these scars on their temples. Younger generations appear to be abandoning this custom.[14]

Nubia's ancient cultural development was influenced by its geography. It is sometimes divided into Upper Nubia and Lower Nubia. Upper Nubia was where the ancient Kingdom of Napata (the Kush) was located. Lower Nubia has been called "the corridor to Africa", where there was contact and cultural exchange between Nubians, Egyptians, Greeks, Assyrians, Romans, and Arabs. Lower Nubia was also where the Kingdom of Meroe flourished.[8] The languages spoken by modern Nubians are based on ancient Sudanic dialects. From north to south, they are: Kenuz, Fadicha (Matoki), Sukkot, Mahas, Danagla.[15]

Kerma, Nepata and Meroe were Nubia's largest population centres. The rich agricultural lands of Nubia supported these cities. Ancient Egyptian rulers sought control of Nubia's wealth, including gold and the important trade routes within its territories.[16] Nubia's trade links with Egypt led to Egypt's domination over Nubia during the New Kingdom period. The emergence of the Kingdom of Meroe in the 8th century BCE led to Egypt being under the control of Nubian rulers for a century, although they preserved many Egyptian cultural traditions.[17] Nubian kings were considered pious scholars and patrons of the arts, copying ancient Egyptian texts and even restoring some Egyptian cultural practices.[6] After this, Egypt's influence declined greatly. Meroe became the centre of power for Nubia and cultural links with sub-Saharan Africa gained greater influence.[17]

Religion[edit]

Today, Nubians practice Islam. To a degree, Nubian religious practices involve a syncretism of Islam and traditional folk beliefs.[18] In ancient times, Nubians practiced a mixture of traditional religion and Egyptian religion. Before the spread of Islam, many Nubians were adherents of Christianity.[14]

Ancient Nepata was an important religious centre in Nubia. It was the location of Gebel Barkal, a massive sandstone hill resembling a rearing cobra in the eyes of the ancient inhabitants. Egyptian priests declared it to be the home of the ancient deity Amun, further enhancing Nepata as an ancient religious site. This was the case for both Egyptians and Nubians. Egyptian and Nubian deities alike were worshipped in Nubia for 2500 years, even while Nubia was under the control of the New Kingdom of Egypt.[6] Nubian kings and queens were buried near Gebel Barkal, in pyramids as the Egyptian pharaohs were. Nubian pyramids were built at Gebel Barkal, at Nuri (across the Nile from Gebel Barkal), at El Kerru, and at Merroe, south of Gebel Barkal.[6]

Architecture[edit]

Main article: Nubian architecture

Modern Nubian architecture in Sudan is distinctive, and typically features a large courtyard surrounded by a high wall. A large, ornately decorated gate, preferably facing the Nile, dominates the property. Brightly coloured stucco is often decorated with symbols connected with the family inside, or popular motifs such as geometric patterns, palm trees, or the evil eye that wards away bad luck.[14]

Nubians invented the Nubian vault, a type of curved surface forming a vaulted structure.

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The term Nubian describes an ethnic group that originated in modern-day Sudan and Egypt. Today, people of Nubian descent primarily live in Sudan, and inhabit the region between Wadi Halfa in the north and Al Dabbah in the south. A significant number of Nubians, estimated at 100,000, live in Kenya.[1] The main Nubian groups from north to south are the Halfaweyen, Sikut, Mahas, and Dongola. They speak a variety of Nilo-Saharan languages in the Nubian language family.

Nubian people have a long history dating back to dynastic Egypt. Nubians founded a dynasty that ruled upper and lower Egypt during the 8th century BCE.[2] Ancient Nubians were famous for their skill and precision with the bow.[3]

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Nubia is a region along the Nile river located in what is today northern Sudan and southern Egypt. It was one of the earliest civilizations of ancient Africa, with a history that can be traced from at least 2000 B.C. onward (through Nubian monuments and artifacts, as well as written records from Egypt and Rome), and was home to one of the African empires. There were a number of large Nubian kingdoms throughout the Postclassical Era, the last of which collapsed in 1504, when Nubia became divided between Egypt and the Sennar sultanate, resulting in the Arabization of much of the Nubian population. Nubia was again united within Ottoman Egypt in the 19th century, and within the Kingdom of Egypt from 1899 to 1956.

