Ancient Africa (Kingdom of Kush and Early African Cultures) BEGINNINGS Ep. 10

The world now has civilization. We've gone over the six main cradles of civilization in previous episodes, along with the early advancements of other neighboring peoples. There were still smaller cultures living all over the earth at this point. We had focused on Egypt in episode 4, a region that is considered part of the ancient Near East, Mediterranean, and Middle East. But perhaps above all else, it was truly, African. This is evidenced by its neighbors, right to the south, in which they would be inextricably linked. In truth, archaeologists of the past, could only work within their own perspectives, influenced by ever-present ideologies. The most influential, was the backdrop of biblical stories, many of these involving Egypt. The result was European archaeologists and historians removing Egypt from Africa, to place them in the stories of the Near East, often depicting them with European features, along with other regions mentioned in the Bible. The Nubians, were regarded as darker-skinned, and out of the biblical sphere, so had always taken a backseat to Egypt. Nubia has often been overlooked, because of Egypt's dominance in the historical narrative, but the region of Nubia, today Sudan, also developed their civilization, around the same Nile River with which the Egyptians prospered. Around 2500 BCE, the Kerma culture would form in Upper Nubia. After growing in size and prominence, they would expand northwards, into Lower Nubia, on the border of their great rivals. The city of Kerma itself was only home to around 2000 Nubians, but most others lived rurally in smaller villages. The most stunning Kerma structures were built of mud bricks. These were called defufas. They were either temples or chapels for funerals. They were built promoting air circulation and the bricks kept the interior nice and cool. Egypt often underestimated the Nubians, but this wasn't the Egypt of old. Egypt was in a weakened state, during the Second Intermediate Period. The Hyksos had encroached from the north, and now Nubia, from the south. After expelling the Hyksos, the Egyptian New Kingdom would launch campaigns into Nubia, which they now referred to as Kush. The Nubian army was said to possess stunningly skilled archers. The Egyptians previously called the region Tesseti, meaning Land of the Bow. By 1500 BCE, Nubia was absorbed, and their capital of Kerma was destroyed. While Western narrative is that Nubia inherited most of their culture from Egypt, there was always a mutual exchange of ideas. This period saw that exchange ramped up tenfold. Elites would intermarry, and ceremonies involving the sun god Amun would take place. Though Nubia was annexed, they would continue to fight back for centuries. Perhaps one of these rebellions would succeed. But there was no need to find out. The Bronze Age collapse dismantled New Kingdom Egypt, sending the once great Egyptian Empire spiraling down. After Egypt finally disintegrated, Nubia had its own chance for glory. The Kingdom of Kush was established in Nubia around 1070 BCE, with the capital eventually moving to Napta. After Kerma, this marked a second golden age for Nubia. In the 700s BCE, Egypt was still fragmented from the fallout of the Bronze Age collapse, with Libyan invaders making a mockery of Egypt's buildings and customs. A firm believer in the Egyptian religion himself, King Kashta of Kush, undertook a campaign to invade Egypt and drive off these invaders. While there is no depiction of this man, he succeeded in taking the religious center of Thebes and was even greeted as a liberator by the locals. He would then set his sights north, to conquer the rest of Egypt. But it was not to be. Kashta died and was buried with his predecessor, Alara. The conquest of Egypt would then fall to Kashta's son, King Pi. Around 745 BCE, King Pi would invade a divided Egypt and succeed, completing the conquest and becoming their first pharaoh of the 25th dynasty. I am a king. Divine emanation, living image of a tomb. Who came forth from the womb, adorned as a ruler, of whom those greater than he were afraid. Whose father knew and whose mother recognized that he would rule. Meriaman Pianke. Ruling from Thebes and Memphis, this dynasty would be known as the Nubian dynasty, encompassing a wider Kushite empire. One of Pi's sons, Taharqa, became the most influential pharaoh of this dynasty. Under his rule, Egypt became as prosperous as it had been during its New Kingdom period. Religion was promoted, and art restored and created. Temples and monuments were commissioned as well. Pyramid construction began again, a practice not seen since the Middle Kingdom. Taharqa, and others of the dynasty, are sometimes depicted with distinct headdresses. The typical headdress involves a ureus, or cobra, representing rulership. Taharqa's possessed two cobras, most likely signifying rulership of both Egypt and Nubia. The Kushites also developed their own script, derived from the Egyptian. This was the Meroitic alphabet. The Kushites' success caught the eye of a new and expanding superpower in the Near East. The Neo-Assyrian Empire was lapping