Meroitic civilization. The city of Meroe and the mysterious pyramids of Sudan Tools and weapons

In distant hot Africa in ancient times
In the mysterious Kush the city of Meroe existed,
Where, according to tradition, women reigned supreme,
The name reminded me of the Hyperborean Mount Meru!

For the first time Kush in the 19th century BC. mentioned by the king of the XII dynasty.
Pharaoh Senusept III made four campaigns against Kush.
The Kushites pay tribute primarily in gold.
The Iken fortress was the main center of Egyptian trade!

The hour of Kush's independence in the 18th century BC. e. has arrived.
The aggressive policy of Egypt delayed the development of Kush.
Thutmose I invaded the lands of Kush and conquered the capital.
For five hundred years, Egypt's politics have been annoying with its pressure!

Under the leadership of Panehsi, a rebellion rose against Egypt.
The state of Kush is freed from the dependence of the enslavers.
In the 9th-8th centuries BC. e. The Meroitic kingdom was created -
The Kingdom of Kush was called that way until the early Middle Ages!

In 330, King Aksum found the ruins of Meroe,
They were half under the burning sand.
A 19th century researcher came almost to the “end of the feast”:
The robbers managed to steal many valuables!

The culture of Meroe seems interesting and mysterious.
The amazingness of the city is confirmed by excavations.
Meroe is the capital of the ancient state of Kush.
Its roots are sprouting in Sudan!

The Meroitic civilization belongs to the ancient African civilization.
In ancient times it was founded near the city of Meroe.
Thought - there were settlements here in the 3rd millennium BC. e. - asks.
At different times, different civilizations lived on the land of Meroe!

***
In 671 BC. e. Assyria conquered Egypt.
In the region of Kush, with its center in the city of Napata, a kingdom was formed.
After the fall of Napata, Meroe became the capital,
But behind Napata the significance of the religious center remained!

Centuries later, this land was called Nubia.
Meroe, a city in the fertile Nile Valley, was registered.
For the Egyptians, Nubia was considered the “gateway to Africa”
She was losing her independence - only Egypt was up in arms against her!

Kush had a large amount of natural resources.
The most important place was occupied by gold deposits.
Therefore, the neighboring country - Egypt - really wanted
Capture Kush. The Egyptians constantly attacked this country!

The fates of the Kushites and Egyptians were intertwined for centuries.
Upper Egypt and Northern Nubia were at first united by culture.
This has been substantiated by archaeological finds.
Then the culture of each country followed its own path!

Kush settled between the third and fifth Nile rapids.
The names of the country and its component parts were not the same.
The jackpot of cattle breeding associations was constantly replenished.
From the 3rd century BC. e. the lands of Kush after the raids were transferred to Egypt!
***

The Nubians and Egyptians were constantly in conflict with each other.
Armed clashes and attacks were not uncommon.
Supposedly in 591 BC. e. The Egyptians wanted to go north.
The Kushites went south, avoiding ruin from their neighbor!

The Nile defended the new settlement well,
At the sixth threshold of the Nile, in the steppe, the foundation of Meroe took place.
III century BC e. marked by the kingdom of Kush with wings,
Which in subsequent centuries experienced prosperity!

The site of the city of Meroe turned out to be a fairyland:
The rains needed for agriculture fell on time.
It was possible to live independently of the moisture of the Nile:
Eight hundred bodies of water existed in this place!

The city has been the capital since the 6th century BC. e. until the 4th century AD e. served.
The Meroians grew sorghum and planted fruit trees.
The Meroian kept bulls and elephants on his personal land.
The ancient people were economical and hardworking!

At the gold mines gold was skillfully mined,
From which beautiful jewelry was made.
Ivory figurines decorated their homes.
Rare jewelry was sent in caravans to Egypt!

The products of the ancient Meroians were impressive in their splendor.
In the pyramid of Queen Amanishaketo, unique decorations were -
Decorative gold stripes, rings, bracelets represented.
They later served the Italian Ferlini with wealth!

The thieves did not get the main treasure of ancient Meroe.
In 1963, a sculpted male head was discovered,
A statue of a god with which the entrance of one of the temples was decorated,
A blue glass bowl that was broken into 40 pieces!

