Nubians and pharaohs

The country of Nubia is the historical region that extends along the Nile river from the first cataract south of Aswan in the north to the south of the confluence of the two rivers (Blue and White river).

the history of Nubia and its geography

 

a map of Nubia

Nubia was the seat of one of the oldest civilizations in ancient Africa.

(the Kerna) civilization, which lasted from about 2500 BC until its conquest by the modern Egyptian kingdom under the rule of Thutmose around 1500 BC until the dissolution of this kingdom around 1070 BC.

Bankhy

The kingdom of Nubia was the foothold of many ancient empires, such as the kingdom of Kush which invaded Egypt in 727BC during the reign of Bankhi, and ruled the country as the twentieth fifth Dynasty until about 665BC.

 The importance of Nubia appears in what was discovered by the Swiss mission that working in Sudan, led by the Swiss archaeologist Charlie Bonnet.

the Swiss archaeologist Bonnet

These discoveries provided the world with a new perception of facts and events that coincide with the historical facts agreed upon by scholars and based on two facts:

The first fact is that the Nubian civilization in the Sudan, specifically in its north, is at least chronologically prior to the Pharaonic civilization in Egypt.

The second fact is that the Nubians were not only satisfied with this temporal precedence, but also  their kings ruled the Egyptians for several centuries, and their rule extended to include the country of Palestine.

If it was proven to us that the Nubian kings are the ones who are called the black pharaohs, we may understand why Charles Bonnet considers that the Nubian Pharaonic civilization is the origin of the Pharaonic civilization.

the Nubian army

the Nubian archers 

In the era of the first turmoil, after the end of the Old Kingdom  the Egyptian kings  recruited auxiliary forces from the barbarians for their personal use, trained them to fight, and recruited young men from their provinces, and there are wooden models of soldiers found in the tomb of a prince in Asyut, showing the army at that time, even if feudal wars did not lead to the militarization of citizens And the army was divided into two parts: the spear men of the province and the Nubian archers  

This is a wooden model of a group of Nubian archers, which was found in the tomb of Prince (Meshati) in Asyut. And Prince Mashati, one of the princes of the Eleventh Dynasty (2134-1991 BC) in the Middle Kingdom.

The Egyptian army used the Nubian archers, who were distinguished by their shooting, and they began to be used - as the inscriptions, statues and other evidence show - from the era of the Middle Kingdom.

The archers appear here in the model in four rows, each row, 10 soldiers, with a total of 40 soldiers, they are black-skinned, barefoot, wearing red, white and yellow aprons, as well as necklaces, and wigs, although some say that these are military helmets!!

We see the soldiers with their left feet facing forward, with the left hand raised and holding the bow, while we see the right hand hanging to the right side holding a group of spears, in a military type  that suggests seriousness and discipline.

This model and others are now in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.