Ancient African Kingdoms

A Captivating Guide to Civilizations of

Ancient Africa Such as the Land of Punt,
Carthage, the Kingdom of Aksum, the Mali
Empire, and the Kingdom of Kush

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Table of Contents
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Part 1: Ancient Africa
Introduction
Chapter 1 – The Kingdom of Kush
Chapter 2 – The Land of Punt
Chapter 3 – Carthage
Chapter 4 – The Kingdom of Aksum
Chapter 5 – The Ghana Empire
Chapter 6 – The Mali Empire
Conclusion
Part 2: The Kingdom of Kush
Introduction
Chapter 1 – Nubia and the Emergence of the Kingdom of
Kush
Chapter 2 – From Alara to the Twenty-Fifth Dynasty
Chapter 3 – The Rulers of the Twenty-Fifth Dynasty
Chapter 4 – Relations between Kush and Egypt Continue
Chapter 5 – Kush between the 6 th and 3 rd Centuries
Chapter 6 – The Meroitic Dynasty
Chapter 7 – The Last Centuries of the Kingdom of Kush
Chapter 8 – The Society of Kush
Conclusion
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References
 Part 1: Ancient Africa
A Captivating Guide to Ancient African
Civilizations, Such as the Kingdom of Kush,
the Land of Punt, Carthage, the Kingdom
of Aksum, and the Mali Empire with its
Timbuktu

Introduction
Africa is the continent where the first humans were born.
They explored the vast land and produced the first tools.
And although we migrated from that continent, we never
completely abandoned it. From the beginning of time,
humans lived and worked in Africa, leaving evidence of their
existence in the sands of the Sahara Desert and the valleys
of the great rivers, such as the Nile and Niger. Some of the
earliest great civilizations were born there, and they give us
an insight into the smaller kingdoms of ancient Africa.
Egypt is the main source of knowledge of many neighboring
kingdoms that were just as rich and developed.
Unfortunately, they were forgotten in time, as other
civilizations and kingdoms replaced them as the continent’s
power bases. Only recently are we rediscovering the might
of the Kingdom of Aksum, the political prowess of Kush, and
the richness of the mysterious Punt. The early medieval
kingdoms of Ghana and Mali are still being researched due
to their unique pre-Muslim culture and their own outlook on
Islam.
Because of the huge diversity that is the history of Africa,
learning about it may be a bit of a challenge. Even though
humanity started in that place, we somehow lost interest in
it. And although the archaeology programs founded in the
mid-20 th century helped resolve this somewhat, we are still
trying to eliminate the ignorance and racial prejudice of
colonial times. Africa keeps many secrets, and they are
there, ripe for the picking. The kingdoms discussed in this
book serve as an inspiration to future generations to explore
what lies below the African ground and behind its oral
traditions.
As the home of the many pharaohs, Queen Sheba, Hannibal
Barca, and Mansa Musa, Africa deserves our full attention. It
has stories to tell us and cultural riches to share with us.
Africa is where paganism, Christianity, and Islam left their
trails and created a cultural fusion that is unique to the
continent. Some modern countries are popular tourist
destinations, while others are war-torn lands still unable to
industrialize. This polarity of Africa can be traced to ancient
times, and the world-shaping events that occurred here
need to be studied and understood.
Chapter 1 – The Kingdom of Kush

The Kushite Empire at its peak in 700 BCE

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/84/Kushi
te_empire_700bc.jpg
The ancient history of the Middle Nile Region was constantly
determined by the conflicts that arose between Egypt and
Nubia. Both kingdoms wanted supremacy over the Middle
Nile Region, as it would open trade with the rest of Africa.
For Egypt’s New Kingdom (16 th century–11 th century BCE),
it was of great importance to keep Nubia pacified so it could
use its riches to expand its influence over the territories of
the Levant (historical region of Syria). But around 1650 BCE,
Lower Nubia came under the control of the Kerma kingdom.
Through diplomacy, this kingdom gained control over the
trade between Egypt and Africa.
It is this Kerma kingdom that appears in the Egyptian
sources as the Kingdom of Kush. The names of the earliest
Kush leaders remain unknown, but they had to fight the
Egyptian rulers for their dominion. The earliest sources
mention Kamose of the Seventeenth Dynasty of Egypt
(ruled c. 1555–1550 BCE) fighting the Kush Kingdom; his
successor, Ahmose I, picked up where he left off. These
rulers began a systematic conquest of Nubia. Kamose
secured Lower Nubia, but he was unsuccessful in expanding
Egypt farther to the south. It was only during the reign of
Thutmose (Tuthmosis) III, around 1460 BCE, that Egypt
finally managed to control the southern territories as far as
the Fourth Cataract of the Nile.
The Cataracts of the Nile are lengths of the river that are
shallow and rapid. Whitewater and small waterfalls occupy
some of these areas, which are not navigable. In total, there
were six Cataracts, but some are now sunken under the
artificial lakes. But even those that do not exist anymore are
remembered in history books because they represented
natural borders, landmarks, and waypoints of importance.
The Nubian regions from the First to the Fourth Cataract of
the Nile were under the overseers’ governance. Their official
title was “King’s Sons,” which changed under the rule of
Amenhotep II to “King’s Sons of Kush.” Their role was similar
to that of a viceroy, and many historians describe them as
such. Those who bore this title were not necessarily related
to the Egyptian king; they were often elevated to the
position due to their endeavors as royal administrators and
bureaucrats. During the Middle Kingdom (c. 1975–1640
BCE), Upper and Lower Nubia were a part of Egypt. They
shared the same economy, administration, and ideology. At
this time, the Egyptians built their temples in the Kush
region, devoting them to their gods and pharaohs, such as
Re-Harakhte, Amun-Ra, Ptah, Horus, Hathor, and Isis. The
worship of a living ruler reached its pinnacle with Ramesses
II.
The natives of the Kush regions were Egyptianized to
various degrees. The rich families adopted Egyptian names
and were allowed Egyptian education. They were even
buried in Egyptian-style tombs, which indicates they
adopted the religion and the funerary customs of their
rulers. At first, scholars believed that all of the natives
integrated Egyptian culture into their lives, and this opinion
is supported by the material items found in the region.
However, with Egypt being the center of the economy, it is
natural for everyday items to be of Egyptian origin. The
indigenous population had its own customs when it came to
mortuary tradition. Even though they used Egyptian
equipment, as none other was available, all the evidence
suggests they had their own indigenous rites and religions.
There are frequent mentions of the goddess Nhsmks , as
well as other iconographical evidence of various cults that
were not of Egyptian origin.
The End of Egyptian Domination
The name Kush was given to Nubia by the Egyptians of the
Middle Kingdom. It stands as a designation for the
indigenous people of the Nubian region, who were known as
the Kushites. However, the term “Kush” can also be found in
the personal names of some of the rulers of the region, such
as King Kashta, whose name can be translated as “of the
lands of Kush.” The earliest sources of the history of the
Kingdom of Kush are of Egyptian origin. Because of the
constant conflicts in the Nubian region, the lands of Kush
were those south of the Nile’s First Cataract, which needed
to be conquered. After the reign of Kamose, these lands
were under Egyptian dominion for nearly five centuries
(from c. 1550–1069 BCE). Although Nubia was swiftly
incorporated into the Egyptian New Kingdom after the initial
conquests of Kamose and Ahmose I, the region was still the
birthplace of many rebellions. There are constant mentions
of various uprisings of the Kush regions from the reign of
Thutmose IV (r. 1401–1390 BCE) until Ramesses III (1186–
1154 BCE) in numerous sources. Every ruler had to fight the
local people to keep control of the region.
The reasons for these rebellions are unknown, but there is a
theory that the conflict arose over Lower Nubia’s mines,
which were rich in gold. The areas of the Fifth and Sixth
Cataracts of the Nile were also troubled by conflict, which
was probably caused by the political interference of the
southern regions that were free of Egypt’s dominion. The
Kush elite grew stronger in the most southern parts of
Egypt-controlled Nubia, around the Napata region. There,
after the Egyptian withdrawal from Upper Nubia during the
Twentieth Dynasty (1189–1077 BCE), the rule was passed to
the local elite. However, it is not clear whether these
indigenous rulers had complete freedom or were vassal
kings of Egypt. Some historians suggest that it was
Ramesses III who withdrew his kingdom from the Napata
region all the way to Kawa, which lay on the east bank of
the Nile.
Both of these theories are contradicted by the written
evidence of Ramesses IX, who collected Nubian tribute and
who gifted the agricultural land in the region. Nevertheless,
it seems as if the Egyptian administration of the regions
south of the Third Nile’s Cataract was very weak. The
northern regions continued to be under the strong influence
of Egypt until the late 12 th century, though. During the reign
of Ramesses XI (1098–1069), Egyptian dominion reached
the southern areas up until the Second Cataract.
There is no evidence that can suggest the withdrawal of
Egypt from Upper Nubia was due to the aggression of local
rulers. However, it occurred during the decline of the
political and economic power of the later pharaohs. At the
same time, Egypt abandoned Palestine due to the migration
of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea Peoples, who greatly
influenced Egypt’s central government. With the decline of
the Kingdom of Egypt, the ideology of the Nubian regions
changed. Suddenly, the populace supported the return of
local socio-political structures, or at least what was left of
them after five centuries of Egyptian rule. It became
impossible for the pharaohs to maintain the hierarchy in
Nubia because their economy had suffered. Due to the poor
economy, their military power was weakened, and as such,
Egypt couldn’t afford to quell the Kush rebellions anymore.
The permanent economic crisis started with the rule of
Ramesses IX. By the time of Ramesses XI, a civil war had
erupted, instigated by the conflict between Viceroy of Kush
Panehesy and High Priest of Amun Amenhotep. The reason
for this conflict remains unknown, but during it, the
economic crisis was of such intensity that even the army
started looting tombs. Famine followed the war, and the
atrocities committed by both the viceroy and the high priest
shocked the people of Egypt.
The conflict ended with the rise of powerful men, as Paiankh
became the next viceroy of Kush, and Herihor replaced High
Priest Amenhotep. The descendants of Herihor would
become the rulers of Egypt in what is known as the Twenty-
first, Twenty-second, and Twenty-third Dynasties. Their time
coincided with the renaissance period that followed, a
period when Egypt underwent renovations and recovery
after the civil war. However, Panehesy kept Lower Nubia for
himself, and Paiankh constantly tried to return these
territories under the control of Egypt. The conflict between
an ex-viceroy of Kush and the new one ended with a treaty
that limited Egypt’s authority to the region between the First
and Second Cataracts of the Nile. The rest of the southern
Nubian territories remained independent.
The descendants of Herihor regained limited control over
the whole Nile Valley between the First and Second
Cataracts. This brought the gold mines of the Middle Nile
Region back under Egyptian control. The members of the
royal family were also appointed as the viceroys of Kush,
which meant they claimed the rule over all of Nubia, even
though it was limited to one region. The last viceroy of Kush,
Pamiu, governed the region from 775 to 750 BCE. With the
Kushites establishing control over Lower Nubia, the office of
the viceroy ceased to exist. By the time of Pamiu, the
viceroy’s influence was limited only to the temple domains
of the region, signifying that the Nubian area under Egypt’s
control shrank even more. In the following years, the
pharaohs would continue with the efforts to regain some of
the lost territories because it was this area that controlled
the trade with the rest of Africa. When it was clear that Kush
was lost to the Egyptians, trade contacts were established.
These contacts went as far south as the Sixth Cataract of
the Nile, and they are mentioned in both Egyptian and
Assyrian sources.
The Unification of Successor States
There is written and archaeological evidence for the
continuous depopulation of Lower Nubia from the end of the
New Kingdom until the Twenty-fifth Dynasty. However, some
scholars believe that the depopulation didn’t happen. The
illusion was created by the people of Nubia, who started
changing their burial practices at this point in history. Many
are yet left to be discovered, and there is simply not enough
evidence that leads to a unified view on the matter. There
are some new promising discoveries, like the necropolis at
El-Kurru, which are dated to this period, but much of the
work is left to be done, and more sources need to be
discovered. Because of the lack of evidence, the period
between the 11 th century and 8 th century BCE remains
obscured.
What is evident is the survival of the indigenous chiefdoms,
which overlooked the production of goods and its local
redistribution. Once the viceregal government collapsed, the
native social structure resurfaced. Small-scale polities were
created to replace Egypt’s government system. The
Egyptized elite of the society rose to become leaders, with
each creating his own successor state of Nubia. However,
the newly created states were bound to become less
developed social and economic structures, as they were left
to rely on local resources once Egypt withdrew. They had no
imperial military help from Egypt either, and they were left
to the mercy of their rivals and enemies who surrounded
them.
Egypt continued to attack the Nubian region, wanting to
reintegrate it into the imperial government. This, and the
failing economic administration of the successor states, led
to the increased need for the successor states to unify. But it
was the lack of natural resources that finally pushed the
region to unite. Some regions of Nubia were rich in mines,
while others had arable lands. The redistribution of
resources had to be brought under a single administration.
The El-Kurru chiefdom became the leading political entity of
the unification of the Nubian region, as they possessed the
gold mines between the Fourth and Fifth Cataracts of the
Nile. El-Kurru also held secure routes for the caravans that
traded inside Nubia and with the interior of Africa. To be
clear, though, the original name of the chiefdom is not
recorded. El-Kurru is just the name of the modern village
where the town was discovered.
The El-Kurru chiefs traded with Egypt, and they kept
peaceful relations with the Egypt-controlled regions of Lower
Nubia. There is evidence of material items of both cultures
found all over the Nile Valley, which suggests that some
kind of trade existed. During the 8 th century, the influence
of the Kingdom of Kush stretched to the Second Cataract of
the Nile, which was where the Egyptian authority in the
south ended, but the Kushites did not expand only to the
north. The south proved to be of equal interest, as it was the
way by which trade with the rest of Africa occurred. It seems
that the trade with Ethiopia was well developed, as items
made out of ivory and lapis lazuli were found in the tombs of
the Kushite chiefs of El-Kurru.
Unfortunately, some regions lack the evidence that would
speak about their history before the unification with the rest
of the Kushite kingdoms. One such region is the Butana,
which was not a part of Egypt, as the Kushites annexed in
the mid-8 th century. This suggests that the region was
independent, but there is no evidence that speaks of its
history or culture. The settlement in Meroe contains some of
the graves of El-Kurru chiefs, which were dated to before the
annexation period. This indicates that the connection
between the Kush and Butana region was of much earlier
date. Meroe became the political center of the region after
the conquest by the El-Kurru dynasty. There is evidence of a
marriage between the El-Kurru dynasty and the local princes
of the Butana region, which speaks in favor of a peaceful
unification rather than conquest. The Meroitic-speaking
population of the Butana region was acculturated to the
Egyptianized El-Kurru within just a few generations.
The Twenty-fifth Dynasty and the Kingdom of Kush
The El-Kurru dynasty spread its authority from the Butana
region in the south to Lower Nubia in the north by the mid-8
th
century. At this point, the first recorded king of the
Kingdom of Kush emerged. His name was Alara, and he
ruled a complex state. The Egyptian religion was already
accepted among the Kushite leaders to some degree.
However, Alara placed his own sister as a priestess of Amun,
establishing the first official cult of an Egyptian deity. It is
speculated that the trade in gold and exotic animals were
what allowed the Kushites to convert from chiefdoms to a
complex kingdom. Thanks to its geographical position, the
El-Kurru chiefdom had an advantage over the rest of the
Nubian states and proved to be the competent leaders of
the unification.
This period of the Kingdom of Kush is known as the Napatan
period because the kingdom was centered around the city
of Napata. However, it is unknown when and how the
Kingdom of Kush rose around Napata, as there is no written
or archaeological evidence that provides proof. Alara’s
successor was Kashta, and it is believed that the two
Kushite kings were brothers; however, this is just a theory,
as no concrete evidence supports this claim.
It was with Kashta that the relationship between the
Kingdom of Kush and Egypt tightened. The evidence
suggests that Kashta imposed his authority over Upper
Egypt peacefully. The descendants of Pharaoh Osorkon III
withdrew from Thebes to make room for the growing power
of the Kushite king, but they continued to enjoy a high social
status in the city and were even buried there. Kashta also
managed to place his daughter, Amenirdis I, in the position
of the Divine Adoratrice of Amun, a successor to the position
of God’s Wife of Amun. This title previously belonged to the
daughter of Pharaoh Osorkon III, Shepenupet I. The
appointment of Kashta’s daughter served to prove the
legitimacy of the reign of Kashta’s successors in Upper
Egypt. The appointment of the Divine Adoratrice of Amun
symbolized the transition of power from one pharaoh to
another. In this case, the appointment of Kashta’s daughter
meant that he was next in line to become the pharaoh. It
also meant that the dynasty beginning with Kashta was
legitimate, as it was approved by the god Amun. Amenirdis I
guaranteed that Kashta’s successors would be legitimate
rulers of Egypt.
But why did the Theban princes accept the alliance with the
Kushites from the south and the eventual power shift? It was
due to the fact that the already-fragmenting Egyptian state
was facing an invasion from Libyan chieftains. The Kingdom
of Kush would help provide the safety of its southern
borders. However, there are no sources that offer an insight
into the achievements of Kushite King Kashta. Nothing is
known about his activities, either in the Kingdom of Kush or
in Upper Egypt. Napata is still a rich archaeological site, and
artifacts remain to be excavated. However, the
Egyptianization of the Kushites continued under his rule and
even intensified. The evidence of this is found in the
southern region of the Butana, where Egyptian-style coffins
were excavated from tombs. Over the next century, the
Kushites adopted Egyptian literacy and used it to articulate
the Kushite ideology of power. However, the traditional
Kushite social structures continued to exist, and they
actually coexisted with Egyptian social relations and
concepts.
Kashta probably died in 747 BCE and was buried in the
necropolis of El-Kurru in an Egyptian-style pyramid. He was
buried with all the Egyptian traditions, even though his tomb
was plundered at some point in history. He was succeeded
by Piye, who was probably his son, but the relationship
between the two remains to be proven.
As it further proves the Egyptianization of the Kush elite,
Piye took the five-part title that was similar to the one that
belonged to Thutmose III. Pharaoh Thutmose III had
conquered Kush, and this new Kushite king, Piye, would, in
turn, conquer Egypt and start the Twenty-fifth Dynasty.
While Thutmose III was crowned in Thebes, the Kushite ruler
of Upper Egypt was installed in Napata, announcing the
political shift that was about to happen. In one of his royal
speeches, which was recorded on a stela, Piye claimed
Amun had appointed him as the king of Nubia so that he
could extend the Kushite influence and conquer Egypt. He
also announced himself absolute overlord above all other
kings. However, in the same speech, he declared that
Egypt’s political situation wouldn’t change as long as all its
kings and chiefs recognized his supremacy and paid him
tribute.
Another stela from Napata mentioned Piye and his army
going to Thebes to gift the temple of Amun. The presence of
his army suggests that some kind of conflict between the
Kingdom of Kush and Egypt took place in the fourth year of
Piye’s reign, but it could be that the Kushite king had to
defend his borders from the Great Chiefs of the West
(probably a threat from Memphis). There are no records that
describe the events of the next fifteen years in the Kingdom
of Kush, but Assyrian sources speak about their
advancement toward Egypt and the appointment of an
Arabian tribe at Gaza, which served as the gatekeeper over
Egypt. In Egypt, Tefnakht, Prince of Sais, consolidated his
power and founded the short-lived Twenty-fourth Dynasty
during this period.
At first, Piye recognized the authority of Tefnakht, but when
the Egyptian pharaoh attacked Hermopolis, Piye ordered his
Kushite forces from Thebes to relieve the city after its rulers
appealed for help. Piye’s army successfully drew back
Tefnakht’s forces and laid siege to Hermopolis. Piye decided
to leave Napata and take personal control of his army. He
triumphed over the Egyptians and entered the city of
Hermopolis, where he received homage from the local
rulers. Then he marched his forces toward Memphis, where
a part of Tefnakht’s army was stationed. After the victory
there, he received affirmation of his rule at the sanctuary of
Ptah. In Memphis, the chief of the Ma (a region of the Nile
Delta), Iuput II, submitted to Piye. Next, Piye entered
Heliopolis after receiving the submission of its prince, who
confirmed his kingship in a ceremony of enthronement.
Fifteen local rulers submitted to Piye after this ceremony,
and Tefnakht realized he had to start the negotiations.
Although Tefnakht agreed to recognize Piye’s authority, he
remained the ruler of an independent region of the western
Nile Delta. Once Piye returned to Napata, Tefnakht assumed
the royal title again, breaking his allegiance to the Kushites.
Piye didn’t bother with establishing his own administration
in the newly conquered regions. He was satisfied with
reinstalling local rulers who would take care of the
governance but pay tribute to him as vassals. The conquest
itself was recorded on the Great Triumphal Stela, which was
written by Egyptian literary stylistic rules. Because of this,
the stela is not a precise and objective record, but it was a
literary work that served to spread the propaganda of King
Piye. The stela details the attempt of Pharaoh Tefnakht and
his ally Nimlot, the ruler of Hermopolis, to unify Lower and
Upper Egypt through conquest, which was thwarted by the
efforts of Piye.
The conflict ultimately resulted in the king of Kush becoming
the supreme ruler of Egypt. Although local rulers were
allowed to keep their title of king, the title of pharaoh now
belonged only to Piye. It is not known how many years Piye
ruled, but there is no evidence that suggests he returned to
Egypt after the conquest.
Piye’s successor, Shabaqo (716-702 BCE), moved the capital
from Napata to Memphis because of the closing threat of
the Assyrians, who, at the time, were under the rule of
Sargon II. It is unknown if Shabaqo was Piye’s son or brother.
Shabaqo tried to annihilate the local dynasties, and he
placed Sais and the region of Pharbaitos under his direct
control. But instead of completely getting rid of the local
rulers, he subdued their authority under the centralized
government. The vassal kingdoms were now under the
authority of the local governors. However, this would
change once Egypt received its first blow by the Assyrians,
after which the local dynasties would revert to power.
But during Shabaqo’s rule, Egypt and Assyria were fairly
friendly. King Yamani of Ashdod, who rose up against the
rule of Sargon II, sought refuge in Egypt. However, Shabaqo
didn’t want to deepen the animosity with Assyria, and in the
year 712 BCE, he decided to extradite the asylum seeker to
maintain peace. After securing the peace, Shabaqo
concentrated on strengthening his dynasty’s position in the
Egyptian half of his kingdom. To achieve this, he appointed
his son, Horemakhet as the high priest of Amun in Thebes. It
is possible that Shabaqo felt the need to reinforce his
authority over Egypt because his succession wasn’t
patrilinear as Egyptian tradition demanded. This would
mean that he was, indeed, Piye’s brother. The Kushite
tradition was different, and it allowed for collateral
succession (succession by relatives).
Shabaqo died in 702 at Memphis, but his body was moved
to his ancestral tomb in El-Kurru. He was succeeded by
Shebitqo (705–690 BCE), his son. Although Shebitqo was
crowned in Thebes, just like his father, he ruled from
Memphis. After all, it was the place where the first kings of
Egypt were born and crowned by the gods, which helped to
secure his legitimacy as pharaoh.
There is new archaeological evidence that suggests
Shebitqo ruled first, not Shabaqo, as previously thought.
There is even a theory that the two kings shared the rule at
one point, which causes historians even more confusion.
The dispute is still ongoing, as it seems that the written and
archaeological evidence do not match. The newest
conclusion is that Shebitqo ruled before Shabaqo. One of the
most convincing pieces of evidence is the style of their
pyramids. While Shebitqo’s pyramids look more like Piye’s,
Shabaqo’s is closer to the ones owned by Taharqo, who
ruled after these two kings. If the pyramid style changed
gradually (a theory supported by other archaeological
evidence), then Shabaqo surely ruled after Shebitqo. This
book follows the guide written by Lazlo Torok, a Kushite
expert who believes Shabaqo ruled first.
After the succession, Shebitqo summoned the Kushite army,
placing it under the command of his cousin and successor,
Taharqo. He decided to confront the Assyrians, who were
now ruled by Sennacherib. The assumption is that the
Egyptian-Kushite army was defeated in 701 BCE at Eltekeh
(in today’s Israel) and was forced to return to Egypt.
However, the Assyrian king decided to return to his empire,
which leaves a dilemma of who actually won. Neither of the
armies continued the conquest, and this was the only known
military action to occur during Shebitqo’s rule. After his
death, Taharqo (690–664), the son of Piye, became the king.
The general opinion is that Shebitqo chose Taharqo as his
heir apparent because of the Assyrian threat, as the other
male representatives of the dynasty were too young.
Taharqo ruled in prosperity for the first seventeen years. He
built temples in both Kush and Egypt, which were the
centers of his administrative power. Trade prospered under
his rule, and it spread from Libya and the Levant to the
Phoenician coast. However, there were some conflicts,
which are attested by the list of captives from the Asiatic
principalities. An inscription found at the Sanam temple lists
the conquered people, and it even includes Libyans, which
might suggest that it wasn’t trading but rather military
conflicts that created the contact between the two
kingdoms.
In 674 BCE, Taharqo’s prosperous rule was challenged when
the Assyrians attacked Egypt. King Esarhaddon of Assyria
made an alliance with Taharqo, and together, they
conquered the lands of Palestine. There, the Assyrian king
turned against his ally, for, by this point, he was already on
the Egyptian border. Three battles were fought between
Taharqo and Esarhaddon, and even though the Egyptians
initially won, the Assyrians managed to take over Memphis
and sack it. Taharqo was forced to retreat to Thebes in the
south. However, his family, including his son, were captured.
Taharqo led numerous revolts from the south, but in the
end, he proved to be an incompetent ruler who had lost his
prosperous and united kingdom at the sign of the first
threat.
To quell the unrest in Egypt caused by the actions of
Taharqo’s rebellions, Esarhaddon set out with his army.
However, he died on his way to Memphis in 669 BCE. He
was succeeded by his son Ashurbanipal, who decided to
annex Egypt. But Taharqo reasserted his power after the
Assyrian king’s death, and Ashurbanipal was forced to
invade the kingdom in 667/666 BCE. In the battle at
Pelusium, located in the eastern Nile Delta, the Egyptian
army was crushed. Taharqo fled to the south but was
pursued by the Assyrians to Thebes. From there, he
continued to run farther south, as he was unable to organize
a resistance. Ashurbanipal received the submission of the
local dynasties of Upper and Middle Egypt. Satisfied, he
returned to his capital in Nineveh (Assyria). Taharqo was
reduced to the King of Kush, and he remained in his
kingdom until he died in 664 BCE.
Taharqo was succeeded by Tanwetamani (or Tantamani, r.
664–656), the son of Shebitqo. During his reign, he
organized a series of campaigns, during which he
reconquered parts of Upper Egypt. However, Ashurbanipal
became aware of his plans, and he sent the Assyrian
reinforcement army to defend his possessions there. Most
historians agree that the main reason Tanwetamani failed to
retake all of Egypt was that he chose to rule from his capital
in Kush instead of moving to Memphis, which was closer to
the point of conflict. The Assyrians were quick to retake all
their Egyptian possessions, and they even sacked Thebes.
The Nubian rule of Egypt ended with the Assyrian conquest,
and Tanwetamani was reduced to ruling only the Kingdom of
Kush.
The End of the Napatan Dynasty
The nominal rule of Thebes remained in Tanwetamani’s
hands, but he never returned to Upper Egypt. The Nile Delta
was ruled by Psamtik I (664–610 BCE), an Assyrian vassal
who founded the Twenty-sixth Dynasty. By elevating his
daughter to the position of Divine Adoratrice, he
successfully spread his influence over Upper Egypt. Thus,
Egypt was reunited. Psamtik I gained Thebes through
diplomacy with the Kushites, and Tanwetamani withdrew to
Napata.
The relations between Egypt and the Kingdom of Kush
continued to develop due to the increased demand for
international trade. While there is no evidence of imported
goods from Nubia to Egypt, Kushite dig sites are filled with
items of Egyptian origin. There is even evidence of conflicts
happening between the two states in the area of Lower
Nubia and the Red Sea. These conflicts were probably
organized against the nomadic tribes of Troglodytes in
Egypt’s effort to establish control over the trade routes.
For the next few decades, the relationship between Egypt
and the Kingdom of Kush remained hostile, despite their
connections in trade, and it remained so through the reigns
of the next three Nubian kings: Atlanersa, Senkamanisken,
and Anlamani. The archaeological and textual evidence of
the political state of the Kush Kingdom during this period is
sparse. However, one of these rulers decided to change the
tradition of burying the royal household members at El-
Kurru after he founded a new necropolis at Nuri, where all
the future kings would be laid to rest.
In 593 BCE, Pharaoh Psamtik II sent an expedition to Nubia,
and even though the reason for his actions is unknown, it is
suspected that he wanted better control over Lower Nubia
to secure trade routes. But the possibility that he wanted to
conquer the Kushites cannot be excluded. It is believed that
this Egyptian campaign reached Napata. There is no
evidence to suggest the immediate outcome of the conflict,
but after this point, the Kushites were no longer welcome in
Egypt. The systematic eradication of everything Kushite
began, and the statues, names, and inscriptions of the
Twenty-fifth Dynasty were destroyed. It seems that Egypt
wanted to wipe out the Kush Kingdom from its history.
The campaign of Psamtik II probably happened during the
reign of Kushite King Aspelta (c. 600–580 BCE). His reign
was overshadowed by a terrible crime in Napata. In the
temple of Amun, the names and a figure of the king were
erased from two stelae, the Election and Banishment Stelae.
Aspelta erected these stelae in the first two years of his
reign. The face of the queen mother was also erased,
together with the figures of Aspelta’s female ancestors. This
could mean that Aspelta’s legitimacy to the throne was
disputed and that the problem lay in the female succession
line. Scholars can only speculate on who did this and why,
but the general opinion is that Aspelta usurped the throne
from an elder relative.
There are no surviving royal inscriptions that can be dated
to the period between Aspelta and Irike-Amannote, who
ruled at the end of the 5 th century BCE. These 150 years are
only remembered due to the archaeological findings of the
burial sites of the kings and queens at Nuri. However, these
tombs were badly plundered, and there are no items that
give us enough clues about what the political situation was
at the time or even what their relations were like with Egypt.
The overall impression of the kingdom’s political and
economic decline is reinforced by the lack of royal
documents, monuments, and buildings dated to this period.
However, political continuity is displayed by the ten
consequential kings, who lived between the 6 th and 5 th
centuries BCE. They were all buried at Nuri in Egyptian-style
pyramids, which means they never abandoned the adopted
mortuary religion.
The great Greek historian Herodotus wrote about the
southernmost land of Kush in his work, which can be dated
to 450–430 BCE. He described the land as inhabited by
nomadic peoples, whose rulers produced large amounts of
gold, large elephants, various types of trees, and ebony.
According to him, the Aethiopians, or Kushites, were very
tall, handsome, and long-lived. According to Herodotus, all
the lands south of Egypt belonged to Aethiopia (Ethiopia),
and he describes the city of Meroe as its capital. The fact
that Herodotus even wrote about Kush in this way indicates
that Egypt changed its policy toward its southern neighbors.
During Ahmose II’s reign, trade relations were reestablished,
and the Kush Kingdom sent ivory as a tribute. This leads one
to the conclusion that Psamtik II may have succeeded in
asserting his authority over the region.
During the rule of Persian King Cambyses II (530–522 BCE),
the Kush Kingdom came under Persian rule. He conquered
Egypt in 525, and in the same year, he invaded Nubia,
conquering the lands up to the city of Meroe. Even Xerxes I
(486–465) lists the Kushites as one of the peoples under his
rule. This fact is supported by Herodotus’s writings, in which
he describes the Kushite warriors as part of Xerxes’s army.
Once the Egyptians started organizing revolts against the
Persian rule around 486 BCE, the Kushite kings saw an
opportunity to regain the territories between the First and
Second Cataracts of the Nile. Although the Egyptian rule
over the territories between the First and Second Cataracts
ceased during the late 5 th century, there is no evidence of
Kushite military advances. However, the Kushites had some
authority over the nomadic tribes that inhabited the lands
between the Nile and the Red Sea. This period of the
Kingdom of Kush was marked by the long reign of Irike-
Amannote (or Amanineteyerike), but it is uncertain if he led
his armies to Upper Egypt or if he pretentiously took the title
of Nebty , “Seizer of the Land,” just to show his intentions of
an invasion of Egypt.
Irike-Amannote was succeeded by Baskakeren, who only
ruled for a short period. Harsiotef ruled next, and he was
most likely the son of Irike-Amannote. One of the stelae in
the temple of Amun at Napata dedicated to Harsiotef claims
he won nine military victories during the first thirty-five
years of his reign. His campaigns were recorded as conflicts
with the Butana, the desert peoples, Lower Nubia, and
Meroe. In Lower Nubia, he probably fought against the
rebels who opposed his rule, while in other areas, he would
have fought mostly nomadic tribes. The recorded list of
conflicts indicates that, at the time, Kushite authority
extended over the territory between the Second and First
Cataracts of the Nile. The note beside the Lower Nubia
victory entry says that the rebels retreated to Egypt, which
might indicate Egypt’s involvement so they could regain
control of these territories.
Harsiotef was succeeded by an unnamed king, whose efforts
to return the royal burial site to El-Kurru suggest there was
some kind of dynastical struggle. Nothing is known about
this king except that his successor, Nastasen, returned the
burial site to Nuri, restoring the dynastical order. The period
of the 4 th century remains very obscure, and there are no
surviving records that cast light on the events in the
Kingdom of Kush. However, looking from the perspective of
Egypt, there is much to be discovered. During the reign of
the Thirtieth Dynasty, in 343 BCE, to be more exact, the
Persians returned and conquered the country. Pharaoh
Nectanebo II was forced to flee to Upper Egypt, where he
received Kushite support and remained in power for the
next two years. But Alexander the Great came swooping in
next, conquering Egypt in 332 BCE and starting the
Ptolemaic Dynasty, which tried to take over the Kingdom of
Kush on more than one occasion. In 319/18, Ptolemy I led an
attack on Lower Nubia, but his success is not recorded.
Egypt must have suffered some internal dynastic problems,
as, at the time, the Kushites saw an opportunity to harass
its borders.
In 274 BCE, Ptolemy II launched an expedition to Lower
Nubia, probably intending to secure the trade routes along
the Nile between Egypt and the Kush Kingdom. The
Macedonian rulers of Egypt were accustomed to the use of
war elephants, which they imported from India. However, it
was impossible to import them by such a distance, and
Ptolemy needed a new source for his favorite war animal.
The only other region that had elephants were the southern
regions of the Kingdom of Kush. But the Kushites didn’t
know how to capture and train elephants for warfare, and
they needed the help of Egyptian experts. However, since
there were more diplomatic ways to achieve the elephant
trade, the more obvious reason for Ptolemy’s expedition to
Lower Nubia was its gold mines. Egypt defeated the Kush
Kingdom, and Lower Nubia was annexed. However, the
Kushites were compensated for the defeat by lucrative trade
agreements and the cultural renaissance that followed.
Egypt once more established cultural and intellectual
contact with the Kingdom of Kush.
The Meroitic Dynasty and the End of the Kingdom
New trade agreements with Egypt brought prosperity to the
southern regions of the Kingdom of Kush. From there, exotic
animals, as well as other goods, were sold to Egypt and the
rest of the known world. However, with the economic
strength of the southern parts of the country, a dynastic
change was inevitable.
King Arkamaniqo (Arkamani), who ruled in the 3 rd century
BCE, was the one who transferred the capital from Napata to
Meroe. Greek historian Diodorus Siculus records how there
was a conspiracy of the southern priesthood to remove
Arkamaniqo from the Kushite throne, but he used his
knowledge of Greek philosophy to overcome the troubles
and slaughter the priests who wished him dead. The story of
King Arkamaniqo’s coming to the south to dispose of the
priests is just an allegory of the moving of the capital and
the dynastical change. In reality, Arkamaniqo only
transferred the royal burial place to Meroe. However, he was
of southern origin, and the choice of his titular name was
lent from Ahmose II, who never hid the fact that he usurped
the throne, which led to the belief that Arkamaniqo himself
was a usurper, hence the dynastical change. The new
usurper king was probably part of the new and rich elite
society of Meroe, and because of his origins, the dynasty he
founded is known as the Meroitic Dynasty. The new dynasty
brought prosperity to the kingdom, and even though the
south was of special importance due to its trading potential,
the kingdom, as a whole, developed exponentially. Meroe
and the Butana region did become administrative temple
centers, but the fact that Arkamaniqo’s successor,
Amanislo, continued to build and develop Napata serves as
proof that this city continued to be the seat of the kings.
Through increased trade between the Kingdom of Kush and
Ptolemaic Egypt, the two cultures continued to influence
each other. However, a new trend in art was adopted in the
Kush Kingdom. Brought through the Greek contacts of
Egypt, Hellenistic art characteristics started appearing in
Kushite religious ideology, architecture, and iconography.
But the Kushites were also influenced by the African art
style, mainly due to the south’s economic supremacy. This
new African trend enriched the art of Ptolemaic Egypt and
continued to expand toward the Hellenistic world in general.
The first conflict between Egypt and Meroitic Kush occurred
in the late 3 rd century when Upper Egypt revolted against
the rule of Ptolemy IV Philopator. The Kushites saw an
opportunity to capture Lower Nubia, and it remained in their
hands from 207 until 186 BCE. They took the part of Lower
Nubia between the First and Second Cataracts, and it
appears they had no intention of progressing farther. They
just wanted their land back. No military garrisons were
found beyond the First Cataract, and no preserved sources
mention any intention of conquering Egypt. In 185, Ptolemy
V Epiphanes crushed the rebellion and extended his
kingdom to the Nile Valley, taking back the lands between
the First and Second Cataracts.
During the revolt and its quelling, the trade between the
Kush Kingdom and Egypt suffered. The exotic African goods
didn’t flow to the Nile to be sold to the Hellenistic world. By
the early 2 nd century, Egypt stopped organizing hunting
expeditions to find African war elephants. Instead, they
turned back to importing ones from India. However, there is
evidence of some diplomatic efforts. Even though Egyptians
took back Lower Nubia, the locals were not punished for
their role in the rebellion. Instead, they were peacefully
integrated into Egypt’s administration, while some of the
elite Nubians were even rewarded with positions within the
government. The population was subordinate to these
native government officials, whom the Ptolemies trusted
fully.
In the central regions of the Kingdom of Kush, a new
religious and kingship ideology was being shaped. To secure
the legitimacy of the new Meroitic Dynasty, Amun
transformed into a warrior deity of the desert hunters. The
African Butana region’s influence is evident here, as the new
royal family had originated from there. Even though the
royal garments were still heavily influenced by the
Ptolemaic ones, traditional components were also
incorporated, which held ritualistic meanings. For instance,
the Kushite kings’ fastening devices were now associated
with the Nubian gods Sebiumeker (fertility) and Arensnuphis
(hunting), not with the Egyptian warrior god Onuris.
It was as if the new Meroitic Dynasty wanted to separate
even more from the old one that had ruled Egypt, for new
hieroglyphic and cursive scripts were also invented. The
cursive script consisted of only twenty-three symbols, and it
was developed for the economic and administrative
purposes of the elite and middle social classes. This means
that literacy was no longer reserved for kings and priests.
Everyone was able to use the new cursive script, and it is
thought that even wives and the children of Kushite citizens
learned it as well.
The first name that has been discovered in Meroitic
hieroglyphs belongs to Queen Shanakdakheto. At first,
scholars thought she was a male, as she was the sole ruler
on the Kushite throne, but further discoveries of her tomb
suggested she was female. Shanakdakheto ruled during the
late 2 nd century BCE, but it is unknown how she was related
to the royal family. Shanakdakheto was also the first known
ruling queen of the Kingdom of Kush, with the next one
following her at least 100 years later. In the iconography
that is dedicated to her, she is represented wearing a
feather crown of the Kushite kings and the royal three-part
garments. The iconography proves her legitimacy and rule.
In one of the depictions, she is accompanied by a male
figure, who is dressed more plainly with an ordinary diadem
on his head, which symbolizes him as not being a ruling part
of the family.
During the 1 st century BCE, the Meroitic Kingdom of Kush
was involved in a conflict with Rome, which had just
conquered Alexandria and Egypt after the suicide of Queen
Cleopatra VII. It is believed that the Meroitic Kingdom
purposely helped Upper Egypt organize a revolt against the
Roman rule to destabilize the region and take over Lower
Nubia to the First Cataract of the Nile. However, the result
was devastating, as the Roman army entered Kush after
they dealt with the revolt in Egypt. Rome conquered Lower
Nubia and gave it the status of a vassal chiefdom. The plan
was to conquer the whole Kush Kingdom in the future and to
annex the Meroitic state. However, the opposition Rome
received from Meroe was too great, and Emperor Augustus
had to abandon his plans of annexation.
However, only a few years later, Augustus planned two
great expeditions. Gaius Petronius was chosen as the new
prefect of Egypt, and he was to lead the attack on the Kush
Kingdom. However, before the expedition was launched, the
Nubians acted first. They crossed the First Cataract and
attacked Egyptian towns, where they took prisoners and
brought down the statues of Roman Emperor Augustus. The
Meroitic attack happened sometime in 25 BCE, while the
Roman expedition to Nubia, which served as a
counterattack, occurred in the winter of 24 BCE.
At that time, Kushite King Teriteqas, who led the supporting
army from the south, died suddenly, and the kingdom was
now led by Queen Amanirenas, who has been identified as
the previous king’s sister. In Roman and Greek texts, she is
referred to as “Queen Candace,” the Latinized form of
“Kandake,” but this is just a term that refers to the king’s
sister. The Meroitic Dynasty was matrilineal, meaning the
heirs would be born by the king’s blood relatives, not his
wife; thus, the kandakes had an instrumental position in
society.
Gaius Petronius advanced with his army to Napata, where
he ignored Amanirenas’s offer of peace, as he took slaves
and destroyed the city. However, for some unknown reason,
Petronius didn’t continue with the conquest of Nubia;
instead, he turned back to Egypt.
The loss of Napata didn’t diminish the Kushites’ will to fight
Rome. Queen Amanirenas ordered an attack on a Roman
garrison stationed at the border, but Petronius was quick to
come back with reinforcements, forcing the Nubians to
accept negotiations. The peace talks were held at the Isle of
Samos in the winter of 21/20 BCE. The conclusion was the
remission of taxes for the Kush Kingdom, as well as the
establishment of a border between Egypt and Kush at Hiera
Sycaminos (today’s El-Maharraqa).
After Queen Amanirenas, the throne was occupied by two
more female rulers, Queens Amanishakehto (c. 10 BCE–1
CE) and Nawidemak (early 1 st century). The three
consecutive female rulers may indicate some dynastic
trouble in the kingdom, as it wasn’t usual for females to
inherit the throne. But during the rule of these queens, the
Kushites managed to recover from the conflict with Rome.
Once more, the Kush Kingdom entered a period of
prosperity, which was reflected in extensive temple building
and the increase in the quality of their art. With trade
reopened and the successful diplomatic missions that took
place, Egyptian influence returned to the Meroitic state.
Even the Egyptian hieroglyphic script was in use once again.
The period between the late 1 st and mid-3 rd century saw an
increase and the development of many new agricultural
settlements, villages, and caravan stations. The overall
impression is that this period was peaceful and prosperous.
However, the crisis in the Roman Empire in the mid-3 rd
century was reflected in the Kingdom of Kush, as economic
and political troubles began again. The new Kingdom of
Aksum on the southern border was growing powerful and
represented a real political threat to Egypt’s and Nubia’s
weakened economies. The warrior tribes of Blemmyae and
Noba to the east and southwest started harassing the
kingdom’s borders.
The last decades of the Kingdom of Kush are poorly
documented. The pyramid tombs of the last five rulers show
obvious signs of economic decline, as they are less
decorated. However, cultural continuity is shown, as even
the houses built in Meroe’s administrative center show that
the kingdom went through some kind of downfall. The
people inhabited very small rooms, art stopped being
produced, and the temple walls were used as burial
grounds. The different types of burials during the second
half of the 4 th century suggest a new culture was on the
rise, which would have coexisted with the Meroitic Dynasty.
It seems that the Kush Kingdom was suddenly occupied by a
new population that had a completely different cultural,
political, and social structure. It is known that the new
population was a tribal society built of the warrior elite and
semi-nomadic cattle herders. Although it is not known for
sure which tribe it was, it is possible it was the Noba, who
originated from the western banks of the Nile.
The last known ruler of the Kingdom of Kush was Queen
Amanipilade (r. 308–320), but the kingdom continued to
exist for at least several more decades after her death. The
Meroitic Dynasty disappeared after the attack by the
Kingdom of Aksum, which sacked the city of Meroe. A similar
fate happened to some other settlements in the area once
the Butana lost its role as the administrative and trade
center of the kingdom. It remains unknown what happened
to the Kingdom of Kush, but the economic fall and the
evidence of warfare with the new power in the region, the
Aksum, suggest that it was more than one factor that
caused its demise. Neighboring Egypt began adopting
Christianity, and as a result, the Nubians founded three
smaller Christian kingdoms in its territory after the
dissolution of the Kush Kingdom: Nobatia, Alodia, and
Makuria.
Chapter 2 – The Land of Punt