In Meroe, for the first time in Africa, writing appeared,
It has not yet been fully deciphered.
This aspiration has achieved some progress:
In 1909, the Englishman Griffith began to compile the alphabet!

The number of letters of the Meroitic alphabet is not precisely determined,
Words made up of letters of the alphabet have no meaning.
The mutual influence of the cultures of Egypt and Meroe has been noticed for a long time,
Even though states often sow the seeds of hostility among themselves!

To the Greeks, a Meroian was seen as a man with a “burning face.”
Herodotus mentioned the “Big City” with walking camels.
Strabo responded in his own way to the portrait of the Meroitic queen.
The city of Meroe created a trace of the first African civilization!
***

Everything that is in the ancient Meroitic pyramid-tombs is
Covered with limestone and sand - a matter of time and winds,
The treasures of the brilliant civilization of Meroe include
Destroyed by the merciless silence of centuries!

The architecture of Meroe is reminiscent of ancient Egyptian buildings.
In the endless hot sands, archaeologists organized excavations:
The splendor of the pyramids, frescoes, statues is impressive,
Clay vessels and jewelry shone with sophistication!

The Meroe culture has its own unique characteristics:
The pyramids differ in size and shape from the Egyptian ones.
The female figures on the facades of temples are more corpulent and more magnificent,
How, everyone knows, Egyptian beauties are depicted!

Although there are slight similarities, Meroe differs from Egypt.
The Kushites formed an original, unique civilization.
The construction of Meroitic buildings is not perceived as Egyptian.
They created their own art, unlike any other!

The Kerma settlement presents a picture of a developed society:
Residential areas were built from baked bricks.
There were granaries. A strong fence surrounds the city center.
The structures of Kush were identified as unique during excavations!
***

The rulers of Kush had the same titles as the Egyptians:
The son of the god Ra, “the ruler of the Two Lands” - they were called.
By order of the god Amun, the neighboring lands fought,
Enjoyed the protection of the powerful gods!

Power in Meroe passed from brother to brother or sister.
And from father to son - when there were no brothers and sisters left.
Meroe traded with Egypt and the Roman Empire,
For the purchase of war elephants, a contractual agreement was concluded!

Due to the threat of invasion, the Kushite border was further south.
The royal family in the 6th – 5th centuries BC. e. was in Meroe.
Napata remained the main religious center,
The main coronation of the pharaohs took place here!
***
The Kushites worshiped their God with the head of a lion.
The god of the Meroitic people, Apedemak, was considered the patron saint of warriors.
The two religions of the Cushites strangely merged together:
Apedemak lived in the hearts of the Meroils, and the god Amon got along in their souls!

The priests of Meroe were more powerful than the pharaoh himself.
They elected a king. The life span of the king depended on the priests.
In the 3rd century BC. e. a new cult of the god Apedemak was established:
God is the king's guardian. He exalted the strength and power of the pharaohs!

Under the pressure of King Ergamenes, the influence of the Napatan priests subsides,
By the power of which the king they disliked was overthrown.
During this period, the power of the king represents heredity.
Meroe was turning into a cultural and religious center!

Musawwarat es-Sufra is a monument to the Kushitic religion.
Here about the god Apedemak the hymn written in glory says,
African symbolism of the king - the lion is reflected,
What does it say about the strength and power of the ruler, the bearer of fertility!
***
After the conquest of Egypt, the Kushites became rulers there.
The ruler of Shabaka left a good memory of himself.
On his orders, the theological treatise of Memphis was rewritten.
After death - Shabaka forced himself to be remembered in the names of the streets!

The Greeks retained memories of the Meroitic king Ergamenes,
Who received a Greek upbringing and education,
Destroyed the old custom that was honored in Meroe for centuries,
According to which the old ruler had to die!

The Kushite dynasty reached greatness under Pharaoh Taharqa.
His coronation stele was installed in several places.
The representative of the XXV dynasty - Tanutamon - met an evil fate:
The onslaught and power of the Assyrian troops stopped the Kush dynasty!
***

At the beginning of the 4th century AD. e. traces of the Meroe civilization are disappearing
After the aggressive campaigns of our neighbors, there is an opinion.
Archaeological excavations on the territory of Meroe continue.
The African civilization of Meroe is an amazing phenomenon!

