Do Now
On
Today’s Title: Egypt and Kush
December 1st 1955, Rosa Parks
refused to give up her bus seat to a
white man. This was a brave action by
Parks. What is the bravest thing you
have ever done? Be sure to include
details about the event and why you
think you were brave.
Today’s Agenda!!
 The Importance of Kush
 Conquests among Egypt, Kush, Assyrians,
and Axum
 Partner Reading Activity
 Gallery Walk
Glossary Builder
Commerce-the buying and selling
of goods and services
Expedition-a journey or trip taken
for a special purpose
Expelled-to force out of an area
Defeat-a loss, such as in war
1
What is Kush??
 Kush is the second civilization to take root in the Nile
valley.
 **Kush is also known as Nubia!!
 Kush, or Nubia, is located along the Nile river,
SOUTH of Egypt.
 Let’s take a look at where Kush is on a map…
Nubia, also
known as
Kush.
Along the
Nile River,
and below
Egypt.
1 Why is Kush important in Ancient Egypt??
 Trade brought Egypt and Kush together.
 Egypt traded with other areas to gain supplies they did
not have, and they also began to trade with Kush.
 Egypt was rich in sunshine and soil, but it did not have
forests, minerals, horses, and other useful resources that
were found in Kush.
 Egyptians had to get these resources though commerce
with its neighbors.
 Can someone remind us what commerce is again??
How did they trade??
 Pharaohs would organize
expeditions to open trade
with other lands.
 All trade goods brought
back to Egypt by these
expeditions belong to the
pharaoh!!
What did they trade??
1
•Egypt
gets
cattle,
between central Africa
and Egypt.
Egypt would send its traders to Kush to buy cattle
gold,
and gold. ivory, and
Egyptians also set up forts in Kush to make sure they
copper.
had access to the ivory and copper in Kush.
Kush traded its gold for Egyptian wheat.
•Kush gets wheat.
 Due to its location, Nubia controlled commerce



Trade and Conquest
 To protect their valuable trading, Egypt
gradually conquered most of Nubia, or Kush.
 The Nubians had to pay tribute to the Egyptian pharaoh.
(Tribute is payment).
 Over time, Nubians adopted many features of
Egyptian culture. For example, they wore Egyptian
clothes and worshiped Egyptian gods. They also spoke
the Egyptian language.
 Nubian solders, who were famous for archery, served in
Egypt’s army. Some Nubians rose to become
government officials.
Prediction…
 Take five minutes to discuss with a partner…
 Do you think Egypt maintained control over Kush
forever?
 If yes, how did they keep the people of Kush under
Egyptian control?
 If no, what do you think happened between Egypt and
Kush?
Let’s see what
happened…
2
Egypt and Kush
 After Ramses II ruled, Egypt’s government began to
collapse.
 Rival leaders in different cities were busy
fighting one another, and they forgot about
maintaining Egypt's control of Kush.
 This mistake was very costly!!
 Left on its own, Kush became an independent
kingdom ruled by Nubian kings.
2
Kush Conquers Egypt!!
 Around 700 B.C.E., a Nubian
Piye
A Kush
ruler,
Piye,
king
conquered
an Egyptian
expanded
town,
known asthe
Thebes.
Kushite
empire
 The
next ruler
in Kush,by
named
conquering
one
Piye,
expanded the
Kushite
empire
by conquering
one
Egyptian
city after
Egyptian
city after
another.
He another.
 After
some battling,
Piyethe
declared
himself
declared
himself
the new
pharaoh
of Egypt
pharaoh
of a united Egypt and
and Kush.
Kush.
2
Egypt under Kush
 Pharaohs from Kush ruled Egypt for almost a century.
 The first Kushite pharaoh of Egypt was Shabaka.
 When Kushite pharaohs ruled, they encouraged
an Egyptian-style culture:
 They built temples to honor Nubian and Egyptian gods
 They dotted the desert with hundreds of tombs
 They encouraged trade between Africa and the lands
around the Mediterranean Sea.
 Another important fact is that they had scribes copy
Ancient Egyptian books
3
Did Kushite rule last forever??
 Nope!!
 The rulers from Kush might have remained in
power longer if they had only wanted to rule
Egypt. Instead, they tried to expand their
power…they got greedy!!
 They went to war with the Assyrians, who were skillful
warriors who had recently conquered the Fertile
Crescent!!
 They went to war with the Assyrians, which led
to the Kushite’s downfall.
3
Kushites versus Assyrians
 Assyrians troops invaded Egypt in 663 B.C.E.
 After many losses in battle, the Kushites were
expelled by the Assyrians, and had to make their
way from Egypt back to Kush.
 Interesting fact: the Assyrian soldiers easily
defeated the Kushites because the Assyrian's
weapons were made of iron.
4
Kush moves to Meroe
 After their defeat, the rulers of Kush decided to
move their capital south to the city of Meroe,
(pronounced mehr oh WEE).
 There were numerous reasons for this move:
 Meroe received more rain than most of Kush
 It was located on trade routes from Central Africa
 Iron ore deposits were located near here
 For 900 years, Meroe thrived as a center of trade
and culture.
4
Meroe and Iron
 The Kushites turned Meroe into Africa’s first ironworking
center
 Iron tools and weapons made were much stronger than the soft
bronze tools made in Egypt, (this was why the Assyrians were able to
defeat the Kushites).
 Knowledge of ironworking spread from Meroe to other parts of
Africa.
5
The Existence of Kush Comes to an End
 Kush had its ups and downs, but it could not
last forever.
 The final fall of Kush occurred when it was
invaded by the Kingdom of Axum.
Quick Recap
 That was a lot of moving and conquering!! Let’s take a
brief moment to recap on today’s lesson so far.
 1.) Egypt and Kush trade
 2.) Egypt conquers Kush
 3.) Kush conquers Egypt
 4.) Assyrians conquer Kush
 5.) Kush moves to Meroe
 6.) Axum conquers Kush (end of Kush)
 You should copy this in your notes and star it!!
Partner Reading Activity!!
 With a partner, you will read a section from our textbook.
 This is a review of everything you just learned today.
 You will take turns reading, from pages #188-193.
 Then, you will both answer the “Lesson Review” Questions on
page #193.
 You only need to answer questions #1-5.
 Please write the answers in your notebook!!
 We will go over the answers
in 25 minutes!!
Gallery Walk
 For the gallery walk, there will be 6 stations.
 At each one, YOU MUST WRITE THE QUESTION
AND ANSWER!!
 You will have 5 minutes at each station.
 You may work with the other students in your group.
Gallery Walk Answers
 1.) From trading, Egyptians received cattle, gold, copper,
and ivory from Kushites.
 2.) Kush was able to conquer Egypt because the Egyptian
cities were fighting amongst themselves.
 3.) Egyptian culture affected Kush because Kush adopted
Egyptian clothes, religion, and language.
 4.) Answers will vary.
Gallery Walk Answers
 5.) Egypt wanted to control Kush because they wanted to
own all of Kush’s valuable resources.
 6.) Meroe items lasted for hundreds of years because they
were made of iron.
 7.) Answers will vary.
Homework!!
Please study your notes for
a quiz on Wednesday!!
***Note: This quiz will be
challenging because there is a lot
of information we went over.
You must study!!