Nubia is a geographic and cultural region along the Nile River, stretching as far north as Aswan in southern Egypt upriver to the southern limit around the confluence of the Blue and White branches of the Nile River, near modern day Khartoum.Adams, William Yewdale. "Nubia, Corridor to Africa." Princeton, N. J: Princeton University Press, 1977. Nubia was the seat of several civilizations of ancient Africa, including the Kerma culture, the Kingdom of Kush, Nobatia, Makuria and Alodia.
Nubia had a strong relationship with archery throughout antiquity. Egyptians referred to Nubia as Ta-Seti; meaning "land of the bow". Evidence of archery in Ancient Nubia traces back to Neolithic rock art present throughout the region and high distributions of bow and arrows accompanying male burials of all ages.Honegger, Matthieu. "The Archers of Kerma: Warrior Image and Birth of a State." Dotawo, 2023. doi:10.5070/D68061375.
The Kerma culture was the first group to consolidate rule over parts of the Lower Nubia. The bow and arrow was a primary feature in Kerman militaries, with evidence of an elite warrior class possessing bronze weaponry modeled after Egyptian examples.Hafsaas-Tsakos, Henriette. "Edges of Bronze and Expressions of Masculinity: The Emergence of a Warrior Class at Kerma in Sudan." Antiquity. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2013. doi:10.1017/S0003598X00048638. The Kingdom of Kush, which succeeded Kerma, enhanced military organization and logistics in Nubia, emerging as a formidable threat to Egypt.Bestock, Laurel. "Egyptian Fortresses and the Colonization of Lower Nubia in the Middle Kingdom." Oxford University Press, 2021.
doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190496272.013.15. In the 8th century BC, Kush conquered Egypt, establishing the 25th Dynasty. Iron technology was introduced to Kush by the Assyrians after their conquest of Egypt. This allowed the manufacture of iron weapons such as swords, spears and armor in Nubia.
The role of the Cavalry was extensive during the Meroitic period due to innovation in chariotry, the use of war elephants and cavalry tactics. Kush was succeeded by a number of Christian kingdoms after its collapse in the 4th century AD. The organization of the armies and navies of these kingdoms was largely based on that of their predecessor. Siege warfare was vastly developed with the creation of siege engines by the 8th century BC
Kerma The Kerma culture was the first Nubian kingdom to unify much of the region. The Classic Kerma Culture, named for its royal capital at Kerma, was one of the earliest urban centers in the Nile region. The Kerma culture demonstrated significant military sophistication, evident by archaeological findings that reveal an elite class of specialized warriors. Excavations at Kerma show that these elite fighters were often interred with ornate bronze and ivory daggers. Many royal burials, or tumuli, contain the remains of these warriors, whose skeletons often exhibit consistent trauma, suggesting a lifetime dedicated to combat. Soldiers of lower rank were equipped with simpler yet effective weaponry including bows and arrows, throwing sticks, and clubs. Arrowheads were made from quartz, carnelian, or occasionally flint.
Ta-Seti which means; "land of the bow" was the name used to refer to Nubia itself by the ancient Egyptians for their skills in archery. Nubian tribes such as the Medjay served as mercenaries in Ancient Egypt. They also were sometimes employed as soldiers (as we know from the stele of Res and Ptahwer). During the Second Intermediate Period, they were even used in Kamose's campaign against the Hyksos and became instrumental in making the Egyptian state into a military power.
Kingdom of Kush
The Kingdom of Kush began to emerge around 1000 BC, 500 years after the end of the Kingdom of Kerma. By 1200 BC, Egyptian involvement in the Dongola Reach was nonexistent. By the 8th century BC, the new Kushite kingdom emerged from the Napata region of the upper Dongola Reach. The first Napatan king, Alara, dedicated his sister to the cult of Amun at the rebuilt Kawa temple, while temples were also rebuilt at Barkal and Kerma. A Kashta stele at Elephantine, places the Kushites on the Egyptian frontier by the mid-eighteenth century. This first period of the kingdom's history, the 'Napatan', was succeeded by the 'Meroitic period', when the royal cemeteries relocated to Meroë around 300 BC.
Wars of Kush War against Assyria
Kushite Kings conquered Egypt and formed the 25th dynasty, reigning in part or all of Ancient Egypt from 744 to 656 BC. Taharqa began cultivating alliances with elements in Phoenicia and Philistia who were prepared to take a more independent position against Assyria. Taharqa's army undertook 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. Torok mentions the military success was due to Taharqa's efforts to strengthen the army through daily training in long-distance running, as well as Assyria's preoccupation with Babylon and Elam. Taharqa also built military settlements at the Semna and Buhen forts and the fortified site of Qasr Ibrim.