The name Nubia is derived from that of the Noba people, nomads who settled the area in the 4th century following the collapse of the kingdom of Meroë. The Noba spoke a Nilo-Saharan language, ancestral to Old Nubian. Old Nubian was mostly used in religious texts dating from the 8th and 15th centuries AD. Before the 4th century, and throughout classical antiquity, Nubia was known as Kush, or, in Classical Greek usage, included under the name Ethiopia (Aithiopia).

Historically, the people of Nubia spoke at least two varieties of the Nubian language group, a subfamily that includes Nobiin (the descendant of Old Nubian), Kenuzi-Dongola, Midob and several related varieties in the northern part of the Nuba Mountains in South Kordofan. Until at least 1970, the Birgid language was spoken north of Nyala in Darfur, but is now extinct.

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Early settlements sprouted in both Upper and Lower Nubia. Egyptians referred to Nubia as "Ta-Seti," or "The Land of the Bow," since the Nubians were known to be expert archers.[1] Modern scholars typically refer to the people from this area as the “A-Group” culture. Fertile farmland just south of the Third Cataract is known as the “pre-Kerma” culture in Upper Nubia, as they are the ancestors.

The Neolithic people in the Nile Valley likely came from Sudan, as well as the Sahara, and there was shared culture with the two areas and with that of Egypt during this period.[2] By the 5th millennium BC, the people who inhabited what is now called Nubia participated in the Neolithic revolution. Saharan rock reliefs depict scenes that have been thought to be suggestive of a cattle cult, typical of those seen throughout parts of Eastern Africa and the Nile Valley even to this day.[3] Megaliths discovered at Nabta Playa are early examples of what seems to be one of the world's first astronomical devices, predating Stonehenge by almost 2,000 years.[4] This complexity as observed at Nabta Playa, and as expressed by different levels of authority within the society there, likely formed the basis for the structure of both the Neolithic society at Nabta and the Old Kingdom of Egypt.[5] Around 3500 BC, the second "Nubian" culture, termed the A-Group, arose.[6] It was a contemporary of, and ethnically and culturally very similar to, the polities in predynastic Naqada of Upper Egypt.[7][8] The A-Group people were engaged in trade with the Egyptians. This trade is testified archaeologically by large amounts of Egyptian commodities deposited in the graves of the A-Group people. The imports consisted of gold objects, copper tools, faience amulets and beads, seals, slate palettes, stone vessels, and a variety of pots.[9] Around 3300 BC, there is evidence of a unified kingdom, as shown by the finds at Qustul, that maintained substantial interactions (both cultural and genetic) with the culture of Naqadan Upper Egypt. The Nubian culture may have even contributed to the unification of the Nile Valley.

Toby Wilkinson, based on work by Bruce Williams in the 1980s, wrote that "The white crown, associated in historic times with Upper Egypt, is first attested later than the red crown, but is directly associated with the ruler somewhat earlier. The earliest known depiction of the white crown is on a ceremonial incense burner from Cemetery at Qustul in Lower Nubia".[10] Based on a 1998 excavation report, Jane Roy has written that "At the time of Williams’ argument, the Qustul cemetery and the ‘royal’ iconography found there was dated to the Naqada IIIA period, thus antedating royal cemeteries in Egypt of the Naqada IIIB phase. New evidence from Abydos, however, particularly the excavation of Cemetery U and the tome U-j, dating to Naqada IIIA has shown that this iconography appears earlier in Egypt."[11]

Around the turn of the protodynastic period, Naqada, in its bid to conquer and unify the whole Nile Valley, seems to have conquered Ta-Seti (the kingdom where Qustul was located) and harmonized it with the Egyptian state. Thus, Nubia became the first nome of Upper Egypt. At the time of the first dynasty, the A-Group area seems to have been entirely depopulated,[1] most likely due to immigration to areas west and south.

Head of a Nubian Ruler

This culture began to decline in the early 28th century BC. George Reisner suggested that it was succeeded by a culture that he called the "B-Group", but most archaeologists today believe that this culture never existed and that the area was depopulated from c. 3000 BC to c. 2500, when a-group descendants returned to the area.[12][13] The causes of this are uncertain, but it was perhaps caused by Egyptian invasions and pillaging that began at this time. Nubia is believed to have served as a trade corridor between Egypt and tropical Africa long before 3100 BC. Egyptian craftsmen of the period used ivory and ebony wood from tropical Africa which came through Nubia.

