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Lower Nubia
From about 3500 BC at least two important cultures emerged in
Nubia that may suggest the existence of early states controlling
major territories and trade routes. The first was centered in
Lower Nubia, between the First and Second Cataracts, and the
other was centered in Upper Nubia, between the Third and Fourth
Cataracts. If there were others, we don't yet know. While these
two seem to be related, they also differ in many respects, and
yet there can be no doubt that they were in communication with
one other, just as they were probably both in contact with
Predynastic and Early Dynastic Egypt. Because of finds of
central African products in contemporary Egyptian contexts, we
can be sure that both of these early Nubian "kingdoms" had a
hand in and benefitted from some sort of north-south Nile trade
linking central Africa with Egypt.
The early Lower Nubian culture was discovered in 1907 by the
famous Egyptologist George A. Reisner during his archaeological
survey south of Aswan, which he undertook on behalf of the
Egyptian Government just prior to the first raising of the Aswan
Dam. The people of this early Nubian culture used no writing,
and none of the earliest Egyptian inscriptions (which appeared
about 3200 B.C.) preserve their original name. (The Egyptian
texts call Nubia only by an Egyptian name: "Land of the Bow").
Reisner thus called these people, known only by their grave
goods, the "A-Group," since theirs was the earliest culture he
had found in Lower Nubia. The name has been used by
archaeologists ever since
A-Group remains are quite distinct from those of contemporary
Egypt, so there is good reason to suspect that the people
differed from the Egyptians politically, linguistically and
culturally, and perhaps ethnically. Their unmistakable objects
have been found well distributed throughout Lower Nubia, from
the Second Cataract north to Aswan, and a few of their objects
have been found at Hierakonpolis, site of the earliest Egyptian
capital in Upper Egypt. Although a few small and rather poor
looking settlement sites were identified before the region was
flooded forever by the Aswan High Dam, the A-Group people are
known primarily from their much more prosperous looking
cemeteries. Laid in pits beneath small mounds, the dead were
arranged flexed, facing west. Obviously they had a strong belief
in the afterlife, for the bodies were accompanied by elegant
thin-walled painted pottery of their own manufacture, polished
stone palettes for grinding eye cosmetics, mica mirrors, as well
as a variety of luxury items imported from Egypt .These included
food jars, linen for clothing, copper tools, and small
ornaments. Since Lower Nubia, agriculturally, was a poor land,
and since at that time it had no recognized natural resources
(gold being discovered somewhat later), we must wonder how there
came to be so much Egyptian material in these graves. Oddly,
very few A-Group products have ever been found in Egypt. It
seems most likely that these people purchased their Egyptian
goods directly from Egyptian river traders by using as barter
raw materials they had obtained from further south in the Sudan.
On the other hand, they might also have received their Egyptian
goods from Egyptian shippers as tolls in exchange for allowing
the Egyptians safe passage to Upper Nubia.
In any case, about 3200 B.C. the A-Group people seem to have
been middle-men in an ever increasing trade in exotic raw
materials flowing between Egypt and the distant south . While
Williams' theory was intriguing, it could never be proven or
disproven absolutely because shortly after the clearing of the
tombs all of Qustul had been flooded forever by the Aswan Dam
and could not be reinvestigated. Given the large numbers of
imported Egyptian goods in the tombs, one could also never be
certain if the incense burners, too, were not simply Egyptian
imports rather than Nubian products, as most would have assumed
them to be. The fact that they were made of local stone seemed
to confirm that they were Nubian, and many other objects and
pottery vessels seemed to have a Sudanese origin. Williams'
characterization of the tombs as belonging to a time "prior to
any known Egyptian kingship" now has to be modified by the
recent discovery at Abydos in Egypt of Egyptian royal artifacts
that do indeed seem to reach back as far as the Qustul tombs
(about 3400 BC).For unknown reasons, perhaps in dispute with the
A-Group rulers over commodity prices or control of trade routes,
or in rivalry for empire, the earliest Egyptian pharaohs, as
recorded in their brief inscriptions, seem to have been
determined to conquer the "Land of the Bow." At least five
Egyptian military campaigns into Lower Nubia are recorded
between 3100 and 2500 BC.
