View source for Meroë

{{short description|Ancient city along the eastern bank of the Nile River in Northern Sudan}}
{{distinguish|Merowe, Sudan}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{Infobox ancient site
 |name = Meroë
 |native_name = 
 |alternate_name = Meroe
 |image = NubianMeroePyramids30sep2005(2).jpg
 |alt = At Meroë, pyramids of the Kushite rulers
 |caption = Pyramids of the Kushite rulers at Meroë, covering a period from 300 BC to about 350 AD
 |map_type = Nile#Sudan
 |map_dot_label=Meroë
 |map_alt = 
 |coordinates = {{coord|16|56|00|N|33|43|35|E|display=inline,title}}
 |location = [[River Nile (state)|River Nile]], [[Sudan]]
 |region = [[Kingdom of Kush|Kush]]
 |type = Settlement
 |part_of = 
 |length = 
 |width = 
 |area = 
 |height = 
 |builder = 
 |material = 
 |built = 
 |abandoned = 
 |epochs = 
 |cultures = 
 |dependency_of = 
 |occupants = 
 |event = 
 |excavations = 
 |archaeologists = 
 |condition = 
 |ownership = 
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 |public_access = 
 |website = <!-- {{URL|example.com}} -->
 |notes = 
| designation1          = WHS
| designation1_offname  = Archaeological Sites of the Island of Meroe
| designation1_date     = 2011 <small>(35th [[World Heritage Committee|session]])</small>
| designation1_number   = [https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1336 1336]
| designation1_criteria = ii, iii, vi, v
| designation1_type     = Cultural
| designation1_free1name = Region
| designation1_free1value = [[List of World Heritage Sites in Africa|Africa]]
}}

'''Meroë''' ({{IPAc-en|'|m|ɛr|oʊ|iː}};<ref>[https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=Meroe&submit.x=0&submit.y=0 "Meroë" in the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language] (2020).</ref> also spelled ''Meroe'';<ref name = 1911ebMargoliouth/> {{langx|xmr|𐦨𐦡𐦷𐦡𐦥𐦢|translit=Medewi}}; {{langx|ar|مرواه|translit=Meruwah}} and {{langx|ar|مروي|translit=Meruwi|label=none}}; {{langx|grc|Μερόη|translit=Meróē}}) was an ancient city on the east bank of the [[Nile]] about 6&nbsp;km north-east of the Kabushiya station near [[Shendi]], [[Sudan]], approximately 200&nbsp;km north-east of [[Khartoum]]. Near the site is a group of villages called '''Bagrawiyah''' ({{langx|ar|البجراوية}}). This city was the capital of the [[Kingdom of Kush]] for several centuries from around 590 BC, until its [[Territorial evolution of Ethiopia|collapse]] in the 4th century AD. The Kushitic Kingdom of Meroë gave its name to the "Island of Meroë", which was the modern region of [[Butana]], a region bounded by the Nile (from the [[Atbarah River]] to [[Khartoum]]), the Atbarah and the [[Blue Nile]].

The city of Meroë was on the edge of [[Butana]]. There were two other Meroitic cities in Butana: [[Musawwarat es-Sufra]] and [[Naqa]].<ref name=UNESCO>{{cite web|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1336 |title=Archaeological Sites of the Island of Meroe | work = UNESCO World Heritage Centre |publisher= [[UNESCO|United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)]] |access-date= 15 March 2020 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ancientsudan.org/meroe_gallery/index.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060505032727/http://www.ancientsudan.org/meroe_gallery/index.htm |url-status=usurped |archive-date=5 May 2006 | first1=Osman | last1 = Elkhair | first2 = Imad-eldin | last2 = Ali | title = Ancient Meroe Site: Naqa and Musawwarat es-Sufra | work = Ancient Sudan–Kush | publisher=Ancientsudan.org |access-date=6 September 2012}}</ref> The first of these sites was given the name Meroë by the Persian king [[Cambyses II|Cambyses]], in honor of his sister who was called by that name. The city had originally borne the ancient appellation ''Saba'', named after the country's original founder.<ref name=Josephus>{{citation | first = Titus Flavius | last = Josephus | author-link = Josephus | url = https://pace.webhosting.rug.nl/york/york/showText?book=2&chapter=14&textChunk=nieseSection&chunkId=250&go.x=12&go.y=9&go=go&text=anti&version=english&direction=&tab=comm&layout=split | title = Antiquities of the Jews | at = Book 2, Chapter 10, Section 2, Paragraphs 245–247 and 249 | access-date = 19 February 2017 | archive-date = 22 May 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200522115607/https://pace.webhosting.rug.nl/york/york/showText?book=2&chapter=14&textChunk=nieseSection&chunkId=250&go.x=12&go.y=9&go=go&text=anti&version=english&direction=&tab=comm&layout=split | url-status = dead }}</ref> The eponym ''Saba'', or ''Seba'', is named for one of the sons of [[Cush (Bible)|Cush]] (see Genesis 10:7). The presence of numerous Meroitic sites within the western Butana region and on the border of Butana proper is significant to the settlement of the core of the developed region. The orientation of these settlements exhibit the exercise of state power over subsistence production.<ref name="jstor183595">{{cite journal |title=Meroe and the Sudanic Kingdoms |last=Edwards | first = David N. |journal=[[The Journal of African History]] |volume=39 |issue=2 |year=1998 |pages=175–193 |jstor=183595|doi=10.1017/S0021853797007172 |s2cid=55376329 }}</ref>