In 2300 BC, Nubia was first mentioned in Old Kingdom Egyptian accounts of trade missions. From Aswan, right above the First Cataract, the southern limit of Egyptian control at the time, Egyptians imported gold, incense, ebony, copper, ivory, and exotic animals from tropical Africa through Nubia. As trade between Egypt and Nubia increased, so did wealth and stability. By the Egyptian 6th dynasty, Nubia was divided into a series of small kingdoms. There is debate over whether these C-Group peoples,[14] who flourished from c. 2500 BC to c. 1500 BC, were another internal evolution or invaders. There are definite similarities between the pottery of the A-Group and C-Group, so it may be a return of the ousted Group-As, or an internal revival of lost arts. At this time, the Sahara Desert was becoming too arid to support human beings, and it is possible that there was a sudden influx of Saharan nomads. C-Group pottery is characterized by all-over incised geometric lines with white infill and impressed imitations of basketry.

Ramesses II in his war chariot charging into battle against the Nubians

During the Egyptian Middle Kingdom (c. 2040–1640 BC), Egypt began expanding into Nubia to gain more control over the trade routes in Northern Nubia and direct access to trade with Southern Nubia. They erected a chain of forts down the Nile below the Second Cataract. These garrisons seemed to have peaceful relations with the local Nubian people, but little interaction during the period.[15] A contemporaneous but distinct culture from the C-Group was the Pan Grave culture, so called because of their shallow graves. The Pan Graves are associated with the East bank of the Nile, but the Pan Graves and C-Group definitely interacted. Their pottery is characterized by incised lines of a more limited character than those of the C-Group, generally having interspersed undecorated spaces within the geometric schemes.

Nubia and Ancient Egypt[edit]

Nubia in hieroglyphs
| |
[16]
Ta-seti
T3-stj
Curved land[16]

| |
|
[17]
Setiu
Stjw
Curved land of the Nubians[17]
| |
|
| | | | | |

| | | | |
Nehset / Nehsyu / Nehsi
Nḥst / Nḥsyw / Nḥsj
Nubia / Nubians
Nubia

One interpretation is that Nubian A-Group rulers and early Egyptian pharaohs used related royal symbols. Similarities in rock art of A-Group Nubia and Upper Egypt support this position. Ancient Egypt conquered Nubian territory in various eras, and incorporated parts of the area into its provinces. The Nubians in turn were to conquer Egypt under its 25th Dynasty.[18]

However, relations between the two peoples also show peaceful cultural interchange and cooperation, including mixed marriages. The Medjay (mj3,[19]) represents the name ancient Egypt gave to a region in northern Sudan where an ancient people of Nubia inhabited. They became part of the Egyptian military as scouts and minor workers.

During the Middle Kingdom of Egypt, "Medjay" no longer referred to the district of Medja but to a tribe or clan of people. It is not known what happened to the district, but, after the First Intermediate Period of Egypt, it and other districts in Nubia were no longer mentioned in the written record.[20] Written accounts detail the Medjay as nomadic desert people. Over time, they were incorporated into the Egyptian army. In the army, the Medjay served as garrison troops in Egyptian fortifications in Nubia and patrolled the deserts as a kind of gendarmerie.[21] This was done in the hope of preventing their fellow Medjay tribespeople from further attacking Egyptian assets in the region.[22] Later, they were even used during Kamose’s campaign against the Hyksos[23]and became instrumental in making the Egyptian state into a military power.[24]

By the Eighteenth Dynasty of the New Kingdom period, the Medjay were an elite paramilitary police force.[22] No longer did the term refer to an ethnic group and, over time, the new meaning became synonymous with the policing occupation in general. Being an elite police force, the Medjay were often used to protect valuable areas, especially royal and religious complexes. Though they are most notable for their protection of the royal palaces and tombs in Thebes and the surrounding areas, the Medjay were known to have been used throughout Upper and Lower Egypt.

