Kingdom of Kush

The Kingdom of Kush was an ancient kingdom in Nubia, centered along the Nile Valley in what is now northern Sudan and southern Egypt. It was known by many names, including the Kushite Empire and simply Kush. The people of Kush had their own language and culture, which were different from their neighbors in Egypt, though they shared some traditions, such as worshipping the god Amun.

The region of Nubia was an early home to many advanced societies. One of these was the city-state of Kerma, which controlled much of the Nile Valley long before Kush became powerful. The Egyptians called this area "Kush," and over time, the Kushites and Egyptians traded, fought, and shared ideas.

In the 8th century BC, kings from Kush began to rule parts of Egypt, starting with King Kashta. Later, Piye became king of all Egypt, beginning what is called the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt. After facing attacks from other powers, the Kushite rulers moved their capital to Meroë.

For many years, Kush remained a strong and wealthy kingdom, known for its trade, skilled archery, and cities where women took on important roles. Eventually, Kush faced challenges from changing weather, internal conflicts, and attacks from other groups. By the 4th century AD, the kingdom broke apart into smaller states, but its legacy as a remarkable ancient civilization continues to be discovered and appreciated today.

Name

The ancient kingdom of Kush had different names in various languages. In Egyptian, it was called kꜣš, and people from this area were known as Kushite. The name "Kush" also comes from the Bible, where a person named Cush is mentioned as one of the sons of Ham. In Greek writings, the kingdom was called Kous or Aethiopia. The rulers of Kush even led Egypt during what is called the 25th Dynasty.

History

Prelude

Nabta Playa (7500 BC)

The Nabta Playa civilization emerged in Nubia around 7500 BC. Early examples of what seems to be one of the world’s first devices for studying the stars were found here, predating Stonehenge by almost 2,000 years. People from this time lived in organized villages with deep wells that held water all year.

A-Group culture (4000–2900 BC)

The A-Group was a civilization in Nubia that lasted from the 4th millennium BC, reaching its peak around 3100 BC, and ending around 2900 BC. Important places included Kubaniyya in the north and Buhen in the south, with Aswan, Sayala, Toshka and Qustul in between.

Kerma culture (2500–1500 BC)

The Kerma culture was centered in Kerma, Sudan. It existed from around 2500 BC to 1500 BC in ancient Nubia. This culture was based in southern Nubia and later extended into Lower Nubia and the border of Egypt. During its later phase, from about 1700–1500 BC, it absorbed the Sudanese kingdom of Saï and became a large empire rivaling Egypt.

Egyptian Nubia (1504–1070 BC)

Mentuhotep II, founder of the Middle Kingdom, is recorded to have fought against Kush in the 29th and 31st years of his rule. This is the earliest Egyptian reference to Kush. Under Thutmose I, Egypt made several campaigns south.

The Egyptians ruled Kush in the New Kingdom beginning when the Egyptian King Thutmose I occupied Kush and destroyed its capital, Kerma. This eventually resulted in their annexation of Nubia around 1504 BC. Around 1500 BC, Nubia was absorbed into the New Kingdom of Egypt, but rebellions continued for centuries. After the conquest, Kerma culture was increasingly influenced by Egypt, yet rebellions continued for 220 years until around 1300 BC. Nubia became a key province of the New Kingdom, economically, politically, and spiritually. Major ceremonies were held at Jebel Barkal near Napata. As an Egyptian colony from the 16th century BC, Nubia ("Kush") was governed by an Egyptian Viceroy of Kush.

Resistance to early eighteenth Dynasty Egyptian rule by neighboring Kush is shown in the writings of Ahmose, son of Ebana, an Egyptian warrior who served under Nebpehtrya Ahmose (1539–1514 BC), Djeserkara Amenhotep I (1514–1493 BC), and Aakheperkara Thutmose I (1493–1481 BC). At the end of the Second Intermediate Period (mid-sixteenth century BC), Egypt faced threats from the Hyksos in the North and the Kushites in the South. The tomb writings contain references to the Nubian bowmen of Kush. By 1200 BC, Egyptian involvement in the Dongola Reach was nonexistent.

