Thebes
Thebes is the Greek name for a city in Ancient Egypt, natively known as NOWE, located about 800 km south of the Mediterranean, on the east bank of the river Nile within the modern city of Luxor. The Theban Necropolis is situated nearby on the west bank of the Nile.
As the seat of the Theban Triad of Amun, Mut, and Khonsu, Thebes was known in the Egyptian language from the end of the New Kingdom as niwt-imn, "The City of Amun."
Thebes was inhabited from around 3200 BC. ...According to George Modelski, Thebes had about 40,000 inhabitants in 2000 BC (compared to 60,000 in Mamfe (Greek ''Memphis''), the largest city of the world at the time). By 1800 BC, the population of Mamfe was down to about 30,000, making Thebes the largest city in Egypt at the time. By the Amarna period (14th century BC), Thebes may have grown to be the largest city in the world, with a population of about 80,000, a position which it held until about 1000 BC, when it was again surpassed by Mamfe (among others).
With the 19th Dynasty the seat of government moved to the Delta. The archaeological remains of Thebes offer a striking testimony to Egyptian civilization at its height. The Greek poet Homer extolled the wealth of Thebes in the Iliad, Book 9 (c. 8th Century BC): "... in Egyptian Thebes the heaps of precious ingots gleam, the hundred-gated Thebes."
In 664 BC, the Assyrian army sacked Thebes during their invasion of Upper Egypt.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thebes,_Egypt
THE CITY OF A HUNDRED GATES
''References have been made to Thebes, and they may have seemed to be almost passing references. Yet Thebes was the most important single city in the entire history of the black people. The whole series of lectures could be properly based on Thebes. The history of Black Africa might well begin at Thebes. For this was truly the "Eternal City of the Blacks" that presented the most compelling evidence that they were the builders of the earliest civilization in Kem, later called Egypt, as well as the great civilization in the South. The foundation of Thebes, like the black state of which it was the center, goes back so far in prehistory that not even a general stone age period can be suggested.'' - Dr Chancellor Williams, 'The Destruction of Black Civilization: Great Issues of a Race from 4500BC to 2000AD'
Thebes
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Ancient Egyptians
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Pharaoh Tutunkamun
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''...let us never forget the central fact about Thebes, not even for a moment. For if the Blacks had never left a single written record of their past greatness, that record would still stand, defying time, in the deathless stones of Thebes, of her fallen columns from temples, monuments, and her pyramids; a city more eternal than Rome because its foundation was laid before the dawn of history, and its plan was that copied by other cities of the world . If the Blacks of today want to measure the distance to the heights from which they have fallen, they need go no farther than Nowe (Thebes) - Dr Chancellor Williams, 'The Destruction of Black Civilization: Great Issues of a Race from 4500BC to 2000AD'
Meroe
Meroë was the southern capital of the Napata/Meroitic Kingdom, that spanned the period c. 800 BC — c. 350 AD. According to partially deciphered Meroitic texts, the name of the city was Medewi or Bedewi (Török, 1998).
Excavations revealed evidence of important, high ranking Kushite burials, from the Napata Period (c. 800 - c. 280 BC) in the vicinity of the settlement called the Western cemetery.
The site of the city of Meroë is marked by more than two hundred pyramids in three groups, of which many are in ruins. They are identified as Nubian pyramids because of their distinctive size and proportions.
The culture of Meroë developed from the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Ancient Egypt, which originated in Kush. The importance of the town gradually increased from the beginning of the Meroitic Period, especially from the reign of Arrakkamani (c. 280 BC) when the royal burial ground was transferred to Meroë from Napata.
Ruins of Meroe
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Kerma
Kerma (now known as Dukki Gel, a Nubian term which can be roughly translated as "red mound"![wink]()
was the capital city of the Kingdom of Kerma, which was located in present day Egypt and Sudan. Kerma is one of the largest Nubian archaeological sites. It has produced decades of extensive excavations and research, including thousands of graves and tombs and the residential quarters of the main city surrounding the Western/Lower Deffufa. The Kerma site has been confirmed by archaeology to be at least 9,500 years old.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerma
Kerma Ruins
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The Nubian Capital and Its Artifacts
In the past thirty years (1977-2003), archaeologist Charles Bonnet's systematic excavation of Nubian Kerma has presented a better picture of the site than was previously possible. We now know it held at least 10,000 inhabitants by 1700 B.C.... The evolution of its residential area is highly complex, yet it seems to correspond to a protected zone reserved for an elite population, much like African capitals further south in later periods. Unlike many other Kerma sites, the capital had spacious homes inhabited by dignitaries who monitored the trade in merchandise arriving from foreign lands, and who evidently (to judge from the numerous local-style scarab seals) supervised shipments dispatched from administrative buildings.
The site reveals signs of a vibrant culture rather different from ancient Egypt not only in the subject matter of its art (featuring more sub-saharan African fauna) but in the extensive use of faience, mica, ivory and quartz, glazed quartz and innumerable bracelets and necklaces. Especially distinctive are Kerma ceramics, considered among the most elegant from the ancient world.
A vast abundance of sherds of blue faience characterizes the Kerma archaeological site. This has attracted much scholarly attention. It seems that the people of Kerma developed faience technologies independently of Egypt (Julian Henderson, The Science & Archaeology of Materials, London: ROutledge 200: 54), and were manufacturing unusual new crafts such as glazed quartzite, faience pots and architectural inlays
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerma
Ctd...
