For a thousand years, the lands south of the first cataract on the Nile River had been the source of gold for the Egyptian pharaohs. About 1520 BCE, the Egyptians took control of these southern lands, called Nubia or Kush. As Egypt’s control over the area weakened, the Kingdom of Kush was established about 1070 BCE. Then, under the leadership of Piye (also called Piankhy), Kush moved north in 747 BCE and conquered Egypt.
The ancient Egyptians referred to the lands to the south—in what is today in Sudan—as Kush. In referring to the Kushites, the Egyptians often said “vile Kush” because they were in a foreign country. For the Kushites, their relationship with Egypt was often a love-hate affair. They hated being under Egypt’s thumb, yet at the same time they adopted many Egyptian cultural concepts. For example, when the Egyptians went south, they would build temples to Amun. Eventually, the Kushites (Nubians) were also worshipping at these temples.
Piye ruled Kush from Napata, just above the fourth cataract on the Nile, and from here he moved north with his skilled bowmen and fought against an Egyptian confederacy which included Tanis (ruled by Osorkon IV), Leontopolis (ruled by Iuput), Sais (ruled by Teftnakht), and Hermopolois (ruled by Nimlot).
Piye viewed his campaign as a holy war and he ordered his soldiers to ritually cleanse themselves before going into battle. Piye also offered sacrifices to the great god Amun before battle.
On his journey north along the Nile to reach the Delta region, Piye stopped at Thebes, the religious center of Egypt. Here, he took part in the Opet Festival, the most sacred of Egyptian festivals. During this festival, the gods Amun, Mut, and Khonsu are taken from the Karnak Temple to the Luxor Temple. Piye celebrated as though he was Egyptian.
Following his victory, Piye returned south where he erected a victory stela at Gebel Barkal. On this stela, it is recorded that Piye had the king of Egypt—called Nimlot on the stela and one of the kings who was claiming to be Egypt’s king—brought to him. In front of Amun of Napata he had Nimlot bow down to him. In other words, the stela shows Egypt bowing down to Piye.
Piye ruled Egypt as a pharaoh and adopted two Egyptian throne names: Usimare and Sneferre. The dynasty which he established became Egypt’s 25th dynasty. During his reign he revitalized the Great Temple of Amun at Gebel Barkal. At the Great Temple there is a carved relief scene which depicts Piye celebrating a Heb Sed Festival.
In order to consolidate his rule over Egypt, Piye placed some of his family members in key ruling positions. His sister Amenirdis was made the high priestess of Amun at Karnak. She was given the title Divine Adoratrice of Amun. Piye also let the individual kings retain some of the power so that they rule for him. In this way he was able to rule Egypt from Napata in Sudan.
Piye was buried in a pyramid near Gebel Barkal in what is now Northern Sudan. He was the first pharaoh in more than 500 years to be buried in a pyramid. The Nubian pyramids are smaller than the Egyptian pyramids—not more than 100 feet high—and they are much steeper. While Piye was buried in a pyramid, an Egyptian tradition, his burial chamber reflects Nubian burial traditions in that he was buried on a bed.
In 721 BCE, Shabaka became pharaoh. The Nubian tradition for rulers was that the king was to be succeeded by his brother, if he had a brother. Shabaka, as Piye’s brother, thus followed Nubian tradition in becoming pharaoh. However, he followed Egyptian tradition by taking the throne name of Shabak Neferkare (Beautiful is the Soul of Re). Shabaka consolidated the Kushite control over Egypt. At the sacred Egyptian site of Karnak, he had erected a pink granite statue of himself wearing the double crown showing the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt.
Shabaka and his family, in spite of being newcomers to Egypt, were very interested in Egypt’s past. He had temples erected throughout Egypt. In 707 or 706 BCE, Shabaka died and was buried in a pyramid at el-Kurru.
Piye’s son, Shebitku, became pharaoh in 707 BCE and took the throne name Djedkare, which means “Enduring the Soul of Re.” Following the pattern of the other pharaohs of the 25th Dynasty, he put family members in strategic governmental and religious places. His daughter, Shepenwepet II, was appointed as the Divine Adoratrice of Amun.
During the reign of Shebitku, Egypt was threatened by the Assyrians under Sennecherib who was expanding his empire. Shebitku led the Egyptians in resisting the expansion of the Assyrian Empire into Canaan.
Piye’s son, Taharqa, became pharaoh in 690 BCE. Taharqa knew that his army would have to face the Assyrians who were continuing to expand their empire. According to Herodotus, Taharqa went to the Temple of Amun to ask: “What should I do?” In ancient Egypt it was common to sleep in a temple with the hope of getting a dream that would provide the answer to important questions. So Taharqa slept in the temple and Amun came to him in a dream and told him: “Don’t be afraid. You’re going to be victorious.”
Inspired by his vision, Taharqa marched his army north to Judea. According to the tradition, as related by Herodotus, the night before the battle thousands of field mice ate the bow strings and leather parts of the Assyrian weapons. The following day, having no weapons, the great Assyrian army fled from the Egyptians.
Following the assassination of Sennacherib in Assyria, Esarhaddon assumed the Assyrian throne and led the battle against the Egyptians. The Assyrians were victorious, and in 671 BCE, the Assyrians captured and sacked the Egyptian city of Memphis and captured numerous members of the royal family. Taharqa managed to escape and fled to the south. The Assyrians installed Necho I, an Egyptian noble, as king at Sais. The Assyrian army marched as far south as Thebes where they looted the great temples.
Taharqa is shown as a sphinx below:
Taharqa died at Thebes in 664 BCE and was buried at Nuri, in North Sudan.
More images of Taharqa are shown below:
This essay was originally posted on Street Prophets