Meroe

The Kingdom of Meroe (800 BC-350 AD) was a native kingdom in southern Nubia that succeeded Kush. It was disconnected from Egypt after the fall of its 25th Dynasty in 660 BC, and it lasted until its conquest by nomads in 350.

History[]

Egypt's weakness after 1200 BC led to the collapse of its authority in Nubia. In the 8th century BC a powerful new native kingdom emerged in southern Nubia. Its history can be divided into two parts. During the early period, between the 8th and 4th centuries BC, Napata, the former Egyptian headquarters, was the primary center. During the late period, from the 4th century BC to the 4th century AD, the center was farther south at Meroe.

For half a century, from 712 to 660 BC, the kings of Nubia ruled all of Egypt as the 25th Dynasty, conducting themselves in the age-old manner of Egyptian rulers. They were addressed by royal titles, depicted in traditional costume, and buried according to Egyptian custom. However, they kept their Nubian names and were depicted wih the physical features of sub-Saharan Africans. They resided at Memphis, while Thebes was the residence of the "God's Wife of Amon", a celibate female member of the royal family. In 701 BC the Nubians offered help to local rulers in Palestine who were struggling against the Assyrian Empire, so in 660 BC the Assyrians retaliated by invading Egypt and driving the Nubian monarchs back to their southern domain.

Napata again became the chief royal residence and religious center of the kingdom. However, Egyptian cultural influences remained strong. Court documents continued to be written in Egyptian hieroglyphs, and mummified remains of the rulers were buried in modestly sized pyramids along with hundreds of shawabti figurines. The 4th century BC the center of gravity had shiftd south to Meroe, as it was better suited for agriculture and trade. Meroitic women had a major role in the royal family, as in the matrilineal system the King was succeeded by the son of his sister. Nubian queens sometimes ruled by themselves and sometimes in partnership with their husbands, playing a part in warfare, diplomacy, and the building of temples and pyramids.

Meroe collapsed in the early 4th century AD, overrun by nomads from the western desert who had become more mobile because of the arrival of the camel in North Africa. Profitable commerce with the Roman Empire had been diverted to the rising Axum, and Meroe was succeeded by Nobatia, Makuria, and Axum.