Egypt’s international prestige had declined considerably towards the end of the Third Intermediate Period. Its historical allies, the inhabitants of Canaan, had fallen to the Middle Assyrian Empire (1365–1020 BC), and then the resurgent Neo-Assyrian Empire (935–605 BC). The Assyrians, from the tenth century BC onwards, had expanded from northern Mesopotamia, and conquered a vast empire, including the whole of the Near East, and much of Anatolia, the eastern Mediterranean, the Caucasus and early Iron Age Iran.

According to Josephus Flavius, the biblical Moses led the Egyptian army in a siege of the Kushite city of Meroe. To end the siege Princess Tharbis was given to Moses as a bride, and thus the Egyptian army retreated back to Egypt.

Formation (c. 1070–754 BC)

With the disintegration of the New Kingdom around 1070 BC, Kush became an independent kingdom centered at Napata in modern northern Sudan. This more-Egyptianized "Kingdom of Kush" emerged, possibly from Kerma, and regained the region’s independence from Egypt. The extent of cultural/political continuity between the Kerma culture and the chronologically succeeding Kingdom of Kush is difficult to determine. The latter polity began to emerge around 1000 BC, 500 years after the end of the Kingdom of Kerma.

The first Kushite king known by name was Alara, who ruled somewhere between 800 and 760 BC. No contemporary inscriptions of him exist. He was first mentioned in the funerary stela of his daughter Tabiry, the wife of king Piye. Later royal inscriptions remember Alara as the founder of the dynasty, some calling him "chieftain", others "king". A 7th century inscription claimed that his sister was the grandmother of king Taharqo. An inscription of the 5th century king Amanineteyerike remembered Alara’s reign as long and successful. Alara was probably buried at el-Kurru, although there exists no inscription to identify his tomb. It has been proposed that it was Alara who turned Kush from a chiefdom to an Egyptianized kingdom centered around the cult of Amun.

Rule over Egypt (754–656 BC)

Alara’s successor Kashta extended Kushite control north to Elephantine and Thebes in Upper Egypt. Kashta’s successor Piye seized control of Lower Egypt around 727 BC. Piye’s Victory Stela, celebrating these campaigns between 728 and 716 BC, was found in the Amun temple at Jebel Barkal. He invaded an Egypt fragmented into four kingdoms, ruled by King Peftjauawybast, King Nimlot, King Iuput II, and King Osorkon IV. Piye then sought to support Anti Assyrian rebellion in the southern Levant, however these were decisively put down by the Assyrian king Sargon II in 720 BC

Why the Kushites chose to enter Egypt at this crucial point of foreign domination is subject to debate. Archaeologist Timothy Kendall offers his own hypotheses, connecting it to a claim of legitimacy associated with Jebel Barkal. Kendall cites the Victory Stele of Piye at Jebel Barkal, which states that "Amun of Napata granted me to be ruler of every foreign country", and "Amun in Thebes granted me to be ruler of the Black Land (Kmt)". According to Kendall, "foreign lands" in this regard seems to include Lower Egypt while "Kmt" seems to refer to a united Upper Egypt and Nubia.

Piye’s successor, Shabataka, defeated the Saite kings of northern Egypt between 711 and 710 BC and installed himself as king in Memphis. He then supported another rebellion against the Assyrians in the Levant, but this met with failure. He later established ties with Sargon II of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, even sending him Iamani, the rebel ruler of Ashsod as a placatory gesture after Iamani had fled into Egypt. After the reign of Shabaka, Pharaoh Taharqa’s army claimed to have undertaken successful military campaigns, as attested by the "list of conquered Asiatic principalities" from the Mut temple at Karnak and "conquered peoples and countries (Libyans, Shasu nomads, Phoenicians?, Khor in Palestine)" from Sanam temple inscriptions. However the regions in the southern Levant claimed by Shabataka were seen by Assyria as under their dominion, and imperial ambitions of both the Mesopotamian based Neo-Assyrian Empire and Kushite Empire made war with the 25th dynasty inevitable. In 701 BC, Taharqa and his army aided Judah and King Hezekiah in withstanding a siege by King Sennacherib of the Assyrians (2 Kings 19:9; Isaiah 37:9). There are various theories (Taharqa’s army, disease, divine intervention, Hezekiah’s surrender or agreeing to pay tribute) as to why the Assyrians failed to take the city. Historian László Török mentions that Egypt’s army "was beaten at Eltekeh" under Taharqa’s command, but "the battle could be interpreted as a victory for the double kingdom", since Assyria did not take Jerusalem, however, Assyrian records show Judah forced to pay tribute, the Egyptian and Kushite forces withdrew to Egypt and the Assyrian king Sennacherib appears to have advanced south and occupied part of the Sinai.

