The kingdom of Kush is an ancient powerful kingdom in Africa that was located in the territories that today correspond to Sudan and part of Egypt. The kingdom was populated by Nubians. Basically, the kingdom did not always bear the name of Kush.
Birth of the Kingdom
Basically, the city of Kerma was established in the Kush area around 2400 BC. The city enjoyed such power that it was able to rival the great Egypt. In 1785 BC, the Egyptian Middle Kingdom collapsed and consolidated its power in Kerma, which constituted itself into a kingdom and established its capital at Napata. The 9th century BC saw the military and economic expansion of the Kushite civilization. Napata was influenced by Egyptian culture, particularly the way the dead were buried. On the death of Alara, the first Kushite king, his son Piye succeeded him. The latter invaded all of Egypt in 730 BC. He had complete control over the vast Nile region and became the first emperor of the 25th dynasty of Egypt, a dynasty known as the “Black Pharaohs”. Thus began the great period of the Kush Empire.
Traditionally, the Kushites continue to function with Egyptian cultures and rites. Although having conquered Egypt, the Kushite kings continued to make burials in the Egyptian way. Which was characterized by the construction of the pyramids.
Heyday of the Kingdom of Kush
The surrounding lands of the kingdom were rich in minerals and dotted with iron and gold mines. This wealth led the Nubians to develop their goldsmithery. Excellent architects, they undertook the construction of several temples, palaces and royal baths. They developed many pyramids. Including 200 in the city of Meroe alone, which will become the capital after Napata. This is the reason why present-day Sudan has more pyramids than the whole of Egypt. The first pyramids of Meroe were step pyramids. According to some specialists, it is possible that they were once surmounted by cylinders or spheres made with materials that have since been destroyed or have disappeared. An event disturbs the tranquility of the kingdom and fails to destabilize it.
After 35 years of reign, Piye dies. If the kingdom survives him after 56 years, it will take a hit when the Assyrians attack the kingdom and defeat the Nubians. The victors try to erase all traces of the leaders of the 25th dynasty by erasing their names from monuments and destroying their statues and stelae. The Kushites then made Meroe their new capital. A decision that is not trivial because the lands surrounding Meroe are not only at the strategic crossroads of African land trade routes and the route of caravans from the Red Sea but they are also fertile and full of natural resources from mines of iron and gold which fueled the development of a metals industry, and of goldsmithery in particular. A choice that will revive the kingdom of Kush as an important power in northern Africa.
Decline of the Kush Empire
After several centuries of prosperity, the kingdom of Kush began to gradually lose its hegemony. The death of Cleopatra in the year 30 BC will seal things. Greater Egypt becomes a province of the Roman Empire. This has the effect of facilitating the entry of the Romans into Kushite territories. The Romans had their sights set on the Kushite gold mines.
In a burst of pride, the Kushite forces launch an assault against the Roman soldiers in Assaouan. This Kushite army was led by the warrior queen Amanirenas. The latter was known for her masculine ferocity and the fact of having lost an eye. This surge of pride ended in defeat. Finally in the 4th century AD, the kingdom was definitively abandoned. Its monuments and objects were later looted by Western archaeologists, notably the Italian Giuseppe Ferlini.