The assumed location of Punt

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_of_Punt#/media/File:Land
_of_Punt.png
An ancient African kingdom whose location remains a
mystery, the Land of Punt can only be observed through the
prism of Egypt, its trading partner. The existence of Punt is
known to history only because it was described and
depicted in the ancient texts and reliefs of Egyptian rulers.
This mysterious kingdom’s importance is obvious, as the
great pharaohs refer to it as Ta netjer —“the land of the
gods.” Scholars today interpret the name Ta netjer in two
very different ways, which sheds some light as to where
Punt was located. The Egyptians might have named this
kingdom “the land of the gods” because it was their
ancestral home, where the god Amun installed Egypt’s first
ruling dynasty. It could also be interpreted as the land in the
east, where the sun god rises. The probability of the second
theory being correct is increased by the fact that Egypt also
referred to Lebanon, another eastern country, as the “land
of the gods.”
The Location and the People of Punt
There are various theories about where the Land of Punt
was located: Morocco, Zambezi, Mauritania, and so on. In
reality, nobody knows where the famous mythical land was.
Everything known about Punt comes from Egyptian sources,
which don’t describe the kingdom’s geographical position.
However, what they do describe is the various goods
imported from Punt. Based on that, scholars have concluded
that the most probable location of this ancient kingdom is in
the Horn of Africa.
The Egyptian texts list products such as ivory, ebony, gold,
makeup materials, naphtha, various exotic animals, and
gold as being imported from Punt. However, the most
important items were aromatic resins and woods, such as
myrrh and cinnamon. These items suggest that the
mysterious land in the east could be somewhere in Arabia.
However, further findings dispute this theory. Archaeologists
found a list of the trade partners of Egypt at the temple of
Karnak. The list dates back to Pharaoh Thutmose III (r. 1479–
1425 BCE) of the Eighteenth Dynasty, and it numbers the
kingdoms and their geographical orientations: Kush, Wawat,
Punt, Mejay, and Khaskhet. All of these kingdoms were
pinpointed in Africa, and their geographical orientation
suggests that Punt was the southernmost kingdom that
bordered the Red Sea. This location is the Horn of Africa
today.
The importance of these imported goods from Punt now
becomes obvious. These items, especially the aromatic
woods, originated from the region of the Horn of Africa. But
the wood could also be imported from Arabia Felix (South
Arabia), and this fact made scholars wonder if the Kingdom
of Punt may have spread to both shores of the Red Sea. This
theory would locate Punt in today’s Eritrea and Yemen.
Later, scientists conducted a DNA testing of mummified
baboon hair found in Egypt, which originated from the
mysterious Kingdom of Punt. They found that the DNA
profile corresponds to that of Somali baboons. Due to this
discovery, historians now believe that today’s Somalia was
once a part of this ancient kingdom.
The discovery of a Twenty-sixth Dynasty stela from the
ancient fortress of Daphnae, near Qanṭarah in northeastern
Egypt, shifted the focus of scholars from Arabia to Africa.
The stela bears an inscription stating that if it rains in the
mountains of Punt, the Nile floods. This would mean that the
mountains of Punt should be the Ethiopian Highlands, as it
drastically influences the Nile. Since the discovery of this
stela, around fifty more inscriptions and engravings that
refer to the Land of Punt have been found. None of them
mention its exact location. However, they teach us that Punt
was not landlocked, as Egyptians traveled to it by boats.
An inscription dating to the Sixth Dynasty tells a story of
Pharaoh Pepi II Neferkare (c. 2278/2269–2184/2175 BCE),
who dispatched an expedition to retrieve a body of a state
official. This official had been killed in the northern desert by
the Bedouin tribes while he was overseeing the construction
of a ship, which was to set sail to the Land of Punt. This
discovery not only confirmed that Egyptians traveled to Punt
using the sea, but it also confirmed that it was the Red Sea
that was used due to the mention of the northern (Asiatic)
desert. Another inscription that was discovered later
confirms this theory. This inscription is dated to Pharaoh
Mentuhotep III (2010–1998 BCE), and it speaks of another
construction of a vessel that was designated to reach Punt
along the Red Sea.
Besides the ancient inscriptions that tell us about the
various Egyptian expeditions to Punt, there are temple
depictions that visualize these expeditions. One has been
discovered in the funerary temple of Pharaoh Hatshepsut
(1479–1458 BCE) at Deir el-Bahari. According to the
depictions of the birth of Queen Hatshepsut, her mother was
awakened by the scent of the incense from the Land of
Punt. Another depiction in the same temple shows an
Egyptian expedition to Punt. The relief shows the
recognizable flora and fauna of the land. One of the most
recognizable plants is the doum palm, which, even today,
grows all over the Somali coast, with the southeast being
the place where the concentration of these trees is the
highest. To the Egyptians, the doum palm is a sacred plant,
and it is no wonder why they wanted to import it directly
from the “land of the gods.”
Other reliefs from Hatshepsut’s temple display the animals
and people of Punt. The conclusion is that Puntites mostly
traded with short-horned cattle, slaves, and skins of wild
animals. They were ruled by their own royal family, and in
the time of Hatshepsut, their names were King Parahu and
Queen Ati. These are also the only Puntite names known
today. The temple of Hatshepsut tried to represent Punt as a
land that paid tribute to Egypt, but this is highly speculative,
especially since some of the reliefs show the myrrh trees of
Punt being cut down by the Egyptians themselves. This is a
clear sign that trade occurred, not an exchange of gifts or
tribute.
Puntites celebrated the god Amun, but it seems that their
main cult was that of the goddess Hathor. Some even
speculate that her cult started in Punt. One of the
inscriptions found at Al-Qusayr on the Red Sea coast
mentions Hathor as the mistress of Punt. All of the goods
imported from Punt, whether they were incense, slaves,
naphtha, ebony, or animals, were referred to as gifts of
Hathor. If Hathor indeed originated in Punt, it would make
sense that this mystic land was considered the land of the
gods. Hathor is a consort (and mother) to both Horus and
Amun-Ra. The two gods were symbols of kingship, and as
such, Hathor was the symbolic mother of the Egyptian
pharaohs. Some scholars even see Punt as the land where
Egyptians originated from. However, there is no evidence to
confirm this theory.
King Parahu and Queen Ati, followed by their sons and one
daughter, are depicted as they visited Egypt and showed
their respect to Hatshepsut. The unusual appearance of
Queen Ati draws all the attention. She is represented with a
rugged face and an extremely strange body, which modern
doctors diagnose as gluteal and femoral obesity and
hyperlordosis. Some claim other diagnoses such as
elephantiasis or steatopygia. However, without a mummy to
conduct proper research, medical experts can only theorize
as to why Queen Ati was depicted as such. A newly
discovered pathology combines several diagnoses, such as
neurofibromatosis, lipodystrophy, Proteus syndrome, and
familial obesity. This pathology was named Queen of Punt
Syndrome, as the person having it would look similar to
Queen Ati’s depiction. However, the queen of Punt is, so far,
the only known person to have it.
Flora and Fauna of Punt
One of the main items Egyptians imported from Punt was
ebony. Products made of ebony, such as ornamental pieces
or even sarcophagi, that were found in Egyptian tombs were
analyzed, and the results confirmed the suspicion that their
origin was from Punt. The particular species of ebony wood
found in the tombs is Dalbergia melanoxylon. This type of
wood is native to Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Sudan. In Somalia,
ebony is very limited today. However, archaeological
findings suggest that the situation was quite different in the
past. In fact, in the past several millennia, Somalia’s
vegetation and animal life have drastically changed. The
remains of a crocodile were found in the Hargeisa valley, an
area with a unique climate. Although it is a dry geographical
region today, it is not hot. But the crocodile remains suggest
that there was a swamp in the area at some point in the
past. The area still grows ebony, locally known as “Kolaati,”
but to a limited extent. If the area was once a swamp, the
possibility is high that ebony was abundant here.
The most important item imported to Egypt from Punt was
certainly frankincense. Queen Hatshepsut sent a fleet of five
ships to Punt to fetch this scented resin, as it was one of the
most important items in Egyptian sacred rituals. She
ordered her people to bring not only the resin but also the
living saps of the trees, so they could be planted in Egypt.
The relief in Hatshepsut’s temple depicts thirty-one heavy
trees being carried by four to six men. If the Egyptians and
Puntites indeed carried the trees to the ships, the Land of
Punt must have been very close to the sea.
Ancient texts, among which is the Periplus of the Erythraean
Sea , specify the region of Somalia between Bandar Qasim
and Cape Guardafui as the center of frankincense
production and export. The ancient city of Opone, a familiar
trade center used by Egyptians, Romans, Greeks, Persians,
and even Indians, occupied this region. Since the location of
Oppone corresponds to the probable location of the mystical
Land of Punt, many scholars believe that they were the
same. The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea testifies that the
frankincense of the highest quality was produced in the
laurel grove of Acannae, which has been identified as
today’s Alula Lagoon in the northernmost point of Somalia.
Just as with the flora of Punt, the fauna was depicted in the
ancient Egyptian reliefs of the temples and tombs. One such
depicted animal that makes scholars believe the Land of
Punt was in Africa is the giraffe. This animal is specific only
to Africa, and although they were imported in various other
lands, it is highly unlikely that Egyptians would have
bothered describing the giraffes of Punt if they were not
native to the land. However, ancient Greek texts reveal that
giraffes used to roam not just Africa but also the area
between Arabia and Syria.
One animal depicted in the reliefs has greatly puzzled
scholars. In the depiction of Punt in Hatshepsut’s temple,
they found a relief of a rhinoceros with only one horn. These
are native to the regions of the Eastern Himalayas, while
Africa is the home of the two-horned rhinoceros. Some even
thought this was enough evidence to search for the Land of
Punt in India. However, the relief is badly damaged, and it is
not possible to say if the animal used to have two horns.
There is also a possibility that one-horned rhinoceros used
to inhabit some areas of Africa but went extinct. In the end,
it could also just be the error of an artist who didn’t bother
to add a second horn to the representation of the animal.
Other animals that populated the Land of Punt were fish and
marine animals, among which is saltwater lobster. Because
of this, scholars are confident enough to imagine Punt as a
location with access to the sea. However, some of the fauna
species represented on the walls of the temple belong to
freshwater habitats. But this was easy for biologists to
explain. The represented animals are catfish and a
freshwater turtle. Both of these animals are noted to
venture to the sea occasionally, which could explain their
existence among the depicted seawater creatures.
One more animal posed a challenge for Egyptologists. It
seems that there was a strange kind of bird imported to
Egypt from Punt. At first, they thought the bird was a crane.
However, it only showed the backside of the bird. Later on,
another relief was discovered on a nearby wall with the
image of the same bird, and this time, the angle was much
better. Due to the distinctive feathers on the head, the bird
was identified as the secretary bird. This is a large (4.2 feet)
terrestrial predatory bird that, to an unskilled eye and
observed from an odd angle, could indeed look like a crane.
The bird is native to Africa and is nonexistent in the Nile
region.
But it wasn’t only the images of the animals that were
analyzed. Although baboons were represented on various
reliefs in the temples and tombs of Egyptian kings and
queens, archaeologists have also found mummified remains
of baboons in one of the tombs in the Valley of the Kings.
The pair of animals were sent to the British Museum, where
they were genetically tested to find out their origin. The
baboons’ oxygen isotopic values matched with those of
living baboons native to Eritrea and Ethiopia, ruling out
Yemen and Somalia. However, repeated genetic testing
results were slightly different. The conclusion was that the
baboon mummies correspond genetically to the modern
baboons of Somalia and both Eritrea and Ethiopia.
The People of Punt
In the tomb of Rekhmire, who was the vizier of Pharaoh
Thutmose III, the Grand Procession Mural was discovered,
which depicts foreign envoys submitting tribute to Egypt.
The top row of the painting shows the Puntites with several
red-skinned people who strongly resemble Egyptians. But
the row continues with three black-skinned figures and
prognathous facial features. This means that the Puntites
were of both Hamitic and Negroid types of people. On the
mural, there is nothing of the distinct social or legal status
of these types of people, and the general belief is that they
were all representatives of the same diplomatic mission
from Punt. After all, the region where it is believed
legendary Punt used to be is still inhabited by Nilotic and
Hamitic peoples.
However, scholars who believe that the Land of Punt solely
occupied the Arabic shore of the Red Sea believe that the
mural’s Nilotic figures represent the slaves of the Puntites,
as there is no evidence of this type of people ever being
indigenous to Arabia. The Nilotic and Bantu people of Eritrea
and Ethiopia, as well as Somalia, have a long history of
representing the bulk of the slave class in the Horn of Africa.
There are even ancient texts describing the capture of
slaves from the areas bordering Sudan and the African Great
Lakes region. But that evidence is not enough to claim that
Negroid peoples were strictly a slave class. There is textual
evidence of racial dichotomy in the area of Ethiopia, which
dates back 3,000 years ago. The text, which was discovered
in 2013, describes the kings of the ancient Eritrean Kingdom
of Da’mat as rulers of both red and black people.
But later, during the Kingdom of Aksum, which spanned
over the territories of Eritrea and northern Ethiopia, the
terms saba qayh (red man) and tsalim barya (black slave)
were coined. This would mean that the period between 100
and 940 CE was when slavery bloomed. However, there is
simply no evidence that would suggest that the social
picture of the Land of Punt was similar to that of the
Kingdom of Aksum.
What is known about the Puntite slaves comes directly from
the Egyptian texts. Several preserved sources speak of Punt
exporting Pygmy slaves. Harkhuf, the governor of Upper
Egypt during the reign of Pharaoh Pepi II, wrote in his
autobiography how he brought a dancing Pygmy as a gift for
the child king. He describes how he acquired this Pygmy
from the Puntites. He also remembers that another pharaoh
had a dancing Pygmy brought to him by the Puntites at an
earlier date.
The testimony of Harkhuf made archaeologists wonder
where exactly the Puntites got Pygmy slaves. The Pygmy
tribes had been concentrated in Central Africa, and it seems
that the Puntites traveled deep inside the continent to find
them. The excavations performed in the area of
northwestern Somalia provided evidence that the people of
Punt traveled to the Congo Basin and the Mashonaland gold
mines. There, they had access to both slaves and gold, but
it remains a mystery if they acquired both by force or by
trade.
There are records that mention Pharaoh Pepi II called his
Pygmy slave a dwarf, which made historians wonder if these
slaves were just individuals from the Horn of Africa who
suffered dwarfism or maybe were simply short-statured
people. It is also a possibility that Pygmies were not really
from Central Africa but rather an indigenous people of Punt.
However, research done on modern peoples of Egypt
showed a significant number of paternal lineage B-M60
haplotypes among individuals. This DNA haplogroup is
commonly found among the peoples of Central Africa, and it
is significantly concentrated among the Pygmies. However,
this DNA haplogroup doesn’t exist in the remains of ancient
Egyptians or Sudanese, which leads us to believe that
modern individuals who carry it are descendants of the
Pygmy slaves of Egypt.
The ethnic name for the Puntites in Egypt was Berber, and it
was wrongly assumed in the past that the term bears the
same meaning as ancient Greek barbarians (i.e., non-
Greeks). Hieroglyphs dating from the time of Queen
Hatshepsut refer to the Puntites as “brbrta,” and scholars
believe that the name is nothing more than the
onomatopoeic imitation of the language of Punt. Since
Egyptians couldn’t understand their language, to them, it
sounded like the repetition of the sounds bar-bar or ber-ber.
The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea describes the areas of
northern Somalia, Eritrea, and northern Sudan as the region
where the “Berbers” lived. Even the ancient Greeks referred
to these territories as “Barbaria,” as in “the land of
Berbers.” In modern times, some of the cities and towns of
northern Sudan and northern Somalia still carry the old
epithet Barbaroi or Berber in their names, such as Berbera
in Somalia.
Egyptian Homeland?
Even though the Egyptians did not speak the same
language as the Puntites, there is evidence that strongly
suggests ancestral relations between the two kingdoms.
When representing the individuals of foreign lands,
Egyptians would always make their figures smaller or
caricatured. But when it came to the visual representation
of the Puntites, Egyptians would paint them as they painted
themselves, even with similar clothes. The only additional
feature Puntites had in these paintings was a small beard,
which was incredibly similar to the beards often found on
the depictions of Egyptian deities.
Another difference between the Puntites and other non-
Egyptian nations was their representation in Egyptian
hieroglyphic texts. There was a very distinctive symbol the
ancient people of Egypt used when they were talking about
a foreigner or a foreign land. Whenever Punt is mentioned,
this symbol is absent. This led to the conclusion that the
Land of Punt was at least seen as equal to Egypt, if not the
same.
More similarities between the two cultures can be observed
in religion. At the beginning of the chapter, the phrase Ta
netjer —“the land of the gods”—was mentioned. Historians
speculate that this phrase could mean more than just the
land to the east. The Egyptian legends of ancestry speak
about them coming from the Red Sea coast. The same
legends also talk about the gods Horus and Hathor coming
from Ta netjer . Hathor was sometimes referred to as the
“Lady of Punt.”
Another Egyptian god, Bes, was often depicted as a giant
barbaric deity eating baboons. Those same baboons were
described as coming from the Land of Punt in the temple’s
hieroglyphs at Deir el-Bahari. So, it seems that the
Egyptians remembered their origins as natives to Punt.
However, their settlement in Egypt must have happened
during some remote period, as they lost the ability to
understand the language of Punt. But even though Hathor is
believed to have come from the Land of Punt, it doesn’t
mean that she was worshiped as a deity by the Puntites.
However, in northern Somalia at the Laas Geel site, ancient
rock art was discovered that seems to depict people of the
region worshiping a deity similar to Hathor, if not the same.
If the location of the Land of Punt was in the area of today’s
Somalia, this could serve as proof that the Puntites and
Egyptians shared religious connections.
Besides cultural ties between Egypt and Punt, there might
even be biological ones. If the Land of Punt was in the area
of today’s Somalia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sudan, and the Arabian
Peninsula, simple DNA testing shows connections of the
inhabitants of all these areas with the modern Egyptian
people, who are linear ancestors of ancient Egyptians.
But the DNA of the ancient remains of Egyptians perhaps
holds the secret of their ancestry. In 2013, the first genetic
study of Egyptian remains was done. Five mummies dating
from the late dynasties to the Ptolemaic rule provided the
necessary DNA material. One of the mummies gave
astonishing results. It showed the presence of haplogroup I,
which strongly suggests an origin from West Asia. This
haplogroup is extremely rare, and even in ancient times, it
occurred only in 5 percent of the overall population of
Egypt. It was mostly concentrated in the area of the
Kingdom of Kush. Haplogroup I is even rarer today, as only
three individuals who carry it have been identified. And the
shocking fact is that two out of the three individuals
carrying this specific gene set are found in Somalia, while
the third one is from Iran. Other genetic studies were done,
and they all showed a strong connection between ancient
Egyptians and the modern-day inhabitants of Somalia.
Chapter 3 – Carthage

Carthage’s dominion during different points in history

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carthage#/media/File:Carthagi
nianempire.PNG
Many of the great cities in the ancient world have achieved
such levels of fame and prosperity that they have
mythological stories of their founding. Carthage was no
different.
According to the legends, in 831 BCE, the king of Tyre,
Mattan I, decided on his deathbed to divide his kingdom to
his two heirs. Pygmalion, his son, was to receive one half of
the kingdom, and his daughter Dido (sometimes referred to
as Alysa) would get the other half. As the story goes, his
subjects weren’t happy about his decision. They probably
worried that dividing the territory under two different rulers
would lead to chaos instead of prosperity, so they protested.
Thus, Pygmalion became the new king of Tyre, and he
quickly began to eliminate everyone with the potential to
oppose him.
His sister was the most obvious threat, so she planned to
leave the city with all the allies she could muster on the
pretense that she did not want to rule over half of the
kingdom. She convinced him that she was no threat by
asking him to allow her to live at his court. The only reason
this sounded plausible to Pygmalion was that he had
assassinated his sister’s husband, as he was a high priest
who opposed him. Her asking him to give her permission to
live at the palace after her husband’s death eliminated any
suspicion of treachery. The king was also looking forward to
this change in circumstance because Dido’s move to his
court would mean that she would bring all the gold that her
late husband had accumulated. So, he happily sent her all
the help she needed to move her possessions and settle at
the palace.
Dido, however, had deceived her brother. She instructed the
retainers to move all her belongings to a ship. As soon as
they boarded the boat, she dropped several bags into the
sea, claiming that it was her husband’s gold and other
precious treasures, then convinced the retainers to remain
aboard and leave the city of Tyre with her. Otherwise, the
king would have them killed for losing all that gold. They all
agreed and waited for Dido’s noble allies to join her on the
ship before leaving the harbor. Once everything was
prepared, they lifted anchor and sailed to Cyprus.
Once they arrived in Cyprus, they met with another ally, the
high priest of the temple of Astarte (equivalent to Venus or
Aphrodite). He pledged his loyalty to Dido on the condition
that he kept his title and position within his family forever.
An agreement was struck, and the high priest gifted eighty
of the temple’s prostitutes. They were meant to be taken as
wives by Dido’s companions so that they could start a future
settlement of their own.
The exiles left Cyprus and continued their journey to Africa.
Their next stop was Utica, a colony where citizens from Tyre
had settled. According to legend, it was ruled by King
Hiarbas. Dido and her followers were welcomed at first, but
when they wanted to purchase land for themselves, the king
only allowed them as much territory as could be measured
with a single ox hide. Hiarbas was cautious, and he didn’t
want to risk giving the exiles too much of his territory. But
according to the myths, the exiles cut the hide into one long
strip and used it to measure a great piece of land. The king
had to keep his promise, and thus, the territory was granted
to them. This piece of land would soon become known as
Carthage. Historical records aren’t clear about the true
circumstances and the year of the city’s founding. Surviving
sources point toward the period between 846 and 816 BCE.
The city quickly became popular as more and more colonists
started moving to it. Trade was steadily developed together
with infrastructure. The prosperity of Carthage made the
king of Utica jealous, and he threatened to declare war.
However, nobody wanted a war, so the exiled people of Tyre
forced Dido to forge an alliance through marriage. The
noblemen claimed that they would lead the city to ruin if
Dido did do anything to place it in jeopardy. As a result, Dido
had no choice but to agree, although she did have one
demand. She ordered the people of Carthage to build a
large pyre so that she could bring sacrifices to the gods to
keep her husband’s spirit at peace with this new marriage.
The people agreed. However, the first queen of Carthage
had different plans. As soon as the fire was lit, she climbed
on the pyre and stabbed herself with a sword, declaring that
she was joining her husband in death.
Of course, the legend of Carthage and Queen Dido is
impossible to verify, and it is highly unlikely to have
happened. It is quite a romantic story of treachery and love,
though. The first source that mentions the story is dated
three to four centuries after Carthage was built, and the first
full depiction of the myth comes from a Roman historian
who lived in the 1 st century BCE. However, we can be sure
that some parts of the stories are grounded in fact because
there is evidence of Tyrian influence and importance in the
city of Carthage.
The Early Days

