#ancient kush

[scotchbum]

i was magmainf with server again blehhh

idk why i started drawing the ancients but YAY HISTORY WOOHOH

[tyrannoninja]

Egyptian Table of Nations

This is my adaptation of an artistic sequence from the ancient Egyptian Book of Gates which compares the people of Egypt (or Kemet) with other peoples in their world. From left to right, the subjects are a Libu dude from the Mediterranean coast of Libya, a Kushite from the region of Sudan known as Nubia, a Semitic dude from the Palestinian region, and a native Egyptian. Of course, these are generalized representations of each regional group, as there would have been substantial admixture and blending between the different populations in real life (human variation being clinal and all that).

[spiritsdancinginthenight]

Gilded silver amulet shows the Kushite Queen Nefrukakashta being embraced and nursed by a goddess, probably Hathor. Nubian, Napatan Period, reign of Piankhy (Piye), c. 743–712 B.C. From el-Kurru, Ku 52 (tomb of Queen Nefrukekashta) Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. 24.928 The goddess wears the vulture headdress and a crown consisting of a diadem with bovine horns and the solar disc. A protective vulture flies above the queen, its claw resting on her royal uraeus cobra. https://egypt-museum.com/hathor-suckling-the-kushite-queen-nefrukakashta/

[sartorialadventure]

Jewellery of Amanishakheto from her pyramid at Meroe

Amanishakheto was a Kandake of Kush. She seems to have reigned from 10 BC to 1 AD, although most dates of Kushite history before the Middle Ages are very uncertain.

Amanishakheto is known from several monuments. Today, Amanishakheto is best known for a collection of jewelry found in her pyramid in 1834 by Italian treasure hunter Giuseppe Ferlini, who destroyed the pyramid in search of its burial goods. These pieces are now in the Egyptian Museum of Berlin and in the Egyptian Museum of Munich.

Kandake, kadake or kentake, often Latinised as Candace, was the Meroitic language term for "queen" or possibly "royal woman". Contemporary Greek and Roman sources treat it as a title. Several ruling queens of the ancient Kingdom of Kush, with its capital at Meroë, bore the title, although it may have been a general title for women of the royal family. It is often taken to mean "queen-mother" or "mother of the reigning king".  A Kandake was a powerful position in the hierarchy of Kush. The mothers would rule and create their sons as rulers, but they also deposed their own sons too. In fact, a Kandake could order the king to commit suicide to end his rule, an order that he was required to follow.

The Kingdom of Kush or Kush (/kʊʃ, kʌʃ/) was an ancient kingdom in Nubia, located at the confluences of the Blue Nile, White Nileand River Atbara in what is now Sudan and South Sudan.

The Kushite era of rule in Nubia was established after the Bronze Age collapse and the disintegration of the New Kingdom of Egypt. Kush was centered at Napata during its early phase. After King Kashta ("the Kushite") invaded Egypt in the 8th century BC, the Kushite emperors ruled as pharaohs of the Twenty-fifth dynasty of Egypt for a century, until they were expelled by the Assyrians under the rule of Esarhaddon.

During classical antiquity, the Kushite imperial capital was located at Meroe. In early Greek geography, the Meroitic kingdom was known as Aethiopia. The Kushite kingdom with its capital at Meroe persisted until the 4th century AD, when it weakened and disintegrated due to internal rebellion. The Kushite capital was eventually captured and burnt to the ground by the Kingdom of Aksum.

Strabo describes a war between Kush and the Romans in the 1st century BC. After the initial victories of Kandake (or "Candace") Amanirenas against Roman Egypt, the Kushites were defeated and Napata sacked. Remarkably, the destruction of the capital of Napata was not a crippling blow to the Kushites and did not frighten Candace enough to prevent her from again engaging in combat with the Roman military. Indeed, it seems that Petronius's attack might have had a revitalizing influence on the kingdom. Just three years later, in 22 BC, a large Kushite force moved northward with intention of attacking Qasr Ibrim.

Alerted to the advance, Petronius again marched south and managed to reach Qasr Ibrim and bolster its defences before the invading Kushites arrived. Although the ancient sources give no description of the ensuing battle, we know that at some point the Kushites sent ambassadors to negotiate a peace settlement with Petronius. By the end of the second campaign, however, Petronius was in no mood to deal further with the Kushites. The Kushites succeeded in negotiating a peace treaty on favourable terms and trade between the two nations increased. Some historians like Theodore Mommsen wrote that during Augustus times Nubia was a possible client state of the Roman Empire.

Amanishakheto was Kandake immediately after Amanirenas. Her immediate successor, Kandake Amanitore (co-regent with King Natakamani) was likely the Queen of Ethiopia mentioned in the Christian New Testament.

[tyrannoninja]

"Oasis of Death" Cover Illustration (Text-free Version)

This is an illustration I made for my current novella-in-progress, a historical adventure about an expedition from the ancient civilization of Kush venturing to an "Oasis of Death" in order to capture one of its resident "dragons" for the royal menagerie. My plan is to use this artwork for the book's cover once I have it all written and ready for publication, but I haven't decided on what would be a good font or typeface for the title.

[tyrannoninja]

Kushite Work Elephant

I wanted to redo an old artwork of mine from 2020 that depicted workmen in ancient Kush using a tame elephant to carry logs. It's admittedly a speculative scene, as while we do have archaeological evidence at the site of Musawwarat es-Sufra for the Kushites possibly using elephants in warfare and ceremonies, we don't know if they used them for labor. Anyway, what I wanted to see is whether I've improved as an artist in the six years that have passed since I did the original artwork.

Old version below:

[tyrannoninja]

Miniature Kushite Soldiers

This is a set of ancient Kushite soldiers from Caesar Miniatures which I painted by hand. Since they numbered at forty-two individual soldiers and were each the size of my thumb, they were honestly a real pain to paint. I tried using a Quickshade wash from The Army Painter on the guy with a khopesh to bring out some details on his sculpt, but he came out rather dirty-looking.

Later I gave these soldiers some crude bases, with two soldiers standing on each base. I didn't have anything fancy at my disposal, so I just used modeling clay, some brown paint for a desert effect, and super-glue which ended up looking frosty upon drying.

Oh well, it's always nice to practice a new hobby.

[tyrannoninja]

Queen and Asp

The asp-wielding queen in this marker doodle of mine is a fictitious character of my own creation, but she does owe her inspiration to the romantic mythologization of Cleopatra. Of course, the real Cleopatra VII Philopator wouldn't have looked like this, and she frankly isn't the best example of a strong queen of the Nile Valley (Hatshepsut and Amanirenas would be more deserving of that honor). Nonetheless, I do see a certain romantic appeal in the idea of a gorgeous and seductive African matriarch setting out to restore her once mighty civilization to its former glory while fending off the advances of an upstart European power.

If nothing else, it could make for a great fantasy premise.