Africa in Antiquity the Arts of Ancient Nubia and Sudan v 1

8/12/2019 Africa in Antiquity the Arts of Ancient Nubia and Sudan v 1

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yidamani(Cat.121),

B.C.

athorhead(C at. 93),

hcenturyB.C.

eters,CharlesM.S tern.

hf ie ld, Eli abethR ief stahl.

.

ctrumInc.

theF a lconPress.

bytheD ivisionofPublicationsandMarketingS ervices,

asternParkway,Brooklyn,NewYork11238.

nMuseum,

ynInstituteofArts andS ciences.

maybereproduced,

,

or byanymeans,

otocopying,recording,orotherwise,

n,inwriting,

aloginginPublicationD ata

nheldattheBrooklynMuseum,

er31, 1978andotherplaces.

dinde .

uit ies A ddresses, essays, lectures.

u i ti e s A d dr e ss e s, e s sa y s, l e ct u re s .

u i ti e s A d dr e ss e s, e s sa y s, l e ct u re s .

A ddresses, essays, lectures. 5. A rt-

ss e s, e s sa y s, l e ct u re s . 6. A r t N u bi a

u d a n C a ta l og s . I. B r oo k ly n

ences.Museum.

3278-10925

umeI,paperback)

umeI,clothbound)

umeII,paperback)

umeII,clothbound)

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andtheS udan

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andtheS udan

wYork,NewYork

mber31, 1978

eattle , Washington

79

fA rt, New Orleans, Louisiana

um,TheH ague,TheNetherlands

ber11,1979

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bit ion8

opulation

ack,Nilotic

haeologicalR esearch

NewK ingdom

uringthe

ingdoms

fKush:

4

reandthe

139

slandIIbeginsonpage354 ofV olumeII.

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hibit ion

useum

B erlin,

t

llery

ery )

A r t et d H i s t o ir e

ti uit ies

seum,

epartmentof

m

,

ums

ool,

andO rienta lS tudies

ua lHistory

gA gyptischerKunst

n

e lden

tandArchaeology

a

alH istory,

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useum

e rathercommonlyheld

heciv il i a t ionsof thepastisa

Wecometok now theancient

isciplinesofart history,

gy,history,andphilology,and

,almostarcanefields.

thesesub ectsby language,

nowonder,consideringthe

erylittleaboutthe ancient

nglepersonalitywillspark

throughourindifference.But

ationsofanti uityareas

ofthe farsideofthemoon.

han inAfrica.In

ehaveassumedthatinAfrica

edto E gypt,andthat

nohistoric pastbeforethe

i teenthcentury.Butthereis

shistorictimeitself,set

hepyramidsofE gyptandthe

.Thecradle ofthisculture

eoftheBlueandW hiteNiles

ican,yetoftenboth,this

editselfina harshandunyielding

trecordedhistoryitliesat

ancientworld,thenatthe

,andthen attheedgeof the

ownprehistory,itsown

ropologicalandartistic

standsat theouteredge

soacrossroads.Itis acontact

nAfricaand,eachin its

cientGreece,AncientR ome,

nthiscanvasthat stretches

heNiletothe foothillsof

ork soutitsowndestiny

andsometimesascon uerorof

ovedbythedramatic

on It isironicthatit isbare lya

consciousness.We speak,

t ionthathadabrief f lashing

morethanfivehundredyears

reat pyramidsofE gyptand

us svoyagestotheNew

usand-yearheritage.Ifsucha

ouldbetheyear7400before

inkofthe twenty-first

e.W hatareweto thinkofthe

retous thanmyth,

gdomsofR ushandMeroe.

dknowledge,ofthegrowthof

and-yearcourseofthis

cometogripswithit, tok now itin

hepeoplew hoorgani ed

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A nti uity : TheA rtsofA ncient

ndthetwo-volumepublication

owwhowillin largemeasure

ofstudyhasevo lved, toagreat

sttwenty-fiveyears.Thearea

ndR omans,butitgradually

sciousnessduringtheMiddle

the edgeoftheChristianorbit

amicworld.Notuntil the1820s

opeanadventurersande plorers

theywere followedby

k ingk now ledgeandsometreasure in

edescribedby theancient

n,WaddingtonandH anbury,

he irtrave lsto" E thiopia , asthe

uropeans,in1822,andfour

anF redericCailliaudbroughtout

suptheNile,completewith

awingsthatarestill invaluable

e,Champollion-le- eune,the

secretof E gyptian

nR osellinipenetratedupthe

econdCataractandmadethe

ubiangeographyand

camethegreatGerman

psius,whotraveledasfarsouthas

meticulousmapsanddrawings

fic approachtothestudyof the

thelastdecadesof thenineteenth

esultofpoliticalturmoil inthe

udanwerecutofffromthe

gicalinvestigation.Aslateas

rnalistcouldca lltheSudana" landof

le.

tyinNubiain the

nundertakenonanemergency

ptiangovernmentcompletedthe

ook thef irststep a lthough

etime tow ardtheult imate

eartland.E achheighteningof

dby desperateeffortstorecord

es beforetheywerelostforever

fthe Nile.In1907,whenthe

gmentthedamforthefirst time,

stG.A.R eisnerwasaskedby

epartmenttoconductasurveyof

anditwashisinvestigationsthat

classificationoftheculturesin

watersreachedtheir newlevel,

nynationshad workedin

gwhatevertheycouldasthe

alledahalt toscientific

udan,andtheunsettled

peacebroughtwerenot

atronsofarchaeological

edays, mostof thefundscamef rom

cwasmoreinterestedin the

eingmadeelsewhere inE gypt,

neandAnatolia.Themistaken

Nubianremainsrepresented

fancientE gyptiancivili ation.

he E gyptiangovernment

anD am,didthearchaeologists

atdiscoveriesof thisdecade

ed BallanaandQ ustul,where

sE meryandK irw anfoundthe

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dation, throughMrs. J eande

chprovedtobe thebuilding

ect.ThegrantallowedMr.

a llo f thema orco llectionsof

hUnitedStates, Europe, Egypt,

nsivetwo-yearreassessmentof

atabasefromwhich theentire

rnardB othmer senergy, v ision,

kenthispro ectthroughfive

ndpreparation.W hilemany

ro ect, thediversee lementsof the

ndessaysallhaveasharpnessof

hat isduetohis overall

. Hisw ill ingnessandabil ity to

rs,toworkingwithD r.W enigon

rthecatalogue,withthe authorsof

mentoftheir work,andwith

ldastheiri deasand

ndenrichedthispro ectisa

ontributiontothef ieldofart

vertheyears.

work,additionalsupport

ankersTrustCompany,Mrs.

A . J osephson, MathiasKomor, the

obertLehmanF oundation, the late

aCorporation,Mrs.H enryL .

born, C arlL . S e lden, MissA lice

sonW allacekeptthecomple

thepro ectgo ing. Weare

hoinsuredthe propertimeand

massivean undertaking.

re thefruitfulcollaborative

ttheStaatlicheMuseenzu

ntributionofDr. S tef lenWenigto

e. Hiscata loguew illsure lybea

nthefieldfor yearstocome.W e

dgeandhis dedication.H is

thecatalogue,andhisideasand

ee hibition.Underthe

o lfgangMuller, Directoro f the

taatlicheMuseenz u

leaguesinB erlinwork edsidebyside

entofthee hibition.The

edw iththescho larlyparticipation

nzu B erlin/ DD R . B utapersona l

ventoD r. E berhardB artk e,

taatlicheMuseenzu

agueandaf riend. Withouthisdeep

fthe show,theidealof

dhisdecisivesupportinthe

ration,this e hibitionwould

softhe essayswegiveour

deasand theirworktous.By

vegreatlyincreasedthe

rtantworkinthe fieldof

deedgratefultoour colleagues,

f alloftheinstitutionsin

tatesw hohavebeenso

ob ectsandallowingtheir

on.

gyptandtheD emocratic

arethemodernnation-states

softhelandof Nubia.O ur

hehadaAdam,President,

pt i an A n ti u i ti e s D r . V i c to r G ir g is ,

io n o f E g y pt i an A n ti u i ti e s D r . D i a

enera l, Museumsof theA rab

andDr. H assanElA she iry , Director,

inK hartoum,D r.NegmelD in

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ableproblemsoforgani ation

complishedduesolelyto his

o ecthasinvo lveda lmost

m sstaf f . Whilew emightw antto

tystaffmembers,itispossible

epointoranother,every

entofE gyptianandClassicalArt

d wethankthemall.Marie-

ationS pecialist,D epartmentof

a,hasmadeagreat

pmentofthedidactic materials

biansectionofthee hibition.

