Taharqa, Reign 690–664 BCE pharaoh of the Ancient Egyptian 25th dynasty and king of the Kingdom of Kush Sphynx of King Taharqa (690-664 B.C.) from Temple T at Kawa (London: British Museum).
Statuette of Taharqa and the Falcon God
Kushite King Senkamanisken Napata (643-623 B.C.)
Posted by mena7 (Member # 20555) on :
Beautiful statues of Nubian Suten/Sudan. Posted by Amun-Ra The Ultimate (Member # 20039) on :
quote:Originally posted by the lioness,:
Taharqa, Reign 690–664 BCE pharaoh of the Ancient Egyptian 25th dynasty and king of the Kingdom of Kush Sphynx of King Taharqa (690-664 B.C.) from Temple T at Kawa (London: British Museum).
It's the same person but the artistic style is not the same. For example, among other things, you can see the top statue posted has thinner lips while the bottom statue has fuller lips even if both statues represent the same person.
Posted by Brada-Anansi (Member # 16371) on :
Why the blatant sexism Lioness where's the Queenz.. Posted by Amun-Ra The Ultimate (Member # 20039) on :
I'll bump that one. It's pretty interesting imo. Especially, how the same person is represented differently as exposed above.
Posted by Djehuti (Member # 6698) on :
^ Mind you the narrow nose and thin lips represented in some statues is actually common among Lower Nubians including northern Sudanese who were traditionally classified as 'Caucasoid'.
This is why Nubia is not safe from white-washing and neither is the rest of Africa. Posted by the lioness, (Member # 17353) on :
quote:Originally posted by Djehuti: ^ Mind you the narrow nose and thin lips represented in some statues is actually common among Lower Nubians including northern Sudanese who were traditionally classified as 'Caucasoid'.
This is why Nubia is not safe from white-washing and neither is the rest of Africa.
additionally the hair of some Kermans is also not safe from white washing. The people were thought to be very dark in complexion
quote:Originally posted by Swenet:
Sources:
The Archological Survey of Nubia: Report For 1907-1908 -G. Elliot Smith,F. Wood Jones
Crania Ægyptiaca, or, Observations on Egyptian ethnography -Samuel George Morton
The specific pages from the book will have to wait. Imageshack is acting up. will be back tonight.
^ LOL @ "they were thought to be very dark-skinned"
B|tch, they WERE/ARE very dark-skinned! They were and still are BLACK. Yet they have wavy hair and have narrow noses and thin lips, which according to you Euronut ilk makes them have 'Caucasoid' ancestry. Posted by Amun-Ra The Ultimate (Member # 20039) on :
quote:Originally posted by Djehuti: ^ Mind you the narrow nose and thin lips represented in some statues is actually common among Lower Nubians
Well, wider noses and fuller lips too...
The main point is that the same person is represented differently.
Posted by the lioness, (Member # 17353) on :
Amun-Ra how did this happen? How did the these coal burnt pitch black as night triple stage darkness blue BLACK people with slightly wavy straight hair, narrow noses and thin lips come about in a land where there were coal burnt pitch black as night, triple stage darkeness blue BLACK people with wide noses and full lips ???
Posted by Amun-Ra The Ultimate (Member # 20039) on :
thelioness,
I want to keep my point in this thread about the different representation of the same person. The art part.
