"Kushite Conversations" Now Available!
Hardcore History Addendum #31 deals with the ancient Kushite Civilization in Northeast Africa
We've just released a Hardcore History Addendum where I speak with journalist and broadcaster Zeinab Badawi about her new book (in the USA) that deals with the history of Africa. It a great book and covers the history of that continent from prehistoric times to relatively recently. I have to admit though, to bringing Ms. Badawi on the show for my own selfish reasons.
I've long wanted to do some sort of Hardcore History presentation about the ancient kingdom of Kush. Geographically-speaking, Kush was the area directly south of Egypt. Its ancient territory is now in the modern nation of Sudan. The Nile flowed through the territory of the Kushites just as it did through Egypt and the two societies were linked by the river.
Kush lasted as a regional power for millennia and during its existence interacted with many of the other great civilizations in the ancient world. Pharaonic Egypt is the most prominent of these, which isn't surprising since Egypt and Kush were next door neighbors and their relationship has been intertwined over the eras. The ancient Greeks knew of Kush as well, referring to it as “Ethiopia” (not to be confused the the modern nation of the same name). It was militarily important in Northeast Africa for thousands of years and clashed with Egyptians, Assyrians, Persians, Ptolemaics (descendants of one of Alexander the Great's generals) and Romans (among others). During the high water mark of its imperial expansion the kings of Kush conquered and ruled Egypt for nearly a century (the 25th Dynasty of Egypt) and during that era they interacted with the biblical-era kingdom of Judah and fought against the Assyrians when Assyria was at the height of her military dominance.
Kush has been an interest of mine since the early 1980s but it's been hard to find a way to craft a show around it. Eventually I decided the best way to approach the Kushites was to talk to a knowledgeable guest about the subject. But that too proved easier said than done. Until now.
The chance to talk to Zeinab Badawi fell into our lap. She's releasing the American version of her very successful book An African History of Africa: From the Dawn of Humanity to Independence and it has a nice section specifically dealing with ancient Kush. So, with many apologies for focusing inordinately on something that was a mere section of her work, we dove into the subject matter and she handled it all wonderfully.
Enjoy!
Link to the show:
Hardcore History #31 "Kushite Conversations"
Want more? Link to Zeinab Badawi’s BBC-TV program about the kingdom of Kush: Kingdom of Kush - History Of Africa with Zeinab Badawi [Episode 4]