Kingdom of Kush
Sudan, 2180 BCE–350 CE. Draft, not yet reviewed
The Kingdom of Kush was an ancient kingdom in Nubia, centered along the Nile Valley in what is now northern Sudan and southern Egypt. Following Egypt's disintegration amid the Late Bronze Age collapse, the Kushites reestablished a kingdom in Napata. In the 8th century BC, King Kashta became king of Upper Egypt, and his successor Piye invaded Lower Egypt, establishing the Kushite-ruled Twenty-fifth Dynasty. The kingdom of Kush persisted as a major regional power until the 4th century AD, when it weakened and disintegrated amid worsening climatic conditions, internal rebellions, and foreign invasions.
Seat of power: Napata
No rulers documented for this era yet.
Culture
- Though Kush had developed many cultural affinities with Egypt, such as the veneration of Amun, Kushite culture, language and ethnicity was distinct.
- Following the severing of ties with Egypt, the Kushite imperial capital was located at Meroë, during which time it was known by the Greeks as Aethiopia.
- In Nubian culture, the pyramids were integral to burial customs for royalty and other wealthy figures of the Kushite kingdom, with this practice starting as early as the 7th century BC.
Picture
The Nubian pyramids were constructed by the rulers of the ancient Kushite kingdoms in the region of the Nile Valley known as Nubia, in present-day northern Sudan.
Image: Photographer: B N Chagny, CC BY-SA 1.0, file
Sources
Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.