Prehistory (before 6000–3500 BC) Archaeological evidence attests to long histories of fishing-hunting-gathering, and later herding, throughout the Nile Valley.
Affad 23 is an
archaeological site located in the
Affad region of southern Dongola Reach in northern
Sudan, which hosts "the well-preserved remains of prehistoric camps (relics of the oldest open-air
hut in the world) and diverse
hunting and
gathering loci some 50,000 years old". In southern Nubia (near modern Khartoum) from the ninth to the sixth millennia cal BC, Khartoum Mesolithic fisher-hunter-gatherers produced sophisticated pottery. By 5000 BC, the people who inhabited what is now called Nubia participated in the
Neolithic Revolution. The Sahara became drier, and people began to domesticate sheep, goats, and cattle. Saharan
rock reliefs depict scenes that have been thought to suggest the presence of a
cattle cult, typical of those seen throughout parts of Eastern Africa and the Nile Valley even to this day. Nubian rock art depicts hunters using bows and arrows in the Neolithic period, which is a precursor to Nubian archer culture in later times. 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. This complexity 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. American anthropologist Joseph Vogel wrote that: "The period when
sub-Saharan Africa was most influential in Egypt was a time when neither Egypt, as we understand it culturally, nor the Sahara, as we understand it geographically, existed. Populations and cultures now found south of the desert roamed far to the north. The culture of
Upper Egypt, which became dynastic Egyptian civilization, could fairly be called a Sudanese transplant." British Africanist
Basil Davidson outlined that "The ancient Egyptians belonged, that is, not to any specific Egyptian region or Near Eastern heritage but to that wide community of peoples who lived between the Red Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, shared a common "Saharan-Sudanese culture", and drew their reinforcements from the same great source, even though, as time went by, they also absorbed several wanderers from the Near East".
Biological anthropologists Shomarka Keita and A.J. Boyce have stated that the "Studies of crania from
southern predynastic Egypt, from the formative period (4000-3100 B.C.), show them usually to be more similar to the crania of ancient Nubians, Kushites, Saharans, or modern groups from the
Horn of Africa than to those of dynastic northern Egyptians or ancient or modern southern Europeans." Archaeological evidence has attested that population settlements occurred in Nubia as early as the Late Pleistocene era and from the 5th millennium BC onwards, whereas there is "no or scanty evidence" of human presence in the Egyptian Nile Valley during these periods, which may be due to problems in site preservation. Several scholars have argued that the African origins of the Egyptian civilization derived from pastoral communities which emerged in both the Egyptian and Sudanese regions of the Nile Valley in the fifth millennium BC. Archaeologist Bruce Williams has advanced the view that Nubian elites participated with the early Egyptian rulers in the development of the pharaonic civilization. Williams also clarified in 1987 that his discovery of the Qutsul incense burner proposed no claim of a Nubian origin or genesis for the pharaonic monarchy, but that excavations had shown Nubian linkages and contributions.
Pre-Kerma; A-Group (3500-3000 BC) " style, Nubian pottery,
Musee du Louvre Upper Nubia The poorly known "
pre-Kerma" culture existed in Upper (Southern) Nubia on a stretch of fertile farmland just south of the
Third Cataract.
Lower Nubia incense burner, 3200–3000 BC Nubia has one of the oldest civilizations in the world. This history is often intertwined with Egypt to the north. Around 3500 BC, the second "Nubian" culture, termed the Early
A-Group culture, arose in Lower Nubia. They were sedentary agriculturalists, This trade is supported archaeologically by large amounts of Egyptian commodities deposited in the A-Group graves. The imports consisted of gold objects, copper tools,
faience amulets and beads, seals, slate palettes, stone vessels, and a variety of pots. During this time, the Nubians began creating distinctive black-topped, red pottery. The A-Group population have been described as ethnically "very similar" to the pre-dynastic
Egyptians in physical characteristics. Around 3100 BC, the A-group transitioned from the Early to Classical phases. "Arguably, royal burials are known only at Qustul and possibly Sayala." Williams also wrote that Qustul "could well have been the seat of Egypt's founding dynasty". David O'Connor wrote that the Qustul incense burner provides evidence that the A-group Nubian culture in Qustul marked the "pivotal change" from
predynastic to dynastic "Egyptian monumental art". However, "most scholars do not agree with this hypothesis", as more recent finds in Egypt indicate that this iconography originated in Egypt instead of Nubia, and that the Qustul rulers adopted or emulated the symbols of Egyptian pharaohs. According to
David Wengrow, the A-Group polity of the late 4th millenninum BC is poorly understood since most of the archaeological remains are submerged underneath Lake Nasser.
