Aerial view of the pyramids at Meroe.

The area of the Nile valley known as Nubia that lies within present day Sudan was home to three Kushite kingdoms during antiquity: the first with its capital at Kerma (2400–1500 BC), that centred on Napata (1000–300 BC) and, finally, that of Meroë (300 BC–300). Image File history File links Meroe_pyramids_01_x600. ... Image File history File links Meroe_pyramids_01_x600. ... The Nile in Egypt Length 6 695 km Elevation of the source 1 134 m Average discharge 2 830 m³/s Area watershed 3 400 000 km² Origin  Africa Mouth  the Mediterranean Basin countries Uganda - Sudan - Egypt The Nile (Arabic: النيل an-nÄ«l), in Africa, is one of the two... Today Nubia is the region in the south of Egypt, along the Nile and in northern Sudan, but in ancient times it was an independent kingdom. ... For the son of Rama and Sita from Indian epic of Ramayana, go to Kush (hindu). ... (Redirected from 2400 BC) (25th century BC - 24th century BC - 23rd century BC - other centuries) (4th millennium BC - 3rd millennium BC - 2nd millennium BC) Events 2900 - 2334 BC -- Mesopotamian wars of the Early Dynastic period 2350 BC - End of the Early Dynastic IIIb Period in Mesopotamia 2334 - 2279 BC -- Sargon... (Redirected from 1500 BC) Centuries: 17th century BC - 16th century BC - 15th century BC Decades: 1550s BC 1540s BC 1530s BC 1520s BC 1510s BC - 1500s BC - 1490s BC 1480s BC 1470s BC 1460s BC 1450s BC Events and Trends Stonehenge built in Wiltshire, England The element Mercury has been... Napata was a city on the west bank of the Nile river, some 400 km north of the present capital of Sudan. ... (Redirected from 1000 BC) Centuries: 12th century BC - 11th century BC - 10th century BC Decades: 1050s BC 1040s BC 1030s BC 1020s BC 1010s BC - 1000s BC - 990s BC 980s BC 970s BC 960s BC 950s BC Events and Trends 1006 BC - David becomes king of the ancient Israelites (traditional... Centuries: 4th century BC - 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC Decades: 350s BC 340s BC 330s BC 320s BC 310s BC - 300s BC - 290s BC 280s BC 270s BC 260s BC 250s BC Years: 305 BC 304 BC 303 BC 302 BC 301 BC - 300 BC - 299 BC 298 BC... Aerial view of the pyramids at Meroë. Meroë is the name of an ancient city on the east bank of the Nile 16. ... Centuries: 4th century BC - 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC Decades: 350s BC 340s BC 330s BC 320s BC 310s BC - 300s BC - 290s BC 280s BC 270s BC 260s BC 250s BC Years: 305 BC 304 BC 303 BC 302 BC 301 BC - 300 BC - 299 BC 298 BC... For other uses, see number 300. ...

Each of these kingdoms were strongly culturally, economically, politically and militarily influenced by the powerful pharaonic Egyptian empire to the north — and the Kushite kingdoms in turn competed strongly with Egypt, to the extent that during the late period of ancient Egyptian history the kings of Napata conquered and unified Egypt itself, ruling as the pharaohs of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty. Pharaoh (Hebrew פַּרְעֹה (without niqqud: פרעה), Standard Hebrew ParÊ¿o, Tiberian Hebrew Parʿōh, Arabic فرعون) is a title used to refer to the kings (of godly status) in ancient Egypt. ... The Twenty-fifth dynasty of Ancient Egypt originated in Kush at the city-state of Napata, from whence they invaded and took control of Egypt under Piye (spelled Pinakhi in older works). ...

