Meroë (; also spelled ''Meroe'';
[ Meroitic: or ; ar, مرواه, translit=Meruwah and ar, مروي, translit=Meruwi, label=none; grc, Μερόη, translit=Meróē) was an ancient city on the east bank of the ]Nile
The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered the longest riv ...
about 6 km north-east of the Kabushiya station near Shendi
Shendi or Shandi ( ar, شندي) is a small city in northern Sudan, situated on the southeastern bank of the Nile River 150 km northeast of Khartoum. Shandi is also about 45 km southwest of the ancient city of Meroë. Located in the ...
, Sudan
Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...
, approximately 200 km north-east of Khartoum
Khartoum or Khartum ( ; ar, الخرطوم, Al-Khurṭūm, din, Kaartuɔ̈m) is the capital of Sudan. With a population of 5,274,321, its metropolitan area is the largest in Sudan. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile, flowing n ...
. Near the site is a group of villages called Bagrawiyah ( ar, البجراوية). This city was the capital of the Kingdom of Kush
The Kingdom of Kush (; Egyptian: 𓎡𓄿𓈙 𓈉 ''kꜣš'', Assyrian: ''Kûsi'', in LXX grc, Κυς and Κυσι ; cop, ''Ecōš''; he, כּוּשׁ ''Kūš'') was an ancient kingdom in Nubia, centered along the Nile Valley in wh ...
for several centuries from around 590 BC, until its collapse
Collapse or its variants may refer to:
Concepts
* Collapse (structural)
* Collapse (topology), a mathematical concept
* Collapsing manifold
* Collapse, the action of collapsing or telescoping objects
* Collapsing user interface elements
** ...
in the sixth century AD. The Kushitic Kingdom of Meroë gave its name to the "Island of Meroë", which was the modern region of Butana
The Butana (Arabic: البطانة, ''Buṭāna''), historically called the Island of Meroë, is the region between the Atbara and the Nile in the Sudan. South of Khartoum it is bordered by the Blue Nile and in the east by Lake Tana in Ethiopia. ...
, a region bounded by the Nile (from the Atbarah River
The Atbarah River ( ar, نهر عطبرة; transliterated: Nahr 'Atbarah), also known as the Black Nile, is a river in northeast Africa. It rises in northwest Ethiopia, approximately 50 km north of Lake Tana and 30 km west of Gondar. ...
to Khartoum
Khartoum or Khartum ( ; ar, الخرطوم, Al-Khurṭūm, din, Kaartuɔ̈m) is the capital of Sudan. With a population of 5,274,321, its metropolitan area is the largest in Sudan. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile, flowing n ...
), the Atbarah and the Blue Nile
The Blue Nile (; ) is a river originating at Lake Tana in Ethiopia. It travels for approximately through Ethiopia and Sudan. Along with the White Nile, it is one of the two major tributaries of the Nile and supplies about 85.6% of the water to ...
.
The city of Meroë was on the edge of Butana
The Butana (Arabic: البطانة, ''Buṭāna''), historically called the Island of Meroë, is the region between the Atbara and the Nile in the Sudan. South of Khartoum it is bordered by the Blue Nile and in the east by Lake Tana in Ethiopia. ...
. There were two other Meroitic cities in Butana: Musawwarat es-Sufra and Naqa. The first of these sites was given the name Meroë by the Persian king, Cambyses Cambyses may refer to:
* Cambyses I, King of Anshan 600 to 559 BCE
* Cambyses II, King of Persia 530 to 522 BCE
* Cambyses, ancient name of the Iori river in the South Caucasus
* ''Cambyses'', a tragedy (published 1569) by Thomas Preston (writer)
...
, in honor of his sister who was called by that name. The city had originally borne the ancient appellation ''Saba'', named after the country's original founder. The eponym ''Saba'', or ''Seba'', is named for one of the sons of Cush (see Genesis 10:7). The presence of numerous Meroitic sites within the western Butana region and on the border of Butana proper is significant to the settlement of the core of the developed region. The orientation of these settlements exhibit the exercise of state power over subsistence production.
The Kingdom of Kush which housed the city of Meroë represents one of a series of early states located within the middle Nile. It was one of the earliest and most impressive states found on the African continent (along with Ancient Egypt). Looking at the specificity of the surrounding early states within the middle Nile, one's understanding of Meroë in combination with the historical developments of other historic states may be enhanced through looking at the development of power relation characteristics within other Nile Valley states.