Frank Yurco also remarked that depictions of pharonic iconography such as the royal crowns, Horus falcons and victory scenes were concentrated in the Upper Egyptian
Naqada culture and A-Group Nubia. He further elaborated that "Egyptian writing arose in Naqadan
Upper Egypt and A-Group Nubia, and not in the Delta cultures, where the direct
Western Asian contact was made, further vitiates the Mesopotamian-influence argument". The archaeological cemeteries at Qustul are no longer available for excavations since the flooding of
Lake Nasser. The earliest representations of pharaonic iconography have been excavated from Nag el-Hamdulab in
Aswan, the extreme southern region of Egypt which borders the Sudan, with an estimated dating range between 3200 and 3100 BC.
Egypt in Nubia Writing developed in Egypt around 3300 BC. In their writings, Egyptians referred to Nubia as "
Ta-Seti", or "The Land of the Bow," as the Nubians were known to be expert archers. More recent and broader studies have determined that the distinct pottery styles, differing burial practices, different grave goods, and site distribution all indicate that the Naqada people and the Nubian A-Group people were from different cultures.
Kathryn Bard states that "Naqada cultural burials contain very few Nubian craft goods, which suggests that while Egyptian goods were exported to Nubia and were buried in A-Group graves, A-Group goods were of little interest further north." According to anthropologist Jane Hill, there is no evidence that the pharaohs of the
First Dynasty of Egypt buried at
Abydos were of Nubian origin. However, several
biological anthropological studies have shown the Badarian and Naqada people to be closely related to the Nubian and other,
tropical African populations. Also, the proto-dynastic kings emerged from the Naqada region. In the view of Egyptian scholar and editor of UNESCO
General History of Africa Volume II (1981), Gamal Mokhtar, Upper Egypt and Nubia held "similar
ethnic composition" with comparable material culture. Mokhtar described a notable difference between the communities with Upper Egyptians having adopted a
system of writing earlier due to the exigencies of the Nile Valley whilst their Nubian counterparts were more reticent due to their higher reliance on mobile,
stock-raising as an expressed feature of their economy. There are no records of settlement in Lower Nubia for the next 600 years. Old Kingdom Egyptian dynasties (4th to 6th) controlled uninhabited Lower Nubia and raided Upper Nubia.
Early Kerma; C-Group (2400–1550 BC) Upper Nubia The pre-Kerma developed into the Middle phase Kerma group. Some A-group people (transitioning to C-group) settled the area and co-existed with the pre-Kerma group. who flourished from 2500 BC to 1500 BC, were another internal evolution or invaders. O'Connor states, "a transition from A group into a later culture, the C-group, can be traced," and the C-group culture was typical of Lower Nubia from 2400 to 1650 BC.) arriving from the desert east of the Nile river. One feature of the Pan Grave culture was shallow grave burial. The Pan Grave and C-Group definitely interacted: Pan Grave pottery is characterized by more limited incised lines than the C-Group's and generally has interspersed undecorated spaces within the geometric schemes.
