Aethiopes/History

Early History: Kerma and Napata
(Before the time frame of 0 A.D.) c. 3500BCE – 590BCE

The Kingdom of Kerma is the first expression of Kushite culture. The Pre-Kerma period, beginning around 3500BCE, saw the development of the earliest known, dense settlement patterns in Sub Saharan Africa. By 2500BCE Kerma emerged as a regional center, and by 1700BCE the city of Kerma had an estimated population of over 10.000 people. It boasted monumental buildings and a system of thick defensive walls, miles of irrigation canals and engaged in long distance trade. It was the seat of a centralized state. The first of many in Sudan.

The Kingdom of Kerma is attested in Egyptian records as Kush (k3š), as early as the Middle Kingdom, and its riches had been prized since the Old Kingdom. Then, starting with Senusret I, and particularly Senusret III of 12th Dynasty, Egypt gained its first permanent foothold in Lower (northern) Nubia, with the establishment of massive forts, such as Buhen in c. 1860BCE. By the 13th dynasty, Egyptian power waned, the forts were abandoned and Lower Nubia was reoccupied by Kush. By c. 1550BCE Kerma was strong enough to challenge Egypt itself, formed an alliance with the invading Hyksos from the north, and raided deep into Upper Egypt. These events almost brought about a premature end to Pharaonic Egypt, and led to the Second Intermediate Period. Curiously, Nubian bowmen served as mercenaries (the original Medjay), in Kamose’s campaign against their former Hyksos allies.

Under Kamose, and the subsequent reestablishment of Egypt under the New Kingdom with Amenhotep I and Thutmose I, Kush was invaded several times, and Kerma was destroyed. For the next 500 years, upper and lower Nubia effectively became increasingly Egyptianised colonies, though the relationship was often of a symbiotic nature.

In the 15th century BCE, Thutmose III established a small temple in Nubia at the foot of Jebel Barkal, a modest, lonely mountain rising steeply from the flat desert floor surrounding it. It was said to be the southern home of Amun, and marked Egypt’s southern most expansion. The existing town, now called Napata, was to become one of the most important centers of Kush. As it’s religious capital, it became the seat of the cult of Amun. Around 1075BCE, the New Kingdom collapsed, and the Egyptianised people of Kush set up an independent kingdom, centered on Napata. This ushered in the Napatan period.

By 721 BCE, the Napatans had become so powerful, that their king, Kashta, invaded Upper Egypt and occupied Thebes. His successor, Piye, completed the conquest, and conquered one of the largest empires the Nile Valley had ever seen. Piye, Shabaka, Shebitku, Taharqa and Tantamani all ruled Egypt, as well as Kush, as pharaohs of the 25th dynasty, also known as the “Nubian Dynasty” or the “Kushitic Empire”. They saw themselves as the custodians of Egyptian culture and religion. Piye built the first pyramid the Nile Valley had seen in over 500 years, a tradition the Kushite kings continued in to the 4th century A.D. They initiated major restoration projects on the ancient temples, and built many new ones, reinvigorating Egyptian traditional religion (especially the cult of Amun), as well as collecting tribute from powerful states in the Levant and expanding their military activity as far north as Judea.

Growing tensions over Kushite activity in the Levant, led to a series of devastating wars with the Neo-Assyrian Empire beginning in 677BCE. In 671BCE, Taharqa fought running battles with the armies of Esarhaddon from the Sinai to Memphis, but was defeated, and fled to Thebes. Taharqa’s wife (and/or sister) and son, were both captured and taken to Nineveh. Tantamani restored Kushite rule in Egypt to some extent, but by 656BCE, Psamtik I of the Saite Dynasty took control of Thebes, ending the Kushite presence in all of Egypt. Psamtik II, with the participation of Greek mercenaries, campaigned in Lower Nubia. By 590BCE the Kushite seat of authority was shifting towards the more southern Meroe, eclipsing Napata, and giving rise to a distinctively more “Africanised” Meroitic culture. The Neo-Assyrian Empire collapsed in 609BCE, and was absorbed by the Persian Achaemenid Empire under Cyrus the Great. His successor, Cambyses II, successfully conquered Egypt in 525BCE, after which he attempted the conquest of Kush. He was met with catastrophic failure, possibly because of the difficulties associated with marching an army through the desert.

