Monumental fortresses built during the Bronze Age in Egypt to wage war against the Nubians of the south were of immense size and complexity. Sadly, many of these landmarks have been lost to the ravages of time and the rising waters of the Aswan Dam. However, exploring the true size of the Buhen Fortress brings its glory to life. The traditional borders of Egypt were the western desert, the northeastern Sinai, and the first cataract of the Nile. Each of these locations provided natural barriers that had served to organically partition the region. Yet as civilizations expanded, they began to spill over these frontiers.

Thus, it was in the interest of those who controlled the fertile Nile to reinforce their domains with man-made defenses. This would happen most prominently in the transitory region of the upper Nile, which was marked by a series of cataracts that served to limit efficient modes of water travel. To the north, the Pharaohs of Egypt had consolidated their holdings over the course of centuries, which spanned the long history of the Old, Intermediate, and Middle Kingdom periods. To the south, meanwhile, the various leaders of Nubia had done much the same. Theirs was a land rich in livestock, precious metals, and trade routes into the African interior that spawned its own glorious civilization.