NUBIA. - In medieval historical geography, N. means that part of the Nile valley which lies south of the first cataract up to about the latitude of Sennar. During the first centuries of the Christian era this entire region was occupied by nomadic Libyan peoples, who settled and established themselves on the territory, driving out the Romans, who had occupied a large part of it south of the first cataract (called Dodecaskoinos), and the Meroites, whose kingdom extended south of that part, as far as about Sennar. The first of these Libyan peoples to arrive in the Nile valley was that of the Nobades, who occupied the strip between the first and second cataracts approximately, where the Blemyes of the Arabian desert had also dominated for some time; then came the Macorites, who took possession of the part south of the second cataract up to the region of Napata. Thus two territories were formed which in the Middle Ages took, from these peoples, the names of Nobatia and Muqurrah. Later the Macorites dominated the Nobades and a single kingdom was constituted with its capital at Dongola. Further south of this, the kingdom of 'Alwah arose, with its capital at Soba, on the Blue Nile just below the confluence with the White Nile. The whole region was evangelized from the middle of the 6th century, first through the work of Theodore, bishop of Philae, and of the priest Julian, who preached mainly in the territory of the Nobades and Macorites, and then by Longinus, who converted the Kingdom of 'Alwah.
The Christian archaeology of N. is known in a very uneven manner: the territory of the Nobades was systematically explored by U. Monneret de Villard, so that we have reliable knowledge of almost all the Christian monuments that stood there, whereas for Muqurrah and 'Alwah the same archaeologist could carry out only a summary exploration, so that our knowledge of them is merely summary.
As in Egypt, the Nubians used some of the ancient pagan temples, transforming them into churches: at Philae those of Eri-hems-nufer, of Imhotep, of Hathor and of Isis; at Bigeh, using the courtyard; that of Dabod; the northern one of Taifa, where the transformation can be dated to around 710; that of Ramses II known by the name of Bet al-Wali at Kalabsha, and the one erected under Augustus in the same place, where the church was installed in the pronaos; that of Dakka; that of Ofedunia (Maharraqah); that of es-Seba'a, where the church is in the pronaos, a feature also observed in those of Amada and of Derr, while it occupies the central hall in the speos carved at the time of Haremhab in the rock of Abu Hodah. The southernmost of the temples transformed into churches by the Christians is that of Akaa in the district of Serre Garb, built by Ramses II.
The great majority, however, of Nubian churches were built ex novo. These constructions are always in mud brick (the use of fired brick is exceptional): stone is employed only in small parts, and only at Sitte Gasma and Soba are granite columns found. The roofs are generally barrel vaults of ovoid profile, cross vaults are rare, but domes are extremely abundant. Even with such poor material the Nubians displayed great constructive skill. The types realized are quite varied, much more so than in Egypt, which demonstrates an independent development of the two architectures and the absence of any interdependence of one upon the other. The planimetric types used are mainly those of the basilica with three naves with vaults of the same height and a very particular form of church with a central dome. The three naves of the basilica are always separated by rectangular piers, and only at Sitte Gasma and Soba are columns certainly found: both the atrium and the narthex are systematically lacking. The entrances are very often on the long sides and not on the facade. Sometimes the three naves reach as far as the facade wall, but generally the outermost part of the two side naves is closed by a wall, forming two chambers, one of which may contain a staircase leading to the terrace above the vaults. The apse never projects or is visible, so that the eastern front of the church is formed by a flat wall. The sanctuary presents two different structures: in the first case there is a semicircular apse enclosed between two chambers corresponding to the two side naves, as in the western church of Philae, at Kalabsha, ed-Doma, Sinera, etc., as far as Qasr 'Antawu, which is the southernmost example so far attested. At other times the apse is rectangular, as at Saba Gura, Mediq of Gerf Husein, Kulubntari: at Ihmindi it is trapezoidal. In the second case the two side chambers are connected by a corridor that passes behind the apse and between it and the outer wall: this is a specifically Nubian type found from Saba Gura (southern church) in the north as far as Wadi Gazali, which is the southernmost example so far attested. N. presents some examples of basilicas with opposed apses (as at Tokor, Medinet 'Addeh and in the church of Nabandifi at Faras) and also of basilicas with the central nave covered by a series of domes (an example being a church at Tamit). In the region near the second cataract there are basilicas with galleries, the most characteristic of which are the church on the river at Adendan and that of Hammam el-Farki at Serre Garb. In this same territory the churches, which are of more careful construction and richer decoration, have the triumphal arch supported by two columns with elaborate capitals: one of the most interesting examples is that of Seib Bedawi. The type of church with a central dome is characterized by a dome on four piers built in the middle of the nave (Seima Amalika) or immediately in front of the apse (Qasr Ibrim, Serre, Figir 'Antawu). The church in the desert of Adendan, of more elaborate plan, also has domes over the two chambers flanking the apse and over the two at the facade. Entirely particular types are seen at ar-Ramal, where there is a church with four naves, of which the two central ones are both provided with two opposed [studies], and at 'Abd al-Gādir and Šeih Farrig where the naves are not separated by pillars but the vaults are carried by two wide longitudinal arches, thus reproducing a type of Sasanian construction. In Nubia there is also a cruciform church at Tamit and a church with a square plan covered by a dome. In only one case is there a trace of the presence of a crypt (Qasr 'Antavu). One of the characteristics of Nubian ecclesiastical architecture is that of presenting paired churches, that is, built one leaning against the other (Medinet 'Addeh, the south church of Serrè) or simply separated by a very narrow passage (Tamit). All this variety of forms bears witness to an intense architectural research that is astonishing in this extreme outpost of Christian civilization.
All the Nubian churches were internally covered with painted plaster: in the great majority of cases these paintings have disappeared, but a few examples that have survived to the present day (ceiling at Abū Hōdah, walls at 'Abd al-Gādir and in the church of the Angels at Tamit, apse in the church of the Šeih also at Tamit) demonstrate high technical and stylistic qualities and an altogether particular evolution.
From the Christian era, extensive cemeteries have been preserved in Nubia with tombs of a particular character, among which those with an aedicula with a dome on four pillars are to be noted.
Bibliography
Ugo Monneret de Villard