a large country of Africa, lying between Egypt on the N. and Abyssinia on the S., the Red Sea on the E. and the Great Desert on the W.; and extending from N. Lat. 11. to 24., E. Long. 25. to 36. The name, however, is not always applied to the whole of this region, but is restricted by some geographers to the country east of the Nile, while the natives themselves apply the terms Nooba, or Wady-el-Nooba, to a comparatively small por- The aspect of the country in Lower Nubia is very different from that of Egypt, though both alike form part of the valley of the Nile. The mountains, which consist chiefly of sandstone and granite, approach much nearer to the river, leaving only a narrow strip of arable land along the water's edge; and the rocks in some places extend into the bed of the river, forming rapids, the lowest of which, called the First Cataract, occurs at the confines of Egypt and Nubia. Beyond the hills which line the river on either side stretches the desert of Nubia, extending on the one side to the Red Sea, and on the other being separated from the Sahara only by inconsiderable hills and table-lands. In some places the desert comes quite close to the Nile, forming sandy banks to the river, and in other places the banks are covered only with a thin strip of vegetation. Upper Nubia occupies the lowest of the three table-lands which are supposed to constitute this part of the African continent. The elevation increases towards the southern border of Nubia, which has a height of 4000 feet above the sea. This district is also occupied by several mountain chains, which do not for the most part, as in Egypt, extend parallel to the river, but from west to east, forming numerous valleys in the same direction. Of these chains the most important are the Gebel Saigre, Gebel Safiata, and Orbay Langay; the last of which stretches from Faka on the Albana to Suakin on the Red Sea, and has numerous offshoots in the eastern Nubian desert. A range of mountains stretches along the coast of the Red Sea, but these are not very high, nor in any way remarkable. Coarse grey granite, quartz, and mica-slate are the chief geological formations of Upper Nubia. Gold and silver mines are said to exist near the shores of the Red Sea; but all the attempts made by the Pasha of Egypt to work them have proved fruitless. In Upper Nubia the Nile is not so closely shut in by mountains as in the lower region; and this country is also watered by other rivers, which discharge their waters into it. At the Second Cataract immense plains stretch out from either margin of the stream, exhibiting, it is said, even in their present neglected condition, unequivocal indications of fertility; and as there seems to be little doubt that in former ages the annual inundation extended considerably beyond the limits of modern cultivation, so it may reasonably be presumed that anciently the country was much more productive and populous than in modern times, when the decrease of the inundation, and the continual encroachment of the moving sands of the desert on either side, have combined to produce the desolation which now prevails. At present the Nile seldom or never overflows its banks in this part of Nubia; and the portion of the soil cultivated is irrigated by means of sakkeas, or Persian wheels constructed for raising the water of the river to the level of the adjacent ground. The eastern bank of the Nile is much better adapted for cultivation than the western, being more easily irrigated by artificial means. But it is not a little remarkable, that all the splendid ruins for which this region is distinguished, and which exhibit so great labour, ingenuity, and skill, are found upon the opposite bank; a circumstance which seems to strengthen the presumption that Nubia was formerly much more fertile and populous than in the present day.

The country on the banks of the Nile is composed of two parts,—Wady Kenoos and Wady Nooha, so called from the tribes who inhabit them, and who differ from each other in language. The former extends from the confines of Egypt on the south to Wady Sebooa; and the latter, from which the general name of the country appears to have been derived, stretches as far as the frontier of Dongola. The chief distinction between these two parts consists in the circumstance, that the languages spoken in each are entirely different.

The grain which forms the principal object of Nubian cultivation is dhourra, the *Andropogon sorghum* of botanists. It is raised upon the patches of soil irrigated by means of the sakkeas or Persian wheels, of which there are from 600 to 700 between the First and Second Cataracts; and, when ground, it is formed into a cake somewhat resembling the Abyssinian *teff*. After the dhourra, the Nubians raise a crop of barley, French beans, lentils, and sometimes also of water-melons. Sometimes a third crop is raised in the year, and this in these cases generally consists of dhourra again. Tobacco is everywhere cultivated, and constitutes the principal luxury of all classes, being either smoked or sucked in a peculiar manner between the gums and the lip. Animal food is scarce, and seldom eaten, even by the chiefs or sheiks. The liquors used are palm-wine, a spirit distilled from dates, and a sort of beer called *booza*, which is made from dhourra. Excessive indulgence in these liquors is general throughout the whole country. The only fruit trees cultivated in Nubia are palms, but the soil is adapted for several others. Great sameness prevails in the vegetation of the desert, the trees being mostly acacias, tamarisks, date and doum palms.

