Figuratively speaking it could also be termed the Dynasty of the Blazing Saddles. They were invaders from the South, modern day Sudan and Ethiopia, lead by Piankhi, King of Kushite Africa who took the moral decline of Egypt seriously.”Clearly he was on fire for his god without being a fanatic. In fact there is only one incident which suggests religious intolerance: when he had conquered Egypt and all its princes came to pay their respects to him, he refused to meet with some of them because they ate fish. Apparently his version of the Egyptian religion, like that of the Israelites, viewed certain foods as spiritually unclean.”
James Gurney, Kushite King,a triumphant Kushite king accepting the homage of vanquished princes in Egypt in 724 BCE.
Nubia’s history was closely intertwined with that of its neighbor, Egypt: social, political, religious, and artistic ideas moved back and forth as each country conquered or was conquered by the other.About 740 B.C. the Nubian king Piye invaded Egypt and in turn established his family as Egypt’s 25th Dynasty. Many Egyptian practices were adopted in Nubia during this period, including the construction of pyramids for royal tombs that contained shawabti figures intended to perform manual labor for the deceased in the afterlife. Accordingly, Ethiopians, Nubians, Hebrews and Egyptians were considered part of same ethnic people, which is approximately 80% African.
Bronze of King Shabaka as Osiris
The exquisite quality of craftsmanship is evident in the precision of the stone inlay work for the eyes and of the gold inlay work in Osiris’s beard.”We see a king with massive wrists and hands, a thick neck, high cheek bones, small ears, flattened nose and full lips–all fitting the body type of the Kushite (today’s Sudanese) kings of Dynasty 25. On close inspection, one can also see evidence that a second uraeus (cobra), a unique attribute of kings of that dynasty”.
This is illustrative of the care lavished by Kushite pharaohs on the arts, as part of their drive to bring about a renaissance of the past grandeur of Egypt. They viewed their political, religious, and military intervention from Elephantine to the heart of Egypt as an act of salvation of a civilization on the verge of collapse. The nubian influence is visualized through more rounded faces and shorter rounded hair styles.
Nubian with oryx, Monkey & Leopard Skins. 800BC
When the Kushites conquered Egypt in the mid-eighth century B.C., they saw themselves as recapturing part of an ancient homeland that had fallen away from proper observance of the gods. Consequently, their rule is distinguished by fine bronze temple statuary—small, kneeling kings meant to match the small, precious-metal divine image in the temple, to insulate it through devotion, to satisfy the gods, and to restore their blessings to Egypt.
3Den%26client%3Dsafari%26rls%3Den%26sa%3DG%26um%3D1">
kushite warrior, fantasy. pencil. Atula Siriwardane
COMMENTS