The site of the city of Meroë is marked by more than two hundred pyramid
A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilate ...
s in three groups, of which many are in ruins. They have the distinctive size and proportions of Nubian pyramids
The Nubian pyramids were built by the rulers of the ancient Kushite kingdoms. The area of the Nile valley known as Nubia, which lies within the north of present-day Sudan, was the site of three Kushite kingdoms during antiquity. The capital of t ...
.
History
Meroë was the southern capital of the Kingdom of Kush
The Kingdom of Kush (; Egyptian: 𓎡𓄿𓈙 𓈉 ''kꜣš'', Assyrian: ''Kûsi'', in LXX grc, Κυς and Κυσι ; cop, ''Ecōš''; he, כּוּשׁ ''Kūš'') was an ancient kingdom in Nubia, centered along the Nile Valley in wh ...
. The Kingdom of Kush spanned the period c. 800 BC – c. 350 AD but, initially, its main capital was farther north at Napata
Napata (Old Egyptian ''Npt'', ''Npy''; Meroitic ''Napa''; grc, Νάπατα and Ναπάται) was a city of ancient Kush at the fourth cataract of the Nile. It is located approximately 1.5 kilometers from the right side of the river at the ...
. King Aspelta
Aspelta was a ruler of the kingdom of Kush (c. 600 – c. 580 BCE). More is known about him and his reign than most of the rulers of Kush. He left several stelae carved with accounts of his reign.
Family
Aspelta was the son of Senkamanisken a ...
moved the capital to Meroë, considerably farther south than Napata
Napata (Old Egyptian ''Npt'', ''Npy''; Meroitic ''Napa''; grc, Νάπατα and Ναπάται) was a city of ancient Kush at the fourth cataract of the Nile. It is located approximately 1.5 kilometers from the right side of the river at the ...
, possibly c. 591 BC, just after the sack of Napata by Egyptian Pharaoh Psamtik II
Psamtik II ( Ancient Egyptian: , pronounced ), known by the Graeco-Romans as Psammetichus or Psammeticus, was a king of the Saite-based Twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt (595 BC – 589 BC). His prenomen, Nefer-Ib-Re, means "Beautiful s theHeart ...
.
Martin Meredith
Martin Meredith is a historian, journalist, and biographer. He has written several books on Africa and its modern history.
Meredith first worked as a foreign correspondent in Africa for ''The Observer'' and ''Sunday Times'', then as a research ...
states the Kushite rulers chose Meroë, between the Fifth and Sixth Cataracts, because it was on the fringe of the summer rainfall belt, and the area was rich in iron ore and hardwood for iron working. The location also afforded access to trade routes to the Red Sea
The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; ...
. The city of Meroë was located along the middle Nile which is of much importance due to the annual flooding of the Nile river valley and the connection to many major river systems such as the Niger which aided with the production of pottery and iron characteristic to the Meroitic kingdom that allowed for the rise in power of its people. According to partially deciphered Meroitic texts, the name of the city was ''Medewi'' or ''Bedewi''.
First Meroitic Period (542–315 BC)
The Kings ruled over Napata
Napata (Old Egyptian ''Npt'', ''Npy''; Meroitic ''Napa''; grc, Νάπατα and Ναπάται) was a city of ancient Kush at the fourth cataract of the Nile. It is located approximately 1.5 kilometers from the right side of the river at the ...
and Meroë. The seat of government
The seat of government is (as defined by ''Brewer's Politics'') "the building, complex of buildings or the city from which a government exercises its authority".
In most countries, the nation’s capital is also seat of its government, thus that ...
and the royal palace were in Meroe. The Main temple of Amun is located in Napata
Napata (Old Egyptian ''Npt'', ''Npy''; Meroitic ''Napa''; grc, Νάπατα and Ναπάται) was a city of ancient Kush at the fourth cataract of the Nile. It is located approximately 1.5 kilometers from the right side of the river at the ...
, but the temple at Meroe is under construction. Kings and many queens are buried in Nuri
Nuri is a place in modern Sudan on the west side of the Nile, near the Fourth Cataract. Nuri is situated about 15 km north of Sanam, and 10 km from Jebel Barkal.
Nuri is the second of three Napatan burial sites and the construction of ...
, some queens are buried in Meroe, in the West Cemetery.[Dows Dunham, Notes on the History of Kush 850 B. C.-A. D. 350, American Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 50, No. 3 (July – September , 1946), pp. 378–388] The earliest king is Analmaye (542–538 BC), the latest king of the first phase is Nastasen
Nastasen was a king of Kush (335 – 315/310 BC). According to a stela from Dongola his mother was named Queen Pelkha and his father may have been King Harsiotef. His successor was Aryamani.
He is known from three types of objects. There is ...