A depiction of the city of Carthage

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carthage#/media/File:Carthage
_National_Museum_representation_of_city.jpg
The myth that lies at the foundations of this city tells us that
the Greeks didn’t see Carthage as an ordinary trading post
or an unimportant town built by colonists. Its original name
in Phoenician was Qart Hadasht, which translates to “New
City.” This is already enough evidence to confirm that it
wasn’t just any old settlement. Quite the contrary, in fact.
Carthage was built in one of the most important locations in
the entire area. It stood at the intersection between two
major trade routes: one led from Spain to the Levant, and
the other led to Tyre. It also opened up the way to Italy and
the entirety of Greece. There were many trade posts,
markets, and towns founded on these trade routes, so
Carthage was strategically positioned.
During the 8 th century BCE, Carthage was already a
renowned city where trade was booming. Many Greek and
Italian objects, especially pottery, were discovered in parts
of the settlement. Ceramics originating from the early days
of Carthage were also found in Pithecusa (an ancient city in
Italy), showing that the city was already exporting its local
production. While the northern trade route had the most to
offer, Carthage took advantage of the metals that were
brought in by traders traveling between the Levant and
Spain, and the city quickly developed into a booming trade
center.
In the following two centuries, Carthage developed itself
further by becoming a manufacturer of luxury items. At the
very beginning, luxury goods were brought from Egypt and
the Levant, but with the booming economy, tradesmen and
fine craftsmen moved to the new city. This led to a quick
population increase, so much so that Carthage could no
longer produce enough food to sustain itself. Other colonies
started being built in the region to take advantage of new
agricultural lands and to extract ore from the mountains. All
regional focus was placed on sustaining and developing
Carthage into an economic power of great importance.
As Carthage became a prosperous city thanks to its wealthy
class of merchants and traders, most of the political and
administrative decisions were left to the elite of the trading
class. The wealthiest of the merchants were the ones with
the most influence. At the time, the Greeks wrongly noted
that the city was being governed by an aristocracy that
consisted of several kings. However, this was wrong, as the
city wasn’t ruled by a monarchy at the time. The most
powerful merchants had full control of the city, including its
military, but they were no kings.
The reason for this confusion is thought to be found in
Dido’s foundation myth. The elite used the story of the
queen that had no children as a way to make their oligarchic
rule legitimate. Carthage kept some of its Tyrian heart, but
they quickly began to carve their own history by aiming to
become a wealthy power with its own way of doing things.
The Rise to Power
573 BCE proved to be the year of opportunity for Carthage,
for this was the year when the kingdom of Tyre had to admit
defeat at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon.
Tyre was under siege for thirteen years at that time, and the
only chance the city had was to sign a peace treaty. Next to
this massive defeat, which had occurred to one of the major
economic powers in the region, there was another factor
that affected the entire area. Silver decreased in value due
to its overabundance. The territories in the Near East were
producing and exporting too much silver to the
Mediterranean shores. This led to an economic crisis, so
many Tyrian colonies were abandoned. With Tyre and many
of its colonies on a terrible decline, room was made for
Carthage to expand.
The city of Carthage was barely affected by this crisis
because it didn’t rely as much on the trade with the Levant
and the rest of the Near East. Italy and Egypt were the
biggest players in the Carthaginian market. The Spain-
Levant trade route was an important shipping lane for metal
traders, and traffic quickly went down with the price of
silver. As Tyrian shipping declined and its colonies
abandoned, Carthage could now dominate.
Some ancient historians, especially of Greek and Roman
origin, seemed to have been biased against the
Carthaginians, as they sought to portray them as aggressive
imperialists. However, 6 th -century Carthage focused mostly
on trade. Around half of their food and other basic supplies
came from imports. Although there are some archaeological
signs of trouble in Sardinia, where Carthage founded two
new cities, we have to look at this evidence with a touch of
skepticism. Most testimonies of Carthage’s military
expeditions come from Roman historians that lived after the
events they depict. In fact, most of the stories of aggressive
conquest come from the time of the Punic Wars when Rome
fought against Carthage (264– 146 BCE). So, we can’t be
sure about the Romans’ objectivity. The signs of conflict
found in Sardinia don’t conclude that the Carthaginians
conquered the territory. The island may have been fought
over by the local tribes inhabiting it or by other Phoenicians
trying to establish a foothold there.
The same historical sources that depict Carthage as an
aggressive power seem to blame them for the fall of the
Tartessian kingdom in today’s southern Spain. This land was
rich in metals, and due to their trade route with the Levant,
they became an important trade partner of Carthage as
well. The Carthaginians had nothing to gain from warring
with them because they were already benefiting from their
partnership. Instead, the fall of the Tartessian kingdom is
attributed to the fall of the value of silver that led to the
economic crisis mentioned above. The wealthy aristocracy
that ruled over the Iberian kingdom lost their main source of
wealth, which led to conflict and chaos. The kingdom
collapsed due to internal struggles ignited by a severely
declining economy, not due to military invasions.
Once a power vacuum was created by the conditions in Tyre
and southern Spain, Carthage simply took over as the main
economic player in the region. Due to their conflict with
Rome, as well as the new Carthaginian colonies they
established in Sardinia and on the Iberian Peninsula, they
may have been seen by ancient historians as invaders bent
on controlling the region from an economical and
administrative point of view. Whatever the case, other
kingdoms and city-states fell due to their struggles, and
Carthage was there to take the reins and forge its own path.
Expanding into Africa
Carthage imported a lot of its food from other kingdoms, but
with its prosperous expansion during the 6 th century, they
started relying less on imports. The most drastic change
was when they expanded into Africa and started dominating
the north. In today’s Tunisia, they developed a diverse
system of agriculture that was irrigated through springs and
canals.
The Carthaginian diet became far more diverse. They
consumed several types of grains, vegetables, fish, fruit
(such as figs, olives, watermelons, plums, peaches, and
almonds), and a wide variety of meat, which came from
pigs, cows, chickens, goats, and sheep. The average
Carthaginian had a much more diverse diet than the citizens
of other kingdoms and empires.
However, the greatest change occurred during the 5 th
century when they continued expanding into Africa, mainly
to today’s northern and western Libya. This was when
Carthage started becoming a renowned agricultural power
in the Mediterranean region, as they would export olive oil
and a famous sweet wine that was made from raisins. In the
following two centuries, Carthage developed many new
techniques in cultivation, irrigation, pruning, and even
started using fertilizers.
Colonialism and Conflict
During this period, namely between the 6 th and 4 th
centuries, Carthage hadn’t yet achieved imperial status.
Even though it was stretching its colonial might into
Northern Africa and the entire Mediterranean region, it was
still just pursuing its economic goals. Through its influence,
many of the other Phoenician colonies started adapting the
Carthaginian culture, as well as the Punic dialect that was
spoken in Carthage. These colonies also started abandoning
the tradition of cremating their dead in favor of burials,
which were performed in Carthage.
Carthage continued to expand by building new colonies, to
where their excess population would move. Many of the new
settlements were fortified to serve as secure marketplaces
for the tradesmen that traveled between the agricultural
settlements. This expansion included Sardinia, where
agriculture was developed to suit the economy of the new
Punic kingdom.
The relations between Sardinia and Carthage brought
nothing but prosperity, as new imposing office and
administrative buildings were built in the Sardinian towns.
However, Carthage didn’t rule directly over the island. All of
Sardinia’s cities had their own system of government, and
the influence of Carthage was strictly economic and cultural
in nature.
While Carthage continued developing the island of Sardinia
and building new fruitful endeavors, they sent a military
expedition to the island of Sicily in 483. The troops were
sent at the request of the ruler of the city of Himera, Terillus,
who had been exiled from his city by an invading force from
Syracuse. Syracuse was another city in Sicily, but it was
ruled by Gelon. Both cities were ruled by the Greeks, but
Gelon launched a campaign to take control of the entire
island with him as the sole ruler. The Carthaginian elite had
a good relationship with the island, but they were forced to
act because the western parts of Sicily were vital for the
economy of Carthage. However, Hamilcar I, the most
powerful man in Carthage at the time, didn’t wish to send
an official military force in the name of the government.
Instead, he opted to create a private army, which was
mostly formed from mercenaries who came from all the
states in the Mediterranean.
The army arrived on the island in 480 BCE, and it marched
directly to the city of Himera. Hamilcar led the army himself,
hoping to surprise the city defenses; however, their enemy
managed to intercept several letters discussing the plans of
the Carthaginians. Hamilcar was ambushed and killed in
battle alongside most of his army. The few survivors fled to
Carthage and warned the city of what had happened in
Sicily. The Carthaginians were now worried that Gelon might
attack them, so they began a campaign of diplomacy to
seek peace. Ambassadors were sent to Sicily to negotiate a
treaty with Damarete, who was Gelon’s wife. The campaign
was successful; however, the entire affair was portrayed as
a defeat for Carthage at the hands of the ruler of Syracuse.
Carthage had to pay for the war costs and suffered some
humiliation, but other than that, nothing really changed for
the citizens. They were no longer afraid of an invasion, and
the same wealthy merchants continued to rule over the city.
However, reforms were made in the system of government,
administration, and military. Carthage didn’t suffer any
economic problems, or, if they did, they were of small
significance. But the Carthaginians wouldn’t send a new
military expedition into Sicily for another half a century,
even though they did have the chance to do so. Syracuse
was an old enemy of Athens, and the Athenians offered
Carthage the chance to forge an alliance against the
Sicilians. Carthage refused and chose to respect the peace
treaty while continuing to improve its economy and friendly
relations with the other Greek city-states.
Carthage didn’t make any kind of military move against the
island of Sicily in the seventy years that had passed since
their defeat. This changed, however, when Segesta, a
Sicilian city, entered a conflict with another city called
Selinus, as Carthage decided to help. However, this help
wasn’t being offered to Segesta out of a feeling of
brotherhood. To understand why, we have to take a look at
what happened in the year 478, as this was the year that
Gelon, the man who had defeated the Carthaginians, passed
away. As a result, Syracuse lost a great deal of power. Many
Sicilian cities started fighting, and this led to failing
economies and abandoned towns and settlements. The
chaos lasted until 410, which was when Syracuse began to
rise again.
Carthage did not want to see a reborn Syracuse dominating
over the island, and even though the cities of Segesta and
Selinus were unimportant to the Punic kingdom, they
provided an excuse to interfere with the island. Carthage, at
this time, dominated the Mediterranean trade, and they
couldn’t risk any challengers. Their goal was to defend their
economic and political position in the region. However, it is
entirely plausible they had other motives for getting
involved. Although Carthage was still powerful and well
respected, the defeat they suffered at the hands of Gelon
still stung them.
The elders who ruled over Carthage voted to send aid to
Segesta, and as a military leader, they chose Hannibal Mago
(not to be confused with the famous general Hannibal
Barca), who was the grandson of Hamilcar I, the general
who was killed in the Battle of Himera. The expedition was
carefully planned, and to avoid intervention from Syracuse,
ambassadors were sent to ask them to remain neutral.
Selinus didn’t ask for help from Syracuse either, even
though they were allies, so, therefore, Syracuse could
maintain its neutrality in the conflict. However, once Selinus
was defeated in a battle against the mercenaries hired by
Segesta, they fled to Syracuse to ask for their help. Aid was
granted, and the war between Carthage and Syracuse
became inevitable.
Hannibal gathered his army, and in 409, he sailed to Sicily
to march on Selinus, together with his allies. The city walls
were weak and didn’t stand a chance against the siege
engines, but the defenders tried to hold out for as long as
possible, hoping that reinforcements would arrive. The
Carthaginian army pushed through the defenses, and in the
city’s marketplace, they defeated the remaining forces.
Hannibal was victorious, and the city was taken. However,
Hannibal wasn’t satisfied with just conquering Selinus. He
pressed on to Himera to avenge his grandfather’s defeat
and take the city.
The plan was to use the same strategy. However, the
defenders of Himera decided to face their invaders on the
battlefield, and they attacked the Carthaginian forces. A
fleet arrived from Syracuse to support the Himerans, but
Hannibal’s forces outnumbered them, and they forced the
defenders to retreat to the city. The Himerans began
evacuating the citizens on the ships that came from
Syracuse, and the remaining defenders were forced to hold
the city until more ships could arrive for them. Unfortunately
for the defenders, they only lasted for three more days.
Ancient historian Diodorus recorded that Hannibal was more
ruthless with the people of Himera. While Selinus’s walls
were destroyed and many buildings burned to the ground,
Himera was nearly completely destroyed, temples included.
The Carthaginian general gathered his prisoners of war,
took them to the place where his grandfather was defeated,
and executed them. According to Diodorus, he slaughtered
3,000 men.
The island was at the mercy of Hannibal, but he did not
continue his campaign against Syracuse, even though they
were offering military and naval assistance to Himera and
Selinus. The general’s main goal was to wipe the shame
that Carthage had felt seventy years before when his
grandfather was defeated. After his success, Hannibal paid
the mercenaries who fought for him and went back to Africa.
But this wasn’t the end of Carthage’s involvement on the
island.
Only two years later, a new military campaign had to be
launched because of a rebelling general from Syracuse, who
was attacking several settlements. Carthage answered the
challenge, but it was not in the way ancient historians like
Diodorus portrays. Carthage is often depicted as an invader
set upon conquering the island of Sicily with its military
might, but that wasn’t true. Various inscriptions have been
found in the Greek city-states that depict Carthaginian
diplomats being welcomed to a number of cities where they
sought to form alliances. Furthermore, in the case of the
Syracusan general, Carthage first sent envoys to analyze
the situation by entering discussions with the leadership
from Syracuse and other cities. In any case, Carthage
assembled a new army and dispatched Hannibal, together
with a young officer named Himilcar, to lead it.
The new expedition didn’t start well because the army was
ambushed while sailing to Sicily. A number of ships attacked
them, destroying several Carthaginian ships before they
could reach land. Once ashore, Hannibal led the troops to
Acragas, a Greek city in southern Sicily. More misfortune
followed, as the army was afflicted by the plague, and many
soldiers died. Hannibal himself contracted the plague and
died that same year, 407. Himilcar was now the sole leader
of the Carthaginian forces, and he continued fighting the
Syracusans for two years until the advantage was finally on
his side. By 405, he had lost more than half of his men, but
due to the strategic positions he won, he was able to offer
Syracuse the chance of opting for peace. Carthaginian
dominance over the island was now ensured, as several of
the cities that went against Carthage had accepted to pay
them tribute in exchange for peace.
With a solid economic and political foothold in Sicily,
Carthage began investing in building new cities and
settlements across the island. Carthaginian immigrants
flocked from the capital to colonize the new towns and
ports. North Africa and Sicily were now ruled by Carthage,
and they continued improving their trade relations with the
Greeks and the Italians that inhabited the Mediterranean
region.
Carthage, Alexander the Great, and Agathocles
For nearly a whole century, Carthage continued its long-
term plan to build and develop its trade routes and
settlements, strongly focusing on trade relations and
alliances. However, in the 330s BCE, a new power emerged.
Alexander the Great, the leader of the new Macedonian
Empire that would stretch from Greece to today’s Pakistan,
rose as the most important figure of the century. Stories and
legends about him spread across the Mediterranean, and he
was being portrayed as a god, as the new Hercules. This
was cause for concern for Carthage.
The Carthaginians followed the progress of the young king,
and they were afraid that he might turn his gaze to the
west. Ambassadors from every nation and city-state,
including Carthage, traveled to Babylon to forge friendly ties
with the Macedonians. Carthage sent Hamilcar Rodanus to
represent them, but he didn’t go to Alexander’s court to see
whether he had peaceful intentions toward the Punic
kingdom. He already knew that wasn’t the case because, in
332, Alexander attacked the city of Tyre and enslaved its
people. After the siege, the Macedonian Hercules released
the Carthaginian citizens he captured during the siege and
warned them that he would go to Carthage once his
campaigns in Asia were finished. Therefore, Hamilcar
traveled to his court to figure out when Alexander might
attack Carthage.
However, we can never know what Alexander’s true
intentions were. Carthage was highly paranoid and afraid of
being attacked by the Macedonians. So, once Hamilcar
obtained information from Alexander and his court and went
back to Carthage, the citizens had him executed. They
believed he was a betrayer and that he must have
conspired with Alexander to help him conquer the city. Not
long after, in 323, Alexander passed away. He didn’t get the
chance to attack Carthage, and we’ll never know whether
he even had the plan to do so.
While Carthage could finally take a deep breath, Alexander’s
commanders started dividing the empire between
themselves. The chaos also led to several minor nobles and
ambitious officers to start carving their own fiefdoms. One
of them was a young cavalry commander named
Agathocles. He traveled to Syracuse and managed to instate
himself as the ruler by convincing the population that all of
their problems were caused by the Carthaginian dominion.
Through clever manipulation and demagogy, the citizens
pushed him to power.
Once Agathocles consolidated his power, he continued to
study the Carthaginian military system. By doing so, he
discovered a great weakness in the way a general was
chosen. First of all, Carthage mostly relied on mercenary
armies that were led by an elected general. This general
came from Carthage, but it was the citizens of the kingdom
who chose who would lead an army. This gave the general
some autonomy from the elite that ruled. A general was free
to make his own decisions in a military campaign, and his
performance would be reviewed by the elders of Carthage.
Agathocles discovered that this system created a sense of
conflict between the elite and the generals. At times, a
general would forget that he’d have to answer for his
actions. The oligarchs who ruled Carthage were also
somewhat suspicious about who was elected by the citizens.
Secondly, Agathocles realized that Carthaginians weren’t
used to fighting wars and were therefore inexperienced on
the battlefield due to their reliance on mercenaries.
Agathocles realized he could surprise Carthage by attacking
them in Africa on their own soil. Their inexperience and
complacency would give him the chance to attack their
cities and win a great deal of plunder without bringing the
war to the Sicilian cities. As a result of this move,
Agathocles would gain even more support from his people.
He quickly amassed all the wealth he could, and he
prepared sixty ships and an army numbering 13,000 troops.
His forces were small enough in number to sneak across the
sea without being noticed by other ships. He landed his
forces around 100 kilometers (about 62 miles) away from
Carthage. As soon as he debarked, the first thing he did was
set fire to the ships. He knew that he was trapped at that
point, and he would have to either succeed or die trying. He
used this event to sacrifice the ships to the gods and to
convince his troops that they must succeed for justice and
vengeance against the Carthaginians who dominated over
the island of Sicily.
Carthage took notice of Agathocles’s arrival, and they
panicked. Two new generals were instituted to lead forces
against the invader. One of them died in the first battle and
lost most of his troops in a disastrous attempt to push
Agathocles back. The second general retreated to the city,
hoping to use this moment and take power for himself. On
the island of Sicily, the Carthaginian forces that were
stationed there attempted an attack on Syracuse. But they
failed. Messages to Carthage reported that the army broke
into several factions that fought against each other.
Carthage was on the brink of defeat, and Agathocles
became more and more emboldened by his success. He also
became more aggressive toward his army, and he dug
deeper into his god-like complex. This caused the troops to
riot against him. The fact that they hadn’t been paid yet
only made matters worse. Carthage noticed the situation
and tried to bribe the army to abandon Agathocles.
However, the Syracusan commander convinced his men to
follow him into battle by making a dramatic show of
committing suicide for failing them. The soldiers still
respected him, so they refused the offer from Carthage.
While Agathocles was mustering his troops and waiting for
reinforcements from allied Greek cities nearby, the
Carthaginian general Bomilcar, who had retreated earlier,
saw the opportunity to stage a coup and take over the city
for himself. He ordered the respected and wealthy citizens
to march into battle against Agathocles, and many of his
political opponents were killed. But not long after, the
younger citizens realized what was happening. They rallied
themselves and moved against the tyrant. The entire city
fought against Bomilcar and his soldiers, and he was
defeated. The city demanded no other action besides the
execution of Bomilcar. His soldiers and officers weren’t
punished due to the threat that lay at their gates.
Now that the rebellious general was killed, Carthage felt
invigorated and more optimistic about engaging the enemy.
This feeling was further bolstered when, shortly after,
Agathocles received news that some cities under Syracuse’s
control started declaring independence. Worried by this
event, he had no choice but to return to Sicily and find a
solution. Although there is no mention of it, he more than
likely paid for a boat to get there. He left his inexperienced
son in charge of the remaining forces. With Agathocles
gone, the Carthaginians became far more optimistic, and
they immediately forged a new plan of action. They divided
their forces into three battlegroups, each one with its own
commander, and they were dispatched to take back control
of different parts around Carthage that were overrun by the
Syracusan forces. The new Syracusan commander made the
mistake of copying the Carthaginian strategy and dividing
his forces to match them. His move was unsuccessful, as
Carthage’s commanders managed to outmaneuver and
ambush the invading forces.
Facing defeat, the unfortunate son, Archagathus, sent a
letter to his father explaining the dire situation. Agathocles
resolved the matter in Sicily, and he was on his way to
Carthage, but, by that point, there was no way for him to
save the situation. Most of the troops were either dead or
deserting. Agathocles did attempt to use the remaining
forces in one more battle, but he lost. His only choice was to
flee, but there was no way for him to transport the remnants
of his army without risking an attack from Carthage. So,
Agathocles abandoned his forces and deserted on his own.
The soldiers were angry at their former commander, so they
killed his son before surrendering to Carthage.
The Carthaginians struck a deal with the former troops of
Agathocles to incorporate them into their own armies, then
sent letters to Agathocles to find a resolution for this
conflict. Both sides agreed to peace, and Carthage paid
Agathocles in gold and grain to accept Carthage’s legal
dominion over all of his cities and territories. Dominance
over Sicily was ensured once again.
The First Punic War (264– 241 BCE)
 Map of the Carthaginian Empire, the Roman Republic, and
Syracuse during the First Punic War
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/First_
Punic_War_264_BC_v2.png
Carthage was the undisputed economic superpower in the
Mediterranean, and it was all thanks to its large, well-
developed navy. A large part of their trading was done by
sea, and the kingdom understood from its inception that
they needed a powerful navy. Carthage brought many
advancements in shipbuilding techniques, and between the
6 th and 3 rd centuries, their focus was placed on dominating
the sea. That’s why Carthage was more successful when
fighting naval battles than they were at land battles.
However, by the 3 rd century BCE, Carthage started exerting
its dominion over the other Mediterranean territories more
aggressively. This worried the Romans, who were navally
inferior at the time. Instead, they preferred to pay their
allies for the naval transportation of troops and goods.
The last straw was when Syracuse became independent in
263 BCE, as Carthage decided to develop a new major base
at Acragas. They reinforced the city and improved its harbor
because the location of the city would offer them a way to
eastern Sicily, which was no longer under their control. This
was a threat to Roman security, so the Romans quickly sent
troops to besiege Acragas. The city managed to defend
itself for several months until Carthaginian reinforcements
arrived, which numbered more than 55,000 troops.
However, the army that was dispatched was made out of
new soldiers that had never experienced real combat. Even
its general, Hanno, was inexperienced. When he confronted
the Romans, he made the terrible decision of placing his
sixty war elephants behind his infantry. Once the Romans
broke through their ranks, the untrained soldiers started
running toward their line, and the panicking elephants
crushed many of them. Hanno was defeated, and Acragas
had to continue relying on its own defenses. The
commander of the city saw no chance of surviving the
siege, so he gathered his mercenaries and escaped the city.
The Romans quickly breached the defenses, looted the city,
and sold its citizens into slavery. Hanno survived the
expedition, but he lost his citizenship and was relieved of his
office.
After this major victory, the Romans realized they could
press on and defeat the Carthaginian dominion in the
region. They started developing their small navy quickly to
offer a match for Carthage’s navy. In the next four years, the
Romans added over one hundred warships to their fleet,
mostly consisting of quinqueremes, which were also used by
the enemy. The Romans started training their new navy by
organizing coastal raids. In 260 BCE, Admiral Gnaeus
Cornelius Scipio was eager to add glory to his name, and he
eagerly sailed to the city of Lipara, which wanted to
surrender to the Roman forces. Carthage learned about the
plan and sent its own naval forces to intercept the admiral.
The inexperienced Roman crew quickly panicked, jumped
ship, and went ashore, including their leader. Once on land,
they were captured.
The Carthaginian admiral, Hannibal (still not the famous
Barca), sought to find the rest of the new Roman fleet. At
Messana (Messina), he encountered them, but he
underestimated their numbers, and many of his ships were
sunk. Rome was now even more optimistic about defeating
Carthage, but the Roman consuls knew that could only be
achieved by establishing naval superiority. The Romans’
strength lay in disciplined hand-to-hand combat, so their
engineers began modifying the ships to figure out a way to
board the Carthaginian ships. They managed to do just that,
and the Roman fleet sailed to hunt the enemy down.
Carthage controlled 130 ships off the coast of Sicily, and
they were happy to engage the Romans, thinking they stood
no chance due to their inexperience. They were wrong. The
Roman soldiers grappled onto the charging enemy ships and
quickly convinced the crews to surrender. Fifty ships were
lost in the battle, and the rest retreated. Hannibal escaped,
but he would die later in an encounter with the Roman fleets
raiding the coasts of Corsica and Sardinia.
This was the point when Carthage changed its tactics. They
knew from experience that they were more successful when
they played the waiting game. Instead of direct conflict,
they opted for a slow war of attrition. The Romans, however,
weren’t too happy about that because of their political
system. A consul would keep his office for only a year before
someone else would be elected. This system made them
prefer action over long-term strategy. So, their only option
was to go around Sicily and lead a military campaign in
Africa.
In 256, the Romans sent a naval expedition to Northern
Africa, which was a risky move because that would leave the
Romans 100 kilometers (62 miles) away from any supplies
or the ability to call for reinforcements. Nonetheless, Marcus
Regulus took command of an armada of around 300 ships
and sailed toward Africa. However, on their way there, they
chose to stop in Sicily to pick up the most hardened Roman
soldiers who had already fought the Carthaginians.
Carthage assembled a navy to rival the Romans, consisting
of around 350 ships and more than 140,000 soldiers. The
naval forces clashed south of Sicily when the Romans were
on their way to the African territories. This is most likely the
largest naval conflict that was recorded in the ancient world.
Fortune was not on the side of Carthage during that battle.
The Roman invention that allowed them to grapple onto the
enemy ships proved to be an enormous advantage once
again. The Roman navy divided itself into four battlegroups
and charged at the Carthaginian line, breaking it. Nearly one
hundred ships were captured or destroyed, while the
Romans only lost around twenty. The Roman fleet then
continued to Northern Africa, landing near the city of Aspis,
which they quickly conquered.
Once the Roman forces established a foothold on the
continent, they marched to Carthage, capturing every city,
town, and settlement on their way. By the time they reached
Carthage itself, the city was filled with refugees, who had
flocked to the capital in search of safety from the invaders.
The war hadn’t been going well for Carthage, and in the
meantime, they admitted that their tactics against the
Romans were flawed. To turn the tide, they recruited
thousands of Greek mercenaries and an experienced
Spartan general by the name of Xanthippus. By the time the
Romans arrived in front of Carthage, Xanthippus was
making preparations for the battle and analyzing the past
battles that had been lost against the Romans. As a result,
he decided to charge the Romans on the open battlefield,
and through the clever use of cavalry and war elephants, he
broke the Roman line, killed most of the soldiers, and
managed to capture Regulus. It is assumed that the Roman
commander was killed in captivity. The battle was won, but
the war wasn’t over, and it wasn’t going well for the
Carthaginians.
During the following decade, most of the battles were
fought over Sicily, and hundreds of ships with tens of
thousands of men were lost. While both sides suffered
devastating blows, it was clear that Carthage was losing the
war. Over the years, the Roman navy gathered a great deal
of experience in naval warfare, and they became superior to
the Carthaginians without even having to use their boarding
methods. In 241, Carthage could no longer support the
campaign over Sicily, as their fleet was in shambles, both
due to the battles and the storms that crashed their ships
into the rocky shore of Sicily. The Romans offered them their
terms for peace, which included Carthage’s retreat from
Sicily and all the other islands between Northern Africa and
Sicily. They also had to pay for war reparations and return all
Roman prisoners. However, Carthage was allowed to hold
onto the island of Sardinia. Carthage had no choice but to
admit defeat, agree to the terms, and leave Sicily to the
Romans.
The Second Punic War (218– 201 BCE)
 A map of the Mediterranean Basin in 218 BCE
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Punic_War#/media/File:
Mediterranean_at_218_BC-en.svg
After the peace treaty of 241, Carthage faced several
rebellions in Northern Africa, Sardinia, and Corsica. Most of
their fleet was destroyed, and these uprisings caused
significant losses. The generals and governments
maintaining the peace on the two islands were
assassinated, and the rebels killed most of the Carthaginian
soldiers as well. The Romans were watching these events
unfold with great interest, and in 238, they saw the
opportunity to simply take over the two islands without a
fight. And they did. Roman soldiers were dispatched to
Sardinia and Corsica, and they took control over them,
despite being condemned for it by the Carthaginian
government. However, Rome knew that Carthage didn’t
have the strength to oppose them after the war and after
dealing with the uprisings.
The result of this situation was a new campaign into the
Iberian Peninsula, which was mostly held by the natives at
the time. General Hamilcar Barca was dispatched to take
over Hispania and build new settlements and ports on the
peninsula. He was given an army, but Carthage no longer
had enough ships to transport them over the sea. So,
Hamilcar was forced to march his troops to the Strait of
Gibraltar and cross there. Accompanying him was his young
son, the soon-to-be-famous general Hannibal.
Hannibal was just nine years old when his father launched
the conquest of Hispania, and as a result, he grew up in
military camps, learning a lot from his father and the camp
life. The campaign was going well against the Iberian
natives, and most of the southeastern coast of Spain was
quickly conquered. During these years, the power of
Carthage was reinvigorated, but nine years into the
expedition, Hamilcar would die, drowning during a battle
under unknown circumstances. Carthage decided to
continue the campaign in Hispania by electing Hasdrubal,
who was Hamilcar’s second-in-command and Hannibal’s
brother-in-law. At this point, Hannibal was already eighteen
years old, and he started serving as an officer alongside
Hasdrubal.
The campaign of seizing control over the Iberian Peninsula
continued. However, Hasdrubal chose a different path from
his predecessor. He focused on diplomacy instead of military
action. He met with local tribes, established friendly
relations with them, and used his wit to win them over or at
least find neutral ground without shedding blood. His focus
was on rebuilding Carthage’s influence and honor. And he
did so by consolidating his power in Hispania peacefully, at
least for the most part. He also founded a new major city to
solidify his position: New Carthage (today’s Cartagena,
Spain).
Unfortunately, his diplomatic campaign didn’t last long. In
221, a slave murdered Hasdrubal, and Carthage was forced
to elect a new commander to take over. Hannibal was now a
twenty-six-year-old officer with experience, and he was also
well respected by his men because they saw Hamilcar in
him. So, Carthage chose him.
In the following two years, Hannibal began aggressively
expanding his control over Hispania. He conquered several
settlements and forts to the west. During this period,
Hannibal proved himself on the battlefield and established
himself as a clever strategist. Rome paid attention to his
journey, and they became concerned about the rapid pace
at which he conquered the Iberian territories. The worried
Romans forged an alliance with the Iberian city of
Saguntum, which was already a part of Hannibal’s
territories. This was his chance. Hannibal decided to go
against Rome and attacked Saguntum. For more than half a
year, he laid siege to the city, but eventually, he breached
it.
Hannibal was also skilled in politics, and because he knew
he might start a war between Carthage and Rome by this
action, he sent all the sacked spoils from the city back to
Carthage. The elite were thrilled, and Hannibal won their
favor. However, Rome dispatched envoys to Carthage to
learn whether Hannibal received orders from the state to
attack their ally, Saguntum. This was a decisive moment,
and the government chose to side with Hannibal. Carthage
officially declared war on Rome in 218.
Once war was declared, Hannibal immediately launched his
campaign against Rome. He planned to cross the Pyrenees
and the Alps and attack the Romans inland. He started
marching from New Carthage with an army consisting of
45,000 troops, including nearly 40 war elephants. As he
crossed into Gaul, he battled several native tribes and
convinced others to allow him safe passage. However, he
had to leave several thousands of his men behind to hold
the settlements he captured. Hannibal continued through
the Alps, and against all the odds, he crossed the mountains
and entered Italy with an army of 25,000 battle-hardened
soldiers. Some of them perished in that journey, though we
don’t know the exact number, and none of his elephants
survived the arduous crossing.

Hannibal’s Campaign Route

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Punic_War#/media/File:
Hannibal_route_of_invasion-en.svg
Once in Italy, Hannibal knew that he didn’t have the men to
attack Rome, so he had to take control of certain provinces
and secure some allies. The Romans caught up with him and
engaged his forces at the Trebia River. Hannibal won the
battle, and he pushed the Romans out of Lombardy. This
small victory was enough to encourage the Gauls to join his
campaign. Over 20,000 Gauls joined Hannibal’s forces,
nearly doubling his army.
Fortunately for the Romans, the winter of 217 slowed
Hannibal down. This gave the Romans the chance to amass
an army of 100,000 soldiers. At the same time, four legions
were dispatched to defend Sardinia and Sicily. The Romans
were worried that Carthage might attack them by the sea
while they fought against Hannibal in the north.
As the winter passed, Hannibal continued, passing through
the Chianti region. There, he faced another army of around
15,000 Romans. He defeated them without any
complications, and after this, he decided to give his men a
break. By that point, Hannibal’s army was tired from a two-
year-long campaign and from carrying the vast riches they
had captured along the way. So, Hannibal decided to reach
the coast and allow his men to recuperate under good
weather. He also took the time to send a message to
Carthage.
Carthage was happy to hear some news for the first time
from Hannibal’s expedition in 217, and they were overjoyed.
The elders responded to their new favorite general by telling
him he would receive their full support. On the other hand,
while Hannibal was relaxing by the sea, Rome was gripped
in terror.
As Hannibal continued south, deeper into Italy, he
encountered and destroyed several small armies. By 216,
the Romans realized that their tactic wasn’t working.
Hannibal thrived in large open battles. So, they decided to
send smaller contingents, one after another, to tire the
Carthaginian army. During this same year, Philip V, the king
of Macedonia, offered his support to Hannibal through an
alliance. However, Hannibal still did not receive any support
from Carthage, despite the promises of the government.
Hannibal was forced to continue fighting the Italian city-
states because he didn’t have the necessary strength to
take on Rome directly.
For the next eight years, Hannibal didn’t make much
progress due to the Romans’ war of attrition. Even though
he defeated the Romans time and time again, and even
obliterated two whole armies, he couldn’t march to Rome.
And Carthage still did not send him the much-needed
reinforcements. The Carthaginian elite that made all of the
decisions had sent their forces to maintain security over
their Iberian territories. Hannibal was alone, left to recruit
soldiers from Gaul and the Italian territories that had
surrendered to him.
With a weakened army, Hannibal’s success started to hit its
end by the year 207. The Romans continued with their war
of attrition, knowing that Hannibal wasn’t receiving fresh
troops. Furthermore, the Roman Republic allied itself with
the Aetolian League to keep King Philip from joining
Hannibal. Hannibal started losing in southern Italy, even
though his brilliant strategies still secured some victories.
By this time, Hannibal had spent fifteen years fighting the
Romans. But in 203, it was all over. Carthage recalled him
home because the Romans were about to attack. Scipio
Africanus had been dispatched to lead the Roman forces.
Scipio was already a famous general that rivaled Hannibal’s
legendary skills in battle. The two admired each other, and
they met to discuss the idea of a peace treaty.
There was a brief pause during 203, as the Romans
negotiated with the Carthaginians to end the war. The two
sides came to terms, and they weren’t too unfavorable for
Carthage because Rome was tired of the war. In fact,
Carthage came close to agreeing to the peace settlement
until the Carthaginian Senate received news that Hannibal
was returning. Carthage then declined Rome’s offer, feeling
optimistic due to their invincible hero’s return to lead them
in battle.
This optimism was soon to disappear, however. In 202 BCE,
Hannibal met Scipio’s forces on the battlefield at Zama. The
two armies rivaled each other equally, and the battle that
followed was brutal. There were moments when it looked
like Hannibal was winning, but Scipio was a clever tactician,
and he successfully recovered from every blow. In the end,
Scipio proved that Hannibal was no longer invincible. The
Carthaginians lost more than 20,000 men, and almost just
as many were wounded. On the other hand, due to Scipio’s
superior cavalry, he only suffered a little over 2,000
casualties. This defeat was a heavy blow to Hannibal and his
prestige, and the people lost faith in him.
After the defeat at Zama, a peace treaty was signed, but
Hannibal remained on the political scene. The Carthaginian
elite chose him to be their chief magistrate, and in the
following four to five years, Hannibal would demonstrate
that he was also a skilled politician. He initiated several
reforms in the financial area as a means of paying
Carthage’s debt to Rome without increasing the taxes for
the people. Hannibal had determined that Carthage was
capable of making the payments that were agreed upon in
the treaty, but a lot of that money was being drained by
corruption. A great deal of tax money never reached the
state coffers because the oligarchs were stealing it. To solve
the problem, Hannibal declared that the elders of Carthage
were to be elected by the people and only serve for a one-
year term, a move the Carthaginian citizens supported.
These reforms quickly resulted in a renewed period of
prosperity. Carthage was growing again economically and
stretching its influence through trade and establishing good
relations with other nations. On the other hand, the
oligarchs lost a great deal of fortune and status, and they
became Hannibal’s enemies. At the same time, Rome took
notice of this renewed vigor, and they were worried that
Carthage might rise again as a Mediterranean superpower.
So, they dispatched a group of Roman envoys under the
pretense that Hannibal was communicating with Antiochus
III of the Seleucid Empire, an enemy of Rome. Hannibal
knew that he stood no chance. If he waited for them to
arrive, they would arrest him, as the oligarchs would surely
not assist him. Hannibal’s only choice was to go into
voluntary exile in 195 BCE.
In the following decade, Hannibal traveled from ally to ally,
from Antiochus, who resided in Ephesus, to Bithynia. All of
his allies were enemies of Rome, and as an experienced
general, Hannibal offered them his counsel and even led a
few unsuccessful battles. He was on the run until 183 BCE,
when, according to some, he met his end. It is unclear how
and when Hannibal died. Some ancient Roman and Greek
historians report that he died in 183, while others believe it
was in 182 or 181. The method of death varies as well;
some think he committed suicide or died from infected
wounds. Legends say that Hannibal left a final farewell to
the Romans in the form of a letter. He claimed his death
would finally release the Romans from the grip of terror that
he brought upon them, even as an old man in exile.
The Third Punic War and Carthage’s Final Decline
(149– 146 BCE)
During the decades between Hannibal’s exile and the Third
Punic War, the Roman Republic invested in a multitude of
campaigns against the Hellenistic kingdoms in the east, as
well as Hispania in the west. Rome took full control over the
Iberian Peninsula, which used to belong to Carthage, as well
as Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica. In addition, several Greek
and Illyrian city-states surrendered as well. Carthage was
now alone, without any allies and some of their most
profitable territories outside of Africa.
Furthermore, in 151, when Carthage finished paying its war
indemnities to Rome, it was still bound by the treaty they
had signed at the end of the Second Punic War. This treaty
stated that Carthage required Rome’s approval to declare
war on any state or to forge an alliance. This was a problem
for the Carthaginians, and their neighbors, Numidia, took
full advantage of it.
The Numidians were already accustomed to raiding the
Carthaginian borders due to the treaty, as they knew that
Carthage couldn’t declare war without Rome’s approval.
However, in 151, when Numidia invaded Carthage’s
territory, they received a different answer. Carthage saw the
treaty as no longer valid because their debt to Rome had
been paid. So, they amassed an army and sent it against
the invader. Unfortunately for the Carthaginians, they lost
the battle and had to pay Numidia the costs of their
campaign. Rome was also unhappy about the situation
because Carthage attacked the Numidians without their
approval. Rome saw this action as a breach of their treaty.
In 149, the Roman Republic officially declared war on
Carthage due to the breaking of the treaty. This new Punic
war was short-lived, only lasting for three years. Carthage
had significantly declined since the previous war, and they
stood no chance against Rome. The Romans sailed to
Carthage, capturing any settlements on their way and
successfully laying siege to the city, even though they
suffered some minor defeats along the way. The
Carthaginians suffered through the siege for the entire
duration of the war until 146, when the Roman forces under
the leadership of Scipio Aemilianus breached through the
defenses. The citizens of Carthage resisted, but in the end,
they couldn’t survive the onslaught.
Carthage was set ablaze, with many of its soldiers and
citizens killed. It’s estimated that around 50,000 people
were taken into slavery. Rome was committed to destroying
Carthage once and for all, and by 146 BCE, they were
successful. Carthage’s dominion was officially over, for the
city was lost, and the rest of the African territories were
taken under Roman rule. The once-proud Mediterranean
superpower was now ashes. However, a century later, Julius
Caesar would rebuild the city as the new Roman center in
Africa.
Chapter 4 – The Kingdom of Aksum