Posted by the lioness, (Member # 17353) on :
The God Sebiumeker Meroitic God of Procreation
Figure of Taharqa Dynasty 25, reign of Taharqa, ca. 690–664 BC Bronze
_____________________________________________
Servant Figure (shawabti) of King Taharqa, c. 690 - 664 B.C.E. alabaster Ackland Fun, 62.19.5
Shabtis, also known as shawabtis or ushabtis, were Egyptian objects that were placed in the tomb with the deceased. Because the Egyptians believed that the afterlife was a mirror of earthly existence, the shabtis were thought to be a substitute for the individual in the afterlife. They were believed to perform manual labor, allowing the individual to enjoy a leisurely life and not spend an enternity working. The work that they were designed to replace was agriculture work, which explains why our figure to the left holds a hoe in each hand and has two baskets on its back. Shabtis varied in size and by the material in which they were made.Shabtis were first used in the 9th through 11th Dynasties, where they were made out of wax or mud. These early models were very different than the one pictured to the left. They consisted of a naked body with outstretched arms, and it wasnt until the 12th Dynasty that the mummified version of shabtis came into practice. During the 13th Dynasty, Shabtis were used for high ranking officials and were of amazing stone work. And it wasn't until the 17th Dynasty that Shabtis really became popular. During this time, shabtis were used for kings as well as the common man. They were now not only of great workmanship, but painted and of high quality. This theory however, soon changed while approaching the 21st Dynasty. It was here that a belief in power of numbers was formed. There were 365 shabtis place with the deceased, one for each day of the year, and 36 more shabtis to supervise the workers. The two different types were easily distinguishable, because they were made to look like slaves and overseers. Once the 25th Dynasty, the one in which King Taharqa's shabtis came from, the funerary objects resembled that of a more traditional form. They were made of stone, like the earlier shabtis, yet they were not painted like the more resent models. Yet, eventhough being as impressive as they were, the trend was short, and Taharqa's shabtis were the last which were made of stone. The quality of the shabtis dropped as the 26th dynasty came along with bad stonework, and filled with errors.
Posted by the lioness, (Member # 17353) on :
Granite statue of Amon in the form of a ram protecting King Taharqa, 25th dynasty, 690–664 bce. The British Museum
Posted by the lioness, (Member # 17353) on :
Ba statue, meroe
ABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Discovering Meroe: from ancient authors to archaeologists 2. History and identity of an African empire 3. Meroitic civilization: the material aspects of a culture 4. The writing and language of Meroe 5. The Meroitic royalty 6. City, temple, and palace 7. Necropolises, tombs, and beyond 8. The gods of Meroe 9. Conclusion - The end of Meroe
288 pages, paperback with flaps, 21 x 28 cm, 380 illustrations Distributed by: Vilo
Meroitic Period. Second half of 2nd century BC. provenance Meroë
Posted by Firewall (Member # 20331) on :
quote:Originally posted by Amun-Ra The Ultimate:
quote:Originally posted by Djehuti: ^ Mind you the narrow nose and thin lips represented in some statues is actually common among Lower Nubians
Well, wider noses and fuller lips too...
The main point is that the same person is represented differently.
The info below talks about that. Why the you see certain features. There seems to be egyptian influence in the art images and even choosing of colors.
This changes abit however later,but it goes into more details below.Parts of lower nubia was still heavy with egyptian influences in the culture.
T.kendall.
How did the Egyptians portray the Nubians in art? The Egyptians recognized that peoples darker and different from themselves - and different from each other - dwelt beyond them to the south. Initially, in Dynasty 11-12 (ca. 2040-1783 BC), it was the Lower Nubian mercenary troops who figure in Egyptian art. These men were shown with black-painted skin but they had features indistinguishable from the Egyptians, who were painted uniformly with red brown skin.
As more Egyptian expeditions were sent deeper into Nubia, other peoples began to appear in Egyptian art with more markedly central African features, hairstyles, and characteristics. That Egyptian explorers penetrated the Sudan to a great distance at this period is suggested by the contemporary carved ivory group, preserved in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo, which was used as a child's toy. It represents three pygmy men, which could be made to dance when a string was pulled. To the Egyptians, these people were the "horizon dwellers", who were seen only once in many generations. They were famed among the Egyptians for their dancing, and when any of these people were brought to Egypt, they were made to perform "the dances of the gods." They would no doubt have come from the extreme reaches of the Upper Nile tributaries and the northern Congo area.
