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Africa South of the Sahara

Geography and History Activity

Nubia The Nile, the longest river in the world,

was a critical trade route in ancient times. In the towns and villages along its banks, Egyptian traders plied their wares, eventu­ally emerging at the Nile's mouth on the Mediterranean Sea. South of Egypt, how­ever, another kingdom grew in response to Nile River commerce. The Egyptians knew this kingdom as Kush, located in the mys­terious region called Nubia (what is today southern Egypt and the Sudan).

Treacherous Water The Nile that flowed through Nubia

was not the easy water highway enjoyed by Egyptians. The "middle Nile" could be very narrow, and its current ran very rapidly in places called "cataracts." There were six numbered cataracts on the Nile between the Egyptian city of Aswan (the First Cataract) and Shabaluka Gorge (the Sixth Cataract), located north of Khar­toum, Sudan. The treacherous whitewater of these cataracts isolated Nubia from the outside world for centuries. After the Nubians mastered navigation of the cata­racts, however, they began trading with their neighbors to the north. Eventually, Nubia became an important trading link between sub-Saharan Africa and the rest of the world.

Rich Kingdom Nubia was a land of great natural

wealth-rich in gold mines and iron ore. Egypt relied on Nubia for gold to make coins and ornamentation, and for iron to make tools and weaponry. In addition, the

Egyptians traded for other valued items the Nubians obtained from the African interior-leather, ebony, elephants and ivory, spices, incense, and ostrich feathers. Nubia also provided Egypt with slaves and the stone needed to build temples and pyramids for Egyptian royalty. Although warfare occurred between the two lands, the Egyptians depended on the kingdom of Kush for resources, and many of Egypt's archaeological treasures were of Nubian origin.

After a major military defeat around 600 B.C., the Nubians moved the capital of the Kush kingdom farther south along the Nile, to Meroe. Meroe's location made it a hub of trade along the Nile as well as for caravans crossing the desert from northern Africa to the Red Sea and Arabia.

Decline The Nubian iron industry eventually

used up huge quantities of wood, and its forests were being overtaken by desert. Overgrazing and poor farming practices caused the land to lose its fertility. After a series of skirmishes with Roman-ruled Egypt in the second century A.D., the Nubian economy declined.

The land called Nubia no longer exists. In 1971 the Aswan High Dam was built in Egypt, and much of the Nubian portion of the Nile was flooded to form Lake Nasser. Archaeologists were able to excavate and move only a few dozen monuments to higher ground before most of the territory of this once-powerful African kingdom was submerged forever.

II

Name ___________________ Date ____ Class ____ _

Geography and History Activity continued

SAHARA

SUDAN

KEY ------- disputed border

'+!i Applying Geography to History Directions: Read the information about the Nubians and examine the map. Then answer the questions below.

1. Locating Where was the kingdom of Kush located?

2. Defining What is a cataract? How many cataracts were located along the Nile?

3. Explaining How did the existence of cataracts affect the history of Nubia?

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4. Naming What natural resources did Nubia have?

5. Listing What trade goods from Africa's interior were important. to the Egyptians?

6. Assessing What are two reasons the kingdom of Kush declined in power?

7. Mapping Activity On an outline map of Africa, draw the Nile River and label its source, its delta, the two rivers that combine to form the main river, the direction in which it flows, and the Aswan High Dam and Lake Nasser.