rardLeF rancoisunderthe

t ive , A ssistantD irectorfor

evelopment,havedeveloped

nsiveandrich community

mseverpresentedforan

ydeepenthepublice perienceand

kstoBeatriceBrailsford,who

hepreparationofthedidactic

to CatherineGrimshaw,who

correspondenceand

sthemostdifficultj obwasgiven

inatoro f theEx hibit ion. His

swillingness,andthesureness

ffectivelythrougheveryaspect

nedhimtheadmiration,respect,

of us.Asthedemandsofthe

hasgrown,and wehavegreat

mplishedforallofus.

of usatBrooklyntohave

ro ect.Itis,in manyways,an

hefinest elementsofthe

hadanysuccess,we willhave

yofa greatcivili ationinthe

eonehand,whilebringing

olsfordecadesof new

theotherhand. Suchapro ect

efirmlybasedin boththe

pularworld.The

eople,onsomanyl evels,from

vengreatermeaningto allof

fulfor theopportunity.

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w iyaNorth

a wi y a S o u th

a wi y a W e st

NyC arlesbergGlyptotek

n

MerseysideCountyMuseums

S c h oo l o f Ar c ha e ol o gy a n d O r i en t al S t u di e s

.R eisner:

shedw are

ppedredpolishedw are

k of loca lorigin, brow nonblack surface

l is h ed w ar e

inary redw arew ithw hitesliporwash

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Arikankharersmitingenemies(Cat.

nningoffirstcenturya.d.

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hatfollow,weshallbe

andsomenot-so-familiar

heS udan, andE thiopia .

senamescanbeusedwith more

manynamestheyhavemeant

ttimesin history.Tofurther

orieswhichtheydescribeare to

g. Letusbegin, therefore , by

easthatwill bedealtwithinthis

ton.

andanethnicand cultural

preciselycoincide.E thnically

ansforallpractical purposes

ile f romitsmouthtotheF irst

upstream,nearthemodern

n thisregionthattheancient

arose, morethan5,000yearsago,

lower NileV alleyhasalways

eE gyptianpeople.Politically,

usuallyincludedsome

upiedbyother,non- gyptian

itoriesincludetheR edS eaHills

eNile , aparto f theL ibyan

eNile,and,mostimportantly

hichliesbetweentheF irst

f theriver( ig. 2).

liticalentityinthe modern

nbeenso inthepast.Today

nethnicandcultural

the NileV alleywhichis

eNubianlanguages,about

tosay presently.Thesepeoples

rnneighborsoftheE gyptians,

ts floodingbytheAswan

eNile f romA sw antoapointnear

ba, atthebottomof thegreat

.Today,aboutone-thirdof

etw eentheF irstandS econd

edL owerNubia)lieswithin

gypt, while theremaining

lledUpperNubia)ispart

publico f theSudan.

eakingpeoplesoccupied

heydotoday aslateasthe

werefoundatleastas farupstream

B lueandWhiteNilesatmodern

meNubiawhenusedinmedieval

w holeof theNileV a lleybetw een

hartoumandAswan.

o fB ilades- udan, meaning

inA rabic. Initsbroadestsense,

by bothArabsandE uropeans

anf ringee tendingacrossA f rica

eR edS eacoast. A mong

-colonialAfrica,however,

diatelytothe southofE gypt

ficialname.This region,known

- gyptianS udan, has

nce,theD emocraticR epublicof

nlyS udanw ithw hichweare

it ion.

udanincludesnotonlythe

UpperNubia),butmany

ast, west, andsouth. Easto f the

esof theR edS eaHillsanda

acoast to thew estarethevast

ordofanandD arfur.Upstream

e tensivesw amplandsof the

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raphicregionsof theNilebasin.

culturalindependenceover

eredtheregion unattractive

althoughtheE gyptiansoften

forthesak eof itstributeof

nenvironmentsshare

heNile forallthenecessities

snearlytothesouthern

possibilityforhuman

iver sbank s. Smallamounts

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Nubiansasrelativenewcomers

oattributetheremainsof

i ations(A-group,C-group,

-Nubianpeoples.Infact,

toattributeeachnew

comingofanew people.

kingaccountoftheobvious

neperiodto thene t,are

erthe possibilitythatthe

orthernS udanmayhavebeen

nse fromthebeginning.

nsinthecultural sense,for

nsoftheNile basin.

graphyandPopulation

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yfeaturesofthe ancient

resofNubia(see Chapter4),

gyptianciv ili a t ionbecame

neighborsoftheNubians,

sencein Nubiaitselfalmost

Militarye peditionsintoNubia

astheEgyptianDynasty I

nasty IV (ca . 2500B . C. )there is

nminingcolonyatBuhen,nearthe

geEgyptiangarrisonsw ere

ingdom(ca.2000-1800B.C.)to

le throughthecataractregion,

ne ationoftheNew

0B.C)broughtahostofE gyptian

nto thesoutherncountry.

alofPharaonicauthority,

erseersremainedbehindinthe

theirinfluencecanstill be

turiesafterthecollapseof

.

ubiaduringtheMiddle

anclergyandmonks,and

rethenalsoallowedtoplytheir

ina lly , thecolonialanne ation

shin thenineteenthcentury

yptianmigration. Sincethe

e,theforeigncivilandmilitary

entodayE gyptianmerchants

hecommerceofthe S udan.

rtanttoourstorynot only

uponthe culturalandpolitical

tbecausesomeofthe

alremainsofancientNubia,

aractfortressesandthe

imbel,areattributable

neursareafinal group

udanisnoteworthy.TheE gyptian

2broughtina hostofGreek,

banese,andothermerchant

dantsstilldominatecertain

ay.Theyarenotbyany meansa

As farbackasthelate

0-400),thereisvery clear-cut

andGreekinfluencein

sfar upstreamasMeroe.The

soshowssignsof Greek\

Greekforseveralcenturiesas

ncetheprosperityofNubia

verylarge e tentonitsforeign

onnosurprise thatthemerchant

iterraneanhavelonghada

graphyandPopulation

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nof culturallyac uired

callyinheritedonesproduced

rousmythsthanin respectto

nineteenthcentury,scholars,

calinformationformanyparts

econtemporaryvariationsin

f reconstructingimportant

Theyassumedthatasa general

groupsofpeoplewere

yrelatedtheywerehistorically

manhistorywasseenasa process

tionwhichoccurredatthe

arlines intermsofrace,

mbodiedcontemporary

udices.InAfrica,as

meametaphysicalj ustification

tion. Whilethescientif icbasis

beendiscredited(e.g.,Collins

uchof theterminologysurvive

nterpretationsofAfrican

discussionof thephysical

eofNubia mustbeginby

othestudyof race

period mankindconsistedofa

E achof theseraceswas

dingeographicalisolation

uiringandpreservingitsown

omogeneousphysical

ealsoevolvedoneor more

esanditsowndistinctive

veragreedhowmany

wheretheyhadoriginated,

like.Most physical

pecialattentiontothreeraces

dW hiteorCaucasoid,

worMongoloid.E achwas

edoneofthe three

orld.Theconceptofpureraces

of timesuchraceshad

gledtoproducethephysically

ntermediate populationsthatareso

world.It wasalsobelieved

dbedevisedthat wouldallow

originalraces tobe

rmittheunaltereddescendants

entiatedfrompopulations

ture,evenwhenthegenetic

adbeen randomlymi edfora

2,461)hasobserved,thePlatonic

so compellingthatitresultedin

tperhapsthoseofone sow n

asbelongingtofalseraces.

ropologistsdonotbelieve

stedorthathumanpopulations

ationoverlongperiods.

n fre uencyfromoneregion

haracteristicmayincrease

tosouth, anotherw illdoso

thecentertothe periphery

ecausenatural selection

es,andindividual

dforor againstatdifferent

onsin accordancewithawide

riations.Theadaptive

haracteristicsmustbe

oryofthesecharacteristics

thereforemeaninglessto

withina rangeofcontinuous

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m,althoughperhapsafew

gyptianaverage.Most

ughstoutindividualsareby

ro,Nubiansappearas

artoum,withitsinhabitants

eS udan,theyarenot

stofthe northernS udanese

chap.2).

