The Kingdom of Kush/Nubia:

3800 BCE to 1400 CE

Map of Nubia

Egypt Names Nubia “Kush”

The Geography of Early Nubia helped

civilization develop there

Kush and Egypt traded, but they also fought

Later Kush became a trading power with a unique culture

Both internal and external factors led to the demise of Kush

Main Ideas of Ancient Kush

Geography of Nubia

• South of Egypt• Situated along the Nile River• Unlike Egypt, they were not dependent upon

the flooding of the Nile for good soil. They enjoyed tropical rainfall all year long.

• Cataracts keep Nubia safe from invaders for some time

Nubia was a land of natural wealth. They had

gold mines, ivory, incense, copper and iron ore.

Nubia – “Land of Gold”

Most people lived in farming villages- Each village had a

leader Like most ancient peoples, Nubians depended on

agriculture for their food Agricultural crops: Yams, beans, rice, onions, papaya,

gourds, cattle, sheep, goats, poultry, cotton, and peanuts.

Dressed similar to Egyptians at first (white cotton) , then dressing more like those in the Southern Sahara (colorful cotton)

Daily Life of Common People

Kings, Queens and Nobles lived in riverside

palaces Queens were often more powerful than Kings At first they modeled themselves after

Egyptian Kings & Queens

Daily Life of Kings, Queens &Nobles

At first Kush worships the same gods as the

Egyptians Mummified the dead Built pyramids – similar but were smaller with

flat tops

Ancient Kushite Religion

Kush respected Egyptian culture and traded

with them In the New Kingdom, Egypt felt threatened by

Kush so they conquered Kush in 1500 BC Egypt ruled Kush for about 450 years (until the

end of the New Kingdom)

Relations with Egypt

After the New Kingdom fell, Kush senses

Egypt’s weakness and conquers Upper Egypt. They then make relations with Lower Egypt

and conquer them. Kashta and his son Piankhi Extend the Kushite

kingdom from Napata in Nubia to the Nile Delta.

Kush’s Time of Glory

Piankhi 751-716 BCE

Piankhi was the son of Kashta, and a very powerful military leader. He was very religious. He believed he had the support of the gods to rule over the Egyptian people.

Kushite Occupation of Egypt

• Kush’s occupation in Egypt is know as the 25th Dynasty

• Piankhi and his relatives believed the old pharaohs of Egypt were their ancestors.

• Kush tried to restore Egyptian cultural practices

• They bulit temples to Egyptian gods• The worked to preserve hieroglyphics

Kush held Egypt for about 50 years until the

Assyrians invaded They had better iron weapons than the

Kushites

The End of Kushite Occupation of Egypt

After their defeat by the Assyrians, the

Kushites retreat back to their homeland – Nubia

There they devoted themselves to trade The city of Meroe is the economic capital

Kush Becomes the Iron Capital of the Ancient

World

Meroe is an area full of rich iron ore deposits This is the place where AFRICA’s first iron

industry begins People need iron to make weapons To create iron there was a need for wood to

burn in furnaces to melt down the iron ore

Kush Becomes the Iron Capital of the Ancient

World

Ancient peoples want iron weapons and

statues this sparks the desire to trade Kush sent goods down to Nile to Egypt Egyptian and Greek merchants carried goods

to ports in the Mediterranean and Red Seas and ports in southern Africa.

In later times Kushite goods may have even traveled to India and perhaps China

Trade with other nations brought cultural influences to Kush

Trade Networks

Trade Networks

Exports• Gold• Pottery• Iron tools• Slaves• Ivory• Leopard

skins• Ostrich

Feathers• Elephants

Imports• Fine

jewelry• Luxury

items

To make iron, they needed to wood to burn. They had

used up much of their wood. Their resources were dwindling.

Kush could not produce as much iron as they had in the past, yet demand for iron was growing. Traders began to look elsewhere for iron.

By 300s AD Kush lost its wealth a military might

The Kingdom of Aksum conquers Kush

The Demise of Kush