The greatest number of images of Nubians and other more southerly Africans in Egyptian art date from the New Kingdom (ca. 1550-1080 BC), when the Egyptians established direct rule over Nubia as far up the Nile as the Fourth Cataract and even beyond. In these images we can see a tendancy on the part of the Egyptians to categorize the southerners for propaganda purposes. First there were the "generic Nubians;" second, there were the "good Nubians," and third, there were the "bad Nubians." The first appear as exotic props in scenes showing the annual delivery of tribute to Egypt from the south. These people are shown carrying or standing among African products such as bags or ring ingots of gold, baskets of ostrich eggs and feathers, various exotic woods, elephant tusks and animal skins. They might also lead or carry wild animals, such as cheetahs, giraffes, and monkeys. Some of these people are shown with brown skin; others have black skin - clearly an attempt by the Egyptian artists to distinguish between different peoples of the south.
Some wear long, Egyptian-style linen garments, suggesting "Egyptianized" Nubians living within the empire. Apart from their dark skin, these individuals are proclaimed as Nubians by their large ring earrings and their unique hairdos, which look like inverted bowls. The hair is further distinguished by its yellow or red color, which reveals that it has been stained by a red or yellow ochre fat compound. This is a practice still popular, for example, among the Maasai of northern Kenya. Another distinctive detail of style that identifies the Nubians well into later Kushite history is their preference for wearing single large, long feathers in their hair. Nubians beyond the frontier, however, are shown in their native dress: men wear short kilts of animal skins, and the women wear long colorful skirts with their torsos remaining bare.
How did the Nubians portray themselves in art?
In their early statues and reliefs the kings of Kush are represented according to traditional Egyptian royal imagery; the only differences to be seen are in some of the faces, which look more Nubian. The heads are rounder; the lips are more full; there are marked furrows in the cheeks; and the royal regalia is unique to the Kushite Dynasty. The kings wore a crown in the form of a skull-cap with two rearing cobras (uraei) on the front. normally wear wigs.
The bodies of the serpents passed over the top of the crown and continued in two long ribbons or streamers that hung down the king's back. Around his neck the king wore a necklace of which the two loose ends were brought forward to hang down across each breast. At the throat and from each end hung a pendant in the form of a ram's head crown with a sun disk, which was the special symbol of the god Amun of Gebel Barkal, "Holy Mountain" of Napata, who was thought to grant them their kingship. The Kushite queens of the same period, while represented much like the queens of Egypt, also had fuller bodies. Their hair was also cropped short and, unlike Egyptian royal women, they did not normally wear wigs.
Statues of private officials of the Kushite 25th Dynasty carved in Egypt are also fascinating for their new style of depicting the human body. Although the sculptors of the period looked to archaic statuary for some of their inspiration, they also represented the faces and bodies of these people with an extraordinary realism and intensity. If the kings and great royal women were shown with idealized features, sometimes close to smiling - in the manner of the Mona Lisa -many of the high officials at court seemed to delight in having themselves shown as they really were: abnormally fat, with faces bathed in rolls of flesh, exhibiting cheek furrows, marks of age, and having a faraway, eternal gaze that gives these images a strength almost unique in Egyptian art.
King Taharqa (690-664 BC) himself must have been a big man, for his gold ring, found in his tomb at Nuri, Sudan, and preserved in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, would fit only an abnormally fat finger. Following their expulsion from Egypt by the Assyrians about 661 BC, the Kushites fled back to the Sudan and there set up a court in exile. For the next three hundred years their art closely emulated Egyptian models. They even occasionally had their skin painted red brown in emulation of the Egyptian norm. This "Egyptianizing" phase is called the Napatan Period. After about 300 BC, however, a radical change occurred in their art and culture, which marked the beginning of the Meroitic Period, in which figures in art, especially royal figures, assume a much more central African appearance and their royal costumes become much more elaborate. Both kings and queens - but especially the queens - are shown as hugely fat, and several rulers are even shown with facial scars of the type that are still seen among Nubians today: three vertical or diagonal cuts on each cheek.
