SocietyNorth Africa

Kerma in Nubia

2,501 BCE – 1,501 BCE

Egypt's southern neighbour and rival, with a kingship of its own

In depth

The Deffufa at Kerma is among Africa's oldest surviving monumental buildings. The royal tombs hold hundreds of sacrificed retainers — a burial practice with no Egyptian parallel. Nubia has long been told as Egypt's periphery, but the order was at times reversed: around 750 BCE Nubian kings conquered Egypt and ruled as its twenty-fifth dynasty.

For children

South of Egypt, at the Nile's third cataract, lay the kingdom of Kerma with an enormous mudbrick structure that still stands. Kerma controlled the gold and the trade from the south, and for long stretches was Egypt's equal as an adversary.

Connects to

Farming along the Nile5,001 BCE
Kush and Meroë751 BCE – 350
Egypt unified3,101 BCE

Part of Terra Saga — the story of Earth on a timeline. terrasaga.org