N O F N UB IA NR A CI A H I T O R Y

f pureraceshave

sami edracethatw as

terbreedingbetween

Negroid populations. A searlyas

ggestedthatallthepopulationsof

dintermsofa" Negroid stock in

m it i c ( C au c as o id ) s t oc k i n th e

termi turebetw eenthem

sdebatedfiercelywhetherthe

udanhadbeen" Negroid,

inf lu cominglater(Murdock 1959,

w ith" Negro id typesoverrunning

Coon1963,649-51).O thers

entofthe S udanintermsofthe

arrivalofBlacksand

esof theS ahara . S til lo thers

a" B row n race, that

yconceptuali edasintermediate

id and" Negro id types.

rtcomplicatesratherthan

ntinuumofvariation.

nill-definedandmutableconcept

embracedsuchdiverse

Mediterraneans,D ravidians,

eIndian O cean,and

ca (MacGaffey1966,3-4).

theasternAfrica were

onof race,language,and

nyingracism.Themost

cientificspeculationswasthe

pothesis, w hichattemptedto

otypefortheW hite

thenineteenthcentury.The

dentifiedasH amites,

pulationsthatmaystillbefound

TheoriginalH amiteswere

skinnedpastoralistswhowere

sq uick er-w ittedthanthedark

holivedtothesouth andwestof

ns1968, 126). Theseq ua lities

amitestopushsouthandto

elvesasaruling classamongst

centrali edgovernments

b- aharanAfricawere

iticcon uerors. Wheresuch

tandH amiticlanguageswere

mptsweremadetodemonstrate

ssometimesargued

adadoptedthelanguagesof

dthattheirownspeech had

ce.S omearbitrarilyinterpreted

eamongany groupin

evidenceofH amiticinf luence

eathatpastoralists,rather

creatorsanddisseminators

ousone,whichhad been

historicalprincipleelsewhere.It

wingwealthofarchaeological,

icdatahasshownthe

bebasedonaj umbleoferroneous

yevidence(MacGaffey1966

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t,as Adamspointsout(1977,

nfirmationofanyhistorical

logistmightwishtochampion.

I NT R P R E T A TI O N

almi ture innortheastern

somephysical anthropologists

rowingnumbernowpointout

sapproach(Greene1972 van

attermay notwhollyre ect

the humanbiologicalhistory

ethattodothisre uiresfar

ledinformationaboutphysical

slyused.Comparativedataare

tionsandovera broad

ehistoricalsignificanceof

de uatelyassessed.

encefromthesametimeperiod

otentiallymisleadingtobase

lrelationshipsupon

cientpopulationsinoneareaand

swasoftendone inthe

mayconfusesimilaritiesand

historicalrelationships

eoperationof natural

ple,farfromcertainthatthe

d traits,whichwereallegedly

tureof UpperE gyptbut

ofthe laterPredynastic

enceofasub- aharancomponent

tE gypt(vanGervenetal.

woulddistributegenes

ationratherthanconserving

sters.Itis alsofarfromcertain

n,suchasprognathism,which

eavydevelopmentofthemuscles

agnosticofa specific

ebeentraitsthat wereselected

nceonagriculturealtered

irection ofnaturalselection

nofPredynasticE gypt.v

Africahavesufficient

permitadetailed

calhistoryofthe region.The

bledatabyBatrawi(1945-46),

1955,85)revealsnoevidenceof

nphysicaltypein thehistory

,theirstudiessuggestthata

yingandremarkablystable,

habitedL owerNubiafromat

ent.The populationofthe

ubiawas alsoofthistypeas, on

a lev idencef romE lK urru, the

arstohavebeen.W hilethe

romMeroitictimesonward

lyrangingcontacts,the

rablylessthanisattestedfor

istianE ra(Batrawi1945-46,

allyattestedsettlementin

ans,Copts,Arabbedouin,and

iesf romthenorthandofslaves

psfromthesouth,Nubia has

atis characteristicofthemiddle

belabelednorthernS udanese.

edNubian,providedthat

dinageographical,ratherthan

ethnic,sense(Trigger1965,

archaeologistsfamiliarwith

esthatinancienttimesthe

muchthe sameasitis todayin

hinnie1967,154-55).

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ofancientE gyptian

eteenthcenturyandthe

ntinE gyptianstudies,knowledge

NubiaandtheS udanw as

writingsofthe Greeksand

ecclesiastics,andespeciallyof

ers.Theperiodscoveredby

Meroiticand theMedieval,

theaccountsof thelands

ctandthepeoplesinhabiting

ntradition.Thedevelopmentof

onhasopenedtousnewareas

all,archaeologyhasrevealed

tionsoftheUpperNile,whose

cteduntilmoderntimes. O nthe

yofarchaeological

thegreatAfricancontinent

N

otheGreeksalmostfromthe

nceinhistory.Asearlyas the

susedtheterm Aethiopia

urntF aces )todescribenotonly the

butmostofAfrica. Thewords

t h io p ia n , a s t he y oc c ur i n e ar l y

ethnicor geographical

E thiopian w asneverapplied

es,butbecausethesepeople

eristicswhichtheGreeks

opians w ritersof theC lassicalera

thiopiansandcalledtheir

g. 16).

specificsense that

Ethiopia intheS udan, describing

anditsrelationswith thePersians,

t in525B. C . ThePto lemies, through

betterinformedaboutthe

gypt theyac uiredsome

ofthepeople,their kingsand

nformationhascomedownto

orusSiculus(ca . 40B. C . )and

oq uoteearlierauthors.TheGreek

atinwriters,includingS eneca

E lder(a.d.24-79),andmany

ntury a.d.,whoseworks

information.Christianand

oteabouttheK ingdomofMeroe

eworksofJ osephus(first

Africanus(ca.a.d.220),who

Manetho slosthistoryofEgypt,

ethird centuryB.C.,in

w asreferredtoasan" E thiopian

anmissionaries,

B.C.),Priscus(fl.ca.a.d.100-

27-65)wroteaboutNubia,its

nsandwiththeBlemmyesinthe37

ompetitionbetweenChristiansects

fNubiaand theS udan

ohnofEphesus, asi th-century

ecclesiasticalhistorythat

ionofthe countryintothe

,Makuria,andAlwaand

whoarealsomentionedinlater

ndriansources(V antini1970, 49f f. ) .

sto fEgyptina . d. 641andthe

slam, NubiaandtheS udan

ofArab writers,whooffera

mationaboutNubia,whichby

aandAlwa,that is,thearea

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ntheNubianmonumentsand

chinitiatedaseries entitled

sde laNubie, w hichw as

anA nti uit iesServ ice . Thus,

numberoftemplesbelonging

history fromthePharaonic,

iodswerestudiedbyE nglish,

olars,includingthetemplesof

sa , Dendur, Dak k a, Wadies- ebua,

pigraphic,iconographic,

cordedinthese studieswereof

ptology theynotonlyincreased

ryofNubia duringthe

periodsbut alsoemphasi ed

the historyofancient

edwith initiating

gicalinvestigation,namely

whenhecommissionedA.

iesofsurveysinL ow erNubia .

veyin 1906(Weigall 1907),using

ttempttolocate anddescribe

andotherremains,andtoput

der.H edrewattentiontothe

theC-group,whichPetrie

re.H isremarksandnotes

ortancetolaterscholars( mery

ougharchaeologicalsurvey,

ctmostprofoundlythe

ogicalinvestigationinNubia,

. G. L yons, whocamenotf rom

iesS erv icebutf romtheMinistry

whentheE gyptiangovernment

eighto f theA sw anDam, L yons,

f theSurveyDepartment,

tanarchaeologicalsurveyofthe

eresultso fR e isner sw ork

tudy ofNubianhistory,its

roups.Theable archaeologists

erincludedC . F irth,

esasassistantarchaeologists,

ndD . D erryasphysical

bothR eisnerandEll io tS mith

secondseason(1909),thework

mentofthisteamwasthe

onofforty-fourcemeteriesanda

nparticularIkkurand

eentheF irstC ataractandWadi

tedbythefirst heightening

07-12. R e isnerobservedthe

sandgatheredthesevariations

roupdesignatedby a

orane planationofR e isner s

pp. 12-13. )Thusw asdevelopedthe

ce:A-group,B-group,C-group,

werewiselyleftunused

coveries).Thisse uence,which

me, isessentiallyparallel

uence inEgypt, butthe

clonly theNubian" groups

ature.

koftheArchaeological

peditionsw ereactive inthe

ersityofPennsylvania,the

nior, E x peditiontoNubiae cavated

in1908-10,itworked

at K aranogandS hablul,and

chesin L owerNubiaby

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vesurveyofNubiancultures

mdoeslittlemorethan

nedatverydifferentlevels

E gypt.Comparisonreveals

aculturally advanced,

t io n t h e E g y pt i an a n d t h e

nate Nubiancultures. H istoric

socio-economicorgani ation

tion,awell-documentedand

eliefsandpractices,

callyaccomplishedart

eis lesseasilyreconstructible,

althe peoplesofthe

nloosetribalunits ratherthan

re lative ly simplere ligiouslif e (at

e pressioninsurviv ingmateria l

elyrestrictiveinthee pression

nd ideals.When relatively

appearin Nubiaduring

mB.C.,theyareclearly

eifvaryingdegrees,upon

, function, andtechni ue.

nsindepthandinterest

nq uestionswhichare

conte tofthis volume.

