Ancient Egypt and Nubia

Two Nile Valley civilisations, one of which, Nubia, ruled all of Egypt as the 25th Dynasty and outlasted it as the Meroitic Empire.

Region
Nile Valley
Period
c. 3100 BCE – 7th c. CE

Overview

Pharaonic Egypt, one of humanity's first and longest-lasting civilisations, is treated in GHA Vol. II alongside Nubia. The volume presents melanin dosage tests, osteological measurements, blood-group data and classical Greek and Latin testimony for the view that ancient Egyptians were phenotypically Black African. The question remains debated among scholars, and the volume records the 1974 Cairo symposium where it was argued.

Nubia

Long misrepresented as a peripheral dependency of Egypt, Nubia was an autonomous civilisation that periodically reversed the relationship: the 25th Dynasty of Nubian pharaohs ruled all of Egypt. The Meroitic Empire (Kush) lasted 700 years, the longest indigenous African imperial tradition of antiquity.

Key facts

  • Nubian 25th Dynasty ruled Egypt, 747–664 BCE
  • Meroitic Empire (Kush): 700 years
  • Nabta Playa: megalithic astronomical site, c. 5000 BCE
  • Ancient DNA research reported in GHA Vol. IX adds genomic evidence

References

  1. UNESCO General History of Africa, Vol. II
  2. UNESCO General History of Africa, Vol. IX
  3. UNESCO Library Guide, General History of Africa
  4. Library of Congress, Timbuktu exhibition

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