Napata

Napata, the capital in about 750–590 bce of the ancient kingdom of Cush (Kush), situated downstream from the Fourth Cataract of the Nile, near Kuraymah in the northern part of what is now Sudan.

An area rather than a single town, Napata extended to the east and south of Kuraymah, from Nuri to Kurru. It was part of the homeland of the Karmah culture, and from the early 18th dynasty it came under Egyptian influence. Napata’s main feature, the hill of Barkol, was regarded from the Egyptian New Kingdom (1521–1075 bce) as a holy mountain, the seat of the god Amon; under it lie the ruins of several temples. A stela of Thutmose III (reigned 1479–1425), on which a fort is mentioned, has been found there, and Amenhotep II (reigned c. 1426–1400) sent an Asian prisoner to be hanged on its walls.

By the beginning of the 1st millennium, Egypt was in decline, with Lower Egypt increasingly prey to Libyan immigrants. It has been speculated that a body of the priests of Amon at Thebes voluntarily exiled themselves to Napata, where they may have Egyptianized the native princes of Cush, inspiring them—from about 750—to conquer a degenerate Egypt. The descendants of the first known Cushite prince, Alara (c. 790 bce), established themselves as the 25th dynasty of Egypt; they are remembered for being largely responsible for restoring to Egypt its ancient customs and beliefs. During this period Napata became a capital of a significant part of the ancient world, and Cushite kings intrigued with Tyre, Sidon, Israel, and Judah in a vain attempt to repel the Assyrians.

The Egyptian custom of royal burial under pyramids was introduced into Cush, as may be seen at Kurru and at Nuri, where the largest pyramid, that of the king Taharqa (reigned 690–664 bce), is situated. Taharqa, who also built several Egyptian-style temples at Napata and elsewhere, was defeated by the Assyrians and expelled from Egypt in 671 bce.

Though Taharqa’s successor Tanutamon (reigned 664–656 bce) briefly reconquered Memphis (c. 664 bce), his plans were thwarted by the 26th (Saite) dynasty of Egypt, which sent an expedition of Greek and Carian mercenaries to sack Napata in 592 bce. The capital of Cush was thereafter transferred to Meroe, some 150 miles (240 km) southeast on the opposite bank of the Nile. Napata remained the religious capital of Cush, however, and royal burials continued to take place at Nuri until 315 bce. Two subsequent and separate groups of royal burials at Barkol have given rise to the hypothesis that Napata may twice have made itself independent of Meroe.