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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Meroe and the Sudanic Kingdoms
Author:Edwards, David N.ISNI
Year:1998
Periodical:The Journal of African History
Volume:39
Issue:2
Pages:175-193
Language:English
Geographic term:Sudan
Subjects:Kush polity
history
traditional polities
Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups)
History and Exploration
External link:https://www.jstor.org/stable/183595
Abstract:The Kingdom of Kush (Meroe) represents one of a series of early States located within the Middle Nile within the frontiers of the modern republic of Sudan. While its origins in the early millennium BC and its demise around the fourth century AD still remain obscure, the Kushite State is one of the earliest and most impressive States yet found south of the Sahara. This article highlights a number of features of the material power bases of the Meroitic State that it shared with later kingdoms of Sudanic Africa. Kushite royal power was heavily dependent on the control of long-distance exchange as well as the enhancement of ritual powers through assimilation of various aspects of Egyptian royal cults. The importation and redistribution of prestigious exotic artefacts provided an important source of social and political power, building on existing networks and enabling the integration of regional sociopolitical units on an unprecedented scale. The ritual hegemony of the Kushite crown may also have been particularly influential in binding together otherwise quite loosely integrated regions. This interpretation suggests that past studies which have focused on the Egyptian contribution to the development of early States in the Middle Nile have overestimated the importance of external influences. Notes, ref., sum.
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