Ancient African Civilizations: Kush and Axum

180 Pages·1998·6.988 MB·English

by  Stanley Mayer Burstein

ANCIENT
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Stanley Burstein, Editor
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WILLIAM MORRIS HUNT MEMORIAL LIBRARY
ANCIENT AFRICAN CIVILIZATIONS

ANCIENT
— AFRICAN
CIVILIZATIONS
KUSH AND AXUM
Stanley Burstein
EDITOR
(IW\ Ma bed ¢ Publisher
W/ Princeto
© COPYRIGHT 1998 BY STANLEY BURSTEIN
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. NO PART OF THIS BOOK MAY BE REPRODUCED OR
TRANSMITTED IN ANY FORM OR BY ANY MEANS, ELECTRONIC OR MECHANICAL,
INCLUDING PHOTOCOPYING, RECORDING, OR BY ANY INFORMATION STORAGE AND
RETRIEVAL SYSTEM, WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE COPYRIGHT HOLDER.
FOR INFORMATION WRITE TO:
MARKUS WIENER PUBLISHERS
231 NASSAU STREET, PRINCETON, NJ 08542
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
ANCIENT AFRICAN CIVILIZATIONS: KUSH AND AXUM /
STANLEY BURSTEIN, EDITOR
INCLUDES BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES AND INDEX.
ISBN 1-55876-147-0 (Hc) ISBN 1-55876-148-9 (PB)
1. NuBIA—HIstTory.
2. ASKUM (ETHIOPIA)—HIstTory.
I. BURSTEIN, STANLEY MAYER.
DT159.6.N83A53 1997
939'.78—pc21 97-41207 CIP
BOOK DESIGN BY CHERYL MIRKIN
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
Vil
Introduction
I. KUSH AND ITS NEIGHBORS
The Exploration of Nubia and the Red Sea
A Greek Account of the Geography of Nubia
The Gold Mines of Lower Nubia
A Description of Meroé
The History and Customs of the People of Kush
The Trogodytes: Nomads of the Nubian Desert
The Ostrich Eaters
II. KUSH AND ROME
First Contact between Rome and Kush:
The Triumphal Inscription of Cornelius Gallus
Peace between Rome and Kush (20 B.C.£.)
Kush in the First Century c.e.: Nero’s Aithiopian Expedition
A Roman Soldier and his God in Nubia:
The Mandulis Hymn of Paccius Maximus
Isis of Philae: Mistress of Nubia:
The Graffito of Pasan, son of Paese (April 10, 253 C.E.)
The Roman Withdrawal from Nubia (298 c.E.)
Il. THE RISE OF AXUM AND THE DECLINE OF KUSH
Red Sea Trade and the Emergence of the Kingdom of Axum
The Empire of Axum
Ezana and the Bega
Protection of Axumite Trade
The Axumite Gold Trade
The Introduction of Christianity to Axum
The Destruction of Meroé (ca. 360 C.E.)
IV. THE END OF ANTIQUITY 101
The Struggle of Power in Lower Nubia:
The Silko Inscription 103
Treaty between the Blemmyes, Nobatai,
and Rome (ca. 453 C.E.) 106
The Christianization of Nubia 108
Contract for the Sale of a Nubian Slave Girl
(Sixth Century C.E.) 118
Axum in the Sixth Century C.E. 121
Meeting with a King of Axum 125
Letter from the Governor of Egypt to the King of the
United Kingdom of Makouria and Nobatia (759 C.£.) 127
Notes 133
Select Bibliography 155
Index 159
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This work could not have been completed without the assis-
tance of numerous persons. Acknowledging my debts to them
is a pleasant task. Thanks are, of course, first and foremost due
to the various publishers and scholars who generously grant-
ed me permission to use their translations. I should also like to
express my gratitude to Professors Steven Sidebotham of the
University of Delaware and David W. Phillipson of Cambridge
University and to the British Museum and the Museum of Fine
Arts Boston for allowing me to reproduce their excellent pho-
tographs of Nubian and Axumite monuments. Dr. Antonio
Lopreino, Professor of Egyptology at the University of
California at Los Angeles, has repeatedly saved me from
embarrassing errors with his sage advice on all matters
Egyptian. Finally, the success of this book owes much to the
many Nubian scholars who years ago welcomed an interlop-
ing Greek historian into their company and have patiently
answered his questions ever since.
Vi
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2022 with funding from
Kahle/Austin Foundation
https://archive.org/details/ancientafricanciOO00unse