Pharaonic Egypt is arguably the most famous ancient civilization on the African continent. This does not mean, however, that it was the only ancient civilization that sprang from African soil. Egypt’s southern neighbors, the Nubians (Egyptian for ‘gold’, due to the abundance of this precious metal in their lands), have had an uneasy relationship with the Egyptians over the millennia. At times, they were seen as allies of the Egyptians, while at other times they were seen as the wretched enemies. Under the Kingdom of Kush, however, the Nubians would conquer Egypt and establish a dynasty of their own.

The Kingdom of Kush was already in existence during the time of Egypt’s Old and Middle Kingdoms (ca. 2686 B.C. – 1650 BC). During this period, it was based around the settlement of Kerma, just above the Third Cataract of the Nile, in Upper Nubia. It was, however, only during the Second Intermediate Period that the Kingdom of Kush rose to power. As Lower Egypt fell to the Hyksos at the end of the Middle Kingdom, the Kingdom of Kush came to be the dominant power in Upper Egypt. The success of Kush as a regional power, however, is a puzzle that continues to baffle archaeologists. Without the conventional features of complex societies – a writing system, an extensive bureaucracy and major urban centers, the Kingdom of Kush’s success in controlling Upper Egypt seems to be an anomaly.

The control of Upper Egypt by the Kingdom of Kush, however, would not last for long. With the emergence of the 18 ^th Dynasty in the mid-16 ^th century BC, Egypt was able to present a united front against its Hyksos overlords. Having expelled the Hyksos, the rulers of the 18 ^th Dynasty set their sights on its Southern neighbors. This resulted in the ending of the Kingdom of Kush, as Nubia became an Egyptian colony under the rule of a Viceroy of Kush. With the collapse of the New Kingdom (ca. 1070 BC), however, Egypt’s control over its southern neighbor was once again weakened, and the local elites were able to regain control over Kush. During its early days, the Kingdom of Kush was centered at Napata, in modern central Sudan.

The fragmentation of Egypt’s kingship in the 8 ^th century BC was an opportunity seized by the Kingdom of Kush. Division and internal political instability in Lower Egypt allowed the Kusнιтe king, Piye, to launch a successful campaign in about 727 BC, thus establishing the 25 ^th Dynasty. In spite of this initial victory, Kusнιтe rule in Egypt would last for less than a century. This was due to the expansion of the Neo-ᴀssyrian Empire in the Near East. Although the Kusнιтes were initially on peaceful terms with ᴀssyria, Egyptian support for an anti-ᴀssyrian coalition in the Southern Levant at the end of the 8 ^th century BC sparked hostilities. In 671 BC, Egypt was invaded by the ᴀssyrians, and the Kusнιтe Dynasty of Egypt came to an end in 654 BC. This was not the end of the Kingdom of Kush, however, as they continued to survive in Nubia.

The survival of the Kusнιтes can be found in the records of writers from the Roman period. Strabo, for instance, describes a war between the Kusнιтes and the Romans during the 1 ^st century BC. Although the Kusнιтes were never absorbed into the Roman Empire, its power was in steady decline. By the 4 ^th century AD, raids by nomads from the south and the east would severely sap the power of the Kusнιтes. Eventually, the emerging Kingdom of Axum in Ethiopia would capture and burn the Kusнιтe capital of Meroe to the ground, thus marking the end of the Kingdom of Kush.