The untold riches of a fabulous civilization have been revived,
Thanks to archaeologists, their beauty was recreated.
Pyramids made of sandstone 15 meters high opened up to the eye.
In ancient times, they delighted the Greeks, Egyptians, and Romans!

The Kush culture made its contribution to the countries of the Ancient East,
The source of the culture of modern Sudan has become.
Through the centuries I carried memories of the traditions of antiquity.
Influenced the development of culture in nearby countries!

The ancient city of Meroe, the former capital of the kingdom of Kush, was located on the eastern bank of the Nile, adjacent to the sacred places of Naga and Musawwarat es-Sufra for the Kushites. Teliodorus, an ancient Greek writer of the 3rd-4th centuries, called this area the island of Meroe. On the grounds that here the navigable rivers Astabor and Asasoba flow into the Nile. It was a poetic image, there is no island here, but ancient authors repeated the metaphor. The Meroe Archaeological Park is located approximately 200 km northeast of Khartoum, the capital.

BE A CAPITAL

The ancient city of Meroe received this right due to its great importance in the life of the state of Kush, which existed in the north of the modern territory of Sudan (Nubia) from the 9th or 8th century. BC e. to the 4th century n. e.

The second (and perhaps the first, scientists have no consensus on this) name of Kush was the Meroitic kingdom, or even simply Meroe. History, as we well know, is an extremely conservative science; what it says once is extremely rarely completely refuted, and today the tradition stands on the much more commonly used name Kush. Regarding when the city of Meroe was the capital of Kush, there is also no complete unanimity among historians: there are three points of view. This is due to the fact that the so-called Meroitic script is a writing created in Meroe, widespread from about the 2nd century. BC e. until the 5th century in Nubia and Northern Sudan - is still poorly deciphered, therefore, it cannot be a source of accurate knowledge. The history of Meroe is interpreted mainly according to Egyptian papyri and information from ancient authors, starting with Herodotus (5th century BC) and Diodorus Siculus ( I century BC), which are separated by almost 400 years. And since Nubia periodically fought with each other, and during such periods had almost no humanitarian contacts, Egyptian sources also cannot be considered infallible. So, the first point of view is that the capital of Kush was Napata, and only then Meroe. Second, the cities of Napata and Meroe were the centers of two independently existing Cushite states. Finally, the third one is that Meroe has actually always been the capital of Kush, despite the claims of Napata to this role. And yet, for now, if not canonical, then still widespread, the first point of view remains.

The date of the transfer of the capital of Kush from Napa-tu to Meroe and the beginning of the Meroitic period in the history of the state remains vague. The generally accepted date is 308 BC. e. Herodotus in one of his works written shortly before 430 BC. e., describes Meroe, but does not even mention Napata. It follows from this that the city of Meroe already existed at least in the 6th century. BC e. under King Aspalt, when, according to Herodotus, Napata was severely destroyed, and it is quite natural that this could be the basis for moving the capital. There are also earlier burials in the southern cemetery of the city, and the first king buried in Meroe was Arakakamani, who ruled at the end of the 4th century. BC e. It is also significant that Napata, in all the vicissitudes experienced by Kush, remained the religious center of the state at least until the reign of Nastasen (c. 385-310 BC), since he and several of his predecessors had to travel there from Meroe to be ordained as a priest of Amun.

In addition to all the disagreements among historians regarding the rivalry between the two capitals, the role that Meroe played in the economic life of the state was of great importance. This city, unlike Napa-ta, was surrounded by the fertile valleys of Butana, Wadi Awateib and Wadi Hawad, it rained much more often, there were iron ore deposits, and forests grew, which was of paramount importance for the development of metallurgy. And Meroe naturally became the center of the most advanced technology for its time. Plus, Meroe was located next to the navigable channel of the Nile, at the end of the caravan routes from the Red Sea. And where, if not here, should we make a trade center of the state? The answer was obvious.

