{{Short description|Region of southeastern Egypt and northeastern Sudan}} {{redirect|Red Sea Hills|the mountains in Saudi Arabia on the opposite coast of the Red Sea, sometimes also called the Red Sea Hills|Sarawat Mountains}} [[File:Red sea mountains.jpg|thumb|Red Sea Hills in Egypt]] [[File:Egyptian desert.jpg|thumb|Closer view of the arid, rocky Red Sea Hills]] '''Itbāy''' ({{langx|ar|اطبيه}}; '''ʿAtbāy''' / '''Atbai''' ) is a region of southeastern [[Egypt]] and northeastern [[Sudan]]. It is characterized by a chain of mountains, the '''Red Sea Hills''', running north–south and parallel with the [[Red Sea]]. The hills separate the narrow coastal plain from the [[Eastern Desert]].<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/place/Itbay "Itbāy"], in ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' (online 7 May 2012), accessed 31 December 2018.</ref>
==Geology== The Red Sea Hills are composed of the exposed [[Neoproterozoic]] [[Volcano-sedimentary sequence|volcano-sedimentary]] [[Clastic rock|rock]] of the [[Arabian-Nubian Shield]]. Although the rock itself is 550–900 million years old, the mountains were created by [[Orogeny|uplift]] when the Red Sea itself was formed in the [[Oligocene]], only some 23–34 million years ago. The Red Sea Hills are thus part of the same formation as the [[Sarawat Mountains]] of [[Saudi Arabia]] and the mountains of the [[Sinai Peninsula]].<ref>M. Sultan, S. Sefry and M. AbuAbdallah, "Impacts of Climate Change on the Red Sea Region and its Watersheds, Saudi Arabia", ''The Red Sea: The Formation, Morphology, Oceanography and Environment of a Young Oceanic Basin'' (Springer, 2015), p. 364.</ref> The Red Sea Hills rise almost to {{convert|3000|m|ft}} today, but in the past were much higher. The Oligocene uplift caused the [[River rejuvenation|rejuvenation]] of their streams and the increased erosion removed most of the limestone and sandstone to expose the [[Basement (geology)|basement]] layer.<ref>Bonnie M. Sampsell, ''The Geology of Egypt: A Traveler's Handbook'' (American University in Cairo Press, 2003), pp. 27–28.</ref>
The Itbāy is arid, receiving less than {{convert|200|mm|in}} of rainfall each year with high variability.<ref name=manger>Leif Manger, ''Managing pastoral adaptations in the Red Sea Hills of the Sudan: Challenges and Dilemmas'' (IIED, 1994), p. 2.</ref> The [[Barka River]], the most significant of the few seasonal streams that flow into the Red Sea, rises in the Red Sea Hills of Sudan and empties into the sea at the [[Tokar Delta]]. In prehistoric times it was probably a permanent river.<ref>W. Bosworth, "Geological Evolution of the Red Sea: Historical Background, Review, and Synthesis", ''The Red Sea: The Formation, Morphology, Oceanography and Environment of a Young Oceanic Basin'' (Springer, 2015), p. 50.</ref>
==History== In prehistoric times, the Red Sea Hills were likely the area where the [[Proto-Cushitic language]] was spoken.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Stevens|first1=Chris J.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=32-TDAAAQBAJ&dq=proto+cushitic&pg=PA239|title=Archaeology of African Plant Use|last2=Nixon|first2=Sam|last3=Murray|first3=Mary Anne|last4=Fuller|first4=Dorian Q.|date=July 2016|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-315-43400-1|language=en}}</ref>
The Red Sea Hills are a source of [[Porphyry (geology)|porphyry]], which was being mined as early as the fourth millennium BC.<ref name="edwards">David N. Edwards, ''The Nubian Past: An Archaeology of the Sudan'' (Routledge, 2004), pp. 64, 209, 251–52.</ref>
The Red Sea Hills are inhabited by the [[Beja people]] who speak a Cushitic language and practice [[pastoralism]]. They mainly live near the dry riverbeds, [[Wadi|''wādī''s]], that flow seasonally into the sea and the [[Nile]], where there is limited vegetation.<ref name="manger" /> In antiquity, the Beja were known as the [[Blemmyes]] and their presence in the hills is detected archaeologically by the presence of [[Eastern Desert Ware]] from the fourth century AD. The [[material culture]] of the hills places it firmly within [[ancient Egypt]]'s sphere of influence. Extensive mining settlements have been found in the [[Wadi Allaqi]] and the [[Wadi Gabgaba]]. The early Blemmyes built [[Tumulus|platform tumuli]] (flat-topped burial mounds), and the appearance of [[cairn]]s to mark burials in the late [[Middle Ages]] may be linked to [[Islamization]].<ref name="edwards" />
==References== {{reflist}}
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[[Category:Geography of Egypt]] [[Category:Geography of Sudan]] [[Category:Blemmyes]] [[Category:Regions of Africa]]