Nubia is so situated that it ought to provide more well-dated information than any other African country concerning

the historical links between Central and North Africa and between the east and west of the continent.

(S. Adam and O.J.Vercoutt) - From —2200 to —1580, the C - Group peoples between Aswan and Batnel-Hagar (see m a p ) remained in close contact with Egypt, either because Egypt administered the region directly (c. — 2000 to c. — 1700), or because many Egyptians became permanent residents in the country (c. —1650 to c. -1580) , very probably in the service of the new kingdom of Kush (see below and Chapter 9). A s they continued to keep in touch with their home region, Thebes, they helped to spread Egyptian ideas and techniques. Farther south, from Batn el-Hagar onwards, lay the kingdom of Kerma , name d after the most important center so far discovered (see Chapter 9).
Its civilization differs only in detail from that of the C - Group and archaeological finds in the very few sites so far excavated reveal links not only with Egypt but also, from —1600 onwards, with the Asiatic Hyksos, who appear to have been in direct contact with them.
It is quite easy to determine the northern limit of the area administered by ' Kerma ' : it is Batn el-Hagar. But the southern boundary is quite another matter. Recent finds (1973) of Kerma pottery between the White Nile and the Blue Nile south of Khartou m appear to suggest that, even if the kingdom of Kerma itself did not extend as far as present-day Gezira, its influence did, and so brought it into close touch with the Nilotic world of the Sudds.
It is particularly unfortunate that we cannot be certain h o w far the
kingdom of Kerma extended towards equatorial Africa, since this kingdom, probably the first African 'empire' known to history, had achieved a high degree of civilization which enabled it to exert a profound influence on countries situated to its south, along the upper Nile and in Central Africa, as well as to the east and west. If we accept the hypothesis that the kingdom of Kerma stretched from the Third Cataract up to the White Nile, it would have controlled not only the great north-south artery formed by the Nile valley but also the east-west routes from Atlantic Africa to the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. It was therefore well placed to pass on techniques and ideas from Egypt or from the Hyksos with whom, as we have seen, they had contacts to the African cultures of these regions.
This is not the place to discuss the question whether the large buildings which still dominate the Kerma site are of Egyptian or Nubian origin (see Chapter 9); though the bricks are m a d e according to a Pharaonic technique, the plan of the buildings is quite different from that of contemporary structures in the lower Valley. Until we know more, it is preferable to regard them as 'Kushite' work which underwent Egyptian influence. Kerma seems to have been the most important urban center in the kingdom of Kush whose n a m e appears in Pharaonic texts from —2000. We need only emphasize that this kingdom may have greatly influenced neighboring cultures through its techniques, especially in metallurgy, and that its political strength, to which the size of its capital bears witness, may have enabled it to project its influence far afield. Unfortunately there has been little or no archaeological exploration in the outlying areas of the kingdom, so that we are not yet in a position to do more than speculate about the role of the kingdom of Kerma in transmitting ideas, techniques or languages.
From —2200 to —1580, the C - Group peoples between Aswan and Batnel-Hagar remained in close contact with Egypt, either because Egypt administered the region directly (c. — 2000 to c. — 1700), or because many Egyptians became permanent residents in the country (c. —1650 toc. -1580) , very probably in the service of the new kingdom of Kush (see below and Chapter 9). A s they continued to keep in touch with their h o m e region, Thebes, they helped to spread Egyptian ideas and techniques. Farther south, from Batn el-Hagar onwards, lay the kingdom of Kerma , name d after the most important center so far discovered (see Chapter 9).
Its civilization differs only in detail from that of the C - Group and
archaeological finds in the very few sites so far excavated reveal links not only with Egypt but also, from —1600 onwards, with the Asiatic Hyksos, who appear to have been in direct contact with them
It is quite easy to determine the northern limit of the area administered by ' Kerma ' : it is Batn el-Hagar. But the southern boundary is quite another matter. Recent finds (1973) of K e r m a pottery between the White Nile and the Blue Nile south of Khartoum appear to suggest that, even if the kingdom of K e r m a itself did not extend as far as present-day Gezira, its influence did, and so brought it into close touch with the Nilotic world of the Sudds .
It is particularly unfortunate that we cannot be certain h o w far the
kingdom of K e r m a extended towards equatorial Africa, since this kingdom, probably the first African 'empire' known to history, had achieved a high degree of civilization which enabled it to exert a profound influence on countries situated to its south, along the upper Nile and in Central Africa, as well as to the east and west. If we accept the hypothesis that the kingdom of Kerma stretched from the Third Cataract up to the White Nile, it would have controlled not only the great north-south artery formed by the Nile valley but also the east-west routes from Atlantic Africa to the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. It was therefore well placed to pass on techniques and ideas from Egypt or from the Hyksos with whom, as we have seen, they had contacts to the African cultures of these regions.
This is not the place to discuss the question whether the large buildings which still dominate the Kerma site are of Egyptian or Nubian origin (see Chapter 9); though the bricks are m a d e according to a Pharaonic technique, the plan of the buildings is quite different from that of contemporary structures in the lower Valley. Until we know more , it is preferable to regard them as 'Kushite' work which underwent Egyptian influence. K e r m a seems to have been the most important urban centre in the kingdom of Kush whose n a m e appears in Pharaonic texts from —2000