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Description

This would be an archer from one of the kingdoms of medieval Nubia, in what is now northern Sudan. Although the term “Nubian” is often used for all inhabitants of this region throughout history, it more properly refers to a number of ethnic groups who settled it from the Sahara Desert to the west following the collapse of the indigenous kingdom of Kush in the fourth century AD. These newcomers would establish kingdoms of their own such as Nobatia, Makuria, and Alodia which would dominate the area during the Middle Ages, with Orthodox Christianity being their primary religion. It would be in the sixteenth century when the last of these Christian kingdoms fell due to pressure from the Ottoman Empire to the north and the Muslim Funj to the south, ultimately leading to the Islamization of the northern Sudan.
The reference for this Nubian archer’s design comes from a Portuguese text called the Codice Casanatense, which contains illustrations from various peoples of the world at the time it was written. Islamic Arabs would refer to the Nubian archers as “eyesmiters” in honor of their formidable accuracy.

Description

This would be an archer from one of the kingdoms of medieval Nubia, in what is now northern Sudan. Although the term “Nubian” is often used for all inhabitants of this region throughout history, it more properly refers to a number of ethnic groups who settled it from the Sahara Desert to the west following the collapse of the indigenous kingdom of Kush in the fourth century AD. These newcomers would establish kingdoms of their own such as Nobatia, Makuria, and Alodia which would dominate the area during the Middle Ages, with Orthodox Christianity being their primary religion. It would be in the sixteenth century when the last of these Christian kingdoms fell due to pressure from the Ottoman Empire to the north and the Muslim Funj to the south, ultimately leading to the Islamization of the northern Sudan.
The reference for this Nubian archer’s design comes from a Portuguese text called the Codice Casanatense, which contains illustrations from various peoples of the world at the time it was written. Islamic Arabs would refer to the Nubian archers as “eyesmiters” in honor of their formidable accuracy.