As trade with Egypt increased, the region’s power grew,
but during the Middle Kingdom (2040–1640 b.c.e.) Egypt
expanded into Nubia. Th e region remained politically dis-
organized until the fi rst in a series of three kingdoms was
established. Th e kingdom of Kerma lasted from about 2400
to 1500 b.c.e. Kerma’s kings accumulated enough power to
build large walls, tombs, and other structures. Kerma is the
name of the modern city on which the kingdom was built; the
na me used at t he t i me is u n k now n. Du r i ng t he New K i ngdom
(1550–1070 b.c.e.), Egypt expanded further into Nubia and
built a new capital at Napata, which lasted from 1000 to 300
b.c.e. and which was powerful enough to turn around and
conquer Egypt, with its kings ruling Egypt as Egypt’s 25th
Dynasty in the eighth century b.c.e. until Assyria invaded
Egypt in the seventh century b.c.e.
Th e Assyrian invasion pushed the Kushites southward.
Th e result was that much of their contact with Eg y pt, as well
as with the Middle East and Europe, was closed off. In 591
b.c.e. the Assyrians conquered Napata, so the Kushites re-
located their capital to Meroë. Th e Meroitic Kingdom lasted
to about 300 c.e. Rather than focusing its attention north-
ward, to Egypt, the Meroitic Kingdom looked southward.
During the Napata and Meroitic kingdoms, the Kush em-
barked on a program of pyramid building that rivaled that
of the Egyptians.
Establishing the chronology of Kushite dynasties has
posed particular problems for historians and archaeologists.
In most cases, they have to estimate dates. Th e principal evi-
dence they use consists of inscriptions from tombs and pyra-
mids. On this basis, historians have determined that the fi rst
ruler of the Napata Kingdom was Alara. He was followed by
Kashta, who ruled from about 770 to 750 b.c.e. Th e fi rst ruler
of the Meroitic Kingdom was Aspelta, who was followed by a
long succession of kings and even several queens, particularly
aft er the start of the Common Era. Knowledge about the line
of succession ends at about 355 c.e.
Th e most noteworthy dynasty that ruled the Kushites
was the succession of monarchs who made up the 25th Dy-
nasty of Egypt (770–657 b.c.e.). Th is dynasty included fi ve
Kushite pharaohs, all successors to Kashta: Piye (r. 750 to 712
b.c.e.), his brother Shabaka (r. 712–698 b.c.e.), Shebitku (r.
698–690 b.c.e.), Taharqa (r. 690–664 b.c.e.), and Tantamani
(r. 664 to 657 b.c.e.). Th e ruling dynasties of Kush resembled
those of Egypt, with several exceptions. First, the pharaohs
of Kush ruled according to law rather than divine right. Th is
law was created and interpreted by priests. Th e pharaoh, then,
was elected from the royal family, with descent following the
mother’s rather than the father’s line. For this reason Kush
produced a number of queens, in contrast to most of the other
civilizations of the world at that time.
Th e Meroitic Kingdom remained powerful through the
second half of the fi rst millennium b.c.e. It went through a
period of decline until it was defeated and its commercial
and trading power was taken over by the kingdom of Axum
to the east.
AXUM
Th e kingdom of Axum rose in power as that of the Kush-
ites declined, and in about 350 c.e. Kush’s reign as a major
power in the area essentially ended when Axum conquered
the Kushites. Th e Axumite Kingdom occupied the highlands
of Ethiopia near the Red Sea, along with parts of modern-day
northern Ethiopia, Eritrea, Yemen, southern Saudi Arabia,
northern Somalia, Djibouti, and northern Sudan. Axum was
a mixture of indigenous Kushitic-speaking people and im-
migrants from the southern Arabian Peninsula, who settled
in the region in about 500 b.c.e.
Unfortunately, historians know little about the Axumite
Kingdom. Much of what is known comes from Greek and
Roman writers as well as from modern archaeological exca-
vations. It is know that the Axumites developed their own al-
phabet, called the Ge’ez alphabet, and that Ethiopia, Axum’s
modern successor state, has one of the world’s longest con-
tinuing traditions of literacy. Axum was the fi rst African state
to mint its own coins. Th e kingdom had large, cosmopolitan
cities, including the cities of Axum, Yeha, Hawulti, Matara,
Adulis, and Qohaito, which were among the most culturally
advanced cities in the ancient world at that time. Axum was
a crossroads for people from numerous parts of the world,
including India, the Middle East, Sudan, and Egypt, and
the kingdom accommodated a range of religious adherents,
including Jews, Christians, and Buddhists. Th e Ethiopian
Christian Church, created in roughly 325 c.e., when the king-
dom converted to Christianity, is among the oldest Christian
churches in existence.
Th e source of Axum’s power, like that of the Kushites,
was trade. Th e region occupied a strategic position that
linked Africa with the Arabic countries, Rome, India, and
later Byzantium, the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire
(present-day Istanbul in Turkey). Th rough trade, primarily
in such commodities as silk, spices, ivory, tortoiseshell, gold,
and emeralds, the kingdom became immensely wealthy.
With the help of a powerful navy on the Nile River and the
Red Sea, Axum was able to extend its imperial power by
establishing colonies throughout the region in the decades
aft er the start of the Common Era. Axum remained a ma-
jor power until the rise of Islam in the seventh and eighth
centuries c.e.
Th e offi cial title of the Axumite kings, found on numer-
ous royal inscriptions, was “king of kings.” While little is
known about the earliest Axumite kings, it is known that
they claimed to trace their lineage back to the biblical King
David, King Solomon, and the Queen of Sheba. Somewhat
more is known about later kings, particularly those who
ruled in the centuries aft er the start of the Common Era,
when Axum reached the height of its power. Most of this
knowledge comes from coins minted during the kings’ reign.
Among the most important of these kings was ‘Ezānā, who
ruled in the fourth century c.e. and converted the empire to
Christianity.empires and dynasties: Africa 391