The power of the 25th Dynasty reached a climax under Taharqa. The Nile valley empire was as large as it had been since the New Kingdom. New prosperity revived Egyptian culture. Religion, the arts, and architecture were restored to their glorious Old, Middle, and New Kingdom forms. The Kushite pharaohs built or restored temples and monuments throughout the Nile valley, including Memphis, Karnak, Kawa, and Jebel Barkal. It was during the 25th dynasty that the Nile valley saw the first widespread construction of pyramids (many in modern Sudan) since the Middle Kingdom. The Kushites developed their own script, the Meroitic alphabet, which was influenced by Egyptian writing systems c. 700–600 BC, although it appears to have been wholly confined to the royal court and major temples.

Assyrian conquest of Egypt

Taharqa and his Judean allies initially held the Assyrians at Ashkelon when war broke out in 674 BC. The relatively small Assyrian force had first defeated Canaanite, Aramean and Arab tribes in the region and then immediately marched at great speed on Ashkelon, leaving them exhausted and unable to advance further. However, in 671 BC, the Assyrian King Esarhaddon started the Assyrian conquest of Egypt with a larger and better prepared force. The Assyrians advanced rapidly and decisively. Memphis was taken, and Taharqa fled back to Nubia, while his heir and other family members were taken to the Assyrian capital Nineveh as prisoners. Esarhaddon boasted how he "deported all Aethiopians from Egypt, leaving not one to pay homage to me". However, the native Egyptian vassal rulers installed by Esarhaddon as puppets were unable to effectively retain full control of the entire country, and Taharqa was able to regain control of Memphis. Esarhaddon’s 669 BC campaign to once more eject Taharqa was abandoned when Esarhaddon died in the northern Assyrian city of Harran on the way to Egypt, leaving Esarhaddon’s successor Ashurbanipal the task. He defeated Taharqa, driving his forces back into Nubia, and Taharqa died in Napata soon after in 664 BC.

Taharqa’s successor, Tantamani sailed north from Napata, through Elephantine, and to Thebes with a large army, where he was "ritually installed as the king of Egypt". From Thebes, Tantamani began his attempt at reconquest and regained control of a part of southern Egypt as far as Memphis from the native Egyptian puppet rulers installed by the Assyrians. Tantamani’s dream stele states that he restored order from the chaos, where royal temples and cults were not being maintained. After defeating Sais and killing Assyria’s vassal, Necho I, in Memphis, "some local dynasts formally surrendered, while others withdrew to their fortresses". Tantamani proceeded north of Memphis, invading Lower Egypt and, besieged cities in the Delta, a number of which surrendered to him. The Assyrians, who had maintained only a small military presence in the north, then sent a large army southwards in 663 BC. Tantamani was decisively routed, and the Assyrian army sacked Thebes to such an extent it never truly recovered. Tantamani was chased back to Nubia, but he continued to try and assert control over Upper Egypt until c. 656 BC. At this date, a native Egyptian ruler, Psamtik I son of Necho, placed on the throne as a vassal of Ashurbanipal, took control of Thebes. The last links between Kush and Upper Egypt were severed after hostilities with the Saite kings in the 590s BC.

Napatan period (656 BC – c. 270 BC)

Kushite civilization continued for several centuries. According to Welsby, "throughout the Saite, Persian, Ptolemaic, and Roman periods, the Kushite rulers—the descendants of the XXVth Dynasty pharaohs, and the guardians of the Temple of Amun at Jebel Barkal—could have pressed their 'legitimate' claim for control of Egypt and they thus posed a potential threat to the rulers of Egypt."

