Nubia was an ancient civilization located along the Nile River in present-day Sudan that existed from around 2000 BC to 350 AD. The Nubians established a powerful kingdom and traded extensively with neighboring civilizations like Egypt. They had advanced cultures with artistic styles influenced by Egypt featuring depictions of rulers, religious scenes, and daily life. Religion played an important role in Nubian society, incorporating Egyptian gods while also worshipping their own like Apedemak. Over time, outside influences like Christianity and Islam were adopted by the Nubian people.

1. ANCIENT
NUBIA
THE OTHER EGYPT

2. Q: What is Nubia?
A: Nubia was once the center of the ancient world. They
manufactured an abundance of goods and traded with
civilizations all around them.
Q: When did the Nubians live?
A: The Nubians lived for more than 2000 years. From
around 2000 B.C. to 350 A.D., Nubia established itself as
a powefull kingdom.
Q: Who are the Nubians?
A: The Nubian’s were also known as the Kushites and
lived in the Kingdom of Kush. They became one of the
most powerful civilizations in Africa.
Q: Where is Nubia located?
A: Nubia is located south of Egypt along the Nile River. It
is present day Sudan.

3. Ramses was one of Egypt’s greatest
pharoahs. Once he died, Egypt
entered a strict decline and began to
lose power. With Egypt out of the
way, Nubia, its neighboring
civilization to the south, began to
gain power and expand. Through the
Nubian kings, Nubia became a
dominant civilization in Africa.

4. • King Piankhi
– He was king of Nubia from 747-716 B.C.
– After Conquering all of Egypt from the Libyan’s ,
he ruled Nubia and Egypt until his death.
– He was Portrayed as a peaceful king
• Liked to make treaties instead of going to war
– King Piankhi was buried in an Egyptian style
pyramid in El-Kurru
• King Shabaka
– ruled from 716-702 B.C.
– Golden age of ruling Egypt
King Shabaka (716702 B.C.)
• He built new temples and made additions to old ones.
• Appointed his son, Horemakhet as the Priest of Amun in
Thebes

5. • King Tarahaq
– Ruled from 690- 664 B.C.
– Greatest builder of Nubian kings
• Expanded on temples in every important city.
– Capital in Napata
• Tarahaq made Napata into a glorious city.
He built pyramids, temples,and beautiful
monuments
• Assyrian’s Invade
King Tarahaq
– King Esarhaddon
• Angered over Nubian interference with his territories.
• Attacks Egypt and conquers it from Nubian’s
– Assyrian’s appoint Psammetikhos as king of Egypt

6. • Psammetikhos I
– After being appointed king of Egypt by the
Assyrians, Psammetikhos marries an Ethiopian
woman
– Shortly after taking the throne, the Assyrians
suffer problems within their own government,
giving Psammetikhos a chance to seize the throne
from the Assyrians.
• Kushites
– Began living in Nubia after the Assyrian’s
conquered Egypt from the Nubians
– Threatened to attack King Psammetikhos in Egypt
• 275 B.C.
– Psammetikhos attacks Kushites forcing them to retreat to
Meroe

7. • Meroe
– Kushites lived here from
275 B.C.- 350 A.D
• located south of Egypt near the
Red Sea
– Natural Resources
• Fertile soil
• Significant Rainfall
• Copious amounts of iron
– With abundant resources
Meroe became a major
Manufacturing City
• They transported goods to the Red
Sea where they would be traded with
India, Arabia, and many more countries

8. • Meroe (continued…)
– In exchange for their goods, the Kushites received
jewelry, cotton cloth, silver, and glass.
– Life Style
• The Kushite kings lived a lifestyle of pharaoh
– Beautiful palaces
– Buried in stone pyramids
– King Natekamani
• Ruled from 12 B.C. to 20 A.D.
• Greatest Nubian king of Meroe
– Built beautiful temples and pyramids
– Expanded kingdom to the Ethiopian Foothills in the south
and the First Cataract in the north

