البجا و شرق السودان في العصر التاريخي القديم (2200 ق. م. إلى 580 م)‎

Abstract EN

This article is an attempt to utilize the available documentary and archaeological material to con&ruct the ancient hi&ory of the Beja people.However , emphasis is made on the written sources .These are composed of inscriptions, papyri, and accounts of the classical authors.

The languages are:Egyptian , Greek, Latin and Coptic.

All are available in reliable English translations .The sources however deal mo&ly with the Beja living close to the Nile valley and those living along the coa& of the Red sea.The southern Beja may be sought in Auxmite sources.

The material is presented in a chronological order : thus beginning with the mo& ancient tribe of the Beja; the “Medjay “ as called by the Egyptians of the sixth dyna&y.The Meday werebedouins , they became renowned for their fighting abilities and excellentknowledge of the desert routes.

The next tribe is the tribe of the Blemmyes ; they are the be& known because the data concerning them is relatively rich .The texts depict them as maurauders attacking innocent people.

Groups of Blemmyes emigrated to the Nile valley and succeeded in establishing a kingdom of their own between Aswan and Qasr Ibrim while retaining their original pa&oral kingdom in the ea& desert.

While in the valley they contacted with their northern neighbors in Egypt, the Pharaohs, the Ptolamies and the Romans in various ways; some positive and others negative.

The texts mention two other Bega tribes vis: The Megabaroi e and the Trogodite.