CHAPTER XVII STEAMING THROUGH THE LAND OF CUSH OR the last two days I have been steaming through one of the oldest lands of the globe. I have been travelling up the Nile through the country which JL belonged to Noah's grandson, Cush, who was Ham's eldest son, and which was known to the Greeks and Romans in later days as Ethiopia. The Egyptians called it Nubia, from their word noub, which means gold, and it is known that a large part of the gold of ancient time came from it.

Ancient Nubia had a considerable population, and was noted for its riches and power. It was already a flourish¬ ing country about the time of the Pyramid builders, while in the most prosperous days of Old Egypt it had large towns and magnificient temples dedicated to the worship of the Egyptian gods. On my way here I passed Abu Simbel, a great temple on the bank of the Nile, which was cut out of the rocks by Rameses II, the Pharaoh of the Bible.

Farther down the river lies the Temple of the Lions, where that same old king was himself worshipped as a god.

Until i ioo B. C. this country was a dependency of the Pharaohs. It then became independent, and later its armies overran and conquered Egypt. As other nations came into this part of the Nile valley they sent their armies against the Nubians, but were driven back, and at the time the Romans came the country was ruled by a succession of