LibGuides: MS Ancient History-The Rise of Civilization: Kush

The Kush Kingdom

In ancient times, a number of different civilizations thrived in Africa. Two of these were the Egyptian civilization and the Kush civilization.

Egypt grains egypt grains — Ancient Egyptians traded their extra grain with the Kushites for gold and other goods.

Kush was the ancient Egyptian name for the African land of Nubia. It is located in eastern Africa, south of Egypt. Nubia was the home of an advanced civilization. Historians believe that the Kingdom of Kush began in about 2000 BCE. The Kushites were good farmers, metalworkers, and traders. Because of trade, they had contact with areas throughout eastern Africa.

Other than the Nile River, Egypt has few natural resources of its own. The Nile provided the water to help Egyptians grow food. For centuries, Egyptians traded the food they raised with the Kushites for other goods. The Kushites mined minerals and produced iron. They also traded with people from central Africa. Central Africans sold ebony wood, ivory, incense, and animal skins. Egyptians wore beautiful gold jewelry made by the Kushites. They decorated their homes with ivory and metalwork purchased in the marketplaces of Kush.

Kush Declines, Egypt Expands

In 1500 BCE, the Egyptians were the strongest kingdom in the area as Kush foreign trade and influence declined. They began establishing an empire by conquering the land around them. Egyptian armies conquered lands along the Mediterranean coast to the north and east. They also conquered lands along the Nile, to the south. This included the area of Kush.

Over the next five centuries, 1500 BCE – 1000 BCE, the Kush people seemed to become Egyptian. They wore Egyptian-style clothing and worshipped Egyptian gods. Yet underneath their borrowed robes, the Kush people kept their culture and identity. They adapted pieces of Egyptian culture to their own culture.

In about 730 BCE Egypt grew weak. The Kushites struck at the Egyptians with all their might and defeated them. For a few decades, Kushite rulers became the pharaohs of Egypt. This was a great period in the history of Kush. But it lasted only 150 years. In 591 BCE, the Egyptians struck back, defeating Kush and capturing its capital.

The Kush people moved their capital farther south along the Nile to the city of Meroë (/muhr*oh*ee/). Meroë was surrounded by fine grazing land for herds of cattle, goats, and sheep. It was a major trading center. It was also one of Africa’s first iron-producing centers. Kush shipped its ironwork across Africa. Incredible rumors of Kush’s wealth spread far beyond Africa. The region was called the “Land of Gods.”

Meroe pyramids meroe pyramids — B N Chagny (CC BY-SA 1.0)

Unlike the pyramids of Egypt, some of Kush’s pyramids had flat tops.

Land of Wonders

The Greek historian Herodotus recorded some of the stories that had reached him about Meroë. Herodotus had heard about stone pyramids and a temple covered with sheets of gold shining like beacons in the bright African sun. Indeed, dozens of stone pyramids still stand outside Meroë. These pyramids are steeper than Egyptian pyramids and have flat tops. They were used as burial sites for the Kushite kings, just as the Egyptian pyramids were used as tombs for the pharaohs.