Nubians

[Tyrannosaurus]

The Nubians are a Nilo-Saharan people living alongside the Nile river in northern Sudan. Their civilization has been heavily influenced by that of the Egyptians. The Nubians have skilled archers and powerful cavalry, but weak infantry, and their stone buildings are durable but expensive.

Nubian Units

Nile Spearman: Lightly armored infantry armed with a spear and cowhide shield. Most effective against cavalry.

Medjay Archer: Archer with superior range and accuracy to other archers, making him an excellent sniper.

Chariot Spearman: Swift cavalry that is most effective against archers.

Chariot Archer: Swift, ranged cavalry.

War Elephant: "Cavalry" that is powerful against most units and buildings. Stronger but more expensive than the Carthaginian War Elephant.

[Mythos_Ruler]

What archeological and historical information do we have?

[AuroN2]

Not much, it seems.

[Hiram]

I'm tired of people spamming war elephants in every asian/african civ they propose, elephants aren't that easy to train you know...

[AuroN2]

And why is it always "More Powerful yet more expensive"? Nubians werent even a faction, they were the @#$%es of the pharoh of Egypt to put it lightly.

[Aldandil]

Depends what time period you're talking about. Egypt didn't conquer Kush (Upper Nubia) until the New Kingdom, and during the 8th century B.C.E. the Nubians turned the tables and conquered Egypt.

The pre-New Kingdom Kushites obviously wouldn't work in 0 A.D.'s time frame, but they could fit into a more ancient mod, like the one that has been proposed.

[AuroN2]

Yeah but if we are following the 0 a.d style, we would be talking in their greatest period of time, then it would be at their greatest, but would it be under egypt rule or above it? @#$% the pharoah or suck the pharoah? ()

[Cassador_Chris]

I would toss out the term Nubians (since it references a much, much earlier period) and instead opt for the Kushite Empire centered around their capital of Meroe. They emerged as a nation by throwing off Egyptian rule around 1000 BCE and were responsible for the conquest of Egypt in c. 750 BCE. They ruled Egypt for over one hundred years until being driven out by the Assyrians in 664 BCE. In c. 590 BCE they moved their capital from Napata to Meroe.

And this is all before the 0 AD time frame.

Kush, however, would remain a powerful kingdom all the way into the common era, dissolving in about 100 CE as a result of a variety of factors. Significantly, they were known to challenge Rome's rule of Egypt during this period, which does make them a good candidate to be included in 0 AD.

AuroN2, you seem to be joking here, but just because you asked, the peoples of the upper Nile were only under Egyptian rule for about 500 years. Immediately prior to Egyptian conquest, the region was ruled by the Kingdom of Kerma (1700-1520).

Time for some perspective!

Comparative Timeline:

Bold denotes independent rule.

Italics denotes rule under a foreign empire or dynasty.

Note: This is very rough.

Egyptians (Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms)

3100 3000 2900 2800 2700 2600 2500 2400 2300 2200 2100 2000 1900 1800 1700 1600 1500 1400 1300 1200 1100 1000 900 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100

"Nubians" (Kerma culture and Kerma and Kush Kingdoms)

?3100 3000 2900 2800 2700 2600? 2500 2400 2300 2200 2100 2000 1900 1800 1700 1600 1500 1400 1300 1200 1100 1000 900 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100

Common sense would say that the Kingdoms of the Nubians was most powerful during their periods of independence from Egyptian rule. Empires, although they provide some benefits, generally exist for the benefit of the conqueror, not the other way around.

ALSO: If you're considering Kush as a modded-on civilization in 0 AD, I would also consider the Sa'baean Kingdom of the Arabian peninsula, which flourished alongside Kush as a neighboring kingdom during most of its rule and governed one of the most important trade roots out of the Roman Empire; that with India via the Red Sea.

Edited September 18, 2010 by Cassador_Chris