The [[Kingdom of Kush]] which housed the city of Meroë represents one of a series of early states located within the middle Nile. It was one of the earliest and most advanced states found on the African continent. Looking at the specificity of the surrounding early states within the middle Nile, one's understanding of Meroë in combination with the historical developments of other historic states may be enhanced through looking at the development of power relation characteristics within other Nile Valley states.<ref name="jstor183595"/>

The site of the city of Meroë is marked by more than two hundred [[pyramid]]s in three groups, of which many are in ruins. They have the distinctive size and proportions of [[Nubian pyramids]].

== History ==
{{Hiero |''mjrwjwꜣt''<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gauthier |first1=Henri |title=Dictionnaire des Noms Géographiques Contenus dans les Textes Hiéroglyphiques |volume=3 |date=1926 |page=[https://archive.org/details/Gauthier1926/page/n9/mode/2up 12] |url=https://archive.org/details/Gauthier1926}}</ref>|<hiero>mi-rw-i-wA-t*niwt:xAst</hiero>| align=left |era=nubia }}

[[File:NE 200bc.jpg|thumb|280px|Near East in 200 BC, showing the Kingdom of Meroë and its neighbours.]]
Meroë was the southern capital of the [[Kingdom of Kush]]. The Kingdom of Kush spanned the period {{circa}} 800 BC&nbsp;– c. 350 AD. Initially, its main capital was farther north at [[Napata]].<ref name="Török1997">{{cite book|last=Török|first=László |title=The Kingdom of Kush: Handbook of the Napatan-Meroitic Civilization|url={{google books|id=i54rPFeGKewC|plainurl=yes|keywords=Meroe}}|series=Handbuch der Orientalistik. Erste Abteilung, Nahe und der Mittlere Osten |volume= 31 |year=1997 |publisher=Brill |location=Leiden |isbn=90-04-10448-8}}</ref> King [[Aspelta]] moved the capital to Meroë, considerably farther south than [[Napata]], possibly c. 591 BC,<ref name="Ohaegbulam1990">{{cite book|author=Festus Ugboaja Ohaegbulam|title=Towards an understanding of the African experience from historical and contemporary perspectives|url=https://archive.org/details/towardsunderstan00ohae|url-access=registration|access-date=17 March 2011|date=1 October 1990|publisher=University Press of America|isbn=978-0-8191-7941-8|page=[https://archive.org/details/towardsunderstan00ohae/page/66 66]}}</ref> just after the sack of Napata by Egyptian Pharaoh [[Psamtik II]].

[[Martin Meredith]] states the Kushite rulers chose Meroë, between the [[Cataracts of the Nile|Fifth and Sixth Cataracts]], because it was on the fringe of the summer rainfall belt, and the area was rich in iron ore and hardwood for [[iron working]]. The location also afforded access to trade routes to the [[Red Sea]]. The city of Meroë was located along the middle Nile which is of much importance due to the annual flooding of the Nile river valley and the connection to many major river systems such as the Niger which aided with the production of pottery and iron characteristic to the Meroitic kingdom that allowed for the rise in power of its people.<ref name="jstor183595"/> According to partially deciphered Meroitic texts, Meroitic "d" was transcribed in foreign languages as "r",<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Rilly |first=Claude |date=2016-06-26 |title=Meroitic |url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3128r3sw |journal=UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=6}}</ref> with the native name of the city being ''Medewi''.

===First Meroitic Period (542–315 BC)===
The Kings ruled over [[Napata]] and Meroë. The [[seat of government]] and the royal palace were in [[Meroe|Meroë]]. The Main temple of Amun was located in [[Napata]]. Kings and many queens are buried in [[Nuri]], some queens are buried in [[Pyramids of Meroe (Begarawiyah)|Meroë]], in the West Cemetery.<ref name="Dunham">Dows Dunham, Notes on the History of Kush 850 B.&nbsp;C.{{snd}}A.&nbsp;D. 350, American Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 50, No. 3 (July  – September , 1946), pp. 378–388</ref> The earliest king was [[Analmaye]] (542–538 BC) and the last king of the first phase is [[Nastasen]] (335–315 BC)

In the fifth century BC, Greek historian [[Herodotus]] described it as "a great city...said to be the mother city of the other Ethiopians."<ref name="Herodotus1949">{{cite book|author=Herodotus|author-link=Herodotus|title=Herodotus. Translated by J. Enoch Powell|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Xt0uMwEACAAJ|year=1949|publisher=Clarendon Press|location=Oxford|pages=121–122|translator=[[Enoch Powell]]}}</ref><ref name="Connah1987">{{cite book|last=Connah|first=Graham |title=African Civilizations: Precolonial Cities and States in Tropical Africa: An Archaeological Perspective|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r07pQgAACAAJ|year=1987|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=978-0-521-26666-6|page=24}}</ref>