Herodotus mentioned an invasion of Kush by the Achaemenid ruler Cambyses (c. 530 BC). By some accounts Cambyses succeeded in occupying the area between the first and second Nile cataract, however Herodotus mentions that "his expedition failed miserably in the desert." Achaemenid inscriptions from both Egypt and Iran include Kush as part of the Achaemenid empire. For example, the DNa inscription of Darius I (r. 522–486 BC) on his tomb at Naqsh-e Rustam mentions Kūšīyā (Old Persian cuneiform: 𐎤𐎢𐏁𐎡𐎹𐎠, pronounced Kūshīyā) among the territories being "ruled over" by the Achaemenid Empire. Derek Welsby states "scholars have doubted that this Persian expedition ever took place, but... archaeological evidence suggests that the fortress of Dorginarti near the second cataract served as Persia's southern boundary."

From around 425–300 BC, beginning under the rule of king Amannote-erike, Kush saw a series of kings who revitalized older practices such as the erection of royal steles or royal statues. It was likely also in this period when several older pyramids, among them that of Taharqo, were enlarged. The stele of king Harsiotef, who from around 400 BC ruled for at least 35 years, reports how he fought a multitude of campaigns against enemies ranging from Meroe in the south to Lower Nubia in the north while also donating to temples throughout Kush. King Nastasen (c. 325) waged several wars against nomad groups and again in Lower Nubia. Nastasen was the last king to be buried at Nuri. His successors built six pyramids at Jebel Barkal and two in the old necropolis of el-Kurru, although the lack of inscriptions prevents identifying their occupants. It seems likely that this was a time of unrest and conflict within the royal elite.

Meroitic period (c. 270 BC – 4th century AD)

Aspelta moved the capital to Meroë, considerably farther south than Napata, possibly c. 591 BC, just after the sack of Napata by Psamtik II. Martin Meredith 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 Kush traded iron products with the Romans, in addition to gold, ivory and slaves. The Butana plain was stripped of its forests, leaving behind slag piles.

In about 300 BC, the move to Meroë was made more complete when the monarchs began to be buried there, instead of at Napata. One theory is that this represents the monarchs breaking away from the power of the priests at Napata. According to Diodorus Siculus, Kushite king Ergamenes defied the priests and had them slaughtered. This story may refer to the first ruler to be buried at Meroë with a similar name such as Arqamani, who ruled many years after the royal cemetery was opened at Meroë. During this same period, the Kushite authority may have extended some 1,500 km along the Nile River valley from the Egyptian frontier in the north to areas far south of modern Khartoum and probably also substantial territories to the east and west.

Relations with Ptolemaic Egypt

There is some record of conflict between the Kushites and Ptolemaic Egypt. In 275 or 274 BC, Ptolemy II (r. 283–246 BC) sent an army to Nubia, and defeated the Kingdom of Kush, annexing to Egypt the area later known as Triakontaschoinos. In addition, there was a serious revolt at the end of the reign of Ptolemy IV, around 204 BC, and the Kushites likely tried to interfere in Ptolemaic affairs. It has been suggested that this led to Ptolemy V defacing the name of Arqamani on inscriptions at Philae. "Arqamani constructed a small entrance hall to the temple built by Ptolemy IV at selchis and constructed a temple at Philae to which Ptolemy contributed an entrance hall." There is evidence of Ptolemaic occupation as far south as the second cataract, but recent finds at Qasr Ibrim, such as "the total absence of Ptolemaic pottery" have cast doubts on the effectiveness of the occupation. Dynastic struggles led to the Ptolemies abandoning the area, so "the Kushites reasserted their control...with Qasr Ibrim occupied" (by the Kushites) and other locations perhaps garrisoned.

Relations with the Roman Empire

According to Welsby, after the Romans assumed control of Egypt, they negotiated with the Kushites at Philae and drew the southern border of Roman Egypt at Aswan. Theodor Mommsen and Welsby state the Kingdom of Kush became a client Kingdom, which was similar to the situation under Ptolemaic rule of Egypt. Kushite ambition and excessive Roman taxation are two theories for a revolt that was supported by Kushite armies. The ancient historians, Strabo and Pliny, give accounts of the conflict with Roman Egypt.

