Ancient Egypt

Land of the Pharaohs

Ancient Kush

BIG IDEA

The kingdom of Kush, which

arose south of Egypt in a land

called Nubia, developed an

advanced civilization with a

large trading network.

MAIN IDEA

The geography of early

Nubia helped civilization

develop there.

Ancient Kush• The Kingdom of Kush

started in Nubia, south of Egypt – this was the first great kingdom in the interior of Africa.

• We know this kingdom by the name the Egyptian gave it – KUSH.

• Geography greatly influenced Nubian society.

** Today Nubia is a desert, but thousands of years ago it was very fertile.

Topics in the Section:

The Geography of

Early Nubia:

- The Land of Nubia

- Early Civilization in Nubia

Topics in the Section:

Kush and Egypt

- Egypt’s Conquest of Kush

- Effects of the Conquest

- A Change in Power

- The Conquest of Egypt

- The Kushite Dynasty

- The End of the Kushite Rule

in Egypt

Topics in the Section:

Later Kush

- Kush’s Iron Industry

- The Expansion of Trade

- Kushite Culture

- Women in Kushite Society

Ancient Kush

– Kush and Egypt became trading partners. They creating a trade network of imports and exports.

– Kush exported the following items:• Gold• Slaves• Ebony• Ivory• Copper• Stone

Egypt conquered

Kush, around

1500 B.C.,

because Kush

had so many

more resources

than Egypt and

they feared that

they would get

too strong. Egypt

ruled them for

over 400 years.

Then Kush began to

decline:

A. Allowed their cattle

to overgraze, soil

blew away = less

foodB. Iron workers used

all the wood – furnaces to make

Iron ore had to shut down = fewer

weapons

C. Loss of trade – trade route no longer

went through Kush.

In the late 300’s, rulers of Aksum

became Christian. About 200 years later,

the Nubiansalso converted.

The last influence of

Kush disappeared.

When the Egyptian

empire declined at

the end of the New

Kingdom, the

Kushites began to

invade Egypt –

around mid 1000’s.

As Kush grew stronger, Egypt grew weaker (a few bad Pharoahs). In 700s BC, Kashta seized the weakness of Egypt and took over upper Egypt.

Piankhi , Kashta’s son, completed the invasion of all of Egypt before he died in 716 B.C.

Ancient Kush

• Kushite Dynasty began – 25th Dynasty

Notice the difference in headwear.

Kush did not remain in power long

(40 years)

The Assyrians, from Mesopotamia,

invaded Egypt. The Assyrians had

better weapons , so Kush lost.

The people of Kush now turn to

agriculture and trade - hoping to

make it a prosperous and

powerful again.

Kush developed the first iron

industry, leading to

improvements in tools, weapons,

and more.

Their city, Meroe,

became the

center of a large

trade network.

Imports and Exports went through

Meroe. Their trade network

expanded to Greece, India, and

China.

Kush combined many other cultures into

their own culture. They took many

Egyptian elements, but also many of

their own.

Clothing

Customs

Dress

Gods

Language

Ancient Kush

• The Kushite

developed

Meroitic as

their written

language.

Today we are

not yet able

to

understand

Meroitic.

Ancient Kush

• Women had more

rights in Kush than

in many of the

ancient civilizations.

Then Kush began to

decline:

A. Allowed their cattle

to overgraze, soil

blew away = less

foodB. Iron workers used

all the wood – furnaces to make

Iron ore had to shut down = fewer

weapons

C. Loss of trade – trade route no longer

went through Kush.

New trade city,

Aksum –became wealthy.

They took over Kush

In the late 300’s, rulers of Aksum

became Christian. About 200 years later,

the Nubiansalso converted.

The last influence of

Kush disappeared.

Mesopotamia and Egypt

Mesopotamia Egypt

Agriculture +“Land between the rivers”

(Tigris and Euphrates forms

Fertile Crescent

+Artificial irrigation

+”Gift of the Nile”

+Artificial irrigation

Specialization +Pottery, textiles, woodworking,

leather, brick making,

stonecutting, masonry

+Pottery, textiles, woodworking,

leather production, stonecutting,

masonry

Cities -Numerous, densely populated

city-states (Ur and Babylon)

-Fewer cities with high

centralization (Memphis and

Thebes)

Social Hierarchy -Noble class

-Patriarchal

+Slaves

-Absolute authority of the

pharaoh made a noble class

unnecessary (had bureaucrats

instead)

-Patriarchal, but the presence of

Queen Hatsheput may indicate

greater opportunities for women

+Slaves

Mesopotamia and Egypt

Mesopotamia Egypt

Religion and Education -Polytheism

-No afterlife

-Polytheism, but brief period of

monotheism under Akhentan

-Afterlife and judgment

(mummification)

New Technologies -Superior in metallurgy -Papyrus, shipbuilding,

pyramids

Economic exchange -Trade by land and water -Trade principally by water along

the Nile

-Trade more important because

Egypt lacked natural resources

beside the Nile

Art and Writing -Cuneiform -Hieroglyphs (more pictorial

than cuneiform)

Farewell Students

and Beware the

Curse of the Mummy!