Blemmyes

People of the nomads in Sudan and Egypt

Around 400 BC they were at least partially settled and formed their own state. Until around the middle of the 3rd century AD, the Blemmyes appear in Greek sources primarily as robbers and plunderers who endangered the trade routes along the Nile, where they settled. The tribe was mainly still active in Sudan, although individual members also lived on the Red Sea.

Represented in mythology

The Blemmyes are also partly represented in Greek mythology, where they are depicted as a body without a head. However, the tribe became known through the Romans, who brought the people under their rule. It got to the point where the tribe had to leave the areas. Only after a long struggle did the Blemmyes regain their former homeland. The Arabs called the Blemmyes Bedscha. The Bedscha can probably be regarded as the descendants of the Blemmyes.