Nubian

The Nubian languages belong to the Northern Eastern Sudanic branch of the Nilo-Saharan family and are the ancient speech of the middle Nile, spoken in southern Egypt and northern Sudan.

After the conversion of the Nubian kingdoms in the sixth century, Old Nubian became a literary language written in a Coptic-based alphabet; manuscripts and inscriptions survive from the Christian kingdoms of Nobatia, Makuria and Alodia. The Arab conquest of Egypt in 641 opened a frontier regulated for centuries by the Baqt treaty.

After the Christian kingdoms collapsed the Funj made Soba the seat of their sultanate in 1504, under whose rule Arabic and Islam advanced. When Egyptian armies conquered the Funj realm in 1821, Nubian was retreating up the Nile, though Hill Nubian speech still held scattered villages in Kordofan and the Nuba Hills.