 While the Nuba Mountains were well suited for agriculture , they were surrounded by the arid Kordofan — a region too dry to support permanent settlement .
<meaning-changed>  While the Nuba Mountains were well suited for agriculture , they were surrounded by the arid Kordofan — a region too dry to support permanent settlement .
 The state was centred on the Taqali Massif and spread to encompass all of the Nuba Mountains. These highlands were well-suited to agriculture while the surrounding Kordofan plain was dry and inhospitable, which made it difficult to support an invading army .