By all accounts, the Pharaohs of the 25th dynasty, especially Piye and Taharqa, are to be considered the fathers of the later Meroitic period, and its subsequent rulers. The Kings of Meroe went to great lengths to preserve the Egyptiansed customs they inherited. But neither did they shy away from developing their own, independent culture, religious practices, writing systems, architectural styles, aesthetic principles, military systems and trade networks. They also incorporated Greco-Roman, Ptolemaic, Persian and Indian influences. Combined with their close proximity to very warlike, sometimes nomadic, African tribes (like the Blemmyes) and the assimilation of many of these tribes in to a greater Kushite state, demonstrate a level of social complexity rarely seen in this region in later times. The complex interaction of many peoples, cultures and influences, increasingly transformed Meroe in to a uniquely African civilization. It is this later expression of Kushite culture, during the Meroitic period that we shall examine further. Starting around 590BCE, when Meroe started eclipsing Napata, and ending with the Axumite invasions of Kush, around the 330's AD, the Meroitic period spans the entire length of 0 A.D.’s timeframe and beyond.

The Meroe period
(During the time frame of 0 A.D.) c. 590BCE – 330AD

Napata was essentially a southern expression of classical Egyptian culture. In fact, it can be said that during the height of the Napatan 25th dynasty, the material culture of Nubia and Egypt become indistinguishable. The same cannot be said for Meroe. The move to Meroe symbolizes a break from the strict, Egyptian character of the earlier Napatan Period, and saw the mixing of African, Egyptian, Middle Eastern and Mediterranean influences. Napata remained one of the most important cities in Kush, though, and the Kings of Meroe built new temples and palaces, maintaining its religious authority throughout the Meroitic period.

Possibly prompted by increasing hostility from Egypt and the Persians to the north, the more southern Meroe became increasingly important. Another possible reason for the move south, is that the Napatan Kings of Kush were trying to brake from the authority of the cult of Amun, the foremost religious authority in Kush, also centered in Napata. By moving the royal capital to Meroe, the society was secularized, and the Kings enjoyed a greater freedom than before. This move was completed by the time of Arakamani, identified with “Ergamenes”, of Diodorus Siculus’ Bibliotheca Historica, in the early third century BCE. According to Diodorus, the priesthood of Amun had the power to order the death of a king. Ergamenes (Arakamani), was the first King to brake from this tradition, when the priests ordered his death. He moved on Napata, ordered the massacre of the priests, and moved the royal burial grounds to Meroe, where many of the iconic Meroitic pyramids were built. Diodorus states that his strong will came from his instruction in Greek philosophy, probably related to the rule of the Ptolemies in Egypt. Regardless of the changing relationship between the kings and the cult of Amun, the worship of Amun remained important throughout Kushite history. Temples to Amun continued to be built in to the third century A.D., and the cult was still present during the Christianization of Nubia in the 6th century A.D.

With the move to Meroe, a local South Nubian deity, known as Apedemak, rose to prominence. This lion headed god of war might have even eclipsed the worship of Amun. During the Meroitic period, many new temples were built, in Napata, Naqa, Wad Ben Naqa, Musawwarat es Sufra, Hamadab, Dangeil and other important centers. Usually to Amun or Apedemak, but also to Hathor and Isis, and some temples and shrines were also dedicated to lesser-known Nubian gods. Although stylistically still Egyptian, the floor plan of these temples was typically Kushite.

The Meriotic period also saw the infiltration of Indian and Persian influences (in depictions of deities, imported textiles), Greco Roman (in the form of luxery imports, stylistic additions to temples and monuments, or the Roman bath-house in the Royal City in Meroe and lavish Mediterranean style decorations in elite residences) and Ptolemaic (in the form of Greek philosophy, military technology and import of luxery goods, like wine). The Meroitic period also saw the embracement of typically Sub Saharan African ethno-cultural elements. They still, more or less, depict themselves in Egyptian styles, but with typically black African physical features. Intense contact with often hostile and nomadic or semi-nomadic desert tribes, as well as other more southern tribes, and their subjugation to Kushite rule and incorporation in to the state, was necessary to keep trade routes open. Trade routes like those connecting Meroe to the Mediterranean, and the Red Sea coast (Eritrean Sea), where it was connected to the Indian Ocean trade. Meroe slowly grew in to a metropolis.

The Meroe period saw a number of interesting indigenous developments, such as the “Nubian vault” and smaller domes. Palaces as well as common residential buildings were often constructed with vaulted ceilings made of brick. This was especially useful in an arid climate were trees aren’t large or plentiful enough to provide roofing material. Large, multistoried square palaces, built over vaulted cellars became common. Thick walls and small (arched) windows on the ground floor of these palaces hint at a secondary defensive purpose.

