Atbarah River in the context of "Lake Tana"

Meroë (/ˈmɛroʊiː/; also spelled Meroe; Meroitic: 𐦨𐦡𐦷𐦡𐦥𐦢, romanized: Medewi; Arabic: مرواه, romanized: Meruwah and مروي, Meruwi; Ancient Greek: Μερόη, romanized: Meróē) was an ancient city on the east bank of the Nile about 6 km north-east of the Kabushiya station near Shendi, Sudan, approximately 200 km north-east of Khartoum. Near the site is a group of villages called Bagrawiyah (Arabic: البجراوية). This city was the capital of the Kingdom of Kush for several centuries from around 590 BC, until its collapse in the 4th century AD. The Kushitic Kingdom of Meroë gave its name to the "Island of Meroë", which was the modern region of Butana, a region bounded by the Nile (from the Atbarah River to Khartoum), the Atbarah and the Blue Nile.

The city of Meroë was on the edge of Butana. There were two other Meroitic cities in Butana: Musawwarat es-Sufra and Naqa. The first of these sites was given the name Meroë by the Persian king Cambyses, in honor of his sister who was called by that name. The city had originally borne the ancient appellation Saba, named after the country's original founder. The eponym Saba, or Seba, is named for one of the sons of Cush (see Genesis 10:7). The presence of numerous Meroitic sites within the western Butana region and on the border of Butana proper is significant to the settlement of the core of the developed region. The orientation of these settlements exhibit the exercise of state power over subsistence production.

The Butana (Arabic: البطانة, Buṭāna), historically called the Island of Meroë, is the region between the Atbara and the Nile in the Sudan. South of Khartoum it is bordered by the Blue Nile and in the east by Lake Tana in Ethiopia. It should not be confused with the Gezira, the region west of the Blue Nile and east of the White Nile.

Geological characteristics of the Butana are sandy and stony soils, light non-cracking clay, and dark cracking clay; the superficial clays cover over 70% of the plain. Although there are very limited water resources, seasonal surface water wells and a few deep bore wells are present. A tropical continental climate provides rain in the southern section of the plain. Two vegetation zones feature a semi-desert Acacia shrub, short grasslands, and a low woodland savannah.

The Tekezé River (Amharic: ተከዜ; Tigrinya: ተከዘ, originally meaning "river" in Ge’ez; Arabic: تكازي, also spelled Takkaze; Italian: fiume Tacazzè), is a major river in Ethiopia. For part of its course it forms a section of the westernmost border of Ethiopia and Eritrea. The river is also known as the Setit (Arabic: سيتيت) as it joins the Nile tributary Atbarah River just over the border in Sudan. According to materials published by the Ethiopian Central Statistical Agency, the Tekezé River is 608 kilometers (378 mi) long. The canyon which it has created is the deepest in Africa and one of the deepest in the world, at some points having a depth of over 2000 meters (6,562 feet).

13°9′5.76″N 37°50′16.8″E / 13.1516000°N 37.838000°E / 13.1516000; 37.838000

The Angereb also known as the Bahr as-Salam is a river of Ethiopia and eastern Sudan, and one of the sources of the Nile. It rises near Daqwa, north of the city of Gondar in the Amhara Region, flowing west to join the Atbarah River. The historic district of Armachiho is located along its course.