Egypt in Nubia In 2300 BC, Nubia was first mentioned in
Old Kingdom Egyptian accounts of trade missions. The Egyptians referred to Lower Nubia as Wawat, Irtjet, and Setju, while they referred to Upper Nubia as Yam. Some authors believe that Irtjet and Setju could also have been in Upper Nubia. Richard Loban expressed the view that
Mentuhotep II of the 11th Dynasty "was quite possibly of Nubian origin" and cited historical evidence which mentioned that
Amenemhet I, founder of the 12th Dynasty, "had a Ta Seti or Nubian mother". Dietrich Wildung has argued that Nubian features were common in Egyptian iconography since the pre-dynastic era and that several pharaohs such as
Khufu and
Mentuhotep II were represented with these Nubian features. or
Amenemhat II, with the white crown of Upper Egypt (left), the other with the red crown of
Lower Egypt. The 12th dynasty had origins in
Ta-Seti, Upper Egypt/
Lower Nubia. Frank Yurco wrote that "Egyptian rulers of Nubian ancestry had become Egyptians culturally; as pharaohs, they exhibited typical Egyptian attitudes and adopted typical Egyptian policies". Yurco noted that some Middle Kingdom rulers, particularly some pharaohs of the
Twelfth Dynasty, had strong Nubian features, due to the origin of the dynasty in the Aswan region of southern Egypt. He also identified the pharaoh Sequenre Tao of the
Seventeenth Dynasty, as having Nubian features. Many scholars in recent years have argued that the mother of Amenemhat I, founder of the
Twelfth Dynasty was of Nubian origin. After a period of withdrawal, the
Middle Kingdom of Egypt conquered Lower Nubia from 2000 to 1700 BC. Medjay was the name given by
ancient Egypt to nomadic desert dwellers from east of the Nile River. The term was used variously to describe a location, the Medjay people, or their role/job in the kingdom. They became part of the Egyptian military as scouts and minor workers before being 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, or elite paramilitary police force, The Medjay were often used to protect valuable areas, especially royal and religious complexes. Although they are most notable for their protection of the royal palaces and tombs in
Thebes and the surrounding areas, the Medjay were deployed throughout Upper and Lower Egypt; they were even used during
Kamose's campaign against the
Hyksos and became instrumental in turning the Egyptian state into a military power. After the
First Intermediate Period of Egypt, the Medjay district was no longer mentioned in written records.
Kerma; Egyptian Empire (1550–1100 BC) Upper Nubia From the Middle Kerma phase, the first Nubian kingdom to unify much of the region arose. The Classic Kerma culture, named for its royal capital at
Kerma, was one of the earliest urban centers in the Nile region and oldest city in Africa outside of Egypt. 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 permanently eliminated the Egyptians and brought the nation to extinction. During Egypt's Second Intermediate period, the Kushites reached the height of their Bronze Age power and completely controlled southern trade with Egypt. Egypt became a prime source of gold in the Middle East. The primitive working conditions for the slaves are recorded by
Diodorus Siculus. One of the oldest maps known is of a gold mine in Nubia: the
Turin Papyrus Map dating to about 1160 BC; it is also one of the earliest characterized road maps in existence. Nubians were an integral part of New Kingdom Egyptian society. Some scholars state that Nubians were included in the
18th Dynasty of Egypt's royal family.
Ahmose-Nefertari, "arguably the most venerated woman in Egyptian history", was thought by some scholars such as
Flinders Petrie to be of Nubian origin because she is most often depicted with black skin. The mummy of
Ahmose-Nefertari's father,
Seqenenre Tao, has been described as presenting "tightly curled, woolly hair", with "a slight build and strongly Nubian features". Some modern scholars also believe that in some depictions, her skin color is indicative of her role as a goddess of resurrection, since black is both the color of the fertile land of Egypt and that of the underworld. However, there is no known depiction of her painted during her lifetime (she is represented with the same light skin as other represented individuals in tomb TT15, before her deification); the earliest black skin depiction appears in tomb TT161, 150 years after her death. In 2009, Egyptologist Elena Vassilika, noting that in a wooden statuette of the queen (now at the
Museo Egizio) the face is painted black but the arms and feet are light in colour, argued that the reason for the black colouring in that case was religious and not genetic. in his war chariot charging into battle against the Nubians.