Imperial ambitions of the Assyrian Empire as well as the growing influence of the 25th dynasty made war between them inevitable. In 701 BC, Taharqa and his army aided Judah and King Hezekiah in withstanding a siege by King Sennacherib of Assyria (2 Kings 19:9; Isaiah 37:9). There are various theories (Taharqa's army, disease, divine intervention, Hezekiah's surrender, Herodotus' mice theory) that try to explain as to why the Assyrians failed to take Jerusalem but withdrew to Assyria. Many historians claim that Sennacherib was the overlord of Khor following the siege in 701 BC. Sennacherib's annals record Judah was forced into tribute after the siege. However, this is contradicted by Khor's frequent utilization of an Egyptian system of weights for trade, the 20 year cessation in Assyria's pattern (before 701 and after Sennacherib's death) of repeatedly invading Khor, Khor paying tribute to Amun of Karnak in the first half of Taharqa's reign, and Taharqa flouting Assyria's ban on Lebanese cedar exports to Egypt, while Taharqa was building his temple to amun at Kawa.
In 679 BC, Sennacherib's successor, King Esarhaddon, campaigned into Khor and took a town loyal to Egypt. After destroying Sidon and forcing Tyre into tribute in 677-676 BC, Esarhaddon carried a fullscale invasion of Egypt in 674 BC. Taharqa and his army defeated the Assyrians outright in 674 BC, according to Babylonian records. There are few Assyrian sources on the invasion. However, it ended in what some scholars have assumed was possibly one of Assyria's worst defeats. In 672 BC, Taharqa brought reserve troops from Kush, as mentioned in rock inscriptions. Taharqa's Egypt still held sway in Khor during this period as evidenced by Esarhaddon's 671 BC annal mentioning that Tyre's King Ba'lu had "put his trust upon his friend Taharqa", Ashkelon's alliance with Egypt, and Esarhaddon's inscription asking "if the Kushite-Egyptian forces 'plan and strive to wage war in any way' and if the Egyptian forces will defeat Esarhaddon at Ashkelon." However, Taharqa was defeated in Egypt in 671 BC when Esarhaddon conquered northern Egypt. He went on to capture Memphis, as well as impose tribute, before withrawing back to Assyria. Although the Pharaoh Taharqa had escaped to the south, Esarhaddon captured the Pharaoh's family, including "Prince Nes-Anhuret" and the royal wives," which were sent to Assyria as hostages. Cuneiform tablets mention numerous horses and gold headdresses were taken back to Assyria. In 669 BC, Taharqa reoccupied Memphis, as well as the Delta, and recommenced intrigues with the king of Tyre. Taharqa intrigued in the affairs of Lower Egypt, and fanned numerous revolts. Esarhaddon again led his army to Egypt and on his death in 668 BC, the command passed to Ashurbanipal. Ashurbanipal and the Assyrians again defeated Taharqa, advancing as far south as Thebes. However, direct Assyrian control was not established. The rebellion was stopped and Ashurbanipal appointed as his vassal ruler in Egypt Necho I, who had been king of the city Sais. Necho's son, Psamtik I was educated at the Assyrian capital of Nineveh during Esarhaddon's reign. As late as 665 BC, the vassal rulers of Sais, Mendes, and Pelusium were still making overtures to Taharqa in Kush. The vassal's plot was uncovered by Ashurbanipal and all rebels but Necho of Sais were executed.
War against Roman legions Meroitic forces fought numerous battles against Rome, many successful. A peace treaty was eventually negotiuated between Augustus and Kushite diplomats, with Rome ceding a buffer strip along the southern border and exempting the Kushites from paying any tribute.
The Roman conquest of Egypt put it on a collision course with the Sudanic powers of the southern regions. In 25 BC, Kushites under their ruler Teriteqas, invaded Egypt with some 30,000 troops. Kushite forces were mostly infantry and their armament consisted of bows about 4 cubits long, shields of rawhide, clubs, hatchets, pikes and swords. See also Strabo, Geographia, Book XVII, Chaps 1 -3. Translated from Greek by W. Falconer (1903)
The Kushites penetrated as far south as the Aswan area, defeating three Roman cohorts, conquering Syene, Elephantine and Philae, capturing thousands of Egyptians, and toppling bronze statutes of Augustus recently erected there. The head of one of these Augustian statutes was carried off to Meroe as a trophy, and buried under a temple threshold of the Kandake Amanirenas, to commemorate the Kushite victory, and symbolically tread on her enemies. A year later, Rome dispatched troops under Gaius Petronius to confront the Kushites, with the Romans repulsing a poorly armed Meroitic force at Pselchis.Strabo, Geographica Strabo reports that Petronius continued to advance- taking Premnis and then the Kushite city of Napata.Derek A. Welsby. 1998. The Kingdom of Kush: The Napatan and Meroitic Empires. Petronius deemed the roadless country unsuitable or too difficult for further operations. He pulled back to Premnis, strengthening its fortifications, and leaving a garrison in place.Strabo, Geographia, Book XVII, Chaps 1 -3 These setbacks did not settle hostilities however, for a Kushite resurgence occurred just three years later under the queen or Kandake Amanirenas, with strong reinforcements of African troops from further south. Kushite pressure now once more advanced on Premnis. The Romans countered this initiative by sending more troops to reinforce the city.Robert B. Jackson. 2002. At Empire's Edge: Exploring Rome's Egyptian Frontier. p. 140-156 Negotiations were held to end the conflict.Fluehr-Lobban, RHodes et al. (2004) Race and identity in the Nile Valley: ancient and modern perspectives. p 55