Field of Nubiology At this stage in the growing field of ancient Nubian studies, there are three significant problems which prevent an accurate understanding of classical Nubian civilization and its pivotal role in shaping early Nile Valley civilizations. Nubian King Tantamani First, western Nubiologists from North America and Europe look at Nubia from an outside …
The Qustul Incense Burner The Oriental Institute Nubian Expedition of the University of Chicago research team made a major discovery in the 1960s before the completion of the Aswan High Dam in Egypt. Bruce Williams, a research associate and chief archaeologist responsible for publishing the research work, gave an interview to the New York Times …
Problems with The Chronology Of Nubia The current Nubian chronological framework is unreliable as Nubian sub-cultures and historical phases are known only by the letters archaeologists assigned to them, such as A- Group, C-Group, and X-Group, and there are Kushite kingdoms mixed in with the Nubian chronology (such as Kerma and the 25th/Napatan dynasty). This …
Ancient Nubia: An Introduction The details of Ancient Nubia’s origins and the extent of its boundaries are not well understood by specialists in the field. The field of Nubiology began in the 1960s with the construction of the Aswan High Dam (completed in 1970), which flooded a 340 mile long area of lower Nubia, namely …
The Misleading “Black Pharaohs” Label (25th Dynasty) There is a major gap in knowledge about Kush and the other “southern lands” for over 700 years until the 8th century BCE, when Kushite kings emerged from the deep south area at Napata. They ruled a vast territory extending from central or southern Sudan to lower Nubia. …
Royal City Of Meroe After the decline of Napata, the Kushites moved the seat of the dynasty south and transferred the capital to Meroe, which was far away from Napata invasions. This was the beginning of Meroe as a royal city and capital of the kingdom, which continued for another thousand years until 350 CE. …
Royal City Of Napata The 9th century BCE witnessed the emergence of the second, centralized kingdom within Kush at the capital city of Napata. This kingdom can be divided into two periods, the Napatan and the Meroitic, after their respective capitals. Napata is situated in the region around Gebel Barkal (“sacred mountain”) about 164 miles …
Kerma During its very long history, the Middle Nile Region (Sudan area of the Nile) witnessed the emergence of two powerful African civilizations. The first, the Kingdom of Kerma (c. 2500– 1500 BCE), named after the modern city located about 18 miles to the south of the 3rd Cataract of the Nile, where there are …
There are several Black writers on ancient Kush (“Ethiopia”) who made important contributions to documenting and promoting the central role and primary place Kush has had as an influential African civilization. However, their writings are consistently ignored in mainstream academia and the press, even though their insights about the African origin and nature of ancient …
Ancient Greek Writers On Kush When the Greeks invaded Egypt under Alexander of Macedon (356-323 BCE) this marked the Greek period in Egyptian history. To learn about Egyptian culture and history, the Greeks consulted Egyptian priests and had documents translated into the Greek language. Thus, the Egyptian priest Manetho (c. 300 BCE) wrote Aegyptiaca (“History …