The Napatan domination of Egypt was relatively brief — it ended with the Assyrian conquest in 656 BC — but its cultural impact was enormous, and this coalesced into an extraordinary burst of pyramid-building activity that was sustained throughout the existence of Napata's successor kingdom, Meroë. Assyria in earliest historical times referred to a region on the Upper Tigris river, named for its original capital, the city of Ashur. ... Centuries: 8th century BC - 7th century BC - 6th century BC Decades: 700s BC 690s BC 680s BC 670s BC 660s BC - 650s BC - 640s BC 630s BC 620s BC 610s BC 600s BC Events and Trends Occupation begins at Maya site of Piedras Negras, Guatemala 657 BC - Cypselus becomes the... Aerial view of the pyramids at Meroë. Meroë is the name of an ancient city on the east bank of the Nile 16. ...

Approximately 220 pyramids were eventually constructed at three sites in Nubia to serve as tombs for the kings and queens of Napata and Meroë. The first of these were built at the site of el-Kurru. These include the tombs of King Kashta and his son Piye (Piankhi), together with Piye's successors Shabaka, Shabataka and Tanwetamani, and 14 queens' pyramids. Geometric shape created by connecting a polygonal base to an apex An n-sided pyramid is a polyhedron formed by connecting an n-sided polygonal base and a point, called the apex, by n triangular faces (n≥3). ...

Later Napatan pyramids were sited at Nuri, on the west bank of the Nile in Upper Nubia. This necropolis was the burial place of 21 kings and 52 queens and princes. The oldest and largest pyramid at Nuri is that of the Napatan king and twenty-fifth dynasty pharaoh Taharqa. Taharqa (also spelled Tirhakah, Taharka, Manethos Tarakos) was king of Egypt, and a member of the Nubian or 25th dynasty, whose reign is usually dated 690 BC to 664 BC. He was also the son of Piye, the Nubian king of Napata who previously conquered Egypt. ...

The most extensive Nubian pyramid site is at Meroë, which is located between the fifth and sixth cataracts of the Nile, approximately one hundred kilometres north of Khartoum. During the Meroitic period over forty kings and queens were buried there. Aerial view of the pyramids at Meroë. Meroë is the name of an ancient city on the east bank of the Nile 16. ... Map of Sudan with Khartoum Map of Khartoum with Ohmdurman and Bahri Khartoum (Arabic الخرطوم al-Ḫará¹­Å«m elephant trunk) is the capital of Sudan, as well as the capital of the state of Khartoum. ...

The physical proportions of Nubian pyramids differ markedly from the Egyptian edifices that influenced them: they are built of stepped courses of horizontally positioned stone blocks, and range from approximately six to thirty metres in height, but rise from fairly small foundation footprints that rarely exceed eight metres in width, resulting in tall, narrow structures inclined at around seventy degrees. Most also have small Egyptian-inspired offering temple structures abutting their base. By comparison, Egyptian pyramids of similar height generally had foundation footprints that were at least five times larger, and were inclined at angles of between forty and fifty degrees.

All of the pyramid tombs of Nubia were plundered in ancient times, but wall reliefs preserved in the tomb chapels reveal that their royal occupants were mummified, covered with jewelery and laid to rest in wooden mummy cases. At the time of their exploration by archaeologists in the 19th and 20th centuries, some pyramids were found to contain the remains of bows, quivers of arrows, archers' thumb rings, horse harnesses, wooden boxes and furniture, pottery, colored glass and metal vessels, and many other artefacts attesting to extensive Meroitic trade with Egypt and the Hellenistic world. A mummy is a corpse whose skin, and flesh, have been preserved by deliberate or accidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold or dryness, or airlessness. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the... Ancient Greece is the term used to describe the Greek-speaking world in ancient times. ...

See also

• Egyptian pyramids
• Mesoamerican pyramids

The pyramids of Egypt, some of which are among the largest man-made constructions ever conceived [1], constitute one of the most potent and enduring symbols of Ancient Egyptian civilization. ... Most Ancient Mesoamerican civilisations built pyramid-shaped structures. ...

External links

• Pyramids of Nubia – A site detailing the three major pyramid sites of ancient Nubia.

• Nubian Pyramids – A site featuring numerous photographs of the pyramids at Meroë.

• Aerial Photographs of Sudan – A site featuring spectacular aerial photographs of the pyramids and temples at el-Kurru, Nuri and Meroë.