Lost Kingdom of the Black Pharaohs

Nubia (a later Classical Greek name for roughly modern Sudan) was generally seen merely as the dark, primitive southern neighbor of glorious Egypt, source of minerals, produce, black slaves and mercenaries. Impressive archaeological finds were simply assumed Egyptian, but most belonged to a notable Kushite kingdom, which combined its own African traditions with customs adopted from the Pharaonic superpower. Egypt repeatedly raided it, once crushed it and burned its then capital Napata to the ground, but after Asian invaders had left Egypt weak and disintegrated, a Kushite dynasty could invade and rule as 'black pharaohs' for a dark century. Even after Egypt was restored to its Semitic glory, the Kushites continued their Nubian hybrid version, still building small pyramids for a more tribal, matriarchal kingdom, wealthy from gold mining and Nile trade. Research is now complementing the narrow 'egyptologist' views with specifics of Kushite culture and history.