(335–315 BC)
In the fifth century BC, Greek historian Herodotus
Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria (Italy). He is known fo ...
described it as "a great city...said to be the mother city of the other Ethiopians."
Excavations revealed evidence of important, high ranking Kushite burials, from the Napatan Period (c. 800 – c. 280 BC) in the vicinity of the settlement called the Western cemetery. The importance of the town gradually increased from the beginning of the Meroitic Period, especially from the reign of Arakamani (c. 280 BC) when the royal burial ground was transferred to Meroë from Napata
Napata (Old Egyptian ''Npt'', ''Npy''; Meroitic ''Napa''; grc, Νάπατα and Ναπάται) was a city of ancient Kush at the fourth cataract of the Nile. It is located approximately 1.5 kilometers from the right side of the river at the ...
( Gebel Barkal). Royal burials formed the Pyramids of Meroë
The Pyramids of Meroë are part of the larger group of Nubian pyramids, built at the time of the Kushite Kingdom over a period close to a millennium. Near Meroë, three royal cemeteries were constructed:
* South Cemetery features nine royal pyra ...
, containing the burials of the Kings and Queens of Meroë from ca 300 BC to about 350 AD.[George A. Reisner, The Pyramids of Meroë and the Candaces of Ethiopia, Museum of Fine Arts Bulletin, Vol. 21, No. 124 (Apr., 1923), pp. 11–27]
File:Karkamani's pyramid, Nuri, Sudan, North-east Africa.jpg, Karkamani
Karkamani was a Meroitic king who ruled in the 6th century, probably between 519 to 510 BC at Napata. He succeeded King Amaninatakilebte and was in turn succeeded by King Amaniastabarqa. Like others of his dynasty, he was discovered buried among ...
's pyramid (513-503 BC), Nuri
Nuri is a place in modern Sudan on the west side of the Nile, near the Fourth Cataract. Nuri is situated about 15 km north of Sanam, and 10 km from Jebel Barkal.
Nuri is the second of three Napatan burial sites and the construction of ...
File:Jewelry found on the Mummy of Nubian King AMANINATAKILEBTE (538-519 BC). Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.jpg, Jewelry found on the mummy of Nubian King Amaninatakilebte
Amaninatakilebte was a Meroitic king who ruled in the 6th century, probably between 538 to 519 BC at Napata. He succeeded King Analmaye and was in turn succeeded by King Karkamani. Like others of his dynasty, he was discovered buried among the py ...
(538-519 BC). Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
File:LRM_20190101_130853-Pano.jpg, Stela of king Siaspiqa (487–468 BC).
File:Portrait_of_Nastasen,_with_Kushite_crown.jpg, Portrait of King Nastasen
Nastasen was a king of Kush (335 – 315/310 BC). According to a stela from Dongola his mother was named Queen Pelkha and his father may have been King Harsiotef. His successor was Aryamani.
He is known from three types of objects. There is ...
(330-310 BC)
Second Meroitic Period (3rd century BC)
The seat of government
The seat of government is (as defined by ''Brewer's Politics'') "the building, complex of buildings or the city from which a government exercises its authority".
In most countries, the nation’s capital is also seat of its government, thus that ...
and the royal palace are in Meroe. Kings and many queens are buried in Meroe, in the South Cemetery. Napata's only importance is the Amun Temple. The first King of the period is Aktisanes (Early 3rd century BC), the last king of the period is Sabrakamani Sabrakamani was a Nubian king who is mentioned only in an inscription found so far. It is found in the Amun
Amun (; also ''Amon'', ''Ammon'', ''Amen''; egy, jmn, reconstructed as (Old Egyptian and early Middle Egyptian) → (later Middle ...
(first half 3rd century BC).
Third Meroitic Period (270 BC-1st century AD)
The seat of government
The seat of government is (as defined by ''Brewer's Politics'') "the building, complex of buildings or the city from which a government exercises its authority".
In most countries, the nation’s capital is also seat of its government, thus that ...
and the royal palace are in Meroe. Kings are buried in Meroe, in the North Cemetery, and Queens in West Cemetery. Napata's only importance is the Amun Temple. Meroe flourishes and many building projects are undertaken. The first king of the period is Arakamani (270–260 BC), the last ruler is Queen Amanitore
Amanitore (early or mid-1st century CE), also spelled Amanitere or Amanitare, was a Nubian Kandake, or queen regnant, of the ancient Kushitic Kingdom of Meroë, which also is referred to as Nubia in many ancient sources. Alternative spellings inc ...
(mid/late 1st century AD)
Many beautiful artifacts were found in Meroitic tombs from around this time.
