Some African History from 1000-750BC

Temple of Amun from Kush

This is a quick overview of African history from the year 1000BC to the year 750BC. Due to the nature of the sources it will be rather focused on Egypt. This is unfortunate, but somewhat inevitable, as Egypt is the one of the best documented places in the world at this time.

Outside of Egypt there were sophisticated cultures in Nubia/Kush and Punt, although Nubia had been subjugated by the Egyptian state during much of the New Kingdom period in Egypt and Punt seems to have faded into obscurity. The lower edge of the Sahara had seen the development of agriculture, although there is no record of extensive bronze metalworking from this period. This is to be expected as tin was very scarce in the ancient world and there were no easy trade routes past the Sahara at this time.

Further south of the equator humans still lived as hunter-gatherers, as their distant ancestors had done for millennia. This was more to do with the sophistication of their hunting techniques than anything else. Unlike other parts of the world they had not had the need to develop agriculture and their culture was perfectly adapted to its surroundings. However, if farming groups were to arrive in the area from outside, this would change the balance of the environment and tip the scales in favour of the agricultural groups.

Nok culture terracotta sculpture

The Nok culture was beginning to thrive around this time, in what is now the country of Nigeria. Meanwhile the speakers of Bantu languages had already begun the process of expansion that would see their languages spread over most of sub-Saharan Africa. The Bantu speakers had already reached the rainforests of the Congo Basin and the Ugandan highlands around this time, but it is hard to know the exact spread of this language family at this time.

Around the year 1000BC the kingdom of Kush had once again broken free of Egypt. We know very little of their rulers or politics at this time, but they seem to have been free once more as Egypt became weaker. In Libya, with the power of the Egyptians waning, the local tribes seem to have become independent and to have taken control of the oases, as well as having more and more influence in the Delta region of Lower Egypt. These tribes are sometimes spoken of as ancestors of the later Garamantes people, but the name for the ethnic group that the Egyptians used was “Meshwesh”.

Further south in Africa, it seems likely that speakers of the eastern Bantu languages had reached what is now Uganda by around this time. These dates should be treated as extremely approximate, as they are based on linguistic reconstructions.

Far to the west, the Canary Islands were possibly settled by this time. Perhaps this settlement was by a group of people known as the Guanches, who were later known in classical antiquity. Perhaps the settlement was by an entirely different group of people who were wiped out by later groups arriving on the islands.

Bubastite Portal of Shoshenq I

Around the year 943BC, Shoshenq, a Libyan chieftain of the Meshwesh tribe took control of Lower Egypt and declared himself to be the new Pharaoh. This was not as the result of a foreign invasion, but was more akin to a palace coup. Shoshenq was already the lead adviser and chief general of the armies of Egypt. When the king died, it made sense for the person who actually held the reins of power to take on the reigning of the state.

Shoshenq I declared a new Dynasty, the 22nd Dynasty of Egypt, and his accession to the throne is generally seen as the ending of the New Kingdom Period in Egypt, and the beginning of the Third Intermediate Period. Shoshenq I built great monuments in Egypt and led an expedition into the lands of Canaan, which was the first such expedition in many long years. Shoshenq is usually said to be the same person as the Biblical Shishak and thus

However, this projection of power into the Levant appears to have been brief. Shoshenq’s successors do not seem to have maintained more than a trading presence in Canaan and the Levant and the New Kingdom Empire in the region was not restored.

Make to triumph, Shoshenq, triumphant, the great chief of Ma, chief of chiefs, the great … and all who are before thee …, all the troops …."
Said to him, Amon-Re, king of gods: "… I will do … for thee, thou shalt attain old age, abiding on earth; thy heir shall be upon thy throne forever."
Endowment Stela of Shoshenq I, written circa 930BC

Remains of Temple of Amun in Kush

Around the year 900 the Nok Culture in what is now the region of Central Nigeria seems to have become much wealthier. It is possible that the Nok craftsmen had mastered iron-working at this time, but this is not confirmed. The Nok now began creating high-quality terracotta figurines, which are still highly sought after by museums around the world. Sadly, conflict in the area currently has led to many of these figurines being looted and removed from their archaeological context.

Also around this time, the kingdom of D’mt was founded in what is now the Eritrean/Ethiopian region. It seems to have close connections with the Sabaean kingdoms in southern Arabia and there was much trade across the Red Sea between the coasts of present-day Yemen and Eritrea.

Despite the Arabian influence, it does seem that the kingdom of D’mt was a truly African state. Their iconography and writing systems derive from the Arabian Peninsula, but were interpreted in different ways in the African context. The capital of this kingdom was probably at the city of Yeha in present-day northern Ethiopia.

Around the year 837 the 23rd Dynasty of Egypt was founded by the Libyan Meshwesh princes. It ruled concurrently with the 22nd Dynasty that ruled from Tanis. The 23rd Dynasty was a much more unstable dynasty and was almost perpetually engaged in civil wars. They ruled from the cities of Thebes and Herakleopolis in Upper Egypt where they also had power struggles with the powerful priests of Amun in the city of Thebes.

Turner painting of Carthage

Around the year 800, the cities of Utica and Carthage were founded by Phoenician colonists on the coast of what is now present-day Tunisia. It is probable that Utica was the older of the two colonies, perhaps by as much as a century. There are a number of traditions about the foundation of Carthage, but these stem from much later and are from the Greeks and Romans rather than the Carthaginians themselves.

It is said that Carthage was founded by Dido who was fleeing from her brother, King Pygmalion of Tyre. There are many legendary accounts of her falling in love with the Trojan hero Aeneas, but these are from the much, much later Aeneid of Virgil and do not match any chronologies. Carthage would go on to be the preeminent Phoenician settlement in the western Mediterranean. In times to come it would far surpass the wealth and power of Tyre and Sidon themselves.

Statue of Osorkon I

Also around the year 800 the Kingdom of Kush, which lay along the Nile to the south of the lands of Egypt grew in power. Their king was said to be Alara, who was succeeded by Kashta. By the time of Kashta, perhaps around 770, the factions and petty rulers of Upper Egypt were beginning to be subjugated by the Kushites and brought under their hegemony. The Kushite rulers saw themselves as the guardians of true Egyptian traditions and opposed to the Libyan customs of the Meshwesh rulers of Egypt. They built a large temple of Amun at Jebel Barkal in present-day Sudan and their capital was probably at the city of Napata nearby. Their royalty were buried in tumuli in the cemetery of El-Kurru near to the city of Napata.

And thus the period ends, with Kingdom of Kush encroaching on the southern regions of a divided Egypt, Phoenician cities being founded on the northern coastlands of Tunisia, a Sabaean influenced kingdom growing in east Africa and terracotta production in the lands of the Nok culture on the Niger River. Only in Egypt do we have written records for this time period, even the Kushite records do not seem to say much of this time period and kings such as Alara and Kashta must be inferred from the records of their successors. The kingdom of D’mt does not seem to have been using writing at this point, although it did later. The records of Carthage come from later times and are generally from Greek and Roman sources. Nevertheless it is clear that much was happening on the continent of Africa during this quarter millennium.

Bubastite Portal at Karnak

Primary Sources:
Endowment Stela of Shoshenq I, written circa 930BC

Related Blog Posts:
Some African History from 4000-3000BC
Some African History from 3000-2000BC
Some African History from 2000-1500BC
Some African History from 1500-1000BC
Some African History from 1000-750BC
Some African History from 750-500BC