9. • The End of Meroe
– Iron and Agriculture industries decline
• Over farming unfertilized the land and made it impossible
to farm
• To make the Iron, trees where needed for charcoal
– They cut down more trees then were able to grow back
• Without these crucial Industries, the Kushites could not
support their kingdom
– Kingdom of Aksum
• Meroe neighbors to the southeast
– 350 A.D.
» Aksum invaded Meroe and captured their seaports and
ended the Meroe Kingdom

10. ANCIENT NUBIAN CULTURE
The Ancient Nubians believed highly in their culture
to help establish their civilization. Like Ancient Egypt,
their neighbor along the Nile River, the Nubian way of
life was based strongly on their religion (an important
part of a civilization’s culture). To represent their strong
beliefs, art and architecture (other main aspects of
culture) played a large part in expressing their views on
religion. This made culture very important for the
development of Ancient Nubia. The cultures of both
Egypt and Nubia also influenced one another over
periods of time.

11. ANCIENT NUBIAN CULTURE:
ARTS & ARCHITECTURE
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•
•
•
THE ART OF ANCIENT NUBIA
Most of the carvings, paintings and pottery of Ancient Nubia was greatly influenced in
the style of the Ancient Egyptians. Most often, artists found inspiration in the scenes of
everyday life, as well as historical events and histories of their rulers. Many scenes of
harvest gatherings, religious ceremonies, and decrees by the kings are found depicted on
Nubian pottery and temple walls. The Nile River was referred to most often in paintings
as well.
Vessels were made of ceramic clay during the earlier periods in Nubian history, and later,
bronze, ivory and alabaster were used as well.
Both Egyptian and Nubian artists used grid systems to calculate the sizes and
characteristics of their murals. The positions and actions of the figures portrayed had to be
in line with the perimeter of the walls. This is the reason why the figures in murals seem to
have a “straight” position to them.
• NUBIAN ARCHITECTURE
• Like the Ancient Egyptians, Nubians built pyramids to house deceased royalty. The
construction of their pyramids, however, differed in shape and material. The idea of
pyramid building was adapted by the Kushite Rulers Kashta and Piy in the 8th Century
B.C., and afterward, more than 200 pyramids have been discovered in Nubia.
• During the Old and New Kingdoms, Pharaohs of Egypt left behind grand monuments
and statues in Nubia, such as the statues of Abu Simbel built to honor Pharaoh Rameses II.

12. ANCIENT NUBIAN CULTURE:
ARTS & ARCHITECTURE (continued)
Left: The monument of Abu
Simbel at Nubia, built to honor
Rameses II.
Right: An early Nubian ceramic pot with
a simple design of African wildlife. Their
pottery would later advance to depict
scenes of events and everyday life, like
the Egyptians.

13. ANCIENT NUBIAN CULTURE:
RELIGION
• The Ancient Nubians shared many common religious ideals with that of
their neighbors, the Egyptians. Both religions referred to many of the
same gods and goddesses.
• EGYPT’S RELIGIOUS INFLUENCE
• The Nubians worshipped the “universal” gods of Egypt, the more
common among the near regions to Egypt and even commonly known
to the world today. These deities included Horus, Hathor, Anubis, Bastet,
Geb and Nut, Isis, Osiris, Thoth, Set, and the most common of all, Ra (of
the sun).
• Many deities popularly known as Egyptian actually originated from
Nubian religion, such as the war goddess Sekhmet. In the Old Kingdom of
Ancient Egypt, it is believed by many archaeologists and scholars that
Upper Egypt was located in Nubia before it expanded to the north. The
founder of the first united dynasty in Egypt, Pharaoh Narmer, was even
believed to have been born in Tini, a town in Nubia. This is the reason for
the similarities in Nubian and Egyptian culture.
• The Nubians also believed in ba and ka, the spiritual parts of a being
believed by the Egyptians to have travelled to the underworld when a
person died. Ka represented physical qualities of a being, while ba
represented the non-physical characteristics, such as personality. The
Nubians represented ba by statues of winged figures.