Nubia inEgypt, the long

thetwocultures,the

theNubianpopulation,and

andinferiorqua lityo f its

a andespecia lly Low er

memuchearlierameree tensionof

eansw erliesintheR iverNile ,

cticable routebetween

interland theF irstC ataract

asbeenama orethnicand

trecordedhistory.In

oushere,distinctiveNubian

1600B.C.in L ower

eWadiHa lfa / S econd

. F urther, w hy despite

didtheNubians" fa il

etofindigenousart forms

ptianmodesofartistic

pcationsof thisproblemarenot

ethnographicrecordsreveal

ple societiesthatdidnot,

ducewhatwe would

ms(statuaryorat least

onalforms,large-scale

dthe adoptionofalienart

thedevelopmentof

ess,intermsofanyspecific

,the q uestionisof

cdocumentationon

eoutlined.Archaeologically,

tyin Nubiacanbetraced

utfor ourpurposes

thefourthto themiddleof

C.Thedatafallinto two,

blesets fortheentirespan

alrecordofboth E gyptand

00yearswehaveE gyptian

biaandthe Nubians.Thebasic

dtopographicalfacts

resummari edinF ig. 25,

lanatoryandre uiresonlya

atternofNubian

berthatwearedealing

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(A W AN )

A

rr y

ntheO ldK ingdom.

ghtto haveterminated

ynasty I(ca . 3000B . C .), a t

yptianartifactscease

ow ever, asimilarcessationin

arkedtheendofindigenous

otofcultural e tinction,

-group,undergoing

ce, surv ivedintotheOld

struethatthe B -group,

heddescendantofthe

obean archaeological

anunpublishedcollection

erdsfromtheO ldK ingdom

nlydepositedtherewhile

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atis,during D ynasties

bethatthedepositionw as

terialcamefroman earlier

lement,butnotracesof

ominanttypologicalfeatures

f fromboththe" Classic

oup.

ddeclineincultural

ecreaseor displacementof

on. Thene tL ow erNubian

cannotdateearlierthan

Iandappearstobe intrusive , inthat

theA-groupcannotbe

ginoftheC-groupis

nprevailingenvironmental

hthavecomefromnow

orwestorfromUpper

E arlier K ermaculturedoes

detailedresemblances

perdateremainsuncertain.

hecharacteristicassemblage

outhern)UpperNubia

ingdomtoearlyDynasty

991to1551b.C . Itsposit ionon

alandre uirescomment.

macultureisfirmlydatedto the

dIntermediatePeriod

ciatedE gyptianartifacts.The

culture isusua llydatedaf terthis

arlierK ermaculture sstrong

ypes,burialcustoms,

swiththeC-group,which

an characterbyabout1600

cttheinevitablerepercussions

occupationofUpperNubia

rsedrelativechronology

arlierK ermaculture ,

aandS ai, hassofarbeen

melysummaryform.

ureincludesseveral

ogyinE gyptiantermsis

otheL aterassemblage

spondinparttothe Middle

back toDynastyV I. E gyptian

refound atK erma,but

ctassociationwitheither

semblage.H owever,

under thestrongE gyptian

dtothecultural discontinuity

ps,theUpperNubian

t leasttheoreticallypossible.

ig.25)isan intrusive

dL ow erNubiaandiscerta inly

Periodsampleofthematerial

henomadicinhabitants

rt,wheretherainfall ofthe

w ayssupportedasignificant

torygoesback totheOld

plorationinthedesert

torecoverearlierMed ay

ablishthe significanceof

dtotheriverineculturesbut

rdatandtheWadiHow ar.

ascompleted(ca.D ynasty

itionspermittedsignificant

ntactinareasofnow

groupandtheearlier

vehadimportantlinks

s,whiletheYamites,

NubiainD ynastyV I,

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te fourthmillenniumB.C.

litaryevents.

esharpenedthedifferences,

vitalarea ofcommunication.

wasan" intermediate l inguistic

gyptandNubiathatfacilitated

entofawrittenform of

B.C.musthaveincreasingly

E gyptianlanguage,

isconte tifthe vocabulary

enpermanenceandsymbolic

NorthernorMiddlerather

lects.Politicalhistoryisrelevant

arlyD ynasticE gyptclearly

e panding,competitive

mostpartofE gypt,wherein

pmaterial,wasincorporated

talate date.Throughout

210years)theregionof Ta-sety

ndthistoponymprobably

ernmostE gyptandnot,as

o.Thegradualassimilationof

re inforcedthesignificanceof

oliticalandstrategicaswell

e.

bianculturesweresufficiently

nsof aesthetice pression

ryasto suggestamentalbias

hibited thedevelopment

bias cannotnowberecovered.

nartwasnotentirelyrestricted

unctions,andtheNubian

gyptianartformswasboth

isthereforeusefultoe amine

ibitedor stimulatedthe

t.

pstherewasarelatively

,geometricdesigns

yonincised(Cats.27-40),

rouponly)paintedwares

andinsimplerformonoccasiona l

dinC-groupbeadwork.

ofthese designsin

kpatterns,theirrestrictionto

calor decorativeuse,and

nceofnaturalisticmotifs

s geometrictraditionwas

noneofthe symbolic

allyabstractpatternshave

ad veryrestricted

,highlyschematichuman

F ig. 29)occurinboth

ttle , goats , ante lope )

in theC-group(Cats.

everysmallin scale,madeof

rangedin onlythesimplest

, the irverye istenceandthe

chthey areusuallyfound

orethandecorative

resting" naturalistic tradition

p.O naveryspecific class

dinbothfuneraryand

incisedsimple,somewhat

esofhumans,birds,cattle,and

ometimesarrangedin

sbutalsooccurin rather

d" scenes. Sim ilarf iguresinthe

scaleareincised," pecked,

nteduponboulderorcliff

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atedwithanystrikingdevelopments

rd. " E gyptiani ation w as

tlybecausetherewereno

itabout.Nubiansentered

andvoluntaryimmigrantsand

wereassimilatedratherthan

heOldK ingdomcentersofL ow er

d,therewasnoE gyptian

estointeractwith. The

sstimulatednoartisticinitiatives,

ttery,beads,metalweapons),

ulets,whichthe Nubians

.

rNubiaintheMiddle

tablishmentofanumberof

ivelydecreasedNubianaccessto

dconceptsandinhibited

opment.TheC-grouppeople,

fromlivingin thefortresstowns,

aditionalmaterialculture

uralisticfiguresonpottery

bstractdesignsdrawnfromthe

dition.InD ynastyX III,

easedtorotateandbecame

increasinglyunabletorelyon

gyptandcompelledtherefore

thesurroundingC-group

ifactsagainappearamongst

tremelylargetombsof

eemergenceofanindigenouselite.

