312 Nubia the region The early Nubians engaged in a cattle cult similar to those found in Sudan and elsewhere in Africa today Around 2400 b.c.e the Neolithic culture evolved into the Kerma culture, and Kush prospered due to trade in ebony, ivory, gold, incense, and animals to Egypt By 1650 b.c.e Kerma was a city-state with territory, stretching from the First Cataract to the Fourth The power of Kerma rivaled that of Egypt Over time trade developed between Kush and Egypt, with Egyptian grain trading for Kushite ivory, incense, hides, and carnelian Periodic Egyptian military forays into Kush produced no permanent presence until the Middle Kingdom (2100–1720 b.c.e.) At that time the Egyptians built forts to protect shipments of gold mined at Wawat From the Old Kingdom (2700–2180 b.c.e.) for 2,000 years Egypt dominated the central Nile region economically and politically Even during times of diminished Egyptian power, the Egyptian religious and cultural influence remained strong in Kush The nomadic Asian Hyksos conquered Egypt around 1720 b.c.e., ending the Middle Kingdom, destroying the Nile forts, and cutting ties with Kush An indigenous kingdom developed at Karmah In 1500 b.c.e Nubia fell to Egypt, which established an empire ranging from the Euphrates in Syria to the Fifth Cataract The pharaohs of the New Kingdom ruled for more than 500 years Egyptian power renewed with the New Kingdom (c 1570–1100 b.c.e.), and Kush became an Egyptian province that provided gold and slaves, with the children of local chiefs taken as pages in the Egyptian court to ensure the chiefs’ loyalty As a province of Egypt, Kush became attractive to Egyptian settlers, including merchants, military personnel, government officials, and priests The Kushite elite converted to the Egyptian language, culture, and religion, preserving Egyptian culture and religion even during Egyptian decline and with temples to the Egyptian gods remaining in use until the coming of Christianity Egypt was weak and divided in the 11th century b.c.e., and Kush became autonomous for the next 300 years Little is known about that period, but Kush reappeared as an independent kingdom in the eighth century b.c.e The Kushites conquered Upper Egypt in 750 b.c.e and all of Egypt later in the century, ruling Kush and Thebes for about 100 years Egypt occupied Nubia for about 500 years Then in 856 b.c.e Nubia under the Twenty-fifth Dynasty ruled Egypt The dynasty at Napata was known as the Ethiopian dynasty, making it a great African power despite its holding to Egyptian culture and religion Conflict with Assyria in the seventh century b.c.e led to the withdrawal of the Kushite rulers from Egypt to their capital of Napata In 713 b.c.e King Shabaka of Kush came to power He controlled the Nile Valley to the Delta His dynasty fell to Assyria In 590 b.c.e an Egyptian incursion led to the relocation of the capital to Meroë, and Egypt came under Persian, Greek, and Roman domination during subsequent centuries Isolated from Egypt, Kush developed its own culture, peaking in the third and second centuries b.c.e The proximity to black Africa showed in the increased influence in Kushite civilization They modeled their jewelry on African styles Meroë had an elected kingship with the succession strongly influenced by the queen mother The rulers at Meroë continued the Egyptian practices of raising stelas as records of their exploits and using pyramids as their tombs The kingdom at Meroë enjoyed a centralized political system capable of bringing together the large numbers of artisans and laborers needed for building projects The still-undeciphered Meroitic script that replaced Egyptian hieroglyphics in the first century b.c.e was an adaptation of the Egyptian writing system Meroë prospered due to trade and commerce, especially after the introduction of the camel to Africa in the second century b.c.e and the concurrent flourishing of the African caravan trade Meroë benefited from its access to the Red Sea It was noted for its pottery, woven cloth, and jewelry The kingdom also used Nile water and acacia trees (charcoal) to smelt iron for spears, arrows, axes, and hoes It developed agriculture and irrigation in a tropical region In religion Kush worshipped the Egyptian state gods but also its own regional gods, including Apedernek, the lion god Over time northern Kush, home of the religious center of Napata, fell to predatory nomads, the Blemmyes Nevertheless, Meroë maintained contact with the Mediterranean world through the Nile, dealt with Arab and Indian traders on the Red Sea coast, and began to include Hindu and Hellenistic cultural influences Meroë had occasional friction with Egypt In 23 b.c.e Meroë raided Upper Egypt, leading to Roman retaliation, the razing of Napata The Romans regarded the area as too poor for colonization, so the army left Meroë began to decline in the first or second century c.e due to war with Roman Egypt and the decline of its traditional industries The manufacture of iron had exhausted the acacia forests, and deforestation caused the loss of fertility in the land The Nobatae were horseand camel-riding warriors who occupied the west bank of the Nile in northern Kush in the second century c.e Initially they sold protection to the Meroitic popula-