The Nile, from Assuan to the conflux of the Blue and White Rivers comprising the routes across the Great Nubian and Bahouda deserts.

Nubia has one of the oldest civilizations in the world. This history is often intertwined with Egypt to the north. Around 3500 BC, the second "Nubian" culture, termed the Early A-Group, arose in Lower (Northern) Nubia. They were sedentary agriculturalists, traded with the Egyptians, and exported gold.