,theintensityandintimacyofthe

pearanceofthe indigenous

dlytoE gyptiancustomsand

heS econdIntermediate

stmostof itsdistinctive

yNewK ingdomwefindthe

ofW awatindistinguishable

ryE gypt.

ush hadadifferenthistory . Its

cesweregreater,andE gyptian

andintense.D uringthe

iteswerepermittedtoenter

purposes,butpenetrated

anceandfor alimitedperiod

lE gyptianraidsintoK ushwere

byanypermanentorq uasi-

efthataMiddleK ingdom

ermaitse lfdependsbasica lly

hatsite,which,likemuchother

althere,mayinfacthavebeen

entindetailupon the

until it isfullypublished butthe

emelyimportantdevelopments.

growthofpo lit ica lcentra li a tion,

sdevelopmentalthough

ofE gypt scontemporary

aburia lno . 48, C emeteryMatKerma.

econdIntermediatePeriod(1785-

art ofUpperNubiaand

erNubiawereunderthecontrol

ushitedynasty,thestatusand

gsymboli edbytheirenormous

Thematerialcultureofthis

sdistinctive lyNubiananddirectly -

rphase.Burialcustomsincluded

animalsacrifice graveswere

ntedbyearthentumuli( ig.

potterywasablack-toppedred

he Nubianculturesbut

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onichistory,alittlebefore

gyptturnedtheireyestowardthe

s wastheregionbeyondthe

handthefirst nomeofUpper

yenoughwascalledTa-sety,

erritorybeyondAswanand

wherethebarterforcovetedivory

asbeyondthebarrierofthe

Intothisinhospitableregion

edtheirtrade andinfluenceto

ubia,whichwasthen

yknowntodayas theA-group.

rstandS econdCataracts,

mes,havebeenfoundvessels

rtedfromE gypt,which

fcommercialrelationsbetween

eighbors.Itseems,however,

otalwayspeaceful,for

w horuledEgyptatthevery

ecordsavictory overTa-sety,

j er, ahard- to -readrock

hSuliman, oppositeWadi

thatE gyptianraidingparties

rastheS econdCataract( ig.

attributetotheseraids the

nctionoftheA-groupculture

ldK ingdom(ca. 2650-2150'

pedit ionsintoNubiaona large

edsof S nofru,thefounderof

rerecordedonthePa lermoS tone,

uring whichthekingtook

andbroughtbacktoE gypta

e.AtBuhen,nearW adiH alfa,

edtheremainsofaninstallation

ldK ingdomonthebasiso f

ealimpressionsbearingthe

nrulers.Thatthissitewas

aohsis indicatedbythe

ry.

alsopenetratedto the

biandesertwest ofToshka,

ne-grainedstoneforthe

esses.CertaingraffitiatTomas

satK ulb, j ustsouthof the

rhapsattributabletoq uarrying

ceofO ldK ingdomrulers the

uthernmostrecordsyet foundof

ubiaduringtheOldK ingdom.

yptianho ldonL ow erNubia

PepyI senttoAsiaunderthe

enywerecontingentsfrom

es,andduringthefollowing

edanE gyptiane pedition

heNubianq uarriesfinestone

epyramidiondestinedfor the

er.Atthattime,W enysupervised

blechannelsthroughtheF irst

himselfmadeaj ourneyto

hehomageofNubianchieftains.

onsatTomasandthosein

E lephantineindicatethatall

wasnecessaryto" opentheroad

metimes,asPepynakhtreports

ombatwiththeNubians.The

ecordlonge peditionslasting

netratedasfarasYam,perhaps

ongolalaterknownasIrm.In

palitieslocatedin theNile

edalongthesandytrailsbordering

e liststhegoodsac uiredbyhis

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srisIII(1878-1842B . C .)smitinganenemy,

ast(afterS impson1963).

ertainE gyptiancustoms

tance,e periencedan

region,thereweresignsof

ekenenra-Taaandafterhim

eforliberation.In ordertotake

ovement,theHyksosK ingAa-

alliancewiththeK ushites.The

er1916b),withitste t

romance, hasrecentlyac uireda

lcontentinscribed onalarge

eearthat K arnakin1954

w ereadthatthefo llow ersof

emissaryoftheH yksoskingen

theresultthatthe urgentmessage

destination.K amose,withthe

essfullyroutedtheenemy,paving

hmose,whofinally took

scapitalatAvarisand drovethe

dedD ynastyX V IIIand

NewK ingdom(1551-1080

gyptiansdrivenouttheH yk sos

recon uesto f thesouth. Weare

mpaignsofAhmoseandhis

stoone Ahmes,sonofIbana,

edonthe wallsofhistombat

to-speak , a" marine, w ho

cessivestagesofhis long

eautobiographyheleftandfrom

wL owerNubiacameonce

ntrol.CartouchesofK amoseand

ockinscriptionsat Arminna.

Buhen,northofthegreat

s hissonA menhotepIle f this

veriesontheIslandofSa i a

withthe nameofhiswife

A menhotepI suggestthat

tyX V IIIoccupiedthatisland

aract.H oweverthatmaybe,

nthecoloni ationofallNubia

w nas" K ing sS onofK ush

outhernL ands. Thef irst

seems,acertainTuri,who

ndantofthefortressofBuhen.

underTuthmosisI.At

ngtherocksof theBatnel

countingtheboats thatw ent

salwayspossible),anda

srecentlybeendiscoveredat

to thesouth,TuthmosisI

hirdCataract,thus openingthe

ongola,andsuddenlythe

apsed.Well beyondthispoint,a

gus,aboutfiftykilometerssouth

s, forthefirstt imeinE gyptian

adirectroute towardthe

gyptinNubiaduringthe

ingdoms

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gyptianDynastyX X I, at

C . , Egypt sdominionoverNubia

tuntilaround900B.C.that

dtheformerEgyptianterritory, a

nethehistoryof theNile

ataracttobeyondK hartoumfor

ears.Thispower,calledthe

Meroe,isalso knownasthe

enameorigina llygivenby the

nterritoriesandlater adopted,

lE gyptiandesignations,bythe

omofK ushisdivided

tanPeriod,lastinguntil

roiticPeriod,e isting

mtowardtheyeara.d.320.

changesinthesocio-economic

e kingdom,forwhichwe

wingevidence:

lcemeteryfromtheregion

rthCataract,toMeroe,above

gyptianastheonlywritten

anguageofthepeoplewho had

ncefromthebeginning.

ndigenouscultural

rceptionwhichin thepasthad

ressioninofficialreligionandart.

oftheNapatanPeriodare

cemeteriesnearNapata( l

9), thecemetery formembersof the

rclassatMeroe( outhand

eries),andthecemeteryofthecity

deof Napata,havebeen

emplesitesatNapata(Gebel

,andTebo,ontheIslandof Argo

themostimportantof them havea lso

ourseof thesee cavations, aseries

storicalnaturewrittenin

ight. Thesef inds togetherw ith

ons,from templereliefsand

enabledustodeterminetheprobable

cumstancesoftheir ascentto

tionshipswithinthedynasty.

edinformationregarding

econstructions,and

gods.Inshort,it hasenabledus

omplete ly " E gyptiani ed

eofficialreligion.O ntheother

mostnoinformation

socialstructure oftheordinary

ttleaboutpropertyrightsor

on.Wehavelearnedalmost

micfoundationsofthestate,

heo ldestorgani ed" A f rican

reover,weknowhardly

alandspiritualcultureof large

on. Weareac ua intedw ith

northe artisticproductivityof

ir settlementsorcemeteries

d.

dyofthis periodarenotvery

mporaryruleofthekingsof

epharaohsintheeighth and

ultedinnumerousconstructions

s verylittleaboutconditions

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ugglesofthegreatMediterranean

ani sreportofhisE gyptian

apata,theinscriptionsofthe

abso lutesilenceonthesub ectof

ithEgyptor, indeed, w ithanyother

emoreregrettable,sinceit

ee tenttowhichcontinuing

orthshould betakeninto

gtheculturalandartistic

ngthethreecenturies

shiterule inE gyptended, the

mpttobanishall memoryofits

f thepharaohsofDynastyX X V

emonumentsandgenerally

amtikII (595-589b.c),and

ereremovedfromtheheadsof

heimmediatecauseforthis

ke outintheyear591 b.C.

anversion,PsamtikIIsentan

tthemilitaryplansofthe

wntestimonyregardingthis

egraffitiof Greek,Carian,

esonthelegof oneofthe

oreinformationisprovidedby

gyptianking.Accordingtoone

h,unfortunately,isvery

anis, C airo J E 67095: S auneron

abattleoccurrednearasmall

nceof theq ore w ho" w asthere

eof theKushitek ing). The

usinthisbattle , andtheqore

oe.Itremainsuncertain

ptianarmyadvancedasfaras

dwasresponsiblefor the

fK ushitekingsandforthe

sin thetemplesatthatplace.

