Kingdom of Kush

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Kush was an ancient kingdom located in Nubia, south of Egypt, in what is now Sudan. Appearing in history as an Egyptian colony ruled by the "King's son of Kush" from about the 16th century BCE, an independent kingdom arose in 1070 BCE with its capital at Napata. Following King Kashta's invasion of Upper Egypt, the 25th or Kushite dynasty created a vast Egyptian empire extending from central Sudan to the Levant, under monarchs like Piye, Shabaka and Taharqa, the biblical Tirhaka who supported King Hezekiah of Judah against the Assyrians. After the defeat of King Tantamani by the Assyrians, the northern boundary of Kush retreated to Aswan. In classical antiquity, the Kushite capital was transferred to Meroë, near the present-day town of Shendi. Greek geographers called the kingdom Aethiopia, and the royal title of Queen Mother survives as the personal name Candace. The Kingdom of Kush survived until the fourth century AD, and was replaced by the three, eventually Christianized, kingdoms of Nobatia, Makuria and Alodia.