The Origin and Rise of the Kingdom of Kush

AFRICA IN ANCIENT TIMES HIST 1301 | History The Origin and Rise of the Kingdom of Kush Egypt, the Nubian Kingdom of Kush's northern neighbour, has a deep historical connection to the kingdom. Egypt had a significant impact on it throughout the most of its lengthy history. And a line of Kushite rulers even occupied the Egyptian throne at one time in the seventh century BCE. The kingdom at the time covered the area between the southern Nile delta and the Blue and White Nile confluence, which is outside of Khartoum, the capital of modern-day northern Sudan. However, the Kingdom of Kush's beginnings may be traced back over two millennia before that remarkable time. We do know that kingdoms in Nubia traded with the Egyptian Old Kingdom (c. 2686–2181 BCE), despite the fact that the early history of Nubia is obscure. The Old Kingdom Egyptians appear to have been particularly interested in ostrich feathers, ivory, ebony, incense, and gold in particular, as the latter was essential to pharaonic ceremonial and ritual. For example, the coffin mask of Tutankhamun, maybe the most wellknown pharaoh of Egypt, was fashioned by artisans using Nubian gold. About 2400 BCE, the first Nubian state emerged, centred on the city of Kerma (in modern-day northern Sudan), which is situated in a fertile floodplain south of the third cataract of the Nile, perfect for animal pasturage and agricultural. The massive walls of the city represented its richness and success; behind them were a palace, residences, places of worship, roadways, and a complex of funerary structures that included a chapel and a temple. A huge temple that is now known as the Western Deffufa was located in the centre of the city. Deffufas are a kind of Nubian mud-brick building. In the region today, there are three deffufas that are known. The two most famous of them are the enormous Western Deffufa and the less well-preserved Eastern Deffufa, which are located about two km apart. Reaching over sixty feet in height, the Western Deffufa is an extraordinarily massive three-story temple. There were religious events conducted in this enormous building, which may have involved ancestor worship, though we are unsure of their precise nature. Approximately ten thousand people may have lived in Kerma during its peak, which was in the eighteenth century BCE. The name "Kush" appears to have originated with the Egyptians when referring to the Nubian city-state of Kerma. The Egyptian state began a centuries-long but sporadic southerly expansion with the development of Egypt's Middle Kingdom (2040–1782, BCE), a process that involved the construction of fortifications to solidify its control over regional trade. With increased commerce with Kush, the region's prosperity increased throughout time. The Egyptians appeared to be making unstoppable march southward, despite occasional setbacks, generally caused by internal political unrest following the death of a pharaoh and the ensuing instability. Trade and Egyptian connections with Kush decreased once the Middle Kingdom fell and the Second Intermediate Period (1782–1570 BCE) started. The Egyptian strongholds were left to fend for themselves as a result. The fortress communities made a brief attempt to establish themselves as separate entities. However, they were absorbed by the growing might of the newly formed Kingdom of Kush by at least 1650 BCE. As this was going on, the Kingdom of Kush also incorporated aspects of Egyptian culture into its own customs, including Egyptian artistic and technological forms. Furthermore, in order to maintain the weakness of the native Egyptian centre of power at Thebes, the leaders of Kush at this period collaborated with Lower Egypt, which was ruled by Hyksos. The leaders of Kush had excellent reason to fear for their lives in the face of a powerful Egypt. And the native Egyptian kings quickly spread into Kush once they started to consolidate their dominance and establish the New Kingdom (1570–1069 BCE). The Egyptians had taken control of the Nile valley up to the second cataract of the Nile by the time Pharaoh Thutmose I ascended to the throne in 1506 BCE. Thutmose was adamant on taking control of Kerma. With the disturbing message, "There is not one of them left," his soldiers desecrated the city and set it on fire. The Nubian bowmen have been reduced to ashes and scattered over their homeland. Many years later, in Napata, directly below the fourth cataract of the Nile, Thutmose III erected a temple dedicated to the deity Amun. Nubia remained under Egyptian rule for the following 500 years, during which time the area became even more Egyptianized. The New Kingdom pharaohs established Egyptian-style architecture, encouraged the use of Egyptian hieroglyphs on temples and Demotic (ancient Egyptian) writing by the area's Egyptian officials, and ultimately annihilated the Kingdom of Kush. Local rulers in Nubia were able to reclaim their independence when the New Kingdom began to crumble and Egypt's Third Intermediate Period (1069–525 BCE) began. Around the city of Napata, which is located just above the fourth cataract and outside the Nile delta but inside the area of tropical summer rains and lush land, Nubians established a new autonomous Kushite kingdom when Egypt receded. The kings of Napata attempted to establish a uniquely Nubian civilization, but they were still heavily influenced by Egypt; they constructed temples to Egyptian deities in Egyptian architectural styles, boosted commerce with Egypt, and structured their government in Egyptian terms. The fact that a Kushite monarch by the name of Piye was able to appoint his own sister as the high priestess of Amun at Thebes by 736 BCE indicates that the kingdom centred around Napata was becoming more powerful and influential. This appears to have sparked a battle and amounted to a Kushite claim of sovereignty over Upper Egypt proper. By leading his army down the river to the Nile delta during the conflict, King Piye of Kush essentially took control of the whole country of Egypt. This action marked the beginning of several decades of Nubian domination in Egypt. This unusual era is known to Egyptologists as the Ethiopian dynasty or the Twenty-Fifth Dynasty. During this time, the Nubian rulers of Egypt were fully Egyptianized in terms of both culture and religion. Thus, in order to maintain their legitimacy as Egyptian rulers, they took great care to uphold Egyptian cultural customs and traditions. The Kushite pharaohs, like previous pharaohs, encouraged the worship of Egyptian deities, wore the customary double crown, and built Egyptian-style architectural monuments to commemorate their rule.