Such powerful images of kings and queens perpetuated in Kush the ancient Egyptian theme of royal invincibility. The rulers are often shown slaying or trampling enemies. The enemy types represented in Meroitic art are repeated over and over again and clearly represent other African peoples living on the periphery of Kush, just as Egyptian enemy types had included all the different racial stereotypes of the peoples surrounding Egypt. Studies of the Meroitic enemy figures reveal that certain types only appeared on the south walls of buildings and others on the north, suggesting the directions in which these different peoples lived. A fresco discovered at Mero‘ shows a row of prisoners representing some of these enemy tribes; all are scantily clad and black skinned with one exception. The lead figure, tied and kneeling, is dressed in a corslet and helmet and has white skin. It is generally assumed that he represents a captured Roman soldier, for the Romans attacked and plundered Napata in 24 BC.
Posted by Firewall (Member # 20331) on :
quote:Originally posted by the lioness,:
quote:Originally posted by Djehuti: ^ Mind you the narrow nose and thin lips represented in some statues is actually common among Lower Nubians including northern Sudanese who were traditionally classified as 'Caucasoid'.
This is why Nubia is not safe from white-washing and neither is the rest of Africa.
additionally the hair of some Kermans is also not safe from white washing. The people were thought to be very dark in complexion
Lioness you made a mistake there.The region above is not the kermans region,that's lower nubia above -wadi qamar and dehmit.
That region is what the study is talking about.
If there is a study showing a few kermans with straight or wavy hair at kerma please send it to me,but so far i have not seen any study showing any kermans with wavy hair.
If there is please email me the study and nothing else since this thread is a different topic. Thank you.
Posted by the lioness, (Member # 17353) on :
^^^ you may be right
Posted by the lioness, (Member # 17353) on :
Fragment with butchering scene, Dynasty 25-26 (Kushite) MFA museum
Posted by Firewall (Member # 20331) on :
I am right. Thank you.
Posted by the lioness, (Member # 17353) on :
quote:Originally posted by Firewall: I am right. Thank you.
Not so fast,i know you had to look long and hard to find that,but is that the only LINK?
I need something updated by the way,not something from the 1920's and it needs to be put in context.
A another point i remember watching something about egypt and they recreated the scenes for the 1920's and while in egypt they were calling this place kerma and if i remember correctly they were not even in sudan.
I will try to look at that show again to make sure but so far i am certain that's what i watch from that show.
That's why i need a updated study,and if a few wavy or straight hair kermans were found at kerma,fine but i need a updated study,more studies and context.
Were these native to kerma? or LOWER NUBIANS OR FROM SOME NUBIANS FROM SEMNA FOR EXAMPLE WHO CAME TO LIVE AT KERMA AND BECAME kermaized? or egyptians who came to serve the king and became locals or kermaized overtime?
George Andrew Reisner was a racist and distorted many things that's why we need updated studies and a need for context.
So of course they maybe a few wavy hair types or straight hair types living at kerma that came there over time,BUT I NEED a real updated study that's all. Simple.
KERMA WAS A MAJOR EMPIRE that conqured all the way to lower nubia and egypt,so i have no problem if a few wavy hair types or straight types were found there.
The question is WERE THEY there from the start of the city or came later if found there and if they were the majority?
I have not seen any study saying these types were there from the beginning at the start of the city and i have not seen any study saying they were the majority.
That's what i really meant.
It's clear that they were not the majority if these types were there,so a few euronuts will always take things out of context or distort.
That's no surprise there.
You could find wavy hair or straight types at timbuktu or gao later in west african history before THE 1900'S ,but they were not the majority,and they came later,that's my point.
I need context and a updated study anyway not pieces of info from one outdated book. So for time being i can't take your word for it.
Get me a update study for more detail info and i will look at the info. Thank you.
