Everything about Kush totally explained
Kush civilization centered in the region of
Nubia, located in what is today northern
Sudan. One of the earliest civilizations to develop in the
Nile River Valley, Kushite states rose to power before a period of Egyptian incursion into the area. People in Kush were called
Kushites.
Origins
The first cultures arose in
Nubia before the time of a unified Egypt. Around
2500 BC,
Egyptians began moving south, and it's through them that most of our knowledge of
Kush (Cush) comes. But this expansion was halted by the fall of the
Middle Kingdom of Egypt, at which time an independent kingdom developed. About
1500 BC Egyptian expansion resumed, but this time encountered organized resistance. Historians are not sure whether this resistance came from multiple
city states or a single unified empire, and debate whether the notion of
statehood was indigenous or borrowed from the
Egyptians. The
Egyptians prevailed, and the region became a
colony of
Egypt under the control of
Thutmose I, whose army ruled from a number of sturdy fortresses. The region supplied
Egypt with resources.
In the eleventh century BC internal disputes in
Egypt caused colonial rule to collapse and an
independent kingdom arose based at
Napata in
Nubia. This kingdom was ruled by locals who overthrew the colonial regime.
Kush was a good example of cultural diffusion with
Egypt. There were many of the same beliefs and gods.
Napata
This
Napata based kingdom was united by
Rose in the period of around 780-755 BC;
Alara is universally regarded as the founder of the Kushite kingdom by his successors. The kingdom grew in influence and came to dominate the Southern Egyptian region of
Elephantine and even
Thebes by the reign of
Kashta, Alara's successor, Kashta, managed in the 8th century BC to compel
Shepenupet I, the half-sister of
Takelot III and the serving God's Wife of Amen, to adopt his own daughter
Amenirdis I as her successor. After this event,
Thebes was placed under the de facto control of
Napata. Its power reached a climax under King
Piye,
Kashta's successor, who conquered all of
Egypt in his Year 20 and established the
25th dynasty.
When the
Assyrians invaded in 671 BC,
Kush became once again an independent state. The last Kushite king to attempt to regain control over
Egypt was
Tantamani who was firmly defeated by
Assyria in 664 BC. Thereafter, the kingdom's power over
Egypt declined and terminated in 656 BC when
Psamtik I, founder of the
26th Saite Dynasty, reunited Egypt. In 591 BC the Egyptians under
Psamtik II invaded Kush, possibly because Kush ruler
Aspelta was preparing to invade
Egypt, and effectively sacked and burned
Napata.
Move to Meroë
It is clear from various historical records that Aspelta's successors moved their capital to
Meroë, considerably farther south than
Napata. The exact date this change was made is uncertain but some historians believe it was during Aspelta's reign, in response to the
Egyptian invasion of
Lower Nubia. Other historians believe it was the attraction of
iron working that drove the kingdom south: around
Meroë, unlike
Napata, there were large forests that could fire the
blast furnaces. The arrival of
Greek merchants throughout the region also meant that
Kush was no longer dependent on trade along the
Nile. Instead, it could export its goods to the
Red Sea and the
Greek trading colonies there.
An alternate theory is that two separate but closely linked states developed, one based at
Napata and the other at
Meroë. The
Meroë-based state gradually eclipsed the northern one. No royal residence has been found north of
Meroë and it's possible
Napata had only been the religious headquarters. But
Napata clearly remained an important center, with the kings being crowned and buried there for many centuries, even when they lived at
Meroë.
In about 2004 B.C. the move to
Meroë was made more complete when the
monarchs began to be buried there, instead of at
Napata. One theory is that this represents the monarchs breaking away from the power of the priests at
Napata.
Diodorus Siculus tells a story about a Meroitic ruler named
Ergamenes who was ordered by the priests to kill himself, but broke tradition and had the priests executed instead. Some historians think
Ergamenes refers to
Arrakkamani, the first ruler to be buried at
Meroë. However, a more likely
transliteration of
Ergamenes is
Arqamani, who ruled many years after the royal cemetery was opened at
Meroë. Another theory is that the capital had always been based at
Meroë.
