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💡 Did You Know?
The Kushite Pharaoh Taharqa ruled all of Egypt and Nubia in the 7th century BCE — and is even mentioned in the Bible!

Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, is an old settlement that resides alongside a meeting of the White Nile and the Blue Nile. The White Nile, known for its light-colored clay sediment, is the longer tributary and originates from modern-day Burundi. The Blue Nile, which flows from the Ethiopian mountains, is shorter but is the primary water source and fertile soil. The two combine to form the Nile Proper that flows toward Lower Egypt and then, the Mediterranean.

Over millennia, settlements have been established right next to these water bodies. An important region in these area is Kush, also known as Nubia, in the modern state of Sudan. While archaeologists have found signs of first settlers going back 300,000 years, it was not until the Neolithic Revolution that we started to see the development of urban civilization. Around 5,000 BCE, when the Sahara started to dry up, people came together and more and more of these settlements started to pop up. One of them was Kerma, one of the first big, independent urban centers in sub-Saharan Africa established around 2,400 BCE. It is here that we begin our story.

The story of ancient Egypt is often told in a hermetic manner, portraying it as an exotic and uniquely mysterious civilization. But the Egyptians were far from an isolated culture in those days, and multiple invasions over the course of centuries testify to that fact. One of the cultures that Egypt was in contact with rather intricately was the Kuushite culture to the South. The Old Kingdom kings of Egypt destroyed small settlements and the region was sparsely populated for a long time. But, by 2,500 BCE, new settlements could be seen appearing on the horizon. It should be pointed out that the term Nubia for the Kush region came into the common vernacular much later. The two terms are often used interchangeably, but some people use Nubia in general and Kush to specifically refer to the Kingdom of Kush.

The Kerma culture flourished from 2400 to 1500 BCE, and in that time, Egypt relied on Kerma for the import of luxury items likes ivory, gold, incense, and ebony, among other things. Given their riches, the Egyptian king Mentuhotep II, among others, led military campaigns to subjugate the Nubians and take over crucial trade routes alongside Nile. Having experienced the wrath of their archers at more than point, the Egyptians called Nubia “Ta-Seti” or “The Land of the Bows.” Despite recorded encounters between the two, Kerma and Egpyt often engaged in extensive trade.

Nubia had more to offer than just its rich natural resources. Situated right beside the Nile, the Nubians herded cattle and farmed grains, peas, dates, and lentils. They also reached out to the Egyptians for vegetable oils, beer, wine, linen, and other goods. The two entities were so entwined that there are signs of Nubians and Egyptians intermarrying during the First Intermediate Period. Not only that, some Egyptian kings like Khufu and Mentuhotep II might have had Nubian blood.

The archaeological site of Kerma reveals a lot about the people. A fortified religious structure of mud bricks called deffufa stands tall in the center. It rises to an impressive 18 meters or 59 feet and has passageways and stairs leading to the primary altar. Two other deffufas can be seen around the city, but the concrete details of the religious rituals are not that well known.

Kerma was the leading political and cultural force in Upper Nubia or Southern Nubia. But, it was dwarfed by a behemoth to the North: the Middle Kingdom of Egypt. From 2,000 to 1,700 BCE, the Egyptians controlled Lower Nubia or Northern Nubia. But the tide turned in 1,700 BCE, when the independent Kerma culture absorbed the polity of Sai in Lower Nubia and began dominating the region. It quickly became one of the most powerful political entities of the time, rivaling the strength of Middle Kingdom Egypt. In the Second Intermediate Period, Egypt was being squeezed on two ends: by the Hyksos in the north and the Nubians in the South. But, the Egyptians pushed back, and Thutmose II managed to reach Kerma by 1,500 BCE. After getting rid of Kerma, he founded the city of Napata to consolidate power in the region. The king also built the Temple of Amun near the mountain of Jebel Berkel. The Temple of Amun remained one of the most important religious sites in all of Egypt and Nubia for the next few centuries.

During the New Kingdom Period, most of Nubia remained under Egyptian control. But, during the Third Immediate Period, Egyptian power was fragmented across its lands. A diminished Egypt allowed Napata to start regaining its autonomy. The increase in priestly powers ruled Upper Egypt, undermining the 21st Dynasty of Egypt, which was now restricted to Lower Egypt. The Bronze Age Collapse was the final nail in the coffin. With Egypt’s might squandered, the Libyan rulers who formed the 23rd Dynasty were dismissive of the Egyptian customs. The Nubians may have spoken their own Kuushite language and dressed differently, but they shared a long history with the Egyptians, not to mention religious beliefs, rituals, and the writing style—hieroglyphics. Displeased and offended by the Libyan rulers, the Kuushites decided to push back. By the year 1069 BCE, the Nubians established their own kingdom: the Kingdom of Kush.

