Anonymous Reviewer: I just love the area!! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This part of the world has always been my favorite since people began moving towards the Nile 7000 years ago, and Nubia appears a few thousand after that. I’ve always thought the anthropological history of Sudan and southern Egypt was ignored too much by archaeologists, so I’m very glad they have begun learning more about the history of the region. I just can’t believe that for hundreds of years archaeologists ignored the plethora of cities, temples, and artifacts that have been unearthed, all because they thought Africans farther south were incapable of forming a culture like Egypt. Honestly, the fact that this thriving civilization was ignored is appalling to me and I think the separation of Egypt from the rest of Africa is terrible. Egypt has long been recognized as one of the first civilizations but has always been thought of as separate from Africa. Since civilization couldn’t have started with black people, according to racist archaeologists and pretty much everyone else, and because Egypt is one of the earliest civilizations, Egyptians couldn’t have been black/African. This separation allows the perpetuation of those racist ideas and I think should be totally erased from the archaeological record. Fortunately, these ideas have come under fire and I’m glad to see some attention being diverted from Egypt to studies of other African regions. Apparently, because Nubia was the center of trade for all of lower Africa, they were quite wealthy. I’d love to see some of the things they traded in, like spices, gold, ivory, and animal pelts. Since they were traded to Egypt and Europe, maybe I’ll get to see some on my next trip.
Anonymous Reviewer: I liked the Kerma period, why did they change. ⭐⭐⭐
I don’t know about everybody else, but out of the three major periods of Nubia civilization, I liked the Kerma period the best and I’m a little sad they changed. For the first 1000 years after Egypt first identified Nubia and labeled it the Kingdom of Kush, they lived very simply and focused on agriculture, plus this was when they had the most land and the least conflict. Even the capital, Kerma, was only about 2000 people. Overall, it seemed like a very simple lifestyle and I wish they didn’t change it, the other periods aren’t nearly as nice. I also really enjoy the temples, or deffufas, that they built.
Anonymous Reviewer: Very nice place, too bad Egypt conquered them. ⭐⭐
Honestly, I think they would have been a lot better off if Egypt had left them alone and not invaded in 1500 BCE, especially when the Nubians had been doing so well for the last several centuries. They did manage to keep their capital, now called Napata, from being taken over, so while the Egyptians ruled pretty much the entire area, the Nubians weren’t totally wiped out. Egypt rose to great power during this period, which produced prominent Egyptians like Tutankhamen and works like the temple of Abu Simbel. I think this temple in particular says a lot about the power of Egypt during this period. Ramesses II, who commissioned it, literally sits among the gods inside, and the entrance is guarded by four almost 70-foot statues of him. Talk about power and divine rule, am I right? I’m still amused about Egypt getting invaded by the Nubian king Piye 700 years later and starting the 25th dynasty before being removed 75 years later. While in power, the Nubian Pharaohs even managed to influence Egyptian culture and construct several temples and monuments. I like that Piye’s son Taharqa even changed the headdress to have two cobras instead of the traditional one. He is also portrayed as a sphinx in the Sphinx of Taharqa.
Anonymous Reviewer: Meroitic is the best section of Nubian history. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Like the person above me said, I really love how Piye conquered Egypt right back, pretty funny if you think about it. Too bad it didn’t last and the Nubians retreated after Assyrians invaded. The new city they went back to, what a place. Farther south than Napata, the new capital was called Meroe. Pretty ingenious location if you ask me because it was so far from Egypt that when the Assyrians, Greeks, and Persians invaded, Meroe was left alone. Lucky for the Nubians, they still had all the resources of the old kingdom of Kush, I would have loved to see the artifacts made from expertly worked iron and gold.
Even more than that, I think the pyramids are really the best part of the Meroitic period. Yeah, bet you didn’t know Sudan had pyramids, even more than Egypt actually. I think they look even better than the Egyptian ones too, and nobody even knows about them, what a shame.
Anonymous Reviewer: I love the cultural influence of Egypt. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Totally agree with what everyone has said, I also wanted to mention how interesting the culture in this area was. The proximity of Egypt and Nubia made both of their cultures very interesting. I was fascinated by the similarities between Nubian and Egyptian culture and I think neither would have happened without the presence of the other. There is a lot of evidence of Nubians adopting some Egyptian practices and traditions, and the same with Egyptians adopting some aspects of Nubian culture. I really just don’t understand why all the tourists go to Egypt and nobody goes to Nubia. They’re so similar, but everybody goes to Egypt to stand in long lines when Nubia is right next door but nobody goes.
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My name is Jack McGrath and I am a sophomore at Colgate. I think what really motivates my interest in the topic just comes from having heard vague mentions of Nubia in various books and history classes and when I saw it on the list, I thought it would be a good opportunity for me to learn more about a place I had only heard of and knew nothing about.