New Kingdom reliefs as seen in Rameses II temple,
Beit el-Wali, represented Nubians with dark reddish brown and jet black skin tones. In 1098–1088 BC, Thebes was "the scene of a civil war-like conflict between the High Priest of Amun of Thebes, Amenhotep and the Viceroy of Kush
Panehesy (= the Nubian)". It was chaotic, and many tombs were plundered. Instead of sending soldiers to restore order,
Ramesses XI put Panehesy in control of that area's military and appointed him Director of Granaries. Panehesy stationed his troops in Thebes to protect the city from thieves, but it resembled a military occupation of Thebes to the High Priest, which later led to the Civil War in Thebes. Children of elite Nubian families were sent to be educated in Egypt then returned to Kush to be appointed in bureaucratic positions to ensure their loyalty. During the Egyptian occupation of Nubia, there were temple towns with Egyptian cults, but "production and redistribution" was based mostly on indigenous social structures. By 780 BC,
Amun was the main god of Kush and "intense contacts with Thebes" were maintained. The Nubian elite adopted many Egyptian customs and gave their children Egyptian names. Although some Nubian customs and beliefs (e.g. burial practices) continued to be practiced, The cultural Egyptianization of Nubia was at its highest levels at the times of both Kashta and Piye.
Nubia in Egypt , circa 700 BC. and column, Karnak temple Kashta peacefully became King of Upper and Lower Egypt with his daughter Amenirdis as Divine Adoratrice of Amun in Thebes. Piye personally led the attack on Egypt and recorded his victory in a lengthy hieroglyphic filled
stele called the "
Stele of Victory". Piye's success in achieving the double kingship after generations of Kushite planning resulted from "Kushite ambition, political skill, and the Theban decision to reunify Egypt in this particular way", and not Egypt's utter exhaustion, "as frequently suggested in Egyptological studies." His army undertook successful military campaigns, as attested by the "list of conquered Asiatic principalities" from the Mut temple at Karnak and "conquered peoples and countries (Libyans, Shasu nomads, Phoenicians?, Khor in Palestine)" from Sanam temple inscriptions. in 701 BC, Taharqa and his army aided
Judah and King
Hezekiah in withstanding a siege by King
Sennacherib of the Assyrians (2 Kings 19:9; Isaiah 37:9). There are various theories (Taharqa's army, disease, divine intervention, Hezekiah's surrender, Herodotus' mice theory) as to why the Assyrians failed to take Jerusalem and withdrew to Assyria. Sennacherib's annals record Judah was forced into tribute after the siege and Sennacherib became the ruler of the region. However, this is contradicted by Khor's frequent utilization of an Egyptian system of weights for trade and the twenty-year cessation in Assyria's pattern of repeatedly invading Khor (as Assyrians had before 701 and after Sennacherib's death). In 681 BC, Sennacherib was murdered by his own sons in
Babylon. In 679 BC, Sennacherib's successor, King
Esarhaddon, campaigned in Khor, destroyed Sidon, and forced Tyre into tribute in 677–676 BC. Esarhaddon invaded Egypt proper in 674 BC, but according to Babylonian records, Taharqa and his army outright defeated the Assyrians. In 672 BC, Taharqa brought reserve troops from Kush, as mentioned in rock inscriptions. However, Taharqa was defeated in Egypt in 671 BC when Esarhaddon conquered Northern Egypt, captured Memphis, and imposed tribute before withdrawing. The heirs of the Kushite empire established their new capital at
Napata, which was also sacked by the Egyptians in 592 BC. The Kushite kingdom survived for another 900 years after being pushed south to
Meroë. The Egyptianized culture of Nubia grew increasingly Africanized after the fall of the 25th Dynasty until Queen
Amanishakhete acceded in 45 BC. She temporarily arrested the loss of Egyptian culture, but then it continued unchecked. Together,
Musawwarat es-Sufra,
Naqa, and Meroë formed the Island of Meroe. The town's importance gradually increased from
the beginning of the Meroitic Period, especially from the reign of
Arakamani (c. 280 BC) when the royal burial ground was transferred to Meroë from