Excavations revealed evidence of important, high ranking Kushite burials from the Napatan Period (c. 800 – c. 280 BC) in the vicinity of the settlement called the Western Cemetery. The importance of the town gradually increased from [[Kingdom of Kush|the beginning of the Meroitic Period]], especially from the reign of [[Arakamani]] (c. 280 BC) when the royal burial ground was transferred to Meroë from [[Napata]] ([[Gebel Barkal]]). Royal burials formed the [[Pyramids of Meroë]], containing the remains of the Kings and Queens of Meroë from c. 300 BC to about 350 AD.<ref name="Candace">George A. Reisner, The Pyramids of Meroë and the Candaces of Ethiopia, Museum of Fine Arts Bulletin, Vol. 21, No. 124 (Apr., 1923), pp. 11–27</ref>

<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px" perrow="4">
File:Karkamani's pyramid, Nuri, Sudan, North-east Africa.jpg|[[Karkamani]]'s pyramid (513–503 BC), [[Nuri]]
File:Jewelry found on the Mummy of Nubian King AMANINATAKILEBTE (538-519 BC). Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.jpg|Jewelry found on the mummy of Nubian King [[Amaninatakilebte]] (538–519 BC). Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
File:LRM_20190101_130853-Pano.jpg|Stela of king [[Siaspiqa]] (487–468 BC).
File:Portrait_of_Nastasen,_with_Kushite_crown.jpg|Portrait of King [[Nastasen]] (330–310 BC)
</gallery>

=== Second Meroitic Period (3rd century BC) ===
[[File:The Archer King, National Museum of Sudan, Khartoum, Sudan, North-East Africa (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright=0.5|The "Archer King", an unknown king of Meroë, 3rd century BC. [[National Museum of Sudan]].]]
The [[seat of government]] and the royal palace are in Meroë. Kings and many queens are buried in [[Pyramids of Meroe (Begarawiyah)|Meroë]], in the South Cemetery. Napata remained relevant for the Amun Temple.<ref name="Dunham"/> The first King of the period was [[Aktisanes]] (Early 3rd century BC) and the last king of the period was [[Sabrakamani]] (first half 3rd century BC).

=== Third Meroitic Period (270 BC{{snd}}1st century AD) ===
The [[seat of government]] and the royal palace are in [[Meroe|Meroë]]. Kings are buried in [[Pyramids of Meroe (Begarawiyah)|Meroë]], in the North Cemetery, and Queens in West Cemetery. Napata remained relevant for the Amun Temple. Meroë flourished and many building projects were undertaken.<ref name="Dunham"/> The first king of the period is [[Arakamani]] (270–260 BC), the last ruler is Queen [[Amanitore]] (mid/late 1st century AD)

Many artifacts were found in Meroitic tombs from around this time.

<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px" perrow="4">
File:Archaeological Sites of the Island of Meroe-114973.jpg|alt=Pyramids of Meroe - Northern Cemetery|[[Pyramids of Meroë]] - Northern Cemetery
File:Queen-of-Meroe.jpg|Queen [[Shanakdakhete]] (170–150 BC)
File:Necklace made of 54 composite human head and ram’s head gold pendants with a small carnelian bead between each. Meroitic Period.jpg|Necklace made of 54 composite human head and ram's head gold pendants with a small carnelian bead between each. Meroitic Period, 270–50 BC
File:Exhibition Nubia, Land of the Black Pharaohs – Golden Bracelet found in the tomb of a member of the Royal Family in Gebel Barkal.jpg|Golden Bracelet found in the tomb of a member of the royal family in [[Gebel Barkal]]. 250–100 BC
File:Argo_Island_Tabo_Temple_1st_Pylon_(Taharqa)_Statue_(b)_King_Natakamani_c.60_CE.jpg|King [[Natakamani]] (early 1st century AD)
</gallery>

==== Conflict with Rome ====
Rome's conquest of [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]] led to border skirmishes and incursions by Meroë beyond the Roman borders. In 23 BC, in response to a Nubian attack on southern Egypt, the Roman governor of Egypt, [[Gaius Petronius|Publius Petronius]], invaded Nubia to end the Meroitic raids. He pillaged northern Nubia and sacked Napata (22 BC) before returning home. In retaliation, the Nubians crossed the lower border of Egypt and looted many statues from the Egyptian towns near the first cataract of the Nile at Aswan. Roman forces later reclaimed some of the statues, and others were returned following the peace treaty signed in 22 BC between Rome and Meroë under [[Augustus]] and [[Amanirenas]], respectively. [[Meroë Head|One looted head]], from a statue of the emperor [[Augustus]], was buried under the steps of a temple in Meroë; it is now kept in the [[British Museum]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/gr/b/bronze_head_of_augustus.aspx|title=Bronze head of Augustus|publisher=[[British Museum]]|year=1999|access-date=14 June 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080210114958/http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/gr/b/bronze_head_of_augustus.aspx|archive-date=10 February 2008}}</ref>

