Nobatia

Nobatia, also called Nobadia, was a late antique kingdom in Lower Nubia, in what is now southern Egypt and northern Sudan. It emerged around 400 in the former Meroitic province of Akine, after the decline of the kingdom of Kush, and is associated with the archaeological Ballana culture. The Nobatae had been settled in the region by the Roman emperor Diocletian in 297, but their kingdom became visible only a century later. Its rulers defeated the Blemmyes and extended their power southwards between the second and third Nile cataracts; an inscription of King Silko records the campaign. The capital was established at Pakhoras, modern Faras, near the second cataract. Nobatia converted to non-Chalcedonian Christianity in 543, during the missionary work of Julian, and many Egyptian temples were turned into churches. In the seventh century it was annexed by its southern neighbour Makuria, probably before the Arab conquest of 652; the circumstances are unknown. Nobatia retained a distinct identity as an eparchate within Makuria for centuries, and its name survived in Arabic sources as al-Maris.