Strabo describes a war with the Romans in the first century BC. According to Strabo, the Kushites "sacked Aswan with an army of 30,000 men and destroyed imperial statues...at Philae." A "fine over-life-size bronze head of the emperor Augustus" was found buried in Meroe in front of a temple. After the initial victories of Kandake (or "Candace") Amanirenas against Roman Egypt, the Kushites were defeated and Napata sacked. Remarkably, the destruction of the capital of Napata was not a crippling blow to the Kushites and did not frighten Candace enough to prevent her from again engaging in combat with the Roman military. In 22 BC, a large Kushite force moved northward with intention of attacking Qasr Ibrim. Alerted to the advance, Gaius Petronius, prefect of Roman Egypt, again marched south and managed to reach Qasr Ibrim and bolster its defenses before the invading Kushites arrived. Welsby states after a Kushite attack on Primis (Qasr Ibrim), the Kushites sent ambassadors to negotiate a peace settlement with Petronius. The Kushites succeeded in negotiating a peace treaty on favorable terms. Trade between the two nations increased and the Roman Egyptian border being extended to "Hiera Sykaminos (Maharraqa)." This arrangement "guaranteed peace for most of the next 300 years" and there is "no definite evidence of further clashes."

It is possible that the Roman emperor Nero planned another attempt to conquer Kush before his death in AD 68. Nero sent two centurions upriver as far as Bahr el Ghazal River in 66 AD in an attempt to discover the source of the Nile, per Seneca, or plan an attack, per Pliny.

Decline and fall

Kush began to fade as a power by the first or second century AD, sapped by the war with the Roman province of Egypt and the decline of its traditional industries. However, there is evidence of third century AD Kushite Kings at Philae in demotic and inscription. It has been suggested that the Kushites reoccupied lower Nubia after Roman forces were withdrawn to Aswan. Kushite activities led others to note "a de facto Kushite control of that area (as far north as Philae) for part of the third century AD." Thereafter, it weakened and disintegrated due to internal rebellion.

The fall of Meroe is often associated with an Aksumite invasion. An Aksumite presence in Meroe is confirmed by two fragmentary Greek inscriptions. The better preserved one referred to military actions and the imposition of a tribute. They probably belonged to Aksumite victory monuments and were dedicated to Ares/Maher, the god of war. Thus, they must have been erected before Aksum's conversion to Christianity in around 340, perhaps by king Ousanas (r. c. 310–330). An inscription from Aksum mentioning Kush as vassal kingdom may also be attributed to Ousanas. The trilingual stele of his successor Ezana describes another expedition which happened after 340. Ezana's army followed the course of the Atbara until reaching the Nile confluence, where he waged war against Kush. Meroe itself is not mentioned, suggesting that Ezana did not attack the town. Aksum's presence in Nubia was likely short-lived.

Meroitic texts from as early as the 1st century BC hint to conflicts with the Noba, who lived west of the Nile and were governed by their own chiefs and kings. Perhaps it was the increasingly arid climate that forced them to attack the Nile Valley, although they would not manage to break through until the 4th century. The Ezana stele mentioned that they had occupied Kushite towns and were active as far east as the Takeze River, where they harassed Aksumite vassals. These attacks and them breaking oaths they had sworn to Ezana were the main reason for his Nubian expedition. It has been proposed that the Noba were not necessarily Nubian-speakers, but that the term "Noba" was rather a pejorative Meroitic word applied to a large variety of people living outside the Meroitic state. A Meroitic stele found at Gebel Adda from around 300 AD, however, seems to mention a king bearing the Nubian name Trotihi. A bowl from a 4th-century elite burial in el-Hobagi features a Meroitic-Nubian inscription mentioning a "king", but identifying the interred individual and the polity he ruled over remains problematic.

At Meroe, the last pyramids as well as non-royal burials are dated to the mid-4th century, which is conventionally thought to be when the kingdom of Kush came to an end. Afterwards began the so-called "post-Meroitic" period. This period saw a decline of urbanism, the disappearance of the Meroitic religion and script as well as the emergence of regional elites buried in large tumuli. Princely burials from Qustul (c. 380–410) and Ballana (410–500) in Lower Nubia are connected to the rise of Nobatia. To its north were the Blemmyes, who in around 394 established a kingdom centered around Talmis that lasted until it was conquered by Nobatia in around 450. The political developments south of the third cataract remain obscure, but it appears that Dongola, the later capital of Makuria as well as Soba, the capital of Alodia, were founded in that period. Nobatia, Makuria and Alodia eventually converted to Christianity in the 6th century, marking the beginning of medieval Nubia.