File:Archaeological Sites of the Island of Meroe-114973.jpg, alt=Pyramids of Meroe - Northern Cemetery, Pyramids of Meroë
The Pyramids of Meroë are part of the larger group of Nubian pyramids, built at the time of the Kushite Kingdom over a period close to a millennium. Near Meroë, three royal cemeteries were constructed:
* South Cemetery features nine royal pyra ...
- Northern Cemetery
File:Queen-of-Meroe.jpg, Queen Shanakdakhete
Shanakhdakheto or Shanakdakhete was a Queen of the Kingdom of Kush, when the polity was centered at Meroë, an ancient city in north Sudan. She is the earliest known ruling African queen of ancient Nubia, and reigned from c. 170–150 BC, although ...
(170-150 BC)
File:Necklace made of 54 composite human head and ram’s head gold pendants with a small carnelian bead between each. Meroitic Period.jpg, Necklace made of 54 composite human head and ram's head gold pendants with a small carnelian bead between each. Meroitic Period, 270-50 BC
File:Exhibition Nubia, Land of the Black Pharaohs – Golden Bracelet found in the tomb of a member of the Royal Family in Gebel Barkal.jpg, Golden Bracelet found in the tomb of a member of the Royal Family in Gebel Barkal. 250-100 BC
File:Argo_Island_Tabo_Temple_1st_Pylon_(Taharqa)_Statue_(b)_King_Natakamani_c.60_CE.jpg, King Natakamani (early 1st century AD)
Conflict with Rome
Rome's conquest of Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...
led to border skirmishes and incursions by Meroë beyond the Roman borders. In 23 BC the Roman governor of Egypt, Publius Petronius, to end the Meroitic raids, invaded Nubia in response to a Nubian attack on southern Egypt, pillaging the north of the region and sacking Napata (22 BC) before returning home. In retaliation, the Nubians crossed the lower border of Egypt and looted many statues (among other things) from the Egyptian towns near the first cataract of the Nile at Aswan. Roman forces later reclaimed many of the statues intact, and others were returned following the peace treaty signed in 22 BC between Rome and Meroë under Augustus
Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...
and Amanirenas Queen Amanirenas (also spelled Amanirena), described by Strabo as being blind in one eye, was queen of the Kingdom of Kush from c. 40 BC to c. 10 BC.
Her full title was ''Amnirense qore li kdwe li'' ("Ameniras, qore and kandake"). Meroitic, the in ...
, respectively. One looted head though, from a statue of the emperor Augustus
Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...
, was buried under the steps of a temple. It is now kept in the British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
.
The next recorded contact between Rome and Meroë was in the autumn of 61 AD. The Emperor Nero
Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 un ...
sent a party of Praetorian soldiers under the command of a tribune and two centurions into this country, who reached the city of Meroë where they were given an escort, then proceeded up the White Nile
The White Nile ( ar, النيل الأبيض ') is a river in Africa, one of the two main tributaries of the Nile, the other being the Blue Nile. The name comes from the clay sediment carried in the water that changes the water to a pale color. ...
until they encountered the swamps of the Sudd
The Sudd (' or ', Dinka language, Dinka: Toc) is a vast swamp in South Sudan, formed by the White Nile's ''Mountain Nile, Baḥr al-Jabal'' section. The Arabic language, Arabic word ' is derived from ' (), meaning "barrier" or "obstruction". The ...
. This marked the limit of Roman penetration into Africa.
The period following Petronius' punitive expedition is marked by abundant trade finds at sites in Meroë. L. P. Kirwan provides a short list of finds from archeological sites in that country. However, the kingdom of Meroë began to fade as a power by the 1st or 2nd century AD, sapped by the war with Roman Egypt and the decline of its traditional industries.
Meroë is mentioned succinctly in the 1st century AD Periplus of the Erythraean Sea
The ''Periplus of the Erythraean Sea'' ( grc, Περίπλους τῆς Ἐρυθρᾶς Θαλάσσης, ', modern Greek '), also known by its Latin name as the , is a Greco-Roman periplus written in Koine Greek that describes navigation and ...
:
Fourth Meroitic Period (1st century-4th century AD)
This was the twilight of the Meroitic Culture. Kings were buried in Meroe, in the North Cemetery, and Queens in West Cemetery. In 350 AD Meroe was destroyed
Destroyed may refer to:
* ''Destroyed'' (Sloppy Seconds album), a 1989 album by Sloppy Seconds
* ''Destroyed'' (Moby album), a 2011 album by Moby
See also
* Destruction (disambiguation)
Destruction may refer to:
Concepts
* Destruktion, a ...
by Axum. The first king of the fourth period was Shorkaror
Shorkaror (also transliterated Sherkarer, Sherakerer) was a king of Kush (ca. 20–30 AD).
