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History
Neolithic
Thousands
of years ago, seasonal lakes and savanna made central Sudan
a rich environment supporting a large population ranging across
what is now barren desert, like the Wadi el-Qa'ab. By the
middle of the 5th millennium BC, Nubia's Neolithic
peoples were full participants in the "agricultural revolution,"
living a settled lifestyle with domesticated plants and animals.
Rock art of cattle and herdsmen found during our expedition
suggests the presence of a cattle cult like those found in
the Sudan and other parts of Africa today.
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Recording rock art at Akkad |
Rock art of hunters and cattle at Akkad |
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Kerma
The Kerma culture evolved out of
the Neolithic around 2400 BC. The Kushite rulers of Kerma
profited from the trading such luxury goods as gold, ivory,
ebony, incense, and even live animals to the Egyptian Pharaohs.
By 1650 BC, Kerma had become a densely occupied urban center
overseeing a centralized state stretching from at least the
1st Cataract to the 4th, rivaling ancient Egypt.
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New Kingdom Egyptian Colony
In 1500 BC, Egypt conquered all of Nubia, forging a great
empire that stretched all the way from the Euphrates in Syria
to the 5th Cataract of the Nile. For over 500 years, Egypt's
wealth made the Pharaohs of the New Kingdom, like Tutankhamun,
the most powerful rulers on the face of the earth. They built
huge monuments throughout Egypt and Nubia, such as the famous
temple of Abu Simbel.
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Napatan / Meroitic
The Nubian Pharaohs of Meroë and Napata portrayed themselves
as the saviors of Egyptian culture in a decadent age. They
adopted all the regalia and titles of Egyptian Pharaohs, and
revived pyramid tombs, such as these at the Nubian royal cemetery
at Meroë.
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The Nubian Royal Cemetery
at Meroë |
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Temple at Naga dedicated
to Apademak, the most important Meroitic deity. |
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An Iron Age quarry at
Akkad. The marks visible in the image at right are cuts
where iron wedges were inserted to shear the block away
from the stone. |
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"Having traversed this part in forty days as I have
said, you take a boat again and so travel for twelve days
until you come to a great city called Meroë, which
is said to be the capital of all Ethiopia." - Herodotus
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Christian
A series of powerful Christian
kingdoms in Nubia resisted Arab conquest and conversion to
Islam for 700 years after the
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Islamic
With the assistance of the Mamluk rulers of Egypt, the Kingdom
of Makuria fell to the Juhayna Arabs through a combination
of conquest and intermarriage in the mid 14th century. Nubia
quickly adopted the Arabic language and the religion of Islam.
The Dongola Reach soon came under the sway of the far-flung
Funj kingdom, or al-Saltana al-Zarqa (the Black Sultanate).
The "Forty Days' Road" described by Herodotus was
known in this time as the "Darb al-Arba'in", and
was a major trade route between Nubia and Egypt.
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Qasr (fort) at Wad Nimeri |
Qasr at el-Qa'ab, in the Sahara
- the view of Wadi el-Qa'ab at the top of the page is
from the top of this fort. |
Islamic qubba (tomb) |
Camel caravan, like those that traveled
the Darb al-Arba'in |
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Ottoman, Mahdist, Anglo-Egyptian,
Republic
Mohamed Ali Pasha, Ottoman Turkish ruler of Egypt, conquered
Sudan in 1821, but the Mahdi overthrew the Egyptian colonial
government in 1881. Sudan enjoyed a brief period of independence
under him and his successor the Khalifa Abdallahi. British
General Lord Kitchener defeated the Mahdist army led by the
Khalifa in 1898 at the Battle of Omdurman, bringing Sudan
under Anglo-Egyptian colonial rule until it gained independence
from Egypt in 1956.
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