Ancient site · City
Kerma
Capital of the first great kingdom of Nubia, beside the Nile in northern Sudan. Its centre was the Western Deffufa, a massive mudbrick temple that still towers over the ruins.
In the great cemetery to the east, rulers were buried under round mounds with cattle skulls and, in later periods, sacrificed people. At its peak, about 1750–1500 BCE, Kerma was a rival of Egypt, until the armies of Thutmose I campaigned south and destroyed it.
- Dates
- c. 2500–1500 BCE
- Still standing
- Yes
- Location
- 19.60° N, 30.41° E
How we know
The Kerma people left no writing of their own; we know them from excavation and from Egyptian records that call their land Kush.
Nearby sites
- Nabta Playa c. 7500–3500 BCE; stone circle 5th millennium BCE
- Abu Simbel temples c. 1264–1244 BCE
- Meroë c. 800 BCE – 350 CE; royal pyramids c. 300 BCE – 350 CE
- Hierakonpolis (Nekhen) c. 4000–2686 BCE (main period)
- Luxor Temple c. 1400 BCE to Roman times
- Karnak Temple Complex c. 1970 BCE to Roman times
Related
- Kerma culture (Kingdom of Kerma) archaeological culture
- The world in 3000 BCE: The First Kings chapter