Around 600 b.c., the political and economic center of this civilization started to shift southwards to Meroe. Meroe replaced Napata as the new capital and gave rise to the Kingdom of Meroe. There are several reasons suggested fro this shift. Napata was destroyed 591 b.c. by an Egyptian army. Other factors may include the desiccation of the region surrounding Napata and the inability to support a growing population. Meroe was better situated for trading with the Red Sea and Ethiopia to the southwest. Meroe was also rich in iron-ore deposits, enabling it to become a center of a flourishing iron industry. Meroe is considered the first known iron-producing center in East Africa.
The Meroitic state of Kush was at its height between the mid-third century b.c. and the third century a.d. Trade with the Mediterranean and the Near East, as well as the production of iron, were major factors in their growth and prosperity. The Meroitic state-system was based on an autocratic centralized rule with an administrative hierarchy in which the ruler and his immediate family were at the head. Although Meroe still had some Egyptian connection, the civilization developed a distinctive culture and broke away from Egyptian influence, unlike their predecessors. The Meroitics borrowed elements of different cultures intermixed with their own and developed their own unique culture. They developed their own alphabetic writing system, worshipped their own deities, and made their own distinctive pottery, and their architectural style was unique. By the second century, Meroe was on a path to decline, Suggested reasons include environmental deterioration, and the rise of Axum in the south, and a decline in trade with the north and southwest regions as a result invasion from Axum brought an end to the Kushite civilization. |