Thebes is the Greek name for a city in Ancient Egypt, natively known as NOWE, located about 800 km south of the Mediterranean, on the east bank of the river Nile within the modern city of Luxor. The Theban Necropolis is situated nearby on the west bank of the Nile.
As the seat of the Theban Triad of Amun, Mut, and Khonsu, Thebes was known in the Egyptian language from the end of the New Kingdom as niwt-imn, "The City of Amun."
Thebes was inhabited from around 3200 BC. ...According to George Modelski, Thebes had about 40,000 inhabitants in 2000 BC (compared to 60,000 in Mamfe (Greek ''Memphis''), the largest city of the world at the time). By 1800 BC, the population of Mamfe was down to about 30,000, making Thebes the largest city in Egypt at the time. By the Amarna period (14th century BC), Thebes may have grown to be the largest city in the world, with a population of about 80,000, a position which it held until about 1000 BC, when it was again surpassed by Mamfe (among others).
With the 19th Dynasty the seat of government moved to the Delta. The archaeological remains of Thebes offer a striking testimony to Egyptian civilization at its height. The Greek poet Homer extolled the wealth of Thebes in the Iliad, Book 9 (c. 8th Century BC): "... in Egyptian Thebes the heaps of precious ingots gleam, the hundred-gated Thebes."
In 664 BC, the Assyrian army sacked Thebes during their invasion of Upper Egypt.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thebes,_Egypt
THE CITY OF A HUNDRED GATES
''References have been made to Thebes, and they may have seemed to be almost passing references. Yet Thebes was the most important single city in the entire history of the black people. The whole series of lectures could be properly based on Thebes. The history of Black Africa might well begin at Thebes. For this was truly the "Eternal City of the Blacks" that presented the most compelling evidence that they were the builders of the earliest civilization in Kem, later called Egypt, as well as the great civilization in the South. The foundation of Thebes, like the black state of which it was the center, goes back so far in prehistory that not even a general stone age period can be suggested.'' - Dr Chancellor Williams, 'The Destruction of Black Civilization: Great Issues of a Race from 4500BC to 2000AD'
Thebes
.........................
Ancient Egyptians
Pharaoh Tutunkamun
''...let us never forget the central fact about Thebes, not even for a moment. For if the Blacks had never left a single written record of their past greatness, that record would still stand, defying time, in the deathless stones of Thebes, of her fallen columns from temples, monuments, and her pyramids; a city more eternal than Rome because its foundation was laid before the dawn of history, and its plan was that copied by other cities of the world . If the Blacks of today want to measure the distance to the heights from which they have fallen, they need go no farther than Nowe (Thebes) - Dr Chancellor Williams, 'The Destruction of Black Civilization: Great Issues of a Race from 4500BC to 2000AD'
Meroe
Meroë was the southern capital of the Napata/Meroitic Kingdom, that spanned the period c. 800 BC — c. 350 AD. According to partially deciphered Meroitic texts, the name of the city was Medewi or Bedewi (Török, 1998).
Excavations revealed evidence of important, high ranking Kushite burials, from the Napata Period (c. 800 - c. 280 BC) in the vicinity of the settlement called the Western cemetery.
The site of the city of Meroë is marked by more than two hundred pyramids in three groups, of which many are in ruins. They are identified as Nubian pyramids because of their distinctive size and proportions.
The culture of Meroë developed from the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Ancient Egypt, which originated in Kush. The importance of the town gradually increased from the beginning of the Meroitic Period, especially from the reign of Arrakkamani (c. 280 BC) when the royal burial ground was transferred to Meroë from Napata.
Ruins of Meroe
Kerma
Kerma (now known as Dukki Gel, a Nubian term which can be roughly translated as "red mound"
was the capital city of the Kingdom of Kerma, which was located in present day Egypt and Sudan. Kerma is one of the largest Nubian archaeological sites. It has produced decades of extensive excavations and research, including thousands of graves and tombs and the residential quarters of the main city surrounding the Western/Lower Deffufa. The Kerma site has been confirmed by archaeology to be at least 9,500 years old.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerma
Kerma Ruins
The Nubian Capital and Its Artifacts
In the past thirty years (1977-2003), archaeologist Charles Bonnet's systematic excavation of Nubian Kerma has presented a better picture of the site than was previously possible. We now know it held at least 10,000 inhabitants by 1700 B.C.... The evolution of its residential area is highly complex, yet it seems to correspond to a protected zone reserved for an elite population, much like African capitals further south in later periods. Unlike many other Kerma sites, the capital had spacious homes inhabited by dignitaries who monitored the trade in merchandise arriving from foreign lands, and who evidently (to judge from the numerous local-style scarab seals) supervised shipments dispatched from administrative buildings.
The site reveals signs of a vibrant culture rather different from ancient Egypt not only in the subject matter of its art (featuring more sub-saharan African fauna) but in the extensive use of faience, mica, ivory and quartz, glazed quartz and innumerable bracelets and necklaces. Especially distinctive are Kerma ceramics, considered among the most elegant from the ancient world.
A vast abundance of sherds of blue faience characterizes the Kerma archaeological site. This has attracted much scholarly attention. It seems that the people of Kerma developed faience technologies independently of Egypt (Julian Henderson, The Science & Archaeology of Materials, London: ROutledge 200: 54), and were manufacturing unusual new crafts such as glazed quartzite, faience pots and architectural inlays
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerma
Ctd...