Posted by the lioness, (Member # 17353) on :
Prince Arikankharer Slaying His Enemies, Meroitic, beginning of first century AD, sandstone - Worcester Art Museum
Contemporary with early imperial Rome, the Meroitic civilization flourished along the fertile banks of the Nile River in the land of Kush in what is now the Sudan. This African dynasty traded not only with Egypt to the north but also with Greece, Rome, and peoples of the Near East. Consequently, official Meroitic art reflects the absorption of external influences adapted to serve local rulers.
Arikankharer belonged to the royal house of Kush, whose capital was at Meröe. Although the crown prince died before he could come to power, this superbly carved, raised relief shows him as a vigorous, victorious conqueror. Behind him floats a female Winged Victory, brushing away flies, while between his legs a vicious dog mutilates a fallen enemy. As the prince's father, King Natakamani, imported sculptors from Egypt, the work is hybrid in nature. Distinctly Meroitic in style and detail are the compact proportions, round head, curly hair, oversized eyes, flabby neck, and broad shoulders of the prince as well as the portrayal of fear in the faces of the vanquished. The imperial stride, the smiting pose, and the convention of showing the body in profile are attributes assimilated from Egyptian art.
Posted by the lioness, (Member # 17353) on :
King Silko
Nobatia was an ancient African Christian kingdom in Lower Nubia and subsequently a region of the larger Nubian Kingdom of Makuria.
Nobatia (Nobadia or Noubadia) was an ancient African Christian kingdom in Lower Nubia and subsequently a region of the larger Nubian Kingdom of Makuria. Its name is often given as al-Maris in Arabic histories.
Nobatia was likely founded by the Nobatae (pron.: /ˈnɒbəti/), who had been invited into the region from the Egyptian desert by the Roman Emperor Diocletian to help defeat the Blemmyes in AD 297. Early Nobatia is quite likely the same civilization that is known to archeologists as the Ballana culture. Eventually the Nobatae were successful, and an inscription by Silko, "Basiliskos" of the Nobatae, claims to have driven the Blemmyes into the eastern deserts. Around this time the Nobatian capital was established at Pakhoras (modern Faras); soon after, Nobatia converted to non-Chalcedonian Christianity.
By 701, Nobatia had been annexed to its southern neighbor, Makuria. The circumstances of this merger are unknown. It most likely occurred before the Muslim invasion in 652, since the Arab histories speak of only one Christian state in Nubia and reached at least as far as Old Dongola.
Nobatia was the closest part of Nubia to Egypt and was the most subject to the pressures of Arabization and Islamization. Over time the people of Nobatia gradually converted and married into Arab clans such as the Banu Kanz, although some remained independent in the Christian kingdom of Dotawo until its conquest by Sennar in 1504 Nobatia was likely founded by the Nobatae, who had been invited into the region from the Egyptian desert by the Roman Emperor Diocletian to help defeat the Blemmyes in AD 297. Early Nobatia is quite likely the same civilization that is known to archeologists as the Ballana culture. Eventually the Nobatae were successful, and an inscription by Silko, "Basiliskos" of the Nobatae, claims to have driven the Blemmyes into the eastern deserts. Around this time the Nobatian capital was established at Pakhoras, modern Faras; soon after, Nobatia converted to Oriental Orthodox Christianity.
The Temple of Kalabsha (also Temple of Mandulis) is an Ancient Egyptian temple that was originally located at Bab al-Kalabsha (Gate of Kalabsha), approximately 50 km south of Aswan. The temple was situated on the west bank of the Nile River, in Nubia, and was originally built around 30 BC during the early Roman era. While the temple was constructed in Augustus's reign, it was never finished. The temple was a tribute to Mandulis (Merul), a Lower Nubian sun god. It was constructed over an earlier sanctuary of Amenhotep II.
Several historical records were inscribed on the temple walls of Kalabsha such as "a long inscription carved by the Roman Governor Aurelius Besarion in AD 250, forbidding pigs in the temple" as well as an inscription of "the Nubian king Silko, carved during the 5th century and recording his victory over the Blemmyes and a picture of him dressed as a Roman soldier on horseback."Silko was the Christian king of the Nubian kingdom of Nobatia.
