1. Ancient Kush
January 9, 2015

2. Map of Ancient Kush

3. Geography of Ancient Kush
The kingdom of Kush developed south of Egypt along the Nile.
Kush was in a region we now call Nubia.
Like Egypt, every year floods provide a rich layer of fertile soil.
Because of this, farming villages thrived.
Kush is also rich in minerals such as gold, copper, and stone.

4. History of Kush Kush and Egypt were neighbors and trading partners.
The Kushites sent slaves to Egypt.
They also sent gold, copper, and stone, as well as the prized material of ivory.
Relations between Kush and Egypt were not always peaceful.

5. Egyptian invasion of Ancient Kush
Around 1500 BCE, Egyptian armies invaded and conquered most of Nubia, including all of Kush.
Kush remained an Egyptian territory until the mid 1000s BCE, when the Kushite leaders regained control.

6. Kush Rules Egypt
By around 850 BCE, Kush was once again as strong as it had been before it was conquered by Egypt.
During the 700s BCE, the Kushites began to invade Egypt.
By 716 BCE the Kushites controlled the area from Southern Nubia to the Nile Delta.
In the 670s BCE, the Kushites were driven out of Egypt by the Assyrians from Mesopotamia.

7. Later Kush
After being driven out of Egypt, the people of Kush devoted themselves to increasing agriculture and trade.
The economic center of Kush was Meroe.
Gold could be found nearby, as could forests of ebony and other wood.
It was here that the Kushites developed Africa’s first iron industry.

8. Meroe

9. Meroe
What can you gather from this picture?

10. Meroe

11. Society and Culture
The most obvious influence on Kush during this period was Egyptian, but a lot of Kushite culture was unique to itself.
The people of Kush Worshipped their own gods and developed their own written language.
Women were expected to be active in their society.

12. Society and Culture
Some women rose to positions of great authority, especially in religion.
A few women even ruled the empire alone.

13. Decline and Defeat
Kushite civilization centered at Meroe reached it’s height in the first century BCE.
Eventually it fell due to both internal and external factors.
The iron and other metals ran out, and the overgrazing of cattle caused a deterioration of farmland.

14. Independent Writing Activity
Write a paragraph comparing and contrasting Ancient Kush and Egypt. You may refer to your current notes and back to your Egypt notes if needed. We will take five minutes for this.

15. Group Activity
Use the white paper to create a chart comparing and Contrasting ancient Kush and Egypt with your group. Assign each person a color to determine who did work and may have been slacking. :p
There will be a Venn Diagram on the board. As a group write one statement for each category on the sticky notes handed to you, and place them on the board.