Ancient Kush developed on the Nile River. Rain flooded the Nile every year, and brought a layer of fertile silt perfect for farming over the land. They developed in this fertile area.

They were rich in minerals such as copper, gold, and stone. These contributed to the wealth because they could trade with them.

They depended on the agriculture for food. Fortunately for them, the Nile floods made it so that they can grow crops in Summer and Winter. They grew wheat, barley, and other grains.

The Nile also provided a bank to keep their livestock. By 3500 BC all the farming villages were thriving.

Some farmers became rich, and became village leaders.

In around 2000 BC, one of these farmers took control of his and other villages, and named himself king of the region. He called the new land Kush.

The kings ruled for the new capitol called Kerma. Kerma was located on the Nile, south of the third cataract.

Because of the harsh cataracts, invaders could not get in. This was great for Kush because it brought protection from the powerful Egyptian civilization to the north.

Overtime the society grew more complex. Some people now became priests and artisans. Influence over Kush grew greatly, and lots of Egyptians settled there. Many Kushites copied Egyptians by wearing their clothing style, doing their religious practice, and had Egyptian names.

Kush and Egypt were neighbors, so sometimes they would get along and sometimes they wouldn't. Times when they would get along include when Kush was a supplier of goods like slaves, and raw materials like gold, copper, stone, ebony (a type of wood), and ivory. In 850 BC, Kush regained its strength. Because the Egyptians destroyed the old capital Kerma, the kings now settled in a new city called Napata. Built by the Egyptian's, Napata was on the nile and 100 miles south east of kerma. e

PIANKI: Piankhi was the most successful Kush military leader. He was not only a feirce warrior, he was also very religious. He believed he had the support of the gods on his passion to destroy and have war against egypt. 751-716 BC

As Kush grew stronger,e gypt grew weeker. When the pharaohs grew frail and week, Kush king Kashta attacked it in the 700s BC. In 751 BC he conquered upper egypt, and made relationships in lower egypt.

When he died, his son piankhi continued the attacks. They captured many cities including the ancient capital. He thought the gods wanted him to control all of Egypt, so in 716 BC when he did he accomplished that. The kingdom extended north from napata to the nile delta. When he died, his son Shabaka took control. He declared himself pharaoh in the 25th or Kushite dynasty in Egypt. He believed that him and his family were the heirs from former great Egyptian leaders. They tried to be like them by restoring old traditions and cultural practices. These were abandoned when Egypt was weak and then returned in Shabakas power. Shabaka was buried in a pyramid, where the Egyptians hadn't buried a pharaoh in a pyramid for centuries before that. He also restored old temples and built new ones and he also restored the writing system. All this led to Egypt thriving in the 25th dynasty.

The Kushite dynasty remained strong for about 40 years in Egypt. In the 670s BC, Assyrians from Mesopotamia invaded. They had better iron weapons and finally pushed the Kushites south. In just 10 years the assyrians had completely destroyed Kush and moved them fully out of Egypt.

After they lost control of Egypt, the people of Kush devoted themselves to agriculture and trade hoping it would make them rich again. In just a feew centuries they were back to being powerful.

The economic center in this time was Meroë, the new capital. It was on the east bank which was good for trade and helped the economy grow. There was lots of gold, wood, and ebony. The most important part was the iron. The kushites developed Africa's first iron industry. it was easily available so it grew quickly. Soon, meroe became the first trade center. A trade network is a group of people who trade goods from different lands. The Kushites sent goods from the Nile to Egypt, Merchants sent goods from the red and mediterranean sea. Finally these routes reached india and maybe china. Kushites exports were gold, pottery, iron tools, slaves, ivory, leopard skins, elephants, and ostrich feathers. In return they recieved imports such as fine jewlery and other luxury items from Egypt, Asia, and other lands along the medditerranean sea, l

Kushites combined other lands cultures into one new mixed one. One main influence was Egypt. Many buildings, like some temples in Meroe had Egyptian style. The Kushite leaders used the title pharaohs and was buried in pyramids. They also worshipped their own gods. They had their own language and writing called merotic which historians cannot understand. Although some of there culture was influenced by others, some was not, like their houses and daily life.

The women of Kush were expected to be active in society. Most women were expected and did do work in the fields, raised children, cooked, and preformed other household tasks. Some women also had places in the higher ranks and had authority. They might have been co rulers with their husband or sons, but some ruled the land alone. Historians believe the first independent women to rule was Queen Shanakhdakheto who ruled from 170 to 150 BC.