Kush

All right, let's talk about Kush. 

No, not the "Hindu Kush" (Hindus-killer), the western extension of the Himalayas and the Pamirs that Eric Newby brought to our attention in his climbing adventure, A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush.

No, my Kush for today is something I knew nothing about -- unlike you, my erudite readers -- until I read the cover article, beautifully photographed, in this month's issue of Smithsonian.  The Kingdom of Kush.  An ancient kingdom located in the northern portion of Sudan (known to my childhood as the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, a joint colonial venture of Britain and Egypt, usually described as a "condominium").

The Kingdom of Kush ruled what the Greeks and other Europeans called Nubia, a region between the First Cataract of the Nile (today's Aswan) and the Fourth Cataract, approximately two hundred miles down river from Sudan's capital, Khartoum.   I'd never heard of Kush.  What did I know of Nubia?  Exotic black Nubian slaves, of course.  Attractive appendages to ancient Greek and Roman civilization. 

The author of the Smithsonian article -- himself a Sudan-American -- wants us to know there was more in Nubia than slaves for Greece -- to wit, Kush.  Kush's civilization dominated Nubia, within various geographical borders, from 2500 B.C. to A.D. 300.  For years in modern times, Nubia (and Kush) was written off as an outpost of Egypt, a people who had picked up bits and pieces of Egyptian and Mediterranean civilization, in the same way as the British Celts were influenced by the Romans.

Certainly there was influence from Egypt, Greece, and Rome.  But, the article points out, Kush had a rich and distinctive civilization of its own, most apparent to today's casual observer in their unusual, steep-sided pyramids.  In 1500 B.C., Egyptian forces occupied Nubia as far south as the Fourth Cataract, and stayed until the Eleventh Century,  Then the Kushites returned the favor.  The Kushite kings declared themselves the rightful ruler of Egypt, marched north, and established Egypt's 25th dynasty -- the "Black Pharoahs" of Egypt, ruling from from their Nubian capital.

The Black Pharoahs' rule of Egypt lasted just under a century, and was ended by invading Assyrians.  But the Kushite kings maintained their Nubian rule -- a prosperous and civilized rule -- from their capital Meroë, about 125 miles northeast of present-day Khartoum.   Their power didn't fade away until the Fourth Century A.D., declining probably because of climate change and area-wide drought, together with competition from a nearby rival civilization.

But their influence lives on.  Today's Seattle Times published an article (from the Washington Post) discussing Black supporters of President Trump's re-election -- including one Candace Owens.  In the later Kush kingdom, a series of powerful women reigned as queens -- each called a Kandake.  The Greek historian Strabo (and the writers of the Old Testament) mistook the title for a name; they called one particularly militaristic queen "Kandake."  Which was Latinized to "Candace."

I'm not sure how powerful Candace Owens turns out to be -- not very, I hope -- but she does have her name going for her.

I've never come close to visiting Sudan, although I once considered a trip to its more frequented neighbor, Ethiopia.  If Covid-19 ever ends, and if I ever get the chance, I'd love to visit the fascinating ruins and antiquities bequeathed the world by the Kingdom of Kush.