In the middle of the 4th century. n. e. Ezana, the king of Christian Aksum (modern territory), a talented military leader, defeated Kush. The conquerors plundered the capital. Despite the fact that Kush had forever lost its political role in northern Africa, the city of Meroe for a long time remained an influential economic and cultural center of the vast region, including the lands lying south of the Sahara.

MONUMENTS OF THE “JELEVARS OF THE FAITH”

Having conquered Egypt, the Kushites became even more diligent students and faithful followers of Egyptian civilization than before. In many ways, including the construction of pyramids and obelisks.

The 25th Dynasty of Ancient Egypt, Kushite in its ethnic composition (c. 760-656 BC), acquired a stable and respectable reputation in Egypt as “zealots of the faith.” For two reasons. Firstly, the six pharaohs of this dynasty united Upper Egypt, Lower Egypt and Nubia, creating a powerful empire, the territory of which was comparable to the territory of Egypt during its heyday, namely the New Kingdom (XVI-XI centuries BC). Secondly, they did not encroach on Egyptian traditions, religion and rituals, but, on the contrary, developed them, enriching them with the traditions of Nubian culture. During the XXV dynasty in Egypt and Nubia, no fewer pyramids were built than during the Middle Kingdom (XXI-XVIII centuries BC), which is rightly considered the most “pyramidal”. But for all their imitation of the Egyptian pyramids, their Meroitic counterparts were neither exact nor even reduced copies of the classical pyramids.

The first, striking difference when looking at the pyramids of Meroe is that they are literally steeper: they gravitate more towards the vertical, the angle of inclination of the faces reaches 68°. Their main building material was not limestone blocks, but unfired brick covered with limestone mortar, although stone was also used, but in a smaller proportion. The walls and vault of the burial chamber were made of brick, leaving large voids inside. The second cardinal difference between the Kushite pyramids and the Egyptian ones is that the burial chambers were shaped like a circle, in which archaeologists see a reproduction of the Nubian tradition of burial mounds. And third, they are generally much smaller in scale. The height is from 12 to 20 m, the sides of the base have from 8 to 14 m. Small chapels were located on the south-eastern side, the entrance to them was marked by double pylons, decorated with reliefs with Egyptian sacred and decorative symbols - lotus flowers, papyrus leaves, ibises and etc. The Meroites worshiped the Egyptian gods - Amun, Isis, Osiris, but they also honored their Kushite gods. In first place here were the lion-headed god Apedemak and the god of creation Sebinmeker: many of their images, especially sculptural ones, were found during excavations in Meroe.

Unfortunately, these pyramids also turned out to be the prey of barbarian robbers back in ancient times. But he “surpassed” them all in the 19th century. Italian Giuseppe Ferlini. To get what he wanted, he simply demolished the tops of the pyramids through targeted explosions. Fate punished him in its own way: Ferlini was unable to make big profits from the sale of looted valuables - no one believed him that they were not fakes. So that in some African wilderness there were things that were not inferior in elegance to ancient Egyptian and ancient Greek?.. In Europe at that time no one knew anything about Meroe, even among scientists there were only a few of them. In the end, Ferlini's loot was bought by museums in Berlin and Munich, where these valuables are still located. Fortunately, the wall reliefs of Meroe's burial chambers have been preserved. Magnificent carvings usually tell the story of a funeral ritual: from making a mummy to decorating it with jewelry.

Scientific excavations in Meroe began only in 1902. In 1909-1914. they were led by the English archaeologist J. Garstang, and in 1920-1923. - American scientist J. Reisner. Research at the three necropolises of Meroe continues, but Sudan is a poor country, and it cannot be said that excavations are proceeding intensively. And yet, the most interesting objects are already presented here. This is the so-called Southern Field (720-300 BC) - 5 pyramids of kings, 4 of queens and another 195 burials; Northern field (300s BC - 350s AD) - 30 pyramids of kings, p - queens and 5 - princes, as well as 3 burials; Western Field - 113 burials of unknown persons and unknown time.

ATTRACTIONS

Pyramids:

■ South field (cemetery).

■ North field (cemetery).

