What was kush

The Nile valley empire was as large as it had been since the New Kingdom. The 25th dynasty ushered in a renaissance period for Ancient Egypt. Religion, the arts, and architecture were restored to their glorious Old, Middle, and New Kingdom forms. Pharaohs, such as Taharqa, built or restored temples and monuments throughout the Nile valley, including at Memphis, Karnak, Kawa, Jebel Barkal, etc. It was during the 25th dynasty that the Nile valley saw the first widespread construction of pyramids many in modern Sudan since the Middle Kingdom.

Taharqa was the son of Piye and the first seventeen years of his reign were very prosperous for Kush. During this period Writing was introduced to Kush Nubia , in the form of the Egyptian influenced Meroitic script circa — BC, although it appears to have been wholly confined to the Royal Court and Major Temples.

By BC war between the two Empires became inevitable. Taharqa enjoyed some minor initial success in his attempts to regain influence in the Near East. He aided King Hezekiah from attack by Sennacherib and the Assyrians 2 Kings ;Isaiah , however disease among the besieging Assyrian army appears to have been the main cause of failure to take Jerusalem rather than any military setback, and Assyrian records indicate Hezekiah was forced to pay tribute regardless.

Between and BC the Assyrians, tiring of Egyptian meddling in their empire, began their invasion of Egypt under King Esarhaddon, the successor of Sennacherib. The Assyrians, whose armies had been the best in the world since the 14th century BC, conquered this vast territory with surprising speed. Taharqa was driven from power by Esarhaddon, and fled to his Nubian homeland. However, the native Egyptian vassal rulers installed by Esarhaddon as puppets were unable to effectively retain full control for long without Assyrian aid.

Esarhaddon prepared to return to Egypt and once more eject Taharqa, however he fell ill and died in his capital Nineveh, before he left Assyria. His successor, Ashurbanipal, sent a Turtanu general with a small but well trained army which once more defeated Taharqa and ejected him from Egypt, and he was forced to flee back to his homeland in Nubia, where he died two years later.

His successor, Tanutamun, attempted to regain Egypt. He successfully defeated Necho, the subject ruler installed by Ashurbanipal, taking Thebes in the process. The Assyrians, who had a military presence in the north, then sent a large army southwards. Tantamani was heavily routed and the Assyrian army sacked Thebes to such an extent it never truly recovered. Tantamani was chased back to Nubia, and never threatened the Assyrian Empire again.

A native Egyptian ruler, Psammetichus I, was placed on the throne, as a vassal of Ashurbanipal. Why the Kushites chose to enter Egypt at this crucial point of foreign domination is subject to debate. Archaeologist Timothy Kendall offers his own hypotheses, connecting it to a claim of legitimacy associated with Gebel Barkal. The Kushites used the animal-driven water wheel to increase productivity and create a surplus, particularly during the Napatan-Meroitic Kingdom.

One theory is that this represents the monarchs breaking away from the power of the priests at Napata. During this same period, Kushite authority may have extended some 1, km along the Nile River valley from the Egyptian frontier in the north to areas far south of modern Khartoum and probably also substantial territories to the east and west. Kushite civilization continued for several centuries.

In the Napatan Period Egyptian hieroglyphs were used: at this time writing seems to have been restricted to the court and temples. From the 2nd century BC there was a separate Meroitic writing system. This was an alphabetic script with 23 signs used in a hieroglyphic form mainly on monumental art and in a cursive form.

The latter was widely used; so far some texts using this version are known Leclant The script was deciphered by Griffith, but the language behind it is still a problem, with only a few words understood by modern scholars.

View all writing worksheets. Dramatic Irony Cacophony Anaphora Setting. View all literature worksheets. View all literary device worksheets.

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View all Famous War worksheets. View all famous figure worksheets. View all President worksheets. View all author worksheets. View all musician worksheets. View all inventor worksheets. View all athlete worksheets. Finally, white pigment was rubbed into the incisions to make the pattern stand out. The remains of the white pigment can be seen in some areas on this cup, but most is now lost.