14. Ancient Nubian Culture: Religion (Continued…)
•THE GODS OF NUBIA
•As well as worshipping the Egyptian gods, the Nubians were the
founders of many other gods that they alone paid reverence to:
•Apedemak: the lion-god and “Lord of Royal Power”. This deity
symbolized the royal throne of Nubia. It is also possible the Egyptian
lion-goddess Sekhmet was derived from Apedemak.
•Mandulis: referred to as a high god, even to the point of challenging
the authority of Ra, Osiris and Amon of Egypt during the Roman
Empire’s hold over Egypt in 1st Century B.C.
•Sebiumeker: the god of procreation, believed to have been the
original form of the Egyptian Atum, the prime creator god.
•RELIGIOUS PRACTICES
•The Nubians pressed religion as a dire part of everyday living.
Daily prayers were mandatory , to the extent of banishment if a
member of society did not pray to the gods.
•Often, religious figures were worn as part of Nubian attire, such as
on a headdress or piece of jewelry.

15. ANCIENT NUBIAN CULTURE:
RELIGION (continued)
•
•
TEMPLES OF WORSHIP
The Nubians built many religious temples
similarly constructed as that of the Egyptian
pyramids, where high priests would pay tribute
to their gods. Certain high gods, such as
Apedemak, received temples dedicated only to
them.
•
•
A RELIGIOUS TURNINGPOINT
At around 8th Century A.D., powerful Christian
kingdoms conquered Nubia, and eventually
the civilization’s religion converted from a
polytheistic one to the monotheistic religion of
Christianity.
In the mid 14th Century, the Nubian religion was
once again converted, to the religion of Islam
when the Juhayna Arabs conquered the
Christian kingdom in Nubia. Nubians also
adopted the Arab language.
•
Above: A temple located in the
city of Meroe, dedicated to the
god Apedemak.
Right: A Nubian
statue representing
the ba of a person’s
spirit, believed to have
lived on after the
physical being died.

16. ANCIENT NUBIAN CULTURE:
COMMON CUSTOMS & TRADITIONS
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•
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•
•
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•
•
Ancient Nubian traditions were sacred to the culture. Today, these customs are still carried
out among Nubian people, just as they were thousands of years ago.
NUBIAN MARRIAGE TRADITIONS
Nubian men and women often married during childhood, and like the Egyptians, they
intermarried with family members (usually cousins).
Nubian wedding ceremonies consisted of many rituals, so much that the ceremonies would
last up to 40 days. It was traditional that the man would present gifts to his wife and her
family members during the ceremony. The Nubians would celebrate by adorning
themselves in heavy beaded jewelry and colorful silk robes.
THE CUSTOMS OF THE PEOPLE
The trait of honesty was, and still is, sacred to the people of Nubia. Such a factor ties into
performing only good deeds as a way of having reverential regard toward the gods (which
was mandatory for all Nubians).
Nubian social status depended on how much land and cattle a man owned. Those of noble
blood, as well, had high social status. Royals were the highest of classes, and during the Old
Kingdom of Egypt when Pharaohs had control over Nubia, kings were considered demigods.
Nubian commoners wore simple garments, often colorful and wrapped around the body
several times. Royals wore kilts and lion skin during the Old Kingdom. Nubian women wore
multiple pieces of jewelry, usually two necklaces at once and large dangling earrings. All
social classes wore gold, because of its abundance.

