Nubian Kingdoms

Russann, Edna. Nubian Kingdoms. 1998. 64p. ISBN 0-531-20283-6. Available on the library shelves at 939 RUS.

As the Egyptian state first unified and began its southern expansion in the 3000s BCE, it encountered the Nubians. Located south of the first cataract, the Nubians controlled access to the southern reaches of the continent and traded resources such as gold, ivory, and elephants. The Egyptians coveted these resources and launched many incursions into the southern interior.

The fortunes of Nubia, as the region was called, were intricately tied to those of Egypt. As Egyptian power rose, Nubia’s fell, but as the Egyptian state ebbed, the various Nubian kingdoms expanded into Egypt. This relationship would continue for nearly 2,400 hundred years, until the Roman conquest of Egypt allowed the Nubian kingdom of Meroë to thrive. Eventually the country converted to Christianity, before converting again 500 years later to Islam.

A powerful kingdom in its own right, Nubia eventually became part of Egypt and of Sudan. Readers interested in the past will appreciate the exotic nature of Nubia and its unfamiliar history.