- from African Kingdoms
Welcome to the world of pyramids, mummies, and golden tombs.
Egypt began more than 5,000 years ago in northeastern Africa along the banks of the Nile. Without that river, the area would be almost all desert. Every year, the Nile overflows. It leaves behind a layer of rich, black silt on its banks. The people use this soil to grow two or three crops a year. In the past, Egypt’s rulers, called pharaohs, had total control over their people. The first pharaohs ordered people to build canals and ditches to take the Nile’s floodwater to the fields.
While Egypt grew, another kingdom was coming up. Kush, also known as Nubia, was farther south along the Nile. Sometimes Egypt traded with Kush, and other times the kingdoms fought. Egypt usually conquered weaker Kush. But starting around 750 B.C., Kush ruled Egypt for nearly a hundred years. Over time, Kush built its own separate culture.