A text of the Fourth Dynasty king Sneferu (ca. 2575-2555 B.C.),
for example, reports that the Egyptians carried away from Nubia
200,000 head of cattle. These conquests ultimately had the
effect of eradicating all traces of the A-Group - at least in
the archaaeological record - suggesting either that a large
Nubian population went to Egypt, or that it was assimilated, or
that it was driven some distance away from the river into the
desert grasslands. This allowed the Egyptians to move into the
area tentatively and to establish small fortified settlements at
strategic points. One of these settlements was located at Buhen,
at the approach to the Second Cataract, which was ideally
situated as a trading station where Egyptian shippers from Aswan
could meet Nubian merchants from the deep south and barter their
goods directly with them.
The people that lived in Lower Nubia are called the A-Group.
The people that lived in Lower Nubia--the region between the
First and the Second Cataract of the Nile and the surrounding
deserts--during predynastic times are called the A-Group. Their
main activity along the Nile was agriculture, { Maria Gatto in "
Hunting for the Elusive Nubian " } A-Group People but in the
deserts they herded cattle. They also brought exotic goods from
the Sudan and Nubia to Egypt, and this trading activity
apparently made some of them very rich and powerful. Along the
Nile their settlements and cemeteries are clustered in strategic
areas, mostly in connection with transport routes through the
desert. The chiefs at the top of their society were represented
similarly to the early pharaohs of Egypt. At the royal cemetery
at Qustul near Abu Simbel, one of the main centers of A-Group
culture, the rulers are shown wearing the White Crown of Upper
Egypt. The elite graves there are long rectangular shafts cut
into the bedrock with a side chamber sealed by a big stone slab.
Surrounding the graves were cattle burials. A grave similar to
this was found in the elite cemetery at Hierakonpolis (HK6, Tomb
2), and it's also surrounded by cattle burials.
A few sherds of the distinctive A-Group pottery have been
recorded at Hierakonpolis, particularly in the extensive
cemetery by the Enclosure of Khasekhemwy, where more than a
century ago French archaeologist Henri de Morgan discovered
graves containing the complete A-Group bowls now in the Brooklyn
Museum. Nubian pottery has also been reported from the Main
Deposit in the floodplain town of Nekhen and at the predynastic
temple (HK29A).
One of this season's projects was to explore evidence for
interaction between the Nubian A-Group and predynastic Egypt,
especially at Hierakonpolis. The southernmost major town of
predynastic Egypt, Hierakonpolis was probably an early capital
city of Upper Egypt. It can be reached from Nubia following both
valley and desert routes. To the west, many tracks go straight
to the Khargha and Dakhlah oases, while to the east the Wadi
Barramiya connects the Hierakonpolis area directly to the Red
Sea coast and southward to the gold-rich regions of Atbai-Wadi
Allaqi.
Our present work has been organized in two different parts. The
first was devoted to the study of Nubian sherds from previous
excavations in order to determine if they were A-Group and to
which phase they belonged. The second included a survey of
localities where Nubian sherds had been found or we supposed
they might be. Each morning I walked over the site with my
long-suffering companion and guardian, Gamal. Together we would
search the pottery-covered surface for clues of Nubian presence.
Our main goal was to find an A-Group cemetery (as we have for
the later Nubian C-Group) or a campsite. Unfortunately, it seems
that neither are present at Hierakonpolis. However, we weren't
completely unsuccessful. A handful of sherds were recovered and
study of the pottery revealed different phases of A-Group
interaction spanning several centuries.
So they were here, and their artifacts can be still found in the
predynastic settlements and cemeteries, if only in low
percentages compared to the unbelievable amount of local
pottery. But we found no evidence for a real A-Group site or
long-term presence here. This result actually fits well with
what we know from the other Upper Egyptian sites. Up to now, it
is only at Armant, just south of Luxor on the west bank, that
what may be A-Group campsites and maybe a cemetery (but this is
doubtful) have been found.
A possible explanation for this is that A-Group society was so
similar to that in predynastic Upper Egypt that there was a kind
of equilibrium between them. These Nubian people were not living
in the shade of the predynastic Egyptians, nor were they
subservient to them in a colonial way. They had no need to leave
their home in order to find food or employment in the big city.
