313Chronology
fRom thE EaRly statEs on thE nilE to thE Condominium
(2600bCE–1989bCE)
2600–2400 bCE Emergence of Kingdom of Kush with its capital at Kerma.
1750–1650 bCE Kingdom of Kush extends its borders northwards up to the
First Cataract and raids with impunity deep into Egypt.
1500–1070 bCE Egyptian Pharaoh Thutmose I vanquishes the Kushite king
in a battle at the Third Cataract and occupies Nubia.
850–750 bCE Kushite King Kashta takes control of southern Egypt; his
successor, Piankhi, conquers the whole of Egypt. Piankhi’s
four successors rule until a resurgent Egypt forces a retreat
south.
300–400 CE The gradual impoverishment of the Roman Empire and
the rise of a different trade route outside Kushite control
deprives Kush of a vital source of revenue, and weakens the
kingdom which eventually collapses.
500–600 Christian missionaries from Byzantine Egypt and Constan-
tinople convert Nobadia, Makuria and Alwa – three
successor states to the Kushite Kingdom – to Christianity.
642–652 An Arab army from Egypt, led by Abdullahi bin el-Sarh,
invades Nubia in 642 but is defeated. A decade later,
Abdullahi, by then Governor of Egypt, again leads an army
south against the Chris- tian kingdoms of Nubia, but
suffers heavy losses. Hostilities end with the signing of a
peace accord, the Baqt, guaranteeing the territorial integrity
of Nubia.
1504–5 Creation of the Funj Sultanate with its capital at Sennar.
1523 The Sennar monarchy officially converts to Islam.
1620–1640 Foundation of the Fur Sultanate.
1820–1 Muhammad Ali, the Egyptian Viceroy of the OttomanThe Sudan Handbook, edited by John Ryle, Justin Willis, Suliman Baldo and Jok Madut Jok. © 2011 Rift Valley Institute and contributors Sultan- ate in Istanbul, sends an army to conquer Sudan in
(www.riftvalley.net).