The Kingdom of Aksum in the 500s

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Aksum#/media/Fil
e:The_Kingdom_of_Aksum.png
Origins
It was the location of the Kingdom of Aksum that dictated its
prosperity. It was situated between various trading routes
that led to Egypt, farther down in Ethiopia and to the
Barbaria on the Somali coast, where valued incense was
gathered. The trade advantage of this region was obvious,
but it wasn’t the only benefit. Aksum also faced the plains of
Aksum and Hasabo, with the plateau of the Shire behind it.
The position allowed the kingdom to have a very abundant
rainfall season, which lasted from June to September. The
soil there was fertile and crossed with many streams and
freshwater springs. It is assumed that the land of Aksum
was capable of producing more than one harvest per year.
However, this region was settled before the Kingdom of
Aksum was founded. This is what confused early scholars,
who found evidence of Sabaean influence in the region (the
Sabaeans were ancient people of South Arabia). They
wrongly concluded that the city of Aksum, and later the
kingdom, was founded by the Sabaeans. Later discoveries
proved that the influence of ancient Sabaean culture was
very limited, and it even dated to the pre-Aksumite period.
These new archaeological and historical discoveries put us
back at the beginning. If the Sabaeans didn’t set the
foundation for the city of Aksum, then who did? At the
moment, the question remains unanswered, and there is
very little known about the formation of the Aksum state.
However, we can speculate what was going on in the site of
the city of Aksum, the future capital of the kingdom.
Because of its favorable position regarding trade and the
fertile land that surrounded the site, it is possible that the
first settlement steadily grew and developed. The
population rose, as it usually happens in the areas that can
sustain themselves, and with the population increase, their
military strength grew too. Another possibility is that the
military was used to expand the sovereignty of the city of
Aksum, forging a thriving city into a kingdom. The
expeditions would have been either tasked with securing
the trading routes or with conquering new territories for
additional resources.
It is important to understand that Aksum wasn’t a foreign
power coming to conquer the local peoples with their highly
developed military technology. They were the locals who
had managed to rise to power and subdue the surrounding
peoples, using nothing else than their numbers. They might
have had superior military strength due to the weapons
imported from Egypt, but nothing else sets them apart as
being superior in comparison to their neighbors
Besides these speculations, which are extremely sparse due
to the lack of evidence, there are interesting stories and
legends of the foundation of Aksum. But to understand their
relevance, it is best to first describe the meaning of Aksum
and its importance in the traditional history of the
Ethiopians. Today, Aksum still lives, although as a little town
in northern Ethiopia. But to the people, it is an ancient
sacred city from which the famous Queen of Sheba ruled. It
is the “second Jerusalem,” where the first emperor, Menelik
I, brought the Ark of the Covenant, in which the stone
tablets of the Ten Commandments were kept (and still are,
according to the Ethiopian Orthodox Church).
According to the Ethiopian tradition, the Queen of Sheba, or
Makeda, as that is her Ethiopian name, visited Jerusalem,
where she conceived with the famous king Solomon. Their
son was Menelik I, to whom all the Aksumite stone obelisks
and stelae are attributed. Even though the legends of
Makeda, Solomon, and Menelik are still very much alive
today, there are no stories and myths preserved that would
give us an insight into real rulers and founders of the
ancient city of Aksum. The local people love to absorb the
new archaeological findings into their stories. A recently
excavated mansion in the district of Dungur (near Aksum)
was immediately connected to the Queen of Sheba, and it
became her palace. Whether that is the actual truth is of no
importance to Ethiopians, whose love for their tradition
overshadows history.
But Aksum was of importance even in the stories that
predate the Queen of Sheba. According to the Book of
Aksum , a historical work from the 16 th century, Ethiopia
was founded by Ityopis (Ethiopis), the son of Cush, who was
the son of Ham, who was the son of Noah. He built the city
of Mazeber, which became the capital of the kingdom.
Aksumawi, the son of Ityopis, moved the capital to the new
city he founded: Aksum. Another story tells of a region of
Aksum that was once ruled by a serpent king, who
demanded one girl per year to be given to him as a
sacrifice. In some versions of this tale, Maeda was the girl
destined to be sacrificed, but a stranger named Angabo
saved her, and together, they founded Aksum. All these
legends were greatly influenced by Christianity, which came
to Ethiopia in the 4 th century CE, during the reign of King
Ezana of Aksum. Some scholars believe that Christianity
was the source of the legends, while others attribute them
to the earlier Jewish influence, which came earlier with the
various traders. However, it is generally accepted that the
Christian priests used these legends to explain the
connection between the Queen of Sheba, Ethiopia in
general, and Solomon to the still pagan people who
inhabited the region.
The Ethiopian kings continued to promote these legends.
They could not have wished for a better ancient pedigree
than that of the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon. They
claimed descendancy from this sacred couple, who was
beloved by the people, and they gained legitimacy and
authority as a result. The last emperor of Ethiopia, Haile
Selassie, ruled until 1974, and he even claimed to be the
descendant of Menelik I, the mythical son of the Queen of
Sheba and King Solomon.
Many myths and legends surround the mystical Kingdom of
Aksum, but the historical evidence is very sparse. Because
of it, scholars can only guess and suggest. The early
governmental system of the city and kingdom is unknown.
However, it can be partially reconstructed if the history of
the surrounding areas is taken into account. There must
have been some kind of tribal council that eventually turned
into a single ruler leadership. Since the Land of Punt must
have been somewhere near Aksum, it is presumed that it
was them who left a system of chiefly control in Aksum’s
heritage. The same system was in place among the kings of
South Arabia, who more than likely left their own imprint on
the state of Aksum.
The city of Aksum started becoming important for its local
political scene, and with the help of the military expeditions,
it spread its influence to the surrounding peoples. However,
there is no evidence that would suggest what relations the
people of Aksum had with their neighbors, as it was only
from sources of later dates that tell of Aksum’s dominion
over the region. Some rebellions were even described, in
which the subdued peoples tried to regain their
independence. But for the early period of Aksum history, the
evidence that would explain their relations with other tribal
people remains to be discovered.
Early Aksum
The city of Aksum was probably established somewhere at
the beginning of our era, close to the 1 st century CE.
However, these are only assumptions based on the first
written evidence about Aksum, the Periplus of the
Erythraean Sea and Geography by Ptolemy, both dating
from around the 1 st century CE. The dating of the city was
confirmed with some archaeological findings. The oldest
funerary items that have been found date to the 1 st and 2 nd
centuries. Some glass objects were later found, which
radiocarbon testing showed they, too, are from around the
same time. These glass objects were described in the
Periplus as the items Aksum imported from other lands.
Greek astronomer, mathematician, and geographer Claudius
Ptolemy described the city of Aksum, which was ruled by a
king from his palace. Ptolemy’s Geography was dated to
150 CE, but it is actually a revision of an older atlas.
Therefore, Aksum might be of an even earlier date.
However, there is no archaeological evidence that yet
supports this theory. All the items excavated from the site,
except for funerary and glass items, are difficult to date with
radiocarbon testing, and the results are often inconclusive.
The earliest known ruler of the region was Zoskales.
Although some scholars identify him as the first king of
Aksum, it is quite possible that he was just a lesser tributary
ruler. The exact year of his rule is not known, but it is
estimated to be around the 1 st century. He is mentioned in
the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea as a ruler of Aksum, and
his capital was Adulis. However, some scholars believe that
his power was limited to the city and that he had no real
influence over the whole Kingdom of Aksum. Adulis was a
city on the shores of the Red Sea, and as such, the economy
prospered there. If Zoskales was the ruler of Aksum, then
the whole kingdom had already developed a strong
economy and the demand for luxury goods from abroad. It
is believed that during this period, the influence of the city
of Aksum grew throughout the surrounding areas of Ethiopia
and the coast of the Red Sea. It became the governmental
center of the kingdom, and a monarchy was established.
By the time of King GDRT (thought to be Gadarat), who
ruled at the beginning of the 3 rd century, Aksum had grown
into a political and military power capable of sending its
forces across the Red Sea to fight on foreign ground. Aksum
even had garrisons in the territories of Arabia, where the
inscriptions that mention GDRT were first discovered.
According to these inscriptions, Aksum and GDRT were allies
of the king of Saba. Together, they fought against the
Himyarite Kingdom (Yemen), which controlled the trade
routes of the Red Sea. They crushed the Himyarite maritime
control and expanded their kingdom in the Himyarite
territory.
Aksum must have had a lot of power during the rule of
GDRT to be able to cross the Red Sea and fight a war in
foreign territory. The fact that the southern highlands of
today’s Yemen used to be under the control of Aksum
stands as the witness of the kingdom’s richness. GDRT was
not only able to finance the necessary fleet for the military
expedition, but he also managed to keep and further
develop the conquered territories. GDRT was the first known
king of Aksum who was involved in the foreign politics of
South Arabia. He started the trend, which would end with a
full-scale invasion of these territories in 520 when King
Kaleb ruled.
The period of Aksum history from the time of the rule of
King GDRT up until the beginning of the 4 th century is
known as the “South Arabian” period, as all the available
information about the kingdom comes from South Arabian
sources. Because Arabic scripture does not include vowels,
the names remain known only as GDRT, ADBH, ZQRNS, and
DTWNS. Historians had to add the vowels for convenience,
not for historical accuracy. Therefore, GDRT might be known
as Gadarat, but we cannot be sure if that was his name.
ADBH is known as Adhebah or Azeba, but his name might
have been completely different.
The Aksumite kings were mentioned in South Arabian
inscriptions because they were part of the military
campaigns that concerned their territories. Even though the
inscriptions are accounts of the various wars, they do not
talk about the Aksumites directly. They are concerned more
with the kings of Saba and Himyar, who were, at times, the
enemies of Aksum. However, from these texts, we learn that
Aksum had territories in South Arabia worth fighting for. The
Aksumites were also allies of both Saba and Himyar at
different times and for different causes. This is evidence
enough that the kings of Aksum had a political presence in
South Arabia and were influential enough to change the
course of the wars. Sometime between 160 and 210 CE,
Gadarat allied himself with King Alhan Nahfan of Saba
against Himyar. The Aksumites probably had an interest in
the region because of the trade routes on the Red Sea, and
they had a presence, though minor, in the region until the
Persian conquest centuries later.
After the death of King Alhan Nahfan, his son and successor,
Sha’ir Awtan, broke the alliance with Gadarat of Aksum. It is
possible the young ruler didn’t like the power Aksum was
grabbing in South Arabia and saw the African kingdom as a
threat rather than as an ally. Sha’ir Awtan allied himself with
the kings of Hadhramaut and Himyar, regions in South
Arabia, after which the Aksumites suffered their first known
loss. However, the joint forces never managed to completely
expel the Aksumites from South Arabia, and so, they
continued to be an influence in the region.
In 240, there was already a shift of power, and the king of
Himyar allied himself with king ADBH of Aksum and his son
GRMT (read as Girma, Garima, or Garmat). They fought the
Sabean kings Ilsharah Yahdub and Yazzil Bayyin, who
accused the Aksumites and Himyarites of breaching the
peace treaty. GRMT lost the battle, but the Aksumites again
continued influencing the area, meaning they were not
expelled. GRMT was later mentioned again as fighting in the
Aksum wars in the territory of South Arabia. At around this
time, the Aksumite kings started assuming the title “king of
Saba and Himyar,” which might mean that they claimed
suzerainty over the Arabian kings. But the inscriptions of
South Arabia mention no such thing. It is possible that the
title was just an attempt to proclaim dominion over the
territories, but its success is unknown.
There is a big gap in the history of Aksum with no evidence
to explain the course of action of the kings, their politics, or
the peoples they ruled. It is presumed that it was during this
time that Sembrouthes ruled, one of the most mysterious
kings of Aksum. He is only known from one Greek
inscription, which mentions him during his twenty-fourth
year of rule. The inscription was found in Daqqi Mahari,
significantly away from Aksum to the north, in today’s
Eritrea. The inscription doesn’t say much, but it confirms
him as the first known ruler to use the title “King of Kings.”
The next two Aksum kings led invasions on the Himyarite
Kingdom. In approximately 267/78 CE, DTWNS and ZQRNS
allied themselves with al-Ma’afir and attacked Himyar. It
remains unknown if DTWNS (Datawnas) and ZQRNS
(Zaqarnas) were co-rulers or if they succeeded each other in
a very short amount of time. Even the results of their
invasion are unknown, but they did renew Aksumite
involvement in South Arabian politics.
On the Ethiopian side, nothing is known of the early kings of
Aksum, as the Ethiopian list of kings is of much later date. It
was constructed centuries after the fall of the Kingdom of
Aksum, and it deals more with the mythological hero-kings
than the real ones. Often, the kings from the list do not
match the historical kings, and archaeologists find it difficult
to rely on traditional Ethiopian history when it comes to
their work. Unfortunately, the early history of Aksum forces
one to indulge in guessing and assuming, as the evidence is
lacking.
From Endubis to Ezana
Endubis, who ruled approximately from 270 until 300, was
the earliest known king of Aksum who issued coins. Gold,
silver, and bronze coins have been discovered, and
historians were able to use them to track the chronology of
Aksum. The appearance of coins gives scholars a reason to
believe Aksum became powerful enough to be compared to
its neighbors, such as the Kingdom of Kush and Egypt. From
this point on, most of what is known about the history of
Aksum is through coinage, as archaeology provides us with
little information. The majority of known Aksumite kings
have no other archaeological evidence of their existence
and would have been entirely forgotten if not for the
inscriptions on the coins.
Endubis used the Roman monetary system as the base for
his own. However, he used his own design for the coins,
which is assumed to have been a propaganda tool. This
stance is reinforced by the fact that later kings added or
removed design motifs from coins as the situation in the
kingdom changed. The coins also introduced a new title to
the kings of Aksum, one that would remain until the 6 th
century, although it would reemerge later on. The title is
“Bisi,” and many scholars interpret it as “be’esya,” which is
translated from the Ge’ez language (South Semitic) as “man
of…”. The title was not followed by the ruler’s name, but
rather a name that would represent the king’s tribe or a
military designation.
The pagan kings of Aksum chose disk and crescent symbols
for their coins. In 333 CE, King Ezana (who will be discussed
a bit more below) converted to Christianity and started
using a cross as his symbol. Because of this, we can
differentiate Endubis, Aphilas, Wazeba, and Ousanas as
pagan kings, who were all predecessors of Ezana, even
though they are not mentioned anywhere else but on coins.
Unfortunately, the coins of the pagan rulers can tell us little
about the Kingdom of Aksum’s political situation during their
rules. Perhaps the only conclusion we can draw is that
Wazeba and Ousanas were co-rulers at one point, as one
issue of the coins combines the obverse design of Wazeba
with the reverse design of Ousanas. The coins where
Wazeba is represented as the sole ruler are very sparse,
which leads to the conclusion that he ruled for a very short
time.
All coins were issued in the Greek language, as they were
used mostly for foreign trade. Even though Aksum had its
own Ge’ez language, which belonged to the South Semitic
group of the Ethiopian languages, Greek was commonly
used to make trade easier. Only the coins of King Ezana
used the Ge’ez language instead of Greek, which might
suggest that during his rule, foreign trade suffered, and the
import or export of goods stopped. However, this is highly
unlikely, as the Kingdom of Aksum’s power continued to
grow. It is more probable that King Ezana tried to encourage
the internal use of the coins within Ethiopia, rather than for
foreign trade exclusively.
In around 270 CE, South Arabian inscriptions stop
mentioning the kings of Aksum. It is possible that during the
reign of King Endubis, or perhaps Aphilas, Himyar grew
powerful enough to annex the Kingdom of Saba.
Hadhramaut fell in around 290 CE, and the king of Himyar,
Shamir Yuhar’ish, took the title of king of Saba and
Hadhramaut. There is no mention of Ethiopians and their
Aksumite kings. If they managed to keep some of their
territories, it must have been a minor district on the coast of
the Red Sea.
King Ousanas is often identified with Ella Allada, or Ella
A’eda, from the traditional Ethiopian story about the
Christianization of the kingdom. Although the next king,
Ezana, is believed to be the one who first adopted
Christianity because he started issuing coins with the
symbol of the cross, Ella Allada (known by the name from
his coins as Ousanas) was the first to accept the religion, at
least if the traditional stories are true. The story tells of two
Tyrian boys, Frumentius and Aedesius, who were traveling
back from India by ship. They stopped on the coast of the
Kingdom of Aksum to resupply. There, they were attacked,
and while the crew of the ship was killed, the boys were
spared and brought to King Ella Allada as a gift. The
Aksumite king liked the boys and eventually promoted
Aedesius as his personal cupbearer and Frumentius as his
treasurer. Once the king died, Frumentius became a regent
of the kingdom, as the king’s son was still a minor. He
encouraged Christian settlers to come to Aksum and build
churches.
Once the king’s son grew up, Aedesius and Frumentius were
allowed to go to their home in Tyre. Aedesius never returned
back to the kingdom, but Frumentius was later chosen to
become the bishop of Aksum, and he returned and spent
the rest of his life there. His task was to spread the faith
through the Kingdom of Aksum, and his efforts were such
that he managed to convert the young king Ezana. It might
be that Ousanas never converted to Christianity, but he was
sympathetic to the two boys who first brought the religion.
Ezana is the most known king of Aksum and the first who
left inscriptions of his own to testify to history. He ruled
approximately from 320 until 360 CE, and he was known for
his many military campaigns. However, Ethiopians think
that his most significant action was his acceptance of
Christianity in around 333. Due to the conversion to the new
faith, he had to give up on the tradition to claim his
descendancy from the pagan god Mahrem.
The general belief among scholars is that the conversion of
the Kingdom of Aksum to Christianity was designed to bring
it closer to Rome or Constantinople. However, Ezana was
reluctant to blindly obey what these Roman cities ordered.
In 356, Roman Emperor Constantius II wrote to Ezana,
suggesting that he replace Frumentius as bishop and
instead promote Theophilos the Indian. However, there is no
evidence that Ezana bothered to reply to the Roman
emperor, let alone do anything to remove his tutor and ex-
regent from the position of bishop. It is possible that the
Aksumite king delayed his reply on purpose, as he
anticipated the death of the Roman emperor, which
occurred in 361.
Ezana’s titles suggest he ruled the vast areas of Yemen in
addition to the whole of Ethiopia and Sudan. He used the
title “King of Saba and Himyar”; however, it seems he had
no actual control over the South Arabian territories. Those
were just theoretical titles that suggest some sort of
arrangement between Aksum and the kingdoms of present-
day Yemen. Perhaps Aksum continued to control small
coastal territories on the other side of the Red Sea, or
maybe the titles were just traditionally inherited from his
predecessors.
As for the military expeditions, for which he left detailed
descriptions, Ezana mostly quelled some unrest in the
surrounding kingdoms while collecting tributes. However, a
major conflict was described in which the Aksum armies
fought the Nubians and Kushites. The evidence of this
conflict was found in both Christian Ethiopia and in pagan
Meroe. While the Ethiopian inscription celebrates the victory
and dedicates it to the Christian God, the one in Meroe
dedicates it to the god Ares or Mahrem, which suggests that
either the conflict occurred during Ezana’s early reign while
he was still pagan or tells of a completely different conflict
that happened before Ezana’s time.
The Victory Stela found in Meroe is written in Ge’ez, and as
such, many historians observe it as proof that it was the
Kingdom of Aksum who destroyed the Meroitic Kush
Kingdom. However, others argue that the stela was a gift to
the Kush because Aksum sent help to quell the Nubian
rebellion. They claim that the stela did not describe the
victory of Aksum over the city of Meroe but rather over the
rebelling Nubians. The belief that Aksum invaded Kush and
destroyed it remains unpopular because various
archaeological evidence points toward economic and
political instability as the main reasons for the fall of the
Kushites.
From Ezana to Kaleb
The Codex Theodosianus suggests that contact between the
Roman Empire and the Kingdom of Aksum happened often.
The Codex Theodosianus is a compilation of Roman laws,
and one of them states that anyone who traveled on official
imperial business to Aksum was not allowed to stay in
Alexandria for more than a year. Otherwise, he would lose
the right to his imperial allowance. This law was set around
the same time Constantius II sent his letter to Ezana (356).
The coins issued at the beginning of the 5 th century also
connected the Aksumites with the Roman Empire. They are
inscribed with the translation of the favorite motto of Roman
Emperor Constantine: “In hoc signo vinces” (“By the sign of
the cross you will conquer”). Only one Aksumite king issued
such coins, and he was noted as MHDYS (Mehadeyis).
Christian mottos were often used on the coins that date
from the late 4 th and early 5 th centuries. This is because the
political climate was ripe to promote Christianity. As
suggested before, the coins served a propaganda purpose,
and they mirrored the political climate of the kingdom. All
the kings after Ezana, at least those whose coins offer
archaeological evidence, believed in the Christian faith, and
as such, they became the saints of the Ethiopian Orthodox
Tewahedo Church. Although both Ezana and his brother,
Saizana, are revered as saints today, the Ethiopian tradition
refers to them as Abreha and Asbeha. Scholars today
believe that these were the baptismal names of the royal
brothers.
As Christianity spread through the Kingdom of Aksum, the
funerary customs changed. The last and largest funerary
stelae were dated to the late 4 th or early 5 th century. The
monolithic monument fell very soon after it was made,
probably during the reign of King Ouazebas, whose coins
were found beneath it.
The first sign of the decline of the Kingdom of Aksum may
have been found in a letter written by a man named
Palladius. It is possible, but not certain, that he was a bishop
of Helenopolis who lived from 368 until 431. His task was to
travel to India and send a report on Brahmin philosophy, but
to whom the letter was addressed remains unknown. In the
letter, he tells the story of an Egyptian lawyer who stayed in
Aksum on his way to India. Palladius refers to the king of
Aksum as basilikos micros , a title that could be interpreted
as “a minor kinglet.” However, scholars still discuss how to
properly interpret the word basilikos , as it seems that, in
some instances, it is attributed to people of great
importance, especially when it came to Nubian rulers.
Whatever basilikos means, the attribute micros attached to
it is certainly unflattering.
Next to Ezana, the best documented king of Aksum was
Kaleb. His Ge’ez inscription is KLB ’L SBH WLD TZN, and he
is the first king for whom an inscription with vowels was
found; therefore, we know his full name was Kaleb ‘Ella
Asbeha, son of Tazena. Kaleb, probably a variation of the
biblical name Caleb, was his birth name, but he is also
known by his royal name, ‘Ella Asbeha, and its Greek
varieties, Hellesthaeus or Ellestheaeus. Unfortunately, as
with the other kings of Aksum, the dates of his life are not
preserved, but the general conclusion that historians make
is that he was born around 510, ruled around 520, and died
somewhere around 540.
Since Aksumite kings often used several names, it remains
yet to be discovered who Kaleb referred to when he says he
is the son of Tazena. No evidence sheds light on that name,
as no king ruled under that name. It is possible that Kaleb
was talking about some older ancestor who predated
coinage. Maybe it was important for him to put an emphasis
on the connection between him and the royal dynasty to
prove the legitimacy of his rule.
Other theories try to find the appropriate ruler who could be
Kaleb’s father. It is quite possible that one of the previous
Aksumite kings used Tazena as his royal name, but he went
by some other name, perhaps his birth name. From the
numismatic point of view, the obvious choice would be King
Ousanas, whose coins predate Kaleb’s. Aside from Kaleb’s
coins that describe him as the son of Tazena, this name is
mentioned in the traditional Ethiopian list of kings. However,
that list was written centuries after the fall of the Kingdom
of Aksum, and it often doesn’t match the archaeological
findings. This doesn’t mean it should be completely ignored,
though.
Besides the coinage, information about Kaleb’s rule can be
found in various texts. In 1920, a book written in the
classical Syriac language was found in Yemen. The pages of
the book were used as a padding for the cover of a 15 th -
century book. Fortunately, scholars managed to reconstruct
around fifty-two pages, and they named it the Book of the
Himyarites . It was written at the beginning of the 5 th
century, but the preserved pages were from a copy, which
the author signed himself and added a date when he
finished the work: April 10 th , 932. The Book of the
Himyarites must have been an extensive work because the
list of chapters numbers forty-two. Much of the book was
destroyed, but the part that is of interest to the history of
Aksum was preserved in fragments. The text mentions a
war in Himyar that was fought between Kaleb and Jewish
King Yusuf Asar Yathar (also known as Dhu Nuwas). There is
also mention of another Aksumite expedition to Himyar led
by someone named Hiuna. However, scholars are unable to
connect this name to any known Aksumite king. It is
possible that he ruled before the coins were first issued
throughout the kingdom. There is a theory that connects
him to King Kaleb, in which case Hiuna would be a military
general. In one of his own inscriptions, Kaleb writes how he
sent HYN (possibly Hiuna) BN ZSMR with troops to found a
church in Himyar.
From the Book of the Himyarites , we learn that Kaleb fought
the Jewish king in 520, who had persecuted the Christians of
Himyar. Kaleb defeated and killed King Yusuf, and in his
place, he appointed a Christian named Sumuafa Ashawa,
who was a native of Najran, where most of the Christians
were persecuted. Because of the sheer number of sources
available that speak of these and other events of Kaleb’s
reign, Kaleb is often regarded as the most important
Aksumite king. However, many of these sources are of later
date, and they repeatedly celebrate Kaleb’s actions to
preserve Christianity. His actions in Himyar alone earned
him a place among the Ethiopian saints. He was even listed
among the Roman martyrs, even though he belonged to
Oriental Orthodoxy, which is considered heresy by the
Roman Catholic Church.
Even though all the sources celebrate Kaleb for his defense
of Christianity, the true purpose of his invasion of Yemen
might be more political. Some of the sources mention that
Himyar had belonged to Aksum before the Jewish king
managed to take it over when the Aksumite appointee to
the throne died. It was winter at the time, and the
Aksumites couldn’t cross the Red Sea to defend their
territories in Arabia. If Kaleb allowed Yusuf to keep the
throne, not only would the Christians suffer persecution, but
the Jewish king would also have access to all the trade
routes of the Red Sea, and he would have become a source
of great competition to the economy of Aksum.
After Kaleb’s viceroy Sumuafa Ashawa died in 525, an
Aksumite general named Abraha proclaimed himself a king.
He had probably plotted to dispose of the native viceroy,
and for this, Kaleb sent an army of 3,000 men to punish
Abraha and his supporters. However, the army defected.
They killed their leader and joined Abraha instead.
Infuriated, Kaleb sent another army, but he just couldn’t win
against Abraha. Finally, he was forced to leave him alone to
rule as the king of Himyar. For unknown reasons, Kaleb
abdicated the throne, sent his crown to Jerusalem to be
displayed in the Holy Sepulchre, and then retired to a
monastery.
Kaleb’s son now ruled. He is known by the name W’ZB
(Wa’zeb), and he added “son of Ella Atsbeha” to his name,
which was a variation of his father’s royal name. However,
nothing else is known about him. The coins that date from
his rule are all inconclusive, as they bear different names.
These coins were also of lesser quality, which is usually
attributed to the economic decline of the Kingdom of
Aksum. This decline had begun during the reign of King
Kaleb. The wars across the Red Sea cost Aksum too much
money and manpower, and thus, the decline of the kingdom
started in the mid-6 th century.
It is possible that the Plague of Justinian (541–549) reached
the Kingdom of Aksum, although some sources claim it
started in Ethiopia. The Aksumites used the term “Ethiopia”
since the 4 th century for territories beyond their kingdom,
and it remains unclear if the sources meant Aksum or other
parts of Africa when mentioning Ethiopia. If the plague
reached Aksum, it could explain why Kaleb and his
successors were unable to control or dispose of King Abraha
in Yemen.
When the son of Abraha inherited the throne of Himyar, he
resumed his allegiance to the Kingdom of Aksum and paid
tribute to its king. However, his brother, Ma’d-Karib, rebelled
and asked Justinian the Great, the Eastern Roman emperor,
for help. When he declined, Ma’d-Karib turned to Khosrow I,
the Sasanian emperor of Persia. He sent 800 men to help
Ma’d-Karib, although different sources mention different
numbers. By some, the Persian army numbered 3,600, while
others say 7,500. The truth is elusive, but modern
estimations go even higher, mentioning over 16,000 souls.
The Aksumite-Persian war took place completely in the
territories of Arabia, with Masruq, another son of Abraha,
leading the Aksumite armies as their viceroy. Masruq died in
battle, and the Aksumites were defeated. The Persians
conquered Yemen and wrestled it out of Aksumite hands.
However, somewhere between 575 and 578, the Aksumites
returned and tried to take their precious possessions back.
Persia sent another army and managed to expel the
Aksumites from Arabia, and they never returned. Yemen
remained in Persia’s hands until the 7 th century.
The Decline of the Kingdom
There are many factors that influenced the decline of the
Kingdom of Aksum, as well as many theories and
conclusions about it. The evidence provides some insight on
what happened around the city of Aksum. Besides the wars
in Yemen, which were very costly, the economy of the
kingdom was greatly influenced by the land around the city
of Aksum. Up until that point, the land was fertile and able
to feed the population. However, climatic evidence suggests
that there was not enough rain in the region throughout the
beginning of the 7 th century. More money was spent on
importing food, and local production slowed to a halt. During
the late 7 th century and the beginning of the 8 th century,
the people of Aksum were forced to exploit the land as
much as they could, which only fastened its degradation.
Eventually, the once-fertile lands of Aksum had to be
abandoned, and the people retreated to the south.
At the same time, the territories Aksum held on the coast of
the Red Sea were lost to the Rashidun Caliphate. The people
sought protection in the southern highlands, abandoning the
city of Aksum as their capital. The expansion of Islam saw to
it that the name Aksum was no longer applied to the
Ethiopian people. Although Arabic sources still referred to
Aksum as the great and rich kingdom, they called it by a
different name: “Habashat.” At around the same time,
during the 7 th century, the Kingdom of Aksum completely
stopped issuing coins. Due to the rapidly declining
economy, they had become obsolete. Instead, cloth and salt
were used for bartering, and it seems that all the trade
Aksumites performed during this period were limited to the
neighboring countries in Africa and Arabia.
The Kingdom of Aksum started gaining some territories in
the south, but that did not bring back the economic power
or the old glory the kingdom once held. By losing the coast
of the Red Sea, Aksum became economically isolated,
doomed to a steady decline. Also, all the relations Aksum
had with the outside world was with Islamic states, and as a
Christian kingdom, this made the isolation even worse.
Ethiopian bishops were still appointed from Alexandria, but
even Egypt was now a Muslim state, and all the
appointments had to be approved by a Muslim governor.
When the city of Aksum was abandoned, new capitals
started emerging. However, the sources are not consistent.
Arabic authors wrote about Jarmi or Jarma and Ku’bar or
Ka’bar. These cities were mentioned in the 9 th century, but
astronomer Al-Battani, who was from the 10 th century,
mentions the city of Aksum, albeit with the slightly changed
name of “‘Ksumi.” It is possible that the city of Aksum still
existed but had been reduced to a simple town or
settlement. It was no longer a capital, as in 833, another
Muslim astronomer mentioned Jarma as the capital of the
kingdom of Habash (Aksum). The city continued to be
mentioned in various Arabic sources throughout the 9 th and
10 th centuries as the city of the Habasha kings. Ku’bar was
mentioned at around the same time as being the capital of
the Habash kingdom, but it remains to be known if it was a
different city or simply Jarmi under another name. These
cities are lost to history.
The traditional Ethiopian history includes the story of Jewish
Queen Gudit, to whom they prescribe the destruction of the
Kingdom of Aksum. According to legend, she ordered the
destruction of Aksum’s churches, cities, and countryside.
She also burned books, artwork, and anything that would
display the previous ruling dynasty. She was determined to
put the dynasty of Aksum to an end. However, the tale of
Gudit and the destruction of Aksum is preserved only in oral
history. Any written material on the subject is just a
transcription of that oral story, which was passed down
through the years.
However, there is evidence of the burning of churches in
around 960, which would correspond to the Gudit period, if
she even existed. However, there is no evidence of a Jewish
queen’s presence in Aksum whatsoever. Although there is
evidence that a female ruler ruled Aksum in the 10 th
century, it is more probable that it was the pagan Queen
Bani al-Hamwiyah, who would have invaded the region from
the south.
The Aksumite Kingdom continued to exist throughout the 12
th
century under the new the Zagwe Dynasty. But the
kingdom was already very weak, and it held only a fraction
of the territory it once possessed. The last Zagwe king was
killed by Yekuno Amlak, the founder of the Solomonic
Dynasty, which lasted until 1974. The Kingdom of Aksum
was officially over, and in its stead was the new Ethiopian
Empire. However, the Aksumite culture continued to live
through its descendants. The people remained the same, no
matter which kingdom or empire they belonged to, and the
Aksumite influence in the architecture and art of Ethiopia is
still recognizable today.
Chapter 5 – The Ghana Empire

A representation of the Ghana Empire at its peak, colored in

green
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/Ghan
a_empire_map.png
Today’s Ghana is territorially different from the ancient
kingdom or medieval empire of Ghana. The country we
know today was named after the empire, or, rather, it was
named after their title for a ruler. The name of the empire
was actually Wagadu (Wagadou), and it was ruled by a king
whose official title was “Ghana.” Scholars cannot agree on
when the Ghana Empire was founded. There is
archaeological evidence of a settlement that dates before
the year 300 CE. However, that settlement belonged to the
Dhar Tichitt culture, which abandoned the area, probably
pushing southward due to the invading nomadic tribes. The
nomadic tribes who settled in the area between the year
300 and 500 belonged to the Soninke people, and it was
they who named the area Wagadu.
But if modern Ghana has nothing to do with the ancient
empire, where exactly was it? Fortunately, it is possible to
pinpoint the location due to various written sources left by
the Arabs who settled in Morocco and Sudan during the 7 th
century. Another great source of information comes from
archaeology, which came very late to the region. In fact, the
first major finding occurred as late as 1969 when Dhar
Tichitt, the oldest settlement in West Africa, was discovered.
The Ghana Empire had no access to the Atlantic coast. It
was a landlocked area around one hundred miles north of
the River Niger, and it occupied the grasslands of the Sahel.
Today, these territories belong to western Mali and
southeastern Mauritania.
The Legend of the Wagadu Kingdom
The Soninke people are proud of their storytellers, and
through music and stories, the legend of their kingdom has
been passed down from generation to generation. Although
the stories have changed through time, as each generation
adds its own details or forgets old ones, the story of the
origins of Wagadu is essentially the same. The oral tradition
of the Soninke people talks about a common ancestor,
Dinga, who came to Ghana from somewhere in the Middle
East.
Dinga settled in a town named Dia, located in the Niger
Delta. He married and had two sons, who moved to different
towns in the Sahel grasslands and became the forefathers
of the Soninke people. Both Dinga and his sons often moved
from one place to another. This is a part of the legend that
explains why the Soninke people are found in various parts
of the Sahel. Eventually, Dinga arrived at a place in today’s
Mali, southwest of the modern-day town of Nioro du Sahel.
This land was inhabited by spirits at that time, with whom
Dinga fought a magical battle. After he defeated all the
spirits, he married their daughters and had many sons, who
became the leaders of many Soninke clans. The Cisse clan
eventually became the ruling dynasty of Wagadu.
The legend continues and tells of Dinga as an old and blind
man who had to decide who of his sons was worthy of
becoming chieftain after his death. After he decided to
proclaim his oldest son as his successor, the youngest,
named Diabe Cisse, disguised himself as his elder brother
and tricked Dinga into giving him all his chiefly powers. But
after Dinga’s death, Diabe Cisse had to run from his
brother’s wrath, and he hid in the wilderness. There, he
found a magical drum, which, if beaten, summoned four
cavalry commanders from four sides of the world. They
recognized Diabe Cisse as their leader and became chiefs of
the four provinces once the Wagadu Kingdom was founded.
Now that he had followers, Diabe Cisse needed a place to
settle. He found a perfect location at the site of what would
become Koumbi Saleh, the capital of the Ghana Empire. But
this site was guarded by a giant python. The young chief
made a deal with the snake that he could settle in the area
if the python, named Bida, remained its guardian. However,
Bida demanded one beautiful girl to be given to him as a
sacrifice each year. In return, the snake guaranteed plenty
of rain to fall in the region, making the ground quite fertile.
Thus, the Kingdom of Wagadu was founded. The four
commanders of Diabe Cisse became the aristocratic clans,
called wago , and it was them who gave the name to the
kingdom, as Wagadu is a shortened version of its original
name wagadugu —“the land of wago.” There also may have
been some truth to the story of a girl being sacrificed. The
legend continues, claiming that each year, a different
province had to provide the girl. This practice might have
been set in place to promote the unity of the provinces and
their chieftains.
Later generations added their own stories into the legend of
Wagadu. One of them tells the story of the kingdom’s
decline through an allegory. Many generations later, a
young girl, who was chosen to be sacrificed to Bida, was
engaged to an aristocrat. Angered, the young man jumped
in front of the python and cut off his head. While dying, Bida
cursed the kingdom with a drought and a lack of gold. The
Soninke people were forced to abandon their capital and
find their luck elsewhere. Four provinces, which were led by
different clans, broke the ties that bound them into one
kingdom. The story of the curse symbolizes the climate
change that occurred in the Sahel. The rain stopped, making
the ground dry and impossible to work. The climatic change
may have led to the gradual decline of the Wagadu
Kingdom. By the 13 th century, the kingdom ceased to exist
at all.
Trade
The Soninke people started trading with other Berber
peoples of the Sahara region. In fact, they used these
Saharan nomadic tribes as their intermediaries in trade with
the African regions north of the Sahara Desert. This trade
allowed the Ghana Empire to emerge as one of the richest
kingdoms of Western Africa. They also controlled a source of
gold, which did not come from the mines but was rather
washed down from the highlands by excessive rain. It was
simply collected from the streams that had been created by
the rains. This is another reason for the downfall of the
Ghana Empire, as the climate change meant less rain, and,
in turn, gold did not flow to the region anymore.
The king of Ghana was one of the wealthiest kings of Africa
because he took all the gold nuggets for himself, allowing
the people who collected it to keep only gold dust. Another
reason for his wealth was the trade tax he imposed on salt.
Everyone who imported salt had to pay one gold coin, but
those who exported it had to pay two gold coins. The early
trade with the Berbers of the Sahara brought horses and
iron to the Soninke of Ghana. The weapons they crafted and
the implementation of horseback warfare brought Ghana
dominion over the other smaller clans. The imported iron
was also used to make tools for working the land. Its fertile
ground attracted more people to the capital of Wagadu,
Koumbi Saleh. In turn, the city grew into an important
trading outpost.
It was this developed trade across the Sahara Desert and
the subjugation of the neighboring clans that elevated the
status of Ghana from a kingdom to an empire. With the
people of the Sahara, the Soninke traded copper, dates, and
salt. But they also exported the products of their savanna
regions, such as slaves, iron tools, weapons and utensils,
livestock, hides, cloth, clay pottery, medicinal herbs, food
(especially various grains), spices, fruit, and honey. One of
the main export items of Ghana was kola nuts, which are
rich in caffeine and were used as a way to quickly state
hunger and reenergize the tired nomadic people. Kola nuts
are still used in Western Africa as a symbol of hospitality,
but in the 1800s, they were exported to the United States,
where they were used as a sacred flavoring ingredient of
Coca-Cola.
The position of the Kingdom of Ghana allowed it to control
and dominate the Sahara routes used by the trade
caravans. These elaborate paths through the desert took
the products and gold from Ghana to the distant regions of
the Middle East and the Mediterranean Sea. From there,
they easily found their way to the various ships that sailed
around the known world. By the 5 th century, camels were
introduced to the north of Africa, and they became a widely
used animal for transport over the Sahara Desert. This
animal was responsible for the quick development of trade
in Western Africa. The trade caravans consisted of anywhere
between 6 to 2,000 camels, which would carry the huge
load without the need for water or food for many days.
The travel on the Saharan trade routes lasted two or three
months, and expert guides of the Sanhaja Berber people
were needed. They lived nomadic lives in the Sahara and
knew all the places where food and water were available.
Without them, a trade caravan was doomed to disappear in
the harsh environments of the desert.
But the Ghana Empire did not control only the trade across
the Sahara. Its unique position and growing economic power
allowed it to control the trade in the south too. There, the
savanna and forest regions, which were rich with resources,
offered their goods for the taking. Ghana also imported
northern products to the south, such as glass, iron tools,
silk, porcelain, jewelry, perfumes, spice, and sugar. Ghana
also had easy access to the north and northwest of Africa.
Those trade routes connected the kingdom with Maghrib,
Egypt, and Tripoli. Because of its convenient location, Ghana
was the meeting point for many merchants traveling across
Africa. And the king collected taxes from all of them, making
himself ever richer.
The Cities
Koumbi Saleh has been described as the capital city of the
Ghana Empire. However, the sources that mention this city
are often contradictory. The area where the city was
founded was inhabited from earlier times, as we saw in the
Wagadu legend, but it remains uncertain if it was indeed the
capital. The earliest written mention of the city is from the 8
th
century when one of the Persian astronomers mentions it
in his writing about the Ghana Empire. It was the early
medieval Arab writers who mistook the title Ghana for the
name of the land, and as a result, it is still remembered as
Ghana to this day.
The great Muslim geographer and historian, Al-Bakri, was
the first to describe Koumbi Saleh in detail. He lived in
Andalusia in the 11 th century, and although he never
stepped on African soil himself, he collected the information
from various merchants and travelers. Because the
medieval world was dominated by fantastical stories instead
of pure facts, Al-Bakri’s writing is filled with mistakes.
Nevertheless, it offers insight into the life of the city and its
significance for foreign trade. One of the first mistakes he
made was to identify the name of the city with the name of
the land. Therefore, he thought that the capital of Ghana
was also called Ghana. But due to his insistence on calling it
the capital, scholars have concluded that he was writing
about Koumbi Saleh.
Al-Bakri describes the capital of Ghana as two very close
cities that were ten kilometers (six miles) apart. One was
the king’s city, which was inhabited by the pagans. The
other one was a Muslim city that had twelve mosques. In
between the two cities, the commoners lived in a row of
huts and houses. This would mean that the two cities were
connected. Al-Bakri claimed that the Muslim city was named
El-Ghaba, while the king’s city was Ghana.
The first archaeological evidence of Koumbi Saleh was
excavated in 1914 by a French team of archaeologists. The
ruins were found in the Sahel region of today’s south
Mauritania. The ruins were dated anywhere from the 9 th
century to the 14 th century, and one mosque was
discovered. There are no links that would identify these
ruins with anything Al-Bakri described, and the second city
was never discovered in the vicinity. However, the size of
the city is crucial. Modern estimates believe it could have
held around 20,000 people. For this region, that number
signifies an important city. If Koumbi Saleh wasn’t the
capital of the Ghana Empire, it certainly was one of the most
important trade hubs. The lack of evidence that would
connect the excavated ruins with the capital described by
Arabic sources makes some historians believe that Koumbi
Saleh wasn’t Ghana’s capital at all.
But the oral tradition of the Soninke people still claims that
the capital of their kingdom was “Kumbi,” or Koumbi, Saleh.
Al-Bakri might have been told by others that the capital of
Ghana was made of two cities, but in the past, it was
common for Muslims to have separate districts. It is possible
that this was the case with Ghana’s capital and that the
Muslim geographer simply misunderstood the stories.
Archaeologists have found two sections of Koumbi Saleh,
but they are not six miles apart as Al-Bakir claimed.
Another very important trade city was discovered 125 miles
northwest of Koumbi Saleh. It is the city named Awdaghust,
which was probably founded during the golden age of the
Ghana Empire in the late 10 th or early 11 th century. Al-Bakri
wrote about this city as well, describing it as large, crowded,
and well built. It was built in the shadow of a barren
mountain, and it prospered because it was an oasis town on
the trans-Saharan trade route. Its population was mostly
Muslim traders from North Africa, but there were also some
local peoples, probably of Berber descent. They were
farmers who grew wheat, dates, fig trees, and henna (a
plant from which red dye is produced).
Islam and the Decline of the Ghana Empire
Islam spread to the Berber people of the Sahara region
during the 8 th century. It came from Morocco and other
Northern African states where the Umayyad Dynasty had
spread its influence. However, the sub-Saharan territories
converted almost two centuries later, during the reign of the
Almoravid Dynasty. During the beginning of the 10 th
century, the Almoravids were at the peak of their power, but
the Sanhaja peoples were slow to convert. The clan chiefs
were the first to accept the new religion, but Islam was
generally much weaker in Western Africa due to its distance
from Islam’s epicenter in Mecca.
Around 1042, the Almoravid movement started gaining
momentum and took over the Berber tribes of the Sahara.
Their prime concern was the weakness of Islam in Africa,
and they devoted their lives to teaching the strict rules of
the religion. They wanted African followers to read the
Quran, to stop drinking any alcoholic drinks, and to start
fasting and praying several times a day. To spread the
movement across Africa, they needed to unite the clans of
the southern Saharan Sanhaja people. The tribes joined the
political federation of the Almoravid movement so quickly
that, by 1048, the army they had gathered was strong
enough to challenge their neighbors. By 1054, the Soninke
of the Ghana Empire lost Awdaghust, but the federation
didn’t linger there. Instead, they crossed the Sahara and
reached southern Morocco.
However, the influence of the Almoravids continued to press
the Soninke people of Ghana, and they had no other choice
but to abandon their old religion, which worshiped snakes,
and join Islam. The decline of the kingdom did not occur
with the arrival of the Almoravid movement, though.
Instead, Ghana was determined to save its position as a
powerful economic force. They managed to retrieve
Awdaghust and continued to control the trade routes of the
Sahara Desert. The archaeological evidence in both
Awdaghust and Koumbi Saleh confirms that Ghana remained
very rich and powerful until at least the 12 th century.
But the struggle continued. The Sanhaja people were
determined to wrestle the control of trade from Ghana’s
grip. The constant attacks were followed by the climatic
change, which pressured the Soninke people to abandon
their once-prosperous cities and search for more fertile
lands. In the 12 th century, the decline of Ghana was rapid,
and it left a power vacuum in Western Africa. Gradually, the
small chiefdoms of the savanna started uniting and formed
small kingdoms around the rivers and lakes that were still
rich with rainfall, such as the Upper Niger. During the 13 th
century, the small kingdoms united to form a state, one that
would become known as the Mali Empire.
Chapter 6 – The Mali Empire

