Ashley+Conover

=**The Overseen Pyramids and Rulers of Nubia:**=

Introduction
Nubia and its northern neighbor, Egypt, had a great amount of influence on each other when it came to architecture and royalty. One would probably think that Egypt would be the location in northern Africa with the most pyramids in the world but this is false. Nubia was broken down into three Kush kingdoms: Kerma, Napata and Merotitic, also known as Meore. Between these three kingdoms in Nubia around 220 pyramids have been found. This number can be compared to Egypt’s 90 pyramids. Although some of them were built for the same reasons, we know the Egyptian pyramids to be used for the Nubian pyramids had other uses aside from monuments of kings and queens. Other important people from the empire of Nubia were given pyramids for example high-ranking priests. In my paper I will be using the three Kush kingdoms to break down the pyramids that were built and what royal leader has been placed there. This information will show the influences that Egypt had on Nubia.

Kerma
Kerma, Nubia’s first centralized state existed from 2400 to 1500 BC. It was the earliest capital in Kush. Kerma had its own forms of architecture and burial customs. Located in Kerma is a vast cemetery that holds approximately 30,000 burials along with three large tombs dating to around 1600 BCE. The tombs are large mounds of dirt and stone, called defuffas. These tombs are thought to be tombs of the capitals’ rulers. The mounds were approximately 300 ft. in diameter and ten to thirteen feet in height. They were built out of mod-brick walls, which helped to keep the mound from blowing away. These mounds were broken down into different chambers, which were made out of small brick. The middle chamber, also the smallest chamber, houses the bodies of the kings and their most precious possessions. This chamber had a wooden door, a vaulted roof and plastered walls with well-preserved wall paintings. The corridor of the tomb contained hundreds of sacrificed people, mostly people who worked for the king. It is said that they were taken to the corridor, given a poison, and laid down and died. After the burials were completed a huge mound was built on top of them, and then covered with a pavement made of millions of white and black pebbles. An enormous white marble monolith was set on top of the mound as a monument.

**Napata**
The second period is the Napata period (1000-300 BC). Some see the Napata period as a chief religious center of the kingdom. Throughout the entire period all the royal burials took place in one area, which was known as Nuri. The pyramids were built in Napata at the site of el-Kurru, located on the bank of the Nile River. The first to build a tomb at this site was King Taharqa. King Taharqa was a pharaoh of Egypt; his reign can be dated from 690 BC to 664 BC. It is said that he was the son of Piye, the Nubian king of Napata, and the younger brother and successor of Shebitku. Taharqa was given the crown to rule Egypt after his brother’s death. This is known by archaeological evidence found in Kawa Stela V. He was involved in the rebuilding of a number of sites, some of these included: the temple at Kawa, located across from Dongola, and the Temple of Amon located at Karnak. Taharqa was threatened by the Assyrians a number of times. Each time he fled from Napata for his safety and then later returned to continue his reign. As he fled for safety from the Assyrians to Nubia the second time he died here and was buried in Nuri in 664 BC. The pyramid for King Taharqa was twice the size of any other pyramid in Nubia; this was probably due to the fact that he was recognized as the greatest member of the dynasty. It stood at around 260 ft. high, 171 ft. on the side, and had a 69 degree angle, compared to other kings pyramids, which were between 65-130 ft tall. This tomb is the most elaborate of the tombs found at Nuri. Built with a trench stairway that led to a doorway. From the doorway led a tunnel that got wider as it elongated to the center of the tomb. Massive pillars were built to divide the burial chamber from the aisles and a central nave, central approach to a high altar. Most of the kings tombs normally consisted of three interconnecting chamber; the queen’s tombs only had two of these. When the tombs were complete the walls were then painted and carved with Egyptian texts from the “Book of the Dead.” Each of these had a long flight of stairs that would go out to the chapel entrance. The chapel was used just as we use of them today, for paying homage to the dead or praying. After the burial was complete they would fill the stair way with sand and make it unnoticeable to any intruders. With the influence from Egypt the ruler’s body was mummified. They were also buried with their valuables including jewelry, perfume, and storage jars containing food and drinks. Another tomb built here housed King Kashta and his son Piye, along with his successors. King Kashta was the first king of Kush. With no evidence how long he reined for, it is guessed to be from the 25th century to when his some Piye took over after his death. He was also the first king to take influences from Upper Egypt and adopt them into Nubia. Piye, also known by his two throne names, Usimare or Sneferre, ruled for thirty-one years, from 752-721 BC. He added on to the Temple of Amun just as his younger brother did. He defeated the Egyptians by marching his troops northward into Egypt. He died in 716 BC and was buried at el-Kurru near Gebel Barkal. Fourteen other pyramids were built for the burial of their queens. More Napatan pyramids were found on the western bank of the Nile in Upper Nubia. Known as the Pyramids of Nuri contained twenty-one kings along with fifty-two queens and princess.

