Nubia

Nubia ( Assyrian Meluhha ) is the area on both sides of the Nile south of the first Nilkatarakts at Aswan in Egypt. The southern border of Sudan is set differently on the big Nilbogen south of Old Dongola and the 5th cataract or to Khartoum south of the sixth cataract. The geographical name Nubia coincides with the historic kingdom of Kush.

• 2.1 prehistory
• 2.2 The Kingdom of Kush Napata and Meroe 2.2.1
• 2.2.2 pyramids

• 2.3.1 Christian kingdoms
• 2.3.2 Islamization
• 2.3.3 remains of churches

• 2.4.1 Nubia in the 19th century
• 2.4.2 Nubia in the 20th century
• 2.4.3 Current situation

General situation

Name

The derivation of the name from the Egyptian word " nebulous " in Transcription: nb.w ( nab W ) and Coptic " nub " - Gold is controversial. In the Old Kingdom the name Ta - seti stand for both the sandy arc land of Nubia as well as for the conquered Nubia first nome of Upper Egypt, stretched from northern Gebel es - Silsila at Kom Ombo to the first cataract of the Nile. Good testified mentions were in the " world chamber of the sun sanctuary " of Niuserre ( 2455-2420 BC). The Nubian Ta - seti was considered a mysterious destination and origin region of migratory birds, fish and other animal species. Since the Middle Kingdom Nubia was called next to Ta - seti as Iuntiu - Seti, Nehset, Ta ​​Nehsi, Kesh or Kasch.

Location

The geographic definition depends on the independent political and cultural unity of Egypt, which was created by the Kushite kingdom and the AD to the fall of the Meroitic rule in the 5th century BC remained. In the East, Nubia extends over the Nubian desert to the Red Sea, in the West Region ends undefined in the Libyan desert. As southern border of 18 ° latitude is assumed at the 5th cataract, because here on the west of the Nile turns between the earlier natural border of the 4th cataract in Karima and Dongola Old from its southwest flow direction in a large arc to the north. This definition of the southern boundary was adopted by UNESCO in its overview to save the Nubian monuments.

The area between the first and second cataract is now almost entirely (up to a few kilometers north of Wadi Halfa ) to Egypt and is referred to as Nubia. The subsequent south part is called Upper Nubia in Sudan. From the reign of Ptolemy IV (reigned 180-145 BC) in Egypt, the border with Nubia to the south of the first cataract Dodekaschoinos ( "Twelve miles of land " ) was called. It ended 126 kilometers from Aswan, just north of Sayala. In written around 150 AD Geographike Hyphegesis of Claudius Ptolemy, a Triakontaschoinos ( "Thirty miles of land " ) is mentioned, as the Twelve miles of land probably extended to the second cataract on.

Nubia forms the interface between the more the Mediterranean attributable Egypt and Black Africa. This was true in the past as well as today.

Population

The Noba were an ancient, limited gleichzusetzendes with today's Nubians nomadic people. Thus Nubia corresponds geographically to the Middle Nile Region. This equation is represented by László Török and the majority of archaeologists. The definition of the northern boundary of Nubia to the 24th degree of latitude at the southern border of Nubia and Aswan on the 18th latitude in Khartoum take into account the extent of the Nubian -speaking ethnic group of the Noba to the 16th century.

History

Prehistory

The prehistory of Nubia (especially Nubia ) is divided into individual cultural groups are represented as letters.

• The A- group corresponds to the late prehistoric Egypt and the Egyptian Old Kingdom until about the 4th dynasty (ca. 3500-2400 BC)
• The former adopted B group does not exist, according to recent studies. In Upper Nubia had the Kerma culture, which was strongly related ( around 3500 BC ) to the A- group in its infancy.
• The C group existed at the time of the Egyptian late Old and Middle Kingdom in Nubia; in the 12th Dynasty Nubia was up to the second cataract of the Nile gradually conquered by Egypt (ca. 2100-1750 BC).

In Upper Nubia near the third cataract of the Nile developed from the Kerma culture, the Kingdom of Kerma, which represents the earliest known black African state. After the end of the Egyptian Middle Kingdom (c. 1750 BC) conquered the rulers of Kerma Nubia to the border of the Egyptian heartland and were even able to penetrate as far as Egypt in individual campaigns. Around 1500 BC, the pharaohs of the Egyptian New Kingdom destroyed the kingdom of Kerma and conquered Nubia until the 5th cataract of the Nile. The Nubian peoples were largely assimilated culturally. The Egyptian occupation lasted until about 1000 BC.

The kingdom of Kush

Napata and Meroe

To 750 BC ( possibly as early as 1000 BC ) founded Nubian princes in the area of Karima a State which took over the ancient Egyptian name Kush and rapidly expanded. To 700 BC Egypt was conquered. The Nubian kings ruled as the 25th dynasty of Egypt. To 660 BC Egypt became an Assyrian help with the independence of Nubia, but the Kushite royal house, there was still south of Egypt. The seat of government was in the city of Napata at today's Karima. Around 300 BC the capital was moved to Meroe north of Khartoum. During this time, the cultural reference to Egypt is becoming more and more abandoned, which manifests itself among other things in the development of their own writing and the use of the Meroitic language in official texts. At the latest by 300 broke the kingdom of Kush together, if necessary. Due to an environmental disaster or a military defeat by the Ethiopian kingdom of Axum

Pyramids

From the time of the 25th dynasty and the Meroitic Empire napatanisch - witness in Sudan today especially numerous pyramids; the oldest built in Sudan pyramid is probably that of the Nubian pharaoh Piye in the cemetery of al - Kurru. Model were probably not the Egyptian royal pyramids of the Old and Middle Kingdoms, but the much younger Egyptian Pyramids Private especially the Theban area. This is supported by both the steep angle of inclination of the Nubian pyramids as well as the fact that they, like the Egyptian pyramids Private of the New Kingdom, are much more closely built together as the Egyptian Tombs. In addition, the shape of the pyramid grave in Nubia was not reserved for royalty, but also wealthy individuals who could be buried in pyramids, which can stand in the tradition of the Egyptian pyramids, the Nubian pyramids also private. The steep inclination angle probably also had constructive reasons: A Ritz drawing from the ruins of Meroe, near the village Begrawija, shows a shadoof (a type of crane) as a build tool. The length of the jib crane, this limited the side length of the pyramid. In Nubia about 200 pyramids have been found; relating in Sudan more than pyramids in Egypt. This is mainly because that in Egypt a few private pyramids of the New Kingdom have been preserved until today.

In the fourth century AD, the Meroitic kingdom in various smaller principalities or kingdoms seem to be falling apart. In cultural terms, these small kingdoms, the continuation of Meroe dar.

The medieval Nubia

Christian kingdoms

In the 6th century, Nubia was Christianized. There were the kingdoms of Nobatia, Makuria and Alwa (sometimes also called " Alodia ") and a larger number of dioceses with bishops, clergy, cathedrals and monasteries. During this time the Nubian comes as a written language in use in the Middle Ages in Coptic letters with some modifications. However, the main language of Christian liturgy in Nubia remained Greek. Ecclesiastical - denominational included the Nubian dioceses to Patriarchate of Alexandria of the Copts.

Islamization

As a result of Arab immigration from Egypt, the Christian kingdoms of Nubia were gradually shattered. A crucial turning point was the rededication of the Cathedral of Dongola in a mosque in 1317 AD In the 16th century, Nubia was formally under Islamic rule. However, the Nubian language remained in use, besides which as a national lingua franca increasingly penetrating Arabic.

Remains of churches

Many church ruins were found from the Christian era in Nubia today. The Nubian churches often had an approximately square or cruciform floor plan and were occasionally very small. Some suggest that they served only as a home for the liturgy of the clergy as well as a sort of sacristy; the actual church services were held at the church in an open field. The most famous works of art from the Christian Nubia are the church frescoes of the Cathedral of Faras.

Modern Times

Nubia in the 19th century

In 1821, conquered the Egyptians, equipped with modern European weapons, again Nubia and parts of the south adjacent thereto White Nile. With Egypt at this time was indeed de facto independent, but still officially a province of the Ottoman Empire, was the conquest of Nubia in its name. Therefore, this period is usually referred to in modern Sudan as Turkiya.

1882 brought the Sudanese Arabs under the leadership of Muhammad Ahmad's against Egyptian rule and conquered Khartoum. Ahmad Muhammad saw himself as sent by God Mahdi, a kind of Messiah figure, which is why this survey is also known as the Mahdi uprising.

During the conquest of Khartoum came under other the governor of Sudan, the related de facto Egyptian (de jure Turkish ) services British General Charles Gordon, in the fighting life. Several guided by British officers Egyptian armies were defeated, among others, commanded by General William Hicks Anglo - Egyptian expeditionary force.

1898 conquered British troops back under the command of Horatio Kitchener of Egypt from Nubia and defeated the Mahdists at the Battle of Omdurman in Khartoum. To cope with the logistics of this campaign, the first railway line was built in Nubia along the Nile.

Sudan and thus Nubia came in the aftermath nominally under joint British - Egyptian rule ( condominium ); since the British but also exerted a decisive influence in Egypt itself, Sudan was de facto British colony. John Grenfell Maxwell in 1897 governor of Nubia.

Nubia in the 20th century

In 1955 a referendum on the connection to Egypt, which was negative. Then, Sudan was granted independence in 1956. The border with Egypt was set at Wadi Halfa; Nubia was thus divided between two states. In the 1960s ( Sadd al-' Alī ) was from Egypt, the Aswan High Dam planned and built, which should exceed the capacity of the older, still built by the British in the Aswan High Dam by far. 1971, the High Dam was completed. In the following period almost entirely from the resulting Lake Nasser Nubia, its southern part is called Lake Nubia was flooded. In an unprecedented rescue operation continued, the international community under the auspices of Unesco numerous cultural monuments in higher altitude regions around; unternubische the population was largely relocated to the southern part of Upper Egypt, where thus emerged in the otherwise continuous Arabic-speaking Egypt Nubian language islands.

Current situation

With Chinese assistance, the Government of Sudan in Dar al - Manasir had built the Merowe Dam on the fourth cataract. The commissioning took place in spring 2009.

The Nubian population is largely Arabized both in Egypt and in the Sudan. In addition, however Nubian is still alive as their mother tongue. It is written in Arabic script.