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The history of ancient
Nubia is divided into the following periods: A GROUP:
3800-3100 B.C. Remains of the culture known as “A Group” are
found in northern Nubia between Aswan and the 2nd cataract (in
far southern Egypt up to the modern Sudanese border). An A Group
incense burner from Qustul is decorated with the figures of a
falcon and a cloaked man wearing a tall crown. These images
suggest there was a line of kings in Nubia contemporary with the
Egyptian kings of so-called Dynasty 0 (about 3000 B.C.), and
that “civilization” and history began in Egypt and Nubia at
about the same time. The A Group people were buried in simple
oval or round pits, their bodies accompanied by shell and stone
jewelry, pots, and stone palettes for the grinding of cosmetics.
In this early period, the Egyptians referred to Nubia as
“Ta-Seti” (“The Land of the Bow”) and conducted repeated
military campaigns in the south to secure its borders and its
trade in raw materials for such luxury goods as gold, skins,
ivory and ebony, all of which were prized by Egyptian nobility.
C GROUP: 2300-1550 B.C. The term “C Group” is used to refer to
the people who lived in northern Nubia from 2300- 1500 B.C.This
culture was located in southern Egypt, southward to the modern
Sudanese border, in approximately the same region as the earlier
A Group. Cattle were extremely important to the C Group people,
as they are today to other African cultures. Not only were large
herds maintained, but cattle held a ritual significance as well,
possibly as a sign of wealth or for religious reasons associated
with nurturing the deceased in the afterlife. Heads of
sacrificed cattle, slabs of stone decorated with cows, and
pottery vessels painted with bovines were placed in and near C
Group tombs. The people of this time wore elaborate ornaments in
their hair, as well as bracelets of alabaster, and made fine
black pottery with incised decoration. There was extensive
contact between Egypt and Nubia (known to the Egyptians as “The
Land of Wawat”) during this time, and many Nubians migrated to
Egypt where they were administrators, police and soldiers. By
the end of the 16th century B.C., the C Group culture had either
disappeared or had become indistinguishable from that of the
Egyptians who had settled in the same area. THE KERMA CULTURE:
2000-1550 B.C. The Kerma culture, located about 300 miles south
of the Egyptian-Sudanese border, represents the first imperial
stage of Nubian history in central-southern Nubia. By the 18th
century B.C., Egyptian records refer to a powerful “Kingdom of
Kush.” The remains at Kerma document a highly sophisticated
civilization. Two monumental mud-brick buildings (called defuffa
in modern Arabic) still dominate the town. Their function is
unclear, for one is surrounded not only by chapels and tombs,
but also by secular structures and metal workshops. The kings of
Kerma, wrapped in ram skins, were buried on beds inlaid with
ivory and placed in tombs covered by mounds of earth, some of
which are 300 feet across. Hundreds of retainers, dressed in
caps ornamented with mica figures, were buried alive to
accompany their master to the afterlife. Skulls of slain oxen
were placed around the edges of the tumuli.
EGYPTIAN DOMINATION:
1460-1050 B.C. For 400 years, the pharaohs of Egypt dominated
Nubia. Trade in precious gold, skins, ebony and ivory were the
main interests of the northerners. The land of Nubia was
administered by an Egyptian official who bore the title “King’s
Son of Kush,” and who was responsible directly to the king.
Great stone temples in the Egyptian style were built throughout
Nubia, and many Nubians adopted the worship of the Egyptian god
Amun. THE KINGDOMS OF KUSH: 1100-200 B.C. THE NAPATAN PHASE
Beginning in about 1100 B.C., Egypt’s domination of Nubia became
more indirect as the northern land experienced political
fragmentation. By 747 B.C., Thebes, one of the greatest cities
in Egypt, called upon the Nubian monarch to save it from attack
by northern Egyptian rivals. Nubian king Piankhy led his armies
from Napata (near the 5th cataract) and made a triumphant entry
into Thebes. He continued his march northwards, taking the
ancient capital city of Memphis and uniting Egypt and Nubia
under his rule. Although few of Piankhy’s successors resided in
Egypt, the Nubian kings of Napata were considered to be pharaohs
of both Egypt and Nubia – a time that is known as the 25th
Dynasty (728-656 B.C.). In 656 B.C., the Assyrians invaded Egypt
and drove the Nubians southward. Although they were no longer
masters of Egypt, the kings of Napata continued to rule and
flourish in Upper Nubia, where, freed from Egyptian domination,
they developed a culture with both Nubian and Egyptian aspects.
These kings were buried in steep-sided pyramid tombs equipped
with gold jewelry, stone statues and other elaborate funerary
equipment. The tradition of burying Nubian kings in pyramids
started nearly 800 years after the last royal pyramid was built
in Egypt. Although the Nubian pyramids are far smaller than
their Egyptian counterparts, there are hundreds of Nubian
structures built for Nubian kings and queens as opposed to the
thirty or so major examples from Egypt. MEROITIC NUBIA: 200
B.C.-A.D. 300 The site of Meroe, situated far south between the
5th and 6th cataracts, approximately 150 miles north of today’s
Khartoum, became the center of Nubian culture in the 2nd century
B.C. During this era, Nubia was in close contact with the
non-African world of the Greeks and Romans, and provided the
corridor by which Africa and the classical world met. The kings
of Meroe were buried in pyramid tombs. Other Nubians were buried
in vaulted mud-brick tombs equipped with offering tables,
painted pottery, weapons (spears, bows and arrows stored in
elaborate leather quivers), cosmetic vessels, clothing and
jewelry. One of the glories of Meroitic culture is its pottery,
which is painted with colorful animal, plant and geometric
motifs. Meroe was also a metal working center, and fine lamps,
cosmetic bowls and spear points have been recovered from the
site. “X GROUP”: ca. A.D. 250-550 During the third to sixth
centuries A.D., several rival groups occupied Nubia, including
the Noubadians (who lived in the Nile Valley) and the Blemmyes
(who originated in the eastern desert and later settled in the
Nile Valley). X Group culture is an intriguing mixture of
ancient Egyptian, Greek and Nubian traditions. The kings of the
Noubadians were buried in huge tumulus tombs and accompanied by
sacrificed horses and camels equipped with silver trappings.
Tombs of the kings at Qustul and Ballana yielded silver crowns
decorated with ancient pharaonic motifs. THE MEDIEVAL PERIOD:
A.D. 550-1500 By 570, most of Nubia had been converted to
Christianity by missionaries sent from Byzantium. The Nubians
warded off direct invasion of Arabs from Egypt by signing a
treaty in 652 which ensured their independence in exchange for
tribute. Under this arrangement, Christianity flourished in
Nubia and the upper Nile. The eastern African kingdom of Axum
became a center of early Christianity |
