In the upper reaches of the Nile, in what is now northern Sudan, Africa, the ancient Kush civilization was born. From 1500 to 1100 BC, Egypt controlled the ancient Kush, bringing with it many religious practices of Egyptian culture. At that time, the ancient Kush civilization had been more than a thousand years old. The early capital, Coma, had imposing temples, palaces and houses that contained a huge mud-brick temple with a chapel deep inside the temple, accessible via a central staircase. The abundance of gold helped the Kush build a thriving commercial network, making bronze weapons and tools, and trading incense, animal skins, ivory ebony, and other materials from sub-Saharan Africa.
As Egypt fell into civil war, the situation in Kush began to change. By 750 BC, Egypt was divided into local royalty with fluctuating alliances. King Piankhy of Kusht saw an opportunity. He had his navy, flanked by riders and archers, along the Nile to reach the gateway city of Hermenu. When Piankhy's army built siege ramps and battle towers, the ruler of the city sent his wife and daughter to negotiate---- not with Piankhy, but with the women of his royal family, who later became known as Kandak, who were extremely influential in military affairs and political succession. After a long siege, Piankhy entered the conquered city. From there, Piankhy and Kushite armies captured memphis, the capital of Egypt.
Piankhy placed his sister Amunirdis in the Egyptian city of Thebes as priestess of the great god Amun, and left other Kush officials there before returning to Kush. His successor extended control all the way to the Nile Delta. This was the heyday of the Kush Empire: trade flourished, and they built magnificent temples, palaces and pyramid tombs along the Nile. But the Assyrian army approached Egypt in an annual campaign. When the Assyrians began to invade the trade routes near Jerusalem, King Tahalka of Kush took action to stop them. The Assyrians defeated him with the help of some rebellious Egyptian princes and expelled him from Egypt in the 7th century BC.
The Kush people continued to rule in their homeland for nearly 1,000 years, where prosperity and innovation were high. They moved the capital further south to the city of Meroy, where they built a temple dedicated to a new god named Apedmark. They built new cities on the savannahs of the southern Sahara Desert, some of which had huge cisterns. When the Roman Empire conquered Egypt in 31 BC, the kush army again moved north, led by Queen Amananas. She led them to victory in the battle against the Romans, capturing the bronze head of the Roman Emperor Augustus and bringing it back to Kush. Bury it under the doorway of a temple in the capital so that worshippers can step on it as they cross the threshold. After reaching a peace agreement with the Romans, Kush continued to prosper.
Over time, however, a group of people called Noba attacked from the west, and trade routes were interrupted by the rising kingdom of Axum. Around 350 AD, King Axum sacked Mero, ending Kush's rule.
Since then, Kush's history has been ignored by generations of European and American scholars who preached that Egypt was part of the origins of Western civilization and that Kush culture ---- African culture were excluded. To date, there's still a lot to know about Kush---- including the writing system that we haven't fully deciphered yet.