Overall Empire B+ (Kaitlin)
I would give the Kush empire a B+ because they had a long lasting, powerful empire. They were able to move the capital from Napata to Meroe. Also, they had a great economy. The only bad thing about the Kush Empire was the unstable religion, and the Kush art and architecture wasn't very advanced.
Government A- Kaitlin
The Kush government is very unique. Like many empires, Kush rulers were chosen from the wealthy royal family, but differently, the Kush had many female rulers. This made the women of the civilization content and gave different viewpoints to the government. One of the largest pyramids built by the Kush was for Queen Shahakdakheto. These rulers must have been efficient because the Kush reigned from 1070 BC to 350 AD.
Religion B- (Kaitlin)
The Kush empire didn't really have a strong, set religion. When the empire first began, The Kush were influenced by the egyptians just up the river and adopted the Ancient Egyptian religion. Although some aspects of the religion were revised, like the Kushan diety Apedemak, the Kush were still easily influenced by the Egyptians. Kushans were also influenced by external sources when Greek merchants brought different religious ideas to the empire when they traveled for trade. Many Kushans were persuaded to become Christians.
I would give Kush religion a B- because, while there was no set religion, Christianity and Ancient Egyptian brought some positivity to the empire. Ancient Epyptian Empire encouraged daily meetings and frequent festivals for the Gods. Christianity, under one God and a common set of beliefs, helped unite the people of the empire.
Economy . B+ . Alyssa
I would give the Kush empire a B+ because they had a long lasting, powerful empire. They were able to move the capital from Napata to Meroe. Also, they had a great economy. The only bad thing about the Kush Empire was the unstable religion, and the Kush art and architecture wasn't very advanced.
Government A- Kaitlin
The Kush government is very unique. Like many empires, Kush rulers were chosen from the wealthy royal family, but differently, the Kush had many female rulers. This made the women of the civilization content and gave different viewpoints to the government. One of the largest pyramids built by the Kush was for Queen Shahakdakheto. These rulers must have been efficient because the Kush reigned from 1070 BC to 350 AD.
In 591 BC, the Kush government moved the capital to Meroe. Though still on the Nile river, it is closer to the Red Sea, so with Monroe and Napata, the old capital, they had the ability to trade with both the Greeks and the Egyptians. The fact that the Kush government could move their government to a different city shows that it was strong, organized, and was in control.
I would give the Kush government an A because they had great control of the empire, shown by the move to Meroe, and they had female leaders giving a different perspective to the government.Religion B- (Kaitlin)
The Kush empire didn't really have a strong, set religion. When the empire first began, The Kush were influenced by the egyptians just up the river and adopted the Ancient Egyptian religion. Although some aspects of the religion were revised, like the Kushan diety Apedemak, the Kush were still easily influenced by the Egyptians. Kushans were also influenced by external sources when Greek merchants brought different religious ideas to the empire when they traveled for trade. Many Kushans were persuaded to become Christians.
I would give Kush religion a B- because, while there was no set religion, Christianity and Ancient Egyptian brought some positivity to the empire. Ancient Epyptian Empire encouraged daily meetings and frequent festivals for the Gods. Christianity, under one God and a common set of beliefs, helped unite the people of the empire.
Economy . B+ . Alyssa
I gave the economy of the Kush empire a B+ mainly because of how they organized their trade. The Kush had a commercial economy in which Egypt solely depended on for various non-agricultural goods, such as gold, iron, incense, ivory, and other exotic products. In return, the Kush depended upon Egypt for manufactured goods such as cotton, which Egypt is still a large exporter of to this day. In addition to exporting non-agricultural goods, the Kush strategically placed forts among strategic points on trade routes and long the Red Sea and Nile River, one of the main African routes for trading.
The only reason I chose to gave their economy a B+ rather than an A was because of their lack of agriculture. They chose not to take advantage of the flooding of the Nile riverbanks each year (which caused the soils to be extremely fertile and great for farming), and only exported exotic goods and minerals.
Arts and Architecture grade: C+ (Emilie)
I give the Kush Empire a C+ on Arts and Architecture. The Kush had pottery as well as jewlery that were hand-made. For their architecture, they had huge royal pyramids in Moroe along with an elaborate palace. Now, all these things are great, but none of the pottery art, jewlery, the pyramids, and the palace were significant, although they are good acccomplishments. What did help with human advancements was the discovery of gold mines in their empire. The mines were a significant part of the advancements because, gold being a main export , Eygpt depend on the Kush Empire for their gold supply.
Technology grade: A- (Emilie)
I give the Kush Empire a A- on technology. They deserve this grade beacuase they had advances in technology by being skilled in working with iron. The Kush Empire also was the greatest center for the fabricatons. They formed a key center made of metal that was a base for their military and their economic strength. I gave them this grade because, with what resources that they had, they had to be able to make a base for their military, and, with their economic strength, they must be very skilled. The resources that they had where stones, metal, ore, and fuel. The stones were used to crush the ore from the quartz veins.
Society grade: C+ (Maylynn)
During the Kush empire, there was not much social movement. The Kush empire was mostly ruled by the brown-skinned/part Stygian race. Stygian race means they were worshipped kind of like gods. They despised the black lower classes. So it was hard for the people in the lower classes to get into higher classes because many people in the lower classes were sold into slavery, and many of those slaves were traded to the Middle East and Mediterranean.
In the Kush empire, there was an emphasis towards equality. That is because many women from the Kush empire were great leaders. That was not common for many major empires from that time period. Also, the mothers of many kings were seen as very important people. So women played a big role in this society.
There was also slavery in the Kush empire, like many other empires in Africa. The Kush empire mostly traded their slaves with the Middle East and Mediterranean. The slaves were used for many different things like domestic servants, concubines, and soldiers in the pharaoh's army.
I gave the Kush empire a C+ because there seemed to be equality but it is very hard to improve your life if you were born in the black lower classes. There was equality because there were many great woman leaders and women were respected. That was uncommon for societies during their time period. I marked them down on there ability to move between classes. If you were born in the black lower class, you were often sold into slavery and traded to the Middle East and/or Mediterranean.
There was also slavery in the Kush empire, like many other empires in Africa. The Kush empire mostly traded their slaves with the Middle East and Mediterranean. The slaves were used for many different things like domestic servants, concubines, and soldiers in the pharaoh's army.
I gave the Kush empire a C+ because there seemed to be equality but it is very hard to improve your life if you were born in the black lower classes. There was equality because there were many great woman leaders and women were respected. That was uncommon for societies during their time period. I marked them down on there ability to move between classes. If you were born in the black lower class, you were often sold into slavery and traded to the Middle East and/or Mediterranean.