17. ANCIENT NUBIAN CULTURE:
•
•
•
•
•
THE INFLUENCE OF EGYPT
CULTURAL DIFFUSION
When the Old Kingdom’s pharaohs first ruled over Nubia, the traditional factors of Nubian
culture would later spread when the Pharaoh Narmer brought over his knowledge of
Nubian culture into the newly-united Egypt. Egypt later conquered Nubia once again
during the late New Kingdom, and their cultures diffused.
Both regions had similar artistic visions. Their paintings told stories of the work along the
Nile, of banquets and celebrations of their royals, and of everyday life for commoners. Their
architecture suggests they had similar skills in building, and used much of the same material
such as mud-bricks.
NUBIAN AFFECTS ON EGYPT
Visual evidence can suggest that Egypt was greatly inspired at one point by their Nubian
neighbors. Egyptian murals depict the life of the Nubians as seen through their eyes, giving a
clearer picture to how similar their working skills, attire, and religions were.
The picture on the left is a
depiction of a Nubian festival.
The picture on the right is a
mural of an Egyptian
banquet. The murals bear
similar artistic styles and the
events portray similar aspects
of the culture, such as
providing tribute to the royals.

18. Women of nubia
Nubia was not only a advanced civilization
that can rival their neighbor, Egypt in many
aspects, it was also a civilization where
women were treasured, and held on a higher
status then the women of other civilization of
the same time period. One example to show
they were sacred, was how women were
thought to have mothered legendary gods.

19. Nubian Queens and Role of
Everyday
• There was an unexpected number of Nubian ruling
queens, especially in the time period of the golden age
of Meroitic kingdom.
• Nubian Queens are called Kentakes.
• Kentakes were portrayed as warrior queens, and
would fight in order to protect their own empire.
• It is believed that, Alexander the Great tried to
make Kush-Meroitic his, but failed to do so, because of
a warrior queen called Candace of Amanirenas of Meroe.
She was the wife of King Teriteqas, and later succeeded
him when he passed away. The Kentake fought in the
war against Rome, and lost an eye in the process. Afterwards she was
immortalized in statues, pottery, and art, just like many other queens
were.
• The common women of Nubia also had another social class, the
priestess. The priestess was the head of the religious cult, and had
male servants tend to her service.

20. The Ancient Nubian Army
After the death of Ramses, the Ancient Egyptians’ powers
began to decrease, the military power of Nubia increased.
Eventually, the Nubians took over Egypt, and became the 25th
dynasty. The armies were headed by kings, as well as queens.
They began a conquest to rebuild the lost glory of the
Egyptians. The Nubians occupied Egypt for about 100 years
from 760 to 664 B.C until they were force to retreat back to
Meroe by the Assyrians.

21. Nubian Army
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•
•
•
•
In the 8th century, under the command of Kushite king Piye, the
Nubians managed to conquer whole Egypt, therefore becoming its 25th
dynasty.
Piye (Piankhi), after capturing the cities of Memphis and Herakleopolis,
the Egyptian king at that time, Tefnakht fled to an island after 5 months
of battling.
The Nubian army evolved after their new gain. They now had the
advantage of Nubian archers.
After almost 100 years of ruling Egypt, the Nubians were forced to
retreat back to Meroe.
The Nubians last fight over Egypt with the Assyrians was headed by
probably the most prominent king, Taharqa. He was the son of Piye,
and reigned for about 26 years. In his 17th year of ruling Egypt, the
Assyrians attacked, but were defeated by Taharqa. About 3 years later,
the Assyrian king captured the city of Memphis, and along with it, many
royal family members. Taharqa then fled back to Nubia, and
experienced a golden age there, after he died.

22. Government
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•
•
•
•
The Nubian Empire was ruled by complete monarchy. The
king’s home was located in southern Nubia, therefore ruling
directly there.
Kings of ancient Nubia had 3 jobs: the political leader, the
spiritual head and the military warlord.
Both upper and lower Nubia had a governor who helped the
king organize the empire. Each government would report to the
federal official called the “peker”. The peker would pass on
information to the king and the queen from the governors.
Even though there were kings, there were also jobs such as
the Minister of Treasury, these lower ranking officials also had
powers, they acted like a “check and balance” system. These
check and balance systems were often in vain, because the
kings would always figure a way out to surpass the “congress”
in power.
It was also forbidden to have a king not related to his
predecessor.