Regular houses were often compound structures, made up of rectangular blocks, arranged around private courtyards. Either using vaulted ceilings, or flat plastered roofs, supported by thick palm logs, making use of columns for extra support. Extra floors were added for expansion, as families grew, and flat roofs often had stairways leading up to them. Houses were built with sundried mud brick, or fired red bricks. Wealthy households and official buildings made use of cut stone for doorways and windows. Usually these brick buildings received a cover of fine white, lime plastering, creating a smooth white surface, sometimes decorated with colored, geometric motives, or religious symbols, especially around the doors and windows. An important note is that contemporary Nubian homes and settlement patterns, around Aswan and North Sudan, are strikingly similar to those of the Meroitic period, and even the earlier Kerma period.

Meroe grew in to a center of production and trade. A military power, that campaigned as far south as the Sud, and the borders of modern day Ethiopia. Against the desert tribes to the East and West of them, and against their Northern neighbor, Egypt, whether Egypt was under Native, Persian, Ptolemaic or Roman rule. It wasn’t until the shifting of trade routes, and increased activity of desert tribes, that Meroe started waning in importance. The straw that finally broke the camels back, were the Axumite invasions of the 330’s A.D.

(Junk) Something on the written record
Meroitic script was developed, and replaced Egyptian writing systems to a large extent, by the third century BCE. Meroitic script still hasn’t been deciphered, and this limits what we know about the internal workings of the Kushite state, or their precise relation to outside powers, in the Meroe period. For example, what was the importance of horses in Kushite society? Luckily we have other sources to our disposal, which give us valuable insights.

The Noba, formerly a nomadic tribe wondering the Western Desert, became a Roman foederati in the north in 297 A.D (Nobatae), and a Kushite vassal in the south. The aggression of these Noba became an increasing liability to the Kushite state, eroding central authority. By the 330’s AD, the Axumite Empire, centered in modern day Ethiopia and Eritrea, had become strong enough to challenge a weakening Kush, and the Axumite Emperors Ousanas, and his successor, Ezana, waged wars against Kush. Although Ezana’s campaign seems to have been directed primarily against the Noba, in response to Kush’s inability to deal with their raiding activities on the Sudan/Ethiopia border. Ousana’s and Ezana’s invasions laid waste to Noba, and Kushite territory, effectively ending Kushite hegemony.

Something on weapons and armor

We don’t know a lot about the Meroitic military, but we know some things. Apart from the typical shield and spear, daggers and massed archery, new weapons and tactics were being introduced. Swords, mounted cavalry, armed with lances, cavalry archers, leather armor, as well as quilted armor and the introduction of Hellenized helmets (and possibly armor) for some infantry and cavalry, probably explained by their mercenary activities in Ptolemaic Egypt. For the most part though, it seems that Nubian forces were poorly armored. Nubian archery remained important into Islamic times. New types of clothing became common. Kings were now seen wearing capes, thick jackets covering their arms, and wore simple belts decorated at the tips. By the beginning of the post-Meroitic period, 4th century AD, chain mail is attested, and scale armor was used by (royal?) elites since the New Kingdom. Large oblong shields of ox-hide were used by the Meroites, as well as smaller, round elephant- hyppo- or rhinoceros-hide shields. Beja (also known as Blemmyes), a Kushite enemy, vassal at times, and eventual overlord (Beja dynasty), used distinct east African round shields of this hardened leather type. Beja used mounted camel units, to dominate the deserts East of the Kushite heartland, from where they frequently raided Roman territories in Upper Egypt, making use of imposing swords, lances and sometimes thick ox-leather armor. They are perfect mercenary units for the Kushites.

Besides these fragmentary bits of information on weapons and armor in the Meriotic period, we can assume that the Kushites inherited many New Kingdom Egyptian military elements. As the 25th dynasty had full access to the Egyptian military, this conclusion seems logical and this is attested by the production, use and export of Egyptian chariots as early as the New Kingdom, well in to the Napatan period. The New Testament story of Phillip and the (“Ethiopian”) Eunich, suggests that chariots were still used past the turn of the millennium. Kushite kings are often depicted wearing Egyptian style armor and weapons in addition to native swords. There is controversy about the use of war elephants in Meroe. It has been mentioned in a number of classical texts, but hard evidence is lacking. We only have a handful of depictions of elephants in ancient Meroe, from which we can only deduce that elephants were tamed. They were worshipped to some extent (Musawwarat es Sufra), and their use might have well been limited to ceremonial purposes like parades. Other, older weapons were still used, like battle-axes, stone maces and even clubs, some of which were inlaid with sharp stones, remarkably similar to the Aztec Macuahuitl.