Between 650 and 600 BCE, the kings of Kush continued to build great pyramids in their homeland and to proclaim themselves the true kings of Egypt. About 593 BCE, the new Egyptian king, Psammeticus II, became so angry that he invaded Nubia by surprise.
From preserved texts we know that most of his troops met and destroyed a Kushite army south of the Third Cataract. Another group probably marched across the Nubian Desert and launched an attack on Napata. The Egyptian troops destroyed the city and burned the king's palace and temples at Jebel Barkal. The ruling Kushite king, probably Aspelta (ca. 600-580 BCE), apparently escaped to Meroë for safety.
In 1996 archaeologists digging at Jebel Barkal partially excavated the burned ruins of Aspelta's palace.
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| Archaeologists found and excavated this ancient pit at Jebel Barkal in 1916. It contained the broken fragments of ten large statues of Kushite kings. The statues had once stood inside the great temple of Amun. Archaeologists think they were tipped over and broken deliberately by the Egyptians when they invaded Kush in 593 BCE and burned Napata. Then when the temple was restored, the workers carried the pieces outside and buried them in this pit. |
| Courtesy of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. |
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Colossal statue of King Aspelta, 3.5 meters tall (about 12 feet), found at Jebel Barkal. Aspelta was probably the Kushite king in whose reign the war with Egypt took place. Aspelta may have been planning to attack Egypt, but Psammeticus II invaded Kush first. The Egyptian king first defeated the Nubian army, and then marched on to Napata and burned the city. |
| Courtesy of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. |
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| Stone relief of a Kushite king from the Temple of Horus at Edfu. The king's face was probably destroyed on orders of Psammeticus II, after his victorious war against Kush in 593 BCE. |
| Photo: Courtesy of Gay Robins. |