The Kingdom of Kush: The Napatan and Meroitic Empires

by Derek A. Welsby

Overview

Accessible and interesting study of Egypt's neighbours to the south over 3,000 years from the A Group to the arrival of Christianity in the Sixth Century AD. KMT Magazine says of this book; "of the several book treatments of these cultures appearing in the 1980s, the present volume is easily the most accesssible and concise. reading it one has the sensation of encountering a wholly alien, yet thoroughly fascinating civilsation for the first time. Afrocentrists take note".

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781558761810
Publisher:	Wiener, Markus Publishers, Incorporated
Publication date:	03/01/1998
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	6.90(w) x 9.50(h) x 0.90(d)

Editorial Reviews

The ancient African kingdom of Kush was one of antiquities' most expansive empires. Welsby provides a detailed account of its rise and fall while explicating the many problems archaeologists encounter in interpreting their evidence. He is an active field researcher in the Sudan and an authority on the subject. The material he presents is primarily archaeological but also contains evidence from classical sources to compensate for the lack of a deciphered script in the region. Major topics covered are architecture, the arts, writing, economy, religion, and funeral rituals. Although the majority of this evidence represents the remains of projects left behind by the royal classes, the author makes a strong effort to provide insights into the lives of ordinary people. Sections on urbanism include descriptions of rural settlement, and those on religion offer discussions of popular religion, for example. The book also contextualizes Kush "on the World Stage" and its relations with its Pharaonic, Ptolemaic, and Roman contemporaries. The book is beautifully illustrated with many of the author's own photographs, which include numerous site plans, monuments, sculpture, and more mundane artifacts. A small section contains color photos.

Choice

The Kingdom Of Kush was a sophisticated empire when Rome was a small village and the Greek citystates were little more than backwater enclaves. The Kushites ruled an empire stretching from central Sudan to the borders of Palestine. During the eight and seventh centuries B.C., its rulers controlled Egypt as Pharaohs of the TwentyFifth Dynasty. Yet the early development and much of the later history of the kingdom is obscure. In The Kingdom Of Kush, archaeologist and British Museum historian Derek Welsby presents all that is currently known about this antiquarian people and draws upon both classical sources and modern archaeological data to show how this African kingdom interacted with Egypt over the course of centuries. Welsby's informative, scholarly text is enhanced with numerous line drawings and photographs, including twelve color plates. The Kingdom Of Kush is highly recommended reading for students of ancient cultures, African history, and archaeology.