HIST 1010-003 Fall 2024 Lecture 011: The Kushites & Other African Kings PDF

HIST 1010-003 Fall 2024 Lecture 011: The Kushites & Other African Kings By Matt Malczycki Another Way to Look at It: Afrocentric Historiography – Basic premise: Europeans have downplayed Africa and over-emphasized Europ...

HIST 1010-003 Fall 2024 Lecture 011: The Kushites & Other African Kings By Matt Malczycki Another Way to Look at It: Afrocentric Historiography – Basic premise: Europeans have downplayed Africa and over-emphasized Europe in world history. – Stolen Legacy (1955) by George James – Afrocentricity (1980) by Molefi Kete Asante – Black Athena (3 vols, 1987-2001) by Martin Bernal Pharaonic Egypt & Ancient Nubia – Nubia = modern Sudan more or less – Egyptians referred to Nubia as Kush/Cush – once assumed to be southern outpost of ancient Egyptian civilization – there was a lot of exchange, but the Nubians/Kushites had their own distinct culture Pharaonic Egypt & Ancient Nubia – some think name “Nubia” comes from ancient Egyptian world for gold = nub – Ancient Egyptians referred to Kush as “Ta- Sety” (Land of the Archers) and “Ta-Nehesy” (Land of the Black People) – Kushite soldiers -- especially archers -- were considered elite warriors & were hired to serve in pharaonic armies.  Kerma (fl. 2500-1400 BCE) below: ruins of Kushite mud-brick – Kushite kingdom on Nile temple at Kerma R. south of Egypt – relations with Egypt sometimes peaceful, sometimes hostile – center was the Western Deffufa, a temple-fortress – Egypt defeated & occupied but did not destroy Kerma ca 2000 BCE, – Kerma regained independence ca 1700 BCE but was again defeated ca Callens, Walter. "Western Deffufa Temple, Kerma." World History Encyclopedia. Last modified March 14, 2013. https://www.worldhistory.org/image/1111/western- deffufa-temple-kerma/. 1500 BCE  Napata & the Kingdom of Kush – ca 1475 BCE: city of Napata founded as Egyptian outpost in Kush – Kush was ruled as a viceroyalty of Egypt to 1069 BCE – The independent Kingdom of Kush was founded at Napata in 1069 BCE. – Kush began to assert economic & political influence & eventually even dominance over Egypt. Goodman, Patrick. "Kingdom of Kush (c. 2400 BCE - 350 CE)." World History Encyclopedia. Last modified March 06, 2021. https://www.worldhistory.org/image/13558/kingdom-of-kush-c-2400-bce---350- ce/.  The Kushites: The 25th Pharaonic Dynasty of Egypt – ca. 1000-591 BCE – Kushite Kings Kashta (d. 747 BCE) had enough sway to make his daughter, Amenirdis I, Wife of Amun (= high priestess) at Thebes; same status as Hatshepsut had centuries earlier – Soon Kush claimed to rule all of Upper Egypt & could back it up militarily. – Kashta’s son Piye (d. 721 BCE) conquered Lower Egypt, thus uniting Egypt under one pharaoh – 25th Dynasty kings among Egyptian dynasties mentioned in Biblical Book of Kings II & Book Chronicles II Cartwright, M. (2013, August 09). Mummy of Amenirdis. World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.worldhistory.org/image/1377/mummy-of- amenirdis/  The Kushites: The 25th Pharaonic Dynasty of Egypt – Shabaka (r. ca. 719-703 BCE) made Memphis capital – Taharqa (r. ca. 690-664 BCE) fought Assyrian invasion of Egypt & established new capital at Meroë – 663 BCE: Assyrian invasion toppled 25th Dynasty; Kushites retreated – 591 BCE: Egyptian invasion of Nubia forced Kushites south to Meroë, where they found new kingdom Meroë – est. as Kushite capital ca. 656 BCE by Taharqa’s descendants – increasingly looked east (Ethiopia & Arabia) & south (Sub-Saharan Africa) rather than north (Egypt) – strong enough to hold out against Roman Empire – gradually gave way to Aksum Aksum (Axum) – located in Ethiopia – rose to prominence ca 100 CE – access to Red Sea, Persian Gulf, & Indian Ocean trade – converted to Christianity under King Ezana (r. 303-350 CE) – by 6th century CE considered one of the great world powers Ethiopian (Tewahedo) Church – founded ca 333 CE – close ties to Coptic (Egyptian) Church of Alexandria – liturgical language: Ge’ez – Christology differs from Churches of Rome (Catholic) & Constantinople (Orthodox)  Aksum, the Red Sea, & the Empires – The Sassanian Empire (Persians) vs. the Romans – Theologically, Aksum differed from Rome. – Economically, the two were connected through trade. – Aksum invaded Yemen in 520 CE. – Persians took Yemen in 570, & Aksum declined. “The Kingdom of Aksum,” Khan Academy, accessed Sept. 13, 2021. https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art- africa/east-africa2/ethiopia/a/the-kingdom-of-aksum The End