The Mali Empire at its height, including the location of

Timbuktu
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8f/MALI_
empire_map.PNG
While Ghana was declining, the Soninke people, who
migrated to escape the dry, infertile areas, were assimilated
into the numerous small kingdoms that started to form
across the savanna. To the south of Ghana, the Kaniaga (the
Susu kingdom), Mema, and Diara kingdoms rose to power
on the banks of the River Niger and its tributaries. The lands
there were still fertile and could sustain all the newcomers.
Some of these kingdoms were already Muslim, but most of
them continued the traditional practice of polytheistic
religions.
The most powerful among the polytheistic kingdoms was
Susu (Sosso). Its ruling family was named Kante, and they
were blacksmiths. In the small society of the kingdom, the
blacksmiths enjoyed high status, as they were the ones with
the power to command fire to subdue iron and bend it into
the tools that served the whole community. Because of the
almost magical powers of blacksmiths, they were also
chosen to be the religious leaders of the clans.
The Susu kingdom was centered around the region today
known as Beledougou. This territory lay north of Bamako,
the capital of today’s Republic of Mali. Unfortunately, no
archaeological excavations were performed in the region,
and the only source about the Susu kingdom we have
comes from the writings of the Arab scholars who traveled
the region as they followed the trade caravans. The oral
tradition of the locals still identifies them as the Susu
community, and one of the nearby villages still bears the
name Susu.
In the 12 th century, Susu took over some of the territories
that used to belong to the Ghana Empire. Information about
this traveled to Cairo, where Ibn Khaldun, an Arab scholar,
interviewed many traders who came from the Mali Empire.
He wanted to write down the history of the people of West
Africa, and he listened to the stories of those who came to
Egypt to trade. They told him that Susu was the greatest
and most powerful kingdom in the region and that it was
ruled by King Sumanguru Kante. The merchants had many
fantastical stories about their king, who, according to them,
was a great conqueror and sorcerer. The first kingdoms he
conquered lay just to the south of Susu, on both banks of
the Niger. They were independent Mande chiefdoms that
shared culture and trade.
The Mande chiefdoms had ruled their lands as subject kings
of the Ghana Empire during the 11 th century. With the
dissolvement of the Ghana Empire, they gained their
independence, and they wouldn’t allow Susu to take over
what Ghana had left. Instead, they chose to rebel and free
themselves of the Susu kingdom. Here, the epic oral tale of
Sunjata tells its version of the foundation of the Mali Empire.
The Sunjata epic is still told among the Mande people of
Mali, and it has many variations, as each region tells its own
version of the epic. However, they all agree that a certain
hero, named Sogolon Sunjata, managed to overthrow Susu
King Sumanguru Kante and start what would become known
as the Mali Empire.
In some versions of the epic, the hero’s name is Sundiata of
the Keita clan. He was born as a cripple and couldn’t walk
throughout his childhood. After his father’s death, his
brother took over the rule of the kingdom, exiling Sundiata
Keita and his mother. No neighboring kingdom would shelter
the pair, and they traveled to the distant land of Mema.
There, he grew to be a famous warrior. Some versions of the
story even mention that he was so popular that he was
chosen to inherit the throne of Mema. However, when
Sundiata heard of the troubles the Mande kingdom had with
the Susa and its evil sorcerer-king, he decided to go back
and free his people. He managed to unite the peoples of the
neighboring kingdoms and combine the armies of Wagadu,
Mema, and Mande to defeat the Susu kingdom. At the Battle
of Kirina, in the Koulikoro region (today’s Mali), Sumanguru
Kante was killed, and Sundiata Keita destroyed the Susu.
Arabic sources date this battle to 1235, which is often used
as the year when the Mali Empire was founded.
From Sunjata to Sakura
Information about the Mali Empire mostly comes from the
Arab historians, scholars, and explorers, such as Shihab al-
Din al-Umari (1300–1384), Ibn Battuta (1304–1369), and Ibn
Khaldun (1332–1406). They traveled the medieval Islamic
world and collected the stories of the rise and fall of the
empires of Africa. According to them, Sunjata ruled for
twenty-five years after he founded the Mali Empire and the
Keita Dynasty. He was the first to be granted the title
Mansa, which comes from the Mandinka word for a king or
emperor. After his death, he was succeeded by his son,
Mansa Wali, known to the Arab world as Mansa Ali. He was
the only biological son of the hero Sunjata and the first king
of Mali to convert to Islam. His adoptive brothers and
successors, Wati and Khalifa, were the sons of Sunjata’s
brother.
Oral tradition tells the story of Mansa Wali being too young
to inherit the throne after his father. His uncle was supposed
to rule, but the young prince was too ambitious, and he took
the throne by force. However, he had no sons of his own to
inherit after him, leaving the kingdom to his uncle’s sons.
During his rule, Mansa Wali made the pilgrimage to Mecca
somewhere between 1260 and 1277. Wali is remembered as
a king who excessively worked on expanding the territories
of the Mali Empire to the west of Africa, as well as for
bringing reforms to agriculture, economy, and politics.
Unfortunately, he was succeeded by his adopted brothers,
who brought nothing to the empire. The first to rule after
Mansa Wali was Wati. However, there is no memory of his
kingship in either oral tradition or in the written sources of
Arab scholars. This leads one to conclude that he did
nothing for the empire. The next to rule was the other
brother, Khalifa. He is remembered but for all the bad
reasons. Khalifa was an insane king who liked to practice
archery by shooting at his people. Eventually, an angry mob
killed him.
It is unknown whether the two brothers who inherited after
Mansa Wali had sons, but the next ruler was the son of
Sunjata’s sister, Abu Bakr. This is a tradition that was
possibly adopted from the remnants of the Ghana Empire,
as their succession was matrilineal. However, it seems that
the dynastical struggles continued for the Mali Empire, as
the next ruler was a military commander, not a member of
the royal family. Sakura, who ruled from 1298 until 1308,
grabbed the throne, probably with the support of the
people. He also made a pilgrimage to Mecca, which is proof
that he had the support of his people. Otherwise, it would
have been very unwise for him to leave the empire at such
a sensitive time.
Sakura was one of the best kings the Mali Empire had. He
made Mali into a powerful empire that controlled the trade
to the north of Africa, a role Ghana once had. New economic
growth was acquired, and Mali prospered as a result. Feeling
confident in his empire, Sakura embarked on a series of
military expeditions that expanded the territories of Mali.
The most significant conquest was probably the city of Gao.
Located on the eastern bank of the Niger River, this city
proved to be one of the most important trade hubs of the
trans-Saharan routes. The city was rich and already under
Muslim rule, so the transition to becoming a part of Mali
went smoothly.
Sakura died on his way back to Mali after his pilgrimage. For
some unknown reason, the empire reversed to the previous
dynasty of Sunjata’s descendants. Several more
insignificant kings ruled the Mali Empire until it finally
passed to the famous Mansa Musa in 1312, the greatest and
richest ruler of West Africa.
Mansa Musa and the City of Timbuktu
Mansa Musa of the Keita clan ruled the Mali Empire for
twenty-five years (1312–1337). His reign is considered to be
the golden age for the people of Mali. He was a very pious
and generous king, and according to the Arab historian Ibn
Kathir, he was a young man when he inherited the throne,
which ruled over twenty-four lesser kingdoms.
However, Mansa Musa did not inherit the throne once his
predecessor died. Instead, he was chosen as a regent of the
empire when Mansa Abu Bakr II went on a controversial
journey across the Atlantic Ocean. The story, which was
written down by Arab scholars, tells about Abu Bakr’s
insatiable curiosity about what lay at the end of the Atlantic
Ocean. He sent an expedition to see what was beyond the
great water, but only one boat came back. The rest sank,
probably in a storm. Unsatisfied, the king set sail himself,
preparing 2,000 boats to hold the men and 1,000 for food
and water. None of the people who went across the ocean
with Abu Bakr ever returned, and to this day, it remains a
mystery if they ever reached the New World.
Once it was obvious Abu Bakr II was not coming back from
his travels, Musa Keita was elevated from regent to king,
gaining the title of mansa in the process. Described as a
great man by Arab sources, Mansa Musa sat on a throne
completely made out of ebony, ornamented with huge
elephant tusks. Both the king and his officials wielded
weapons purely made out of gold when meeting the
representatives of other kingdoms. Mansa Musa had around
thirty slaves constantly at his disposal, serving him and his
companions. One of the slaves was always tasked with
holding a sunshade made out of silk over the king’s head.
The shade had a falcon ornament at the top, made out of
pure gold.
Other descriptions of the Mali king mention music
accompanying him whenever he went out in public. He
never talked or gave speeches in public. Anything he had to
say was whispered to his chief spokesmen, who would then
make public announcements for him. Two horses always
followed the king’s procession. They were a sign of wealth,
as they were the most expensive animals in Western Africa,
but they weren’t just for showing off. They were fully
equipped and ready in case the mansa had to ride them.
It wasn’t unusual for southern African rulers to go to Mecca
on a pilgrimage (known as the Hajj), but he was certainly
the most famous one. As a devout Muslim, Musa did not
impose his religion on the common people of the Mali
Empire, but he did make it an obligatory religion for the
aristocracy. Even though some of the people he ruled were
still pagans, the Muslim religious holidays were celebrated
around the empire as national sacred days. During his rule,
Islam prospered in sub-Saharan Africa, and many kingdoms
converted willingly.
The preparations for Musa’s pilgrimage took nine months.
The story says that the king consulted his soothsayers to
confirm the date when he should depart, and they said it
needed to be on a Saturday that would fall on the twelfth
day of a month. The exact date of Musa’s pilgrimage is
unknown, but he arrived in Egypt in 1324. The journey took
around a year, and the written sources mention that Musa’s
procession numbered 60,000 men, of which 12,000 were
slaves. The king provided everything needed for the long
pilgrimage, and he dressed his people in the finest silk with
gold ornaments. It was even said that each slave had to
carry a bar of gold. Once they reached Egypt, all the slaves
were sold, and the money was gifted to the Egyptians. The
sultan of Egypt received 40,000 gold dinars as a gift, and
much more money was shared. As stated above, the
generosity of Mansa Musa was legendary.
Musa stayed in Egypt for three months before continuing his
journey to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. New slaves
had to be bought for this trip. Even though the king of Mali
had a number of guards, the journey across the desert and
beyond Egypt was a very dangerous one. Sakura, one of the
previous kings of Mali, was murdered on his way back from
the Hajj, and even Mansa Musa experienced troubles of his
own. His whole entourage got separated from the main
caravan. The sub-Saharan people were unfamiliar with the
routes that led from Cairo to Mecca, so they needed to join
local caravans. On their way back to Egypt, Musa got lost
and reached the seashore at Suez instead of Cairo. Before
finding their way back, Musa’s entourage lost around one-
third of the people, as well as many animals.
On his pilgrimage, Mansa Musa went through the cities of
Timbuktu and Gao, but on his way back, he annexed them
and incorporated them into the Mali Empire. Timbuktu
remains the most famous and mysterious city in Western
Africa. Many stories were written about it, and even today,
people doubt its existence. They believe it is a made-up
place or a very mysterious ancient city that has yet to be
discovered. However, Timbuktu is very real, and it is still
inhabited. It is listed as one of the World Heritage Sites
because of its importance in the Islamization of the African
continent, as well as for its unique history and architecture.
Timbuktu started as a settlement in the 5 th century, but its
position allowed it to prosper and turn into a city. It
conveniently lay on the trade routes of the Sahara region,
and it became rich due to the trade in salt, ivory, and
copper. Mansa Musa was able to realize the economic
importance of Timbuktu, and his reputation served him well
because nobody resisted the annexation of the city, which
took place in either 1324 or 1325. Because of the
importance of Timbuktu, Musa ordered the construction of a
royal palace. This task was assigned to Ishaq al-Sahili, a
Muslim architect from Spain. He built the square royal
residence with a dome on the top, a design that would
become a staple of the Mali Empire. The architect chose to
settle in Timbuktu, and the Djinguereber Mosque, which was
built there between 1324 and 1327, was attributed to him.
Two centuries later, when the Songhai Empire took over the
city, the mosque was torn down, and in its place, a larger
one was built.
Mansa Musa also realized that the city of Timbuktu attracted
many visitors because of its rich markets. Many of them
were not Muslims, but they were nonetheless fascinated
with the city’s openness to different people. The Mali king
decided to found a university there, in which Muslim
scholars could preach their religion. The pious Mansa Musa
saw an opportunity to utilize Timbuktu’s popularity to
spread Islam across Africa through its university. The city
became so famous that word of it even reached Europe, and
the merchants of Venice and Genoa started visiting it
regularly.
Timbuktu wasn’t the only city in which the Mali king opened
universities. He also started Islamic studies in the cities of
Djenne and Segou. But the one in Timbuktu remained one of
the most popular. It quickly grew, and by the 16 th century, it
was able to accept over 25,000 students. Musa broadened
the curriculum of the university and introduced
mathematics, astronomy, and geography. Timbuktu’s
university became one of the largest in Africa, with a library
that could be compared to the one in Alexandria.
The Power Struggle and the End of the Empire
It is unknown when exactly Mansa Musa died, but his son
started appearing in the written sources as the new king of
Mali in around 1337. His name was Mansa Maghan, and he
ruled for only four years before he died. He didn’t leave any
sons capable of ruling after him, so the throne was passed
to the brother of Mansa Musa, Mansa Suleyman. He was
another powerful and effective ruler, although he wasn’t
liked among the people like his brother. While Musa was a
generous king, Suleyman was inattentive. This was probably
because, at this time, the Black Death had reached the
northern African continent, where it killed 30 to 50 percent
of its inhabitants. Although there is no evidence of plague
reaching the Mali Empire, it certainly influenced trade with
the north, which was one of Mali’s main trading partners.
The economic consequences of the Black Death were felt
across the world, and the sub-Saharan kingdoms were no
exception.
The information about the Mali Empire during the reign of
Mansa Suleyman is plenty due to geographer Ibn Battuta,
who spent eight months visiting the court in 1352/53. He
witnessed the king’s audiences and wrote extensively about
them. He compared the richness of the Mali royal palace
with the European courts, saying how they were equal in
beauty and prosperity. Three hundred soldiers protected the
king while he was sitting on his throne and listened to the
people. The king himself was dressed in a red robe and had
a golden headdress. He carried a bow and arrows with him,
and just as his brother Mansa Musa, he had two horses
ready to carry him wherever he needed.
Ibn Battuta also witnessed an attempt to dispose of
Suleyman. The story is complicated, but it seems to have all
started when the king wanted to marry a common girl
named Banju instead of his first wife, Kassi. It was a
tradition for the aristocracy of the Mali Empire to have many
wives, but only one enjoyed the status of queen and ruled
alongside her husband. For Suleyman, that was supposed to
be his cousin Kassi. But he wanted to elevate the commoner
Banju to that status, and so, he had to dispose of Kassi. He
divorced Kassi, but she had the sympathies of other
aristocrats, who offered her support. A civil war erupted
between the divided people of Mali, with some supporting
the king and others the ex-queen. The fighting continued
until Suleyman provided the evidence that Kassi was
conspiring with one of her cousins for treason. Whether this
was true or not, the people of Mali agreed that it was a
grave offense and that she deserved the death sentence. To
avoid it, the former queen hid in a mosque. It remains
unknown what happened to her in the end or if the
accusations against her were true or just fabricated to serve
the king’s agenda.
Mansa Suleyman ruled for twenty-four years, and when he
died in 1360, he was succeeded by his son Kassa. However,
a civil war broke out, as the sons of Suleyman and Mansa
Musa were fighting for the throne. Finally, the son of Mansa
Maghan, Mari Djata II, prevailed, and he took the throne for
himself. He was a tyrant who brought the empire to ruin. He
was abusive toward his people, and he squandered the
national treasure. He sold the gold to the Egyptians for a
very low price, bringing the empire to poverty. But he didn’t
rule for very long. He suffered from sleeping sickness, which
was transmitted by tsetse flies, and he died in 1374.
The throne was inherited by Mari Djata’s son, Mansa Musa II.
He wasn’t at all like his father, for he was wise and fair. But
he wasn’t like his namesake Mansa Musa I either. Musa II
was weak and unable to control his subjects. One of his
advisors took control of the government for himself, and
eventually, he took the throne. He is known as Mari Djata III,
although he didn’t belong to the royal family. He wasn’t
even recognized as the official king of Mali, but he
controlled the throne and the government. Even though he
tried his hardest to revitalize the empire after the damage
caused by the civil war after Suleyman, and by the rule of
the tyrant Mari Djata II, he was always seen as a usurper.
A series of weak kings followed Mansa Musa II, and all of
them were unable to keep the throne for more than a few
years. Various court intrigues led to assassinations and
mysterious deaths until the throne was captured by
Mahmud Keita, a direct descendant of the first ruler of Mali,
Sunjata, in 1390. However, nothing is known about Mahmud
except that he was the last ruler of Mali mentioned in the
written sources. Oral tradition speaks of other kings and
queens who followed but in the form of myths and legends.
There is no historical evidence that could confirm their
existence.
The power of the Mali Empire was undermined by the
generations of the power struggle and civil wars for the
throne. Soon, at the end of the 14 th century, the distant
kingdoms integrated into the territory of Mali broke off, and
no king was strong enough to assert control and stop the
dissolution of the empire. In 1433, Timbuktu was lost, as
well as Gao and other distant provinces beyond the River
Niger. In the 15 th and 16 th centuries, Gao produced
powerful rulers who founded a new empire, one that would
replace Mali as the powerbase of Western Africa: the
Songhai Empire.

Conclusion
There are many gaps in our knowledge about ancient Africa
and the kingdoms that ruled over the continent. This lack of
evidence slows down our ability to learn what happened in
the past. The ever-shifting sands of the Sahara Desert, as
well as the probable climate changes that occurred on the
continent, have hidden archaeological sites that are yet to
be discovered. In the case of the mystical Land of Punt, we
don’t even know its exact location. However, the birthplace
of humanity is a rich playground for scholars and historians,
who work tirelessly to come to new conclusions and find
new evidence that will part the veils that still obscure
history.
Many monuments, texts, and images of the bygone days of
Africa remain to be discovered, but what we already have is
enough to understand the way of thinking and life of these
ancient kingdoms. Egypt, a civilization that left behind so
much evidence, granted us an insight into the life of other
ancient lands of Africa. Through the prism of Egypt, we can
learn about Nubia, Kush, and Punt. Carthage also left a rich
culture behind, which still fascinates us with its stories and
its connections with the rest of the world, and thanks to
several ancient Roman, Greek, and Phoenician historians,
we have a clear view of Carthaginian heritage.
Other kingdoms, such as Aksum, Ghana, and Mali, have rich
oral traditions that can inspire our imagination.
Unfortunately, the stories passed from generation to
generation can rarely be confirmed with historical evidence.
They remain just that, stories to be told at evening bonfires
by the Berber peoples of Africa.
Luckily, the entrance of the Middle Ages brought about the
Islamization of the continent. With it, many geographers,
historians, and explorers of the Arab world showed interest
in the African continent. They gathered witnesses who told
them about the distant cities and kingdoms, such as
Ghana’s Koumbi Saleh and Mali’s Timbuktu. They talked
about the riches, about the trade routes of the Sahara
Desert, of the kings and queens sitting on their ebony
thrones. If not for the scholars of Islam, the history of West
Africa would still be unknown to us today.
However, it’s not only the lack of evidence that can be
blamed for our poor knowledge of Africa’s history. As the
birthplace of the human race, Africa must be understood so
we can better understand ourselves. Unfortunately, the
archaeology of colonial times believed that the societies of
ancient Africa were not capable of producing anything
interesting, and at the beginning, archaeologists ignored
Africa completely (except for Egypt and Carthage). Thus,
excessive research on the history of this continent is just
starting. And as the oldest settlement of humanity, Africa is
very diverse, culturally rich, and abundant with historical
information. There is so much left to discover about the first
humans, their development, the first villages, cities, and
kingdoms of ancient Africa. In time, more information will be
discovered, as we have barely scratched the surface of the
rich history of the African continent.
Part 2: The Kingdom of Kush
A Captivating Guide to an Ancient African
Kingdom in Nubia That Once Ruled Egypt

Introduction
The Kingdom of Kush was completely forgotten once it met
its end. The stories of its might didn’t survive in the cultures
of its successor kingdoms, possibly because Christianization
soon followed, which required the people of the Nubian
region to turn toward the east and the myths of the
Christian messiah. There was no more room for the divine
rulers, Amun and Re, or a place for their sons, the kings of
Kush. The kingdom continued to exist in the stories of some
classical writers, but it was often considered as nothing
more than a distant, probably even imaginary, kingdom,
where the uncivilized savages lived.
With the renewed interest in the classical arts of Greece and
Rome, the Renaissance rediscovered the existence of Kush.
Still, it was not explored until Napoleon’s expedition to
Egypt in 1798. Even then, it was seen as a part of Egyptian
culture. The discoveries made by the 18 th - and 19 th -
century explorers proved there were, in fact, two separate
cultures. However, this explanation was greatly influenced
by Darwinism. Scholars presented the entirety of Africa as a
place where civilized white men ruled over the “uncivilized
negroes.” Kush was no exception to them, and the general
opinion was that Egypt ruled over the uncivilized Kushites.
Even the rule of the Twenty-Fifth Dynasty was observed as
nothing more than the less fortunate Kushites imitating the
superior Egyptians.
It was not until the early 20 th century that the Kingdom of
Kush received its rightful place in history. When the first
archaeological survey of Nubia took place between 1907
and 1911, the distinctive cultural aspects of the Kingdom of
Kush emerged, and it was finally seen as a separate entity
from Egypt. The detailed chronology for the Kingdom of
Kush was suggested, and archaeologists from all over the
world came to explore the uniqueness of the Middle Nile
Region. However, early modern archaeologists were greatly
influenced by the Renaissance opinion that the “Hamitic”
civilization ruled over the uncivilized African world, and this
opinion was hard to change. Unfortunately, the lack of
funding and interest led to the neglect of the excavation
sites in Nubia.
The extension of the Aswan Dam in the 1960s threatened to
submerge a large portion of the Nubian excavation sites
under the water forever. To prevent this from happening,
UNESCO organized an archaeological expedition, whose
purpose was to preserve everything found between the First
and Second Cataracts of the Nile. During the UNESCO
salvation period, over 1,000 new excavation sites were
found, and an enormous amount of archaeological work was
completed. This resulted in a change of opinion about the
culture of the Middle Nile Region. No longer were scholars
indoctrinated by the Renaissance view of the Kushites as
“uncivilized negroes” ruled by superior Egyptians. Finally,
pragmatism won, and the real truth about the Kingdom of
Kush and its rulers saw the light of day. From the 1960s
onward, the understanding and recognition of the Kingdom
of Kush began. The history of Kush could finally be written.
Chapter 1 – Nubia and the Emergence
of the Kingdom of Kush

Kush in 700 BCE, at its maximum extent

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Kush#/media/
File:Kushite_empire_700bc.jpg
Nubia, a region perhaps more mysterious than Egypt, tickles
the imagination of people around the world because it was
misunderstood. Although it belonged to Egypt at some
points in history, it was never really an integral part of the
ancient kingdom. In fact, it was the birthplace of various
civilizations, and modern findings even suggest it was the
birthplace of the first pharaohs and Egypt itself. One of the
most known kingdoms of Nubia is none other than the
Kingdom of Kush. To follow the origin of the Kingdom of
Kush, we have to see what lies deep beneath the Nubian
sands, what was there before Egypt started spreading its
influence on the region (or was it vice versa?)
The region of Nubia lay south of Egypt, alongside the flow of
the River Nile. It occupied the whole Nile River Valley south
of the Egyptian city of Aswan to the capital of Sudan:
Khartoum. It was at Aswan that the first shallow waters of
the great river flowed, and it was known as the First
Cataract of the Nile. The First Cataract doesn’t exist
anymore, as the modern Aswan Dam now stands there. The
region of Nubia was also known as the Cataracts of the Nile,
as there used to be six shallows through which no boat was
able to sail. Nubia itself was divided into three parts: upper,
middle, and lower. Lower Nubia was within today’s borders
of Egypt, and it occupied the territory from the First to the
Second Cataract. Middle Nubia lay between the Second and
Third Cataracts, while Upper Nubia spread over all the
territories to the south from the Third Cataract.
The name Nubia wasn’t in use during the Old or New
Kingdoms of Egypt. It is of much later date, and it came
about when the Meroitic Kingdom fell (around the 4 th
century CE). Egyptians called this region Kush, while the
Greeks referred to it as Aethiopia (Ethiopia). However, it is
important to remember that the Greeks used this name for
several regions of the African continent, as its meaning,
“The Land of the Burnt-Face,” not so subtly suggested that
the area was occupied by a dark-skinned population. The
name Nubia came from the nomadic Noba people who lived
there after the Meroitic kingdom, around the 4 th century
BCE.
When prehistoric Egypt emerged as a political power in
around 3500 BCE (give or take a few centuries, as scholars
cannot agree on the exact date), a civilization already
existed in the Nubian territory. They are labeled as the A-
group culture, and they had already developed trade with
what was then Egypt. Around 3100 BCE, Egypt’s First
Dynasty started a new era by uniting the kingdoms of Lower
and Upper Egypt. It seems that, at this point, Nubia was a
part of the newly unified kingdom, and some scholars even
suggest the A-group culture influenced the unification of the
Nile Valley.
The people who settled in Nubia during prehistoric Egypt
were a mixture of ancient tribes of Sudan, the sub-Saharan
regions, and even the regions to the west. This mixture
produced a unique culture, which would give birth to what is
known as the Egyptian and Nubian culture. However, the A-
group peoples disappeared from the region around the 28 th
century BCE. It is speculated that they were completely
absorbed into the Egyptian lifestyle, for it seems that up
until 2500 BCE, Nubia was deserted. Another possibility is
that it was occupied by a much inferior culture, named the
B-group, who left no trails in history. However, in the 24 th
century BCE, the emergence of the C-group started, and
archaeological findings prove that they were related to the
A-group. It is believed the C-group were the descendants of
the A-group finally returning back to the region, although it
is also possible the A-group never even left. But the culture
of the Nubian region went through a renaissance period and
returned to its roots. They are known as the Kerma culture
to scholars, as the center of their civilization was in the
kingdom’s capital city of Kerma.
During the Middle Kingdom of Egypt (2040–1640 BCE), the
relations with the Nubian Kerma civilization were mixed.
There were certainly some armed conflicts, as Egypt
annexed some of the Nubian territories, but there were also
times of peaceful trade and cooperation. There is even
evidence of intermarriages and friendship between the two
cultures. Egypt was always interested in the territories of
Lower Nubia because it was a gateway to the trade with
Upper Nubia and the exotic parts of Africa. The pharaohs of
the Middle Kingdom tried to gain control of the region both
through war and through diplomacy.
At first, the Kerma kingdom was thought to be just one of
the small states that occupied the Nile Valley at the time of
the Middle Kingdom. However, later findings proved that
Kerma spread its influence on much larger territories. The
city of Kerma, in today’s Sudan, was thought to be the only
archaeological site of the Kerma culture. As the explorations
continued to the south, toward what was once Egypt’s
border with the Nubian regions, scholars were surprised to
discover more Kerma settlements and graveyards.
The size of the Kerma territory proves that this civilization
was an influential political power in the region. No wonder
they were of interest to Egypt. They were both potential
allies or possible enemies, and they were capable of rivaling
the pharaoh’s power. The Kerma kingdom even inspired the
Egyptians to raise a series of fortifications along their
southern border, for example, such as those at Buhen and
Qubban in the Middle Nile Region. Whether these were used
for defense or for an attack remains unknown.
It is interesting that these Egyptian fortresses were also
used as trade and culture centers where both Egyptian and
Nubian populations were involved in businesses. This was
probably due to the fact that gold routes from the mines of
the southern Nubian regions lay here, at the border of the
two kingdoms. Egypt needed the gold to continue flowing its
way, and one of the best ways to secure it was through
peace. Some historians even suggest that the absorption of
Lower Nubia by Egypt was gradual and that the Kerma
rulers were compliant. Others suggest that it was the rising
power of the rich middle class of Kerma that forced Egypt’s
hand to send military expeditions to the region.
The connection between Egypt and Nubia was constant, and
the influence the two cultures had on each other is evident.
Both Egyptian and Nubian Kerma rulers used very similar
symbols to define their position. But it was during the New
Kingdom that the two cultures became almost
indistinguishable. While the texts of the early New Kingdom
referred to the Nubian regions as Ta-Seti, the “Curved Land”
or the “Land of the Bow” (as people there were famous for
their archery skills), it was during Kerma’s declining years
that the first mention of Kush occurred. The Kerma people
probably spoke the Kushite language, and it is believed that
they were the first founders of the Kingdom of Kush, or
rather that the Kushites rose out of the Kerma civilization. It
was these Kushites who fought Egypt’s attempt of
annexation during the rule of Pharaoh Kamose (around 1500
BCE) and his successor Ahmose I (1552–1527 BCE). The
texts the two pharaohs left behind are the first written
source in which the Kerma kingdom is referred to as Kush
instead of Ta-Seti.
It is not known how the Kingdom of Kush got its name in the
first place. To Egyptians, it was always known as Ta-Seti,
even before the Old Kingdom. But it is unknown what the
native name of Nubia was in prehistoric times. Maybe it was
always Kush or some version of this name, and Egypt
started using its native name when it recognized the
importance of the region. The northernmost region of Nubia,
which bordered Egypt, was known as Wawat, or “Lower
Nubia,” while the alternative name for the region was Ta-
Neshy, the “Land of the Black People.” This is similar to the
Greek Aethiopia, the “Land of the Burnt-Face.” So, both
Egyptians and Greeks recognized the indigenous people of
Nubia, but it is uncertain if these names referred to all of
Nubia or only certain parts.
Egypt’s annexation of the territories of Lower Nubia was
successful, and it continued to grab lands farther to the
south under Pharaoh Amenhotep I (1525–1504 BCE,
disputed) and Thutmose (Tuthmosis) I (1506-1494 BCE).
They conquered Sai and Bugdumbush, the two major Kerma
civilization centers besides the city of Kerma. Finally, Egypt
reached the gold mining areas of the eastern desert, where
the Korosko road met the Nile. The Korosko road was an
ancient land route that was used by the trade caravans to
bypass the unassailable waters of the Second, Third, and
Fourth Cataracts of the Nile. During the rule of Thutmose III
(1479–1425 BCE), the full control of Nubia was established,
and Egypt extended all the way to the Fourth Cataract of
the Nile. This, too, was a gold-producing territory, and as
such, it was very important to Egypt. There, at the small
mountain of Gebel Barkal, Thutmose III founded the
southernmost Egyptian city of Napata in around 1460 BCE.
The Nubian region under Egypt was overseen by a viceroy
known as the “King’s Sons.” This was just a title, as they
were not actually related to the pharaoh, though they might
have been members of the royal family. During the reign of
Amenhotep II (1427–1401/1397 BCE), the title was changed
to “King’s Sons of Kush.” The viceroys were always chosen
from the ranks of royal bureaucrats, chariotry, or stable
administrators. They were responsible for the people of
Nubia, and their main task was to collect taxes and tributes.
The gold mines were also under their watchful eyes, as they
were directly responsible for the production of gold. The
viceroys had full command over the Nubian military troops,
but it seems there was a “battalion-commander of Kush” as
well. This means the viceroy probably only had the power to
command the army if he invoked his right. Otherwise, the
command was in the hands of the battalion-commander.
Wawat (Lower Nubia) and Kush (Upper Nubia) had their own
deputy governors, who were appointed by the viceroy.
Nubia spent centuries under Egyptian rule, and it is no
wonder the cultural influence between the two regions was
so deep. From the first occupation in the Middle Kingdom
until the end of the New Kingdom, the Kushite territories
underwent extensive building projects. Temples and
monuments were erected to celebrate the Egyptian gods
and pharaohs. Even whole cities were founded by the
temple-cults, and gradually, they became economic centers.
In Wawat, two major cities sprouted as the residency for the
deputy governors: Faras and Aniba. Similar cities in Kush
were Soleb and Amara. They were also military settlements,
and they quickly prospered and became the powerhouses of
the region’s economy.
The Nubian towns were surrounded by fertile lands, which
the native population extensively cultivated. But the land
was not a possession of the people. It was owned by the
temples, pharaohs, members of the royal family, high-office
holders, and probably the wealthy locals, who were
descendants of the indigenous princes. The commoners only
had the right to work the land, probably for a percentage of
the harvest.
Egyptian cults were responsible for wielding much influence
over the Nubian lands of Wawat and Kush. The temples,
which were dedicated to gods such as Horus, Amun-Re, and
Ptah, were built all over the country. These cults were
closely tied with the worship of the pharaoh, who was seen
as a divinity on earth. Nubia also accepted the cults of
Hathor and Isis, although in a slightly changed and localized
form. Pharaohs such as Thutmose III and Amenhotep III
erected temples in which they were worshiped as living
rulers. This wasn’t an uncommon practice, but it was new to
Nubia. The peak of pharaoh worship occurred during the
rule of Ramesses II (1279–1212 BCE), who introduced the
monumental rock-cut temples in Nubia. Before this, rock
was hauled from different places. During Ramesses’s rule,
the temples were directly cut into the face of a small
mountain or rock formation.
The level of Egyptianization the Nubian society went
through greatly depended on the social status of the
individuals. The elite families were educated in Egyptian
schools, and after a few decades, they even started
adopting Egyptian names. When they died, they were buried
according to the Egyptian tradition. It is, in fact, the
mortuary customs that inform us the most about the level of
Egyptianization the locals went through. Due to the material
evidence found around the dig sites, it was, at first, wrongly
assumed the Nubian society as a whole was integrated into
Egyptian norms equally. However, the material evidence
only shows that the Egyptian economy was strong; thus, it
would have been normal for the locals to start using the
items of the superior culture. So, it is safer to rely on the
burial customs, and they reveal quite a bit. The common
people of Nubia, both in the cities and in the countryside,
lack the Egyptian religious aspects in their mortuary
customs. They did use Egyptian burial equipment, but they
also integrated their own customs and mortuary rights. This
is plainly evident through the lack of inscriptions of the
names of the deceased, as well as through the survival of
the indigenous religion in the form of iconography.
It seems the indigenous people of Nubia buried their dead,
dedicating them to the local goddess Nhsmks . She is never
mentioned in the Egyptian religion, at least according to
evidence archaeologists have found so far. This is the main
problem with ancient religions, for much evidence still lies
buried deep beneath the ground. For now, the main belief is
that the Nubian indigenous culture survived alongside the
newly introduced Egyptian one, at least among the
commoners.
The End of Egyptian Dominion
Egypt dominated Nubia for nearly five centuries (1550–1069
BCE), and it successfully integrated the whole region under
its administration. The extension of the Egyptian kingdom’s
territories was regarded as its royal duty, and every pharaoh
had to engage the neighboring kingdoms in a territorial war.
It is possible that was how Nubia came under Egypt’s
dominion. But the extension stopped at the Fourth Cataract
of the Nile, and it seems as if the Egyptians lost interest in
further conquest. While there is strong evidence to suggest
the propaganda against the local kings in the far south,
Egypt never took those territories under its full control. This
might be because the royal duties of “conquering new
territories” and “repulsing the enemies of the state” had not
been regarded as sacred since the rule of Ramesses III
(1186–1154 BCE).
Even though Nubia was well assimilated into the Egyptian
culture, especially the elite descendants of the indigenous
rulers, the territory experienced a good deal of rebellions.
There are records of numerous uprisings occurring between
1401 and 1186. There is no evidence that suggests the
cause for these rebellions, but there were military conflicts
in Nubian territory under almost every ruler until the
Twentieth Dynasty. Modern scholars suggest the reason for
some of the conflicts might be that the Nubians were
reluctant to lose their control over the gold-producing areas.
At the end of the Twentieth Dynasty, Egypt withdrew from
Upper Nubia, leaving the control of Napata and other
economic centers of the south in the hands of indigenous
rulers. Even though the Egyptian presence diminished, that
doesn’t mean Upper Nubia gained its independence. It
seems that local rulers of Nubia were not treated as Egypt’s
vassals, unlike the Libyan and Puntite princes. Some believe
that Egypt’s withdrawal wasn’t a sudden decision of a
pharaoh but rather a gradual process. According to this
theory, it was Ramesses III who retreated toward the north,
creating a new southern border at Kawa. After Ramesses IV
(1144–1136 BCE), Egypt withdrew even farther north.
However, there is evidence that the regions were still under
viceroyalty power even during the reign of Ramesses IX
(1125–1107). In his tomb, there is a depiction of Nubians
bringing tribute and even granting agricultural land to the
pharaoh. This means that, even though the Egyptian grasp
over Nubia was still in place, it was very weak and about to
collapse. During the reign of Ramesses IX, the Egyptian
territories in Nubia extended only up until the Second
Cataract, where the ruins of the Egyptian settlement of
Buhen can still be found.
But it remains unknown if Egypt retreated peacefully or due
to the aggression of the indigenous people. Even more
confusion is raised due to the fact Egypt withdrew from
Palestine at the same time. This leads one to the conclusion
that the political and economic power of the late Twentieth
Dynasty was declining. With it, the weakening of the central
government came, and it was only a matter of time before
the surviving indigenous socio-political structure returned to
Nubia.
There is very strong written evidence of a civil war occurring
in the region around the city of Thebes. The conflict erupted
between Pinehesy, Viceroy of Kush, and Amenhotep, the
High Priest of Amun of Thebes. The reason for the conflict is
unknown, but it seems that the high priest was agitated by
Pinehesy’s quick rise to power. Pinehesy was given control
over the military and the royal granaries, which were
symbols of political and economic power. Until that point,
they had been in the hands of Amenhotep. The conflict
greatly escalated when Pinehesy’s troops started looting the
temples of Thebes, which they were supposed to protect.
The viceroy enjoyed the control he had over the Nubian
region, and his actions created the sense as if Upper and
Middle Egypt were occupied.
Amenhotep complained to Pharaoh Ramesses XI and gained
his protection against Pinehesy. The king ordered the
viceroy to move his troops out of Thebes, but Pinehesy
revolted and started a rebellion, which caused the whole
region to suffer war, famine, and various atrocities
committed by the military troops. In the nineteenth year of
Ramesses XI’s reign, Pinehesy was forced to retreat to
Lower Nubia, where he started ruling as an independent
king in around 1071 BCE.
El-Kurru and the Unification of the Successor
Kingdoms
 A 4 th century BCE pyramid in El-Kurru
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El-Kurru#/media/File:Al-
Kurru,main_pyramid.jpg
The development of events between the 11 th and 8 th
centuries BCE remains obscure, but they are still important
to understand how the Kingdom of Kush emerged. Egypt’s
withdrawal from the southern Nubian territories may have
been connected with the story of the rebellious Viceroy
Pinehesy, who became the ruler of the territories beyond
the Second Cataract. Even though Egypt returned and
asserted control over the gold mines in the area after his
death, it never managed to completely annex Nubia again.
The reemergence of the native political system was possible
because Egypt never fully implemented a colonial system in
the territory of Nubia. Instead, they allowed the indigenous
administration to coexist with the Egyptian one. Egypt was
only interested in controlling the religious centers and the
elite, so the substructure of the social life was left in the
hands of the local people. This indigenous structure was
based on a political system of chiefdoms, and their
existence is proved by the lack of Egyptian funerary
customs in the burial sites of the middle and lower social
classes.
Because the temple cities were the remnants of Egyptian
control over the region, they were the first to collapse once
the indigenous political system reemerged. But this doesn’t
mean the area became depopulated, as it was previously
thought. Instead, a new system of smaller political entities
emerged. Each individual of the Nubian elite could grab a
piece of power for himself and gather followers. They were
well educated and had experience in administration, as they
were an integral part of the Egyptian rule. A number of
these elites grabbed control of an area and started their
own states, known as the successor states to the Egyptian
rule in Nubia.
Even though the leading elite had experience in
administration, they did not manage to keep the same level
of economic and social organization structures. In fact, the
successor states relapsed into less-developed societies,
relying on limited local resources. At the same time, literacy
levels dropped, as the Egyptian professional class left the
region. This lack of literacy caused a relapse to primitive
forms of the political administration.
The fragmented successor states couldn’t survive on their
own, as some controlled the fertile lands that could feed the
population, while others controlled the gold mines. But each
was a victim of constant attacks by the various neighboring
tribes, which saw an opportunity to assert their own control
in the region. It seems that the unification of the successor
states was necessary in order for the Kushites to survive.
Egypt continued its efforts to impose control over Nubia
once again, and its military campaigns were the perfect
political background for Nubian unification.
In the region between the Fourth and Fifth Cataracts of the
Nile, the El-Kurru chiefdom controlled the gold mines. But it
wasn’t only the gold mines that gave this chiefdom an
advantage. Geographically, their territory was right on the
caravan route between Abu Hamed, which was an important
trade center, and Lower Nubia. They also had access to
roads that led to Butana and farther into the deep interior of
the African continent.
El-Kurru is a large necropolis that was discovered near
today’s Kurru village. Under this village, there lies the whole
ancient city of El-Kurru; however, it remains unexcavated
because of its location directly under the living village. The
necropolis used to be the main burial place of the Egyptian
Twenty-Fifth Dynasty, which was founded by the Kushite
rulers. However, some of the remains discovered suggest
that kings from as early as the Eighteenth and Nineteenth
Dynasties were buried here.
After the end of Egypt’s dominion over the region, it seems
that El-Kurru took over the role of the capital city, which
used to belong to the Egyptian Napata (15 kilometers, or
nine miles, to the north of El-Kurru). Egyptian sources
mention that Karoy was the southernmost city under their
control, so perhaps they were referring to El-Kurru. The form
Kurru was either derived from the Egyptian Karoy or had
completely indigenous origins.
The burial places of the El-Kurru necropolis that were dated
to the earliest periods of Egyptian rule contain no Egyptized
features. These purely indigenous mortuary rites strongly
resemble the Kerma C-group culture. The items found were
dated to various years between 2200 and 1550 BCE. This
proves that the indigenous social system coexisted with the
Egyptians during the centuries of their dominion. The bodies
discovered in the earliest tombs were positioned on beds,
which was the practice of the Kerma culture before its fall
under Egypt. Later tombs display a profound turn toward
the Egyptian culture. The change was religious as well as
archaeological, as the tombs changed shapes and cult
practices. More and more Egyptian items were found in the
niches around the main tomb, and there was no bed for the
body of the deceased. Tombs became sacral places tightly
bound to the cult of worshiping the ruler. As such, they were
closed, and people had no access to them.
The first name that appears in the written sources of Egypt,
as well as in the tomb in El-Kurru, is Alara. He is believed to
be the first prince and the founder of the dynasty that would
rule not only the Kingdom of Kush but also start the Twenty-
Fifth Dynasty of Egypt. His name was first discovered on a
stela dedicated to his daughter, Queen Tabiry, the wife of
Piye (747–716 BCE).
Even though Alara’s name is written without a title on
Tabiry’s stelae, he is mentioned in the royal ring
(cartouche); therefore, he was given royal status. It seems
that his reign was very long, as later kings would make a
reference of wishing their reign was as long as that of
Alara’s. Traditionally, his reign is considered to be between
780 and 760 BCE; however, there is no strong evidence to
confirm this. Later written sources give him various titles,
and it is hard to discern if these were used to prove the
legitimacy of the dynasty or were his actual titles. He is
referred to as both “chieftain” and “king.” In one of the
inscriptions found at the temple in Kawa, he even carries
the title “son of Re.”
Alara renewed the importance of the city of Napata as the
religious center. There, the temple of Amun-Re functioned
during his rule, and his sister was ordained in that temple.
This is clearly the sign of the El-Kurru chiefdom turning
toward and fully accepting Egyptian religion. They
established the cult of Amun and the concept of this god as
the source of royal power. The sources found in Kawa also
mention that Alara had to fight off opponents who
challenged his legitimacy and the Egyptianization of the
chiefdom. But Alara found powerful ideology in the Egyptian
religion, as it helped him establish himself as the ultimate
ruler. It was this ideology that allowed him to create a new
socio-economic structure and form the Kingdom of Kush.
Chapter 2 – From Alara to the Twenty-
Fifth Dynasty
Alara was succeeded by Kashta, who was probably his
brother. The written evidence is insufficient to claim the
relationship between the two kings, and even their regnal
years remain unknown. But there is strong evidence that
Kashta was the father of the next king: Piye. Since we know
Piye ruled from 747 to 716 BCE, we can hypothesize the
ruling years of the previous two kings. It is believed that
Alara ruled somewhere between 780 and 860 and Kashta
between 760 and 747/4 BCE.
During the reign of Kashta, the authority of the Kingdom of
Kush extended from the Butana region in the south to Lower
Nubia in the north. This suggests that the kingdom was
already a very complex state. The Egyptian religion was
already adopted, and the official Nubian cult of Amun was
established. Both Alara and Kashta most likely married their
sisters, but this is debatable. It is possible the marriages, if
they even took place, were of a sacred nature. Alara
elevated his sister to the position of a priestess of Amun to
create a system of royal succession and to implement the
idea of rulers being divine in the minds of the people. This
way, the Kushite tradition of succession was similar to the
already existing Egyptian one. With it came the concept of
kingship and the role of a sister, who was the bride of Amun.
Since Amun was a symbol of kingship, it is easy to mistake
the marriage to Amun with a marriage to the king.
However, the question remains: why did the Kushites go
back to Egyptian traditions after enjoying centuries of
independence? The simplest answer lies in the geographical
position of the newly established Kingdom of Kush. Since it
lay on very important trade routes and produced much gold,
Egypt was constantly interested in Kush. Scholars theorize
that by allowing Egyptianization once more, the Kushite
kings avoided being conquered directly. Through careful
diplomacy, they managed to keep their independence, even
if it meant adopting their northern neighbor’s cultural and
religious practices. Trade agreements brought about
numerous Egyptian items for everyday use in Kushite lives.
This meant the Kush had constant contact with Thebes,
from which it slowly adopted the Egyptian religion and the
cult of Amun.
Egypt continued to consider Nubia its tributary state, and
some conflict occurred, as they expected a yearly tribute
payment. When the Kushite kings failed to deliver, the
Egyptians would send military expeditions to seize the
expected tribute. Egypt even kept the title of viceroy of
Kush until 750 BCE, even though it wasn’t a formal office. It
was, in fact, limited to administering the areas of Lower
Nubia, such as Thebes and Elephantine. But the
disappearance of the viceregal office came about during the
rule of King Kashta. The stela found in the Khnum (or
Chnum) temple describes Kashta as the “King of Upper and
Lower Egypt” and “Son of Re, Lord of Two Lands.” The name
Kashta can be translated as “The Kushite,” and it is quite
probable the king adopted this name once he started ruling
in Egypt.
But what happened to the Egyptian rulers, and how did the
king of Kush take over the rule seemingly without effort?
Since the middle of the 8 th century, Egypt underwent a
process of fragmentation. Even though the official ruler was
Smendes’s Twenty-First Dynasty (1077/1076–1052 BCE),
High Priest of Amun Herihor’s descendants rose to power as
the regents of Middle and Upper Egypt. Since each party
had its own followers, the kingdom was divided between the
pharaoh and the high priests, who also took royal titles in
order to rule the lands. To mend the wounds of the political
divide, the royal family agreed to transfer power to Libyan
chiefs through official marriages. The Twenty-Second
Dynasty was founded by the Libyan men who possessed
high-ranking offices in the Egyptian court and were allowed
to marry into the royal family.
Even though nothing changed in the administrative
structure of the kingdom, Libyans brought changes to the
social structure of the Egyptians. They valued ancestry,
descent, and belonging to the clan. These values continued
to shake the very foundations of Egypt’s centralized
bureaucratic system. In fact, over the next two centuries,
decentralization became a type of government. The clans or
leading families were given much more political influence,
and individuals started rising to power, especially in Lower
Egypt. The Western Delta of the Nile was dominated by the
Libyan chiefs as well, while the Eastern Delta belonged to
the remaining two branches of the Twenty-Second Dynasty’s
family members.
Even though the state was politically fragmented, it did not
fall into chaos. Everyday life for a commoner continued, and
the old quarrels with neighbors had to be maintained. In
fact, Egypt was based on a model of polyarchy, meaning the
different powerful leaders divided the rule between
themselves. With it, the administration was divided,
diminishing the centralized state. But the fragmentation
didn’t bother Egypt’s economy. It seems that
decentralization allowed each region to develop separately
from the others, and the economy thrived everywhere.
However, this system of polyarchy couldn’t last for long.
Sooner or later, there would be an individual wanting all the
power for himself. In around 836 BCE, the remaining
members of the Twenty-Second Dynasty were expelled from
Thebes, where they ruled, and the Twenty-Third Dynasty
started a civil war. Through conflict, they gained full control
of Upper Egypt. To secure the legitimacy of the new royal
line, they installed Shepenwepet I, the daughter of Pharaoh
Osorkon III, as the God’s Wife of Amun. This title would
prove to be very important for the peaceful transition of
Egypt into the hands of the Kushite kings.
To keep the ideology of national unity, even during the time
of the division of Egypt into a polyarchy, the new office of
Divine Adoratrice of God’s Wife of Amun of Thebes was
introduced. People needed to believe that the kingship was
still sacred and that the unity of the whole nation came from
the coexistence and coregency of the god Amun, the
pharaoh, and the high priest. The installation of the God’s
Wife had a purpose of legitimizing the succession, as she
was seen as the mother of the king, who was the son of a
god. The title of God’s Wife of Amun was reserved for the
royal princess, and she would take up the role of the main
priestess of the Amun cult. The title brought legitimacy to
her family, as well as to the control over Thebes and its
surroundings.
Shepenwepet I was the only “God’s Wife of Amun of
Thebes” who was also a ruler. She controlled all of Upper
Egypt, which was considered the realm of Amun. Instead of
settling for the non-ruling title of queen, she adopted the
names “Lord of Two Lands” and “Lord of Appearances.” But
due to the diplomatic relations, Shepenwepet had to adopt
the daughter of a Kushite king into her office of God’s Wife.
Amenirdis, the daughter of King Kashta, became the
presumptive Divine Adoratrice, the one who would inherit
the titles from Shepenwepet I. This diplomatic tactic secured
Kashta with the means to take over the territories in Egypt
without open conflict.
There is no written or archaeological evidence that proves
there were violent conflict moments before Kashta’s
takeover of Egypt. In fact, there is more evidence to support
the theory of a peaceful transition to Kushite rule. The
descendants of Pharaoh Osorkon III, Takelot III, and
Rudamun continued to live freely in Thebes. Even more,
they were of high social status, and once they died, they
were buried with honors. If they were the enemies of
Kashta, the Kushite king would not allow them any honors.
The members of the Twenty-Third Dynasty continued to live
and prosper peacefully under the Kushite rule. This can only
be explained by the decision Rudamun made, which was to
withdraw from Thebes to Heracleopolis and rule there, even
if this city was already under the control of Thebes.
All of the evidence supports the idea of a peaceful transition
of the rule. The previous ruler retreated without conflict,
securing his family members’ high social status. The
installation of Amenirdis I as the Divine Adoratrice may have
been just a formality to legitimize this transition of power,
but it may also have started it. But what actually triggered
the Egyptian rulers to hand down all their power to the
Kushite king? There is a hypothesis that Egypt faced a
serious threat from their western neighbors, the Libyan
chiefs, who sought to extend their territories. However, to
the south of Egypt, a new force came to power: the Kingdom
of Kush. Egypt was suddenly in between two potential
invaders, and its only solution was to turn to the more
peaceful neighbor as an ally. Egypt made the alliance with
the Kingdom of Kush in order to fight off the Libyans. But
the price was very high, as it cost the Egyptians their
kingdom.
To support this hypothesis, there are remains of Kushite
garrisons in Egypt that date from Kashta’s reign. They were
positioned to protect Egypt from an attack from the west.
After the danger passed, they continued to function,
probably to assert Kashta’s authority in the region. It seems
that it wasn’t the pharaohs of the Twenty-Third Dynasty who
came up with the idea of handing the rule over to the
Kushites. It was the powerful priesthood of Amun who saw it
as the only solution to the country’s problem, and they
forced it upon their kings. To promote Kashta as a ruler, he
was given the title “The Possessor of Truth,” which was
modeled on the Twelfth Dynasty, the dynasty that restored
order to the state. By bearing their titles, the priesthood
wanted to make a connection between the king of Kush and
order, which would please the people of Egypt. Kashta was
now represented as the king who would bring peace and
prosperity to his subjects, and thus, the transition of power
was smooth.
Whatever written sources we have that date from the period
of Kashta’s rule are not enough to gain an insight into what
the political and social systems of both Kush and Egypt were
like. Even in Napata, the remains that date to this period
remain unexcavated. We can only hazard a guess that it was
the political contacts Kashta had with Egypt before he
became pharaoh that brought about the quick
Egyptianization of the Kushite elite families. The newly
created necropolis in Butana (the southern regions of Kush)
offers evidence for the switch to Egyptian culture. The
archaeological remains also prove the introduction of the
Egyptian tradition of coffin burials. The many Egyptian items
found in the necropolis likewise speak as proof of the
adoption of Egyptianized mortuary rights.
These changes were also introduced to the old necropolis at
El-Kurru. However, in El-Kurru, we can find even more proof
of quick Egyptianization. The temples built for the newly
introduced cults were in the Egyptian style, and they
employed the professional personnel of the Theban Amun
cult temples. The newly established temples became
cultural centers from which the Egyptianization of native
cults spread over the Kingdom of Kush. They brought
Egyptian scripture to the Kushites, which became the main
means of articulation for the ideology of kingship and
religion. The progressive Egyptianization of the Kingdom of
Kush doesn’t necessarily mean a quick end of the native
culture. In fact, the indigenous structures and items were
tolerated, and the two cultures peacefully coexisted for
quite some time.
King Piye (747–716 BCE)
King Kashta died in around 747 and was buried in El-Kurru,
according to the Egyptian traditions. He was succeeded by
Piye, who continued the Kushite policy of Egyptianization.
The new king assumed the titles that belonged to Pharaoh
Thutmose III of the Eighteenth Dynasty (1479–1425 BCE).
He did this in order to bind himself to the already known
system of Egyptian kingship and to prepare the society for a
change, as he decided to move his capital from Thebes to
Napata. This is strongly suggested by the title Thutmose III
assumed, “The Strong Bull Appearing in Thebes,” which Piye
changed to “The Strong Bull Appearing in Napata.”
Another symbolic reason for adopting the titles that
belonged to Thutmose III is that this particular pharaoh
managed to conquer the lands of Kush during his last regnal
years. And now, Piye was the one who was conquering
Egypt.
In Piye’s third regnal year, a monument with a very
important inscription was erected in Napata. It is known as
the Sandstone Stela of the Amun temple, and it contains the
king’s speech, in which he pronounces himself a legitimate
ruler of Egypt and the overlord of all the princes and chiefs
who occupied his state. He acknowledged the sacred need
of tradition to expand the lands he ruled, but he also
accepted the status quo of Egypt’s contemporary political
scene. Egypt was ruled by various chiefs, and Piye was
willing to tolerate them as long as they acknowledged his
supremacy and paid him tribute.
In his fourth regnal year, Piye traveled to Thebes to bring
the offerings to a god, probably Amun. There, he took part
in the Opet ritual, which was performed to renew someone’s
rule. Since Piye did this ritual in the presence of his army, it
is presumed he was in conflict with some of the Theban
rulers and that he ended this conflict with a victory. It is also
possible that Piye came to help defend Thebes, which was
under attack by the western chiefs who sought to expand
their territories. It is already known that the enemy of
Thebes at that time was Osorkon of Sais, who started
expanding his domain of influence in 750 BCE.
There are no records of Piye for the next fifteen years, so it
is not known how the Kushite king reacted to the Assyrian
threat on Lower Egypt from 744 until 732 BCE. At that time,
Neo-Assyrian ruler Tiglath-Pileser III conquered almost the
whole known world, reaching as far as Gaza, where he
appointed a chief, Idibi'ilu of an Arab tribe, to the position of
“Gatekeeper of Egypt.” This appointment was a sign that
the Assyrian king recognized Egypt as a threat and that his
vassals were ready to defend Assyrian interest in Palestine.
However, no Egyptian sources survive to inform us of Piye’s
reaction to these events.
It seems that Piye’s double kingdom (Kush and Middle
Egypt) went through a series of changes that strengthened
military, economic, and social power. The cultural
integration between the two halves of the kingdom
continued undisrupted, and Kush went on with its intention
to accept all aspects of the Egyptian culture, from religion
and mortuary rights to art, literacy, and everyday life. The
kingdom was politically very stable and was ready to face
the coalition that rose in the west of Egypt. There, Tefnakht,
Prince of Sais, gathered allies and proclaimed himself the
“Great Chief of the West.” Tefnakht took over Memphis,
which Piye did not protest. In fact, Piye recognized the
domain of the western prince until he learned about the
coalition between Tefnakht of Sais and the king of
Hermopolis. Their plan was to attack Heracleopolis, a city
that stood between Piye’s Middle Egypt and the Western
Delta.
Taking this city would be a direct threat to Piye’s rule, and
even though he didn’t react when the coalition forces took
over Heracleopolis, he couldn’t allow them to subdue the
chiefs of the surrounding areas, as this would give them too
much power. To stop them, Piye sent the Kushite army
stationed in Thebes to attack Hermopolis, where Nimlot
ruled. The two armies first clashed at Heracleopolis, in
which Tefnakht lost the battle and retired to Hermopolis.
Then the Kushites besieged the city, and Piye took over
personal control of his army.
Nimlot of Hermopolis surrendered, and Piye managed to
enter the city in triumph. There, he received the surrender
of local chiefs, whose territories opened the way to
Memphis. After a brief siege, Memphis also fell, and Piye’s
reign was confirmed there in the sanctuary of the god Ptah.
Again, more local chiefs came to submit to the Kushite king,
among them the hereditary prince of Heliopolis, Peteese. Yet
again, his kingship had to be reaffirmed, this time in the
sanctuary of Re in Heliopolis. This means that Piye’s rule
was affirmed by the three major gods of Egypt: Amun, Ptah,
and Re. As he progressed toward the east, more chiefs
submitted to his rule; according to the written sources,
there was a total of fifteen. Among them were the
descendants of the previous rulers, such as Iuput II of the
Twenty-Third Dynasty, whose ancestors ruled Leontopolis.
Tefnakht fled Memphis before Piye captured it, and he found
shelter in the Northern Delta of the Nile. He sent a
diplomatic envoy to negotiate with the Kushite king, through
whom he recognized Piye as overlord. However, his
surrender was only temporary. Tefnakht managed to retain
independence for his region in the Western Delta, and as
soon as Piye left northern Egypt for Napata, he assumed a
royal title, calling himself King Shepsesre Tefnakht I.
Piye conquered the northern parts of Egypt, but he didn’t
set up his own administration there. Instead, he reinstalled
the rulers in the conquered cities who swore allegiance to
him: Iuput II in Leontopolis, Peftjauawybast in Heracleopolis,
Osorkon II in Tanis, and Nimlot in Hermopolis. Piye erected
the Triumph Stela to celebrate his conquest, and according
to the written text, he only allowed Nimlot to enter his
palace and speak with the king. The other three rulers were
considered impure, for the stela describes them as
uncircumcised and fish-eaters. This means they were
religiously impure and unable to see the face of the pharaoh
because they belonged to the line of Libyan chiefs.
Piye’s supreme kingship in Egypt was confirmed by three
different deities, and the unification of the north and south
of the kingdom occurred. The Kushite king now took the title
of “King of Upper and Lower Egypt.” As such, he was the
founder of the Twenty-Fifth Dynasty. His descendants would
continue the rule over the united double kingdoms of Kush
and Egypt. But there is no evidence that Piye ever visited
northern Egypt again. It seems he remained in Napata while
leaving the administration of Thebes to God’s Wife
Amenirdis I, who now adopted Piye’s daughter,
Shepenwepet II, as the future Divine Adoratrice.
When King Piye died, his remains were transferred to the
royal tomb in El-Kurru. He was buried in the first Egyptian
pyramid built in this region, and its style was based on the
pyramids of the New Kingdom and the pyramids of previous
viceroys of Kush. It had very steep sides, and the burial
niche closely follows all of the Egyptian mortuary rights. It is
safe to presume that by the time Piye died, the
Egyptianization of Kush was completed.
Chapter 3 – The Rulers of the Twenty-
Fifth Dynasty
Shebitqo and Shabaqo