23. Golden Age
The Golden Age of the Meroitic kingdom was the
center of attention for the ancient world. It was a
flourishing time for the Nubians. They traded with
Asia, and was already in the iron age. They traded
with many countries and eventually led to the
conquering of Lake Chad. (700-300 B.C)

24. Golden Age (cont…)
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•
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After being forced out of Egypt, the Nubians became excellent iron
miners. They also began to enhance their trading, resulting in
international trades with civilizations such as ancient China, and ancient
India.
They also gained more knowledge in literature, such as the alphabet.
They first used the Egyptian hieroglyphics and eventually used that to
make their own alphabet of 23 letters.
Even though they practiced Egyptian customs, and culture, they also
developed their own religion.
Nubians were excellent craftsmen, meaning they were excellent at
making jewelry and were great blacksmiths.
Their exports consisted of cotton, jewelry and pure gold.
The most important achievement during this period was probably the
gain of Lake Chad and its surrounding land. Lake Chad provides water
to about 20,000 people. It was also very rich in silt, meaning the land
around was very fertile, and was abundant in crops.
As a result of Egyptian Influence, Nubians also built many pyramids.
These pyramids were different, shape and size wise. They were
smaller, and the top was mostly flat.

25. Bibliography
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•
Kneller , Tara L. "The Role of Women in Nubia." September 4, 1993 25
Nov 2008 <http://wysinger.homestead.com/nubianwomen.html>
multiple. "The Armed Forces." (2000) 25 Nov 2008
<http://nefertiti.iwebland.com/timelines/topics/army.htm>.
History of Mankind, by Friedrich Ratzel, translated from the second
German edition by
A. J. Butler, with an introduction by E. B. Tylor.
Publisher: New York: Macmillan, 1896-1898.
"Ancient Nubia." Ending Stereotypes for America.
http://endingstereotypesforamerica.org. 25 Nov 2008
<http://endingstereotypesforamerica.org/ancient_nubia.html>.
"Ancient Nubian Pyramids." wysinger.homestead.com. November 25,
2008 . http://endingstereotypesforamerica.org. 25 Nov 2008
<http://wysinger.homestead.com/nubian105.html>.
"Ancient Nubia." Looklex Encyclopaedia. May 12, 2005. Oriental
Institute. 25 Nov 2008 <http://i-cias.com/e.o/nubia.htm>.

26. Bibliography
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http://wysinger.homestead.com/mapofnubia.html
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C00E5D71
http://students.missouri.edu/~sa-en-ra/nubia.html
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE2D91
http://www.anth.ucsb.edu/faculty/stsmith/research/nubia_history
"Ancient Nubia." Looklex Encyclopaedia. May 12, 2005. Oriental
Institute. 25 Nov 2008 <http://i-cias.com/e.o/nubia.htm>.

27. ANCIENT NUBIAN CULTURE:
BIBILIOGRAPHY
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Information:
http://www.anth.ucsb.edu/faculty/stsmith/research/nubia_history.html
http://www.cartage.org.lb/en/themes/geoghist/histories/oldcivilization/egyptology/Nubi
a/main.htm
http://i-cias.com/e.o/nubia.htm
http://www.museum.upenn.edu/new/exhibits/online_exhibits/egypt/nubiagallery.shtml
http://students.missouri.edu/~sa-en-ra/nubia.html
http://www.utexas.edu/courses/wilson/ant304/projects/projects97/laurenzop/nubia2.ht
m
Pictures:
(all of the above too)
http://www.affordablehousinginstitute.org/blogs/us/Abu_simbel_temple.jpg
http://www.umich.edu/~kelseydb/Exhibits/AncientNubia/Artifacts.html
http://wysinger.homestead.com/tombofhuy.html
Books:
Baines, John, and Malek, Jaromir. The Cultural Atlas of Ancient Egypt.
N.p.: 2000, 178-187, 188-197