Napata (
Jebel Barkal). Excavations revealed evidence of important, high-ranking Kushite burials from the Napatan Period (c. 800 – c. 280 BC) in the vicinity of the settlement called the Western cemetery. They buried their kings in small pyramids with steeply sloped sides that were based on New Kingdom Viceroy designs. People of the Meroitic period preserved many ancient Egyptian customs, but were unique in many respects. The
Meroitic language was spoken in Meroë and Sudan during the Meroitic period (attested from 300 BC) before becoming extinct around 400 AD. They developed their own form of writing by using Egyptian
hieroglyphs before switching to a cursive alphabetic script with 23 signs. It was split into two types: Meroitic Cursive, which was written with a
stylus and used for general record-keeping; and Meroitic Hieroglyphic, which was carved in stone or used for royal or religious documents. It is not well understood due to the scarcity of
bilingual texts. The earliest inscription in Meroitic writing dates from between 180 and 170 BC. These hieroglyphics were found engraved on the temple of Queen
Shanakdakhete. Meroitic Cursive is written horizontally, and is read from right to left like all Semitic orthographies. The Meroitic people worshiped the Egyptian gods as well as their own, such as
Apedemak and the lion-son of
Sekhmet (or
Bast). Meroë was the base of a flourishing kingdom whose wealth was centered around a strong
iron industry and international trade with
India and
China. Metalworking is believed to have happened in Meroë, possibly through
bloomeries and
blast furnaces. The centralized control of production within the Meroitic empire and distribution of certain crafts and manufactures may have been politically important. Other important sites were Musawwarat es-Sufra and Naqa.
Musawwarat es-Sufra, which is now a UNESCO
World Heritage Site, was constructed in sandstone. Its main features were the Great Enclosure, the Lion Temple of
Apedemak (14×9×5 meters), and the Great Reservoir. The Great Enclosure is the main structure of the site. Much of the large labyrinth-like building complex, which covers approximately 45,000 m2, was erected in the third century BC. The scheme of the site is, so far, without parallel in Nubia and
ancient Egypt. According to Hintze, "the complicated ground plan of this extensive complex of buildings is without parallel in the entire Nile valley". The maze of
courtyards includes three (possible) temples, passages, low walls that prevent any contact with the outside world, about 20 columns, ramps and two reservoirs. There is some debate about the purpose of the buildings, with earlier suggestions including a college, a hospital, and an elephant-training camp. The Lion Temple was constructed by
Arnekhamani and bears inscriptions in Egyptian hieroglyphs, representations of elephants and lions on the rear inside wall, and reliefs of Apedemak depicted as a three-headed god on the outside walls. The Great Reservoir is a
hafir to retain as much as possible of the rainfall of the short, wet season. It is 250 m in diameter and 6.3 m deep.
Kandake, often Latinised as Candace, was the
Meroitic term for the sister of the king of Kush who, due to
matrilineal succession, would bear the next heir, making her a
queen mother. According to scholar
Basil Davidson, at least four
Kushite queens —
Amanirenas,
Amanishakheto,
Nawidemak and
Amanitore — probably spent part of their lives in
Musawwarat es-Sufra.
Pliny writes that the "Queen of the
Ethiopians" bore the title
Candace, and indicates that the Ethiopians had conquered ancient
Syria and the
Mediterranean. In 25 BC the Kush kandake
Amanirenas, as reported by
Strabo, attacked the city of Syene (known as
Aswan today) within the territory of the
Roman Empire; Emperor
Augustus destroyed the city of Napata in retaliation. In the New Testament biblical account,
a treasury official of "Candace, queen of the Ethiopians", returning from a trip to
Jerusalem, met with
Philip the Evangelist and was baptized.
Achaemenid period , circa 480 BC.
Xerxes I tomb relief.
Herodotus mentioned an invasion of Kush by the
Achaemenid ruler
Cambyses II, however, he mentions that "his expedition failed miserably in the desert".