Various pharaohs of Nubian origin are held by some Egyptologists to have played an important part towards the area in different eras of Egyptian history, particularly the 12th Dynasty. These rulers handled matters in typical Egyptian fashion, reflecting the close cultural influences between the two regions.

[T]he XIIth Dynasty (1991–1786 B.C.E.) originated from the Aswan region. As expected, strong Nubian features and dark coloring are seen in their sculpture and relief work. This dynasty ranks as among the greatest, whose fame far outlived its actual tenure on the throne. Especially interesting, it was a member of this dynasty that decreed that no Nehsy (riverine Nubian of the principality of Kush), except such as came for trade or diplomatic reasons, should pass by the Egyptian fortress and cops at the southern end of the Second Nile Cataract. Why would this royal family of Nubian ancestry ban other Nubians from coming into Egyptian territory? Because the Egyptian rulers of Nubian ancestry had become Egyptians culturally; as pharaohs, they exhibited typical Egyptian attitudes and adopted typical Egyptian policies. (Yurco 1989) [25]

In the New Kingdom, Nubians became indistinguishable in the archaeological record from Egyptians.

It is an extremely difficult task to attempt to describe the Nubians during the course of Egypt's New Kingdom, because their presence appears to have virtually evaporated from the archaeological record. The result has been described as a wholesale Nubian assimilation into Egyptian society. This assimilation was so complete that it masked all Nubian ethnic identities insofar as archaeological remains are concerned beneath the impenetrable veneer of Egypt's material culture. In the Kushite Period, when Nubians ruled as Pharaohs in their own right, the material culture of Dynasty XXV (about 750–655 B.C.E.) was decidedly Egyptian in character. Nubia's entire landscape up to the region of the Third Cataract was dotted with temples indistinguishable in style and decoration from contemporary temples erected in Egypt. The same observation obtains for the smaller number of typically Egyptian tombs in which these elite Nubian princes were interred.[26]

Kerma[edit]

Main article: Kerma Culture

The Turin Papyrus Map

From the pre-Kerma culture, the first kingdom to unify much of the region arose. The Kerma Culture, named for its presumed capital at Kerma, was one of the earliest urban centers in the Nile region.[27] By 1750 BC, the kings of Kerma were powerful enough to organize the labor for monumental walls and structures of mud brick. They also had rich tombs, with possessions for the afterlife and large human sacrifices. George Andrew Reisner excavated sites at Kerma and found distinctive Nubian architecture such as large tombs and palace-like structures. At one point, Kerma came very close to conquering Egypt. Egypt suffered a serious defeat at the hands of the Kingdom of Kush.[28][29]

According to Davies, head of the joint British Museum and Egyptian archaeological team, the attack was so devastating that, if the Kerma forces had chosen to stay and occupy Egypt, they might have eliminated it for good and brought the nation to extinction. When Egyptian power revived under the New Kingdom of Egypt (c. 1532–1070 BC), Egyptians began to expand further southwards. The Egyptians destroyed Kerma's kingdom and capitol and expanded the Egyptian empire to the Fourth Cataract.

By the end of the reign of Thutmose I (1520 BC), all of northern Nubia had been annexed. The Egyptians built a new administrative center at Napata, and used the area to produce gold. The Nubian gold production made Egypt a prime source of the precious metal in the Middle East. The primitive working conditions for the slaves are recorded by Diodorus Siculus, who saw some of the mines at a later time. One of the oldest maps known is of a gold mine in Nubia, the Turin Papyrus Map dating to about 1160 BC.

Kush[edit]

Main article: Kingdom of Kush

Nubian Pharaohs

When the Egyptians pulled out of the Napata region, they left a lasting legacy that was merged with indigenous customs, forming the kingdom of Kush. Archaeologists have found several burials in the area that seem to belong to local leaders. The Kushites were buried there soon after the Egyptians decolonized the Nubian frontier. Kush adopted many Egyptian practices, such as their religion. The Kingdom of Kush survived longer than that of Egypt, invaded Egypt (under the leadership of king Piye), and controlled Egypt during the 8th century BC as the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt.[30] The Kushites held sway over their northern neighbors for nearly 100 years, until they were eventually repelled by the invading Assyrians. The Assyrians forced them to move farther south, where they eventually established their capital at Meroë. Of the Nubian kings of this era, Taharqa is perhaps the best known. A son and the third successor of the founding pharaoh, Piye, he was crowned in Memphis, Egypt c. 690.[31] Taharqa ruled over both Nubia and Egypt, restored Egyptian temples at Karnak, and built new temples and pyramids in Nubia before being driven from Egypt by the Assyrians.[32][33][34][35]