Shorkahor was the third son of Natakamani and Amanitore. His older brothers Arikhankharer and Arikakahtani had been crown-prince before Shorkahor.
Wh ...
(1st century AD), while the last rulers may have been King Yesebokheamani Yesebokheamani (or Amaniyesebokhe) was the king (''qore'') of Kush in the late 3rd or early 4th century AD. He seems to have been the king who took control of the Dodecaschoenus after the Roman withdrawal in 298. This enabled him to make a persona ...
or King Talakhidamani Talakhidamani (or Talakhideamani)The pronunciation is reconstructed as /talahidamani/ by Rilly. was the king of Kush in the mid or late 3rd century AD, perhaps into the 4th century. He is known from two Meroitic inscriptions, one of which commemora ...
in the 4th century AD.
A stele of Ge'ez of an unnamed ruler of the Kingdom of Aksum
The Kingdom of Aksum ( gez, መንግሥተ አክሱም, ), also known as the Kingdom of Axum or the Aksumite Empire, was a kingdom centered in Northeast Africa and South Arabia from Classical antiquity to the Middle Ages. Based primarily in wh ...
thought of as Ezana
Ezana ( gez, ዔዛና ''‘Ezana'', unvocalized ዐዘነ ''‘zn''; also spelled Aezana or Aizan) was ruler of the Kingdom of Axum, an ancient kingdom located in what is now Eritrea and Ethiopia. (320s – c. 360 AD). He himself employed the ...
was found at the site of Meroë; from his description, in Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
, that he was "King of the Aksumite
The Kingdom of Aksum ( gez, መንግሥተ አክሱም, ), also known as the Kingdom of Axum or the Aksumite Empire, was a kingdom centered in Northeast Africa and South Arabia from Classical antiquity to the Middle Ages. Based primarily in wh ...
s and the Omerites," (i.e. of Aksum
Axum, or Aksum (pronounced: ), is a town in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia with a population of 66,900 residents (as of 2015).
It is the site of the historic capital of the Aksumite Empire, a naval and trading power that ruled the whole regio ...
and Himyar
The Himyarite Kingdom ( ar, مملكة حِمْيَر, Mamlakat Ḥimyar, he, ממלכת חִמְיָר), or Himyar ( ar, حِمْيَر, ''Ḥimyar'', / 𐩹𐩧𐩺𐩵𐩬) (fl. 110 BCE–520s CE), historically referred to as the Homerite ...
) it is likely this king ruled sometime around 330. Another inscription in Greek gives the regnal claims of Ezana
Ezana ( gez, ዔዛና ''‘Ezana'', unvocalized ዐዘነ ''‘zn''; also spelled Aezana or Aizan) was ruler of the Kingdom of Axum, an ancient kingdom located in what is now Eritrea and Ethiopia. (320s – c. 360 AD). He himself employed the ...
:[, quote=Moi, Ézana, roi des Axoumites, des Himyarites, de Reeidan, des Sabéens, de S lel, de Kasô, des Bedja et de
Tiamô, Bisi Alêne, fils de Elle-Amida et serviteur du Christ]
While some authorities interpret these inscriptions as proof that the Axumites destroyed the kingdom of Meroe, others note that archeological evidence points to an economic and political decline in Meroe around 300. Moreover, some view the stele as military aid from Aksum to Meroe to quell down the revolt and rebellion by the Nuba. However, conclusive evidence and proof to which view is correct is not currently present.
Meroë in Jewish legend
Jewish oral tradition avers that Moses
Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu (Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pro ...
, in his younger years, had led an Egyptian military expedition into Sudan (Kush), as far as the city of Meroë, which was then called Saba. The city was built near the confluence of two great rivers and was encircled by a formidable wall, and governed by a renegade king. To ensure the safety of his men who traversed that desert country, Moses had invented a stratagem whereby the Egyptian army would carry along with them baskets of sedge, each containing an ibis, only to be released when they approached the enemy's country. The purpose of the birds was to kill the deadly serpents that lay all about that country. Having successfully laid siege to the city, the city was eventually subdued by the betrayal of the king's daughter, who had agreed to deliver the city to Moses on condition that he would consummate a marriage with her, under the solemn assurance of an oath.