Ptolemaic period The Greek
Ptolemaic Kingdom under
Ptolemy II Philadelphus invaded Nubia in 275 BC and annexed the northern twelve miles of this territory, subsequently known as the
Dodekaschoinos ('twelve-mile land'). Throughout the 160s and 150s BC,
Ptolemy VI also reasserted Ptolemaic control over the northern part of Nubia. There is no record of conflict between the Kushites and Ptolemies. However, there was a serious revolt at the end of Ptolemy IV's reign, and the Kushites likely tried to interfere in Ptolemaic affairs. Napata's fall was not a crippling blow to the Kushites and did not frighten Amanirenas enough to prevent her from again engaging in combat with the Roman military. In 22 BC, a large Kushite force moved northward with the intention of attacking Qasr Ibrim. Alerted to the advance, Petronius again marched south and managed to reach Qasr Ibrim and bolster its defences before the invading Kushites arrived. Welsby states that after a Kushite attack on Primis (Qasr Ibrim), Moreover, some view the stele as military aid from Aksum to Meroë to quell the revolt and rebellion. From that point on, the Romans referred to the area as
Nobatia.
Christian Nubia , first half of 11th c AD,
National Museum in Warsaw Around 350 AD, the area was invaded by the
Kingdom of Aksum, and the Meroitic kingdom collapsed. Three smaller
Christian kingdoms replaced it: the northernmost was
Nobatia (capital Pachoras; now modern-day
Faras, Egypt) between the first and second cataract of the
Nile River; in the middle was
Makuria (capital
Old Dongola), and southernmost was
Alodia (capital Soba). King Silky of Nobatia defeated the
Blemmyes and recorded his victory in a
Greek language inscription carved in the wall of the temple of Talmis (modern
Kalabsha) around 500 AD.
Christianity had been introduced to the region by the fourth century: Bishop
Athanasius of Alexandria consecrated Marcus as bishop of
Philae before he died in 373 AD.
John of Ephesus records that a
Miaphysite priest named Julian converted the king and his nobles of Nobatia around 545 AD. He also writes that the kingdom of Alodia was converted around 569. However,
John of Biclarum wrote that the kingdom of Makuria 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 of Alexandria, which states that in 719 AD the church of Nubia transferred its allegiance from the
Greek to the
Coptic Orthodox Church. After the official Christianization of Nubia, the Isis cult of Philae remained for the sake of the Nubians . The edict of Theodosius I (390 AD) was not enforced at Philae. Later attempts to suppress the cult of Isis led to armed clashes between the Nubians and Romans. Finally, in 453 AD, a treaty recognizing the traditional religious rights of Nubians at Philae was signed. By the seventh century, Makuria expanded and became 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 Muslim rulers agreed to a treaty with Dongola, called
Baqt, to allow peaceful coexistence and trade, contingent on the Nubians making an annual payment consisting of slaves and other tributes to the Islamic Governor at Aswan; it guaranteed that any runaway slaves were returned to Nubia. The treaty was kept for six hundred years. Over time, the influx of Arab traders introduced Islam to Nubia, and it gradually supplanted
Christianity. After an interruption in the annual tribute of slaves, the Egyptian Mamluk ruler invaded in 1272 and declared himself sovereign over half of Nubia. 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 vast majority of the Nubian population is currently Muslim, and the Arabic language is their main medium of communication in addition to their indigenous Nubian language. The unique characteristic of Nubians is shown in their culture (dress, dances, traditions, and music).
Islamic Nubia In the fourteenth century, the Dongolan government collapsed, and the region was divided and dominated by Arabs. Several Arab invasions into the region and the establishment of smaller kingdoms occurred over the next few centuries. Northern Nubia was brought under Egyptian control, while the south was controlled by the
Kingdom of Sennar in the sixteenth century. The entire region came under Egyptian control during
Muhammad Ali's rule in the early nineteenth century, and later became a joint Anglo-Egyptian
condominium. ==21st-century archaeology==