Meroë[edit]

Main article: Meroë

Aerial view at Nubian pyramids, Meroe

Meroë (800 BC – c. AD 350) in southern Nubia lay on the east bank of the Nile about 6 km north-east of the Kabushiya station near Shendi, Sudan, ca. 200 km north-east of Khartoum. The people there preserved many ancient Egyptian customs, but were unique in many respects. They developed their own form of writing, first utilizing Egyptian hieroglyphs, and later using an alphabetic script with 23 signs.[36] Many pyramids were built in Meroë during this period and the kingdom included an impressive standing military force. Straboalso describes a clash with the Romans in which the Romans defeated Nubians. According to Strabo, following the Kushite advance, Petronius (a Prefect of Egypt at the time) prepared a large army and marched south. The Roman forces clashed with the Kushite armies near Thebes and forced them to retreat to Pselchis (Maharraqa) in Kushite lands. Petronius then sent deputies to the Kushites in an attempt to reach a peace agreement and make certain demands.

Quoting Strabo, the Kushites "desired three days for consideration" in order to make a final decision. However, after the three days, Kush did not respond and Petronius advanced with his armies and took the Kushite city of Premnis (modern Karanog) south of Maharraqa. From there, he advanced all the way south to Napata, the second Capital in Kush after Meroe. Petronius attacked and sacked Napata, causing the son of the Kushite Queen to flee. Strabo describes the defeat of the Kushites at Napata, stating that "He (Petronius) made prisoners of the inhabitants".[37]

During this time, the different parts of the region divided into smaller groups with individual leaders, or generals, each commanding small armies of mercenaries. They fought for control of what is now Nubia and its surrounding territories, leaving the entire region weak and vulnerable to attack. Meroë would eventually meet defeat by the new rising Kingdom of Aksum to their south under King Ezana.

The classification of the Meroitic language is uncertain; it was long assumed to have been one of the Afroasiatic languages like the Egyptian language, but is now considered to have likely been one of the Eastern Sudanic languages.

At some point during the 4th century, the region was conquered by the Noba, from which the name Nubia may derive; another possibility is that it comes from the Egyptian word for gold.[38] From then on, the Romans referred to the area as Nobatia.

Christian Nubia[edit]

Main articles: Makuria, Nobadia, and Alodia

The crown of a local Nubian kingwho ruled between the collapse of the Meroitic dynasty in 350 or 400 AD and the founding of the Christian kingdom of Nubia in 600 AD. It was found in Tomb 118 at Ballana in Lower Nubia by the British Egyptologist W.B. Emery

Around AD 350, the area was invaded by the Kingdom of Aksum and the kingdom collapsed. Eventually, three smaller kingdoms replaced it: northernmost was Nobatia between the first and second cataract of the Nile River, with its capital at Pachoras (modern-day Faras); in the middle was Makuria, with its capital at Old Dongola; and southernmost was Alodia, with its capital at Soba (near Khartoum). King Silky of Nobatia crushed the Blemmyes, and recorded his victory in a Greek inscription carved in the wall of the temple of Talmis (modern Kalabsha) around AD 500.

While bishop Athanasius of Alexandria consecrated one Marcus as bishop of Philae before his death in 373, showing that Christianity had penetrated the region by the 4th century, John of Ephesus records that a Monophysite priest named Julian converted the king and his nobles of Nobatia around 545. John of Ephesus also writes that the kingdom of Alodia was converted around 569. However, John of Biclarum records that the kingdom of Makuria was converted to Catholicism the same year, suggesting that John of Ephesus might be mistaken. Further doubt is cast on John's testimony by an entry in the chronicle of the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria Eutychius, which states that in 719 the church of Nubia transferred its allegiance from the Greek to the Coptic Orthodox Church.

