[Sca-cooks] BMR: D.A. Welsby, The Medieval Kingdoms of Nubia (fwd)

[sjk3 at cornell.edu]

Another BMR review that I will forward to anybody who wants more than the
little bit here.  I have no idea how helpful this book would be toward
developing a persona, but for general information it looks interesting.

Sandra

---------- Forwarded message ----------

Derek A. Welsby, The Medieval Kingdoms of Nubia. Pagans, Christians and
Muslims along the Middle Nile.  London:  The British Museum Press,
2002.  Pp. 296.  ISBN 0-7141-1947-4.  L29.99.

Reviewed by Peter C. Nadig, RWTH-Aachen (cvr at rwth-aachen.de)

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There has been a renewed interest in the ancient cultures of Sudan in
recent years.[[1]] A very informative and well received introduction to
this subject was published in 1996 by Derek A. Welsby, an experienced
field archaeologist who has been excavating in the Sudan for the past
two decades. He is Assistant Keeper in the Department of Egyptian
Antiquities in the British Museum, where he is in charge of the
Sudanese collections. In his The Kingdom of Kush,[[2]] he outlines the
history and culture of the Napatan and Meroitic empires. The early
rulers of these people even controlled Egypt and therefore formed the
XXVth dynasty (ca. 747-656 BC). These kingdoms dated from the eighth
century BC to the fourth century AD. Now W. has produced a sequel about
the subsequent history and archaeology of medieval of Nubia until the
16th century.

<snip>

Welsby has written a very thorough and fascinating book, and he can be
congratulated for drawing this poorly known topic to the attention of a
wider audience. He shows profound expertise in bringing the various
complex literary and archaeological sources together. His familiarity
with the various classical and medieval authors is a highlight. The
same can be said about his insights on archaeological matters. His
study also makes known how much information has been lost with the
passage of time or might perhaps be retrieved by future research (i.e.
excavations).

There are some minimal objections which might perhaps be considered for
a paperback edition -- which seems likely -- as was the case with The
Kingdom of Kush. The section on p. 232 on portable works of art and
manuscript illustrations is very brief and without any photographs.
Some sample pictures of manuscripts or icons would be helpful. Even
though the book is richly illustrated one might wish for more pictures
alongside the text. The bibliography would also benefit if the ancient
and medieval writers were listed separately after the abbreviations.
Still, The Medieval Kingdoms of Nubia is a very valuable book for the
general reader as well as the scholar.

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Notes:


1.   This is made evident f.e. by the splendid exhibition which toured
several countries beginning in 1996; Cf. D. Wildung (Ed.) Sudan. Antike
Ko+nigreiche am Nil. Katalogbuch zur gleichnamigen Ausstellung in
Mu+nchen, Paris, Amsterdam, Toulouse. Berlin: Wasmuth, 1996; and
(English) Sudan: Ancient Kingdoms of the Nile. Paris: Flammarion,
1997).

2.   Derek A. Welsby, The Kingdom of Kush. The Napatan and Meroitic
Empires. London: The British Museum Press, 1996, 2002 (pb.).

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