Surviving Portrait of Shebitqo

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shebitku#/media/
File:Shabatka_portrait,_Aswan_Nubian_museum.jpg
By the year 720 BCE, Assyria, under the rule of Sargon II,
conquered Samaria and Transjordania and was approaching
the Nile Delta, where Piye’s rule was almost at an end. King
Osorkon IV of Tanis was under an immediate threat of an
Assyrian invasion, as their army was stationed only 120
miles from Tanis. Osorkon IV was forced to send gifts to
Sargon II and try the diplomatic way of preserving his rule.
Piye died in 716 BCE, leaving the double kingdom in the
hands of his successor: Shebitqo (716–702 BCE). However,
the kingdom was again facing turmoil, as the Tefnakht’s
descendant, Bakenranef, continued the ambitious policy of
expanding the territory of Sais. The only way to deal with
the increasing tensions in the north was to move the capital
from Kush’s Napata to Egypt’s Memphis.
However, it turned out that Bakenranef wasn’t difficult to
deal with. Shebitqo managed to crush his forces and kill the
king of Sais within the first two years of his reign. In the next
four years, the Kushite king managed to capture all of Sais,
as well as the region of Pharbaitos, where he restored the
security of the kingdom’s border. Although the Kushite kings
were leaning toward the old centralized government of
Egypt, they realized the dangers the kingdom fragmenting if
any of the local dynasties happened to grab too much
power. This is why the Kushite pharaohs decided to allow
local dynasties to exist under the authority of a governor.
At this point, Shebitqo only had to deal with Assyria, and it
seems he was lucky in that political field too. In around 712
BCE, Iamani, the ruler of Ashdod (a city in Israel), rebelled
against Sargon II, and it seems he wanted Egypt’s
collaboration. To negotiate the possible alliance with
Shebitqo, Iamani sent him gifts. However, the alliance never
occurred, and the Kushite king never sent military help to
Ashdod. Instead, Iamani fled once the Assyrians
approached, and he was received as an asylum seeker in
Shebitqo’s court. There, he stayed for some time, but as
soon as Assyria represented a serious threat to Egypt,
Shebitqo extradited Imani to preserve the good relations
with the superior empire. But there is some evidence that
supports the hypothesis that during Imani’s time at
Shebitqo’s court, it was Shebitqo’s successor, Shabaqo, who
delivered the ruler of Ashdod to Sargon II.
Now that the double kingdom had entered a period of
peace, Shebitqo concentrated on the neglected Egyptian
royal custom of building temples. However, his goal wasn’t
only to culturally and religiously enrich his state. He wanted
to consolidate the Twenty-Fifth Dynasty’s power over the
kingdom through the installation of royal cults all over the
country. The dynasty already had its legitimacy guaranteed
by the God’s Wife of Amun, Shepenwepet II, but Shebitqo
felt the need to elevate his own son, Haremakhet, to the
position of High Priest of Amun of Thebes. This title had
fallen into oblivion half a century earlier, and through the
installation of the pharaoh’s son, it was resurrected and
made hereditary. It is possible that Shebitqo had no
daughters to elevate to the position of Divine Adoratrice,
and to confirm the legitimacy of his rule, he reopened the
institution of the High Priest of Amun.
Shebitqo also needed to confirm his legitimacy because he
succeeded Piye according to the Kushite collateral
succession rights, as he was more than likely the brother of
the previous king. But this wasn’t the patrilineal succession
model recognized in Egypt, and therefore, he needed to
legitimize his kingship. In the next years of Shebitqo’s rule,
he introduced Kushite priests to Thebes. The new
appointments, such as the Fourth Prophet of Amun and
Mayor of Thebes, allowed Kushite dignitaries to enter the
high social circles of Egypt. Intermarriages naturally
followed, and Thebes became the center of Nubian and
Egyptian social life.
Although Shebitqo moved the capital to Memphis, temple
building didn’t occur there. This is probably because the
move was pushed by military needs. But something else
was happening in this city on a cultural scale. As a new
capital, Memphis needed to be connected to the kingship,
and thus, new myths about the region were created.
Memphis was now seen as the birthplace of the pharaohs
and the original place of the creation of the whole world.
The Shabaqo Stone, an Egyptian relic from Memphis,
describes the creation of the world by the god Ptah. As a
patron of artists and craftsmen, Ptah was the ultimate
creator who crafted the whole universe and life in it. This
part of the text of the Shabaqo Stone is known as the
“Memphite Theology.”
Shebitqo died in his new capital after fifteen years of rule.
Like his predecessors, he was buried at El-Kurru in the
Kingdom of Kush. His successor was his son, Shabaqo (702–
690 BCE), who is famous for his clash with the Assyrian
Empire. It occurred shortly after the new king’s coronation.
The army of Kush was summoned and placed under the
command of Taharqo, who would succeed Shabaqo. It is
speculated that the new king had no male offspring, so he
decided to elevate Taharqo to the position of his heir
apparent. The Egyptian tradition says the crown prince was
to take control of the kingdom’s expeditionary army, and
Shabaqo proclaimed him the commander-in-chief
accordingly.
By 704 and 703 BCE, a coalition between the Phoenicians
and Philistines against the Assyrian Empire already existed,
and it seems Shabaqo decided to support this alliance. He
sent his army to meet the forces of Sennacherib, the
successor of Sargon II. The battle occurred probably around
701 BCE at Eltekeh (Israel), and the Egyptian-Kushites,
under the leadership of their crown prince, were beaten.
However, this battle could be interpreted as an Egyptian-
Kushite victory even though the army was destroyed. This is
due to the fact that Sennacherib retreated to Philistia after
this battle, and Shabaqo continued to peacefully rule until
the end of his days.
Scholars couldn’t agree for quite some time whether
Shabaqo or Shebitqo ruled first. This is because the carbon-
dating of the items belonging to the two kings gave
approximately the same results. After all, they ruled in a
short span of time. So, scholars had to turn to written
sources to solve this dilemma. In the past, it was believed
that Shabaqo ruled before Shebitqo; however, modern
findings seem to favor the opposite theory. One of these
findings is the depiction of Shepenwepet I, God’s Wife of
Amun, performing the religious rites in the Amun temple.
This depiction was created during the rule of Shebitqo, while
the ones with similar scenes that contain the rites
performed by Amenirdis I were created during the rule of
Shabaqo. From the textual evidence, we know Shepenwepet
I was the God’s Wife of Amun before Amenirdis; therefore, it
is only logical to conclude that Shebitqo ruled before
Shabaqo.
Another piece of evidence that would speak in favor of the
Shebitqo-Shabaqo rule is the shape of the tombs they were
buried in. While they are stylistically common for Egypt of
that period, the one in which Shebitqo was buried looks
closer to the tomb of Piye. Shabaqo’s tomb, on the other
hand, looks much like Taharqo’s, the tomb of his successor.
This is a clear indication that the styles changed over time,
and within just a few generations, the differences could be
seen.
Taharqo

Taharqo depicted as a sphinx

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2e/Sphin
xOfTaharqa.jpg
Like his predecessors of Kushite origin, Shabaqo was buried
in El-Kurru. Taharqo became the king of the double kingdom,
and he was crowned in Memphis in 690 BCE. As his
predecessors had no male hairs of mature age, Taharqo, the
son of Piye, was chosen to rule. In Egypt, it wasn’t unheard
of to have a child pharaoh, and Shabaqo did have a younger
brother named Tanwetamani (Tantamani) who he could have
installed as the heir apparent instead of Taharqo. However,
it seems the immediate danger of a war with the Assyrian
Empire led to the decision of a mature prince taking the
throne. At the time, Tanwetamani was just an infant, and he
couldn’t lead the army. Also, Taharqo was the son of Piye, a
king who had united the north and south of the Egyptian
kingdom.
In the first seventeen years, Taharqo ruled in peace, and he
was able to bring prosperity to the double kingdom. Trade
continued to bloom, and the economy got stronger. The
construction of new temples was the main cultural
occupation of the kingdom at the time, and they were
erected both in Kush and Egypt. But all the building
activities were concentrated in the cities, which were the
administrative centers of the region. This means the new
king sought to consolidate a centralized government. The
scale of the building projects in Memphis and Thebes was
monumental. Even timber, such as cedar, juniper, and
acacia, which are of Asian origin, was introduced. This
speaks of the possible opening of new trade routes and the
economic power of the double kingdom.
Special attention was given to building new temples in
Napata, which resembled the old ones in Karnak. The sacred
mountain Gebel Barkal, with its ninety-meter high cliffs that
hang above the Nile, was perfect for erecting new, curiously
shaped temples dedicated to Amun. After all, it was said this
god lived at the top of the mountain, and so, it was only
natural to build a temple at its foot. There, Taharqo carved a
separate small inner chamber that contained his cartouche
titles and a text dedicated to a triumph (however, it is
unreadable today).
Besides temple building in Napata, Taharqo dedicated the
first years of his reign to developing urban centers all over
the Kushite territories. These renewed towns in Kush served
as local centers of government. They were the production
and redistribution points of items, which were sent all over
the double kingdom. They had the traditional form of the
temple-towns with a newly added socio-economic role
based on the temple-towns of the New Kingdom of Egypt.
However, Taharqo didn’t simply build new towns. Instead, he
worked on renewing the existing ones and repopulating
those towns that had been abandoned during the reigns of
his predecessors.
One of the scripts from Kawa mentioned the Libyan
donation of children, servants, and cult items, which
indicates Taharqo sent military expeditions to the western
border of his kingdom and to the Levant, probably as far as
the Phoenician coast. While the donation of Libyan servants
is a clear sign of warfare, some of the items on the list
might have been diplomatic gifts from the Philistine cities,
such as various cultural objects. There are also signs of
trade contracts with Assyria, as the sources from Nineveh
(an Assyrian city in today’s Iraq) mention the importation of
the Kushite chariots and horses.
A statue of Pharaoh Taharqo discovered in Karnak has a text
engraved on it that lists all of the conquered territories,
which are mostly known Asiatic principalities in Egypt, but it
also includes a list of conquered peoples, such as Libyans,
Shasu nomadic people, and possibly Phoenicians. Egypt
probably renewed its presence in the Levant due to Assyria
being too busy fighting a war with Babylon. A stela was
found on the road between Memphis and Fayoum, which
describes how Pharaoh Taharqo ordered its army to practice
long-distance running, while he followed his racing soldiers
in a chariot. This inscription proves that the king had a close
relationship with his army and that he paid close interest in
its training and organization. The Twenty-Fifth Dynasty
brought about the view that soldiering was a divine
profession. The religious connotation given to the army
lasted at least as long as the reign of Piye, but it is possible
that it was a Kushite tradition brought to Egypt. In the
Kushite tradition, the king was seen as an ideal athlete and
hero, whose war achievements were unmatched.
The double kingdom under Pharaoh Taharqo finally reached
a point where there was no cultural, economic, or social
difference between Egypt and Kush. Finally, the Kingdom of
Kush was completely integrated into what used to be the
norm for the Egyptian centralized government. The de-
Egyptianization of the Kushites would be impossible by now,
as the people identified as one. The separation of the
kingdom would come much later, and it would be done by
the Assyrians, whose conquest of Egypt would disassemble
the double kingdom and send Kush on its own way.
The burial sites found in southern Kush that have been
dated to Taharqo’s rule are standing evidence of how far the
Egyptianization of the people of Kush went. Although the
funerary rituals were similar, they were not the same. This
testifies that some form of indigenous culture was
preserved, though the use of Egyptian talismans, the
positioning of the bodies, and the use of Egyptian face
masks are evidence enough that the people identified as the
same both in the south of the kingdom and in the north.
Still, it was a very heterogeneous society with different
groups of people meddling together to create its core.
Taharqo installed his own daughter, Amenirdis II, as the
God’s Wife of Amun of Thebes, and following the example of
his predecessor, he installed his son, Nesi-Shu-Tefnut, as the
Second Prophet of Amun (since the position of High Priest
was occupied by Haremakhet). However, not all the
administrative positions went to members of the royal
family. The elite families of Thebes and Memphis occupied
such positions as High Steward of the Divine Adoratrice or
the Mayor of Thebes. The local dynasties of Lower Egypt
continued to assert administrative control over their
ancestral territories, but they operated only as delegates of
Egypt’s central government. This means they were partly
independent, but to what extent remains to be discovered.
The first half of Taharqo’s reign was peaceful, and the
double kingdom prospered. The king did his duty and
warred to expand his kingdom because it was seen as a
religious obligation of the ruler. But conflict never touched
the territories of his realm, and the people themselves were
not involved. But in 671 BCE, a new Assyrian invasion
began, and Egypt was not safe anymore. It took three
battles on the Egyptian frontiers for the Assyrians to finally
move inward and take Memphis. The sources notify us that
the pharaoh was wounded, but no specific details are given.
Taharqo had to flee his capital, probably to the south.
Memphis fell quickly, and the Assyrians didn’t even have to
besiege it. It was quite odd for the capital to be so weakly
defended, especially since the royal family was present. The
crown prince, Nes-Anhuret, was taken by the Assyrians,
together with some of the royal wives and other members of
the household. A stela found in Nineveh testifies that the
great treasure was taken from Memphis, including 50,000
horses from the royal stables. The Assyrian ruler
Esarhaddon proclaimed himself king in Egypt, even though
he captured only some of the territories of Lower Egypt.
Still, he received the submission of the local kings, chiefs,
and officials, and he even appointed some of his own. The
local dynasties became Assyrian vassals.
The years that followed are remembered as the dark years
in which foreigners ruled Egypt. The Kushite Twenty-Fifth
Dynasty managed to unite Egypt and rule the double
kingdom while times were peaceful, but they showed their
true inadequacy when confronted by a superior foreign
power. Taharqo blamed the gods, saying how Amun had
abandoned him before he could finish his rule. In the
inscription engraved in the temple of Karnak at around 674
BCE, the pharaoh goes to great lengths to justify his failure.
He asks the gods to help him retrieve the lost lands, but at
the same time, he also blames them. The whole point of this
fragmented text was to secure the legitimacy of the Twenty-
Fifth Dynasty and to prove the father-son relationship
between Amun and the pharaoh.
Esarhaddon left Egypt and placed Necho I as the king of
Sais, who assumed the pharaonic titles. It is possible that
the Assyrian ruler gave Memphis to Necho I and that he
ruled as a vassal Egyptian pharaoh. However, Taharqo
moved quickly, and he instigated some revolts in Lower
Egypt as soon as the Assyrian army was gone. In fact, he
caused so much trouble that Esarhaddon had to launch a
second invasion of Egypt in 669 BCE. But the Assyrian king
died of an illness on his way there, and Taharqo managed to
capture Memphis back. It remains obscure if the Kushite
king retrieved Lower Egypt after Esarhaddon’s death or
before. Nevertheless, the new Assyrian king, Assurbanipal
(669–627 BCE), continued his father’s task. He didn’t just
invade Egypt in 667/666 BCE; he also decided to annex it.
In the battle, which took place near the Eastern Delta of the
Nile in 671 BCE, the Egyptian-Kushite army of King Taharqo
was defeated. The Kushite king abandoned his troops and
fled to Thebes. But he was pursued by the Assyrian army,
which had help from the kingdoms of the Nile’s Delta, as
Assurbanipal received the submission of all the local
dynasties between Memphis and Thebes. This discouraged
Taharqo, who had to retreat even farther south. The
Assyrians even received the full submission of the mayor of
Thebes, who was apparently trying to preserve the city and
stop any possible sacking. Satisfied, Assurbanipal returned
to Nineveh, leaving Egypt in the hands of vassal rulers who
were under the strict supervision of the Assyrian army,
which stayed in the region.
But it didn’t take long for some of these local rulers to turn
against the Assyrians. Around 665 BCE, the princes of Sais,
Mendes, and Pelusium turned again toward Kushite King
Taharqo, and together, they plotted a rebellion.
Unfortunately, word of the rebellion reached Assurbanipal
just in time, and all the involved parties were arrested.
Taharqo remained in Kush and was beyond the Assyrians’
reach. For unknown reasons, Necho of Sais was the only one
who wasn’t executed. Instead, he was made a vassal ruler
of Memphis, while his son Psamtik was given Athribis to rule.
It is possible that Sais was strategically important or
economically strong, so the Assyrian king decided to
become politically involved in its dynasty. Psamtik would
later be the founder of the Twenty-Sixth Dynasty, an
opportunity he grasped from his appointment as the king of
Athribis, a city where the heir presumptive was usually
appointed by pharaohs before their installation as rulers.
Taharqo died in Kush in 664 BCE without the opportunity to
regain Egypt as the second half of the double kingdom.
Unlike his predecessors, he wasn’t buried in El-Kurru. He
founded a new necropolis in Nuri, just opposite of Napata.
The End of Kushite Rule in Egypt
Taharqo was succeeded by his cousin, the younger brother
of Shabaqo: Tanwetamani. This succession wasn’t patrilineal
like the Egyptian tradition demanded, but it is possible that
the new ruler was installed by the military and that the
political situation in the kingdom led to this collateral
succession, which was practiced in Kush. Tanwetamani was
born around 702 BCE, which means he was around thirty-
eight when his predecessor died. His age and reputation
gave him the boost he needed among the soldiers to
succeed Taharqo instead of his own son, the young prince
Atlanersa.
After the coronation and recognition as the Son of Amun,
Tanwetamani gathered his army and sailed to Thebes. On
his way, he made a stop in Elephantine, where his rule was
confirmed by the god Khnum. He took Thebes, and he
performed a ritual there that granted him recognition as the
king of Egypt who had been installed by Amun himself. As if
this wasn’t enough, the new pharaoh continued to Karnak,
where his rule was again confirmed by Amun. Only then did
Tanwetamani feel ready enough to begin retaking the
Egyptian territories from the hands of the Assyrians.
The first victory for the new Kushite pharaoh was in
Memphis, a city he took without much opposition. It seems
that at least there, he had the support of the citizens and
the city dignitaries. Nevertheless, he sent a rich war booty
to Napata as a sign of victory, even though the transition of
power was peaceful. After continuing on to Sais, he had to
engage in a battle against Necho. Tanwetamani was
victorious, and Necho, King of Sais, died. The fall of Sais was
enough for some of the local dynasties of the Delta to
surrender. The Kushite king promised they could keep
administering their ancestral territories as long as they
recognized him as the overlord. However, not the whole
Delta was defeated, and the son of Necho, Psamtik,
managed to escape to Assyria.
Assurbanipal received the news of the fall of Memphis and
the death of Necho. He made a decision to launch yet
another attack on Egypt, and the expedition was ready in
664 BCE. Once the Assyrians arrived, Tanwetamani decided
he wasn’t strong enough to fight them, and he fled south to
Thebes. The abandoned dynasties of the Delta had no other
choice but to renew their vassal status with Assyria. But like
his predecessor, Tanwetamani was continually chased by
the enemy’s army, and he had to leave Thebes and run to
Kush. But the mayor of Thebes didn’t manage to save the
city this time. The ransacking and burning of the city of
Amun took place, and it shocked the Egyptians. They saw it
as a bad omen, and they finally realized their society was
fragile and vulnerable. It was the fall of Thebes that eclipsed
any further efforts to regain Egypt, and so, the ideology of
Amun’s direct kingship over Egypt started disappearing. The
first split of the double kingdom happened. While Egypt
abandoned the idea of Amun as the ultimate ruler, he
continued to be the central figure in the Kushite cosmic
order.
The Assyrians decided to install Psamtik I as the sole ruler of
Egypt, and he started the Twenty-Sixth Dynasty in 664 BCE.
To avoid vassal kings swearing allegiance to Kush at the first
sign of trouble, the old dynasties were reinstalled, such as
the dynasty of Nimlot in Hermopolis and Peftjauawybast in
Heracleopolis. Even though Psamtik I was installed by
Assurbanipal himself, in the course of the next nine years,
he expelled the Assyrian army from Egypt and started ruling
independently. In 656 BCE, he installed his daughter,
Nitocris, as the God’s Wife of Amun Elect, which gave
legitimacy to his rule, just as it did to the previous Kushite
kings.
However, Upper Egypt remained loyal to Tanwetamani, even
though there is evidence that he never returned to these
territories again. The political and economic power in Upper
Egypt belonged to the Fourth Prophet of Amun and Mayor of
Thebes Montuemhat. He was mentioned in inscriptions as
the “Prince of Thebes.” It was Montuemhat who negotiated
with Psamtik I about the installation of his daughter as the
God’s Wife of Amun. All he asked in return was political
immunity for both of her predecessors, Shepenwepet II and
Amenirdis II. Nitocris was elevated to the sacred position,
and the legitimacy of the dynasty passed from Kashta to
Psamtik I. Egypt was lost to the rulers of Kush, and the
double kingdom was no more. However, the Kushite court
remained closely tied to the Theban clergy of Amun, as their
ideology still depended on Egyptian culture. Even though
the territorial division of the double kingdom occurred,
culturally, the Kush remained Egyptianized and did not
revert to its previous indigenous civilization.
Chapter 4 – Relations between Kush
and Egypt Continue
Psamtik I began his regnal year in 664 BCE, and after the
elevation of his daughter, Nitocris, to the position of Divine
Adoratrice Elect, he asserted his authority over Lower Egypt.
This means that by 656 BCE, Psamtik unified Egypt under
one rule. But he would not have been able to do so if he did
not receive the help of local dynasties. To gain the people’s
trust, he needed to form alliances with the local rulers and
wealthy families of Thebes. Because of this, the office of
Mayor of Thebes remained in the hands of Kushite
Montuemhat, and the nephew of Tanwetamani, Harkhebi,
remained the High Priest of Amun.
Since Kushite officials remained in Thebes, Kush remained in
contact with Egypt. The nature of this relation was religious
at its core, but it influenced other aspects of the Kushite life.
Some of the Theban mortuary texts were found in the tombs
of the new necropolis in Napata, such as excerpts from the
Book of the Dead , especially the Book of Gates (Egyptian
religious texts for the dead). Amun remained the main deity
of kingship in Kush, and since his temple in Thebes was
traditionally the place where the kingship starts, Kush was
unwilling to cut all ties with it. The direct contact between
the priesthood of Napata and Thebes had to be maintained.
But the relation between Egypt and the Kingdom of Kush
didn’t end with their religious bonds. In fact, international
trade was of importance for both kingdoms, and Psamtik I
encouraged it vigorously. The trade between the two
kingdoms continued to bloom during the reign of Psamtik’s
successor, Necho II, who dug the Red Sea canal to create a
new route to the Land of Punt. To assert control over the
trade routes along the Nile Valley, Necho had to appease
the Troglodytes, nomadic tribes whose territory spread from
the Lower Nubian banks of the Nile to the Red Sea.
There is no evidence of the Nubian importation of goods to
Egypt during this period, but there were plenty of Egyptian
items exported to Kush. These were not just trade goods but
also diplomatic gifts, which testify of the efforts to keep
peaceful relations between the two kingdoms. These gifts
were often in the form of luxury metal vessels, amulets, and
furniture. They were found in the burial places of Nuri,
where the descendants of the Twenty-Fifth Dynasty were
laid to rest.
The decades following Tanwetamani’s withdrawal from
Egypt saw the Kushites building up their kingdom. The kings
who followed had no access to Egyptian building materials,
but that didn’t stop them from trying to maintain the
adopted architecture in Lower Nubia. The kings of the
Twenty-Fifth Dynasty kept the high intellectual, artistic, and
technical standards of their predecessors who had ruled
Egypt. The architecture, arts, and the inscriptions testify to
the unbroken continuity of the Egyptian ideology, both
religious and political.
A radical change in Egypt’s attitude toward Kush occurred
during the reign of Psamtik II (595–589 BCE). He organized a
military expedition to Kush, which reached Napata. While
the cause of this military attack is unknown, there is
evidence of the purposeful destruction of monuments,
statues, and names of Twenty-Fifth Dynasty kings, both in
Kush and in Egypt. This animosity of Egypt would push the
Kingdom of Kush toward the south, away from Egyptian
influence.
The practice of destroying every memory of the previous
rulers is known as damnatio memoriae in Latin, and it
served the purpose of political propaganda. For some
reason, the current rulers saw it as necessary to distance
their kingdom from the Kushite rulers of Egypt.
Unfortunately, the real reason behind this particular practice
of damnatio memoriae is unknown. Scholars speculate that
it might have been the political tendencies of the Theban
Amun priesthood that sparked it. They preserved a positive
view on Kush and kept the relations between the two
kingdoms alive. They possibly schemed to bring back the
Kushite rule, and the descendants of Psamtik I had to react
strongly to preserve their legitimacy.
Over the next few decades, the relations between Egypt and
the Kingdom of Kush would remain hostile. However, the
cultural similarity of the two civilizations continued. The
Kushite kings continued erecting their own statues in the
Egyptian style. Instead of building them in Thebes or
Memphis, they switched to Napata. However, they chose the
archaic style of the New Kingdom; thus, these Kushite
statues remained uninfluenced by Egypt’s contemporary art
trends. This was probably due to the isolation of Kush. With
the relations between the two kingdoms turning violent, it is
no wonder that the Egyptian influence stopped—at least for
the moment.
The isolation Kush experienced after the war with Psamtik II
was finally lifted during the reign of Pharaoh Ahmose II
(570–526 BCE). This renewed contact brought back the
international trade between the two neighboring kingdoms,
and new Egyptian items were imported to Kush. There is
also a document that speaks of a military escort for a trade
caravan traveling south through the Nile Valley. The
document uses the date of year 41 of Ahmose’s rule, which
places it to 529 BCE.
Kushite Kings during the 7 th Century
Tanwetamani was succeeded by Atlanersa, the son of
Taharqo. It is believed that he was too young to inherit the
throne after the death of his father, especially since the
reconquest of Egypt was being planned. Not much is known
about the politics of the Kingdom of Kush during the reign of
Atlanersa because the written evidence is very sparse.
However, some of the most important cultural changes
happened during his reign. For example, Taharqo’s
necropolis of Nuri was again in use after Tanwetamani
abandoned it for one whole generation.
Another achievement prescribed to Atlanersa is the building
of the temple at the foot of the sacred mountain Gebel
Barkal near Napata. This temple is known as B700, and it
attests to the survival of the temple-building tradition that
had been started by the kings of the Twenty-Fifth Dynasty.
The iconography and style of the temple match those of
Atlanersa’s predecessors who had ruled Egypt. Some
scholars believe this represents the constitutional and
political integrity of the Kingdom of Kush, which continued
using the same ideology even after the breakdown of the
double kingdom.
One of the reliefs of Temple B700 shows King Atlanersa in
the typical scene of “uniting of the two lands.” This relief
was originally seen as the coronation rite of the Egyptian
pharaohs, and it was never before seen in the Kushite
tradition. But now, this scene entered the Kushite royal
legitimation practice and became a religious theme. Even
though the two kingdoms were physically distant, the
cultural integration of Egypt’s practices continued.
Except for the temples built by Atlanersa and some of the
enthronement texts engraved in them, nothing else was
preserved, and so, nothing can even be speculated about
the reign of this king. He was buried in Nuri in a granite
sarcophagus, whose inscriptions testify to the richness of
the Kushite traditions. He was succeeded by
Senkamanisken, whose reign is even more obscure. We only
know about his existence because some of his statues were
found in Napata, Kawa, and Meroe. He ruled approximately
between 640 and 620 BCE, and he had two sons, who both
inherited the throne after him.
The first son to inherit the Kushite throne after
Senkamanisken was Anlamani. The exact dates of his rule
are unknown, but he died around 600 BCE. His coronation
inscription found at the temple of Kawa is the first mention
of the Kushites taking an aggressive stance toward some of
the nomadic tribes who inhabited their territory. The text
describes how King Anlamani annihilated his enemy’s forces
during the enthronement ceremony. This passage led
scholars to believe that the excursion wasn’t military in
nature but rather ceremonial. This would mean the conflict
between the Kushites and the Blemmyae tribe (ancestors of
the Beja people in modern Sudan) was staged for the
purposes of the king’s coronation. It seems Anlamani’s
enemy was nothing more than a nomadic tribe living in the
Kushite territory.
When Anlamani died, the throne was succeeded by his
brother, Aspelta. This suggests that Anlamani’s reign was
short and that he had no mature son who could inherit. The
fact that one of his stelae mentioned how he was elected as
king by a group of religious and military leaders proves this
succession hypothesis. The textual evidence he left behind
is enough to come to the conclusion that the period of kings
between Tanwetamani and Aspelta was one of political
continuity, without larger conflicts in the government itself.
Another stela dated to Aspelta’s time, known as the
Banishment Stela, mentioned an internal turmoil within the
kingdom, but the details of this turmoil remain hidden.
Apparently, in the second year of the new king’s reign, a
crime occurred in Amun temple in Napata, for which the
priests were punished. But the more important fact is that
the names and titles of Kings Anlamani and Aspelta were
erased from this stela and another one found in the Amun
temple of Napata. Even the figure of the king was erased
from the Banishment Stela, but it was later restored. Also,
the face of the Queen Mother, her names and titles, and the
names of all the female ancestors of Aspelta were
scratched. It seems that the perpetrator intended to
disprove the legitimacy of not only of King Anlamani but
also of the whole female succession line.
A similar crime occurred in Meroe, where the king’s statue
was smashed; due to this act, the inscription on it is forever
lost. However, not all the stelae of King Anlamani were
destroyed. The Khaliut Stela was later transferred to the
Amun temple in Napata, where it replaced the old stela. The
efforts of King Aspelta to restore Anlamani’s good name
shows that he deeply cared about his brother’s reign. It is
quite possible that the destruction of his predecessor’s
name and image, as well as those of his female ancestors,
had something to do with Aspelta’s legitimacy to the throne.
It is possible that he didn’t have the support of all the
people and that there were some rebelling individuals who
refused his kingship.
The Banishment Stela describes the punishment of a group
of priests who were expelled from the city of Napata and
burned alive because they tried to kill an innocent man. If
the text of the Banishment Stela can be connected with the
erasure of the names of the king’s brother and mother, it is
quite possible that these priests plotted against the king
and were punished for it. However, there is no evidence that
can connect the Banishment Stela with the obvious
damnatio memoriae performed upon Kings Anlamani and
Aspelta.
Burning the convicted wasn’t a usual punishment in Kush,
and it could be a sign of a very severe crime, such as plans
to kill the king. The fact that priests were involved leads to
the idea that there was political turmoil, as the priests were
administrative leaders of the kingdom in addition to their
religious position. This is because only the priests received
enough education to be elected as government officials. The
act of burning the convicted seems to have a ritualistic
connotation and is connected with a crime against the god
Amun. Since Amun was the personification of kingship, it is
easy to conclude that the punished priests tried to
overthrow the legitimate king.
Psamtik II and the Nubian Campaign
One of the most important events that occurred during the
reign of Kushite King Aspelta is certainly the Egyptian
military campaign in Nubia. In 593 BCE, Egyptian Pharaoh
Psamtik II led his forces against the Kingdom of Kush. The
records of this expedition were found on several stelae
across Egypt, but the best-preserved text of the pharaoh’s
triumph was discovered on the Egyptian-Kushite border at
Shellal, near Aswan.
The conflict between Egypt and Kush was initiated by
Psamtik II, and he precisely planned it, even down to the
battle itself occurring when the waters of the First and
Second Cataracts were sailable. The pharaoh planned it this
way so he could quickly transport his army to Kush. As soon
as the Egyptians arrived at Pnubs, the battle started. Pnubs
is often referred to in the Kushite enthronement texts, but
its real location is a source of speculation. Some believe it
could be identified as Tabo on the island of Argo, while
others believe that it was the ancient site of the city of
Kerma. However, the Egyptian sources describe this
territory as “the hill country of Pnubs,” and neither ancient
Kerma nor Tabo match this description. A third hypothesis
about the location of Pnubs claims that it was the
impassable region of the Third Cataract.
Either way, if it is true the battle occurred at the site of the
Third Cataract, it means the terrain itself was not suitable
for the usage of cavalry, for which the Egyptian military was
famous. Nevertheless, the pharaoh ordered an attack and
was victorious. The texts describe the enemy fleeing the
battlefield, as well as the capture of around 4,000 prisoners.
Pnubs was the place of the first and final Egyptian victory
against the Kushites during the Nubian campaign, but
neither of them mentions the cause of the battle. Only a
fragment of the Tanis Stela speaks of a possible Nubian
attack on the territories of southern Egypt. According to this
source, Psamtik II was in Elephantine when he heard of the
Kushites’ intentions, and he quickly sent an army to the land
of Kush.
After the battle at Pnubs, Psamtik II sacked the northern part
of the Kingdom of Kush and probably reached Napata, even
though the royal residential city is not mentioned in any of
the Egyptian sources. This is why some scholars wonder if
Egypt was responsible for Napata’s troubles or if it was due
to an internal struggle in Kush. After all, why wouldn’t any
Egyptian source mention such an important detail as the
occupation of the capital city of their enemies? But the truth
is, many of the mentioned geographical places in Kush
remain to be located. The Tanis Stela mentions the royal
residency Trgb , which could be identified as Napata, as it
was often referred to as the royal residence.
Whether the Egyptians sacked Napata or not, Aspelta
decided to move his capital to the southern city of Meroe,
where he felt safer from any renewed attacks. Psamtik II
retreated to Elephantine after the victory, and he didn’t
even bother to establish his government in the newly
conquered areas. This suggests that he had no real intention
of conquering the territories of Kush but that he was merely
stopping any intention this Nubian kingdom might have had
of conquering Egypt. The fact that his army destroyed all
memory of the Twenty-Fifth Dynasty, both in Egypt and in
Kush, shows that the Nubian campaign was indeed an act of
resentment toward the Kushites instead of an attempt to
conquer new lands.
Napata continued to exist as a city, and for some time, it
still acted as the administrative and economic center of the
region, even though the royal residency was transferred to
Meroe. However, through time, the region became less and
less inhibited. Even agriculture suffered, as the people
moved farther south, attracted by the rising economic
power of Meroe. Napata, once a strong capital of the
kingdom, was reduced to a town, which would be plundered
once again many centuries later when the Romans, who
were provoked by a Kushite queen, entered the region.
 th
Chapter 5 – Kush between the 6
rd
and 3 Centuries
The next 150 years after the Nubian campaign lacks
archaeological and textual evidence. It creates the illusion
of a sudden decline, as nothing is preserved about the ten
rulers who followed Aspelta except for their tombs. Even
these were constantly plundered, so very little was found
that gives an insight into the Kushite-Egyptian relationship.
All ten kings, from Aramatelqo to Talakhamani, were buried
in the Nuri necropolis near Napata, even though the capital
was moved to Meroe. This means the tradition was followed,
and the continuity of the politics from the Twenty-Fifth
Dynasty onward was preserved. It seems even the
succession line was straight, and all the kings belonged to
the same royal family.
On average, each of the kings of the 6 th and the beginning
of the 5 th century ruled for fifteen years. The titles these
Kushite kings used were the same as all the other
descendants of the Twenty-Fifth Dynasty, but the lack of
Horus, Nebty, and Golden Horus among the titles is evident.
It remains unknown if the lack of these titles was an effort of
distancing Kush from the Egyptian-style of kingship, or they
are missing simply because the sands of time destroyed the
inscriptions of the royal tombs.
During this period, Meroe became an important economic,
social, and cultural center of the Kingdom of Kush. The
excessive building projects started with King
Amaninatakilebte, who ruled in the late 6 century, and it
th