By the 7th century, Makuria expanded becoming the dominant power in the region. It was strong enough to halt the southern expansion of Islam after the Arabs had taken Egypt. After several failed invasions the new rulers agreed to a treaty with Dongola allowing for peaceful coexistence and trade. This treaty held for six hundred years. Over time the influx of Arab traders introduced Islam to Nubia and it gradually supplanted Christianity. While there are records of a bishop at Qasr Ibrim in 1372, his see had come to include that located at Faras. It is also clear that the cathedral of Dongola had been converted to a mosque in 1317.[39]

The influx of Arabs and Nubians to Egypt and Sudan had contributed to the suppression of the Nubian identity following the collapse of the last Nubian kingdom around 1504. A major part of the modern Nubian population became totally Arabized and some claimed to be Arabs (Jaa'leen – the majority of Northern Sudanese – and some Donglawes in Sudan).[40] A vast majority of the Nubian population is currently Muslim, and the Arabic language is their main medium of communication in addition to their indigenous old Nubian language. The unique characteristic of Nubian is shown in their culture (dress, dances, traditions, and music).

Islamic Nubia[edit]

Main article: Islamization of Sudan

Shell bracelet from a c.1800 BC Nubian mercenary grave

In the 14th century, the Dongolan government collapsed and the region became divided and dominated by Arabs. The next centuries would see several Arab invasions of the region, as well as the establishment of a number of smaller kingdoms. Northern Nubia was brought under Egyptian control, while the south came under the control of the Kingdom of Sennar in the 16th century. The entire region would come under Egyptian control during the rule of Muhammad Ali in the early 19th century, and later became a joint Anglo-Egyptian condominium.

Contemporary issues[edit]

Further information: Nubian people

With the end of colonialism and the establishment of the Republic of Egypt (1953), and the secession of the Republic of Sudan from unity with Egypt (1956), Nubia was divided between Egypt and Sudan.

During the early-1970s, many Egyptian Nubians were forcibly resettled to make room for Lake Nasser after the construction of the dams at Aswan. Nubian villages can now be found north of Aswan on the west bank of the Nile and on Elephantine Island; and many Nubians now live in large cities, such as Cairo.

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Geography:

Nubia was divided into two major regions: Upper and Lower Nubia, so called because of their location in the Nile river valley, the 'lower' being further downstream than the 'upper'. Lower Nubia lay between the First and Second Cataracts of the Nile river, spreading into modern southern Egypt and northern Sudan, while Upper Nubia extended between the Second and Sixth Cataracts, in modern central Sudan.

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Nubia was home to some of Africa’s earliest kingdoms. Known for rich deposits of gold, Nubia was also the gateway through which luxury products like incense, ivory, and ebony traveled from their source in sub-Saharan Africa to the civilizations of Egypt and the Mediterranean. Archers of exceptional skill provided the military strength for Nubian rulers. Kings of Nubia ultimately conquered and ruled Egypt for about a century. Monuments still stand—in modern Egypt and Sudan—at the sites where Nubian rulers built cities, temples, and royal pyramids.Nubians Lived in the Central Nile ValleyAfrican people from what is now the Sahara began to move toward the Nile in Nubia by around 5000 BC. They brought with them the art of making pottery. Originally herdsmen and hunters of large animals, they eventually became fishermen and farmers. Over time, new people moved into the region from the south, so that Nubia’s population was often a diverse mix of African peoples.The River Was a LifelineMap of NubiaMany Nubians lived along the Nile which curved northward through the desert. Farmers grew grains, peas, lentils, dates, and possibly melons. But especially important were their herds of cattle, a measure of wealth and social status. In the deserts, Nubians mined carnelian and gold, as well as other mineral resources. Bartering cattle, gold, carnelian, ivory, animal skins, hardwood, incense, and dates, Nubians traded with the Egyptians, their neighbors to the north, for grain, vegetable oils, wine, beer, linen, and other manufactured goods.Archaeology and History Reveal NubiaMost information about ancient Nubia comes from archaeological excavation and from the study of monuments and rock art found there. But the art and writing of Nubians and of peoples contemporary with them also give important evidence. Records of ancient Egypt tell much about the history of Nubia, documenting a long and complex relationship between the two lands. Monuments and texts in the Egyptian language left by the Nubian kings, who became pharaohs of Egypt’s 25th Dynasty around 750 BC, also provide an extensive record. Nubians developed alphabetic writing systems around 200 BC during the Meroitic period. The Meroitic language is still not understood well enough to read more than words and phrases, but much documentation on Meroitic Nubia can be found in the art and literature of Greece and Rome, whose empires touched on the borders of Nubia after 330 BC.The Names of NubiaThe Name "Nubia" came into use in the Roman period. The origin of the name Nubia is obscure. Some have linked it to nwb, the ancient Egyptian word for gold. Others connect it with the term Noubades, the Greek name for people who moved into northern Nubia sometime in the 4th century AD. However, for much of antiquity, the region south of the 1st cataract of the Nile was called "Kush." The name is known from ancient Egyptian, classical, and biblical texts. Whether it reflects an indigenous term is not known. The Kushites developed powerful kingdoms. The first was centered at Kerma (2000–1650 BC). The later kingdom had capitals at Napata (800–270 BC) and Meroe (270 BC–370 AD). Some Nubian cultures are known by archaeological names: A-Group, C-Group, X-Group, and Kerma (the name of a modern town near the archaeological site of the early Kushite kingdom) are names archaeologists assigned to cultures they excavated in Nubia.

