Chapters › Christian Nubia · Sudan – Middle Nile
Noba / X-Group (Ballana culture)
350 CE – 550 CE Arabic under review
Approximate area of control
Research in progress No areas drawn: the file only has reference points.
Reference points
- Ballana (royal tumuli) [low] — Pleiades gazetteer Place 795783
- Qustul (royal tumuli) [low] — Wikipedia contributors Ballana culture
Dating note
Approximate. Ballana coordinates verified: Pleiades 795783 (Barrington Atlas 81 B3). Site now under Lake Nasser.
Key events
- Post-Meroitic royal tumuli at Ballana and Qustul
Capitals / sites
Ballana
Geopolitics
Post-Meroitic struggle between the Blemmyes and the Nobades; the Nobades won control of the Nile valley and pushed the Blemmyes into the eastern desert; Leclant inclines to see the Nobades as the lords of Ballana and Qustul (GHA II ch.10, 12).
Culture
Rich royal tumuli at Ballana (excavated by Emery, 1938); some Christian presence before the official conversion is argued from Faras (dating contested) (GHA II ch.12).
Economy
Two kinds of evidence only. (1) Imports: the Ballana and Qustul tumuli held Alexandrian silverware, huge bronze lamps and an ivory-inlaid chest, while the pottery stayed of traditional Meroitic type (GHA II ch.10, p.294). (2) Frontier payments: when Diocletian gave up Lower Nubia, the Blemmyes and Nobades were to guard Rome's southern frontier and 'were paid sums which their petty kings ... enjoyed calling tribute' (GHA II ch.7, p.215). Production and trade are not described.
Regional power
Research in progress We have not yet read a source for this section. It will be added once one is checked; nothing is filled in by guesswork.
Open data flags
- regional_power: no actors scored
- Pass 20 text: [WORKING TRANSLATION – needs native Arabic review] for every Arabic field
- Ballana economy: inferred only from imports and Roman payments; GHA III not read
Sources
- G. Mokhtar (ed.), UNESCO International Scientific Committee (1981) General History of Africa, II: Ancient Civilizations of Africa UNESCO / Heinemann / University of California Press link [en]
- K. Michałowski (1981) The spreading of Christianity in Nubia (General History of Africa II, ch.12) UNESCO link [en]
- J. Leclant (1981) The empire of Kush: Napata and Meroe, ch.10 (General History of Africa II) UNESCO / Heinemann / University of California Press link [en]
- S. Donadoni (1981) Egypt under Roman domination, ch.7 (General History of Africa II) UNESCO / Heinemann / University of California Press link [en]
- Pleiades gazetteer Place 795783 ISAW, NYU link [en]
- Derek A. Welsby (2002) The Medieval Kingdoms of Nubia: Pagans, Christians and Muslims along the Middle Nile British Museum Press link [en]
- Wikipedia contributors Ballana culture Wikipedia link [en]