continued through the reigns of his successors, Karkamani

and Amaniastbarqo. They all invested in the Amun temple in
Meroe. Napata wasn’t yet fully abandoned, so the building
projects continued there as well, although they were limited
to the extension of already existing temples.
During the mid-5 th century, the ancient Greek historian
Herodotus described the lands of Kush, naming them
Aethiopia. But he wasn’t the first man to use this term. It
was mentioned in Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey as the lands
inhabited by the “burned-faced” people. The word Aethiopia
itself is a derivative of two Greek words, which can be
translated as “burned-face,” alluding to the skin color of the
people who inhabited certain parts of Africa. But Herodotus
was the first to use this term in relation to the Kingdom of
Kush. He claimed that he personally traveled to Elephantine,
the southernmost Egyptian city that was almost on the
border with Aethiopia. According to Herodotus, there were
two Aethiopias, one that extended from Elephantine to
Meroe and the Utopian Aethiopia farther in the south.
Herodotus explains this Utopian Aethiopia in the far south
produced enormous amounts of gold and imported huge
elephants into Egypt. He describes the people of this
faraway part of Kush as very tall and handsome, and he
claims they lived very long. The existence of two Aethiopias
can be explained by the fluid frontier of Kush and Egypt. It is
possible the various political conflicts of the 5 th century
moved the border between the two kingdoms, meaning the
territory in the north of Kush was often swapped with Egypt.
But why were the Greeks interested in Egypt’s southern
neighbor in the first place? Why was Herodotus there to
witness Aethiopia and write about it? It could be Egypt’s
stance toward the Kush that brought about the interest of
foreigners. Sometime during the rule of Pharaoh Ahmose II
(Amasis II, 570–526 BCE), the trade relations between Egypt
and Kush were renewed. This means Kushite gold and other
trade goods, such as animals and ebony, traveled through
Egypt to the Mediterranean world of Greece. There, these
items sparked interest in where they came from, and this
interest was not only of material nature. Scholars, such as
Herodotus, were also interested in the people who inhabited
the faraway lands south of Egypt.
When Cambyses (525–522 BCE) of the Achaemenid Empire
conquered Egypt and proclaimed himself pharaoh, he
continued his military expedition into the lands of Kush. The
legend even said that he reached the city of Meroe and that
he was the one who named it. But in truth, this traditional
story might be the reflection of an earlier conquest of Nubia
by Psamtik II. During the rule of Persian King Darius the
Great (522–486 BCE), Kush was listed as the vassal state of
the Persian Empire in the emperor’s “peoples list,” a
document that lists all the peoples who were subjects of the
Achaemenid Empire. Before that, it was only mentioned as
the land that gave tribute in ivory for the construction of the
palace at Susa. When Xerxes I (486–465 BCE) came to rule
Persia, Kush was still on the list of vassal states. The
historian Herodotus supports the Persian evidence by
describing the Kushite warriors as fighting in Xerxes’s army
in the Battle of Thermopylae.
As a vassal state of the Persian Empire, the Kingdom of Kush
still had its own rulers. The Kushite interest in Egypt was
renewed, as the old Twenty-Sixth Dynasty that held
resentment toward Kush was now gone. The kingdom was
free to renew the relationship with its old trade partner, and
the old caravan routes were reopened. However, Egypt was
struck by a series of rebellions against Persian rule, starting
in 486 BCE, and Kush saw it as an opportunity to take back
Lower Nubia. This territory, between the First and Second
Cataracts, had been conquered by Psamtik II, and since
then, it was never really integrated back into Kush.
But the Kushite rulers took their time preparing the
reconquest of Lower Nubia. It seems that the moment
wasn’t right until the third rebellion against Persian rule,
which occurred in 414. At that time, Kush was ruled by Irike-
Arnannote (also known as Amanineteyerike, whose exact
year of reign is unknown), who succeeded his uncle
Talakhamani. This collateral succession might have been
inspired by the preparation for a military expedition to
Lower Nubia. The sources claim Irike-Arnannote was elected
king when he was forty-one years old. Again, the kingship
was decided by his mature years and experience in warfare.
Another evidence of his intention to retake the long-lost
territories of Nubia was his choice of the royal title. “Re is
one whose heart is beautiful” was never used before in the
Kushite tradition. However, the only Egyptian ruler who had
this title was none other than Psamtik II, who initially
conquered Lower Nubia from Kush. This adoption of his
enemy’s title almost had the magical purpose of reverting
history. The intention of conquest is also supported by his
other royal titles, such as “Seizer of every land” or “Mighty
Bull appearing-in Thebes.”
Even though the Kushites obviously planned the conquest of
Lower Nubia, and it indeed stopped being an Egyptian
territory by the end of the 5 th century, there is no evidence
of Irike-Arnannote’s involvement in the matter. Except for
his titles, nothing confirms he led the Kushite army on a
military expedition. The Egyptian rebellion ended in 404
BCE, and the kingship was returned to the royal family of
Sais. The new pharaoh was Amyrtaios of Sais, and he moved
Egypt’s border north of the First Cataract, but the evidence
of Kushite military garrisons in this area has yet to be found.
A document dated to the first and second year of Irike-
Arnannote’s rule mentions the internal trouble the Kingdom
of Kush experienced. The nomadic Rehrehe tribes of Butana
revolted and seized the territory north of Meroe, capturing
all of the people and cattle that inhabited this area. The
document describes the king’s prayer for Amun’s help and
how he sent the Kushite army to deal with the rebellion
while he stayed in the royal residency in Meroe. It is possible
that, by tradition, Irike-Amannote had no right to lead the
army, as his installment as the king of Kush was not yet
over. As such, the kingdom was under the direct rule of
Amun, and the army couldn’t be led by anyone else but the
god himself.
Tradition demanded that Irike-Arnannote be crowned in
different locations around the kingdom, so the process of
coronating a new king could take up to a few years. This
didn’t mean the future king couldn’t assume his duties
before the ceremonies were done. It simply meant the
kingdom was directly ruled by the gods in the time period
between the two kings. Irike-Arnannote was crowned in
Meroe, Napata, Kawa, and Pnubs. During his ceremonial
coronation tour, he had to deal with a rebellion of the
Medjay nomadic people, who he defeated easily.
The fact that the new king had to deal with the nomadic
tribes who occupied the territory between the Nile and the
Red Sea speaks about the scale of the Kingdom of Kush
during this period. However, the nomadic tribes and their
way of living were difficult to integrate into the centralized
government. Societies that were constantly on the move
were hard to control, but Kush greatly depended on the
cattle they provided and couldn’t simply abandon them.
The socio-economic aspect of the Kingdom of Kush during
the rule of Irike-Arnannote remains hidden, but it is obvious
that the relationship with Egypt was diminished. This is
shown not only in the lack of Egyptian items but also in the
texts, which are all written in the corrupted Egyptian
language, meaning the education of priests was no longer
relying on the Egyptian tradition. It is unknown when exactly
Kush moved away from the usage of the Egyptian language,
but it is obvious that by the late 5 th century, the Kushites
developed their own language: Meroitic. But even though
they spoke in their indigenous language, Egyptian was the
official language for written documents. However, the
Kushite priests didn’t follow the contemporary trends of
Egyptian writing, but they also moved further away from the
tradition. Still, they failed to come up with their own style,
and the result was grammatically incorrect Egyptian.
Meroitic would become the official language of writing much
later, at the dawn of the 3 rd century.
The Kushite throne passed to Baskakeren, whose reign was
very brief. He was succeeded by King Harsiyotef, who ruled
approximately from 404 until 369 BCE. This king left a
written document in the temple of Amun in Napata, in which
he describes nine military victories he acquired during the
first thirty-five years of his reign. Five out of these nine
victories were against the nomadic tribes in the northern
Butana region. Two listed military expeditions were led to
Lower Nubia, while another two were against the nomadic
peoples of Rehrehe and Medjay, who occupied central parts
of the Kingdom of Kush. It is not clear whether the king led
these expeditions personally, although it is known that
Harsiyotef sent his servant to lead the Kushite troops in a
Lower Nubian campaign in his eleventh regnal year.
Because the rest of the campaigns lack this type of side
note, it is safe to presume the other expeditions were led by
Harsiyotef.
The expedition to Lower Nubia in his eleventh regnal year is
of particular interest. The document describes how the
rebels besieged the town of Mirgissa, after which the king
sent a relief army. But the interesting fact is the position of
this town. It lays beyond the First Cataract of the Nile, which
suggests that by the time of Harsiyotef’s rule, Kush was not
only in control of Lower Nubia up to the Second Cataract,
but it also controlled the territories to the north, between
the First and Second Cataracts. The fact the rebels fled to
Aswan after the Kushite army arrived means that Egypt was
somehow involved in the conflict, but it is unknown to what
extent.
In the eighteenth and twenty-third year of Harsiyotef’s rule,
a war was fought against the wealthy nomadic tribes. Their
main occupation was cattle-breeding and trading. Because
of their wealth, their constant moving, and social status, it
was difficult for the king to assert his dominance on these
tribes. Believing they had some political influence, these
tribes would often rebel against the centralized government,
which didn’t suit their lifestyle. Since a centralized
government meant that all of the power was concentrated
in the big administrative cities, in order for one to prosper,
he needed to stay near them. For people who constantly
moved from one territory to another, depending on the
season, a centralized government meant the loss of
business opportunities.
But it wasn’t only the lack of opportunities that bothered the
nomads. They were wealthy because they owned great
numbers of cattle that could be exported. Naturally, the king
wanted his share of the cattle profit. If nothing else, he
wanted the nomads to spend their wealth in the cities,
where the taxes and tributes had to be paid directly to him.
There are even indications of the kings of Kush trying to
insert special higher taxes on the cattle-breeders based on
their prestige.
The last Kushite king to be buried at the Nuri necropolis
near Napata was Nastasen. He was probably the son of
Harsiyotef, although he didn’t inherit the throne directly
from him. There may have been three kings who ruled
before Nastasen, who were all probably his brothers. He
probably ruled somewhere between 335 and 310 BCE,
although the exact years are difficult to conclude. Since the
lowest chambers of his tomb at Nuri were flooded by
underground waters, it seems there is much to be
discovered about this king. Because of the flooding, the
tomb was sealed early, and it seems that grave robbers left
it undisturbed. Archaeologists are working on it tirelessly,
but many items were destroyed due to the constant
exposure to water.
However, Nastasen left behind a stela with a long,
historically important text, which gives us insight into his
kingship and the Kushite government during the last
decades of the 4 th century. Nastasen’s Stela is his
enthronement document, and it emphasizes the king’s
dynastic ties with Harsiyotef. Because of this, many scholars
assume direct descendancy took place, but there is a theory
that claims that Nastasen would not have to emphasize his
relationship with Harsiyotef if he was actually his son. Since
there is no evidence to suggest otherwise, the belief in the
father-son relationship remains.
Similar to Harsiyotef’s stela, Nastasen’s lists military
conflicts that occurred during the first eight years of his rule.
Many of them were ceremonial conflicts or the end of minor
rebellions. However, the sheer number of them suggests
that the territorial integrity acquired by Harsiyotef had to be
defended, which could not have been an easy task. Lower
Nubia was still administered by the local chiefs under the
condition that they recognize the Kushite king as their
superior. However, this didn’t stop them from rebelling. In
the south of the country, the continuous dissatisfaction of
the nomadic tribes escalated to armed conflicts on a few
occasions. Each time, Nastasen was victorious, and he
detailed all the war booty he gathered. The amount of gold
and cattle listed on his stela as war gains is astonishing, but
considering that the Kushite nomadic tribes were among the
richest people of the kingdom, it is not impossible.
The later years of Nastasen’s rule were probably affected by
the second conquest of Egypt by the Persian Empire (343–
332 BCE), the Macedonian rule of Alexander the Great (332
BCE), and the later Ptolemaic Dynasty (beginning in 323
BCE). There is some evidence the Macedonians entered the
territories of Kush as early as the reign of Ptolemy I.
However, all these conflicts were concentrated around the
Egyptian-Kushite border regions, indicating that it was the
Kushites who were the aggressors. It is possible Nastasen
saw an opportunity in the internal Egyptian struggle during
the early years of Ptolemaic rule and that he led the attack
with the intention of gaining the territories of Upper Egypt.
However, there is no evidence of his success or his rule in
the southern parts of Egypt.
A tale of the romantic relationship between Alexander the
Great and Meroitic Queen Candance is nothing more than a
product of the imagination of Pseudo-Callisthenes, the
author of Alexander Romance . He wrote how Alexander
attacked Kush in 332 BCE, but the queen prepared her
army, and she rode in front of it on a huge war elephant.
Seeing the might of Queen Candance, Alexander gave up
conquering Kush, and he returned to Egypt. However, that
wasn’t the end of their contact. Through diplomatic
connections, Alexander started a romantic affair with her. As
a side note, the Greeks and Romans were wrong to assume
that Candace was the name of this queen. In fact, this was
the Latinized form of the Kushite title “Kandake,” which
would be used by the king’s sister or a wife who was to bear
the successor to the throne. The sister was only appointed
with this title if the king had no wife capable of giving him a
successor. She was chosen as a Queen Mother, and her son
would be the successor to the throne. No matter how exotic
and attractive the story of Alexander and Candance might
sound, the only truth in it was the existence of diplomatic
connections between the Kingdom of Kush and Alexander’s
Egypt.
Nastasen’s successor moved the royal burial place from Nuri
near Napata to Gebel Barkal. This move might have been
caused by the dynastic change, but it is more probable the
true motive was the lack of elevated space for the royal
tombs. As we saw, Nastasen’s tomb was flooded by
underground waters because it was not elevated enough.
His successors were probably aware of this problem, and
because the afterlife plays such a huge part in the lives of
pious rulers, the importance of proper burial grounds was
enormous.
Aktisanes succeeded Nastasen and founded the new
necropolis, where the pyramids, which were far less opulent,
testify hard times followed in Kush. Observing the first
tombs built at the Gebel Barkal site, it seems that the
poverty of the kingdom lasted during the reigns of the next
three or four kings. This poverty might have been caused by
the failed military efforts of these kings in Upper Egypt. The
constant war cost the kingdom, and not even the riches of
the nomadic tribes helped.
The obvious poverty of the kingdom was further deepened
by the Nubian campaign of Ptolemy II in 274 BCE. His
motive for war with Kush wasn’t the conquest of lands but
rather securing the trade routes along the Nile. Ptolemy’s
expedition to Nubia wasn’t against Kush, as he sought to
establish safe trade with the kingdom. Instead, it was
against the chiefs and tribes of Lower Nubia, who posed a
serious threat to the trade caravans. Because of this,
Ptolemy had the plan to annex this territory and renew the
good relations between Egypt and Kush.
In the past, Egypt had lost its supply of war elephants
because the Macedonian successor states in the region cut
it off from the Indian subcontinent. An alternative source of
elephants could be found in the southernmost regions of
Kush, where these animals roamed freely. Even though
Kushites used elephants, their knowledge in capturing and
training them was very limited. Egyptian experts needed
safe passage to the territories where they could hunt the
animals and from which they could transport them back to
Egypt with little effort. Ptolemy had two routes in mind: the
land road along the Nile that led beyond the Fifth Cataract
and a route that would take him along the coast of the Red
Sea. To successfully use either of these trade routes, he
needed to bypass Lower Nubia.
But the annexation of Lower Nubia also meant that the gold
mines of the area would pass into Egyptian hands, and this
was something the Kushites opposed. A conflict was
imminent, and even though Kush lost, it also received
tremendous benefits from it. The trade routes opened by
the Egyptians brought prosperity to Kush, and the kingdom
went through another cultural renaissance. Egypt didn’t only
renew its economic relationship with the Kingdom of Kush,
but it also started importing its own intellectuals and
craftsmen.
Chapter 6 – The Meroitic Dynasty