■ West field (cemetery).

■ Ruined remains of the stone walls of the palace, the royal bath, government buildings, and small temples.

■ In the area between the railway line and the Nile bed are the ruins of the Temple of Amon, 2 km east of Meroe, fragments of the Temple of the Sun have been preserved.

■ The name Nubia, which the ancient Greeks used along with the word Ethiopia, according to one linguistic version, comes from the ancient Egyptian word nub - gold. Nubia-Ethiopia - Kush-Meroe was a colony of Egypt and was ruled by a viceroy with the title "royal son of Kush". Kush became an independent state around 1070 BC. e. after the collapse of the New Kingdom.

■ The original name of Meroe is Mede-vi or Bedevi. Meroe is the name of the sister of the Persian king from the Achaemenid dynasty, Cambyses I! (ruled in 530-522 BC), in whose honor (according to Herodotus) he renamed the city when in 525-524. BC e. invaded Egypt and then Kush.

■ The Cushites are a large African ethnic group that formed approximately 9 thousand years BC. e., but the name of this ethnic community was given much later by the state of Kush, and not vice versa, as one might assume. Today, the Cushites number more than 30 million people, they live in Ethiopia, the Sudanese province of Kassala and in the east of the North-Eastern Province. There are small ethnic enclaves of Cushites in other regions of Africa. The various dark-skinned Cushite tribes share similar languages ​​within the Afro-Asiatic language family.

■ In Sedeing, in northern Sudan, more than 700 km from Meroe, in 2009-2013. The expedition of the French Egyptologist Vincent Fransigny discovered a necropolis of more than 200 pyramids dating back to the 7th century. BC e. - V century n. e., these are one of the “youngest” pyramids in Africa. Compared to the famous pyramids of Egypt and Sudan, they can be called miniature. The largest has an almost seven-meter side of the base, the smallest, obviously for children, is only 75 cm. Thousands of burial chambers have been discovered under the pyramids, standing very close to each other, and around them. There is an abundance of material for archaeological research here.
Hundreds of tablets with inscriptions, mostly epitaphs and prayers, in the Meroitic language have been found at Sedeing. The same cannot be said about valuables and works of art: Sedeinga stands on ancient caravan routes, and it was plundered mercilessly in ancient times.

■ The first person to undertake the study of Meroitic writing was the Briton F. L. Griffith. As a result of his research 1909-1917. It was established that the Meroitic alphabet consisted of 23 characters; the scientist also described some other features of this language. However, over a hundred years of study, philologists have not made much progress in its study; only about 100 words have a translation. In connection with Meroe, the most interesting word in this dictionary is kandaka (kandakia), meaning noble birth or high rank. There is an example of this in the New Testament: in the Acts of the Holy Apostles it is said that Philip the Evangelist, the namesake of the Apostle Philip, was baptized by “an Ethiopian husband, a eunuch, a nobleman of Candace, the queen of the Ethiopians.” Ethiopia is in this case the territory now occupied by Sudan. In the first centuries, the Meroitic kingdom was ruled, as a rule, not by men, but by Kandak women. And even when the king ruled, he shared power with the queen mother.

■ Quite often, ancient Meroe is confused with a modern city in Sudan, the name of which is usually transcribed in Russian as Merowe. This city is located 330 km north of Khartoum and is famous mainly for the construction of the largest multi-purpose hydraulic complex on the Nile.

Some believe that there was no civilization in black Africa before the arrival of Europeans. In fact, black Africans can boast of much more ancient roots of their great culture than most Europeans. Kerma is a state as ancient as Egypt.

