English
Español
Français
Italiano
Deutsch
Русский
Português
Polski
Română
Svenska
Norsk bokmål
Suomi
Türkçe
العربية
简体中文
한국어
हिन्दी
ΕλληνικάINITIAL ATLAS · ORIGIN AND EXPANSION
Map of Nubia
Atlas of Nubia
Follow the history of Kerma, Napata and Meroe along the Nile.
Museum documentation · free public access, no account required.
Editorial visualisation · Contextual correspondence
Declared editorial visualisation, based on the cartography and sources of the fact sheet; it is not an exact historical frontier.
History and context
The map begins with Pre-Kerma communities and allows progression through 8 phases. Documented places —Kerma, Napata · Jebel Barkal, Meroe— appear only when they help to read the active period.
Kerma, Napata and Meroe were not phases of an identical institution; the map links related Nubian trajectories.
Evidence and interpretation
The coastline is from Natural Earth. The layers distinguish origin, core, direct control, influence, networks, disputed territories and external domains; they are approximate curatorial envelopes, not modern borders. The faint outline preserves the previous phase to make each expansion, contraction or absorption visible. Kerma, Napata and Meroe were not phases of an identical institution; the map links related Nubian trajectories.
Catalogue facts
- Reading mode
- Origin, sequence and changing scope
- Sequence
- 8 phases · Pre-Kerma communities (c. 3500–2500 BCE) → Early and Middle Kerma (c. 2500–1750 BCE) → Classic Kerma (c. 1750–1500 BCE) → Egyptian occupation of the New Kingdom (c. 1500–1070 BCE) → Kingdom of Napata (c. 1000–750 BCE) → Kush and the Twenty-Fifth Dynasty (c. 750–656 BCE) → Reorientation towards Meroe (c. 656–270 BCE) → Meroitic kingdom (c. 270 BCE–350 CE)
- Nodes
- Kerma (c. 2500–1500 BCE) · Napata · Jebel Barkal (1st millennium BCE) · Meroe (c. 300 BCE–350 CE)
- Range
- Approximate regional corridor.
- Caution
- Kerma, Napata and Meroe were not phases of an identical institution; the map links related Nubian trajectories.
A closer look
About 1 min to read · 1 section. Further reading and sources · free access. Editorial review recorded: .
The landscape expands inland
The so-called Island of Meroe is not a small island surrounded by water: the name organises a territory between the Nile and the Atbara. In it, the riverside city of Meroe coexisted with the religious centres of Naqa and Musawwarat es-Sufra, situated in semi-desert landscapes. From the 3rd century BCE, Meroe received the majority of royal burials. The map must show this shift of centres and environments, without turning all places of the kingdom into a single simultaneous capital.
- Heritage · UNESCO · Archaeological Sites of the Island of MeroeAccess recorded: .
Location and territory
REGIONAL AREA
Upper Nile Corridor; Kerma, Napata and Meroe were not a single StateUpper Nile Corridor; Kerma, Napata and Meroe were not a single State. The footprint marks the indicative center of the area, not a border or an exact point.TERRITORIAL ATLAS · REAL GEOGRAPHY · CHANGING EXTENT
Atlas of Nubia
Three centres and several Upper Nile formations
Middle Nile communities articulated livestock, agriculture, and routes; later Kushite institutions should not be projected onto them.
WHAT CHANGES · OriginA corridor of pastoral and agricultural communities emerges in the Middle Nile, articulated by routes before the kingdom of Kerma.
Kerma, Napata and Meroe were not phases of an identical institution; the map links related Nubian trajectories.
Documentation for every period
The map is interactive. The full chronology is also available below without using any controls.
c. 3500–2500 BCE · Pre-Kerma communities
Middle Nile communities articulated livestock, agriculture, and routes; later Kushite institutions should not be projected onto them.
Origin · A corridor of pastoral and agricultural communities emerges in the Middle Nile, articulated by routes before the kingdom of Kerma.
- Middle Nile · c. 3500–2500 BCE
Approximate regional corridor.
Probable
c. 2500–1750 BCE · Early and Middle Kerma
Kerma grew as the centre of its own kingdom and connected resources and communities of the Upper Nile.
Expansion · Kerma concentrates part of the earlier corridor and expands its influence over communities and resources of the Upper Nile.
- Kingdom of Kerma · c. 2500–1750 BCE
Approximate area of influence around the Nile.
Probable
c. 1750–1500 BCE · Classic Kerma
Kerma reached its zenith and contested the Nubian corridor with Egypt; Egyptian texts describe the rival from the outside.
Expansion · The kingdom reaches a greater envelope and disputes sectors of the Nubian corridor with Egypt, with unstable limits.
- Kerma at its height · c. 1750–1500 BCE
Maximum curatorial envelope, not a verified border.
Debated
c. 1500–1070 BCE · Egyptian occupation of the New Kingdom
Egyptian fortresses, temples and administration transformed Nubia without erasing its populations or producing a homogeneous identity.
Absorption · Kerma’s sphere comes under the fortresses and administration of the New Kingdom, without the local populations disappearing.
- Nubia under Egyptian rule · c. 1500–1070 BCE
Control of variable intensity along the corridor.
Probable
c. 1000–750 BCE · Kingdom of Napata
A new Kushite kingdom coalesced around Gebel Barkal; it was not an intact institutional continuation of Kerma.
Origin · After the Egyptian withdrawal, a new Kushite core emerges around Napata and Gebel Barkal, distinct from ancient Kerma.
- Napatan core · c. 1000–750 BCE
Approximate core of the new kingdom.
Probable
c. 750–656 BCE · Kush and the Twenty-Fifth Dynasty
Kushite kings ruled Egypt during part of the eighth and seventh centuries BCE; both corridors retained their own regional histories.
Expansion · From Napata, Kushite rulers extend their authority along the valley to Egypt, with northern control disputed.
- Kushite core · c. 750–656 BCE
Core of the southern kingdom.
Probable - Egypt under the Twenty-Fifth Dynasty · c. 743–664 BCE
Egyptian territory ruled by Kushite kings.
Probable
c. 656–270 BCE · Reorientation towards Meroe
After losing Egypt, the Kushite monarchy retained the Upper Nile and gradually shifted its political centre towards Meroe.
Contraction · After losing Egypt, the monarchy retains Upper Nubia and gradually shifts its centre of gravity towards Meroe.
- Kush between Napata and Meroe · c. 656–270 BCE
Envelope of a gradual reorientation, not an instant transfer.
Probable
c. 270 BCE–350 CE · Meroitic Kingdom
Meroe, its script and its southern centres defined a new phase; its end did not equate to the disappearance of Nubian populations.
Expansion and fragmentation · The Kushite sphere rearticulates around Meroe and southern centres, before dividing into successor powers.
- Meroitic sphere · c. 270 BCE–350 CE
Approximate area of Meroitic centres and corridors.
Probable
Documented places
- Kerma · c. 2500–1500 BCE
Capital of a Nubian kingdom prior to Egyptian domination.
- Napata · Jebel Barkal · 1st millennium BCE
Royal and sacred centre of the kingdom of Kush.
- Meroe · c. 300 BCE–350 CE
Capital, Meroitic writing and iron production.
Routes and contacts
- approximate sequence and expansion
- approximate sequence and expansion
Kerma, Napata and Meroe were not phases of an identical institution; the map links related Nubian trajectories.
Sources and references
Did you enjoy this exhibit?
Your opinion helps us improve the museum. You can change it whenever you like.
Loading your rating…