An independent kingdom on the Nile which emerged from the Egyptian province of Nubia in the 11th-c BC, with its capital at Napata. In the 8th-c BC Kush conquered Egypt and established the XXVth dynasty, which ruled until the Assyrian conquest in 671666 BC. The Kush kings became Egyptianized, but after their withdrawal from Egypt in the 7th-c BC they moved to the more southerly capital of Meroe, where there were good supplies of iron ore and timber. It became an important centre of iron smelting, and large slag heaps can still be seen there.
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Kush or Cush was a civilization centered in the North African 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.
Origins
The first developed societies appeared in Nubia before the time of the First dynasty of Egypt (3100-2890 BC). But this expansion was halted by the fall of the Middle Kingdom of Egypt. About 1500 BC Egyptian expansion resumed, but this time encountered organized resistance. 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.
Napata
This Napata based kingdom was united by Alara in the period of around 780-755 BC; 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 who managed in the 8th century BC to compel Shepenupet I, half-sister of takelot III and the serving God's Wife of Amen, to adopt his own daughter Amenirdis I as her successor. Its power reached a climax under king Piye, Kashta's succeesor, who conquered all of Egypt in his Year 20 and established the twenty-fifth 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. Henceforth, the kingdom's power declined over Egypt 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, perhaps 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.
An alternate theory is that two separate but closely linked states developed, one based at Napata and the other at Meroë; No royal residence had been found north of Meroë and it is possible Napata had only been the religious headquarters. But Napata clearly remained an important centre, with the kings being crowned and buried there for many centuries, even when they lived at Meroë.
In around 300 BC the move to Meroë was made more complete as the monarchs began to be buried there, instead of at Napata. However, a more likely transliteration of Ergamenes is Arqamani, who ruled many years after the royal cemetery was opened at Meroë.
Kush continued for several centuries but we have little information on it. While earlier Kush had used Egyptian hieroglyphics, Meroë developed a new script and began to write in the Meroitic language, which has yet to be fully deciphered. 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 hotly debated.
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 350.
Many historians thus theorize that these Nuba are the same people the Romans called the Nobatae.
By the sixth century, new states had formed in the area that had once been controlled by Meroë.
The origin of the Nuba/Nobatae who replaced Meroë is uncertain.
In the Bible
The name given this civilization comes from the Old Testament where Cush was one of the sons of Ham who settled in Northeast Africa. In the Bible and archaically a large region covering northern Sudan, southern Egypt, and parts of Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Somalia were known as Cush.
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