Near Eastern Institute

The Gold of Napata

The city of Napata could be found in ancient times about 400 km north of Khartoum. This city-state stood on the edge of the Blue Nile River and is known to have originally been erected by the Nubian people, probably about 1345 BC.

Traveling back in time to the earliest Dynastic era, we see that the Egyptians had their eyes firmly set on Nubia, for a important reason. This was an area with much untapped gold resources. The Egyptians started an aggressive gold trading campaign that soon gained them imperialistic power, but left the Nubian’s out in the cold as far as profits were concerned. As Egyptian influence grew and spread, the habits, religious beliefs and cultural values of Nubia changed drastically to accommodate them.

Soon, a High Priest at the Capital of Egypt gained so much power that he was actually able to overthrow some of the decisions made by the Pharaoh of Upper Egypt. Scholars refer to this period as the start of Third Intermediate Period ( 1074 BC – 663 BC.)  While this battle of wits was taking place, the people of Nubia saw their chance. They fought for and somehow regained control of their own affairs. A new kingdom, by the name of Kush, was the first of many changes implemented by the Nubian’s. They based this new kingdom at the city of Napata.

The Nubian’s then began using the gold in the area for their own benefit. This sudden economical growth spurt attracted a flush of newcomers from as far away as Egypt. At the time, Egypt was fraught with political upheaval, including the fact that the Libyans were dominating some areas in Lower Egypt. The recent division of Egypt into several small and powerless sections was another cause for political infighting.To top it all, Egypt was living under the constant threat of being conquered by the Assyrians.By 749 BC,Napata was a stable city,in stark contrast to the ongoing instability of Egypt.

This weakness in Egypt allowed for an attack to be launched by king Kashta, a ruler of Kush. His actions set in motion a chain of campaigns against Egypt, and soon the entire Nile area was forced under control of the Kush Kingdom of Napata. Shabaka, a ruler of Kush, set up a new monument building policy that dealt specifically with Egypt and Kush.The kings of Kush seem to have had a keen eye for dominance,for they maintained rule of the whole of Egypt for about 60 years.Their domination was also felt in Upper Egypt, a separate area, which was ruled by them for at least 100 years.

In 670 BC, an Assyrian ruler named Esarhaddon grabbed control of Lower Egypt. This king Esarhaddon refrained from attacking the kingdoms in the area, as he desired to make allies of them in his battles against Ethiopian nobility.During the reign of his successor,Ashurbanipal, a certain king of Ethipia convinced several rulers of Lower Egypt to break their ties with the Assyrians.Fortunately,Ashurbanipal crushed the coalition, deporting the Egyptians troublemakers to the capital of Nineveh.He then placed a ruler of Libya, by the name of Necho,as Lord over Memphis and Sais.Necho was murdered by one of the kings of Ethiopia,named Tantamani,and his son Psammetichus I succeeded him.

King Tantamani was a powerful ruler ,but he was never able to conquer the Assyrians while they had ties with Psammetichus I. After a while, King Tantamani gave up his dreams of ruling Lower Egypt and headed to Napata.Although he was never their ruler, Upper Egypt acknowledged the authority of this audacious king until the 8th year of his reign.This authority ceased when the game suddenly changed.Psammetichus had sent a naval fleet to campaign in Upper Egypt, and while doing so,also successfully gained control of the entire land of Egypt.

Over in Napata, the Ethiopian influences of King Tantamani were growing. Ethiopians seemed to only desire one thing, and that was the development of their own society. They were fortunate not to be involved in any military invasions at that time, which was incredible, given the proximity of their rapidly expanding neighbors in Assyria, Babylon, Persia and Greece.

This city peaked brilliantly once Tantamani returned. Gold was now their most important economic weapon and trade flourished. Egypt became one of their great economic allies. Their culture now took on strong Egyptian tones as far as art and writing were concerned.Even the burial rites of Napata were adapted, changing to include the worship of Gods from Egypt.The African Iron Age had begun.