Nubia was an ancient African kingdom south of Egypt, in what is now the Republic of Sudan. The origins of Nubian civilization go back to the late Stone Age (5000 BCE). The first Nubian kings appeared at the same time as the first Egyptian pharaohs (3000–2000 BCE), but Nubia outlasted the Egyptian empire by 1,500 years.
The Nubians first wrote in Egyptian hieroglyphs; they did not write down their own language until very late, and those writings remain undeciphered. However, archaeologists have found a great many Nubian artifacts that reveal much about the Nubian way of life.
Early History
Starting sometime around 4500 BCE, first in southern and then in northern Nubia, people scattered along the Nile River began to plant crops and keep animals. In about 3500 BCE a culture known as the A-Group appeared in Lower (northern) Nubia. Graves from this period suggest that Nubian society was divided into two classes and perhaps was ruled by kings. The graves of the rich ruling class are filled with luxurious items; the poor farmers, unsurprisingly, had simpler graves.
In about 3100 BCE Egypt united under the first pharaohs, and the A-Group flourished for a while under Egyptian influence before its people were attacked and conquered. In about 2300 BCE, however, Egypt withdrew, and another wealthy Nubian culture (the C-Group) subsequently emerged in Lower Nubia.
However, between 1950 and 1850 BCE the Twelfth Dynasty of Egyptian pharaohs again conquered Lower Nubia and seized control of Nubian trade. These pharaohs also built eleven massive fortresses along the Nile to defend their territory.
Nubia and Egypt
Nubia’s fortunes were always closely linked to those of Egypt, and there were several periods when Egypt controlled northern Nubia. From 1550 to 1100 BCE (the colonial period), the whole of Nubia was governed by Egypt.
Egyptian writers referred to Nubia as "hateful Kush," while Egyptian artists frequently depicted ubians as chained prisoners. Nubians were sometimes painted on the soles of the pharaoh’s sandals or on the floors of temples so that they would be stepped on.
Yet for long periods of their history, the two civilizations cooperated with each other. Nubian soldiers fought in Egyptian armies, and Nubian archers were famed for their skill. One of the ancient Egyptian names for Nubia was Ta-Seti, which means "land of the bow."
|
 |
|
|
|
SENUSTRIS III, WHO RULED ABOUT 1850 BCE, WAS A PHARAOH OF THE EGYPTIAN MIDDLE KINGDOM. THE NUBIANS, HE SAID, … are not people one respects. They are cowardly wretches…. I have captured their women, I have carried off their dependants, gone to their wells, killed their cattle, cut down their grain and set it afire. As my father lives for me, I speak the truth! There is no boasting in what comes out of my mouth. FROM A STELA FOUND AT SEMNA, ONE OF ELEVEN FORTRESSES BUILT TO DEFEND THE NILE.
| |
|
|
|
|
|
During the colonial period the most privileged young Nubians were sent to the Egyptian palaces to be educated, especially in matters of law, religion, trade, and morality. These Egyptianized Nubians would usually return as governors of Nubia, bringing Egyptian customs back with them. There is further evidence of the close relationship of the two civilizations in the many tomb paintings showing Egyptian pharaohs with darker-skinned Nubian wives.