asecondinscription(stelae in

bsha: S auneron Yoyotte

bo,whichislocatedto

aract,wasreachedbythe

abattleensued.Thestelae call

avorableconditionsofthe

urageofthe K ushites,ofwhom

.PresumablytheK ushiteswere

theplainsof D ongola.

rcausesthatcontributed

E gyptandK ush.Accordingto

tus2.30),amutinousE gyptian

lephantineto" E thiopia

at thetimeofPsamtik1

velersofPtolemaictimesclaim

scendantsof thisgarrison

farthertothesoutheast.

s,whichare both

thePersianK ingCambyses

acampaignagainst" E thiopia

gyptin525B . C. H erodotus

wasingreatpartdestroyed

sions,andthattherefore

trabo(17.1.54)mentionsthe

brimasthe regionwherethe

edbyasandstorm.O therGreek

seswasthefounderof

mpletelyimpossible.

lersassociatedindividual

V alleywithCambyses,

" storehousesofCambyses

rNubiacanhavefallenintoa

edependenceuponthePersian

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stermarriagewascustomary,asit

sonsofak ingac uirea legit imate

trilinearorder ofsuccession

understandcertainte ts,

fTahar ow hichclaimthatKing

Amuntoconfersovereignty

sisters(amongthem, Tahar o s

ara sow nchildren( te lae

enhagenNCG1712).Anlamani

ehalfofhismother sdescendants

G1709).Inhiscoronationreport

866 F ig. 57), Aspe ltarendersan

cestorsthroughseven

of theking,inwhichthe

candidateplayeda part.Thisfact

s(H erodotus,S trabo,

thatthesuccessor tothethrone

dmostpowerfulman,therichest

edinanimalhusbandry . Welearn

fromthe K ushiteinscriptions

vealthatascensiontothe

nat whichaconvocationof

m towhatwasatleasta formal

ntlymentionedinscriptionof

awa,whichunfortunatelyis

bestheprocedureindetail.At

armyconvenesandproceedsto

enceofa leaderislamentedto

sametime,asuccessorisnamed

toplacehimonthethrone. The

dthenewking,who as" an

ongthek ing sbrothers, isledinto

eseehere isquiteclearlya

neinwhichthesuccessor still

ythearmy,evidentlya

tablemembersofthe

bdicatedits righttovote

cisionofthegodAmun of

a, C a iro J E 48866). Of course , this

stsight onlyanotherformof

havehadnothingtodowith

epriesthoodas" kingmaker.

eportthat" inancienttimes

onseveraloccasionseven

nthroughsuicide( trabo

odorus3.5,thepriestsfirstselected

sofsuitablecandidatesandthen

woneof themwithsovereign

ceofthe priestsissaidto have

mewhichcoincidedwith

icPeriod (seepp.94-95),a

usthavee istedwithinthe

lethat amovetowardending

lphaseof theNapatanPeriod,

ntedinthetemporarytransfer

ectlyto GebelBarkal(seep.

selvesyieldonlyvague

ensays, fore ample , thathehadbeen

ofNapata(C at. 72).

throneinMeroe,theking

ona" coronationjourney . He

d proceedfromtheretoK awa

n hisroute,hewouldpresent

efurnishedbythemwith

dpower.Thecoronation

noccasiononwhichcommissions

ationofplaces ofworship.It

processionroute,forinstance,

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a idedthek ingincultfunctionsandwere

yleadership.O thertitlesof

st ime amongthemw ere" Princeof

n e o f H i s M a e s ty o r " G r e a t Ma n

Thentherew erea lsow holeseriesof

eadSea l-B earero f theR oya l

c r i b e of K u s h, t h e " R o y al S c r ib e

aarySuperintendent, andso

f thistypehadE gyptiannames

te laLouv reC 257).

dministrativeorgani ation

country.The inscriptions

butitremainsamattero fdebate

rried thesamemeaningasit

w thatasonofP iyehadbeena

anda (aplacewhoseprecise

the" tw orebell iousslaves in

oughtbyH arsiyotef(seep.80),

cname.We mayassumethat

pondingtothatof high-level

nlaterMeroitictimes

nlythose groupsactivein

ficialcults.Theyweredivided

customary inEgypt. A te t

am( te laLouv reC 257)mentions

t" servantofgod (highpriest).

antofgodisnot mentioned,and

asregardedasthe holderof

hew ordofgod, sevenw af t-

erydaycultobservances),three

howereperhapsentrustedwiththe

roperty),anda" templescribe

v rete t.

thetemplepersonnel.In

pata,S anam,K awa,andTebo,

thepositionof " sistrum

chhedispensedtohissisters( te la

neofthesesistersbecamethe

Aspeltalater becameking,he

creeto anothersister( tela

l,the sovereignappearstohave

owerto establishanddisposeof

d onthestelaofan unknown

gingtoDynastyX X V (C a iro J E

wopriestlyfamiliesfromtheir

madeamurderousattempt" on

adnotcommittedacrime. If the

ple,especiallyduringhis

ashewhoconductedthe religious

t imageofthedeityin

ike-Amanote,K awaIX ).

ptions,nosubordinationof

canbeestablished.Asin E gypt,

consideredtobethe highest

ypriestandpartnerof thegods.

cyofthepriesthood,whichhas

asprobablyaresultofthe close

ntheNapatanmonarchyandthe

blypriestsalone whopossessed

dcounselinanideologythat

inthe peopleitself.S ince

languageand,therefore,alsoof

probablylimitedto thepriests,

ethatE gyptiansw eremembersof

ng time.O fthefifteenpersons

TempleofS anam,four

mes.

hepoliticalfunctionofthe

f thek ing. Thisfunctionisonly

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iodof theK ingdomofK ushis

t spanstheyearsfromabout

and ischaracteri edbyseveral

decisivechangestook

ansferofthe royalcemetery

r Napatatoasitein thevicinity

dbementionedfirst because

ficance,althoughfurther

e pla inthecircumstancesthat

owingthistransfer,theMeroites

stsmoreto thesouthernpart

ytotheregion ofthe islandof

stheButana.Asaresult of

senteredthemarkedly

cultureof thestateandcourt, in

ass. O nthebasisof our

eunabletodeterminewhether

angesinsocial structuretook

s whichwoulddistinguishthis

eriod.Theroleof theruling

ansmissionofofficesthrough

sclearlyvisibleonlyat alater

rNubia.Thatthesephenomena

wever,maybeduemerelytothe

tersourcesavailabletous.

e,cattlebreedingbecomes

x cavationsinthecityof Meroe

mals,suchas sheepand

acedbycattleasthe basisof

presentationsofcattle,

eTempleofA pedemak at

ig. 60), pictureapow erfuland

aspermitsusto surmisethata

nghad takentheplaceofmere

sarepicturedwearingwide

eofleather,fromwhichbellsare

oyedgreatprestigeandmust

roleinthe templecult.

dthattheMeroiteswere

mingAfricanelephantsandthat

militarycampaigns( ig.61).

mcan betracedbacktothe

directlytoIndianinfluenceis a

hanthadgreatsignificancein

awwarates- ufra,whereit

ntedinreliefandsculpture.It was

cturalelementin templedesign,

tioningascolumnbases(V ol.

hantplayeda partincult

eorigin ofthisroleand its

unknown.Inanyevent,we see

characteristicthatdid not

imaticconditionsofthe

emofreservoirs(hafirs)was

hcattleherdingand,to a

ationoffieldsawayfromthe Nile

esebasin-shapedhafirswere

ngtheearthandpilingitupinan

entwithanintake,sothat

hewaterscould streamintothe

tpossibledrainagearea.S ome

argeandcertainly re uiredthe

rablenumberof workersfor

ntenance.Thelargehafirof

ore ample , hasadiameterof

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rguedthatMeroiticwriting

s preciselyinitsmethodof

icdiffersfundamentallyfrom

syllabicsystem,inwhichevery

nantplusthevowela,e cept

symbolindicatingthevowel/ ,o,

elaitselfappearsonly atthe

rthesyllablesne,se, te,andto,

s.Ifaconsonantlacks avowel

resentedbyane thesigne

.In itsuseofa symbolto

criptisnot onlydistinguished

reek.TheMeroiticsystemof

o theoldPersiancuneiform

ofnotatingvowelsandinits

n.W edonotknowwhether

lycoincidental.

yB.C.on,theMeroitic

erlybeenonlyaspokentongue

a lmoste clusive lyasthewritten

thereare,unfortunately,no

videuswith accessto

erylittleofthe language.We

Meroiticscriptwithout

f irstdecipheredbyF . I. Grif fith

wthe meaningofwhatweread,

very few w ordsandphrases. A sa

iticinscriptionsinour

yto alimitede tentinmaking

Meroiticisnota H amito-

c )languageandtherefore isnot

n. V ariousattemptshavebeen

ne oftheotherwell-known

es,forif suchkinshipcouldbe

ficantaidindecodingthe

nately,theseeffortshavenot

esults.