[[File:Amanitore bust.jpg|thumb|upright|Relief of [[Amanitore|Kandake Amanitore]], circa 50 AD]]
The next recorded contact between Rome and Meroë was in the autumn of 61 AD. The Emperor [[Nero]] sent a party of Praetorian soldiers under the command of a tribune and two centurions into this country, who reached the city of Meroë where they were given an escort, then proceeded up the [[White Nile]] until they encountered the swamps of the [[Sudd]]. This marked the limit of Roman penetration into Africa.<ref name="Kirwan1957">{{cite journal |author-link=Laurence P. Kirwan | last= Kirwan|first= L.P. | title = Rome beyond The Southern Egyptian Frontier | journal = [[The Geographical Journal]] | volume = 123 |issue= 1 | year = 1957 | pages = 13–19 | location = London| publisher = Royal Geographical Society, with the Institute of British Geographers | jstor=1790717|doi= 10.2307/1790717 | bibcode= 1957GeogJ.123...13K}}</ref>

The period following Petronius' punitive expedition is marked by abundant trade finds at sites in Meroë. [[L. P. Kirwan]] provides a short list of finds from archeological sites in that country.<ref name="Kirwan1957" />{{rp|18f}} The kingdom of Meroë began to fade as a power by the 1st or 2nd century AD, sapped by the war with Roman Egypt and the decline of its traditional industries.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/africa/features/storyofafrica/3chapter4.shtml |title= Nubia | work = BBC World Service | publisher= [[BBC|British Broadcasting Corporation]] |access-date=6 September 2012}}</ref>

Meroë is mentioned briefly in the 1st century AD [[Periplus of the Erythraean Sea]]:
{{blockquote|2. On the right-hand coast next below [[Benghazi|Berenice]] is the country of the Berbers. Along the shore are the Fish-Eaters, living in scattered caves in the narrow valleys. Farther inland are the Berbers, and beyond them the Wild-flesh-Eaters and Calf-Eaters, each tribe governed by its chief; and behind them, farther inland, in the country towards the west, there lies a city called Meroe.|[[Periplus of the Erythraean Sea]], Chap.2}}

=== Fourth Meroitic Period (1st century{{snd}}4th century AD) ===
[[File:Lamp met handvat in de vorm van een paard uit de piramide van Koningin Amanikhatashan te Meroë. MFA, Boston.jpg|thumb|Lamp with handle in the shape of a horse, from the pyramid of Queen [[Amanikhatashan]] in Meroë ({{circa|62|85}} AD). [[Museum of Fine Arts, Boston]]]]
[[File:Necklace from Meroë. 50-320 AD. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. ©Hans Ollermann.jpg|thumb|Necklace from Meroë. 50–320 AD. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.]]
Kings were buried in [[Pyramids of Meroe (Begarawiyah)|Meroë]], in the North Cemetery, and Queens in West Cemetery. In 350 AD [[Meroe|Meroë]] was [[Territorial evolution of Ethiopia|destroyed]] by [[Axum]].<ref name="Dunham"/> The first king of the fourth period was [[Shorkaror]] (1st century AD), while the last rulers may have been King [[Yesebokheamani]] or King [[Talakhidamani]] in the 4th century AD. The Aksumite presence was short lived before [[Meroe|Meroë]] was taken by the Kingdom of [[Alodia]].

A stele of [[Ge'ez language|Ge'ez]] of an unnamed ruler of the [[Kingdom of Aksum]] thought to be [[Ezana of Axum|Ezana]] was found at the site of Meroë; from its description, in [[Greek language|Greek]], he was "King of the [[Aksumite]]s and the [[Himyarite|Omerites]]," (i.e. of [[Aksum]] and [[Himyar]]) it is likely this king ruled sometime around 330.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Fisher |first1=Greg |title=Rome, Persia, and Arabia: Shaping the Middle East from Pompey to Muhammad |date=27 November 2019 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-000-74090-5 |page=137 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n3zADwAAQBAJ&pg=PT137 |language=en}}</ref> Another inscription in Greek gives the regnal claims of [[Ezana of Axum|Ezana]]:<ref name="WT">{{cite book |last1=Tabbernee |first1=William |title=Early Christianity in Contexts: An Exploration across Cultures and Continents |date=18 November 2014 |publisher=Baker Academic |isbn=978-1-4412-4571-7 |page=252 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rN0tBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT252 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="FA">{{cite journal |last1=Anfray |first1=Francis |last2=Caquot |first2=André |last3=Nautin |first3=Pierre |title=Une nouvelle inscription grecque d'Ezana, roi d'Axoum |journal=Journal des Savants |date=1970 |volume=4 |issue=1 |page=266 |doi=10.3406/jds.1970.1235 |url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/jds_0021-8103_1970_num_4_1_1235}}|quote=Moi, Ézana, roi des Axoumites, des Himyarites, de Reeidan, des Sabéens, de S[il]éel, de Kasô, des Bedja et de
Tiamô, Bisi Alêne, fils de Elle-Amida et serviteur du Christ</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Valpy |first1=Abraham John |last2=Barker |first2=Edmund Henry |title=The Classical Journal |date=28 February 2013 |page=86 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0hahk1Z5HRQC&pg=PA86 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9781108057820 |language=en}}</ref>

