The Kingdom of Kush or Cush was once a mighty African kingdom in the ancient world.This ancient African kingdom lasted for more than 14oo years. The Kush Kingdom was located to the south of the ancient Egyptian kingdom.The core of the Kingdom of Kush was centred in the Middle Nile Valley. It flourished as a distinct cultural zone for hundreds of years before transforming into a kingdom south of ancient Egypt. As the Egyptians collected most of their gold requirements from Kushite traders, over time, the land of the Kushites actually came to be known as ‘Nub’. The nub is an Egyptian word meaning gold. So, we see here an example of a region being named after its most important resource.The holy and revered book of the Christians, the Bible, has several passages mentioning a rich area to the south of Egypt, where a descendant of Noah had established a mighty kingdom. The Bible says that the term Kush came from Cush, a son of Ham, who in turn was a son of Noah. If you really want to know more about Noah and his ark, it would be a good idea to do some research over the internet.There is a separate theory that talks about the origin of the word Nubia, the region along the Nile in present-day Sudan where the Kingdom of Kush flourished. According to this theory, the term ‘Nubia’ was extracted from the people who first settled in and around the lands spread across the Middle Nile. They were hunters and gatherers in the beginning but slowly developed into a thriving culture. Over time, the Nubians came in close contact with the Egyptians to the north, and many of them began to migrate to the Kingdom of Egypt in search of work. The ties between Nubia and Egypt would go on to define the history and politics of this part of the continent of Africa for thousands of years.Kingdom Of Kush HistoryWhen we speak of the Kingdom of Kush, we essentially deal with three separate kingdoms that emerged in the same region, one after the other. The first Nubian kingdom was centred in and around the city of Kerma. The Kingdom of Kerma was the first Kush Kingdom. It can be dated from 2450 BC to 1450 BC. This kingdom had a vast territory, extending from the first to the fourth cataracts of the Nile. Its area was equal in size to the kingdom of ancient Egypt, which was its neighbour to the north. Archaeological sources suggest that this kingdom had an agriculture-based economy. People lived in villages and engaged in the cultivation of crops. Fishing, livestock rearing, hunting, livestock farming,, were the chief occupations of the residents of Kerma. A whole lot of ceramic and gold items have been unearthed in sites dating from this period, suggesting the existence of metal and jewellery workshops in the area.The most prominent structures that the inhabitants of this culture have left us are the mud or brick structures called ‘deffufas’. The deffufas were either used as funerary memorials for the deceased or as places of worship. The Western Deffufa in Kerma is a fine example of early Nubian architecture.In about 1550 BC, Egyptian rule descended upon the Kush Kingdom based in Kerma. At this time, the New Kingdom of Egypt was being ruled by the powerful pharaohs of the 25th Egyptian Dynasty. The New Kingdom had succeeded the Middle Kingdom in Egypt, and Egyptian King Thutmose II began governing Kush through two viceroys installed in the new capital Napata. This was a time of cultural assimilation. Many elements of Egyptian culture seeped into Kush, especially when it came to religion. Take, for example, the worship of Egyptian gods such as Amun at Jebel Barkal, a mountain in Kush. The common people of Kush began performing rituals and customs in front of the Egyptian gods around this time. Despite the occurrences that took place in a coming of two worlds, both Egyptians and the Kushites maintained their dissimilar customs and practices.The Egyptians ruled Kush until 1070 BC. From 1070 BC to 745 BC, the Kingdom of Kush was ruled by autonomous kings who were vassals of the Egyptian pharaoh only in name but not in practice. Taking advantage of the weakness in the Egyptian hierarchy, Kush became an independent kingdom around this time.Geographic Location Of The Kingdom Of Kush In Ancient TimesThe ancient kingdom of Kush was situated in northeast Africa. This region has the historical name of Nubia. Nubia covered parts of what is now modern Sudan and southern Egypt. The Kushite civilization had its principal towns and cities along the banks of the Nile River and its two tributaries, the Blue Nile River and the White Nile River.Another description of the land where the ancient civilization of Kush grew would be the area over which the six cataracts of the Nile River are scattered. By cataracts, we mean the six cascading waterfalls on the Nile River beginning from downstream towards its sources, the Blue Nile River and the White Nile River. The first cataract of the Nile River is somewhere around Aswan in Egypt, while the sixth and final one is located more than 700 miles upstream, near Khartoum, Sudan. These cataracts have been used as markers on the routes running parallel to the Nile valley for centuries.Being situated near the Red Sea coast, Nubia was well-connected via trade with the Arabian peninsula, the Mediterranean Sea islands, and also the hinterland of the continent of Africa. The prosperity of Kushite rule depended mainly on the thriving trade that existed between the Kingdom of Kush and other ancient