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When Did the Nubian Kingdom of Meroe Rise to Prominence?

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===Meroe, the Ptolemies, and the Romans===
[[File: Temple_relief_of_king_Arqamani_from_Dakka.jpg|300px|thumbnail|left|Relief from Aswan of the Meroitic King Arkamani (reigned 218-200 BC) Offering to the Gods]]
Meroe truly came to prominence in the ancient world when it began its long relationship with the Greeks and Romans. The Macedonian-Greek rulers of Egypt from the third through most of the first centuries BC, the Ptolemies, were the first to battle with the Nubians of Meroe for control of the Nile. The primary region that the two groups vied for control over was known as the Dodekaschoinos, which was the area between the first and second cataracts of the Nile River. <ref> Welsby, p. 66</ref> The archaeological evidence shows that the Meroitic King Arkamani built an entrance hall to a temple in Aswan that was originally built by the Egyptian-Ptolemaic King Ptolemy I (reigned 221-204 BC). This is interesting because the two kings were contemporaries and it is highly unlikely that one ruler would allow another to build at such an important site, especially when both were vying for control of the region. What is most likely is that the temple demonstrates control of the region alternated between the Nubians and Ptolemies. <ref> Welsby, pgs. 66-67</ref>

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