Period oftheK ingdomof

thefollowingmainstages:A

0to270 B.C.)betweenthe

roiticPeriodis followedby

om270 to90B.C.) themiddle

C.tothe thresholdofthe

helateMeroit icPeriod(f romthe

ratoappro imatelya . d. 350).

NA S TAG

B.C.,Gen27)wasthelast

Afterhis interment,theroyal

totheoppositebankofthe Nile,

gyptiansaswellasthe

o lyMountain, andatthefooto f

eof Amun.F oratleastthree

meteryremainedatGebel

GreatTemple.Although

4,15)thataredefinitelyofthis

here,inscriptionsofseveral

imatelythesametime

awa.Theseinscriptionsare

er,andthereforelargely

theless,wedoknowthatthey

nandbe uestsforsacrifices.

edin thepyramidgroupat

slyclassifiedbyscholarsas

Mero it icC o-Dynasty inNapata . It

ngdomofKushw asatthist ime

patan)territorywithits

uthern(Meroitic)territorywith

am(inD unham1957)wasthe

hich datesbacktoR eisner

lie f thataF irstMero it icC o-

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ingA rnek hamani(235-218B . c.), f rom

e ApedemakTempleatMusawwarat

dthescepterare notE gyptian

C ats. 135, 137). Theprincipalgods

roiticgods:thelion-headed

dprotectivede ity ( ig. 70 C at.

dedS ebiumeker,agodofpeace

on( )andsuccessor,

sII, 218-200B . C ., Gen. 37), w ho

.N.7, goodrelationswith

tlypersisted. A r amanij o ined

ngtemplesinPhilaeand inthe

dekashoinos).AtPhilae,blocks

sIIformpartofthe southern

Arensnuphisbuilt byPtolemy

pelbegunbyErgamenesIIw as

, andblock sbearinghisname

bsha.

ofthese constructionsin

ete lyEgyptianinsty le . K ing

.C.,Gen.38),whowasprobably

enesII,causedachapelof Isisto

oneofits inscriptions,heterms

demak.

edtoasthe D odekashoinos

ssouthf romS yene(Asw an)to

harra a). Ithadbeensub ect

ionsinceatleastthesi th

inedtow hatw asthenEgypt s

aborderz one.Philae,withits

uscenterofthis territory.The

eatcommercialimportance,for

heimportantgoldminesofW adi

rnD esert. ThefactthatMeroit ic

programsinthisborder area

ane pressionofthemarkedly

istedbetweentheMeroitesand

owever,sufferedaserious

(205-180B.C.).Thiskinghad

nrebellionsin UpperE gypt

fhis reign,anditis altogether

resupportedby the

lemyV ,aftersuppressing

acampaignagainstK ush,

evercametofruition.The

menesIIinscribedatPhilaewere

ayinaccordancewithacommon

timatelythePtolemaicsphereof

pasttheTwelve-MileStripintoa

eS trip(Triakontashoinos)

ndof theS econdCataract.

.)establishedpermanent

andprobablyalsonearBuhen.

C.)embarkeduponintensive

tKa labsha. ThenameofQueen

50B.C.,Gen.41,buriedin Pyramid

oitic hieroglyphsonatemple

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wasneverthelessdeclaredaR oman

ecuredR omanaccesstothe

a i. A f terthesuicideofhis

/25B.C.,AeliusGallus,the

wasgiventhespecialmissionof

E thiopia (thatis, theK ingdom

gthetraderoutesfromIndia and

mancontrol.Butwhilethe

efirst ofthesemissions,a

Arabiain25 B.C.,theMeroites

con ueredPhilae,Aswan,and

4b.C.They defeatedthethree

dinthisdistrict, plundered

statuesof Augustusthathad

n eheadofA ugustus

F ig. 73), foundinMeroe, is

tytakenduringthiscampaign.

sweredrivenoutofAswan

ronius,whonowheldtheoffice

gypt.Accordingtoadetailedreport

pherS trabo(17.53-54),the

dfartothesouth andfinally

htheywithdrewagaintothe

rrison inQ asrIbrim(Primis),

roftheR omanE mpirenowlay.

arenewedattempttose i e

toforestalltheir efforts.

gotiationswerebegunbetween

oites.Thelattersent mediators

in S amos,andintheyear

wasconcludedwhichwas

Meroites:thesouthernpartof

udingPrimis,wasevacuatedby

ro itesw eree emptedf rom

theotherhand, theR omans

odekashoinosasamilitary

ntiernow laynearHiere

a).Thisarrangementcontinued

nturya.d.,therelations

manE gyptremaininggenerally

nlytheE mperorNero(a.d.

nneda campaignagainst

enevere ecuted. Inorderto

hadsentout twoe peditions

cesof theNile ; e tractsf romtheir

edbyS eneca(Nat.Q uaest.6.8.3)

9 seea lsoHint e1959, 28).

mPetroniuswas

allyassumedto havebeen

heandPrinceAkinidadleft behind

earing Meroiticinscriptions,

ondon(BM1550).Theyalsoleft

kka,asmentionedabove.

idad snamewasrecently

m ( o n do n BM x x x x x ) . I t na m es

ueenAmanishakheto(Gen.

successorof Amanirenas.

comprehendthecontent of

theire istencenevertheless

ncetoprovethat Prince

onnectedwithL ower

rsonknowntohaveborne

ghtit lesofpa or, " prince, and

w erNubia).

O ITICP R IO D

G IN NI NG O F T H E C H R I T IA NE R A TO

Y a . d. 3 2 0)

tedappro imatelythree

began withK ingNatakamani

22),whowas probablythe

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eMeroites,butthehighest

term derivedfromE gyptian.

yotherpriestlytitleswhichare

entlymentionedgroupsarethe

riestsofthegodA manapa,who

apata.Priestsof thegod

Thenameofthis god,whois

bia,hasbeenassociatedwiththe

masil, w hichmeans" sun. It is

Isisarehardlyevermentioned.

singlereferenceto thegod

tanceinMeroewasverygreat.

ofthisdivinityisfound ona

er1970,27).

officeswereheldby

roiticfamiliesand inherited

Indeed,theentire

haverestedinthehands ofa

Meroiticfamilies,who

inavery limitednumberof

epeople,however,seemto

,perhapsNubian,descentand

istrationofthecountry.

betweenthe greatfamilies

theirMeroitichomelandinthe

point.H owever,itwouldbe

L owerNubiannorth,defacto,

Intheir funeraryinscriptions,

amiliesof L owerNubiaplace

relationshipto highofficials

eroe,especiallytothepa ar

e clusivelyinMeroeand

epesato(viceroy).Moreover,

entionedj ustasf re uently in

scriptionsasaresuchL ow er

as,Primis,orAkin.

regardinganyspecialrole

oddessIsisinMeroitic L ower

,wepossess considerable

ceofthatcult ontheIslandof

,E gyptians,R omans,Nubians,

oinedinworshippingthe

dbecomea worldreligion.

