860 



NUBIA. 



have, in a great measure, adopted Abyssinian manners ; but many of the tribes are wandenng 

 shepherds and warriors : they are of small stature, but have long hair ; many of them have 

 embraced Mahometanism, and they have become the ruling people in several of the Abyssinian 

 States. They seem to have emigrated from Central Africa. 



11. History. Abyssinia was little known to the ancients, and the tradition which makes the 

 Queen of Sheba an Abyssinian princess, and the monarchs of the country descendants of Sol- 

 omon, seems to be a mere fable. In the 4th century, the nation was converted to Christianity ; 

 in the 15th century, it was visited by the Portuguese, whose attempts to convert the Abyssi- 

 nians to the Roman Catholic faith, led to furious civil wars, and since that period, little inter- 

 course has been maintained with Europe. Abyssinia was governed by native princes, until the 

 inroads of the ferocious G alias, who have made themselves masters of nearly the whole coun- 

 try, and even they generally seat one of the native princes on the throne, to whom they leave 

 the form and sliadow of sovereignty. 



CHAPTER CXXXV. NUBIA. 



1 . Boundaries and Extent. Nubia is bounded north by Egypt, east by the Red Sea, south 

 by Abyssinia, and west by Darfoor and Cordofan. It extends from 12° to 24° N. latitude, 

 comprising an area of about 375,000 square miles. 



2. Mountains, Rivers, &c. From the borders of Egypt, the land rises gradually to the 

 south, through this whole country. In the south and east, are some high mountain ridges. 

 The land is everywhere intersected by large and small valleys. The Bahr el Jlzrek, from the 

 east, and the Bahr el Miad or While River, from the west, here unite to form the JVile, 

 which, with its numerous head branches, traverse the country from south to north. In the 

 upper part of its course, this river flows between high rocks, which confine it to its bed during 

 the period of its highest inundation, and here it forms several rapids and cataracts. Part of 

 the country is a desert, covered with deep, loose sand, and sharp, flinty stones. In some 

 places the soil is sprinkled with rock salt. The water, during the rainy season, is black and 

 putrid. The cHmate is intensely hot, but healthy. A great part of this extensive region is 

 now subject to Egypt, but the submission of some of the tribes is merely nominal. 



3. Towns and Divisions. Sennaar, lately the capital of an independent and powerful State, 

 has about 10,000 inhabitants. It is now merely a mass of mud huts and cabins, but there are 

 ruins which show it to have been formerly a considerable town. The kingdom of Sennaar, 

 which extended over a great part of southern Nubia, was conquered by the Egyptians in 1822. 



Shendy, a small and meanly built town with about 7,000 inhabitants, is the commercial em- 

 porium of Nubia and the greatest slave-mart in the country. In the neighborhood are the 

 ruins of JMeroc, anciently the seat of learning and science, and which some suppose to have 

 been the cradle of Egyptian arts and letters. Below Shendy is the country of the Sheygyas, 

 a nation of warriors and freebooters, containing no considerable town. 



Dongola, capital of a small State, which previous to the Egyptian expedition had been con- 

 quered by the Mamelukes, was formerly the richest and largest city of Nubia, but is now 

 reduced to a few hundred inhabitants. The northern part of Nubia, or Lower Nubia, called 

 also the land of the Barabras, contains Derr, with about 3,000 inhabitants, chiefly of Turkish 

 origin, and Ebsamboul, a petty village, remarkable for the magnificent cave-temples in its 

 neighborhood, enriched with historical sculptures and paintings, colossal statues, and columns. 

 Numerous ruins line the banks of the Nile throughout this region. The country between the 

 Red Sea and the Nile valley consists of vast deserts and rugged and sterile hills, occupied 

 by numerous wild and wandering tribes. Suakim, on the Red Sea, is an important commer- 

 cial place, and a great slave-mart ; population 8,000, chiefly Arabians. 



4. Agriculture. Dourra and bammia are the principal grains cultivated ; cotton and tobacco 

 are raised in some parts. The Nile does not rise sufficiently high to overflow its banks, and 

 the land is irrigated by means of water-wheels, as in the following cut ; the machinery is turned 

 by cows. The inhabitants make palm wine, beer, and distil a spirit from dates. Some 

 cotton cloth is manufactured. The chief articles of export are dates and slaves. The popu- 

 lation IS about 250,000. 



5. Inhabitants. The inhabitants of Nubia are composed of various races. The Nubians 

 '>roper, inhabiting the valley of the Nile, consist of two branches, the Kenoos and the Nubahs. 