Pyramids of Meroe. Wikimedia Foundation Picture

Ancient Egyptian documents often mention the region of Nubia to the south of the land of the pharaohs. It was located between the first and sixth cataracts of the Nile and was inhabited by black people. Nubia is an Egyptian name derived from the word “nub”, meaning gold. It was gold, slaves, ivory and other goods dear to the Egyptians that came from the south. The Egyptians organized military expeditions there and captured parts of this country. However, the opposite also happened. Around 760 BC, the Nubian pharaoh Kashta reigned in Egypt. He founded the Twenty-fifth Dynasty, which successfully ruled the country on the Nile for about a hundred years.
Who were these Nubians? What do we even know about them? The first archaeological excavations in the upper Nile began in the 19th century. Archaeologists quickly established that they were dealing with a developed civilization that built its own pyramids, had writing and extensive trade relations not only with Egypt, but also with other regions of Africa. Initially, it was assumed that this civilization grew as a result of communication between the Nubians and the ancient Egyptians, borrowing advanced technologies, forms of government and management from the north. But excavations in the second half of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century gradually forced us to reconsider this concept.
First, archaeologists have established that the black inhabitants of the southern Nile Valley were themselves the creators of advanced technologies. Already in the 6th millennium BC they switched from hunting and gathering to agriculture and cattle breeding. That is, approximately at the same time as the inhabitants of the Middle Eastern “fertile crescent”, which until recently was considered the ancestral home of all agricultural and pastoral cultures. In 1977, a team of Swiss archaeologists began excavating the ancient city of Kerma, located on the eastern bank of the Nile. The Swiss established that the city was founded in the middle of the fourth millennium BC, and by the beginning of the third millennium BC it had become a large metropolis for that time, quite comparable in size to the Egyptian capitals. Spacious rooms were discovered, apparently the dwellings of nobles. Craftsmen lived with them. Agricultural products were stored in clay pots, the narrow necks of which had special thickenings. It is believed that in order to put stamps on them. This indicates a developed system for recording the welfare of ancient Africans. In the middle of the third millennium BC, a large port was built on the banks of the Nile.
In 2600 BC, Kerma became the center of a large and powerful state. When in 1786 BC the Hyksos herders who came from the Sinai Peninsula captured the Nile Delta, the Kermits (let's call them that) took advantage of the weakening of Egypt and subjugated its southern regions. Naturally, they borrowed something from the Egyptians, but, as modern archaeologists are sure, the Egyptians also adopted many features of the culture of their black neighbors. In 1550 BC, Pharaoh Ahmose expelled the Hyksos and then began to conquer gold-rich Nubia. Kerma fell under the blows of the army of this talented commander.
After conquering Nubia, the Egyptians encountered other states south and west of Kerma. Egyptian documents list their names as: Wawat, Temekh, Irjet, Setju and Yam. Perhaps they were previously dependent on Kerma, but then began to pursue an independent policy. In the 16th century BC, the Egyptians managed to move further south, creating a governorship called Kush. It was run by Egyptian officials. In 1070 BC, the Kushites got rid of the newcomers from the north and declared independence.
The first capital of Kush was the wealthy city of Napata on the Blue Nile approximately . Its rulers successfully expanded their domains, and one of them, Kashta, even conquered Egypt. But I already wrote about this above. Around the same time, the city of Meroe, neighboring Napata, became the second capital of Kush. By 280 BC. e. Meroe supplanted Napata, so in the future it is customary to talk about the state of Meroe.
The Meroites created a civilization completely independent of Egypt. They developed their own system of hieroglyphic writing, built pyramids much smaller than the Egyptian ones, but at the same time used completely different technologies from the Egyptians. The basis of Meroe's existence was agriculture. Agriculture was practiced only along the Nile Valley, and pastoral cattle breeding dominated on the endless savannas. However, the Meroites did not export grain, milk or meat to other countries. They learned to mine and process iron, which became their main product. In addition, textiles and jewelry were exported from Meroe.
After the conquest of Egypt by the Romans in 30 BC. e. Meroe began to have serious problems. After a short period of clashes, the Romans and Meroites concluded a peace treaty, dividing the southern regions of Egypt among themselves. Under Emperor Nero, a praetorian cohort was sent to Meroe for research purposes. But this was where the contacts of the Meroites with the north were limited. Trade gradually died out. The rich state fell into decay. At the beginning of our era, archaeologists recorded the exodus of tribes of Nilotic shepherds from this part of Sudan to East Africa. Among them were the ancestors of the modern Maasai. What made people leave their homes? Perhaps internal wars. Or a change in climate, which became increasingly cooler, and the desert was approaching the place of savannas from the north. The city of Meroe lasted until 330 AD when it was conquered by the more powerful African empire of Aksum. But the remains of its ancient buildings and pyramids have survived to this day and, by the way, are included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Dmitry Samokhvalov

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Information about the Meroe civilization in Africa cannot be found in school history textbooks; it is rarely mentioned even in specialized literature. Meanwhile, the culture of Meroe is no less interesting than Ancient Egypt, and in some ways even more mysterious. And today, thanks to archaeological excavations, the world is learning more and more about the history of this amazing city.

