ABSTRACT
By the eighth century BC, the Dongola Reach was the focus of a political revival that established a new Kushite kingdom in the region. Apparently based in the Napata region of the upper Dongola Reach, this kingdom was also on a much larger scale than any previous polity in the region, extending its influence not only to the north, but also far to the south into central Sudan (Figure 5.1). From obscure origins, its rulers were soon to conquer and establish their rule over most of Egypt (as the XXVth Dynasty) during the mid-eighth century BC, maintaining a presence for around a century until they were expelled by the Assyrians in 650s. Their brief presence in Egypt has assured their wider recognition in the history of the ancient world, while their adoption of many cultural features of the Egyptian ruling elites, transferred to their Sudanese homelands, contributed to the creation of a distinctive new Kushite culture.
