Nuba Mountains

Map of Sudan (after 2011). The Nuba Mountains are labeled in Southern Kordofan

The Nuba Mountains (Arabic: جبال النوبة), also referred to as the Nuba Hills, are an area located in South Kordofan, Sudan. The area is home to a group of indigenous ethnic groups known collectively as the Nuba peoples. They are not the same as the Nubians who are indigenous to north Sudan. Rather their name is derived from the name of the mountains, “Nuba”. In Antiquity, the area was a part of the Kingdom of Kush. In the Middle Ages, the Nuba mountains had been part of the Nubian kingdom of Alodia. In the 18th century, they became home to the kingdom of Taqali that controlled the hills of the mountains until their defeat by Mahdi Muhammad Ahmad. After the British defeated the Mahdi army, Taqali was restored as a client state. Infiltration of the Messiria tribe and Muraheleen of Baggara Arabs has been influential in modern conflicts. Up to 1.5 million people live in the mountains, mostly ethnic Nuba, with a small minority of Baggara.