Posted by mena7 (Member # 20555) on :
Lioness nice post on the Nobatean Christian kingdom of Nubia and Christian King silko. Nice picture of King silko on horseback but some barbarian had to erased is face.
The name Nobatia look similar to the name Nabatean a kingdom in Jordan.
Posted by Clyde Winters (Member # 10129) on :
Historically the Baja people are an independent people who respect their freedom.
If they represent the Blymme people the earliest mention of the Beja people was in Buddhist text.
Egyptian documents make it clear that the Blymmes entered the area after the founding of Napatan and Meroitic civilization, so even if some people claim that the Beja=Blymmes this is conjecture. Consequently, even if Beja= Blymmes, they donot represent the Kushite people who founded the Napata and Meroe civilizations, because both the Noba and Blymmes entered Kush after its founding.
There is increasing evidence that the Beja may provide a key to fully understanding the Meroitic language. Some years ago I deciphered the Kharamadoye inscription.
…… Hrmdoye ne qor ene ariteñ lne mdes ne mni-t kene mk lebne ye re qe-ne q yi-t hl-ne y es bo he-ne q r lebne tro. S-ne ariteñ net er ek li s-ne d-b li lh ne q r kene qor ene mnpte.
This was heard already before 1670 years at a moment the Blemmyan King Kharamadoye drove his compatriots to a point of national statehood at the northern area of the then ailing Meroitic kingdom in what is today's Sudanese North and Egyptian South. Using Meroitic scripture, the scribes of Kharamadoye immortalized down to our times an inscription on walls of the Mandulis temple at Talmis (modern Kalabsha). The beginning of the inscription reads in a plausible English translation as follows:
Kharamadoye the monarch and chief of the living Ariteñ, the great son and patron of Amani, you (who) revitalizes (man). The lord's voyage of discovery indeed gives the creation of Good. Act (now Amani) he travels to support good. Make a good welfare swell (for) the offering of the Chief, (he) desires indeed the restoration of eminence. The patron of good Ariteñ bows in reverence (before Amani) to evoke exalted nourishment (for) the patrons to leave a grand and exalted legacy to behold good. Oh Amani make indeed (a) revitalization (of) the monarch (and) commander of Great Napata…..”
When I first saw this claim that the Beja, represented the Blemmyan people of the Meroitic and Egyptian inscriptions I thought it might be hollow indeed. But after comparing Meroitic to Beja, the claim has considerable merit.
What I found from this cursory examination was most interesting. I will need to gather more vocabulary items from Beja, but I did find a number of matches:
Meroitic ……English……….. Beja i ‘arrive at this point’ ………… bi ‘went’ t ‘he, she’ ……………………..ta ‘she’ ya ‘go’………………………….yak ‘start’ rit ‘look’……………………….rhitaa ‘you saw’ an(a) plural suffix……………..aan ‘these’ d(d) ‘say’………………………di(y) ‘say’ lb ‘energy, dynamic…………liwa ‘burn’ ken ‘to realize’……………….kana ‘to know’ bk ‘ripen’……………………..bishakwa ‘to be ripe’
The vocabulary items are interesting, but since they come from a grammar book there was not enough to provide an extensive comparison.
Meroitic and Beja share many grammatical features. For example, the pronouns are usually can be placed in front or at the end verbs e.g., Beja ti bi ‘she went’, Meroitic t-i ‘he goes’. In Beja, adi is used to indicate complete action Taman adi ‘I ate it completely’, Meroitic –a, serves the same purpose akin ne a ‘he has become completely learned’. In both languages the adverb is placed behind the noun Beja takii-da ‘small man’, Meroitic pt ‘praise’: pt es ‘manifest praise’. In Beja the future tense is form by ndi, Tami a ndi “I will eat’, Meroitic –n, s-ne yo-n Aman ‘The patron will bow in reverence to Aman’.
