The Kingdom of Kush

Kush was an ancient African kingdom, located south of Egypt along the Nile.

Facts about the location

• Like Egyptians, Kushites relied on the Nile river to flood every year.
• Kush's landscape made farming difficult because the Nile flew through rocky mountains.
• Kush was known as batn el-hagar (fertile region).

Art and Architecture

• Most of Kushites pyramids have flat tops.
• Kushites preferred to work with gold and ivory for their scluptures.
• Most of the Kushan arts was similar to the roman's arts.

Art and Architecture

• Kushites rebuilt many of Egypt's pyramids.
• The Kushan architecture was very detailed; they made their own jewllery with amazing detailed inscriptions and pictures.

History

• Kingdom of Kush existed during the ancient Egyptian Old Kingdom in 1070 BC.
• kingdom of Kush first capital was Kerma, then in 780 BC the capital moved to Napata, then the last capital was Meroe in 591 BC.

History

• Around 1000 BC, Egyptian leaders sent armies to overpower Kush. For nearly 500 years Kush was conqured by the Egyptians and Kush was forced to pay the pharaoh a tribute.
• Around 1500 Kush returned back to its freedom again.

History

• In 724 BC, led by the Kushitie king "Piankhi", a large well trained army invaded Egypt and became the twenty fifth dynasty.
• In 671 BC, the Assyrians run the Kushities out of egypt and ruled Egypt for themselves. The Assyrians used iron weapons which was more powerful than the bronze weapons that the Kushites used.

Rulers of Kush

• The first dynasty of Kush were the king Qore and the Queen Kandake, this dynasty ruled from nearly 1070 BC till 950 BC.
• Then the king Alara ruled from 795 BC to 752 BC, he is the king who moved the capital to Napata.
• Then the king Piankhi who was the first pharaoh in the twenty-fifth dynasty, his dynasty ruled Egypt for one century.

Culture

• The kushites used to wear many types of cloths. Most of clothes were made of linen fibers, but rich people and kings used to wear tunics or clothes made up of lion's leather.
• Nile provided for kushites the necessary food supply, the most produced food in Kush was bread, fruits and vegetables.

End of Kush

• After leaving Egypt and returning to their Africa, the Kingdom of Kush entered a golden age.
• The Kushites grew and became more wealthy. They were able to build large comfortable homes, and plan beautiful cities. This golden age was brought to an end by a people known as the Axums, who invaded Kush around 500 B.C. from the East.