{{blockquote|I, [[Ezana of Axum|Ezana]], King of the [[Kingdom of Aksum|Axumites]] and [[Himyarite Kingdom|Himyarites]] and of [[Himyarite Kingdom|Reeidan]] and of the [[Sabaeans|Sabaites]] and of Sileel (?) and of Hasa and of the Bougaites and of Taimo...|Greek inscription of Ezana.<ref name="WT"/><ref name="FA"/><ref>{{cite book |last1=Gibbon |first1=Edward |title=THE HISTORY OF THE DECLINE AND FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE (All 6 Volumes): From the Height of the Roman Empire, the Age of Trajan and the Antonines - to the Fall of Byzantium; Including a Review of the Crusades, and the State of Rome during the Middle Ages |date=14 February 2016 |publisher=e-artnow |isbn=978-80-268-5034-2 |page=Note 137 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b3anCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT666 |language=en}}</ref>}}

While some authorities interpret these inscriptions as proof that the Axumites destroyed the Kingdom of Kush, others note that archeological evidence points to an economic and political decline in Meroë around 300.<ref name="Munro-Hay1991">{{cite book|last=Munro-Hay|first=Stuart C. |title=Aksum: An African Civilisation of Late Antiquity|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RlRzAAAAMAAJ|year=1991|publisher=[[Edinburgh University Press]]|isbn=978-0-7486-0106-6|pages=79, 224}}</ref>

== Meroë in Jewish legend ==
Jewish oral tradition avers that [[Moses]], in his younger years, had led an Egyptian military expedition into Sudan (Kush), as far as the city of Meroë, which was then called Saba. The city was built near the confluence of two great rivers and was encircled by a formidable wall, and governed by a renegade king. To ensure the safety of his men who traversed that desert country, Moses had invented a stratagem whereby the Egyptian army would carry along with them baskets of sedge, each containing an ibis, only to be released when they approached the enemy's country. The purpose of the birds was to kill the deadly serpents that lay all about that country.<ref name=Josephus /> Having successfully laid siege to the city, the city was eventually subdued by the betrayal of the king's daughter, who had agreed to deliver the city to Moses on condition that he would consummate a marriage with her, under the solemn assurance of an oath.{{efn|The same episode, with slight variation, is also related in ''[[Sefer haYashar (midrash)|Sefer Ha-Yashar]]'', Tel-Aviv ca. 1965, pp. 192–195 (Hebrew) and in [[Gedaliah ibn Yahya]]'s [https://www.hebrewbooks.org/6618 ''Shalshelet Ha-Kabbalah''], Jerusalem 1962, p. 22 (p. 31 in PDF) (Hebrew); ''Pseudo-Jonathan'' – ''the Aramaic Targum of pseudo-Jonathan ben Uziel'' (ed. Dr. M. Ginsburger), 2nd edition, Jerusalem 1974, p. 248.}}

== Civilization ==
[[File:Meroitic.png|thumb|Meroitic script]]
Meroë was the base of a flourishing kingdom whose wealth was centered around a strong [[iron]] industry. Metalworking is believed to have taken place in Meroë, possibly through [[bloomery|bloomeries]] and [[blast furnace]]s.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Humphris|first1=Jane|last2=Charlton|first2=Michael F. |last3=Keen |first3=Jake |last4=Sauder |first4=Lee |last5=Alshishani |first5=Fareed |year=2018 |title=Iron Smelting in Sudan: Experimental Archaeology at The Royal City of Meroe |journal=Journal of Field Archaeology |volume=43 |issue=5 |pages=399 |doi=10.1080/00934690.2018.1479085 |issn=0093-4690|doi-access=free }}</ref> [[Archibald Sayce]] reportedly referred to it as "the [[Birmingham, England|Birmingham]] of Africa",<ref name=HakemUNESCO>{{cite book | last1= Hakem |first1=A.A.|last2= Hrbek|first2=I. |last3= Vercoutter|first3= J. | year = 1981 | chapter = The Civilization of Napata and Meroe | editor-last= Mokhtar|editor-first= G. | title = Ancient Civilizations of Africa | series= General History of Africa|via={{abbr|UNESCO|United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation}} | volume= II | location = Paris/London/Berkeley, CA | publisher = UNESCO/Heinemann/University of California Press |  pages = 298–325, esp. 312f | isbn= 0435948059 | chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=gB6DcMU94GUC&pg=PA312 }}</ref> because of perceived vast production and trade of iron (a contention that is a matter of debate in modern scholarship).<ref name=HakemUNESCO/><!--NONE OF THIS WAS IN THE PURDUE SOURCE PRECEDING. ON SOURCING IT, FOUND THAT OUR ARTICLE TEXT WAS NOT ACCURATE, AT LEAST TO THIS UNESCO/SCHOLARLY SOURCE.-->{{dubious|date=January 2017}}