The climate of Nubia, though intensely hot in summer, is nevertheless remarkably healthy. This is no doubt a consequence of the extreme dryness of the atmosphere, occasioned by the absence of rain and the absorbent qualities of the soil. The upper regions of Nubia, however, are by no means destitute of rain, but are exposed from March to May to those showers which cause the overflowing of the Nile. They do not extend N. of 17° 30' N. Lat. The plague has seldom or never reached Wady Halfa, and beyond the Second Cataract it is entirely unknown. The small-pox, however, is a fearful scourge, and, owing to the ignorance and filthiness of the people, occasionally commits dreadful ravages.

The people are now generally known by the name of Nubians, and are called by the Arabs *Barabra*. They consist of the Kenoos and Nooha tribes, and differ considerably in appearance at different places, those to the south being much darker than the inhabitants of the country bordering on Egypt. They are generally well made, strong, and muscular, and have tolerably good features. The women are not handsome, but perfectly well formed, and in general remarkable for agreeable countenances and pleasing manners. Great numbers of the Nubians repair to Cairo, where they usually act as porters, and are esteemed for their honesty; but they always return to their native villages with the little property which they have saved in plying their humble vocation. They excel the Egyptians in honesty and veracity, though they are inferior in acuteness. They are likewise distinguished for their brave, independent, and patriotic spirit. The inhabitants of Derr-el-Mahas and the more southerly districts differ considerably from the other Nubian tribes. They are of Arab descent, and speak the language and follow the wandering life of that people.

Previously to 1821 the Nubians were independent, being ruled by chiefs of their own; but in that year they were brought under the power of the Egyptian pashas; and the government of Nubia is now, like that of Egypt, a military despotism. Some trade is carried on in Nubia, Sennaar and Shendy being the principal mart for the commerce of eastern Africa. The principal articles of export to Egypt are dates, which are obtained here of an excellent quality; gold, ivory, ebony, and slaves are imported into Nubia from the interior of Africa, and thence sent to Egypt, Arabia, or the East; and the principal imports through Egypt are soap, sugar, beads, coral, paper, and hardware.

One of the most remarkable features of this region consists in the magnificent monumental remains with which it is covered along the line of the stream, and which continue to perpetuate the genius and power of the ancient population of the country situated on the Upper Nile. The principal remains in Nubia, beginning with the lowest down on the river and proceeding upwards, are the following:—At Dabod on the W. bank, 15 miles above the First Cataract, are the remains of a temple, dedicated, according to a Greek inscription over the entrance, by Ptolemy Philometer and his queen Cleopatra, to Isis and other deities. The temple of Kalabishieh, whose ruins stand on the same side of the Nile, about 29 miles above Dabod, is the largest in Nubia. It does not seem to be earlier than the time of Augustus, though the materials have apparently been taken from an older building. The body of the temple consists of three parts, and has twelve columns in front. It stands in the middle of an inclosure, which is entered by a portico with two pyramidal towers. At the same place is an ancient temple of the age of the Pharaohs, cut out of the rock, and adorned with elegant sculptures. The temple of Dendoor, which stands just within the tropic, is believed to have been founded by Augustus in honour of Osiris, Isis, and Horus. At Dakkleh, further up than Dendoor, are the remains of a temple founded by Ergamun, an Ethiopian king of the age of Ptolemy Philadelphia. On the opposite side there are extensive brick ruins, bearing the names of Remeses VII. and VIII., who lived in the twelfth century B.C. The ruined structure at Saboos has before it a propylon, with two pyramidal towers. The pronaos on each of its longest sides has five columns without capitals, and in front of each is a colossal figure, 16 feet in height, with the arms crossed on the breast, and the usual emblems in the hands. In front of the propylon are two statues, 10 feet in height, with their faces towards the river, and attached by the backs to stone pillars of equal elevation; and an avenue of sixteen sphinxes leads from the bank of the Nile to the temple. The whole fabric appears to be of the remotest antiquity, and is ascribed to the age of Remeses the Great (1355-1289 B.C.). Of the same era is the temple of Derr, which, has some bold though defaced sculptures.