This beautiful vase was found in a plundered part of the cemetery at Sesebi in southern Nubia. It is an excellent example of the use of faience in a color other than blue. Decoration has been added to the cream body in blue and black, in the form of two friezes of lotus petals at the base and neck, with lotus buds hanging down; the vase itself is in the shape of a lotus bud.

From around until B. The newly won land was divided into two territories: Wawat in the north and Kush in the south. Resources were intensively exploited by the Egyptian empire.

Many native inhabitants were recruited into Egyptian armies or employed as laborers on Egyptian civil and religious estates. Many Nubians embraced the language, religion and forms of aesthetic expression of their overlords. This vase shows strong Egyptian influence in shape and style; to ancient Egyptians the lotus was symbolic of rebirth and new life.

The Egyptians withdrew from Sudan around B. Taking advantage of instability and political disunity in Egypt, the Kushite king Kashta extended his control to Thebes in Egypt by the mid-eighth century B. He and his three successors, Shabaqo, Taharqo and Tamwetamani, were acknowledged as the legitimate sovereigns of Egypt, forming the Twenty-fifth Dynasty.

Their capital was the important religious centre of Napata, near the Fourth Cataract of the Nile. Kushite control of Egypt ended when Assyrian forces invaded between and B.

After BC, the Kushite rulers were buried at Meroe in a fertile grassland region northeast of Khartoum. Meroe became the centre of a flourishing economy and developed commercial links with the Mediterranean world. Art and architecture displayed Egyptian influence, but archaeology also points to a growth of local traditions. A strong local element was apparent in religion, with Nubian deities such as the lion-headed Apedemak appearing alongside the Egyptian Amun, Osiris and Isis.

The Kushite dynasty ended around C. The large eyes are typical of Kushite art and the piece bears a cartouche of the Kushite ruler Arnekhamani — B. African animals such as monkeys, elephants, antelopes, and giraffes were exported to private zoos across the Mediterranean and the Near East.

From Arabia, Egypt, the Maghreb , and the Mediterranean basin, Nubians imported products such as olive oil, incense , timber mostly acacia and cedar , and bronze. The hazard ous Cataracts of the Nile made sailing long distances along the Nile nearly impossible, so many goods from the Levant had to be imported from the Nubian east, through ports on the Red Sea.

The Kingdom of Kush is probably the most famous civilization to emerge from Nubia. It is sometimes considered Kushite, and sometimes pre-Kushite. The Kerma kingdom controlled the Nile Valley between the first and fourth cataracts, making its territory as extensive as its powerful neighbor to the north, Egypt.

Kerma culture seems to have been primarily rural , as the city of Kerma only had about 2, residents. Nubians of this period practiced agriculture , hunted and fished, raised livestock such as cattle and sheep, and labored in workshops that produced ceramic and metal goods. The artifact s most associated with Kerma culture are probably deffufa s, huge mud-brick structures used as temple s or funerary chapel s. The mud-brick construction material kept the interior of deffufas cool in the hot Nubian sun, while tall colonnade s allowed for greater air circulation.

The walls of the deffufas were tiled and decorated with elaborate paintings, and some were lined in gold leaf. From its capital in Napata, Kushite civilization shared many cultural connections with Egypt during this time. For example, ceremonies and ritual s honoring the Egyptian sun-god Amun were held at the Kushite mountain Jebel Barkal, where Amun was believed to reside.

Records also indicate marriages between Egyptian and Kushite royal families. Despite these affinities, Egypt and Kush maintained discrete cultural identities. In Egyptian art, Kushites are depicted with darker skin and a cropped hairstyle.

Kushites depicted themselves wearing animal-skin cloak s, patterned fabrics, and large earrings. Although both cultures valued horses as transportation, Egyptians preferred to use chariots, while Kushites were just as likely to ride the horses themselves.

Pharaohs ruled from the Egyptian capital of Thebes. Perhaps the most influential pharaoh of the 25th Dynasty was Taharqa Khunefertumre , a son of Piye. Taharqa engaged in enormous construction projects in both Upper and Lower Egypt. Under his leadership, temples and monument s were expanded at Memphis, Thebes, and Jebel Barkal. Statues of Taharqa and other pharaohs of the 25th Dynasty are important artifacts.