What happened to the lost Kingdom of Kush? - Geoff Emberling

Translator: Noelia Bernárdez Alonso Reviewer: Xusto Rodriguez

Along the Nile River, in what is now northern Sudan,

Ao longo do río Nilo, no que hoxe é o norte de Sudán,

lay the ancient civilization of Kush.

estendíase a antiga civilización de Kush.

Though they were once conquered by a powerful neighbor,

Aínda que foron conquistados por un poderoso veciño,

the kings and queens of Kush would go on to successfully challenge

os reis e as raíñas de Kush serían quen de se impoñer

two of the most dominant empires in history.

a dous dos imperios máis dominantes da historia.

From 1500 to 1100 BCE, Egypt controlled Kush,

Entre os anos 1500 e 1100 a. C., Exipto controlou Kush

introducing many Egyptian cultural and religious practices.

e introduciu moitas prácticas culturais e relixiosas de seu.

The civilization of Kush was more than a thousand years old at that time.

Daquela, a civilización de Kush sumaba xa máis de 1000 anos de historia.

Its early capital city at Kerma had impressive temples, palaces, and houses,

Na súa primeira capital, Kerma, erixíanse impresionantes templos, pazos e casas,

including a massive mudbrick temple structure that had a chapel deep inside,

así como un colosal templo de adobe que contaba cunha capela no seu interior,

reached by a long staircase at the center.

á que se chegaba por unha longa escaleira situada no centro.

Rich gold mines helped the Kushites build a flourishing commercial network,

Grazas ás ricas minas de ouro, creouse unha próspera rede comercial que permitiu

making bronze weapons and tools and trading materials like incense,

fabricar ferramentas e armas de bronce e intercambiar materiais, como incenso,

animal skins, ivory, and ebony wood from sub-Saharan Africa.

peles de animais, marfil e madeira de ébano da África subsahariana.

The tide started to change for Kush as Egypt descended into civil war.

A sorte de Kush comezou a cambiar cando Exipto se sumiu nunha guerra civil.

By 750 BCE, Egypt was divided into local kingdoms with fluctuating alliances.

Para o 750 a. C., Exipto dividírase en reinos locais con alianzas cambiantes.

The Kushite king Piankhy saw an opportunity.

O rei de Kush, Piankhy, viu unha oportunidade.

He led his navy, flanked by horsemen and archers,

Coa súa armada, flanqueada por xinetes e arqueiros,

up the Nile to the gateway city of Khemenu.

ascendeu polo Nilo até a cidade fronteiriza de Khemenu.

As Piankhy’s army constructed siege ramps and battle towers,

Mentres o exército de Piankhy construía ramplas de asedio e torres de batalla,

the city’s ruler sent his wives and daughters to negotiate—

o gobernante da cidade mandou as súas mulleres e fillas a negociar,

not with Piankhy, but with the women of his royal household,

non con Piankhy, senón coas mulleres da súa casa real,

later known as kandake,

coñecidas máis tarde como kandake,

who were extremely influential in military affairs and political succession.

que exercían unha enorme influencia nos asuntos militares e sucesorios.

At the end of a long siege, Piankhy entered the conquered city

Tras un longo asedio, Piankhy entrou na cidade conquistada

and bitterly criticized the conditions in its stables.

e criticou duramente as condicións das súas cortes.

From there, Piankhy and the Kushite forces

Desde alí, Piankhy e as forzas kushitas

conquered the Egyptian capital of Memphis.

conquistaron a capital exipcia, Menfis.

Piankhy installed his sister, Amunirdis, as priestess of the great god Amun,

Piankhy colocou a súa irmá, Amunirdis, como sacerdotisa do gran deus Amón

in the Egyptian city of Thebes,

na cidade exipcia de Tebas

and left other Kushite officials there before returning to live in Kush.

e deixou alí outros oficiais kushitas antes de volver a Kush.

His successors extended control all the way to the Nile Delta.

