World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples - Sudan : Nubians
| Publisher | Minority Rights Group International |
| Publication Date | June 2018 |
| Cite as | Minority Rights Group International, World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples - Sudan : Nubians, June 2018, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5ba237167.html [accessed 23 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Nubians (not to be confused with Nuba) are descendants of the hunter-gathering culture near the site of modern Khartoum, c. 4000 BC, with much admixture from the Egyptian population to the north. Nubians have a very long history linked to the rise of agriculture, ancient states and urbanism, which parallels their association with ancient Egypt. Nubia was a source of gold, slaves, cattle skins, ivory, ebony, ostrich feathers, gum and incense which played a very important role in the basic accumulation of Egyptian wealth and power. When the Nubian kingdom was defeated by the Axumite kingdom it reorganized as three Christian kingdoms. This delayed the arrival of Islam until the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Some Nubians fled to remote locations in Darfur and Kordofan; other groups stayed in Nubia, retaining a tradition of religious scholarship and teaching.
Updated June 2018
