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| Its people spoke at least two varieties of the ] group, a ] subfamily which includes ], ], ] and several related varieties in the northern part of the ] in South ]. A variety (]) was spoken (at least until 1970) north of ] in ] but is now extinct. Old Nubian was used in mostly religious texts dating from the 8th and 9th centuries AD. It is considered ancestral to modern day Nobiin. | Its people spoke at least two varieties of the ] group, a ] subfamily which includes ], ], ] and several related varieties in the northern part of the ] in South ]. A variety (]) was spoken (at least until 1970) north of ] in ] but is now extinct. ] was used in mostly religious texts dating from the 8th and 9th centuries AD. It is considered ancestral to modern day Nobiin. | ||
| ==History== | ==History== | ||
Revision as of 01:15, 17 November 2004
For other uses, see Nubia (disambiguation).Today Nubia is the region in the south of Egypt, along the Nile and in northern Sudan, but in ancient times it was an independent kingdom.
Its people spoke at least two varieties of the Nubian language group, a Nilo-Saharan subfamily which includes Nobiin, Kenuzi-Dongola, Midob and several related varieties in the northern part of the Nuba Mountains in South Kordofan. A variety (Birgid) was spoken (at least until 1970) north of Nyala in Darfur but is now extinct. Old Nubian was used in mostly religious texts dating from the 8th and 9th centuries AD. It is considered ancestral to modern day Nobiin.
History
In ancient times the region was controlled by Kush, a kingdom closely associated with Ancient Egypt, and occasionally conquered by their more powerful northern neighbours. Kush adopted many Egyptian practices such as their religion and the practice of building pyramids. The kingdom of Kush survived longer than that of Egypt and was never annexed by the Romans. The Kushites did trade with the Romans, and were also a source of mercenaries.
At some point, likley around the turn of the millennium, Kush was conquered by the Noba people, from which the name Nubia derives. The Romans thus refered to the area as the Nobatae.
Around 350 AD the area was invaded by the Ethiopian kingdom of Axum and the kingdom collpased. Eventually three smaller kingdoms replaced it: northernmost was Nobatia between the first and second cataract of the Nile River, with its capital at Pachoras (modern day Faras); in the middle was Makuria, with its capital at (Old) Dongola; and southernmost was Aloda, with its capital at Soba (near Khartoum). King Silko of Nobatia crushed the Blemmyes, and recorded his victory in a Greek inscription carved in the wall of the temple of Talmis (modern Kalabsha) around AD 500.
While bishop Athanasius of Alexandria consecrated one Marcus as bishop of Philae before his death in 373, showing that Christianity had penetrated the region by the fourth century, John of Ephesus records that a Monophysite priest named Julian converted the king and his nobles of Nobatia around 545. John of Ephesus also writes that the kingdom of Alodia was converted around 569. However, John of Bisclorum records that the kingdom of Makuria was converted to Roman Catholicism the same year, suggesting that John of Ephesus might be mistaken. Further doubt is cast on John's testimony by an entry in the chronicle of the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria Eutychius, which states that in 719 the church of Nubia transferred its allegiance from the Greek Orthodox to the Coptic Church.
By the 7th century Makuria expanded becoming the dominant power in the region. It was strong enough to halt the southern expansion of Islam after the Arabs had taken Egypt. After several failed invasions the new rulers agreed to a treaty with Dogomba allowing for peaceful coexistence and trade. This treaty held for six hundred years. Over time the influx of Arab traders introduced Islam to Nubia and it gradually suplanted Christianity. While there are records of a bishop at Qasr Ibrim in 1372, his see had come to include that located at Faras. It is also clear that the "Royal" church at Dongola had been converted to a mosque around 1350.
In the 14th century the Dongolan government collpased and the region became divided and dominated by Egypt. The next centuries would see several invasions of the region, as well as the establishment of a number of smaller kingdoms. Northern Nubia was brought under Egyptian control and the rest of the region was annexed by Mehemet Ali in the early nineteenth century, and later became a joint Anglo-Egyptian condominium.
With the end of colonialism Nubia was divided between Egypt and Sudan.
Many Egyptian Nubians were forcibly resettled to make room for Lake Nasser after the construction of the dams at Aswan. Nubian villages can now be found north of Aswan on the west bank of the Nile and on Elephantine Island, and many Nubians live in large cities such as Cairo.