The Kerma Culture was an early civilization that flourished from around 2500 BCE to about 1600 BCE in Nubia in present-day southern Egypt and northern Sudan. Centered at Kerma, it seems to have been one of a number of Nile Valley states during the Middle Kingdom period of Ancient Egypt. In the Kingdom of Kerma's latest phase, lasting from about 1700–1500 BCE, it absorbed the Sudanese kingdom of Sai and became a sizable, populous empire rivaling Egypt. Around 1500 BCE, it was absorbed into the Egyptian Empire, but rebellions continued for centuries.