Geography
Alternative Names for Nubia
Three terms for ancient Nubia are used in ancient sources; these are Kush, Ethiopia,and recently
Sudan
Kush:
The Ancient Nubians referred to their land as Kash of which the
name Kush has descended. The name Kush, as opposed to Ethiopia, is
found in some Biblical sources and sometimes is spelled as Cush.
Ethiopia:
In Biblical and Hellenistic sources, the region of Nubia is named Ethiopia and is spelled, in some instances Aethiopia. Contemprary historians
misreferenced the land of ancient Ethiopia to the modern Republic of Ethiopia.
Recent researches and careful examination of ancient sources indicated the
actual location of ancient Ethiopia to be within the political boundries
of the modern Republic of Sudan.
Nubia:
It must be noted that there is a distinction between the modern and ancient Nubians. The name Nubia, which is widely used to designate the people of
Kush, originated from the Nobatians or Noba. The latter were a Nilo-Saharan
people who dominated the Kushite kingdom beginning in the third century CE. Since Nubia
was a source of gold to the ancient Egyptians, some historians speculate
that the term may have originated from the Egyptian word Nub meaning gold.
Sudan:
The original term Sudd, from which the modern term Sudan is derived,
refers to a vast expanse of floating water plants or swamps. The earliest
mention of the word Sudd in reference to modern Sudan appear in the writings
of Seneca, who recorded an expedition sent by the Roman Emperor Nero to central
Sudan. Later in history, Arab writers, unaware of the origin of the word Sudan,
interpreted the term as being derived from the Arabic word Soud, meaning
Blacks.
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