Nubia: Notable Events

600’s BCE - Iron Age (All Facts)

• Period in Kush history in which great wealth was brought due to the namesake ore deposits surrounding it and the beginnings of the namesake industry

23 BCE - Roman-Kushite War (All Facts)

• War which began with an ill-advised Kushite border raid on Syene, near Aswan in Egypt, while the main Roman army in Egypt was engaged in battle against the Arabians 

  • After defeating the Arabians, Publius Petronicus, the governor of Egypt, and his Roman legions, recaptured Syene and marched south and sacked the Kushite capital of Napata 

641 CE - First Battle of Dongola (All Facts)

• Battle in which the Nubian-Christian Kingdom of Makuria defeated the Rashidun Caliphate, the first defeat of the Rashidun Caliphate despite outnumbering their Makurian opponents

652 - Second Battle of Dongola (All Facts)

• Battle in which the Nubian-Christian Kingdom of Makuria defeated the Rashidun Caliphate, ending Arab Muslim expansion into Nubia and establishing trade and historic peace between Muslims and Christians in the region, allowing Makuria to grow into a dominant regional power until the 1100s

• Despite their victory, after the battle, the Makurians were forced to pay an annual tribute of 400 slaves to the Rashidun Caliphate