But of all the temples of Nubia, that of Abou-Simbel Ebsamboul or Ipsamboul, about 40 miles below the Second Cataract, is incomparably the most remarkable. It has the finest colossal figures of any in Egypt, which, notwithstanding their great size, have countenances of considerable beauty, when seen from a proper distance. The great hall contains eight pillars with colossal figures attached to them, and there are many other apartments opening into it. Both the pillars and the walls are covered with representations of battles, storming of castles, triumphs, and sacrifices, in a style, if not superior to, at least bolder than, that of almost any in Egypt, both in regard to the design and the workmanship. The second hall, which is of less dimensions, contains four pillars about 4 feet square, and the walls are covered with hieroglyphics in tolerable preservation. Beyond this there is a chamber of the same width, but shorter, in which is the entrance to the sanctuary; and at each end is a door leading into smaller apartments in the same direction with the adyton. The sanctuary itself is 23 feet in length by 12 in breadth, and contains a pedestal in the centre, with four colossal figures in a sitting posture at the end, all in good order and uninjured. The outside or external front of this temple is truly magnificent, being 117 feet in width, and 86 feet in height, whilst the space from the top of the cornice to that of the door is 66½ feet, and the height of the door itself 20 feet. There are four enormous sitting figures, the largest in Nubia, or even in Egypt, excepting only the great sphinx at the Pyramids, to which they approach in the proportion of nearly two-thirds. On the top of the door is a statue of Osiris, 20 feet in height, with a colossal figure on each side looking towards it. The cornice of the temple is adorned with hieroglyphics, and under it are a torus and frieze, the one 6 and the other 4 feet in breadth. Above the cornice is a row of squatted monkeys, twenty in number, and each 8½ feet across the shoulders. This temple was nearly two-thirds buried in the sand till the year 1817, when the sand was cleared away, and an entrance obtained by Belzoni, Irby, Mangles, and Beechey. In several places of the square border which encircles the front of the temple, and also on the buttresses between the colossal figures, are a number of ovals or rings, containing the name and praenomen of Remeses the Great, the same Pharaoh whom the Greeks indicate by the name of Sesostris or Sethosis.

The temples at Samneh, situated on the western bank of the river, between the twenty-first and twenty-second degree of north latitude, afford specimens of a more perfect class of structures; intermediate, it would seem, between such excavations as that of Ebsamboul and the magnificent edifices of Karnak and Luxor. That on the eastern bank has a portico and a hall running parallel to it, behind which are three small and one larger chamber; and that on the other side is more elegant, consisting of one chamber surrounded by a corridor of pillars.

The first architectural attempt in Nubia probably was General de la Croix's improvement of some hole or cave in the rock; or d'Anville's, even if the country possessed no natural caves for imitation by a people possessing the troglodyte habits natural to the inhabitants of a burning climate, the mountains themselves would afford facilities for constructing durable habitations. After having got possession of a hole or cave, the next step of these primitive architects would probably be to extend the excavation, to form several chambers separated by the native rock, and when a compartment of larger dimensions was designed, to have square pillars for the support of the roof. In the course of time the outer front, with the inner walls and pillars, would receive decorations derived from imitations of the natural forms of the country, and subjects connected with the historical remembrances or religious creed of the nation. We see abundant evidence in the rock-temples of Nubia to convince us that the order of progression and improvement here indicated was that actually followed in their gradual enlargement and decoration; yet a prodigious period must have elapsed between the rudest excavation in the rock, such as Derr appears to have been in its primitive state, and the highly-finished sculptures of the great temple of Ebsamboul. In fact, "antiquity appears to have begun" long after these primeval architects had commenced their troglodyte labours. But, in surveying the wonders which crowd the banks of the Nile from Meröe to Memphis, our minds become insensibly impressed with the reflection, that the wealth, power, and genius which produced them have entirely passed away; that, if new worlds have risen, and new races been discovered, "we have lost old nations;" and that, in the lapse of ages, empires themselves vanish, like the baseless fabric of a vision, leaving scarcely a wreck or trace behind them. The contrast between what now is and what once must have been in Ethiopia and in Egypt, is indeed most striking; nor is it easy to pass, even in thought, through the various scenes of conquest and desolation which must have conspired to produce the effects we contemplate. History sheds no light on events and characters which the lapse of 3000 years has covered with impenetrable obscurity; and whilst groping our way amidst temples dedicated to gods, and structures raised in honour of heroes, whose very names sound like voices from the dead, we content ourselves with the conclusion, which all the monuments impress on us, that long before the dawn of history there had existed in that singular region a great people, whose architectural monuments have outlasted their learning, their philosophy, and almost even their very name.