Meroe is the capital of the ancient state of Kush (Kush), which is located on the territory of modern Sudan. And in ancient times this region was called Nubia. Meroe, like the cities of Ancient Egypt, is located in the fertile Nile Valley, between Aswan and Khartoum.

For the ancient Egyptians, Nubia was a kind of “gateway to Africa.” When the Egyptian state experienced periods of prosperity, the pharaohs captured Nubia, and when Egypt weakened, the Nubians gained independence. Meroe became the capital of the state of Kush in the 6th century BC and existed until the 4th century AD. The Meroites grew sorghum and fruit trees, and raised bulls and elephants. They also developed gold mines and made wonderful jewelry and ivory figurines, which they sent in caravans to Egypt, the Red Sea and Central Africa.

Meroe is considered the first civilization in Africa to develop writing. Surprisingly, despite all the efforts of Egyptologists, the writing of this mysterious people has not yet been deciphered. The Englishman Griffith was the first to begin to restore their alphabet back in 1909 thanks to inscriptions on stelae made in two languages ​​- Meroitic and the language of the ancient Egyptians. Then other researchers expanded the alphabet. Jean Leclant, a specialist from France, believed that the alphabet of this people consists of 23 letters. But in practice, everything turned out to be much more complicated - words deciphered using this alphabet do not have any meaning.

The neighboring civilization of Ancient Egypt had a great influence on the culture of Meroe, although it was not always on friendly terms with it. The architectural structures of Meroe are somewhat reminiscent of ancient Egyptian buildings. The majestic pyramids in which the Meroians buried their rulers, walls richly decorated with frescoes, statues similar to sphinxes - all this was recently reclaimed from the endless sands through the efforts of archaeologists. During the excavations, magnificent jewelry and clay vessels with ornaments were found. Researchers were especially impressed by the jewelry of Queen Amanishaketo (Amanishakete), most of which, unfortunately, was stolen.

Despite the obvious similarities, the culture of Meroe has its own characteristics. The tomb pyramids are more modest in size, and their shapes differ from those of Egypt. The female figures painted on wooden tablets on the facades of temples do not look like slender Egyptian beauties, because Meroitic women were curvaceous.

Interestingly, power in Meroe passed from brother to brother or sister. Only when there were no brothers and sisters left - from father to son.

The rulers of Meroe were contemporaries of the Egyptian Ptolemies and the Roman Empire, with whom they maintained trade and friendly relations. It is known that Egyptian intermediaries came to Meroe to negotiate an agreement on the purchase of war elephants for Egypt.

Meanwhile, no one still knows exactly how and why the kingdom of Meroe disappeared in the first half of the 4th century AD. According to one version, the existence of civilization ended after several aggressive campaigns of the Aksumites. According to other sources, the Aksumites were not involved in the decline of the Meroe civilization, and in 330, the first Christian king of the kingdom of Aksum (Ethiopia) found the ruins of the city of Meroe during one of his campaigns.

In 2011, Meroe, with the nearby archaeological sites of Musawwarat es Sufra and Naga, was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Archaeological excavations continue on the territory of Meroe. Perhaps humanity will soon learn more about this ancient civilization of Africa.

Civilization arose in the 29th century. back.

Civilization stopped in the 17th century. back.

The Meroitic civilization, attributed by researchers to ancient African civilization, arose in the 8th century. before. AD in the area of ​​the modern city of Meroe in Sudan on the eastern side of the Nile between Aswan and Khartoum.

Although the first cultural settlements appeared here in the 3rd millennium BC.

