Nubia was one of Africa's oldest civilisations. Stretching from what is now southern Egypt to northern Sudan, it supported human life with difficulty and had a largely scattered tribal society. However it was rich in many natural resources, not the least of which was gold, and its location between the Mediterranean world and Africa (particularly the land of Punt) meant it was always the subject of attention from its more powerful northerly neighbour. It suffered many raids and campaigns from Egypt, who at various times partly conquered it, but it also supplied many Egyptian armies with large numbers of mercenaries, particularly archers for which it was famed.

In view of their particular expertise in archery it is reasonable that so many poses in this set are using that weapon, and with eight such poses the bow is covered very well. Other poses carry spears and simple clubs, which is perfectly appropriate. The chieftain (first figure on bottom row) has acquired an Egyptian sword - not a Nubian weapon but as with officers everywhere money allows the purchase of the best imported weapons. The poses are very good and are particularly effective in representing a large body of archers as they shower an enemy with arrows.

All the warriors in this set wear long kilts which by their texture seem to be animal skins. While such dress is perfectly reasonable a simple linen kilt or loin cloth would probably have been far more common, and certainly most Egyptian representations of Nubians show them minimally attired in this way, with cloth or leather protection at the front. All have a feather in the hair, which is commonly represented, and again the chief stands out by having an animal skin cloak and more elaborate dress.

Everyone is well accustomed to the excellent sculpting of Caesar figures and these are no different. The proportions are very good as is the muscle definition, and while there are no detailed uniforms to admire here the faces are beautifully done and such items are earrings are clearly visible and sharply done. Add to that a complete lack of flash and you can't really ask for more.

As yet we have not mentioned the final two figures. The box states there are 43 figures, and the 43rd is the drummer on the bottom row. He is an Egyptian bonus figure, and joins several other such bonus figures in other biblical sets. However for some lucky customers there is a second bonus figure, and this is of no less a personage than a pharaoh. He is dressed for war, with his crown and scale armour cuirass, and his sword in his raised hand. With this figure the fine craftsmanship is really apparent and the result is terrific. Only a limited quantity of sets contain this second bonus figure but if you can find one it is well worth it in our view.

This is another excellent set from Caesar although we feel the long kilts were not a good choice. From such a distance in history and with so little evidence it is not possible to definitely know how common such apparel was, but logic and such depictions as there are suggest this was not typical. In all other respects however this is another consistently great product from Caesar.