Given the growing desire for exotic goods like the obsidian from
the temple, A-Group Nubians likely came to Egypt for
transactions!
The Nubians possess the power of Trade
The Nubians possess the power of Trade, as well as two highly
effective unique unit lines. The Archers will be good for both
attack and defense, as they beat other archers, while their
camel archer units will be ideal for a forward rush attack.
Being a ranged cavalry units they are ideal for deep penetration
and hit and run attacks. Of course in the later ages it would be
a good idea to complement their unique units. Such as heavy
infantry, or their camel archers to complement their archers
against light infantry, and heavy cavalry against light cavalry
to complement their camel archers. The Nubians should also watch
out for light infantry and light cavalry strong civilizations .
The Nubians should not rely on their archers for defense ,
instead be prepared ahead of time with heavy infantryThe
resources needed for their unique units are food and timber for
archers, wealth and timber for cavalry archers. So the Nubian
player should try to go heavy on wood to produce resources to
produce both types of troops in abundance. Of course people on
food, and also quickly establish trade routes to collect wealth.
A good optimizer will be able to use their market trade ability
to surprise opponents with a extremely early rushing force of
camel archers, or to help less efficient players to make up for
resource shortfalls
Their power of trade also includes the ability to collect
bonuses from rare resources without having a merchant to collect
them. These rare resources can be a big advantage as some of
their bonuses are powerful This means that the Nubian player
should try hard to explore their territory thoroughly to be able
to collect these bonuses. In particular certain rare resources
will be particularly useful for the Nubians in producing their
unique units: Citrus for food and timber, Cotton for timer and
unit production speed, Amber for wealth and timber, Bison for
food, Diamonds for wealth, Fish for food and wealth, Gems for
wealth and borders, Marble for timber, Papyrus for timber,
Rubber for timber and Barrack unit cost, Silver for wealth,
Spice for food, Sugar for food and timber and food costs,
Titanium for food and reduce attrition, Tobacco for wealth,
Whale for food, Wool for timber. Of course all rare resources
will be useful, but those particular ones will help them build a
more effective army using their unique units. The other reason
to highlight them is so that in expanding one's empire it would
be wise to secure those in particular, so as to maximize the
Nubian advantages.
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Nubia is acknowledge to cover an area along the
Nile river valley from what is known as the first cataract in
the North to the sixth cataract in the South. The earliest
evidence of a distinct culture in the area was discovered to be
dated around 6000 B.C. The only thing known about the Nubians
during this time are from archeological remains, supplemented by
ancient Egyptian sources. These people began as a politically
fragmented population governed by local kings, who became
increasingly prosperous on trade with Egypt. These early Nubians
were known as "A-group" culture by archeologists. However by
2800 B.C. lower Nubia fell under the control of Egypt, because
of the gold mines located in the area. Because of the increasing
aggression from Egypt, a united Nubian Kingdom emerged with its
capitol at the city of Kerma by 2500 B.C. It was during the late
"Old Kingdom" period of Egypt history that a nomadic tribe that
lived in Nubian territory was first recruited by the Egyptians
as mercenaries into the Egyptian army and as a desert police
force due to their military skills. But as Egyptian power
weakened during the "First Intermediate" Period, people known as
the "C-Group" culture (descendants of the A-Group) begin to
resettle Lower Nubia. However by 1981 B.C. the Egyptians would
again re-established control in the area by building a series of
forts along the Nile. Despite the adversarial nature of their
relationship at the bordering reaches of the two Kingdoms, the
Kerma based Nubian Kingdom however remained strong and
independent throughout this period establishing themselves as a
major trade partner with the Egyptians. This relationship
continued even into Egypt's "Second Intermediate" period (1640
B.C. to 1550 B.C.) when the Hyksos invaded and ruled Egypt. They
would also take that opportunity to expand Nubian control back
into Lower Nubia. However by 1550 B.C. as Egypt entered its "New
Kingdom" period, the revitalized and aggressive Egyptian
dynasties not only would seize Lower Nubia, but also conducted a
series of military campaigns against Upper Nubia. By 1450 B.C.
both Upper and Lower Nubia became a colony of Egypt. The city of
Napata was established as a center of Egyptian control over
Nubia