2. Meroitic Period (ca. 295 b.c. - a.d. 320)

History

The Meroitic Period is named for the capital city of the kingdom of Kush during this time, the city of Meroe. Located between the Fifth and Sixth Cataracts, Meroe's locale was called the "Island of Meroe" by classical writers. Though the term is some times still used today, the "island" is actually the area of the Butana Steppe, which lies between the Nile and the Atbara River, which branches off from the Nile to the east. The city of Meroe actually lies on the east bank of the Nile, not on an island in the river.

The reasons behind the shift of the capital from Napata to Meroe are not clear. Many scholars believe that Meroe grew

as a result of trade with areas to the north. The Korosko road probably served as an important overland route, which avoided the pro blems of travel on the Nubian stretches of the Nile. The Korosko road left the Nile at Abu Hamed, and joined the river again in Lower Nubia; this cut out the Second, Third, and Fourth Cataracts, considerably shortening the distance between Nubia and Egypt. When the camel was introduced, probably in the first century b.c., this overland route would have become even easier. The Kushite kings might have moved to Meroe to gain more control over the trade with Egypt and, through Egypt, with the Mediterranea n world. The Nubian rulers might also have wanted to move away from the influential priesthood at the Amon temple at Jebel Barkal. Whatever the reason, by about 295 b.c. the Nubian rulers had established themselves at the southern capital city of Meroe.

Many of the classical writers of the Hellenistic world mention Meroitic Nubia in their works. It is difficult to judge the truth of what they say, though, because none of these writers saw Nubia firsthand. When trying to write a historical description of the Meroitic Period from the Nubian point of view, one runs into a serious problem almost immediatly. During the second century b.c., the Nubian's began, for the first time, to write down their own language. They apparently borrowed the Egyptian hie roglyphic script, which the Napatan royalty had used for their inscriptions, and schematized the signs into an alphabet with 23 letters. Unfortunately, though we know what the sound values are for most of these letters, the underlying language remains unknown to this day. Meroitic seems to be related to other African languages, but no version of it is spoken today. Scholars have been able to interpret some of the words used in formulaic inscriptions, like the texts that the Meroits wrote on tomb stones. We know, for instance, that the Meroitic people believed family connections were important: a genealogical list precedes the name of the tombstone owner, listing important family members and the government positions they held. But because we can 't understand most of the written inscriptions found at Meroitic sites, archaeology has had to provide much of the information that we have for the Meroitic Period.