Ancient Nubia ─ African Kingdoms on the Nile

For most of the modern world, ancient Nubia seems an unknown and enigmatic land. Only a handful of archaeologists have studied its history or unearthed the Nubian cities, temples, and cemeteries that once dotted the landscape of southern Egypt and northern Sudan. Nubia's remote setting in the midst of an inhospitable desert, with access by river blocked by impassable rapids, has lent it not only an air of mystery, but also isolated it from exploration. Over the past century, particularly during this last generation, scholars have begun to focus more attention on the fascinating cultures of ancient Nubia, ironically prompted by the construction of large dams that have flooded vast tracts of the ancient land.

This book attempts to document some of what has recently been discovered about ancient Nubia, with its remarkable history, architecture, and culture, and thereby to give us a picture of this rich, but unfamiliar, African legacy.

Marjorie M. Fisher is adjunct professor of Egyptology at the University of Michigan.

Peter Lacovara is senior curator of ancient Egyptian, Nubian, and Near Eastern art at the Michael C. Carlos Museum of Emory University.

Sue D'Auria is a former assistant curator at the Huntington Museum of Art, and has edited several books on Egyptology.

Salima Ikram is professor of Egyptology at the American University in Cairo, and has published extensively on a variety of subjects in Egyptology.

Chester Higgins Jr is a world-renowned photographer and author of six books of photography whose work has appeared in ART- news, Essence, and The New York Times Sunday Magazine.

Zahi Hawass is the former Minister of State for Antiquities, and the author of many books on ancient Egypt.