This makes it clear to me that the Beja language may be related to Meroitic and that the Beja represent the Blemmy nation of Old. .
Posted by the lioness, (Member # 17353) on :
Relief from the chapel of king Amanitenmomide from Meroe, Berlin, Egyptian Museum, Inv. no. 2260
King Tanyidamani Nubian Meroitic Period (110-90 BC)
A Relief of king Arqamani of Meroe presenting an offering to the gods at the Temple of Dakka in Nubia.
Posted by the lioness, (Member # 17353) on :
.
Queen Amanishekhato who went to war with the Romans
In 30 BC, the Romans replaced the Ptolemies as Kush's northern neighbors. During the reign of Kushite Queen Amanishekhato, Greek geographers reports and archeological evidence reveal a military clash that took place between Kush and the Romans contemporary with Augusts. The clash was a border conflict. The Romans have negotiated with Kushite officials at Philae, and each side agreed that Aswan in Lower Nubia would be the border and that Kush,1 as Roman clients, was a tributary. However, Augustus was persuaded by Kushite ambassadors to cancel the tribute imposed by the local Roman authorities in Egypt.
The Romans also wanted control over the Wadi Allaqi, a region southeast of Dodekaschoinos in Lower Nubia that is rich in gold.3 Soon, revolts broke at Thebes in anger of the Roman policy of excessive taxation.4 This revolt was obviously supported by Kush and it was also true that the revolts spread throughout Lower Nubia and Upper Egypt. Then, a strong Roman political conflict that occurred in Arabia encouraged Kush to take action.
Strabo, a Roman conservative geographer, who lived in first century AD, was the first to write on the bloody conflicts between Kush and the Romans under the leadership of General Aelius Petronius.5 However, since Strabo was Roman himself, and was a personal friend of Petronius, he greatly degraded the roll of Kushites and patronized the Romans side of the conflict.
In 24 BC, at the reign of Queen Amanishekhato, Kushite forces attacked the Roman territory at Aswan. From there, they continued all the way to Thebes and defeated the Roman garrison there. Strabo reported that the Kushite Queen "enslaved the inhabitants, and threw down the statues of Caesar." (Strabo xvii.54). Recent archeological work uncovered a statue of Caesar at Meroe buried under the entrance floor of a temple at Meroe (currently in the British museum, London), and this confirms the authenticity of Strabo's story. (The Kushites believed that stepping over an enemy's depiction, would ultimately mean reducing his dominance.6
According to Strabo, when Petronius - a Prefect of Egypt at the time - was informed about the Kushite advancement he prepared a large army and marched south. The Roman forces clashed with the Kushite armies near Thebes and forced them to retreat to Pselchis (Maharraqa), an Ethiopian (or Kushite) city. Petronius, then, sent deputies to the Kushites to convince them to stop the war and contest to Roman wishes.
Quoting Strabo, the Kushites "desired three days for consideration"7 in order to make a final decision. However after the three days Kush did not respond and Petronius advanced with his armies and took the Kushite city of Premnis (modern Karanog) south of Maharraqa, and from there he advanced all the way to Napata, the second Capital in Kush after Meroe. Petronius attacked and sacked Napata causing the son of the Kushite Queen to flee. Strabo describes the defeat of the Nubians at Napata, stating that "He (Petronius) made prisoners of the inhabitants," and some "were publicly sold as loot, and thousands were sent to Caesar".
Bust of Augustus from Sudan
This was not the end of the war; the Queen attacked the occupying Roman garrison of Napata, in the words of Strabo, "with an army of many thousand men." The Nubians, however, lost the war. The Kushite Queen then sent messengers to ask Petronius to allow them to speak to the King of Rome. In response, Petronius sent the Kushite messengers to Caesar, who was in Syria at the time. The negotiations in Syria were successful; it is recorded by Strabo that the Caesar "even remitted the tribute which he had imposed (upon the Kushites earlier). "Although not so clearly defined, the Kush-Rome border seemed to have been somewhere in the Dodecaschoenus area.8
Note on Kush during the Paxa Romana:
Throughout the three centuries of the Roman rule over Egypt, Kush had extensively interacted with Rome as its northern neighbor and vise-versa. Kush and Roman Egypt maintained good relations of trade and politics. In return Rome had a profound effect on the Kushite civilization.
