Good morning, another day another documentary, laugh out loud. This time I am doing more of the History of Africa series with Zeinab Badawi. This time she is looking at the Kingdom of Kush and the runtime for this episode is 44:48.
Kush is a forgotten kingdom. Kush is often overshadowed by Ancient Egypt and other kingdoms. However, it was the kingdom that conquered its neighbor to the north and took over. Kush ruled Egypt for one hundred years. Their influence could be felt in the Middle East. Today Kush is in modern-day Sudan. Khartoum, the capital, is where the Blue and White Nile meet. The waters merge to create the Nile River and it is from here the waters flow north and into the Mediterranean Sea. It was rather cool to hear Zeinab describe the Nile as a witness to history. Zeinab gets roped into a game of soccer before looking into the history of the Kush. Karima is where the story of the Kingdom of Kush begins. Karima was known as Kerma. It was here that the people farmed and fished for generations. They were also mobile people who needed to find fertile lands for their cattle. Other groups settled down along the Nile and farmed. The climate underwent a change, and people started going toward the Nile River. Kerma became the center of what would become known as the Kingdom of Kersh. They would be ruled over by chiefs and the population would become more urbanized. Zeinab explores the ruins of the early Kushite kingdoms. She talks with a historian about the history of Kerman and Kush. The Kings of Kerma ruled over the area for 10,000 years and built monuments. It was where bricks were first developed. Kerma has two edifices made of bricks and they were believed to have been a temple and chapel. The people would have buried their dead in mound graves. The dead would have been buried in a dome-shaped tomb outlined with black stones. The body was buried on the south side and the dead were buried with pottery. Kush and Egypt were rivals. Both are linked in history and Egypt often overshadows Kush. Kerma predates Babylon. There were periods of hostility and periods of peace. Both kingdoms influenced each other. When times were bad, they raided each other. When times were good, they had good trade relations. Goods were moved overland and on the Nile River. However, trade could be hampered when the Nile became impassable. Zeinab tours a cataract. Boats would crash into cataracts when the Nile was low. There were six cataracts along the Nile that needed to be navigated. The Kushites had a powerful arm and the Egyptians called them the Land of the Bow. They were expert archers. Egyptians feared the Kushites. They controlled the trade to the detriment of Egypt. Kush was a crossroads for trade. Even today, the trade routes are a bit of a challenge. Trade was a source of wealth and the Egyptians wanted to control the trade routes to regain their standing in the world. Pharaohs such as Hatshepsut and Thutmose III would fight to regain control of the trade. When they did, Egypt would be launched into a golden age. The Kushites would establish a new capital at Napata. This capital was further south and was a meeting place for trade. Napata also had a growing population and was near a sacred mountain. Amun was believed to have resided at this mountain and this god was sacred to both Kushites and Egyptians. Egypt was undergoing some difficulties so this new capital could develop in peace. What would these changes bring to the Kingdom of Kush? Would Egypt regain its place in history? Tune into the rest of the episode to find out more about Kush. Watching this second episode, I would appreciate it if the producers would have divided these episodes into chapters. If it was divided into chapters it would make it easier for teachers to pull clips for lectures. Another downside to this series is that the episode could have gone a little bit longer. That said, this was another good episode about the history of Africa, with a focus on ancient history. I would consider adding this episode to my list to show to a history class.
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