Civilization
Meroë was the base of a flourishing kingdom whose wealth was centered around a strong iron
Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...
industry, as well as international trade involving India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
and China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
. Metalworking is believed to have gone on in Meroë, possibly through bloomeries and blast furnace
A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally pig iron, but also others such as lead or copper. ''Blast'' refers to the combustion air being "forced" or supplied above atmospheric ...
s, and Archibald Sayce
The Rev. Archibald Henry Sayce (25 September 18454 February 1933) was a pioneer British Assyriologist and linguist, who held a chair as Professor of Assyriology at the University of Oxford from 1891 to 1919. He was able to write in at least twe ...
reportedly referred to it as "the Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
of Africa", because of perceived vast production and trade of iron (a contention that is a matter of debate in modern scholarship).[
The centralized control of production within the Meroitic empire and distribution of certain crafts and manufactures may have been politically important with their iron industry and pottery crafts gaining the most significant attention. The Meroitic settlements were oriented in a savannah orientation with the varying of permanent and less permanent agricultural settlements can be attributed to the exploitation of rainlands and savannah-oriented forms of subsistence.]
At the time, iron was one of the most important metals worldwide, and Meroitic metalworkers were among the best in the world. Meroë also exported textiles
Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...
and jewelry
Jewellery ( UK) or jewelry (U.S.) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the clothes. From a western ...
. Their textiles were based on cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...
and working on this product reached its highest achievement in Nubia around 400 BC. Furthermore, Nubia
Nubia () (Nobiin: Nobīn, ) is a region along the Nile river encompassing the area between the first cataract of the Nile (just south of Aswan in southern Egypt) and the confluence of the Blue and White Niles (in Khartoum in central Sudan), or ...
was very rich in gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...
. It is possible that the Egyptian word for gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...
, ''nub'', was the source of name of Nubia
Nubia () (Nobiin: Nobīn, ) is a region along the Nile river encompassing the area between the first cataract of the Nile (just south of Aswan in southern Egypt) and the confluence of the Blue and White Niles (in Khartoum in central Sudan), or ...
. Trade in "exotic" animals from farther south in Africa was another feature of their economy.
Apart from the iron trade, pottery was a widespread and prominent industry in the Meroe kingdom. The production of fine and elaborated decorated wares was a strong tradition within the middle nile. Such productions carried considerable social significance and are believed to be involved in mortuary rites. The long history of goods imported into the Meroitic empire and their subsequent distribution provides insight into the social and political workings of the Meroitic state. The major determinant of production was attributed to the availability of labor rather than the political power associated with land. Power was associated with control of people rather than control of territory.
The sakia
A sāqiyah or saqiya ( ar, ساقية), also spelled sakia or saqia) is a mechanical water lifting device. It is also called a Persian wheel, tablia, rehat, and in Latin tympanum. It is similar in function to a scoop wheel, which uses buckets, ...
, was used to move water, in conjunction with irrigation, to increase crop production.
At its peak, the rulers of Meroë controlled the Nile Valley north to south, over a straight-line distance of more than .
The King of Meroë was an autocratic ruler who shared his authority only with the Queen Mother, or Candace
Kandake, kadake or kentake ( Meroitic: 𐦲𐦷𐦲𐦡 ''kdke''),Kirsty
Rowan"Revising the Sound Value of Meroitic D: A Phonological Approach,"''Beitrage zur Sudanforschung'' 10 (2009). often Latinised as Candace ( grc, Κανδάκη, ''Kandak ...
. However, the role of the Queen Mother remains obscure. The administration consisted of treasurers
A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance.
Government
The treasury o ...
, seal bearers, heads of archives
An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials – in any medium – or the physical facility in which they are located.
Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or ...
and chief scribe
A scribe is a person who serves as a professional copyist, especially one who made copies of manuscripts before the invention of automatic printing.
The profession of the scribe, previously widespread across cultures, lost most of its promi ...
s, among others.
Although the people of Meroë also had southern deities such as Apedemak, the lion-son of Sekhmet
In Egyptian mythology, Sekhmet ( or Sachmis (), also spelled Sakhmet, Sekhet, Sakhet among other spellings, cop, Ⲥⲁⲭⲙⲓ, Sakhmi), is a warrior goddess as well as goddess of healing. She is depicted as a lioness.
Sekhmet is a solar de ...
(or Bast, depending upon the region), they also continued worshipping ancient Egyptian gods that they had brought with them. Among these deities were Amun
Amun (; also ''Amon'', ''Ammon'', ''Amen''; egy, jmn, reconstructed as (Old Egyptian and early Middle Egyptian) → (later Middle Egyptian) → (Late Egyptian), cop, Ⲁⲙⲟⲩⲛ, Amoun) romanized: ʾmn) was a major ancient Egyptian ...
, Tefnut
Tefnut ( egy, ; cop, ⲧϥⲏⲛⲉ ) is a deity of moisture, moist air, dew and rain in Ancient Egyptian religion.The Routledge Dictionary of Egyptian Gods and Goddesses, George Hart She is the sister and consort of the air god Shu and the ...