Kermitian, Kushite, Nubian and Egyptian civilizations also existed on the territory of Meroe at different times. The influence of Egyptian civilization was the most significant and lasting.

The language of civilization is Meroitic.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

After the conquest of Egypt by Assyria in 671 BC. e. On the territory of the historical region of Kush, a kingdom was formed with its center in the city of Napata.

The city of Meroe became the capital of the state of Kush after the sack of Napata in 590 BC. Psammetichus II.

In the second half of the 6th century. BC e. the capital of the state was moved to Meroe (hence the Meroitic kingdom). After the capital was moved, Napata retained its significance as a religious center. Here the royal tombs - pyramids - were located, the coronation of kings was held, whose election was approved by the priests.

The development of the Meroe Civilization was suspended due to the continuous raids of the Aksumites in the first quarter of the 4th century. AD

Around the middle of the 3rd century. BC e. King Meroe Ergamen (Irk-Amon) put an end to the political influence of the Napatan priests, who previously had the opportunity to depose kings they disliked and nominate their successors. There is information that the king of Hellenistic Egypt, Ptolemy IV, and king Ergamenos maintained constant diplomatic ties. From this time on, the king's power is believed to have become hereditary, and Meroe also turned into a religious and cultural center.

Greek tradition has preserved the memory of the Meroitic king Ergamenes (Arkamani), who lived during the time of Ptolemy II, who received a Greek upbringing and philosophical education. He dared to destroy the old customs, according to which the aging ruler, by order of the priests, had to die.

During the period of Persian rule in Egypt, the Meroitic kingdom lost a number of its northern territories.

Already from the time of Alexander the Great, Kush occupied a very definite place in Hellenistic, and later in Roman literature.

In the modern folklore of Sudan there is a legend about King Napa from Naphtha, etymologically clearly going back to the Meroitic toponym, about the ancient customs of killing kings and their abolition by King Akaf, about snakes - the guardians of the temple, and many others. The legends contain memories of the treasures of Kerma, and the local population still surrounds them with legends and reveres the ruins - the remains of the ancient settlement of Kerma.

The first inscriptions written in the Meroitic script reached us from the 2nd century. BC e., although the language, of course, existed much earlier. This oldest alphabetic letter on the African continent arose under the direct influence of the Egyptian, both its hieroglyphic and demotic variants.

The entire history of the development of Meroitic culture took place in interaction with the major powers of antiquity. Many of their traditions and achievements were adopted in Kush. This applies to individual images of Egyptian gods, to the style of depiction of relief and statue compositions, to the attributes of kings and gods - the shape of a crown, scepters, an attached bull's tail, to sacrificial formulas and a number of other elements of the funeral cult, to some temple rituals, to the title of kings.

A certain role in maintaining the tradition was played by the permanent layer of the Egyptian population in Kush - the direct bearer of culture. A feature of the process was the adaptation of the features of Egyptian culture to such an extent that they were already mechanically perceived by the population and were no longer perceived as an alien, but as a local element.

In the II-I centuries. BC e. In connection with the decline of the political power of the Ptolemaic power and the aggravation of social struggle within Egypt, the Meroitic kingdom began to interfere in Egyptian affairs, supporting popular movements in the south of Egypt.

During the Greco-Roman period, the process of cultural influence took place indirectly - through Hellenistic and Roman Egypt, and also directly - through the Greek and Roman population located in Meroe. The most striking manifestations of this influence are considered to be the so-called Roman kiosk in Naga, the remains of Roman baths in Meroe, and full-face figures of gods, similar in style to Greek images. This should also include poetic works in honor of the local god Mandulis, compiled according to various forms of the Greek literary canon.

When the Romans in 30 BC. e. captured Egypt and the population of Thebaid tried to organize a rebuff against them, raising uprisings; troops of Ethiopians led by the Kandaks invaded Egypt, but were repulsed, and the Egyptians were pacified.

In 23 BC. e. Roman troops led by prefect Gaius Petronius captured Napata and annexed northern Ethiopia to the Roman province of Egypt.

From the 3rd century. n. e. the kingdom began to decline. The states of Alva, Mukurra, and Nobatia were formed on the territory of the Meroitic kingdom.

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