Kush continued for several centuries, yet there's little information available. Earlier
Kush had used Egyptian
hieroglyphics, but
Meroë developed a new script and began to write in the
Meroitic language, which hasn't been fully deciphered. The state seems to have prospered, trading with its neighbours and continuing to build monuments and tombs. In
23 BC the
Roman governor of
Egypt,
Petronius, invaded
Nubia in response to a
Nubian attack on southern
Egypt, pillaging the north of the region and sacking
Napata (22 BC) before returning north.
Decline
The decline of Kush is a hotly debated topic. A diplomatic mission in
Nero's reign travelled to Meroë; (
Pliny the Elder, N.H. 6.35). After the second century AD the royal tombs began to shrink in size and splendor, and the building of large monuments seems to have ceased. The royal pyramid burials halted altogether in the middle of the
fourth century AD. The archeological record shows a cultural shift to a new society known as the X-Group, or
Ballana culture.
This corresponds closely to the traditional theory that the kingdom was destroyed by the invasion by
Ezana of Axum from the Ethiopian kingdom of
Axum around 340. However, the Ethiopian account seems to be describing the quelling of a rebellion in lands they already controlled. It also refers only to the "Noba," (in Latin "Nobatae") and makes no mention of the rulers of Meroë.
The last ruler of Meroë was a man known as Sect Lie; his exact name has been lost. Not much is known about him, but a few stories still survive in folk telling. Apparently he was a strongly disliked man, who lusted for gold and women. This possibly helped cause the invasion of Meroë.
Apparently his behavior displeased the people to the point that they rebelled and took control of the area. Also it isn't quite sure where his tomb is. Some say that it has disappeared in history, that it has either been destroyed or plundered. The people then lived in small tribes and became strong warriors, who fought Romans for control of the area of Nubia, and the lower Nile River Delta.
Many historians theorize that these Nuba are the same people the Romans called the
Nobatae.
Procopius reports that when the Roman empire withdrew from northern Nubia in 272, they invited the Nobatae to fill the power vacuum.
The other important elements were the
Blemmyes, likely ancestors of the
Beja. They were desert warriors who threatened the Roman possessions and thereby contributed to the Roman withdrawal to more defensible borders. At the end of the fourth century AD they'd managed to control a part of the Nile valley around
Kalabsha in Lower Nubia.
By the sixth century, new states had formed in the area once been controlled by Meroë. It seems almost certain that the Nobatae evolved into the state of
Nobatia, and were also behind the Ballana culture and the two other states that arose in the area,
Makuria and
Alodia were also quite similar. The Beja meanwhile were expelled back into the desert by the Nuba kings around 450 AD. These new states of Nubia inherited much of Kush, but were also quite different. They spoke
Old Nubian and wrote in a modified version of the
Coptic alphabet; Meroitic and its script seemed to disappear completely. Unlike their predecessors, they were armed with weapons that far surpassed Kush technology.
The origin of the Nuba/Nobatae who replaced Meroë is uncertain. They may have been nomadic invaders from the west who conquered and imposed their culture and language on the settled peoples.
P.L. Shinnie has speculated that the Nobatae were in fact indigenous and were natives of the Napata region who had been dominated by Meroitic leaders for centuries, and that the word
Nobatae is directly related to
Napata.
In the Bible
The name given this civilization comes from the
Old Testament where
Cush (Hebrew: כוש) was one of the sons of
Ham who settled in Northeast Africa. In the
Bible and archaically, a large region covering northern Sudan, modern day southern Egypt, and parts of
Ethiopia,
Eritrea, and
Somalia were known as Cush. The Bible refers to Cush on a number of occasions. Moses wife,
Tzipporah, is described as a Kushite in the book of Numbers. Some contend that this Cush was in southern
Arabia. See
Biblical Cush for a full discussion. Modern Hebrew retains the name "Kushim" for
Black people in a somewhat allegorical manner.
Some scholars speculate that Cush is the same person as
Lugalbanda in the Epic of Gilgamesh.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Kush'.
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