The centralized control of production within the Meroitic empire and distribution of certain crafts and manufactures may have been politically important with their iron industry and pottery crafts gaining the most significant attention. The Meroitic settlements were oriented in a savannah orientation with the varying of permanent and less permanent agricultural settlements can be attributed to the exploitation of rainlands and savannah-oriented forms of subsistence.<ref name="jstor183595"/>

At the time, iron was one of the most important metals worldwide, and Meroitic metalworkers were among the best in the world. Meroë traded ivory, slaves, rare skins, ostrich feathers, copper, and ebony.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Roland Oliver |author2=Brian M. Fagan |author1-link=Roland Oliver |author2-link=Brian M. Fagan |title=Africa in the Iron Age |date=1975 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=0521099005 |page=6 |quote=the urban wealth of Meroe came from its hunting, mining, and trading activities […] ivory, slaves, rare skins, ostrich feathers, gold, copper, and ebony}}</ref>  Meroë also exported [[textiles]] and [[jewelry]]. Their textiles were based on [[cotton]] and working on this product reached its highest achievement in Nubia around 400 BC. Furthermore, [[Nubia]] was very rich in [[gold]]. It is possible that the Egyptian word for [[Gold (hieroglyph)|gold]], ''nub'', was the source of name of [[Nubia]]. Trade in "exotic" animals from farther south in Africa was another feature of their economy.

Apart from the iron trade, pottery was a widespread and prominent industry in the Meroë kingdom. The production of fine and elaborately decorated wares was a strong tradition within the middle Nile. Such productions carried considerable social significance and are believed to be involved in mortuary rites. The long history of goods imported into the Meroitic empire and their subsequent distribution provides insight into the social and political workings of the Meroitic state. The major determinant of production was attributed to the availability of labor rather than the political power associated with land. Power was associated with control of people rather than control of territory.<ref name="jstor183595"/>

The [[sakia]], was used to move water, in conjunction with irrigation, to increase crop production.<ref name="BerneyRing1996">{{cite book|editor1-last=Berney|editor1-first=K. A.|editor2-last=Ring|editor2-first=Trudy |title=International Dictionary of Historic Places|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R44VRnNCzAYC&pg=PA506|volume=4: Middle East and Africa|year=1996|publisher=Fitzroy Dearborn|isbn=978-1-884964-03-9|page=506}}</ref>

At its peak, the rulers of Meroë controlled the Nile Valley north to south, over a straight-line distance of more than {{convert|1000|km|mi|abbr=on}}.<ref name="Adams1977">{{cite book|last=Adams|first=William Yewdale |title=Nubia: Corridor to Africa|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f84VAQAAIAAJ |year=1977 |publisher=[[Princeton University Press]] |isbn=978-0-691-09370-3 |page=302}}</ref>

The King of Meroë was an autocratic ruler who shared his authority only with the Queen Mother, or [[Kandake]]. However, the role of the Queen Mother remains obscure. The administration consisted of [[treasury|treasurers]], seal bearers, heads of [[archives]] and chief [[scribe]]s, among others.

Although the people of Meroë also had southern deities such as [[Apedemak]], the lion-son of [[Sekhmet]] (or [[Bast (mythology)|Bast]], depending upon the region), they also continued worshipping ancient Egyptian gods that they had brought with them. Among these deities were [[Amun]], [[Tefnut]], [[Horus]], [[Isis]], [[Thoth]] and [[Satet|Satis]], though to a lesser extent.

The collapse of their external trade with other Nile Valley states may be considered one of the prime causes of the decline of royal power and disintegration of the Meroitic state in the 3rd and 4th centuries AD.<ref name="jstor183595"/>

== Language ==
[[File:Stamp or thumb ring in the form of 3 cartouches (enclosing dot pattern). Each topped with 2 plumes and sun disc. Faience. From Meroe. Meroitic period. Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology.jpg|thumb|Stamp or thumb ring in the form of three cartouches (enclosing dot pattern). Each topped with two plumes and sun disc. Faience. From Meroë. Meroitic period. Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology]]
The [[Meroitic language]] was spoken in Meroë and the Sudan during the Meroitic period (attested from 300 BC). It became extinct around 400 AD. The language was written in two forms of the [[Meroitic alphabet]]: Meroitic Cursive, which was written with a [[stylus]] and was used for general record-keeping; and Meroitic Hieroglyphic, which was carved in stone or used for royal or religious documents. It is not well understood due to the scarcity of [[bilingual]] texts. The earliest inscription in Meroitic writing dates from between 180 and 170 BC. These hieroglyphics were found engraved on the temple of Queen [[Shanakdakhete]]. Meroitic Cursive is written horizontally, and reads from right to left like all Semitic orthographies.<ref name="Howf">{{cite book|last1=Fischer|first1=Steven Roger |title=History of Writing |year=2004 |publisher=Reaktion Books |isbn=1861895887 |pages=133–134 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iYMXnSko5QwC}}</ref>

