Question

The histories of Kush and Egypt are intertwined with each other because they were reliant on each other. How did their interdependence work, and why did each take control of the other in turn? In 3-5 sentences


(4 points)

Answer 1

Kush and Egypt were economically and culturally interdependent: Kush supplied Egypt with gold, ebony, ivory and access to African trade routes while Egypt provided manufactured goods, writing, religion and political models that Nubian elites adopted. Egypt repeatedly conquered Kush (especially in the Middle and New Kingdoms) to secure those southern resources and to control Nile trade and its southern frontier. When Egyptian central authority later weakened, a resurgent, militarily powerful Kush (the Napatan/Kushite state) was able to invade and rule Egypt as the 25th Dynasty, using Egyptian religion and institutions to legitimize its rule. Thus control shifted depending on who held greater military and political power and who needed the other's resources or prestige.