My Science School

               The pharaohs of Egypt conquered Kush around 2000 BC. Kush, also known as Nubia, is present day Sudan. Kush freed itself from the clutches of the pharaohs during the period of the Hyskos from 1650 to 1540 BC. However, Kush again came under Egyptian rule from 1540 BC. An Egyptian viceroy governed Kush from Aniba. Nubians were skilled fighters and were highly valued as soldiers in the Egyptian army. The Kushites cashed in on the weakening of Egyptian authority, and set up their own kingdom in Napata. The Kushite rulers turned the tables on Egypt. From the reign of King Piye, in the eighth century, Egypt came under their rule. They were known as ‘Black Pharaohs’.

               During the reign of Tahrqa, they were driven out of Egypt by the Assyrians, and they withdrew into Napata. King Ergamenes I founded a new dynasty between 270 and 260 BC. Meroe was the capital of the new kingdom. The kingdom of Meroe experienced its golden age under King Natakamani. The Romans razed Napata to the ground in AD 279. However, the kings and queens of Napata bounced back from defeat, and beat back the Romans. A Nubian nomadic people called Blemmyes took over the rule of Meroe in 250 AD. Meroe was destroyed around AD 350.