The kingdom of Kush: The Napatan and Meroitic empires - Softcover

Welsby, Derek A

Softcover

ISBN 10: 071410986X ISBN 13: 9780714109862

Publisher: Published for the Trustees of the British Museum by British Museum Press, 1996

Synopsis

The Kingdom of Kush, lying south of Egypt, flourished for 1000 years. During the eighth and seventh centuries BC its rulers controlled Egypt as pharaohs of the 25th Dynasty. Yet much of the history of the kingdom is obscure, with it being overshadowed by its more famous neighbour. Using both ancient classical sources and modern data from archaeological digs, this work explores the history and culture of the Kushites. It illustrates all aspects of life and shows how the kingdom interacted over the centuries with Egypt.

About this title

About the Author:

Derek A. Welsby has been directing excavations in Sudan since 1982 on behalf of the British Institute in Eastern Africa and the Sudan Archaeological Research Sopciety. He is currently an Assistant Keeper in the Department of Ancient Egypt and Sudan in The British Museum, with special responsibility for the Sudanese collections

Review:

...a reliable, up-to-date guide....Welsby's book presents the archaeological evidence extensively in illustrations and plates. Welsby's early and concluding chapters (1-3, 9) trace the rise, greatness, and "fall" of the Kushite kingdom in great detail and with frequent reference to points of scholarly disagreement. The book's middle chapters (5-8) treat a variety of topics: "Religion and Funerary Ritual", "Architecture", "Urban and Rural Settlement", "The Economy", and "The Arts and the Art of Writing". They rely heavily on architectural remains and plans and on artefacts excavated in temples, palaces, towns, and cemeteries.Kushite pyramids and tombs (and their grave goods), inscribed stelae, statues, reliefs, skeletons, and pots [and] such objects of daily life as clothing, musical instruments, toys, and cosmetics.

[Welsby's] aim...is to "provide a balanced account of the history of the Kingdom of Kush and the lifestyle of its inhabitants throughout its thousand-ye! ar history". In this The Kingdom of Kush admirably succeeds....it is hard not to agree with the author that "[s]tudying the Kingdom of Kush is like a detective story" full of "intriguing problems"... -- Classical Bulletin 75, no. 2 - 1999

About this edition

• Publisher: Published for the Trustees of the British Museum by British Museum Press
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 071410986X
• ISBN 13: 9780714109862
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 240