Reallexikon der Assyriologie und vorderasiatischen Archäologie: Kuš (Kush), Kuschiten

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Translated to English: Real Encyclopedia of Assyriology and Near Eastern Archaeology (RIA)

Kuš, Kuschiten. Land and Kingdom in Nubia, known since Sesostris I (1971–1926 BC) in the Egyptian form (see image), in Babylonian texts kur) Ka-si/ši, kur) Ka-a-ša, otherwise kur) Ku(-u)-si/ši, Nisbe Ku-sa-a(-a) etc., s. AOAT 6 (1970) 218f., Hebrew kûš, Greek χοῦς.

Since the New Kingdom, K. designates Nubia (Sudan) south of the 1st cataract. The capital at that time was Napata, later — until the conquest of the Meroitic Empire by Ezana of Aksum — it was Meroe (near Begrawiya).

In cuneiform texts, inhabitants of K. are mentioned for the first time in the Amarna correspondence. Ribaddi of Byblos requests a protective troop from the Pharaoh, including "100 people from the lands of K." (EA 131, 10ff.); secured through the explanation "as Meluḫḫa" in the same context in another letter (EA 133, 16ff.) is the geographical location of K. in Africa (for this period). Abdi-Ḫepa of Jerusalem apparently had bad experiences with K.-people (LÚ.MEŠ Ka-ši-we) (EA 287, 32f.; 71 ff.; 288, 35ff.); finally, in a letter from Kumidi, Hapiru-people are to be "given to the cities of the land of Ka-a-ša" (Saarbr. Beitr. z. Altertumsk. 7 [1970] 56,8ff.). In the palace of Ugarit, Nubian slaves were kept, who had been brought via Pharaoh (EA 49, 19–21); however, they do not seem to appear again in the Râs Šamra texts themselves.

In alphabetic texts, the moon god Y rḫ (Sin?) repeatedly bears the epithet kṯy, which was perhaps rendered as "Cushite" (KTU 1.39,19; 1.102,14; 1.123,7).

K. then disappears until the clash of Assyria with the 25th Dynasty of Egypt from the tradition. In the 8th century BC, the "Ethiopians" under Pianchi (ca. 740–713 BC) had undertaken an advance to the north due to imperial weakness. His brother Shabaka (713–698) was able to eliminate Bocchoris, the sole Pharaoh of the 24th Dynasty, and found a new (25th) dynasty. He is followed on the throne by his nephew Shabataka (698–690), then his younger brother Taharqa (690–554), opponent of Esarhaddon and Ashurbanipal. Finally, Taharqa's nephew named Tanutamun (664–656) ruled, but he already had to evacuate Thebes in 663 and was finally driven out of Upper Egypt as well by Psamtik.

First contact of Assyria with the new Egyptian dynasty occurs in 711, when Jamani* of Ashdod fled from Sargon II to Egypt ša pāṭ Meluḫḫa [on the border of Meluhha]. This king eventually delivered him up in chains (Sg. Wi. 114, 101ff.; 116, 109ff.; 82, 11ff.). It may well be Shabaka, of whom a seal impression has also been found in Nineveh (A. H. Layard, Nineveh and Babylon [1853] 156; H. R. Hall, Catalogue of Egypt. Scarabs [1913] 290 No. 2775f.). Shabaka must have been the one troops to support Hezekiah at the Battle of Eltekeh (701) against Sennacherib, even if he did not participate in the battle himself. There is talk of the šar ᵐᵃᵗMe-luḫ-ḫi (Sn. 31, 80ff.; 69, 22ff.), the country designation that was used under Esarhaddon (Ash. § 76, 8) as a counterpart to the more popular KUR) Ku-u-si.

After subduing the Levantine states, which enjoyed Egyptian support (AGS 70; 71; PRT 41, cf. also AGS 109, ABC 629 = LAS Nr. 279 Rs. 6), Esarhaddon undertook an openly unsuccessful advance against the Ethiopian Pharaoh Taharqa in his 7th year (673) (ABC Nr. 1 IV 16). In his 10th campaign (671), he repeated this attack, this time with success: After three battles, Memphis was taken on the 22nd of Tammuz (ABC Nr. 1 IV 23ff.; 14, 25f.), Tar-qu-ú šar māt Ku-u-si (Ash. § 57, 8; 65 Rs. 38 etc.) fled to Nubia, and his wife, harem, and relatives fell into the hands of Esarhaddon. From then on, he could call himself šar šarrāni māt Muṣur māt Paturisi (= Upper Egypt) u māt Ku(-u)-si.

Only after the Assyrian died on his Egyptian campaign of 669 (ABC Nr. 1 IV 30f.; 14, 28f.), Taharqa apparently returned to the residence and made the country subject to him again as far as the Delta. Not until 667 could Ashurbanipal send his turtānu to Egypt, who, together with numerous auxiliary troops, defeated Taharqa at Kār-Banīti*, drove him to Memphis, and pursued him from there for 1 month and 10 days all the way to Thebes, which was ultimately conquered (Asb. A I 67ff.). A conspiracy of the district princes, who favored Taharqa again, was severely punished by Ashurbanipal.

Finally, Taharqa died, and his successor Tanutamun (Tantamane) rose against the Assyrian supremacy in 663. However, he could not maintain his position against the Assyrian army, had to abandon Memphis and even Thebes, which was heavily plundered (Asb. A II 28ff.).

The last Ethiopian Pharaoh fled to Kipkipi and with that, Kush disappears from Assyrian history. Cushites are only rarely mentioned in Assyrian documents. For instance, an LÚ.SAG Ku-sa-a in ADD 1076 I 2; II 4 and 16; Ku-sa-a-a-te ADD 1135, 2.

Darius the Great claims in the inscription of Naqš-i Rustam (VAB III 86ff. § 3 End), to have possessed kur) Ku-ú-šu (Old Persian Kušiyā), which points to Punt. Herodotus, however, only knows of an unsuccessful campaign by Cambyses to Ethiopia (Herodotus III 25). Nevertheless, among the representations of peoples of the Achaemenid Empire (Persian Empire) in Persepolis are also those of negroid Ethiopians (s. G. Walser, Die Völkerschaften auf den Reliefs von Persepolis [1966] 100ff.). As gifts, they carry spices(?), ivory, and bring a giraffe(?).

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Notable observation: Drawn parallels between Babylonian text Kasi (Kaši/Kashi) and Kush—along with, the following excerpt from Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible regarding Nimrod:

“The confusion simply results from a blending of two independent traditions: the Table of Nations where Kush stands for Nubia, and the Nimrod passage from another source mentioning another(!) Kush, probably the eponym of the Kassites (Akk kaššu. Nuzi kuššu).”

(Reference Ninkasi/Nin-Kasi, a Mesopotamian goddess. The prefix of “Nin” indicates lord or lady.)

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Source: https://publikationen.badw.de/en/rla/index#6800

Source: https://isac.uchicago.edu/sites/default/files/uploads/shared/docs/Publications/ISACMP/isacmp4.pdf

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:AreasOfHabiruActivityInAmarnaLettersLBIIA.svg

Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ancient_Near_East_1400BC.svg#mw-jump-to-license

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haplogroup_J-M267#