**Meroitic**
Once the Napatan phase of the Nubian culture ended in the middle of the third century a new phase started known as the Meroitic Period. During this period Nubia freed it from the tight bonds it had with Egypt and started to accept ideas from the Greco-Roman world. Nubia was a large hub for trade between Egypt and the Mediterranean civilizations at the time. The largest site of Nubian civilization is Meroe, also knows as “Royal City”. It is located north of Khartoum on the shore of the Nile River. Between the 5th and 6th cataracts (300 BC-300 AD) forty kings and queens were buried at the Pyramids of Meroe. Forty generations of Nubian royalty were buried at Meroe, and each royal Nubian tomb is encased within a pyramid. It is said that the first royal tomb belonged to a king named Arkamani (also known as Ergamanes). King Arkamani has a very rare story behind him. The king of Kush is mentioned in Greek histories. Greek author Agatharcides of Cnidus stated that Arkamani lived at the same time as King Ptolemy II of Egypt. Agatharcides tells a story that before Arkamani became king he received a letter from “God” telling him that he must commit suicide. Really this letter came from the priest because they are the only people who have the powers to end a king’s reign. Instead of Arkamani committing suicide he along with his army went to the temple and kill the priests instead. Arkamani was the first to build his pyramid at Meroe. Like the Egyptian tombs, tombs at Meroe were found with materialistic things showing that inequality existed in this society. The large tombs have painted walls that tell us the ruler was mummified and then covered with jewelry and then laid into a wooden casket. Due to loiterers there wasn’t any jewelry or valuables left in the tombs when found. However the pyramids still house weapons, bows, arrows, horse harnesses, furniture, pottery, metal vessels, and other things that had been imported from Egypt, Greece and Rome. Meore is very important to Africa because it holds the most important monuments of the beginning of civilization on the continent. It is the last significant Nubian state. With influence from the Greco-Roman world a huge palace can be found here. Huge stonewalls enclosed the palace which had a number of small temples and a roman-bath. Behind this palace another one is located known as Amun Temple. This temple was known as Ipt-Swt, which means the selected spot, during the Middle Kingdom period of Egypt. Then it was also called Pr-Imn, which means the house of Amon. The temple was built for the local god of Thebes. It is one of the four main enclosed areas that make up the immense Karnak Temple Complex. The Amun Temple is built on two axis’ running both east and west and north and south. It also has the Greco-Roman like architecture along with Egyptian architecture.

media type="youtube" key="hgH_imAfSRI" height="364" width="445" A short YouTube video showing the different pyramids of Nubia.

**Conclusion**
As you can see from the information I’ve given you, Egypt had a large impact on the architectural development of the pyramids and the rulers who were buried there. As Nubia’s division of the three Kush kingdoms, Kerma, Napata and Merotitic changed, so did the impact of the Egyptian influences. Evidence from the first kingdom, Kerma; show that tombs were being built for their royalty. The tombs mirror Egyptian tombs with multi-chambers and wall paintings. The second Kush kingdom, Napata, shows influence from Egypt in the case of having a hereditary dynasty and a valley for themselves. Merotitic, the last Kush kingdom, shows both Egyptian and Greco-Roman influences. The tomb of Arkamani was filled with materialistic possessions. The Temple of Amon has both architectural influences from the grand pillars like the Mediterranean world and the Sphinx and statues of the Egyptian architectural style. As time went on Nubia conquered Egypt and adopted its techniques as a whole.


 * Work Cited**

Broida, Marian. 1999 Ancient Egyptians and Their Neighbors. Chicago: Chicago Review Press.

Fairservis, Walter A. 1962 The Ancient Kingdoms of the Nile and the Doomed Monuments of Nubia. New York: Crowell.

Morkot, Robert G. 2000 The Black Pharaohs: Egypt’s Nubian Rulers. London: The Rubicon Press.

O’Connor, David. 1993 Ancient Nubia: Egypt’s Rival in Africa. Philadelphia; The University Museum.

T.G.H. James. 1991 The Cambridge Ancient History Egypt: the Twenty-fifth and Twenty-sixth Dynasties. Pp 677-747.

Williams, Bruce Beyer. 1986 The A-Group Royal Cemetery at Qustul, Cemetery L. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago.