ANCIENT NUBIA, KUSH, AND
MEROE
By: Mason Randall and Jordan Toller
• Prince Taharaka of Nubia
• Crowned king of Nubia and Egypt
• Archaeologists have found jewelry, pottery, and weapons
• Located south of Egypt
• Friendly neighbors
• Skilled archer; hired for Egypt’s armies
• Rich of gold, copper, and iron ore
• Called the “Land of the Bow”
• Kush or Cush
• Upstream from the 1st cataract
• Located in Northern Sudan or South Nubia
• Developed after 1000 B.C.
• 750 B.C. : a Cushite king named Kashta conquered Upper Egypt
• 1720 B.C.: Asian nomads called the Hyksos invaded Egypt destroying the
Middle Kingdom and forts along the Nile
• Three major cities: Meroe, Kerma, and Napata
• Miners for minerals and high-quality stones
• After Napata fell from being the capital, Meroe was the capital
• Flourished between 800 BCE and 350 CE
• Settled in 890 BCE; the year the oldest tomb
discovered
• Meroe and Egypt won’t the best of neighbors.
• Overlook rolling grasslands and fertile fields
• Walked by Great Stone Rams to the Temple of
Amon, located in the center of the city
• The people lived in rectangular houses or huts
• Royalty lived in great palaces
• Farmers
• Officials, who collected taxes
• Craftsmen, who made basketry, carpentry, metalwork, and
pottery
• Soldiers
• Engineers, who plan irrigation systems
• C350: The traditional theory is that the
kingdom is destroyed during an attack by
Ezana of the Ethiopian kingdom of Axum
• Quell of the rebellion in the lands
In conclusion, Nubia, Kush, and Meroe were
important to the early civilization history along with
Egypt’s history.