Nobī النوبيون | |
---|---|
![]() Modern Nubian men in Aswan | |
Regions with significant populations | |
![]() | 167,831 (1956 census)[1] 812,000[2][3][4] |
![]() | 99,000 (1960s)[5] 300,000[6]–5,000,000[7] |
Languages | |
Nubian languages[a] Arabic (Sudanese Arabic, Sa'idi Arabic, Egyptian Arabic) | |
Religion | |
Sunni Islam | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Sudanese Arabs,[8] Beja, Egyptians, Cushites, Nilotic peoples |
Nubians (/ˈnuːbiənz, ˈnjuː-/) (Nobiin: Nobī,[9] Arabic: النوبيون) are a Nilo-Saharan speaking ethnic group indigenous to the region which is now northern Sudan and southern Egypt. They originate from the early inhabitants of the central Nile valley, believed to be one of the earliest cradles of civilization.[10] In the southern valley of Egypt, Nubians differ culturally and ethnically from Egyptians, although they intermarried with members of other ethnic groups, especially Arabs.[11] They speak Nubian languages as a mother tongue, part of the Northern Eastern Sudanic languages, and Arabic as a second language.[12]
Neolithic settlements have been found in the central Nubian region dating back to 7000 BC, with Wadi Halfa believed to be the oldest settlement in the central Nile valley.[13] Parts of Nubia, particularly Lower Nubia, were at times a part of ancient Pharaonic Egypt and at other times a rival state representing parts of Meroë or the Kingdom of Kush. By the Twenty-fifth Dynasty (744 BC–656 BC), all of Egypt was united with Nubia, extending down to what is now Khartoum.[14] However, in 656 BC the native Twenty-sixth Dynasty regained control of Egypt. As warriors, the ancient Nubians were famous for their skill and precision with the bow and arrow.[15] In the Middle Ages, the Nubians converted to Christianity and established three kingdoms: Nobatia in the north, Makuria in the center, and Alodia in the south. They then converted to Islam during the Islamization of the Sudan region.
Today, Nubians in Egypt primarily live in southern Egypt, especially in Kom Ombo and Nasr al-Nuba (Arabic: نصر النوبة) north of Aswan,[16][17][18] and large cities such as Cairo, while Sudanese Nubians live in northern Sudan, particularly in the region between the city of Wadi Halfa on the Egypt–Sudan border and al Dabbah. Some Nubians were forcibly moved to Khashm el Girba and New Halfa upon the construction of the High Dam in Egypt which flooded their ancestral lands. Additionally, a group known as the Midob live in northern Darfur, a group named Birgid in Central Darfur and several groups known as the Hill Nubians who live in Northern Kordofan in Haraza and a few villages in the northern Nuba Mountains in South Kordofan state.[19]
The main Nile Nubian groups from north to south are the Kenzi (Kenzi/Mattokki-speaking), Faddicca (Nobiin-speaking), Halfawi (Nobiin-speaking), Sukkot (Nobiin-speaking), Mahas (Nobiin-speaking), and Danagla (Andaandi-speaking).[20]
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