I. After Ramses the Great, Egypt began a slow decline. A. Although they took his name, the pharaohs that came after Ramses were not as great as he had been. Indeed, with Ramses XI, Egypt experienced a revolt, and the priests took over as leaders. B. Egypt was invaded by Libyans, who ruled for almost 200 years. Toward the end of Libyan rule, factions fought for control of Egypt, but the Nubians finally reunified the nation. II. Nubia and Egypt had a love-hate relationship for 2,000 years. A. The border of Egypt in the south was marked by five cataracts in the Nile. Nubia occupied either side of the Nile at these five cataracts. The area is now the Sudan. B. To the Egyptians, Nubia was Kush or Ta-Seti, the “Land of the Bow.” Nubian bowmen were hired into the Egyptian army, and Nubia supplied Egypt with gold. C. For 2,000 years, Egypt controlled Nubia, but when Egypt became weakened, the Nubians were allowed to grow independent. For the first time, the Nubians were unified under one leader, Piye (called “Piankhi”; r. 747–716 B.C.). D. Piye marched his bowmen north into the Delta and took control of Egypt. Along the way, he stopped at Thebes to celebrate the Egyptian religious festival called Opet. Piye viewed himself not as a foreigner but as a leader who would return Egypt to its greatness. E. Piye returned to Nubia and erected a victory stela, boasting that he had defeated the petty princes vying for power in Egypt. The stela also notes that Piye punished the Egyptians when he discovered that they hadn’t taken proper care of their horses. F. Piye appointed his sister, Amenirdis I, as Divine Adoratrice of Amun and sent her to Thebes. There, Amenirdis controlled the treasury. Nubians frequently appointed women to positions of power. G. Piye continued to rule from Nubia, but he allowed the earlier Egyptian princes to serve as regional rulers in their territories. H. Piye was buried in Nubia at el Kurru in a pyramid, harking back to the Old Kingdom. 1. Nubian pyramids, however, were smaller and built at steeper angles than Egyptian pyramids. 2. Further, Nubian pyramids were solid; they did not contain burial chambers. Nubian kings were usually buried underground, 50–100 yards away from their pyramids. 3. Inside the tombs, Nubian kings were buried in the custom of their country, on funerary couches. Piye was also buried with his horses, teamed up with his chariot and ready for action. Some Egyptian practices were followed, however, such as burial with ushabti (“answerer”) figures. III. In the Nubian custom, Piye was succeeded by his brother, Shabaka (r. 716–702 B.C.). A. Shabaka, himself a religious man and thinker, carved a stela that represents the only philosophical document we have from ancient Egypt. B. The stone is sometimes called “The Philosophy of a Memphite Priest.” Shabaka claimed to have copied the document from an older source. It describes the creation of the world in abstract, almost biblical terms. C. Shabaka was buried near Piye in the pyramid cemetery of el Kurru, near Gebel Barkal, which means “Pure Mountain.” On one side of the mountain is an outcropping of rock sculpted to resemble a cobra wearing the tall white crown of the pharaoh. IV. A nephew of Shabaka, Shibitku (r. 702–690 B.C.), was the next Nubian king. A. Shibitku sent his daughter, Shepenwepet II, to Thebes to become the Divine Adoratrice of Amun, again, to maintain control over Egypt. B. Shibitku faced a problem, however: The Assyrians were becoming powerful and were poised to invade Egypt. V. A new king, Taharqa (r. 690–664 B.C.), brother of Shibitku, would face the threat of the Assyrians. A. Taharqa was probably a great builder, as illustrated by his one remaining pillar at Karnak Temple.
B. Taharqa traveled north and battled the Assyrians in Judea (modern Israel). We have two accounts of this battle. 1. Herodotus wrote that mice ate the bowstrings of the Assyrians on the eve of battle, rendering them useless to the Assyrians in the morning. 2. According to the Bible (Kings), the Angel of the Lord slew many Assyrians. Undoubtedly, Taharqa was victorious. C. The Assyrians regrouped and defeated Taharqa at Memphis in year 19 of his reign. Taharqa fled to Thebes. Ultimately, the Assyrians would prove too powerful for the Nubians. VI. The last of the “Fabulous Five” Nubian kings was Tanuatamun (r. 664–656 B.C.), Taharqa’s cousin. He, too, was defeated by the Assyrians, ending the Nubian era. VII. For a brief period, the Nubian kings restored Egypt to its former greatness and should be remembered for their courage. A. Afrocentrism is a school of thought that holds that much of Western culture comes from Africa, rather than Greece. The ancient Greeks themselves traced much of their culture to Egypt. B. In the context of Afrocentrism, the question is often raised: Were the Egyptians black? The answer is: probably not. But the Nubians, coming from the Sudan, were black, and they ennobled Egypt with their actions. African Americans looking to take pride in their heritage can certainly lay claim to these brave, pious, and thoughtful kings.