Nubian / Kushite Timeline

2500 BCE – 350 CE · 3 sites

All sites in this period

Country Record

Earliest Known Site in Egypt

Abu Simbel

1264 BCE – 1244 BCE

The twin rock temples of Abu Simbel, carved by Ramesses II (c. 1264–1244 BCE) in Nubia, showcase colossal statues and a celebrated solar alignment; they were famously relocated in the 1960s to escape the rising Lake Nasser.

422

Bronze AgeDynastic Egypt

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Country Record

Longest Recorded History in Sudan

Meroë

800 BCE – 350 CE

Ancient capital of the Kingdom of Kush, Meroë flourished from 800 BCE to 350 CE, famed for its steep-sided pyramids, advanced iron industry, and role as a trade nexus linking Africa, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East.

322

Iron AgeClassicalHellenistic

The Western Deffufa, a colossal mudbrick temple at the ancient Nubian capital of Kerma, Sudan

Continent Record

Earliest Known Site in Africa

Kerma

2500 BCE – 1500 BCE

The capital of one of the earliest and most powerful kingdoms of ancient sub-Saharan Africa — a Nubian city on the Nile in what is now Sudan that flourished from roughly 2500 to 1500 BCE, rivaling and at times threatening pharaonic Egypt. Its centrepiece, the Western Deffufa, is a colossal mudbrick temple that remains one of the largest ancient man-made structures in Africa outside Egypt, and its royal tombs contained some of the most spectacular burials ever excavated in the Nile Valley.

Bronze Age