By 2000 BC, the Nubian people along the Upper Nile River lived in settled communities with extensive trade networks connected to Egypt and the eastern Mediterranean. The towns and villages here eventually were joined together into a powerful kingdom, which the Egyptians called Kush.

Kerma is perhaps the earliest city of the Nubian civilization, dating from 1500 BC. It was fortified by a wall ten metres high. Burial grounds show there was an elite upper class, as elaborate tombs contrast with simple graves for common people.

The period of 1550 to 1100 BC marked the colonization of Kush by Egypt. The people here began to adopt Egyptian customs. This colonization was especially bitter as it occurred during the reign of Tutankhamen who was the son of a Nubian woman. The southern part of Nubia remained free of Egyptian rule.