By the 3rd century BC, a new indigenous [[alphabet]], the [[Meroitic alphabet|Meroitic]], consisting of twenty-three letters, replaced Egyptian script. The [[Meroitic script]] is an [[alphabetic]] script originally derived from Egyptian hieroglyphs, used to write the Meroitic language of the Kingdom of Kush. It was developed in the Napatan Period (c. 700 – 300 BC), and first appears in the 2nd century BC. For a time, it was also possibly used to write the [[Old Nubian language|Nubian language]] of the successor Nubian kingdoms.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk/nubia/mwriting.html |title="Meroe: Writing", ''Digital Egypt'', University College, London |publisher=Digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk |access-date=2012-09-06}}</ref>

It is uncertain to which language family the Meroitic language is related. Kirsty Rowan suggests that Meroitic, like the [[Egyptian language]], belongs to the [[Afroasiatic languages|Afro-Asiatic]] family. She bases this on its sound inventory and [[phonotactics]], which, she proposes, are similar to those of the Afro-Asiatic languages and dissimilar from those of the Nilo-Saharan languages.<ref name="Rowan2011">{{cite journal|last=Rowan|first= Kirsty |year=2011|title=Meroitic Consonant and Vowel Patterning|journal=Lingua Aegytia|volume= 19 |issue=19|pages= 115–124 |url=https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/12835/}}</ref><ref name="Rowan2006">{{cite journal |last=Rowan |first=Kirsty |year=2006 |url=http://www.soas.ac.uk/linguistics/research/workingpapers/volume-14/file37822.pdf |title=Meroitic – An Afroasiatic Language? |journal={{abbr|SOAS|School of Oriental and African Studies}} Working Papers in Linguistics |issue=14 |pages=169–206 |access-date=24 December 2014 |archive-date=27 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151227133051/http://www.soas.ac.uk/linguistics/research/workingpapers/volume-14/file37822.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> Claude Rilly, based on its syntax, morphology, and known vocabulary, proposes that Meroitic, like the [[Nobiin language]], instead belongs to the [[Eastern Sudanic languages|Eastern Sudanic]] branch of the [[Nilo-Saharan languages|Nilo-Saharan]] family.<ref name="RillyVoogt2012">{{cite book|last1=Rilly|first1=Claude |last2=de Voogt|first2=Alex |title=The Meroitic Language and Writing System|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mHdD_YojtaMC&pg=PA67|year=2012|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-107-00866-3|page=6}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last = Rilly | first = Claude | date = March 2004 | url = http://www.ddl.ish-lyon.cnrs.fr/projets/clhass/PageWeb/ressources/Isolats/Meroitic%20Rilly%202004.pdf| title = The Linguistic Position of Meroitic | work = ARKAMANI: Sudan Electronic Journal of Archaeology and Anthropology | access-date = 24 December 2014 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150923213222/http://www.ddl.ish-lyon.cnrs.fr/projets/clhass/PageWeb/ressources/Isolats/Meroitic%20Rilly%202004.pdf | archive-date = 23 September 2015 | url-status = dead }}</ref><ref name="Rilly2016">{{cite encyclopedia | last = Rilly | first = Claude | title = Meroitic | encyclopedia = UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology | date = June 2016 | editor1-first = Julie | editor1-last = Stauder-Porchet | editor2-first = Andréas | editor2-last = Stauder | editor3-first = Willeke | editor3-last = Wendrich | location = Los Angeles | publisher = University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) |url = https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3128r3sw }}</ref>

== Archaeology ==
{{main list|Pyramids of Meroë}}
[[File:Meroe pyramid field north.png|right|400px|thumb|Plan of the North pyramid field at Meroë.]]
The site of Meroë was brought to the knowledge of Europeans in 1821 by the French mineralogist [[Frédéric Cailliaud]] (1787–1869), who published an illustrated in-folio describing the ruins. His work included the first publication of the southernmost known Latin inscription.{{efn|{{CIL|03|83}}. This inscription was subsequently published by Lepsius, who brought the stone back to Berlin. Although thought lost, it was recently rediscovered in the [[Bode Museum|Skulpturensammlung und Museum für Byzantinische Kunst of the Staatliche Museen]] in Berlin<ref name="ŁajtarVliet2006">{{cite journal|first1=Adam|last1= Łajtar|first2=Jacques|last2= van der Vliet|jstor=20191127 |title=Rome-Meroe-Berlin. The Southernmost Latin Inscription Rediscovered ('CIL' III 83) |journal=Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik |volume= 157 |issue= 157 |pages= 193–198 |year=2006}}</ref> }}