, Horus
Horus or Heru, Hor, Har in Ancient Egyptian, is one of the most significant ancient Egyptian deities who served many functions, most notably as god of kingship and the sky. He was worshipped from at least the late prehistoric Egypt until the P ...
, Isis
Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingd ...
, Thoth
Thoth (; from grc-koi, Θώθ ''Thṓth'', borrowed from cop, Ⲑⲱⲟⲩⲧ ''Thōout'', Egyptian: ', the reflex of " eis like the Ibis") is an ancient Egyptian deity. In art, he was often depicted as a man with the head of an ibis or a ...
and Satis
SATIS or Station Area Traffic Improvement Scheme, is a traffic improvement project in Mumbai, India.
Satis or SATIS may also refer to:
* Satis (goddess) AKA Satet, the cult of deification of the floods of the Nile River in Egyptian mythology
* ...
, though to a lesser extent.
The collapse of their external trade with other Nile Valley states may be considered one of the prime causes of the decline of royal power and disintegration of the Meroitic state in the 3rd and 4th centuries AD.
Language
The Meroitic language
The Meroitic language () was spoken in Meroë (in present-day Sudan) during the Meroitic period (attested from 300 BCE) and became extinct about 400 CE. It was written in two forms of the Meroitic alphabet: Meroitic Cursive, which was written wi ...
was spoken in Meroë and the Sudan during the Meroitic period (attested from 300 BC). It became extinct about 400 AD. The language was written in two forms of the Meroitic alphabet
The Meroitic script consists of two alphasyllabic scripts developed to write the Meroitic language at the beginning of the Meroitic Period (3rd century BC) of the Kingdom of Kush. The two scripts are Meroitic Cursive, derived from Demotic Egyp ...
: Meroitic Cursive, which was written with a stylus
A stylus (plural styli or styluses) is a writing utensil or a small tool for some other form of marking or shaping, for example, in pottery. It can also be a computer accessory that is used to assist in navigating or providing more precision w ...
and was used for general record-keeping; and Meroitic Hieroglyphic, which was carved in stone or used for royal or religious documents. It is not well understood due to the scarcity of bilingual
Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all E ...
texts. The earliest inscription in Meroitic writing dates from between 180–170 BC. These hieroglyphics were found engraved on the temple of Queen Shanakdakhete
Shanakhdakheto or Shanakdakhete was a Queen of the Kingdom of Kush, when the polity was centered at Meroë, an ancient city in north Sudan. She is the earliest known ruling African queen of ancient Nubia, and reigned from c. 170–150 BC, although ...
. Meroitic Cursive is written horizontally, and reads from right to left like all Semitic orthographies.
By the 3rd century BC, a new indigenous alphabet
An alphabet is a standardized set of basic written graphemes (called letters) that represent the phonemes of certain spoken languages. Not all writing systems represent language in this way; in a syllabary, each character represents a syll ...
, the Meroitic, consisting of twenty-three letters, replaced Egyptian script. The Meroitic script
The Meroitic script consists of two alphasyllabic scripts developed to write the Meroitic language at the beginning of the Meroitic Period (3rd century BC) of the Kingdom of Kush. The two scripts are Meroitic Cursive, derived from Demotic Eg ...
is an alphabetic
An alphabet is a standardized set of basic written graphemes (called letters) that represent the phonemes of certain spoken languages. Not all writing systems represent language in this way; in a syllabary, each character represents a syllab ...
script originally derived from Egyptian hieroglyphs, used to write the Meroitic language of the Kingdom of Meroë/Kush. It was developed in the Napatan Period (about 700 – 300 BC), and first appears in the 2nd century BC. For a time, it was also possibly used to write the Nubian language
The Nubian languages ( ar, لُغَات نُوبِيّة, lughāt nūbiyyah) are a group of related languages spoken by the Nubians. They form a branch of the Eastern Sudanic languages, which is part of the wider Nilo-Saharan phylum. Initially, ...
of the successor Nubian kingdoms.
It is uncertain to which language family the Meroitic language is related. Kirsty Rowan suggests that Meroitic, like the Egyptian language
The Egyptian language or Ancient Egyptian ( ) is a dead language, dead Afroasiatic languages, Afro-Asiatic language that was spoken in ancient Egypt. It is known today from a large Text corpus, corpus of surviving texts which were made acces ...
