The Kushite period

• 16 / 5 / 2023

The Kushite rulers' last period of dominance is known as the Meroitic period, after the royal cemetery there. Even though Meroe had long been one of the key cities of the Kushite state, the royal burial was transferred there from Napata in the third century B.C.E. This change roughly accompanied the introduction of Greek culture to Egypt after Alexander the Great's conquest of the nation.

The Kingdom of Kush quickly came under the influence of the emerging Greco-Egyptian culture, which gave its later phases a unique personality. As opposed to the Napatan period before it, which was inspired by Pharaonic civilization. With control of the commercial routes along the Nile valley from Central Africa to Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt, the Kushite kingdom prospered, with its rulers and ruling class benefiting financially.

Throughout the Meroitic period, Egyptian elements introduced into Kushite royal burial practices under the early Napatan kings were retained and reinterpreted. The sculpture and architecture of the period show much influence from the Greek and the Greco-Roman world. The fine pottery decorated with geometric forms and floral and animal motifs shows a similar influence.

The last periods of Kushite kingship are referred to as "Meroitic" because of the royal cemetery at Meroe. Despite the decipherment of the Meroitic alphabet, the language is still not fully understood. This wall originates from one of the diminutive pyramids with steep sides and chapels where the kings and queens were interred. Most likely, it belonged to Queen Shanakdakhete, the first female monarch. She is shown seated here with a prince and is shielded by an eagle-headed Isis. Rows of offering carriers and scenarios from rites, such as the queen being judged in front of Osiris, are in front of her. The reliefs have their own, uniquely developed qualities despite being in an Egyptian-looking style.

Long before the eighth century B.C.E., the term "Kush" or "Kushite" was used to describe Nubian governing structures. The Twenty-fifth Dynasty marked the beginning of Egypt's first significant contact with outside cultures, and by 715 B.C.E., Nubian monarchs had brought an end to Egypt's divided polity. But in Egypt, Kushite rule was short-lived. The final Kushite monarchs, Taharqa and Tanutamun, retreated to Nubia in the face of an Assyrian invasion. They ruled the area up to the fourth century C.E., and they and their descendants are buried in el-Kurru, Nuri, Gebel Barkal, and Meroe.

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