KingshipThe Kingdom of KermaSometime around 2500 B.C. a kingdom grew in Kerma, close to the pre-Kerma settlement. The rule of the kingdom was undoubtedly a monarchy.
The extravagant royal tombs of Kerma reflect the wealth and status of the Kushite royalty. The tombs were topped by white-plastered mound superstructures, some reaching 90 meters in diameter1, accompanied by massive mud-brick mortuary chapels. The tombs yielded large quantities of items of fine qualities such as jewelry, model ships, pottery, and weapons2. In addition, the burials included large numbers of human (and animal) sacrifices. While some of the scarified humans were buried alive others were slain. In a single burial, 322 human sacrifices were discovered. Another burial revealed 4,000 cattle sacrifices3. Found within the necropolises of Kerma were a number of statues. Although the identities of most of the statues' commissioners have not been known, few were commissioned by people in Upper Egyptian cities such as Asyut4. However, since Kerma extended its northern border to Upper Egypt during the Second Intermediate period, the statues could have been originally commissioned by Kushite governors or officials residing in Egypt. Despite the obvious complexity of the kingdom's religious and political institutions, no written sources have survived to shed light on the functioning of these institutions. Unfortunately, archeology is not always reflective of the extent of political dominance of rulers and kingdoms5. For that reason, our understanding of the Kerma political system will remain vague, unless written evidence is found. Such written evidence may have perished during the Egyptian raids of Kerma (during the sixteenth century BC); perhaps the written documents of the kingdom were carried by Kushites fleeing the Egyptian invasions to an unknown location.
|