As Margoliouth notes in the 1911 ''Encyclopedia Britannica'', small scale excavations occurred in 1834, led by [[Giuseppe Ferlini]],<ref name = 1911ebMargoliouth>{{Cite EB1911|wstitle= Meroe |volume= 18 |last= Margoliouth |first= David Samuel |author-link= David Samuel Margoliouth | page= 172 }}</ref> who, as Margoliouth states, "discovered (or professed to discover) various antiquities, chiefly in the form of jewelry, now in the museums of [[Berlin]] and [[Munich]]."<ref name = 1911ebMargoliouth/> Margoliouth continues,
{{blockquote|The ruins were examined in 1844 by [[Karl Richard Lepsius|C. R. Lepsius]], who brought many plans, sketches and copies, besides actual antiquities, to Berlin. Further excavations were carried on by [[E. A. Wallis Budge]] in the years 1902 and 1905, the results of which are recorded in his work, ''The Egyptian Sudan: its History and Monuments''…<ref name="Budge1907">{{cite book |last= Budge |first=E. A. Wallis |year=1907 |title=The Egyptian Sudan, its history and monuments |author-link=E. A. Wallis Budge |edition=1st |volume=2 |publisher= Kegan, Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co |location=London |url= https://archive.org/details/egyptiansudanits02budg }}</ref> Troops were furnished by Sir [[Reginald Wingate]], governor of the Sudan, who made paths to and between the pyramids, and sank shafts, &c. It was found that the pyramids were regularly built over sepulchral chambers, containing the remains of bodies either burned or buried without being mummified. The most interesting objects found were the reliefs on the chapel walls, already described by Lepsius, and containing the names with representations of queens and some kings, with some chapters of the [[Book of the Dead]]; some [[stela|steles]] with inscriptions in the Meroitic language, and some vessels of metal and earthenware. The best of the [[reliefs]] were taken down stone by stone in 1905, and set up partly in the [[British Museum]] and partly in the museum at [[Khartoum]]. In 1910, in consequence of a report by [[Archibald Sayce|Professor Archibald Sayce]], excavations were commenced in the mounds of the town and the necropolis by [[John Garstang|J[ohn] Garstang]] on behalf of the [[University of Liverpool]], and the ruins of a palace and several temples were discovered, built by the Meroite kings.<ref name = 1911ebMargoliouth/>}}

<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px" perrow="4">
File:Archaeological Sites of the Island of Meroe-114985.jpg|Column and elephant - part of temple complex in [[Musawwarat es-Sufra]]
File:Archaeological Sites of the Island of Meroe-114987.jpg|Roman Kiosk and [[Naqa#Temple of Apedemak|Apedemak Temple]] in [[Naqa]]
File:Archaeological Sites of the Island of Meroe-114991.jpg|Colonnade of rams in front of Amun-Ra temple in Naqa
</gallery>

== World Heritage listing ==
[[File:Meroe 9 October 2020.jpg|thumb|A modern satellite view of the region of Meroë (October 2020)]]
In June 2011, the Archeological Sites of Meroë were listed by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites.<ref name=UNESCO />

During the [[Sudanese civil war (2023–present)]] on 14 January 2024, the [[Sudanese Armed Forces]] launched airstrikes in the ancient Meroitic sites of [[Naqa]] and [[Musawwarat es-Sufra]], which are both designated [[UNESCO World Heritage Site]]s, following incursions there by the [[Rapid Support Forces]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=17 January 2024 |title=Sudan fighting spreads to World Heritage Site |url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20240117-sudan-fighting-spreads-to-world-heritage-site |access-date=15 January 2024 |website=France 24 |language=en}}</ref>

== See also ==
*[[Sedeinga pyramids]]
*[[List of modern names for biblical place names]]
*[[Kandake]]

== References ==
===Notes===
{{notelist}}

===Citations===
{{reflist}}

===Further reading===
*{{cite book |title=The Nubians: People of the ancient Nile |last=Bianchi |first=Steven |year=1994 |publisher=Millbrook Press |location=Brookfield, Conn. |isbn=1-56294-356-1 }}
*{{cite book |title=Africa, History of A Continent |last=Davidson |first=Basil |year=1966 |publisher=Weidenfeld & Nicolson |location=London |pages=41–58 }}
*{{cite book |title=Meroe, a civilization of Sudan |last=Shinnie |first=P. L. |year=1967 |publisher=Thames and Hudson |location=London/New York |series=Ancient People and Places |volume=55 }}

== External links ==
* {{Commons category-inline|Meroe|Meroë}}
* [http://www.learningsites.com/GebelBarkal-2/GB-index.htm LearningSites.com – Gebel Barkal]
* [https://whc.unesco.org/pg.cfm?cid=31&id_site=1073 UNESCO World Heritage – Gebel Barkal and the Sites of the Napatan Region]
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20060505094401/http://www.numibia.net/nubia/meroe.htm Nubia Museum – Meroitic Empire]}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140104162559/http://pharaons-noirs.fr/ Voyage au pays des pharaons noirs] Travel in Sudan and notes on Nubian history {{in lang|fr}}
* [https://www.roger-pearse.com/weblog/2016/12/15/a-labelled-map-of-the-north-pyramids-at-meroe-and-a-google-maps-satellite-view-on-a-phone/ Labelled map of the pyramids at Meroe]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXtm65vkfvo Sudan's forgotten pyramids – BBC News]
* [http://www.bis-ans-ende-der-welt.net/Reisen.htm?Tour=Sud-2007-Idx&Index=Me Pictures of Meroë] – An online slide show as part of a detailed travelogue (in German)

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