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The ancient Nubians are often overlooked as one of the more important peoples of the ancient Near East and Mediterranean because they were often under the thumb of the Egyptians, and when they were free to develop on their own they never built a vast empire as other peoples in the region did. With that said, the Nubians developed a culture that was the most sophisticated in sub-Saharan Africa and they often played an important, albeit secondary role in the geopolitics of the Near Eastern and later in the Hellenic world.

Historians and archaeologists generally consider the ancient Nubians to have built three great kingdoms that are named for the location of their largest and most important settlements: Kerma (c. 1700-1550 BC), Napata (eighth to early third centuries BC), and Meroe (early third century BC to the mid-fourth century AD). Modern scholars often give the Kingdom of Napata the most attention because its kings ruled Egypt for a time and there are a plethora of texts from around the ancient Near East, including the Bible, that document their activities. But the Kingdom of Meroe was just as, if not more important. The Nubian kings moved the capital of their kingdom to Meroe to better protect themselves from new threats from Egypt. As the Nubian kings made the move farther south, they preserved all elements of Nubian culture, resisted incursions from the Ptolemaic Greeks and later the Romans, and eventually influenced the course that culture would take in eastern Africa in late antiquity.

[[File: Nubia_german.jpg|300px|thumbnail|left|Satellite Map of Nubia. The First Cataract at Aswan Was generally Considered the Border between Nubia and Egypt in the Ancient World]]

Before an examination of Meroe’s rise to prominence and dominance can be detailed, a definition of Nubia is vital. The definition and nomenclature of Nubia and the Nubians varied widely throughout ancient history depending upon the people and time writing about the subject. Owing to the fact that they were neighbors, the Egyptians were the first ancient people to write about the Nubians. The Egyptians referred to the land south of Aswan as the region of <i>Wawat</i>, while <i>Kush</i> is what they called anything south of the second cataract. <ref> Welsby, Derek A. <i>The Kingdom of Kush: The Napatan and Meroitic Empires.</i> (Princeton, New Jersey: Marcus Weiner, 1998), p. 7</ref>

Beginning with Piye, the Napatan kings embarked on a series of cultural innovations that were followed by later Nubians. Perhaps one of the most interesting was the fact that Piye was the first Nubian king to be buried under a true pyramid. The Naptan kings constructed a necropolis near Napata, outside the present location of el-Kuru, where they were buried under small, distinct pyramids with steep sides ranging from sixty to seventy-three degrees. This Nubian pyramid building tradition was later continued at the site of Nuri and finally Meroe, the capital of the last great ancient Nubian kingdom.

[[File: Queen_Meroe.jpg|300px|thumbnail|left|Statue of a Meroitic Queen in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo]]

After the seat of Nubian power moved south to Meroe, it took some time for the new kingdom to rise to prominence. The Nubian royal necropolis was moved to Nuri in the Napata region immediately after the Tantamani was vanquished from Egypt, before moving much further south to Meroe around 270 BC. <ref> O’Connor, David. <i>Ancient Nubia: Egypt’s Rival in Africa.</i> (Philadelphia: The University Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania, 1993), p. 70</ref> Once Meroe was established as the new seat of government, the kingdom grew in size and power: but why did the move happen in the first place?

Although there is little evidence, the Nubians may have also come under the rule, at least nominally, of the Achaemenid Persians in the late sixth or early fifth centuries BC. Reliefs dated to the reign of the Persian King Darius I “the Great” (ruled 522-486 BC) at Naqsh-I Rustam and the royal palace in Susa claim Nubia as a satrapy. In particular, the relief from Susa depicts a Nubian bringing tribute to the king, with the text stating “Ivory from Nubia.” <ref> Kent, Roland G. <i>Old Persian: Grammar, Texts, Lexicon.</i> Second Edition. (New Haven, Connecticut: American Oriental Society, 1953), pgs. 138, 144</ref> It is quite possible, and probable, that the Persians could only claim part of Nubia, but that Meroe and most of Upper Nubia were free of foreign control, although that would change in the third century.

Meroe truly came to prominence in the ancient world when it began its long relationship with the Greeks and Romans. The Macedonian-Greek rulers of Egypt from the third through most of the first centuries BC, the Ptolemies, were the first to battle with the Nubians of Meroe for control of the Nile. The primary region that the two groups vied for control over was known as the Dodekaschoinos, which was the area between the first and second cataracts of the Nile River. <ref> Welsby, p. 66</ref> The archaeological evidence shows that the Meroitic King Arkamani built an entrance hall to a temple in Aswan that was originally built by the Egyptian-Ptolemaic King Ptolemy I (reigned 221-204 BC). This is interesting because the two kings were contemporaries and it is highly unlikely that one ruler would allow another to build at such an important site, especially when both were vying for control of the region. What is most likely is that the temple demonstrates control of the region alternated between the Nubians and Ptolemies. <ref> Welsby, pgs. 66-67</ref>

The Romans eventually put the rebellion down and made peace with the Nubians, which ushered in an era when Meroe’s international prominence faded, yet it remained relatively safe and stable. Other than the Roman Emperor Diocletian (ruled AD 284-305) defeating the Meroitic Nubians in a battle in AD 297, little more is known about Meroitic-Roman relations. <ref> Welsby, p. 71</ref> The Meroitic Period of Nubian history finally ended in 350 when King Aezanas of Axum conquered Meroe. <ref> O’ Connor, p. 72</ref>

The ancient Nubians built three notable kingdoms during their long history, each centered around important settlements: Kerma, Napata, and Meroe. Although the Napata Period may be the best known of the Nubian kingdoms due to its control of Egypt during the Twenty-Fifth Dynasty, the Kingdom of Meroe was also culturally and politically significant. The Nubian Meroitic kingdom rose to prominence after the Egyptians vanquished the Nubians and possibly attacked Napata in a major military campaign. The Nubians then retreated farther south to the relative safety of Meroe, where Nubian culture continued and the Nubian kings dealt with and sometimes fought the Ptolemaic Egyptians and the Romans before being conquered by another East African kingdom, Axum.

[[Category: Ancient History]] [[Category: African History]] [[Category: Near East History]]