The Roman influence onto Kush was manifested in arts, architecture, and writings. Not only were that, but there is even strong archeological evidence for the existence of a Roman community in Nubia.9 Roman manufactures and products were documented as found in considerable amounts.
The Dendur Temple, MMA, New York.
The Dendur Temple was given to the United States by Egypt in 1965 and is currently housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The temple was built in 15 BC, in honor to the goddess Isis. Motifs and names of the Roman Emperor Augustus are carved and inscribed on the temple walls. Also, are the names and motifs of the two sons of a Kushite queen (Pihor and Pedesi), who participated in building portions of the temple. The Dendur Temple stands as a testament to the peaceful relations Rome and Nubia maintained for the next seven centuries.
Posted by zarahan- aka Enrique Cardova (Member # 15718) on :
Some of the website info above is misleading or bogus. Claims that the Kushite capital was overrun are open to question. Some scholars do not see penetration beyond the point of Sara ( Derek A. Welsby. 1998. The Kingdom of Kush: The Napatan and Meroitic Empires.)
CLaims that the Kushites "lost" are also questionable. If Stabo is taken at his word, his word is open to query for he was an avowed partisan of ROman commander Petronius. Modern scholarship seems to show more of a stalemate in the conflict- not a Kushite loss with them running to negotiate surrender. ROme seems to have wanted to keep the border quiet and so negotiated as the easiest way out. A dramatic Kushite defeat is not necessary to explain the outcome. See Fluehr- Lobban, RHodes et al. (2004) Race and identity in the Nile Valley: ancient and modern perspectives.
Lastly the website says the "surrender negotiations" took place in Syria. But modern scholarship questions that as well. Rather, as Kushite and Roman forces still maneuvered in the field, Kushite emissaries met with Augustus himself on the Greek island of Samos, where a deal was cut between the contenders. Rome of course still remained dominant in Egypt, but wanted to maintain a quiet border to protect its position there. A peace treaty was in ROman interests, versus another drawn-out inconclusive war. The treaty absolved the Kushites of paying any tribute to Rome, and ceded a 30-40 mile buffer strip to the Kushites, off-limits to Roman troops. Roman emperor Augustus also remitted any tribute paid. The emperor marked the agreement by directing his people to collaborate with local priests in the erection of a temple at Dendur.
see: Robert B. Jackson. 2002. At Empire's Edge: Exploring Rome's Egyptian Frontier. p. 140-156
Posted by mena7 (Member # 20555) on :
Lionness Beautiful picture of Nubian king Amanitenmomide seated on his lion throne.
Nice picture of king Tanyidamani wearing a long robe.
Holy picture of king Arkamani offering wine to Neter Ankhet and Mandu or Dedun or Meril.
Great image of the Roman slayer Queen Amanishekato.The first ruler in the world to stop and defeat the unstopable Roman army forcing them to beg for a peace treaty and stopping their advance into Africa.Queen Amanishekato sould be a role modele and saint to all African chief of states and generals.
Roman Caesar Augustus was white.The bust of Augustus find in Sudan is a bust of a white man similar to those found in Europe.The Euro statues of Augustus are not fake. Posted by the lioness, (Member # 17353) on :
King Aspelta, 25th Dynasty
Colossal statue of King Atlanersa (Khukare - "Protected by the ka of Re"), 25th Dynasty, Sudan Museum Boat stand of King Atlanersa 25th Dynasty Nubian-Kushite Boat stand of King Atlanersa 25th Dynasty Nubian-Kushite King Atlanersa 25th Dynasty
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