Warm Up 10/28 & 10/29

Where were the Nubian kingdoms located and what similarities did they have with Egypt?

Answer

• Nubia located south of Egypt along the Nile • Region stretched north to first cataract, Egypt’s southern

boundary

• Nubians depended on Nile

– Landscape made farming difficult

– Nile flows through rocky mountains in Nubia

The Region of Nubia

A Wealth of Resources

• Nubia had great mineral wealth

• Mines produced gold, granite, precious stones

• Location was also a valuable resource

• Goods from central Africa to other lands flowed into Nubia

• Goods traded through Nubia included animal skins, ivory, ebony, slaves

Nubia’s People

• Egyptian writings state that:• Nubians were skilled potters, expert

traders and archers• Egyptians called Nubia the Land of the

Nine Bows• Some Egyptian rulers hired Nubian

archers as police, soldiers

Early History

• Nubia formed at same time as Egypt’s Old Kingdom

• Nubia possessed great wealth• Nubia and Egypt became rivals• Egypt conquered Nubia during Middle

Kingdom• Nubia adopted Egyptian culture

Compare and Contrast

• How was Nubia similar to and different from Egypt?

Answer

• similar—both situated on the Nile, depended on the river;

• different—in Egypt, the Nile flows through rich farmland, in Nubia it flows through rocky mountains, and farming is almost impossible; Nubia produced valuable minerals that could be traded

The Growth of Kush

• Northern Nubia was controlled by Egypt during the Middle Kingdom, while a powerful southern Nubian state called Kush began to develop.

Beginnings of Power

• Egypt’s Middle Kingdom collapsed around 1700 BC

• Kush expanded to rule all Nubia

– Alliance with Hyksos

– Trade increased

– Used wealth to build royal tombs in Kerma• New Kingdom Egyptians conquered Kush, 1500

BC

Egyptians in Kush

• Egypt ruled 400 years

• Egyptian rulers built temples, monuments throughout Kush

• Kush regained power after reign of Ramses the Great

• Free of Egyptian control by 1100 BC

• Kushites weak, disorganized after years of Egyptian control

Kushites in Egypt

• New Kushite kingdom, 750 BC

• Began to grow and strengthen

• Kush’s rulers decided to expand power to a weakened Egypt after fall of New Kingdom

• Piankhi led Kushites north into Egypt

Piankhi

• Described as compassionate ruler, ruthless warrior

• Conquered all of Egypt

• Kushite rulers held power only about a century

• Mid-600s BC, Assyrians swept into Egypt, pushed Kushite pharaohs back into Nubia

Growth of KushKushite Culture• Kushite pharaohs, guardians of Egyptian tradition

– Had bodies mummified, buried in pyramids– Adopted Egyptian hieroglyphics as writing system

• Did not abandon all their own customs – Did not adopt Egyptian style of dressing– Statues show distinctly Nubian features, clothing– Statues show pharaohs wearing crown with two cobras,

symbol of union of Egypt and Kush

Later Kush

There are few records for the period immediately following the Kushite expulsion from Egypt. However in the mid-200s BC, the Kushites moved their capital farther south along the Nile from Napata to Meroë. The scope of change in culture was so great, some refer later Kush as a separate culture.