ortantmeetingplacefor

numerousinscriptionsleftby

videagoodidea ofthe

everalinscriptionsofMeroitic

heE gyptian(demotic)

nsclearlyrevealthatMeroitic

IsisonPhilaewassponsored

followinge tracttakenfrom

ayhelp toclarifythispoint:

theq oren-akrore

rto ff icia l o f thek ing, thegreat

foreIsisofPhilae ...the

tressofthesouth,the

st,hearer ofpetitionsof

2,1cametoE gypthaving

onthisdesert,throughthe

dess,forsheheardour

eto E gypt.Icameto

hejudgments( )w hichmy

me...H ecommandedthe

rensof IsistocometoE gypt

dthefestivalsand the

ldinthetempleof Isis[ and

.. P h ar m ut h y da y 1 [ F e b ru a ry 2 5 ,

cametoPhilaeandw emade

mpleofIsis.H ebroughta

rideamanisenttothetemple

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especiallyapparentin

ngdom.S uchinfluenceis

mics(Cat.231).Thatit also

Meroeis clearlydemonstrated

yaltombsandfrom thecityof

5 V o l. II, F igs. 61, 62, 66-68).

TH E M R O ITICP R IO D

oftheMeroitickingdom

mongthevariousfactorsthat

reasing soilerosioncausedby

ghtcattlebreedingtoa halt

o fw oodforthee panding

theabandonmentoftraderoutes

oastalroutesalongtheR ed

conomiciso lationofMeroe. One

strengthoftheMeroitickingdom

dbyconstantbattleswithnomads

alley,andparticularlywith

nsteppesandtheR edS ea

otcompletelyclearaboutthe

owerNubiabytheBlemmyes,

sB e a, w holivedbetweentheNile

asbeenhistorica llyverified,

yptwasconstantlyandseriously

stances,togetherwith

nomicchanges,ledtotheendof

the firsthalfofthefourth

ssumedthatEz ana, k ingof the

uminnorthernA byssinia,

Meroearound a.d.350and

finaldestructionofthe

ver,nosuchconclusioncanbe

usinscriptionofA um,in

accountofhiscampaign(H int e

ptionprovidesimportantclues

tions intheNileV alley

urth century.

wehave,wecan probably

oftheMeroitickingdomatsome

ourthcentury.This byno

Meroitic culture,whose

oldforms.Nor doestheendof

dof theMeroiticpeople,for

ist,albeitundernewand

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niche gravesw erefarmoref re uent

nicstrain mayaccountforthe

burials,whichnow occurredin

e tended" Mero it ic sty leof

rd,asopposedto westward,

s(Adams1977,chap.13).

tedburialsmaysimplyhave

onstrictedspace availablein

raryofferingscontinued,they

ndvariety.Potteryand

bute ceptforbeadsimported

rmastabasandchapels

perstructuresofupper-class

gerconstructed,norwere

elae,offeringtables,Aa-statues,

ngravesof theB allanaculture

erstructures,theseinvariably

mound,sometimescoveredwith

mesticatedanimalsandhuman

dinupper-classgraveson a

Meroitictimes.

tuniformlyoneof

peningbarbarism.Some large-

tradecontinued.At the

eriod,theMeroiticpotteries

time,Nubiaappearstohave

tianimports.E ventually,redware

gantobemanufacturedat

distancenorthofWadiH a lfa. Much

ationofR omanterrasigillata

pesthathadbeenpresentin

centurya.d.(Trigger

chap.13)suggeststhatthe

beenestablishedbyimmigrant

hattheyproducedall ofthefiner

hroughoutNubia.S uch

uantitiesandwasoneofthe

ound intheaveragehousehold.

atwasmanufacturedineach

uedtoadhereto thetraditions

yob ects, suchasspears,

kingutensils,andfurniture,

htheuse ofsuchitems

mainlytotheupperclasses.

dicatethatiron wasforged

vations,suchassocketed

ptianmodels.

TAT

cealsotestifiesto

statuswithinthe Ballana

containmuchlarger and

d elsewhere.Mostofthese

ssociatedwithcentersof

hichmayhavebeentheseats

structionoftheW esternBui/dingat

ud,mud-brick,androughstones,

si thtoninthcenturya. d.

pesfromQ ustulandBallana.

u r t B p = b u r i al p i t h e av y l in e = b r i c k

bedarrow+ Nindicatesnorthand

omb double-barbedarrowshows

mb (afterTrigger1969a).

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pyriare foundinordinary

mentalinscriptionthatcanbe

naPeriod,that oftheNubian

sedinbarbarousGreek.

eroiticstatebuildings

ndperhapsBuhenwere

ringtheBallanaPeriod(Adams

blocksremovedfromMeroitic

asionalbuildingelementsfor

andQ ustul.Althoughboththe

sveneratedthegoddessIsis

sto preventtherededicationof

hurchesinthefifthcentury a.d.,

heBallanamonarchsrelied

n tobolstertheirregime.W hile

eroiticdeities,theydonot

avishcultsfor them(Adams

conographybecame

ughoutNubiaduringthe,

nob ectsimportedf romEgypt

e thatweremanufactured

ayhavebeenpopularmerelyas

thenprevailinginE gyptanddo

hristianitywaswidespreadin

eless,thespeedand apparent

tybecamethestatereligionof

si thcenturysuggeststhatat

sitiontowarditmusthave

gtheBallanaPeriod(Adams

ekingdomcenteredon

ata llt imescoe tensivew iththe

yinthefifthcentury,K ing

ilitarycampaignsagainstthe

gbetweenQ asrIbrimand

gnsonthesouthernfrontiersof

edthelocalrulersin theseareas

iroverlord.In thetempleat

resentshim inane uestrianpose

itha lance( irw an1963, 75). In

sashortmail tunicandacape

ycontrast,thewingedV ictory

shimnotwithlaurel butwitha

ig. 86). While it isuncerta inthat

gsburiedatB a llanaorQustul, o r

e samedynasty,thecore

yin theformerlyMeroitic

chsappearstohave

militaryforce thatallowed

ativetraderoutesand to

ghoutnorthernNubia . F ora llthe

anaculture,itsgovernment(or

esembledthatofthekashef,the

erNubiainthe eighteenth

shenchmentraveledthrough

ack , w ringingta esf rom

sand,byadisplayof force,

ne-too-willingobedience

,theBallanastate,which

ghtto itsma imume tent, was

ofNobatia.Itscapitalwasat

omBallana.Nobatia,however,

an kingdomsthatbythistime

ngthemiddleportionof the

obatiawasMak uria . Litt le isyet

ogyofthiskingdom.Itsearly

edat Tan asi,although,as

ggests,thebeginningsofthe

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ryaftertheC hrist iani ationofNubia ,

miesofIslam.Theinvaders

ntiontowardthesouthern

ethat hadsubduedBy antine

sedbytheNubians.A second

a.d.652, wase ually

owedbytheconclusionof atreaty

erepermittedtoretain their

iticalsovereigntyin e change

annualtributetothegovernor

tactuallyremainedinforcefor

years.

ncalledtheChristian

greatfloweringofindigenous-

oughthemedievalkingdoms

ungasw astheempireofK ushinits

sremainedfimlyindependentof

se ertedaconsiderable

nborders.AftertheArab

eNubiank ingsproclaimed

torsoftheE gyptianChristian

heR ussianc arsassumedthe

rthodo churchaf terthefa llo f

hitecture,literature,andthe

veachievementsofthemedieval

hose ofanyearlierperiod.

ationtherewere,according

ndependentkingdomsin

,Makuriain thecenter,and

17).Nobatiaseemstohave

atthebeginningof theeighth

etwoformedasinglestate

theF irsttotheF ourthCataracto f

ersdw elledatD ongola , inthe

m,whileL owerNubiawas

ictionofaroyaldeputy,the

walay fartothesouthof

satSoba, notfarf romthe

dtheWhiteNiles.

domswerevisitedbyan

limelA sw ani, a ttheendof the

ryfavorablyimpressedwithboth

,whichhe describedas

withmanyfinechurchesand

mother recordsthatthekingof

yelaboratecourtmodeled

antium B y antinetit leswere in

s.H owever,therulersofNubia

nouscustomfromearliertimes:

passedfromthe kingtohis

tohisownson.

forcein Nubiaasit

valworld.Itsinfluence

antintheliterature,art,

e.O rgani ationally,theNubian

oftheE gyptian(Coptic)

eappointedby theCoptic

Mostofthebishopsand clergy

atherthanE gyptians,and,

ekratherthanCoptic(thelatest

ptianlanguage)wasusedinthe

MiddleAges,manyreligious

nativeNubianlanguage,which

ersionof theGreekalphabet.

records,therewere

ubia,thoughthe locationof

eknow,however,from

hebishopsatsuch placesas

D ongolaw erepossessedof

ls,andthatafterdeaththey

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A

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8/12/2019 Africa in Antiquity the Arts

Documents

Africa in Antiquity the Arts of Ancient Nubia and Sudan v 1