Napata

This entry provides an overview of the geography and history of the ancient Nubian city of Napata, in northern Sudan, from its foundation early in the Egyptian New Kingdom to the late Meroitic period (ca. 1500 bce –300 ce ). It also explains how the religious significance attributed to the town's major landmark, Jebel Barkal, gave rise to a royal myth that initially allowed the pharaohs to justify their rule of Nubia (Kush) but centuries later, allowed a native Kushite dynasty to emerge at Napata and to justify its rule of Egypt as its 25th Dynasty. The same beliefs would drive the Meroitic kingship of Kush in Sudan for almost another millennium.