Language and writing

The Meroitic language was spoken in Meroë and Sudan from about 300 BC until around 400 AD. We are not sure which language family it belongs to. Some experts think it might be related to the Egyptian language, while others believe it is part of the Nilo-Saharan language family.

During the Napatan Period, Egyptian hieroglyphs were used mainly for important places like temples. Later, around the second century BC, the Meroitic people created their own writing system. They had two forms of writing: Meroitic Cursive, used for everyday records and written with a stylus, and Meroitic Hieroglyphic, used for important documents and carved in stone. These writings are hard to understand because there are not many texts in both Meroitic and other languages. The oldest Meroitic writing dates back to between 180 and 170 BC and was found on a temple. The Meroitic Cursive script was used widely, with over 1,200 known examples.

Technology, medicine, and mathematics

Technology

The people of the Kingdom of Kush created clever tools to help with farming and daily life. They invented a water wheel called the saqiyah, which was powered by animals like buffalos. This made it easier to lift water for crops than the older tool called a shaduf, which needed people to work it by hand. They also built special bronze kilns to make everyday items such as razors, mirrors, and tweezers.

They built large water storage areas called hafirs to save rainwater for dry times. These helped provide water for drinking, farming, and animals. One big hafir near Musawwarat es-Sufra was very large, measuring 250 meters across and almost 7 meters deep.

The Kushites were also skilled at working with metal, possibly using special furnaces to make tools and even extra metal to trade.

Medicine

Scientists discovered that people in Kush used a natural antibiotic long before modern medicine. This was found in the bones of mummies from around 350 to 550 AD. It is believed they used a type of antibiotic found in jars of beer made from grain, which might have helped people stay healthier.

Mathematics

The Nubians showed great skill in math and building. Plans for pyramids suggest they understood special number ratios. They also made early sun clocks and used methods to measure angles, similar to how Egyptians did.

Military

Main article: Military of ancient Nubia

In the eighth century BC, during the siege of Hermopolis, the Kushite army led by Piye built siege towers to help their archers and slingers. When the army struggled at Ashmunein, Piye personally oversaw the building of a siege tower so archers could shoot into the city. Over time, simple shelters for soldiers trying to break through walls were replaced by battering rams.

Bowmen played a big role in the Kushite military. They used long bows, sometimes needing to use their feet to pull back the string. They also had different kinds of bows. The Greek writer Herodotus described their bows as made from strong palm wood, with arrows from cane plants.

Elephants were sometimes used in battles, especially around 20 BC when Kush fought against Rome.

Architecture

Main article: Nubian pyramids

During the Bronze Age, the people of Nubia, who were ancestors of the Kingdom of Kush, built temples and tombs carved into rock faces. This style had a big effect on the buildings of the New Kingdom of Egypt. One of the most famous types of buildings from Kush were tomb monuments. These tombs changed over time, starting small and getting bigger, especially during the 25th dynasty.

The Kushites also built pyramids, temples made from mud bricks, and temples made from stone blocks. They often used ideas from Egyptian temple designs but made their own unique plans. Some temples, like those for the god Amun, all followed the same basic design. The temple at Jebel Barkal was especially large, much bigger than other temples in Nubia.

Piye, a ruler of Kush, is believed to have built the first true pyramid at a place called el Kurru. Pyramids were very important tombs for the royal family of Kush and can be found at several locations. These pyramids were smaller and had steeper sides than the pyramids in Egypt. Kushite homes were usually small, round huts made from wood, and some larger houses had apartments for extended families.

The Kushites also built a stone-paved road at Jebel Barkal, possibly made docks along the Nile River, and dug many wells.

Economy

Some scholars think the Kingdom of Kush had an economy where the state collected extra food and shared it with the people. Others believe most people worked on farms and did not need help from the state. The northern part of Kush was more productive and wealthier than the southern part.

Kush and Egyptology

Because the Kingdom of Kush was close to Ancient Egypt, with the first cataract at Elephantine often seen as the border between the two places, historians often study Kush together with Egypt. This is especially true because, in the eighth century BC, the 25th dynasty ruled both areas, from the Rift Valley to the Taurus mountains. However, this close connection means that the unique political structure of Kush as an independent state has not been studied as much. Some scholars believe that understanding Kush as its own distinct culture, rather than just a neighbor of Egypt, could help us learn more about its early history.