Nubia

   Modern name for the area of the Nile Valley and its adjacent region south of Elephantine. It became important to Egypt as a source of minerals and served as an intermediary between Egypt and sub-Saharan Africa for luxury trade goods. Egyptian expeditions penetrated the area beginning in the late Predynastic Period during raiding forays, and in the Old Kingdom, copper was mined and smelted at Buhen, although it is unclear whether the Egyptian presence was permanent. During the Middle Kingdom, a determined attempt was made to subjugate the area, and extensive fortresses were built along the Nile with the new border fixed at Semna. The collapse of the Second Intermediate Period led to an Egyptian withdrawal and the growth of a native kingdom based in Kerma in the area now known in Egyptian sources as Kush. The Hyksos sought an alliance with Kush against the rulers of Thebes, but both were destroyed by Dynasty 18, which renewed the Egyptian conquest of the south, conquering Nubia down to Napata by the reign of Thutmose III and putting the new province under the rule of the viceroy of Kush.

   Some native chieftains were allowed to remain under strict control, but their families were sent to the Egyptian court to be Egyptianized. Nubia was exploited principally for its gold reserves, which greatly enhanced Egyptian prestige and power. Numerous temples were built, and Egyptian religion, especially worship of the god Amun, took a strong hold on the population. Egyptian administration collapsed into civil war and confusion at the end of Dynasty 20. A new native kingdom was formed based at Napata and eventually under Piye, and Shabaqo conquered Egypt itself to found Dynasty 25. The Nubians were driven out of Egypt by Assyria, but the dynasty persisted in Nubia and later moved its capital to Meroe. Tension remained between the Meroitic kingdom and the Ptolemaic and Roman rulers of Egypt over control of the area just south of Elephantine, and Nubian rulers were assiduous in their worship at the temple of Philae, even after Egypt was Christianized.

   The Meroitic kingdom fell apart during the 4th century AD, partly under pressure from such invading desert tribes as the Nobatae, which gave the area its modern name. Three local kingdoms developed and adopted Christianity in the 6th century but were eventually overwhelmed by Muslim forces and disappeared during the 15th century. The successive constructions of dams at Aswan and the subsequent flooding have led to major archaeological campaigns in Lower Nubia from 1898–1902, 1907–1912, 1929–1934, and 1960–1965 so that, although the region is now flooded, its archaeological record is better attested than many areas of Egypt proper.

   See also A-Group; C-Group; Nubian Rescue Campaign.

Historical Dictionary Of Ancient Egypt by Morris L. Bierbrier