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 The Kingdom of Ancient Nubia
began a bit before
the first Cataract along the Nile River and extended just past
the six Cataract to Khartoum.
The land of ancient Nubia was bounded on the north by the First
Cataract of the Nile River-- located just south of
Elephantine--and on the far south by the Sixth Cataract--located
north of modern Khartum .
Nubia is divided into two great regions, Lower Nubia and Upper
Nubia. Lower Nubia is the northern region extending nearly 400
km. from the First Cataract to the area around Semna and the
Second Cataract. Today, it corresponds to the area of southern
Egypt and the northern Sudan. Upper Nubia, which is south of
Lower Nubia, extends upriver along the Nile to the Sixth
Cataract and Khartum. It corresponds to what is today the
central Sudan. The Nile River, flowing through this region, is
often termed, the Middle Nile .
Nubia was also called - Upper & Lower Nubia, Kush, Land of Kush,
Te-Nehesy, Nubadae, Napata, or the Kingdom of Meroei. The land
of Nubia has long been a meeting place of different cultures. It
has been the only occupied strip of land throughout history
connecting the Mediterranean world with the lands of tropical
Africa. This condition put the native peoples of this land in
close and constant contact with their neighbors for long periods
of history, and made Nubia an important route for trade between
Sub-Saharan Africa and the rest of the world. The importance of
Nubia as a link between two sides of the world, that of "the
cradle of western civilzations" and that of the shadowy
continent out of which came many desirable and exotic
commodities", is reflected in the formation of its culture as
seen in the archaeological record. Traditions of central Africa
are apparent in the material culture and the languages of the
ancient Nubians. On the other hand, the influence of Egyptian
and other Mediterranean culture is evident in the architecture
and art of ancient Nubian culture. Although the people of
ancient Nubia were greatly influenced by other civilizations, it
should be noted that the Nubians themselves had control and
influence over surrounding cultures at certain points in their
history . The most prosperous period of Nubian civilization was
that of the kingdom of Kush, which endured from about 800 B.C.
to about 320 A.D. During this time, the Nubians of the kingdom
of Kush would ,at one point, assume rule over all of Nubia as
well as Upper and Lower Egypt .
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