KUSH: TOP TEN EVENTS AND PEOPLE

 

1. Believed themselves to be Egyptian, and therefore had an Egyptian society.

2. King Kashta- maintained a peace time and controlled much of Upper Egypt.

3. 1000 B.C. Kush becomes an independent nation; Liberation from Egypt in the year 1700

4. Assyrian attack pushes the Kushites away from Egypt and cut them off.

5. King Piye- conquered all of Lower Egypt and built the first pyramid.

6. King Shabako- fought the Assyrian army but failed.

7. King Tanutamani- attempted to re-take Egypt. Defeated Assyria in 664 B.C.

8. Kush thrived for about 150 years, mostly due to its major trading network.

9.1000 B.C. the Kushites conquer all of Nubia.

10. Kush became the center of Iron production after an Assyrian invasion in which the Assyrians used Iron weapons.

11. Trade: The Kush Empire was a major "middle man" for the trade from southern

Africa.

12. The conquering of all the empire of Nubia.  Nubia contained lots of gold made Kush very rich.

13. The adoption of the Egyptian ways. They followed the Egyptian ways very closely for example they had many of the Egyptian gods and built pyramids like the Egyptians.

14. Learned to smelt iron: very useful for the Kush military.

15. Between 250 and 200 BC strongest empire of Africa.

16. Used hieroglyphics for written language.

17. The Nuba people conquered Kush and ended the Empire

 

 

QUOTES:

" The Kushites are all fine soldiers, but the Assyrians were conspicuous even among a nation of fighters." - Flavius Arrianus Xenophon

" As for state structure, it's pretty obvious that an inherited pharoship- so stable that it survived centuries in some cases- ruling over a vast empire with a well established, highly tr~Jnl;lH bureaucracy at its beck and call is quite different from the city states found along the western African coast, most of whom rested upon the charismatic power of one given ruler, wnM¢ dynasties were hardly stable beyond a few generations, and whose state &ITHCrnr~ Wll~ ~mp.l)'onic, at best." -a Stanford history student

"The Kushites were pretty much Egyptian knock-offs with nice looking iron swords, other than that well, you get the picture." - Unknown

 

SUMMARY:

The Kush Empire was noted for their very high trade influence in Africa. Also for a while they were one of the major powers of all Africa. Originally this great civilization was started along the great Nile River. The people of Kush struggled with the rule of Egypt. During Egypt's low points Kush would flourish. During a time of freedom from Egypt, Kush conquered all of Nubia. This was a great thing for Kush because Nubia was rich in gold. Although Kush was a great Empire it did not last long. Not long after it became a major power in Africa it soon fell. They were slowly pushed back until the Nuba people defeated them.

 

 

Kush was a very prosperous nation, but we do not know much about them due to the fact that their writing cannot be translated since there is no key stone or other way to understand it. Kush was one of few nations that was independent, and they were so for about 150 years until they were taken over.. They were a major producer of Iron and exported it in weapon form to other nations as well as within their own region. They were extremely prosperous and progressed greatly when it came to their knowledge because they watched their enemies during battle and learned from them. Even Alexander the Great respected them as a nation because they were innovative in battle. Kush definitely made an impact on Africa, and they helped better prepare it for the world as we know it.

 

Farren Winget;  12/6/06