Chapter 2: The Advance of Civilizations "Women of Nubia"

Introduction
Students have read about the people in some of ancient Africa's kingdoms and learned about various rulers in those kingdoms. They also have read of matrilineal societies in which villagers traced their descent through their mothers. Now they will learn more about women's roles in ancient Nubia and how that tradition affects modern Nubian women.

Lesson Description
Students will go to The Role of Women in Nubia Web site. They will then answer four questions about what they have read. Students are then asked to write stories that reveal characteristics of women as represented by Nubian goddesses or rulers.

Instructional Objectives
1. Students will learn more about the history of Nubia.
2. Students will learn about the roles of women rulers in Nubian history.

Student Web Activity Answers
1. The Cult of Isis was the strongest religion in Nubia. She was considered the "Queen of All Gods, Goddesses, and Women."
2. She led her armies into battle and defeated three Roman cohorts (one of ten divisions of an ancient Roman legion). She lost an eye in battle but continued to fight, as she did even after being defeated by the Romans.
3. They assumed a priestly role in the divine succession of kings, something that was not true of other societies at the time. Nubian queens are often portrayed as the mothers of divine children.
4. Students' answers will vary but should include several points, including the ideas that the queens were role models of women's courage and that the history supported a tradition of matrilineal society.

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