There is a 500-year-gap between the fall of Kerma and the formation of the Kingdom of Kush. How much of the culture carried over from the old empire to the new one remains up for debate. The first Kuushite king, Alara, consolidated his power at Napata and made it the center of the new kingdom. A royal necropolis was erected to bury the kings and queens; previously, they had been buried in Kerma. Like their Egyptian counterparts, the Nubian rulers needed to preserve jewelry, ornaments, and food to help them beyond the grave. The royal burial site of El-Kurru would have been a sight to behold in its heyday—it still is. While their burial methods were similar to the Egyptians, the Nubian pyramids were far more steeper. Out of the estimated 1,000, close to 300 pyramids are still standing in Sudan. For context, the modern state of Egypt has a total of 100 pyramids.

In the 8th century BCE, Napata was ruled by a king named Kashta, who not only controlled the gold mines in Nubia but also controlled several routes across the land and Nile. He decided to invade Egypt. Kashta’s ambitions seem to have been modest: he wanted to secure the religious sites at Thebes. He managed to creep into Upper Egypt and install his daughter, Amenirdis I, as the Divine Adoratrice of the God Amun in Thebes. The Upper Egyptians saw Kashta as a liberator and took his arrival as a good sign—he had restored the religious order and driven the Libyan oppressors away. Without engaging in an out-and-out conflict, he established the 25th Dynasty of Egypt, one ruled by a Kuushite monarch. But, Kashta was not long for this world and was succeeded by his son, Piankhi.

Piankhi engaged in military campaigns between 728 and 716 BCE to consolidate power in Lower Egypt. It should be noted that Egypt at this point was a fragmented mess, ruled by four claimants to the throne. He marched north without prejudice, claiming lands and taking cities left and right. He turned the conquered kings into vassals and thought it best not to meddle in their issues any further. His expeditions continued into the Delta as he captured Hermepolis and stamped out any naysayers to his rule. He also reinforced and expanded on the temple at Jebel Berkel and was buried in a nearby pyramid after his death.

His successor, Shabaka, squashed several rebellions, extended the boundaries of the empire, and ruled from Thebes. The Assyrians were expanding their territories, and kingdoms like Israel and Judah were rebelling against them. King Hezekiah of Judah reached out to the Nubian king for help, who was happy to help. The northern territories had always provided Egypt a nice buffer from Mesopotamia. But, now it was starting to break down. Shebitku ascended to the throne after Shabaka’s death and managed to ward off the northern enemies. His successor, Taharqa, was not as fortunate.

After defeating the Assyrians in a major encounter, he was wounded in the second around 670 BCE and retreated from Memphis to Thebes. The Assyrian king Esarhaddon captured his family and several members of the Egyptian royalty and sent them to Nineveh as hostages. Taharqa funded revolts in Lower Egypt and antagonized Esarhaddon over the next couple of years. After Esarhaddon’s death, the command passed to Ashurbanipal, who defeated the Nubian king and penetrated down the river to Thebes. The Assyrians had appointed their allies in Egypt’s power corridors. But, Taharqa’s successor, Tantamani, was not so fond of that idea. He sailed north from Napata and arrived in Thebes with a large army. There, an elaborate ritual was undertaken to crown him the next Kuushite king. When the Assyrians retaliated, they burnt down Thebes and looted the city until it was a shell of its former glory. Tantamani retreated to Napata, from where he ruled until his death.

The Assyrians established the 26th Dynasty of Egypt and sent the Kuushites packing. The sun had set on the Kuushite reign of Egypt. The 25th Dynasty of Egypt had seen its days, but the Nubian kings continued to rule in the South for another 1,000 years.

As the 26th Dynasty hunted them down, the Kuushites relocated to Meroe. The new city continued the lineage of Egyptian customs and fashions. The political ideas and the religious practices were the same, and the priests of Amun played a major role in the society. This changed, however, in the 3rd century BCE when Arkamani I, also known as Ergamenes, had all the priests slaughtered and changed the socio-political infrastructure in Meroe. Egyptian culture was either abandoned or assimilated into Kuushite ideas.

Since the area was rich in iron, they started to export it and other manufactured goods to Egypt and the Mediterranean and even all the way to India and China. The stories of its wealth were so ridiculous that Cambyses II set out from Persia to conquer it. Thanks to the terrain and the weather, he never reached it. The society of Meroe was still hierarchical but the lower class was still fairly well off. Pastures and greenery surrounded the city and cattle herders could be seen in distance during the day. The royals lived in large palaces that can be seen in the ruins. The city’s Temple of Amun is said to be as big as the one in Napata and attracted eyes from everywhere. Among those eyeing it were the Aksumites, who arrived and sacked Meroe in the 4th century. But it is said that the city was already in decline by that point. Cattle herding and iron mining relied on wood, which had been chopped down, grazed, and generally speaking, destroyed over multiple centuries. This endangered the entire ecosystem, which led to the downfall of the great urban settlement. Once the Aksumites arrived, it was abandoned, bringing an end to the glorious saga of the Kingdom of Kush.

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