civilizations located in the Near East and the Mediterranean. There is evidence that the Kingdom of Kush engaged in commerce with Greek merchants. Since there was a demand for exotic African animals in southern Europe and West Asia at this time, the Kingdom of Kush used to export a wide variety of animals such as giraffes, antelopes, elephants, monkeys, to the other existing civilizations such as the Minoan and Aegean civilizations. Within Africa, trading items consisted of gold, ivory and ebony products, and animal pelts.The Kingdom of Kush was also involved in the import of products like olive oil, incense, wood, bronze, etc. These items used to be imported from the communities of the Maghreb region of Africa (present-day Libya, Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco), Egypt, Arabia, and the Mediterranean coast. Due to the difficulty in navigating the River Nile, commerce used to take place mostly via the Red Sea ports.Facts About The Kingdom Of KushThe Kingdom of Kush was not only ruled by kings; it also had several queens at the helm of affairs. Although the names of these queens are not well-known, Roman accounts talk of a royal warrior class of Kushite women who fought against the Roman Empire. They were called ‘kandakes’, and they led Kushite forces against the advances of the Macedonian great, Alexander, and the first Roman Emperor, Augustus Caesar.If you thought that only the Egyptians built pyramids in Africa, you were wrong! The Kushite kings also commissioned the construction of pyramids in Kush. If you visit the ruins of the city of Meroe in Sudan, you will find the ancient pyramids of Kush located within the precincts of the royal cemetery. They were built on top of the burial chambers of kings, queens, and other important people. The Kushite pyramids were built on a much smaller scale in height and breadth than their Egyptian counterparts. Another major and significant difference between the two is the fact that Egyptian pyramids were in themselves royal tombs of kings such as Djoser and Khufu. This means that the rooms where the dead bodies of the kings and queens were kept were inside the body of the pyramids. On the other hand, the Kushites placed the dead independently inside burial chambers, and then they built pyramids on top of them.The pyramids of Kush have suffered enormously at the hands of robbers and grave diggers down the ages. An Italian grave digger named Giuseppe Ferlini is said to have looted priceless artefacts from over 40 Kushite pyramids!The First Emperor And Importance Of The Kingdom Of KushAs the powers of the New Kingdom of Egypt began to wane at the beginning of the 11th century BC, the Kushite governors of Napata transformed themselves into independent kings and began to dominate the politics of Egypt. So much so that in the year 745 AD, the Kushite king Piye conquered all of Egypt with his massive army. Some accounts suggest that Piye was initially invited by the ruler of Egypt to check the advances of invaders coming in from Libya. Piye united the kingdoms of Egypt and Kush and became the first in a series of Nubian Pharaohs. His dynasty actually came to be known as the 25th Dynasty. The Kushite kings of Egypt administered the vast territories in their possession from their capital at Thebes.The Kushites remained in control of Egypt for the next hundred-odd years. This was a period of relative peace and prosperity. Perhaps the most important aspect of the Kushite rule was its emphasis on construction works. Piye’s son and successor, Taharqa, was an avid builder. He was also known by the name Khunefertumre and oversaw the coming up of many religious structures at Thebes, Memphis, and Jebel Barkal. The wide-scale construction activities in both Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt added to Taharqa’s influence in the kingdom.However, Kushite control over Egypt was short-lived. In the year 664 CE, the Assyrians came knocking on the door of Egypt. They were the masters of Persia and had their eyes on the riches of Egypt for a long time. Despite putting up a bold resistance, Pharaoh Tantamani could not prevent the Assyrians from taking over his kingdom. With that, the power of Kushites over Egypt diminished permanently, and they were driven back to their erstwhile capital Napata.This is when the final chapter in the history of the Kingdom of Kush begins to take shape. After losing all their possessions in Egypt, the Kushites left Southern Egypt to take refuge in the city of Napata. From there, they shifted their base to Meroe. This new city would become the centre of their power for the next 700 years, following which the Ethiopians would finally extinguish the last remnants of this ancient civilization in circa 350 AD.This great civilization of northeast Africa was known as the Land of Bow. It was a clear reference to the skill of its soldiers in the field of battle. Along with the Egyptian civilization to its north, the Kingdom of Kush dominated the socio-political and economic climate of this part of Africa for more than a thousand years.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for kingdom of Kush facts: details on ancient Egypt revealed For Kids then why not take a look at pan Greek god facts: details on ancient Greek mythology for kids!, or 15 interesting palladium jewelry facts on precious metal revealed?
The Kingdom of Kush or Cush was once a mighty African kingdom in the ancient world.