The Meroe Pyramids

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mero%C3%AB#/media/
File:NubianMeroePyramids30sep2005(2).jpg
Egypt’s annexation of Lower Nubia and its trade contract
with Kush brought new opportunities. Ptolemy’s kingdom
didn’t limit its trade to the Kushite territory; it also went
beyond to African states farther south and the Horn of
Africa. But all the imported goods, such as exotic animals,
timber, aromatic woods, and raw materials, had to pass
through Kush, which means the kingdom had the right to
collect the transport tax.
Because of this trade with the lands in the Horn of Africa,
the southern regions of the Kingdom of Kush started
developing at a great speed, especially the regions of
Butana and Gezira. But the exponential growth of wealth
through trade resulted in political changes, specifically
dynastical change. The story of this change was preserved
by a Greek scholar of the 2 nd century: Agatharchides of
Cnidus. His version of events is often quoted, but it is also
misunderstood. Primarily, Agatharchides was a geographer,
and historical accuracy did not concern him much. Through
his writing, he tried to display the superiority of Greek
culture over the traditional belief systems of other nations.
This is why his story of Kushite politics needs to be taken
with a grain of salt.
According to Agatharchides, the priests in Meroe had so
much power that they ordered kings to die whenever they
wanted to change the ruler. They pretended to receive a
message directly from the gods, and the king could not
refuse such an order. The Greek scholar continues to
describe the people of Kush as simple-minded and ingrained
in their tradition, unable to speak out against the all-
powerful priests. But King Ergamenes, who had training in
Greek philosophy, was of strong enough mind to ignore the
priests’ order to die. Instead, he raised an army and
slaughtered all the priests of Meroe. Agatharchides also
states his own opinion of Ergamenes, saying how he was
worthy of being king because of his determination.
The story is obviously made up to demean the people of
Kush and their traditions, as well as to make a point of the
“supreme” Greek philosophy. The story’s hero, Ergamenes,
had Greek education, and the readers can see the obvious
triumph of reason over superstition. But there is some truth
in the story of Agatharchides. The kings of Kush needed
legitimation from the oracles, and priests had enormous
power in Meroe (though not enough to order kings to die).
The story is also probably right about King Ergamenes
raising an army, but in reality, he didn’t slaughter the
priests but won a dynastic struggle over the Kushite throne.
But who was King Ergamenes? Surely, this is a Greek name.
In fact, it’s the Hellenized version of his Kushite name, so
history doesn’t really know which king Agatharchides wrote
about. The Hellenized name could be a derivative of either
Arakamani (Arkamaniqo) or Arqamani. Because of this,
scholars tend to believe that Agatharchides merged two
kings into one semi-mythical Ergamenes.
King Arakamani is known for separating the state from the
church by attacking the priests in the Amun temple of
Napata. Because of this, some historians are eager to
believe that he was the true Ergamenes of Agatharchides’s
story. But he did more than that. To separate the priests
from the concept of power people associated them with, he
moved the capital from Napata to Meroe. Although some
scholars believe he didn’t move the capital but only the
necropolis, he is still considered to be the first king of the
Meroitic period of Kush.
The fact that Arakamani took the title “The Heart of Re
Rejoices,” which belonged to Pharaoh Ahmose of the
Twenty-Sixth Dynasty, suggests he used the army to defeat
his opponent and climb the Kushite throne. Ahmose was the
only Egyptian pharaoh who used this title, and he never hid
the fact that he was a usurper. If Arakamani borrowed the
title from the usurper pharaoh, it is quite possible he was
trying to say that he came to power in a similar way. Kushite
kings were known for borrowing titles from Egyptian rulers
with whom they wanted to be associated, and it was more
likely no different in the case of Arakamani.
His transfer of the royal necropolis to the city of Meroe
might suggest the new dynasty had hereditary ties with the
south of the kingdom. Even though we don’t know when
Arakamani exactly ruled (we cannot even begin to guess
when he moved the capital to Meroe), it is known that it all
occurred in the early 3 rd century BCE, as this Kushite king
was the contemporary of Ptolemy II Philopator, who ruled
Egypt from 285 until 246 BCE.
The Meroitic period of the Kingdom of Kush is believed to
have started with the reign of Arakamani. Even though the
power was now concentrated in the southern capital of
Meroe, the whole kingdom underwent developments, which
have been attributed to this king and his successor,
Amanislo. The theory that just the burial grounds of the
royal family were moved from Napata to Meroe is supported
by the fact that Amanislo started renovation works on the
royal residency in Napata.
The Kingdom of Kush and Ptolemaic Egypt
The Kingdom of Kush continued its trade relations with
Egypt even though it tried to gain the territories of Lower
Nubia after Egypt’s conquest by Alexander the Great. The
Ptolemaic Dynasty of Egypt, which was a result of that
conquest, continued the good trade relations between the
two kingdoms, and it also renewed the connection between
Kushite and Egyptian priests. This connection brought a new
cultural renaissance to the Kingdom of Kush.
After the death of Alexander the Great, his close generals
fought for power over the lands he conquered. The result
was splitting the territories, and Egypt was taken by
Ptolemy, who proclaimed himself a pharaoh. Ptolemy was
Macedonian, and with his rule, the Hellenic influence began
not just in Egypt but in all the territories in close proximity.
The Kingdom of Kush already shared the religion and culture
of Egypt, and when Hellenism came, it could not resist its
influence. The architecture and the official art of monument
building were probably influenced by Hellenism the most,
but religious concepts and iconography followed. Even the
minor arts, such as pottery painting, succumbed to the
Hellenistic style.
Egypt didn’t remain untouched by Kush. Luxury items from
all over Africa were transported to Egypt via the route that
led through the Kingdom of Kush, so the economic
importance of this kingdom continued to grow. In fact, the
lands of Kush were always a tempting source of gold until,
finally, Ptolemy II launched an attack, during which he
gained access to the gold mines of Wadi Allaqi and
Gabgaba, south of Aswan. The rule of the Ptolemaic Dynasty
also brought Hellenistic scholars, who showed interest in
Kushite culture, religion, and people. However, the kings of
Kush also developed contact with Upper Egypt, where the
rebels who opposed the Ptolemaic rule thrived. It seemed
that Kush was constantly trying to undermine the Egyptian
rule, perhaps because they wanted to retrieve the old glory
of the Twenty-Fifth Dynasty or just to retrieve their old
territories of Lower Nubia, which they succeeded in doing so
in 207 BCE.
The leader of Upper Egypt’s revolt against Ptolemy IV was of
Nubian descent, Hor-Wennofer (Horwennefer), who captured
Thebes in 205 BCE. There, he was accepted as a pharaoh,
and he ruled for six years. His son, Ankh-Wennofer
(Ankhwennefer), succeeded him, and he ruled for nineteen
years before he was deposed by Ptolemy V Epiphanes in
186 BCE. Even though it seems the Kushites supported the
revolt of Upper Egypt, they only did it because they saw an
opportunity to expand their territories over Lower Nubia
between the First and Second Cataracts. However, there is
no evidence to confirm that Kush managed to gain
territories beyond the First Cataract. To further support the
theory that the Kingdom of Kush had something to do with
the Upper Egypt revolt is the agreement between the two
kingdoms, which resulted in Meroitic forces fighting on the
side of Ankh-Wennofer against Ptolemy V. The Ptolemaic
Dynasty did not only regain the throne of Egypt, but it also
managed to take back the territories of Lower Nubia by 172
BCE.
Kush was ruled by Arqamani and Adikhalamani during the
period of Egyptian revolts. Because they are represented in
the temples of Lower Nubia, as that part was returned under
the Kushite rule, the early Egyptologists thought of them as
under-kings in the Nubian regions who ruled under the
pharaoh. It was later, during the excavations in the Kingdom
of Kush, that historians learned they were both great kings
of separate kingdoms and contemporaries of Ptolemy IV.
It is a general opinion that trade along the Nile Valley was
interrupted during the rebellion and the return of the
Ptolemaic Dynasty to the throne of Egypt. Although the
elephant trade was revived shortly after the revolt in Egypt,
it again died by the middle of the 2 nd century, probably
because India started supplying the Ptolemaic Dynasty with
their superior breed of war elephants.
By 150 BCE, Lower Nubia was a separate administrative unit
led by the rulers of Thebes. This type of administration in
this disputed territory continued through the reign of the
Ptolemaic Dynasty and Roman rule of Egypt. The non-
Egyptian citizens of Lower Nubia were ruled by their own
indigenous chiefs, who also acted as Egyptian officials. This
means that the integration of native politics into the
Egyptian administration occurred in Lower Nubia.
The decades that followed the rule of Adikhalamani in the
Kingdom of Kush remain obscure, as there is not enough
evidence to offer an image of the events that followed.
However, it was during this time, somewhere during the late
2 nd and early 1 st centuries, that Egypt retreated from the
southern parts of Lower Nubia. There is evidence from 117
to 115 BCE of Elephantine priests complaining about low
incomes. By the time of Ptolemy XII’s rule (80–58, 55–51),
there is no mention of him or his successors south of Philae
(near the First Cataract).
Kingdom of Kush between the 3 rd and 1 st Centuries
The Kingdom of Kush was completely integrated into
international trade with the Hellenistic world during the 3 rd
century. As a result, luxury items produced in Kush, such as
pottery and exotic animals, were found all over the known
world. But even though there is a lack of evidence that Kush
imported items from abroad (except from Egypt), they were
influenced by the Greeks, mostly on an intellectual and
cultural level. They started implementing the Hellenistic
style in their own arts, and they started developing the
Hellenistic belief system, which was applied to the Egyptian
pantheon.
Trade opened the Kingdom of Kush to the outside world, and
with the wealth and power they accumulated, the expansion
of the kingdom began. This time, it was a diplomatic
expansion through the development of new alliances,
especially with its southern neighbors. As a result of the
overall development of the kingdom, the redistribution of
the people occurred. The rich elite started inhabiting
provinces at the edges of the kingdom because international
trade led them farther away from the main cities. While
domestic trade still happened in the big trade hubs such as
Napata and Meroe, international trade was concentrated in
the fringe provinces, where trade caravans crossed from
one kingdom to another.
The development of diplomatic relations with the south led
people to reside in the southern provinces. New port cities
were raised along the Red Sea, which meant people started
concentrating in the east too. But the movement of people
doesn’t mean the cities were empty. They were still very
much alive, for they were still the administrative centers of
the kingdom, where all the power and riches were gathered
in the hands of the royal family and the priesthood.
In the cities, the temple-building projects of kings continued,
but this time, the changes in style were obvious. The
Kingdom of Kush followed the latest trends of Ptolemaic
Egypt, so the new buildings obviously followed the
Hellenistic structure. Old temples were abandoned during
the mid-3 rd century in favor of the newly built ones. Such a
fate occurred to the temple of Amun in Napata, which had
been built by the Twenty-Fifth Dynasty. Even though it was
still standing during the 3 rd and most of the 2 nd century, no
rituals were performed there, and there is no archaeological
or written evidence that speaks about this temple from that
point on.
During the reign of King Arnekhamani, the royal residence
was moved to Musawwarat es-Sufra. Aside from the royal
palace complex, the site includes at least one temple. The
royal residency complex, which extended over 64,000
square meters, is one of the most important achievements
of the Kushite culture. It is obvious that Egyptian artists
were involved in the building of the temple in Musawwarat
es-Sufra, as it follows the contemporary style of Ptolemaic
Egypt. The cult of Arensnuphis, to whom the temple was
dedicated, emerged as the first known deity that belonged
only to the Kushites. The mythological role of this deity is
unknown, but eventually, it spread throughout the regions
of Nubia that were controlled by Egypt.
Scholars speculate the new deity was needed to legitimize
the new dynasty. The new royal family had roots in the
Butana region, where the aspect of a warrior king was even
more important than in the rest of the kingdom.
Arensnuphis, who is depicted as a lion and human, was the
warrior-hunter god of the desert. But these characteristics
were now attributed to all the gods who were associated
with the ideology of kingship: Amun, Apedemak, and
Sebiumeker.
Another interesting change to the kingship ideology is seen
in the depiction of the royal costume, which was found in
the new temple and royal residency in Musawwarat es-
Sufra. Based on the contemporary Ptolemaic fashion, the
kings of Kush started wearing three-part royal costumes: a
tunic, a shoulder-fastened wrap-over, and a sash that was
tied around the right shoulder and the chest. All of this was
already in use from the period of the Twenty-Fifth Dynasty;
however, the style changed. The wrap-over used to be a
belt, which was ceremonially tied by the god Amun in
recognition of the rule of the new king. Now the belt was a
tasseled cord, which was tied over the shoulder in the same
manner as the belt used to be, but this time, it was
associated with the Kushite warrior-hunter god Arensnuphis.
The economic and intellectual contacts with the Hellenized
Egypt of the Ptolemaic Dynasty brought changes to the
Kushite society as well. New communities started rising in
both the southern and northern regions of the kingdom, and
the development of Meroitic hieroglyphic and cursive
scripture occurred. The cursive writing is of particular
interest, as it was developed to serve the purposes of the
growing elite. Literacy was also no longer reserved for the
kings and the priests. It allowed communication aside from
administrative purposes, and it was used by the provincial
elite, local administrators, lower ranks of the priesthood,
wives, and children of middle-class merchants and members
of the non-royal elites. The cursive scripture became a
staple of the elite society, and it was used in all spheres of
their life.
The first known ruling queen on the throne of Kush was
Queen Shanakhdakheto. Her name was the first to be
written in Meroitic hieroglyphic scripture, and it was wrongly
believed to belong to a king. Her rule took place around the
beginning of the 2 nd century, according to the style of her
pyramid and the items found in; however, the exact years of
her rule are unknown. Her ancestors are unknown, and
there is no evidence that would tell us which king she
succeeded. However, her depiction in the mortuary
chamber, as well as in Temple F at Naqa, clearly shows she
was a ruler. Her title was “Son of Re, Lord of the Two Lands,”
and she was adorned with jewels to show off her power and
richness.
In this depiction, she is accompanied by a prince, probably
her royal consort, who is displayed wearing a Greek-style
tunic and a simple diadem, clearly stating his non-ruling
position. The men standing next to Queen Shanakhdakheto
are shown touching her crown, which can be translated as
the transfer of power to her. This might mean that a female
ruler needed to prove her connections to the dynasty and
the right to rule. It cannot be an accident that the next
ruling queen, Amanirenas (one hundred years after
Shanakhdakheto), had the same depiction in her reliefs.
Shanakhdakheto’s rule offers much to the understanding of
Kushite culture. Not only was she the first female ruler, but
the relief of her mortuary chamber shows just how much the
Kingdom of Kush departed from the Egyptian tradition
during the new Meroitic Dynasty. For example, the funerary
rite of the “neck dancers” is depicted in her tomb,
portraying Kushite customs instead of Egypt’s, which had
been popular up until the 3 rd century. The “neck dancers”
relief shows a procession of musicians and dancers who
accompanied the queen on her last journey to the afterlife.
Another purely Kushite custom is depicted in a relief where
men hold arrows during the funerary procession. The fact
that Queen Shanakhdakheto had a one-part title, “Son of
Re, Lord of the Two Lands,” instead of a five-part title like
the Egyptian custom dictated, shows that the Meroitic
Dynasty truly distanced itself from their predecessors and
Egypt.
The changes that were so obvious in the depiction of Queen
Shanakhdakheto become even more emphasized during the
rule of her successor, King Tanydamani (approximately 180–
140 BCE). During their reigns, human and animal sacrifices
in the elite burial sites occurred. Whether these were
connected somehow with the change in the Kushite religion
or were remnants of the indigenous traditions remains
unknown. At first, during the beginning of the 2 nd century,
the sacrifices, mostly horses and humans, were found in the
tombs of the rich elite. But during the late 2 nd and early 1 st
centuries BCE, they started appearing in the royal tombs as
well. This speaks in favor of new religious practices instead
of the reemergence of indigenous traditions.
The first monument written in Meroitic cursive scripture is
the stela of King Tanydamani. Unfortunately, this scripture
has yet to be completely deciphered. Besides some
theonyms (references to deities), nothing else is
understood. However, these theonyms indicate that the
kingship dogma was unchanged and that the cults of Amun
of Napata and Amun of Thebes were still alive in the
Kingdom of Kush.
The Kingdom of Kush and Rome
The 1 st century was filled with events concerning Egypt. The
kingdom became the Roman province and was under the
direct rule of the Senate in the year 80 BCE, although it had
been influenced by Rome for much longer. For instance,
events and figures, such as Julius Caesar, Mark Antony, the
suicide of Cleopatra and the murder of her son, the kingship
of Octavian, and the first Roman prefect of Egypt, Cornelius
Gallus, all affected the Kingdom of Kush.
Egypt wasn’t thrilled with the Roman rule, and a rebellion in
Upper Egypt occurred in 29 BCE. Meroitic Kush was involved
in it. Cornelius Gaius managed to quickly crush the
rebellion, but to ensure it wouldn’t happen again, he led his
forces on a campaign in Lower Nubia. The records of his
campaign are recorded on a stela in Philae in three different
languages: Latin, Greek, and Egyptian. According to the
stela, Egypt’s prefect was victorious in two battles against
the rebels, and he conquered five cities, after which he
continued to the Nubian region.
The reason for the rebellion was the high taxes in Upper
Egypt, according to the Greek historian Strabo. But how did
Meroe fit in the rebellion? It seems the Kushite rulers at the
time wanted to establish a new border with Egypt beyond
the First Cataract. They supported the rebellion in order to
weaken the kingdom and easily take over the territories
they wanted. This theory is supported by the list of cities
Cornelius Gaius conquered: Boresis, Koptos, Keramike,
Diospolis Magna, and Ophelion, which were all near Thebes.
Cornelius Gaius managed to retake all of Lower Nubia and
make a special administrative unit out of it, just as it was
during the early Ptolemaic period. He did this in order to
block any further Meroitic advances in the region and to cut
them off from their allies in Upper Egypt. A tyrannos was
installed to oversee the region, although it is unknown how
much power this title brought. The tyrannos of Lower Nubia
was probably a title given to a local chief who would assert
control over both Egyptian and non-Egyptian citizens.
The Greek version of Gaius’s victory stela indicates that the
region conquered from the Meroitic Dynasty became a
vassal chiefdom, which means that the Roman plan for the
whole Kingdom of Kush was to turn it into a vassal state. It
is possible Emperor Augustus even planned the annexation
of the whole kingdom; however, this never came to be, due
to the strong opposition of the Kushites.
In the summer of 25 BCE, Emperor Augustus ordered the
second prefect of Egypt to lead a campaign against Arabia
Felix. He installed Gaius Petronius in this position, who was
to lead the campaign against the Kingdom of Kush at the
same time. However, Gaius Petronius was completely
unprepared when Meroitic Queen Kandake Amanirenas
decided to launch the first strike. The Kushites crossed the
First Cataract and attacked Philae, Aswan, and Elephantine.
Egypt was provoked, and Petronius had to quickly organize a
counterattack. By the winter of 24 BCE, Emperor Augustus
received the first Meroitic prisoners, who were sent by the
prefect of Egypt. Strabo records that when Petronius asked
the Meroitic forces why they attacked, they replied they
were angered by the tax collectors. But this account of the
conflict seems to indicate that the Meroitic forces were just
a part of another rebellion in Lower Nubia, not a part of the
direct attack sent by Queen Kandake.
At the time of the events, Queen Amanirenas was known as
Queen Kandake, who was associated with King Teriteqas. It
was only after his death that she succeeded him and
became the second ruling queen of the Kingdom of Kush.
During the conflict with Rome, she resided in Napata, where
Petronius decided to launch the next attack. According to
Strabo, Amanirenas offered peace to Petronius, but he
disregarded it and attacked the city. Napata quickly fell and
was razed to the ground. However, Petronius was unable to
establish Roman rule over the conquered Kushite territories,
and he had to turn back to Egypt. Despite this, a new border
was established at Qasr Ibrim, where the Roman garrison
guarded the restored Nubian administrative unit.
Emperor Augustus soon changed the Roman imperial policy
of annexing the vassal states, so the campaign in the
Kingdom of Kush was abandoned. Instead, Meroe was
treated as a client state, and the ambassador of Kush was
sent to negotiate peace with Augustus. The loss of Napata
was irrelevant to the Kingdom of Kush, as their true center
of power was now in Meroe. Meroe’s opposition to Rome
continued even after Napata was lost, and after only two
years, Queen Amanirenas launched another attack. She led
the forces to Qasr Ibrim, where the Roman garrison had just
exhausted its supplies. But Petronius heard of her plans in
time, and he arrived at the site before the Meroitic army.
This forced the Kushite queen to negotiate peace. Taxes
were imposed on the kingdom, and the borders were moved
even farther south to Hiera Sycaminos, modern-day
Maharraqa.
The territory between the First and Second Cataracts now
belonged to the Roman Empire and was annexed. But the
people who lived there were Aethiopians, and Rome was
smart enough to leave the administration of the region in
the hands of the domestic elite. The whole region was
observed as a military zone, with its civil administration only
loosely attached to Roman Egypt. The area between the
First and Second Cataracts acted as a buffer zone, which
was supposed to stop any Kushite attempt of expanding to
the north.
Queen Amanirenas’s successor wasn’t her son, Akinidad,
who appears next to her in all the depictions. She was
instead succeeded by another ruling queen, but the reasons
for this remain unknown. The inscriptions found in the Amun
temple of Meroe, as well as in Temple T at Kawa, indicate
that she was another wife of King Teriteqas and that she
inherited the throne after Amanirenas because Akinidad
wasn’t accepted as the legitimate heir. We know he was
alive because he is depicted next to Queen Amanishakheto,
the new ruler, just as he was next to her predecessor.
The fourth female ruler followed right after, and she was
known as Queen Nawidemak. She ruled around the 1 st
century CE. Nothing is known about this queen, but scholars
suggest there was some kind of dynastic trouble since there
three concessive female rulers. However, there is no
evidence to support this theory, except that the place of
royal burials was often changed during this period.
The Kingdom of Kush recovered from the Roman attack by
the middle of the 1 st century CE, and the Meroitic Dynasty
led the kingdom into a new era of prosperity, which was
displayed through excessive monument and temple
building, intellectual achievements, and art. The two kings
most deserving of recognition when it comes to the building
projects were Natakamani and his co-regent Amanitore.
They dedicated their rule to construction works and
restoring monuments. To list just a few of their projects: the
Amun sanctuary at Gebel Barkal, Amun Temple at Naqa, Isis
Temple at both Waq and Naqa, a royal palace at Gebel
Barkal, and the later Amun temple at Meroe City. The art
style of this period suggests a renewed Egyptian influence,
but this time, Roman details were prevalent instead of
Ptolemaic ones. Even the throne names of the rulers were
once more written in Egyptian hieroglyphs, but the Kushite
title “Son of Re” remained unchanged.
Chapter 7 – The Last Centuries of the
Kingdom of Kush
In the period between the late 1 st and 3 rd centuries, there
was an explosion in the development of new settlements.
However, this did not necessarily mean an increase of
citizens in Kush; rather, it was a shift toward the new trade
routes and agricultural regions. Caravan settlements, as
well as small agricultural communities, started developing
into urban settlements, much like towns or even cities. This
period is rich in archaeological findings, which help cast
light on the social structure of the kingdom and less on the
royal and political history. The first impression when
observing this period of Kushite history is peace and
prosperity, but this might be false, as the kings were still
valued for their warrior abilities, which would suggest some
kind of conflict occurred.
The distribution of the monuments throughout the kingdom
indicates the government was still centralized, which was a
tradition brought down to Kush from the Egyptian Twenty-
Fifth Dynasty. However, unlike the patrilineal succession of
Egypt, the succession in the Kingdom of Kush continued to
follow its own collateral line. Even female rulers were
attested, and their kingship was seen as legitimate in the
Kushite kingship ideology.
The troubles the kings had with controlling the nomadic
tribes who inhabited their lands were finally solved in the 3
rd
century CE. The kings could finally follow the movement of
the nomads and implement a taxation system on the hafirs ,
the water stations these tribes stopped at with their cattle.
In Butana alone, there were around 800 hafirs registered.
They had artificial water sources and were built as round
enclosures; they were around 70 to 250 meters (230 to 820
feet) wide and 7 meters (23 feet) high. Through the season,
the nomads would gather around these water sources,
which always had a temple attached to them. They
exemplified the royal power over the people, as they served
the purpose of assimilating the non-sedentary peoples into
the culture of Meroitic Kush. One of the biggest hafirs was
the reservoir at Musawwarat es-Sufra, and it could fill a
volume of up to 135,000 cubic meters (around 35,663,227
gallons).
In the regions of Lower Nubia that were still under Roman
control, the non-Egyptian and non-Roman elite continued to
rule in an administrative capacity over the mostly
Aethiopian citizens. One powerful family would emerge from
the elite that would allow the Meroitic Dynasty to take part
in local affairs from the 2 nd to 4 th century CE. In fact,
around the middle of the 3 rd century, the Kushites regained
full authority over the region. The powerful elite family who
made this possible is known as the Wayekiye family, after
the name of one of its most prominent members. This family
continued to be mentioned in Meroitic royal texts for the
next eight generations.
The members of the Wayekiye family held high offices in the
administration and priesthood. Wayekiye himself belonged
to the fourth generation of the family and had the title of
“Chief Wizard of the King of Kush.” He was also the hont-
priest of Sothis and the waab-priest of the “five living stars.”
Both titles represent a certain level of purity that brought
about certain responsibilities. The last title is generally
accepted to mean that Wayekiye was an astronomer, while
the previous two titles are similar to the ancient Greek title
of a prophet. If Wayekiye’s titles correspond to the similar
titles found in Egypt, this would mean that he was the royal
astronomer and astrologist, which further implies he had
excessive education as the “writer of the sacred books.” His
duties were to measure the time, the length of the days
during the course of the year, and to define the length of
night and day over the change of the seasons.
His title of “Chief Wizard of the King of Kush” is of special
interest, as it implies strong connections with the royal
Meroitic Dynasty and with Lower Nubia, in which Wayekiye
resided. The most obvious conclusion would be that
Wayekiye received this royal title in return for bringing the
Roman-Egyptian time measurement system to the Meroitic
court. Wayekiye lived in Roman Lower Nubia but was invited
to the Kingdom of Kush, where he and his wife were
eventually buried. This proves that Wayekiye was the
connection between the two kingdoms, as he brought
Egyptian knowledge to the Kushites. This alone leads
scholars to think that Wayekiye was also an instrument of
political influence.
The other two prominent members of the Wayekiye family
were Manitawawi and Hornakhtyotef II, and they belonged
to the fourth and fifth generation, respectively. They were
important because their titles indicate they were no longer
in the service of the Roman province of Egypt, as they were
proclaimed to be the “princes of Triacontaschoenus” (the
Roman term for Lower Nubia) and “agents of the King of the
Land of Nubia.” This means they were governors of Lower
Nubia who were appointed by the king of Meroe, indicating
that Lower Nubia was again in the hands of the Kingdom of
Kush.
The Meroitic supremacy in Lower Nubia is confirmed by the
lack of Roman garrisons stationed there. The Roman
withdrawal from the region may have been influenced by
the plague, which occurred in around 200 CE, and the
border was moved to the north, to Aswan. Meroitic Kush
took Lower Nubia without conflict, but the area was
constantly raided by the nomadic Troglodytes and
Blemmyae. The Kushites had to set up immediate defenses
throughout the eastern desert and the hills of the Red Sea
coast.
To the south of the Kingdom of Kush, a new kingdom rose to
power and threatened the borders. This was the Kingdom of
Aksum, and it is probable that because of their advances,
the Meroitic kings were forced to expand their territories to
the north. An unknown king of Aksum, who lived at the end
of the 3 rd century, led a military campaign against the
northern tribes and even reached the city of Meroe.
However, he was more interested in establishing a land
route to Egypt for trading purposes. Aksum rose to such
power that, during the end of the 3 rd century, it took over
the export of African goods to the Mediterranean world,
becoming an economic rival of the Kingdom of Kush.
The Disappearance of the Kingdom of Kush
During the late 3 rd and the beginning of the 4 th century CE,
the Kingdom of Kush was an administratively and socially
well-developed state. The contemporary written evidence
offers us a glimpse into the period when Lower Nubia was
under the rule of a royal deputy. The Nile Valley was densely
inhabited with towns and villages developing at an
exponential rate. These areas were under the supervision of
district officials, who were closely tied to the temple cults.
The area of the Kush empire between the Second and Third
Cataracts was under the administrative rule of a local chief,
who held the title sleqen . He resided in Sedeinga, where
rich pyramids were erected for the needs of the officials.
Unfortunately, there is not much evidence that would
introduce us to the governmental structure south of the
Third Cataract. However, the number of settlements and
their distribution suggests that the government of this area
might have been very similar to the one in Lower Nubia.
By the middle of the 3 rd century, Rome was in crisis. Their
economy and government were on the decline in Egypt, and
this influenced the Kingdom of Kush greatly. While the
Roman government of Egypt would be reorganized under
the rule of Diocletian (284–305 CE), the Kingdom of Kush
would never be able to get back on its feet. To the south,
the Kingdom of Aksum rose and seriously threatened the
physical and economic integrity of Meroitic Kush.
Archaeological evidence suggests the Kingdom of Kush
continued to thrive during the 3 rd century, and it wasn’t,
just yet, concerned with the events outside its borders. It
was at the end of the century that the outside influence
began to negatively affect Kush. The disproportional
development of the country is obvious at this time, with the
south deteriorating while the north was rich enough to
thrive for some time.
There is not much evidence to attest to what exactly
happened in the Kingdom of Kush that made it disintegrate.
The first problem seems to have appeared in the south. The
large-scale migration of people occurred when the area was
threatened by the Kingdom of Aksum. But it is only a theory
that Aksum was involved since it was the most powerful
neighbor of Kush. There is evidence that suggests that after
the Kushites left, the southern parts of the kingdom were
not inhabited with the Aksumites but by the Nobatae people
of the desert, whose origins remain a mystery.
The king who ruled Kush during the late 3 rd and the early 4
th
century was Yesebokheamani. It is possible that he was
the king who asserted Meroitic control over Lower Nubia
once the Romans withdrew. There is evidence of his visit to
the Philae temple compound, as there are Meroitic
inscriptions there commemorating this visit. A lion
monument in Qasr Ibrim is also dedicated to
Yesebokheamani, at least according to the Meroitic cursive
scripture.
Roman Emperor Diocletian peacefully withdrew his forces
from Lower Nubia, probably because of the threat posed by
the Blemmyae tribes who lived between the Nile in Lower
Nubia and the Red Sea. These tribes were aggressive toward
Egypt, and they even started an alliance with the Meroitic
Kushites. Instead of fighting them, Diocletian decided to let
go of the territory and concentrated his power elsewhere.
Sometime between the 3 rd and 5 th century CE, the
Blemmyae organized themselves in larger units of tribal
kingdoms. They concentrated their power and presented a
threat to Upper Egypt and Lower Nubia. In order to keep
their territories safe, the Meroitic kings allied themselves
with the Blemmyae against Rome, and to keep them from
threatening the Kingdom of Kush, they promised the tribes
settlements in Lower Nubia, which belonged to Rome.
The last decades of the Kingdom of Kush and the Meroitic
Dynasty are poorly recorded. The mortuary chapels of the
last rulers offer evidence that the kingship ideology
survived, as well as the collateral succession, which was
traditional for Kush. The burial pyramids of the last five
kings speak of the sudden economic decline of the kingdom.
Although these pyramids contained much less in terms of
objects, their architectural, artistic, and iconographic
expression confirms the cultural continuity.
Although not much changed in the burial places of the kings
and elite, a drastic change is noticeable in the houses of the
common people who lived in the large cities of the south,
including Meroe. The architecture in the south started
changing and separating from the kind seen in the north of
the kingdom. The large, spacious houses were replaced by
smaller ones with mudbrick walls and tight rooms. However,
these rooms were all positioned around a big courtyard.
These types of houses were probably built for extended
family members. The difference is so obvious that it speaks
of the occurrence of a new type of habitation that was
previously unknown in Meroe. The logical conclusion is that
it was brought by immigrants who started inhabiting the city
At the end of Meroe’s existence, evidence shows the
temples were abandoned, even though people still occupied
the city. The royal palace was also abandoned, and it
instead served as a burial ground for the commoners, who
placed their dead in the cuttings in the walls. At this time,
during the 4 th century, there was a lack of Kushite pottery,
which means that the local production of luxury goods had
already stopped and was replaced by the more archaic style
ceramic wares. This new ceramic pottery was found in burial
sites that didn’t belong to the Meroitic people and is
considered to belong to the period that immediately
followed the disintegration of the Kingdom of Kush
The last Meroitic burial sites of the royals and elite members
of society are dated to the middle of the 4 th century.
However, new burial styles for the common people, as well
as the appearance of new but archaic art styles of common
items, suggest the existence of two cultures in the transition
period between Meroitic and Post-Meroitic. These two
cultures had nothing in common, and the transition was not
gradual at all. This means the new culture must have
belonged to the newly arrived population who brought their
tradition to Meroe.
In Hobagi, around sixty-five kilometers (forty miles)
southwest of Meroe, early tombs of these rich immigrants
were found. The tombs display all the signs of a tribal
community, which had divided its semi-nomadic people into
two social groups: warriors and cattle-breeders. These Post-
Meroitic burial grounds belonged to the Noba people of the
West Nile regions. However, the Hobagi site needs more
excavations and detailed analysis of the findings in order to
bring unbiased conclusions.
The Nobatae people occupied the regions west of the Nile,
which expanded from the city of Meroe to the north, where
the Bayuda region lay. The Nobatae people were ethnically
the same as the occupants of the Nubian Nile Valley during
the period of the New Kingdom (16 th –11 th century BCE).
The conflicts between the Nobatae people and the Kingdom
of Kush occurred as early as the 1 st century CE, and the first
settlement of these tribes in the Kushite territory was
recorded in the 4 th century by Aksumite King Ezana. He left
behind textual evidence, which mentions a conflict between
the Kingdom of Aksum and Meroe. In this document, the
Nobatae were mentioned as the people who took the
territories of northern Butana and Bayuda from the Meroitic
kings.
Scholars believe the resettlement of the Nobatae people
occurred on the invitation of the Kushite kings. Because of
the growing threat that was the Kingdom of Aksum, it is
possible that the Meroitic kings adopted the Roman strategy
of foederati , binding the nomadic tribes in the service of
the Kushite army with special treaties. But this is just a
theory based on the lack of conflicts between the Nobatae
and the Kushites in the early years of the resettlement. A
similar system to the Roman foederati in Africa happened in
the Kingdom of Aksum. Their kings employed the vassal
tribes in order to fight Meroe in the 4 th century.
On two separate occasions, Meroe was occupied by the
Aksumite kings, which is confirmed by the excavation of two
Aksumite Triumphal Stelae, which were written in the Greek
language. But historians cannot agree whether this meant
the Kingdom of Kush became an Aksumite vassal or not.
Nevertheless, the fact that the kings of Aksum resided in
Meroe speaks about the weakness of Kush at the time.
Aksum may not have been the destructor of the Kingdom of
Kush, but it definitely contributed to it.
The end of the Meroitic Dynasty happened due to an
expedition to Kush by Aksumite King Ezana (320–360 CE).
He left the Triumphal Stelae in Meroe, but it remains
unknown if he conquered the city or came to assist the
Kushites against the rebelling Nobatae people. Whatever
the case was, the Kingdom of Kush was already so weak
that only a few years after Ezana’s presence in Meroe, the
Meroitic Dynasty disappeared.
The last royal burial place at Meroe belonged to Queen
Amanipilade. The tomb itself is of very poor quality, but it
still follows the traditional style of the Meroitic Dynasty.
However, the kingdom didn’t disappear with this queen. It
continued to exist for several more decades, taking up the
territories from Butana in the south to Lower Nubia in the
north. But scholars call this political unit the Post-Meroitic
successor state, and it was governed by the non-royal
surviving deputies of an unknown ruler who resided in the
south.
Around 420 CE, the deputies of Lower Nubia assumed royal
titles and started the Ballana Dynasty and the Kingdom of
Nobatia, by which the region of Nubia got its name. The
Kingdom of Kush was no more. In its stead, new kingdoms
rose: Nobatia, Makuria, and Alodia. They would soon convert
to Christianity, and the old Egyptian and Kushite gods, such
as Amun, Mut, Isis, and Arensnuphis, would be forgotten.
Chapter 8 – The Society of Kush
The excavations performed at Napata, Kawa, Musawwarat
es-Sufra, and later Meroe didn’t just allow us to learn about
the chronology of the Kingdom of Kush, its rulers, and
religion. The cities contained tools, art, and everyday items
belonging to the common people. Based on these, we can
reconstruct the basics of their lives, allowing us to
understand the complexity of the Kushite society.
Through the ambivalent connection with Egypt, with whom
the Kingdom of Kush was in constant conflict, we can
observe the influences the two kingdoms had on each other
when it came to cultural traditions, language, and scripture.
Unfortunately, more excavations need to be done in the
areas of the once-powerful Kingdom of Kush for us to
understand all the nuances of the social structure of the
kingdom. Little is known about the commoners, as they left
no trails behind them. Based on what we know of Egypt and
its influence on the Kushite culture, we can still hazard a
guess, especially when it comes to the Twenty-Fifth Dynasty
and their descendants, the Napatan Dynasty.
The Settlements of the Napatan Period
The first documents from the Napatan period show the
territorial governmental structure and its implementation in
the settlements that sprouted around the Amun temples
and the royal residence. These settlements, including Kawa,
Napata, and Meroe, consisted of Amun temples and the
royal palace, which were made out of stone and brick. The
settlements also contained workshops and habitation areas
that catered to various layers of society. The workshops
were not only for the local production of one settlement. In
fact, they were huge spaces that supplied the whole
kingdom with various items, such as pottery, ceramic wares,
and later even iron tools. These workshops were under royal
or temple authority, as they were not owned by individuals
but by the kingdom. Some settlements had minor royal
residencies instead of palaces, and they also had special
open places dedicated to various temple festivals.
Life in the Middle Nile Region greatly depended on the river
levels and the occasional changes in its course. The main
agricultural hubs were concentrated there, as it was the
most fertile region of the kingdom. However, none of the
agricultural settlements shows any signs of consistency. The
unpredictable flow of the Nile, as well as the political and
religious trends of the period, often dictated the constant
movement of people. Also, the quality of production might
have dropped in some regions as the people moved in
search of more fertile grounds. Unfortunately, there are not
many excavations done on the agricultural settlements to
reach any concrete conclusions of the people’s movement
and the density of the inhabited areas. As such, no
conclusions can be drawn about the size of the agricultural
settlements or their prosperity.
However, the kingdom’s overall prosperity fluctuated, and it
greatly depended on international trade and relations with
Egypt. In previous chapters, we explained that even though
there was a certain amount of conflict between Egypt and
the Kingdom of Kush, the need for the trans-African trade
routes often prevailed. Thus, the two kingdoms enjoyed
various trade treaties that brought luxury African items to
the Mediterranean world. But it was the control of these
trade routes that often sparked conflict in the first place. It
seems that Egypt and Kush were trapped in a circle of
dependency and conflict.
Unlike agricultural settlements, the principal cities and
towns showed signs of consistency. Scholars believe this
was due to the careful selection of their geographical
location, which benefited not just their economic status but
also tactical defense. But the quality of life in these
permanent settlements greatly depended on the political life
of the kingdom. When the trade agreements with the
neighboring kingdoms were in place, the quality of life in the
city was high. But during times of conflict, it was greatly
reduced by the lack of international income. But life in the
city was also influenced by the wealth of the royal family
and the elite of society, which was tightly connected to the
kingdom’s political background.
In Napata, there wasn’t much change to the urban structure
of the city. The only noticeable change was the relocation of
the royal necropolis from the opposite bank of the river to
the slopes of Gebel Barkal. The need for moving the
necropolis might have come from the importance of Gebel
Barkal in the religious rites of the Kushites. No changes in
the structure of the Napatan habitation quarters were
noticed.
In Meroe, the habitation quarters were divided from the
royal palace and the temple of Amun by the various canals
of the Nile. This was probably not done as a separation
between the social classes but out of the need for irrigation,
as the Nile gradually withdrew from the vicinity of the city. It
was this change in the Nile Basin that probably led to the
abandonment of the Amun temple in Meroe and the need
for a new one.
Besides the agricultural settlements and the permanent
capital cities, the Kingdom of Kush was also rich in trade
caravans and military bases. These were seen as
settlements, even though they were short-lived and often
changed their location based on the need of traders or the
defense of the kingdom. Most of the settlements discovered
between the Third and First Cataracts of the Nile were of
this type, and they belonged to the period of Ptolemaic rule
in Egypt. Musawwarat es-Sufra is seen as a special type of
settlement, known as the Great Enclosure, as this was a
temple complex and a place of pilgrimage.
The Art
The Kingdom of Kush adopted its iconography from Egypt
but only its style. For example, in Egypt, the representation
of various peoples occurred, and iconography was available
even to the commoners. This didn’t happen in Kush. During
the early Napatan period, human figure representation was
reserved only for the images of gods and the members of
the royal family. However, there were exceptions to the rule.
Besides the nameless priests, an occurring feature in the
Kushite reliefs, there are also carvings of some very
important non-royal figures, such as heroes or
administrative officials of great importance. Nonetheless,
the representations of important figures never had a cult
significance attached to it.
Aside from the relief carvings of the temples, royal palaces,
and tombs, figure representations of nameless people occur
in the minor arts, such as pottery. But here, the human
figure has a purely ornamental purpose and was not
attached to a specific individual. In the cases where the
human figure was not used as an ornament, it was used as
a personification of the concept of kingship. This means that
humans were represented only as the king’s attendants or
his mourners after his death.
Monumental sculptures were always reserved for the divine
and the royal. The purpose of the colossal Kushite
monuments was to show the connection between the god
and the king. Here, Kush always managed to follow
contemporary Egyptian trends. The early period of Kush
represented the gods with eternally youthful faces and
slender figures, while the kings were represented more
realistically, with facial features with ethnic characteristics.
However, the Kushites never depicted the actual person, as
they were more generalized to the Nubian ethnicity. Unlike
the divine, the royal bodies were muscular, influenced by
the Old and Middle Kingdom art of Egypt.
The best representation of Kushite ethnic realism is probably
the statue of Queen Amanimalolo from the Amun temple of
Napata. She is represented as a heavy, steatopygous
person, but this was not how she actually looked. This was
the idol of beauty among the Kushite royal females, and it
was also a sign of fertility. Because the succession in Kush
was matrilineal, the fertility of the king’s wife or mother was
the sign of legitimating the kingship.
The monumental depictions of kings changed after the reign
of King Aspelta, as they were under the direct influence of
the Twenty-Sixth Dynasty. No longer were the kings
represented as muscular figures but rather as smooth-
limbed yet not thin men. The king now lacked muscles, but
the thickness of his body was a representation of his power.
At first, archaeologists thought the lack of details in
sculptures meant a decline in its quality, but it turns out it
was just an artistic trend that quickly passed. During the
late Napatan and early Meroitic periods, the traditional
depiction of muscles surfaced again.
Art existed in Kush only as a form of expression of religious
dogmas and kingship ideologies. While the ornamentation of
luxury items was common, it didn’t really represent the art
of the Kushite culture, as it mostly followed the
contemporary Egyptian style. Mass production of everyday
clay and iron items were intended for both internal use and
for exportation. However, the luxury items found in the royal
tombs of the temples suggest the existence of small royal
workshops, where the luxury items would have been made
by artists. Unfortunately, many of the Kushite tombs were
plundered on more than one occasion, and there are only a
handful of such items. Because of this, it is practically
impossible to determine if they were, indeed, of Kushite
origin in the first place.
Government and the Social Structure of the Meroitic
Period
During the early Meroitic period, the first signs of the social
division between the north and the south of the kingdom
appear. In the north, between the First and Third Cataracts,
the professional elite arose, while in the south, there is no
evidence yet of any kind of elite. This might be due to the
lack of archaeological excavations in the region, but it is
more probable that the society of the south had different
traditional values. After all, the north was in constant
contact with Egypt and was influenced by it, especially
through the rivalry in Lower Nubia. But the difference in
social structure doesn’t mean the administration of the
kingdom greatly varied in different regions. In fact, the
official titles were the same in the north as in the south.
As for the economy of the kingdom during the Meroitic
period, it was interconnected with the administration,
whether it was civic, royal, or temple administration.
Governmental officials collected taxes, but at the same
time, they were also temple officials who collected
donations. This is because the Amun temples and the royal
residency were seen as two bodies of the same spirit; the
king was a ruler on Earth, but at the same time, he was
divine. Later, we will explain the connection between
religion and kingship in more detail, as they were
inseparable in Kush until the very end, while in Egypt, the
separation of Amun and the king occurred during the
Ptolemaic period.
The creation of the Meroitic cursive script during the 2 nd
century BCE might have been due to the need for a new
administrative direction of the kingdom. Nonetheless, the
new script was primarily used by the growing professional
class of the Kingdom of Kush.
Lower Nubia was under the control of Meroitic officials, who
held the title peseto . He had a role similar to a modern-day
viceroy, and he was appointed from a non-royal elite family.
The title was not hereditary, although there were cases
where it remained in the extended family. During the 3 rd
century BCE, new titles started appearing in Lower Nubia,
and they show the tight connection between Meroitic Kush
and Roman Egypt. The titles were apote Arome-li-se (“envoy
to Rome”) and apote-lh Arome-li-se (“great envoy to
Rome”), and they were reserved for the administrative or
priestly elite of Lower Nubia.
During the late 1 st century BCE, one more title emerged in
the Kingdom of Kush. This time, it was bound to the area
between the Second and Third Cataracts. Priests were
appointed to the position of sleqen , which was a similar
administrative title to the peseto of Lower Nubia.
Due to the lack of evidence, nothing is known about the
lower classes of the Kushite society. However, excavating
the various settlements can give us some insight into the
number of people who inhabited certain regions. It is safe to
say that Meroe, as a royal, religious, and trade center,
attracted people of all classes. On the other hand, Naqa,
which lay to the south, lacks any non-luxury habitats, and it
is presumed this settlement was inhabited only by the
provincial elite. The nomadic cattle-breeders cannot be
tracked through history. Because of their way of life and
constant movements, they left no trails, and it is impossible
to prescribe any archaeological findings to them. It is a
different case with the agricultural societies of Lower Nubia,
though. There, villages consisting of approximately twenty
to thirty houses were excavated. The graves found in the
vicinity of these villages attest that the life for a farmer was
of a high standard. The items excavated both in the villages
and in the cemeteries confirm this. However, the small size
of these settlements suggests the farmers were not
considered to be a low class of society but, in fact, middle to
elite.
South of Maharraqa, a number of cemeteries were found,
which are believed to have belonged to the warrior class.
The items found with the buried bodies are very poor, but
the burials are arranged in close groups, which indicates
some kind of military organization. Unfortunately, these
cemeteries cannot give any evidence of Kushite military life.
The textual evidence always focuses on the king as the
ultimate warrior and never speaks of a regular army. Even
the small number of weapons found during the excavations
of the Kushite sites were always connected to the kings and
were found only in their burial places. Unless more
excavations are done, and more sites are found, the
defenses of the Kushite kingdom and its army will remain
completely unknown.
The succession in the Kingdom of Kush was matrilineal, and
this wasn’t only a rule for the kings and queens. The
archaeological evidence found in the tombs of the elite
confirms that a similar matrilineal line of succession was
followed. The name of the mother is always listed first in the
tombs of the deceased, whether they were high priests,
clerks, or viceroys of Lower Nubia. The mother legitimized
the social status of the individual, but it is not clear if the
elite society just imitated royal decorum or if it was the
generally accepted rule of succession that simply
transcended all social layers.
Social status in Kushite culture was very important, even for
the afterlife. This is displayed not only in the richness of the
tombs of the elite but also through the hierarchy of the elite
gravesites. A peseto was always buried in the tallest and
richest pyramid, which was positioned in the center of the
graveyard, and he was surrounded not just by his family but
also by his subordinates. Priests were buried at a distance
from the pesetos and their families to show the unique
importance of their class.
Kushite Religion and Kingship
The religion of the Kingdom of Kush was polytheistic, and it
was greatly influenced by Egypt. During the first
excavations in the region, which were performed in the early
20 th century, a mistake was made that identified the
Kushite culture as Egyptian. The first archaeologists didn’t
make the difference between the two kingdoms, as Lower
Nubia was believed to be a constant part of Egypt. However,
excessive research proved that Nubia was a specific region,
although it was influenced by Egypt to the point where the
border between the two cultures becomes nearly invisible.
Kush was never inhabited by many Egyptians, as it had its
own indigenous people. But parts of it were under Egyptian
rule, which was enough for the excessive Egyptianization of
the local populace.
This Egyptianization continued once the kings of Kush
conquered Egypt and ruled it as the Twenty-Fifth Dynasty.
Although the Kingdom of Kush started showing some signs
of its own independent culture during the late Napatan
period, it was the Meroitic Dynasty that distanced itself from
Egypt’s influence. However, the constant contact, whether it
was through war or through trade agreements, proved that
the ties with Egypt were never really cut.
The Kingdom of Kush emerged as a successor state to the
Egyptian rule over the Nubian regions. As such, it adopted
the Egyptian belief system. Already existing Egyptian
temples were the foundation for the development of the
Kushite religion. At the capital of Napata, the Great Temple
of Amun was erected during the 13 th century BCE, probably
during the reign of Thutmose III and Ramesses II. This
temple, just as the god it was dedicated to, Amun, played a
central role in the religious lives of the Kushites. Since the
reign of King Piye, this was where all the kings had to be
crowned before they embarked on their coronation tour.
Even when the capital of the kingdom was moved to Meroe,
the kings of the Meroitic Dynasty came to Napata to be
crowned at its Amun temple.
The god Amun was of Egyptian origin, but his importance
was brought to new dimensions in the Kingdom of Kush.
Amun, pronounced as Amane or Amani in the language of
Kush, was of national importance. He was the father of the
kings and ruled above all. Amun was first attested during
the Old Kingdom, where he was a god of the wind. But later,
he merged with other deities and eventually was elevated to
the position of the main deity in the Egyptian religion. When
Amun was merged with the god Re to form Amun-Re, he
became the solar deity, father of all gods and men, and the
creator of the universe. In Kush, Amun was represented with
the head of a ram. This was actually remnants of the old
Kerma culture and their solar deity, which was represented
as a ram. When the Egyptians first conquered the Kerma
society, they identified their main deity with Amun.
The connection between Amun and the Kushite kings starts
as early as the rule of King Kashta. Although he is not known
for having the royal title similar to those of later kings,
Kashta’s respect for Amun is shown by the promotion of his
daughter to the position of the Divine Adoratrice of Amun.
This was the first known event in which a king of Kush used
the power of a deity to promote himself and his dynasty. The
connection between Amun and the Kushite kings began.
From this point on, the kings were seen as the sons of
Amun, and as such, they had their own cults. Amun’s priests
and oracles were able to hear the messages of the god, and
they were the ones who would announce the next king.
Once the new king was crowned at the Napatan temple of
Amun at Gebel Barkal, he would start a journey through his
land to be crowned in each major temple dedicated to this
god. Depending on the vastness of territories a king ruled,
this ceremony could take up to a few years. During this
period, the kingdom was under the direct rule of Amun.
Even though the new king could assume all of his duties, he
was not considered a true king until he finished the
coronation tour.
Other details of the Kushite religion are sparse, largely due
to the fact that the Meroitic language is still not completely
deciphered. Not much is known about the other Kushite
gods, and all we can do is interpret the reliefs of them in the
temples and tombs of the kings and queens. It seems that
other Egyptian gods were worshiped in Kush, such as the
moon god Khonsu, Thoth, Re, Khnum, and the goddesses
Hathor, Isis, and Mut.
But it seems that the gods were not worshiped in all the
regions of the kingdom. The god of the Nile Cataracts,
Khonsu, was especially important in the Nile alley. Lower
Nubia also worshiped Horus, while the south of the kingdom
saw little mention of him. Mortuary tradition was also
adopted from Egypt, and with it came the worship of the
Egyptian mortuary deities, such as Osiris, his sister Isis,
Anubis, and Nephthys. Isis became the wife of Amun in a
later period and was no longer associated with the mortuary
rites. Instead, she became the mythological mother of the
Kushite kings.
As explained in previous chapters, with the rise of the
Meroitic Dynasty, a greater separation from Egypt’s
influence occurred. The Meroitic period saw the introduction
of several deities that were clearly not of Egyptian origin.
However, it is impossible to claim that they were purely
Kushite gods. The influence of their southern neighbors is
possible but not yet confirmed. These deities were
Apedemak, a warrior god associated with kingship; his wife,
Amesemi, the goddess of protection; Sekhmet, the mother
of Apedemak and the goddess of anger and chaos; and
Bastet, the goddess of motherhood. All these Meroitic
deities are connected to the south of the kingdom, while the
north continued to mainly worship Egyptian gods.
Animals also played an important role in the Kushite
religion, and they are often depicted in temple reliefs. Cattle
were associated with the north, where it played an
important part in various religious processions. In the south,
the most sacred animal was the elephant. Other animals
connected with religion were baboons and crocodiles. The
details of religious rituals remain obscure, but from the
reliefs at the temples and tombs, we can conclude that
offerings of food and drink played an important role. Later
on, animal and human sacrifices were introduced, but they
disappeared quickly.
Just like in Egypt, the afterlife was a very important religious
aspect for the Kushites. They believed that life continued
after death, and this was why they were buried with various
items they might need in the afterlife, from jewelry and
pottery to food offerings and even their favorite pets. The
Egyptian feature of the mortuary rites adopted by the
Meroitic kingdom was the erection of the Ba statues. These
were statues of birds with human heads representing the
deceased. Ba was the part of the soul that could travel
between the worlds, while Ka was the part of the soul that
was the life force and needed a new body. This new body
was another statue, made in the likeness of the deceased so
the life force could recognize its owner. There was even a
third part of the soul that, after death, traveled to unite with
the gods.

Conclusion
Although it is often overlooked and greatly misunderstood,
the Kingdom of Kush was, without a doubt, a major power in
the ancient world. It was the southern frontier of the
classical world, and with its deserts, gold mines, and exotic
animals and items, it intrigued the rulers of Egypt as much
as the ancient Greeks and Romans. The kingdom, settled in
the Middle Nile Valley, went through three distinct phases.
Although it was not yet the Kingdom of Kush, the Kerma
culture united the peoples of the Nubian region once it was
abandoned by Egypt. The first rulers who dreamed about a
single civilization didn’t just manage to start their own
kingdom but also managed to conquer powerful Egypt.
King Kashta was named by the Egyptians, and his name
simply means “The Kushite.” This means that the growing
power of his united kingdom was already strong enough to
be recognized. It became an attribute worthy of being the
name of a king. Although greatly influenced by Egypt, Kush
was always a separate political entity, whose leaders
defended its riches. Although the northern part, Lower
Nubia, often saw the change of the administration as well as
the ruler, its people remained Kushites by culture, ethnicity,
and nature.
During the Meroitic Dynasty, Lower Nubia was lost, but its
priesthood and people continued to gravitate toward the
south. The region was torn by various conflicts (Egypt,
Assyria, Meroe, and Rome), but it was also inhabited by
rebellious people with their own idea of independence.
Later, they founded their own Kingdom of Nobatia, which
gave the modern name “Nubia” to the whole region.
The Meroitic Kingdom of Kush thrived under the new
dynasty, but the center of power moved from the northern
capital of Napata to the southern city of Meroe. This was the
period when Kush started standing on its own. Although it
may have been influenced by the migrating nomadic tribes,
it started developing its own southern culture, first through
language, new gods, and scripture.
But nothing lasts forever. The world was changing around
the Kingdom of Kush, and it couldn’t retain its borders.
Scholars believe the rise of the southern Kingdom of Aksum
brought about the destruction of Kush in one way or
another. While some believe it was a direct conquest that
brought Kush to its end, others believe such destruction
never even occurred. According to them, Kush vanished
peacefully, dissipating into the more powerful neighboring
kingdoms who took over its role in the economy and the
political scene of the African continent.

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