Os seus sucesores chegaron a controlar todo o territorio até o delta do Nilo.

This was a high point for the Empire of Kush:

Foi o punto álxido do Imperio de Kush:

trade thrived, and they built magnificent temples,

o comercio prosperaba e construíronse magníficos templos,

palaces, and pyramid tombs all along the Nile.

pazos e pirámides funerarias ao longo de todo o Nilo.

But the Assyrian army was approaching Egypt in its annual campaigns.

Porén, o exército asirio aproximábase a Exipto nas súas campañas anuais.

When the Assyrians began to encroach on trade routes near Jerusalem,

Cando os asirios empezaron a interferir nas rutas comerciais próximas a Xerusalén,

the Kushite king Taharqo moved to stop them.

o rei de Kush, Taharqo, dispuxose a detelos.

The Assyrians defeated him with the help of some rebelling Egyptian princes,

Os asirios vencérono coa axuda de varios príncipes exipcios rebeldes

and drove him out of Egypt in the 7th century BCE.

e expulsárono de Exipto no século VII a. C.

The Kushites continued to rule in their homeland for nearly 1,000 years

Os kushitas gobernaron na súa terra natal durante case 1000 anos máis

that were prosperous and innovative.

marcados pola prosperidade e a innovacion.

They moved their capital farther south to the city of Meroe,

Trasladaron a capital máis ao sur, á cidade de Meroe,

where they built temples to a new god called Apedemak.

onde construíron templos dedicados a un deus novo, Apedemak.

They built new cities in the savannah south of the Sahara Desert,

Levantaron novas cidades na sabana, ao sur do deserto do Sáhara,

some of which contained huge reservoirs for water.

algunhas das cales contaban con inmensos encoros.

When the Roman Empire conquered Egypt in 31 BCE,

Cando o Imperio romano conquistou Exipto no ano 31 a. C.,

Kushite armies again traveled north, led by Queen Amanirenas.

os exércitos kushitas volveron ao norte dirixidos pola raíña Amanirenas.

She led them to success in battle against the Romans,

Ela conduciunos á vitoria nas batallas contra os romanos.

capturing the bronze head of a statue of the Roman emperor Augustus,

Roubaron a cabeza de bronce dunha estatua do emperador Augusto

and bringing it back to Kush.

e trouxérona de volta a Kush,

They buried it under the doorway of a temple in the capital,

onde a soterraron baixo a porta dun templo da capital,

so that worshippers would step on it as they crossed the threshold.

de xeito que os fieis a pisaran cada vez que cruzaban o limiar.

After brokering peace with the Romans, Kush continued to prosper.

Tras negociar a paz cos romanos, Kush seguiu a prosperar.

Over time, however, groups of people called the Noba raided from the west,

Porén, co tempo, os chamados pobos noba fixeron incursións polo oeste

and trade routes were disrupted by the rising kingdom of Aksum.

e as rutas comerciais víronse afectadas polo ascenso do reino de Axum.

Around 350 CE, the Aksumite king sacked Meroe,

Arredor do ano 350 d. C., o rei de Axum saqueou Meroe,

effectively bringing Kushite rule to an end.

o que supuxo a fin do goberno kushita.

Since then, some have argued that Kush’s history has been overlooked

Desde entón, hai quen afirma que a historia de Kush foi ignorada

by generations of European and American scholars

por xeracións de académicos europeos e estadounidenses,

who promoted the idea that Egypt was part of the origin of Western civilization,

que promoveron a idea de que Exipto era parte da orixe da civilizacion occidental,

while Kush, as an African culture, was excluded.

mentres que Kush, como cultura africana, quedou excluída.

Today, there’s still much to learn about Kush—

Hoxe, aínda nos quedan moitas cousas por descubrir sobre Kush,

including a writing system we haven’t deciphered fully.

entre elas, un sistema de escritura que aínda non desciframos de todo.