, belongs to the Afro-Asiatic
The Afroasiatic languages (or Afro-Asiatic), also known as Hamito-Semitic, or Semito-Hamitic, and sometimes also as Afrasian, Erythraean or Lisramic, are a language family of about 300 languages that are spoken predominantly in the geographic su ...
family. She bases this on its sound inventory and phonotactics
Phonotactics (from Ancient Greek "voice, sound" and "having to do with arranging") is a branch of phonology that deals with restrictions in a language on the permissible combinations of phonemes. Phonotactics defines permissible syllable struc ...
, which, she proposes, are similar to those of the Afro-Asiatic languages and dissimilar from those of the Nilo-Saharan languages. Claude Rilly, based on its syntax, morphology, and known vocabulary, proposes that Meroitic, like the Nobiin language
Nobiin, or Mahas, is a Northern Nubian languages, Nubian language of the Nilo-Saharan languages, Nilo-Saharan language family. "Nobiin" is the genitive case, genitive form of ''Nòòbíí'' ("Nubian") and literally means "(language) of the Nubia ...
, instead belongs to the Eastern Sudanic
In most classifications, the Eastern Sudanic languages are a group of nine families of languages that may constitute a branch of the Nilo-Saharan language family. Eastern Sudanic languages are spoken from southern Egypt to northern Tanzania.
Nub ...
branch of the Nilo-Saharan
The Nilo-Saharan languages are a proposed family of African languages spoken by some 50–60 million people, mainly in the upper parts of the Chari and Nile rivers, including historic Nubia, north of where the two tributaries of the Nile meet. T ...
family.
Archaeology
The site of Meroë was brought to the knowledge of Europeans in 1821 by the French mineralogist Frédéric Cailliaud
Frédéric Cailliaud (9 June 1787 – 1 May 1869) was a French naturalist, mineralogist and conchologist. He was born, and died, in Nantes, where he was the curator of the Natural History Museum of Nantes from 1836 to 1869.
He travelled in E ...
(1787–1869), who published an illustrated in-folio describing the ruins. His work included the first publication of the southernmost known Latin inscription.
As Margoliouth notes in the 1911 ''Encyclopedia Britannica'', small scale excavations occurred in 1834, led by Giuseppe Ferlini
Giuseppe Ferlini (April 23, 1797 – December 30, 1870 Epitaph from his gravestone in the Certosa di Bologna (see picture).) was an Italian soldier turned treasure hunter, who robbed and desecrated the pyramids of Meroë.
Biography
Born in ...
, who, as Margoliouth states, "discovered (or professed to discover) various antiquities, chiefly in the form of jewelry, now in the museums of Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
and Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
."[ Margoliouth continues,
File:Archaeological Sites of the Island of Meroe-114985.jpg, Column and elephant - part of temple complex in Musawwarat es-Sufra
File:Archaeological Sites of the Island of Meroe-114987.jpg, Roman Kiosk and Apedemak Temple in Naqa
File:Archaeological Sites of the Island of Meroe-114991.jpg, Colonnade of rams in front of Amun-Ra temple in Naqa
]
World Heritage listing
In June 2011, the Archeological Sites of Meroë were listed by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites.
See also
*Sedeinga pyramids
The Sedeinga pyramids are a group of at least 80 small pyramids near Sedeinga, Sudan, built ca. 1 BCE. They were discovered between 2009 and 2012 and date to the time of the Kingdom of Kush, an ancient kingdom in Nubia. They range in size from ab ...
*List of modern names for biblical place names
While a number of biblical place names like Jerusalem, Athens, Damascus, Alexandria, Babylon and Rome have been used for centuries, some have changed over the years. Many place names in the Land of Israel/Holy Land/ Palestine are Arabised forms of ...
*Kandake
Kandake, kadake or kentake ( Meroitic: 𐦲𐦷𐦲𐦡 ''kdke''),Kirsty
Rowan"Revising the Sound Value of Meroitic D: A Phonological Approach,"''Beitrage zur Sudanforschung'' 10 (2009). often Latinised as Candace ( grc, Κανδάκη, ''Kandak ...
References
Notes
Citations
Further reading
*
*
*
External links
*
LearningSites.com – Gebel Barkal
UNESCO World Heritage – Gebel Barkal and the Sites of the Napatan Region
Voyage au pays des pharaons noirs
Travel in Sudan and notes on Nubian history
Labelled map of the pyramids at Meroe
Sudan's forgotten pyramids – BBC News
– An online slide show as part of a detailed travelogue (in German)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meroe
African civilizations
Ancient cities
Archaeological sites in Sudan
Former populated places in Sudan
History of Nubia
Kingdom of Kush
Roman frontiers
World Heritage Sites in Sudan
Ancient Greek geography of East Africa
Kushite cities
6th-century BC establishments