up chunks of land in the Middle East, and was on the march towards Egypt. In Judah, King Hezekiah implored the Kush for help to stave off the Assyrians, so the king sent an army. Jerusalem was saved from the siege, and merely became a tribute state of Assyria, instead of fully annexed. Furious, the Neo-Assyrians would then attack Egypt herself, to crush this kingdom of Kush, once and for all. The Nubians fought well, fending off the Assyrians over and over, even after all seemed lost. In 664 BCE though, the Kushites were finally defeated after the sack of Thebes. The Neo-Assyrians, under King Ashurbanipal, had access to vast amounts of iron weapons, which wore down the Nubians, forcing a retreat. The Assyrians withdrew as well, but installed native puppet rulers as Egypt's 26th dynasty. Their civilization would live on though. By the 500s BCE, the capital was moved to Mero, or Merui, further away from Egypt, but more importantly, expanded southwards, to a region with sufficient rainfall, and easy access to iron, and other resources. Here, the Nubians would flourish once again. Their most significant structures were their pyramids. While smaller and differently shaped than their Egyptian counterparts, some would still stand an impressive 30 meters tall, just shy of 100 feet. Even more impressive, is that just a single burial area in Mero, contains more pyramids than in the entirety of Egypt. Yet, not many have heard of this land of pyramids. The Nubians would live on through the classical period as well, often under female rulers called By around the 4th century CE, troubles with the nearby Ethiopian kingdom of Axum, might have caused the Nubians rapid decline, eventually leading to their disappearance soon after. We'll get to the kingdom of Axum in our next series on the Middle Ages, so be sure to subscribe. In West Africa, agricultural communities would emerge based on the domestication of millet. There is evidence of this as far back as 2000 BCE. These would become urban centers, and flourished because of the variation of environments in western Africa. The desert nomads to the north could produce salts, the farmers on the fertile coast could provide meats and grain, the hunters along the Niger River provided fish, and those in the forests provided meats and furs. The two most prominent urban centers were of the Tishite culture. Datashite and Walata, in present-day Mauritania. The Soninke people, a Mande-speaking ethnic group, are thought to be responsible for beginning these centers. By around 300 BCE, these centers would decline and eventually become abandoned. We would see similar pottery in the later Ghana Empire, so the culture did survive. Later, around 300 BCE, Geni Geno, in Mali, was settled, marked by homes and living quarters built with dried mud. By 250 BCE, Geni Geno became a huge urban center itself. The bricks were built by mixing mud with straw, and letting it ferment for a period of time, making the building materials thick and tough, but also malleable. Once the mud bricks were placed, they would be covered in mud plaster. This kept the insides cool. To the south, in the Joze Plateau of central Nigeria, the Nok culture would emerge, around 1500 BCE. They were known for their lifelike terracotta figures of humans and animals. By 200 CE, however, this culture disappeared, but the Nok is thought to have influenced later figurines of the Yoruba. Central and southern Africa would start to see new migrants, from the Originating in Cameroon, Proto-Bantu speakers, part of the Niger-Congo language family, would branch off, kick-starting a millennia-long migration. The western branch would migrate southwards, following the rivers until reaching Angola. The eastern group would first settle near the Great Lakes region of Africa. Then they traveled southeast, in different phases. These phases were not done within a lifetime, but over thousands of years, and by the end of the first millennium CE, the Bantu occupied all of central, and most of southern Africa, displacing or assimilating the nomadic and pastoralist tribes along the way. In the east, they would encounter both Cushitic and Nilotic speakers. Cushitic speakers were from the Afro-Asiatic language family, the same family as the Semitics from the Near East, and the Egyptian language. Nilotic speakers were from the Nilo-Saharan language family, the same family as the Nubian language. In the south, is where the hunter-gathering Kosan people lived. Indigenous to this part of Africa, they were apart from the Bantu speakers, and would become known for their unique click consonants. Ancient Africa, like the rest of the world, has its own story. And it's been a shame it's often been overlooked. We are planning a four-part mini-series on the different regions of the continent. The four episodes will be in a chapter of their own, in our next series on the Middle Ages. As for now, our journey through the beginnings of the ancient world is over. And with it, the first chapter of our Made in Ancient History series. But history trudges on, and one ending always leads to yet more beginnings. The dark clouds over Greece seem to be fading. How about we take a look?