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Nubia was home to some of Africa’s earliest kingdoms. Known for rich deposits of gold, Nubia was also the gateway through which luxury products like incense, ivory, and ebony traveled from their source in sub-Saharan Africa to the civilizations of Egypt and the Mediterranean. Archers of exceptional skill provided the military strength for Nubian rulers. Kings of Nubia ultimately conquered and ruled Egypt for about a century. Monuments still stand—in modern Egypt and Sudan—at the sites where Nubian rulers built cities, temples, and royal pyramids.Nubians Lived in the Central Nile ValleyAfrican people from what is now the Sahara began to move toward the Nile in Nubia by around 5000 BC. They brought with them the art of making pottery. Originally herdsmen and hunters of large animals, they eventually became fishermen and farmers. Over time, new people moved into the region from the south, so that Nubia’s population was often a diverse mix of African peoples.The River Was a LifelineMap of NubiaMany Nubians lived along the Nile which curved northward through the desert. Farmers grew grains, peas, lentils, dates, and possibly melons. But especially important were their herds of cattle, a measure of wealth and social status. In the deserts, Nubians mined carnelian and gold, as well as other mineral resources. Bartering cattle, gold, carnelian, ivory, animal skins, hardwood, incense, and dates, Nubians traded with the Egyptians, their neighbors to the north, for grain, vegetable oils, wine, beer, linen, and other manufactured goods.Archaeology and History Reveal NubiaMost information about ancient Nubia comes from archaeological excavation and from the study of monuments and rock art found there. But the art and writing of Nubians and of peoples contemporary with them also give important evidence. Records of ancient Egypt tell much about the history of Nubia, documenting a long and complex relationship between the two lands. Monuments and texts in the Egyptian language left by the Nubian kings, who became pharaohs of Egypt’s 25th Dynasty around 750 BC, also provide an extensive record. Nubians developed alphabetic writing systems around 200 BC during the Meroitic period. The Meroitic language is still not understood well enough to read more than words and phrases, but much documentation on Meroitic Nubia can be found in the art and literature of Greece and Rome, whose empires touched on the borders of Nubia after 330 BC.The Names of NubiaThe Name "Nubia" came into use in the Roman period. The origin of the name Nubia is obscure. Some have linked it to nwb, the ancient Egyptian word for gold. Others connect it with the term Noubades, the Greek name for people who moved into northern Nubia sometime in the 4th century AD. However, for much of antiquity, the region south of the 1st cataract of the Nile was called "Kush." The name is known from ancient Egyptian, classical, and biblical texts. Whether it reflects an indigenous term is not known. The Kushites developed powerful kingdoms. The first was centered at Kerma (2000–1650 BC). The later kingdom had capitals at Napata (800–270 BC) and Meroe (270 BC–370 AD). Some Nubian cultures are known by archaeological names: A-Group, C-Group, X-Group, and Kerma (the name of a modern town near the archaeological site of the early Kushite kingdom) are names archaeologists assigned to cultures they excavated in Nubia.