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The Empires of Egypt and Nubia
Collide
Chapter 4 Section 1
• The New Kingdom of
Egypt
After the prosperity of
the Middle Kingdom,
Egypt descended into
war and violence,
caused by a
succession of weak
pharaohs and power
struggles among rival
nobles.
After being invaded by
nomads known as the
Hyksos, warlike
rulers retook Egypt
and began to restore
her power. This
period is known as the
New Kingdom (15701075 BC). During
this time, Egypt
became wealthier and
more powerful than
ever before.
Egypt’s Empire Builders
in the New Kingdom
Equipped with bronze
weapons and twowheeled chariots, the
Egyptians became
conquerors. They set
up an army including
archers, charioteers,
and infantry. They
also added a new
crown-the blue
crown, a war crown.
During this time, there was
one ruler, Hatsheput, who
focused on trade, rather
than war. She was
replaced by her stepson,
Thutmose III, who
probably had her
murdered. He pushed
into Nubia, a region of
Africa that straddled the
upper Nile River. From
Nubia, soldiers brought
back gold, cattle, ivory,
and many slaves.
The Egyptians and the
Hittites
By about 1400 BC, Egyptian
armies had crossed the
Sinai Peninsula and
conquered parts of syria
and Palestine. These
conquests brought the
Egyptians into conflict
with the Hittites.
Eventually, the pharaoh,
Ramses II, and the
Hittites king signed a
peace treaty that lasted
for a century.
An Age of Builders
Magnificent palaces,
temples, and tombs
were built. In search
of security in the
afterlife, they hid their
splendid tombs
beneath desert cliffs
to avoid tomb
robbers. This was
known as the Valley
of the Kings near
Thebes.
• The Empire Declines
After 1200 BC, strong
civilizations rose to
challenge Egypt’s
power. After Ramses
died, the entire
eastern Mediterranean
suffered a wave of
invasions that
destroyed many
kingdoms.
Invasions by Land and
Sea
Both the Egyptian
empire and the Hittite
kingdom were
attacked by “the
People of the Sea”.
From the east, the
tribes of Palestine
often rebelled against
their Egyptian
overlords.
Egypt’s Empire Fades
After these invasions,
Egypt never
recovered its previous
power. It broke apart
into regional units,
and small kingdoms
arose. Powerless,
Egypt fell to its
neighbors’ invasions,
including Libya and
Nubia.
• The Kushites Conquer
the Nile Region
Egypt’s domination of
Nubia and the Nubian
kingdom of Kush
lasted about a
thousand years. But
as Egypt fell into
decline, Kush was
emerging as a
regional power.
The People of Nubia
The first Nubian
kingdom, Kerma,
arose shortly after
2000 BC. Red-andblack Kerma pottery
of great beauty
fetched high prices
from Egyptian nobles.
Kerma prospered
during Egypt’s
Hyksos period.
The Interaction of Egypt
and Nubia
With Egypt’s revival
during the New
Kingdom, pharaohs
forced their rule on
Kush. The Kushite’s
traveled to Egypt and
adopted all things
Egyptian including
clothing and writing
style.
Piankhi Captures the
Egyptian Throne
In 751 BC, a Kushite
king named Piankhi
led an army down the
Nile and overthrew
the Libyan dynasty
that had ruled Egypt
for over 200 years. He
and his descendants
became Egypt’s 25th
dynasty.
However, Piankhi’s
dynasty proved shortlived. In 671 BC, the
Assyrians conquered
Egypt. The Kushites
fought bravely, but
were forced to retreat
south, there the
Kushites would
experience a golden
age, despite their loss
of Egypt.
• The Golden Age of
Meroe
After their defeat by the
Assyrians, the Kushite
royal family
eventually moved
south to Meroe. It
became active in the
booming trade
between Africa,
Arabia, and India.
The Wealth of Kush
It was here that Kush
made use of rich
natural resources to
thrive independently
of Egypt for several
hundred years. Due
to rich supplies of
iron ore, Meroe
became a major center
for the manufacture of
iron weapons and
tools.
The Decline of Meroe
After four centuries of
prosperity, from about
250 BC-150 AD,
Meroe began to
decline. The rise of
Aksum, a rival power
located 400 miles
southeast, contributed
to Meroe’s fall.