Nubiana

36 PART I Persians and later, after being conquered by Alexander the Great in 332 BC, was ruled by a Macedonian Greek dynasty, while in Nubia the kingdom of Napata, whose territorial limits were greatly restricted, shared the territory peacefully with the newly founded kingdom of Meroe, until the Meroitic King Arkamani reunited the two kingdoms in 225 BC. In 31 BC, the battle of Actium put an end toMacedonian Greek or Ptolemaic rule in Egypt, and Rome occupied the whole of Egypt, including former Ptolemaic possessions in northern Nubia. Southern Nubia, by contrast, continued to be independent, governed by the Meroitic monarchy, a situation that gave rise to a period of conflict between the two powers. Only after lengthy negotiations and the definition of a precise border did the hostilities cease. A period of peace ensued that was to last for over two centuries. The Romans engaged in the restoration or expansion of the existing Egyptian and Ptolemaic temples. Noteworthy examples include the temple complex on the island of Philae, the temple of Debod, the remains of the kiosk of Qertassi, the temple of Taffeh, the Great Temple of Kalabsha and the temples of Dendur, Dakka and Maharraqa. Although the Romans never completely integrated with the Nubians, the rapid development of Christianity in the 6th Century AD throughout Egypt from the north and Ethiopia from the south rapidly led to the conversion of most of the population. Many temples and tombs were turned into churches decorated with early Christian fea- tures. These include the Ramesside temple of wadi Es-Sebua. At the same time, new places of worship were built, including the cathedral of Faras, an episcopal see and an important center of Christian Nubia from the 7th Century AD. The slow and inexorable Islamization of Nubia began with the Arab occupation of Egypt in 640 AD. Pyramids of the “Black Pharaohs”, near the Sudanese site of Jebel Barkal at Napata (UNESCO, World Heritage Site, 2003). !ese pyramids, together with many others (about 200) sca"ered across various sites in Nubia, contained the bodies of sovereigns of the kingdom of Napata and later Meroe. !e structure of many of them is almost intact.

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