In the divided Egypt of the 8th century BC, the strongest power in the Nile valley was not Egyptian. Far to the south, at Napata below the Fourth Cataract, kings of Kush had built a new kingdom that worshipped Amun and saw itself as the true guardian of Egyptian tradition. Then it moved north.
Key idea
Piye's campaign
Around c. 728 BC, a coalition of northern rulers led by Tefnakht of Sais pushed south. Piye sailed north with his army, took Hermopolis and Memphis, and received the submission of the Delta kings. His great Victory Stela, set up in the temple of Amun at Jebel Barkal near Napata, tells the story. It shows a pious king who celebrates Amun's festivals on the way, and who is angrier at a defeated ruler for starving his horses than for fighting him. Then Piye went home to Napata.
Kushite pharaohs
- Shabaqo brought all Egypt under direct Kushite rule. A text he had copied onto stone, the Shabaqo Stone, preserves the Memphite creation account.
- Taharqo (c. 690–664 BC) built at Karnak, Jebel Barkal and elsewhere, and was buried in the largest pyramid at Nuri.
- Kushite art looked back to the Old and Middle Kingdoms, deliberately reviving older styles.
Why it works
The Assyrians
Assyria, the great power of the Near East, now pushed into Egypt. The Assyrian king Esarhaddon took Memphis c. 671 BC; Taharqo retreated south. His successor Tantamani tried to retake Egypt, and in 663 BC the army of Ashurbanipal sacked Thebes. The Kushite kings withdrew to Kush, where their kingdom went on for another thousand years, later centered at Meroë.
Worked example: Foreign or Egyptian?
- They took the titles and roles of pharaohs.
- They restored Egyptian temples and copied old Egyptian art.
- They claimed to restore order in a divided land.
Answer: As true heirs of the pharaohs, not as outsiders.
Common mistake