In the 8th century BC, a powerful kingdom arose in northern Sudan named Kush. Conquering Egypt, its kings ruled the Nile Valley, including Egypt and northern Sudan.
In the 8th century BCE, Kushite rulers were crowned as Kings of Egypt, ruling a combined Nubian and Egyptian kingdom as pharaohs of Egypt’s 25th Dynasty. Those Kushite kings are commonly referred to as the “Black Pharaohs”.
From Egyptian art, we know that people were depicted with reddish, olive, or yellow skin tones. The Sphinx has been described as having Nubian or sub-Saharan features. And from literature, Greek writers like Herodotus and Aristotle referred to Egyptians as having dark skin.
Hollywood likes to pretend that ancient Egypt was full of white people but in reality they were with dark complexion. The Question of Race in ancient Egypt is still a disputed terrain.
The Nubian king Piye became the first of a succession of five “black pharaohs” who ruled Egypt for six decades.
The most prominent were Pharaoh Kashta from 760 to 747 BC, Shabaka from 712 to 698 BC, Tarharqa from 690 to 644 BCE, Tantamani from 664 to 657 BCE ,who was Last Pharaoh of the 25th Dynasty.
The Black Pharaoh Shebitku conquered the entire Nile Valley, including Upper and Lower Egypt, around 712 BC. Later Pharaoh Shabaka was a ruler of Egypt under the empire of Kush . In 690 BC, Taharqa was crowned in Memphis and ruled Upper and Lower Egypt as Pharaoh.
Further reading and suggested videos:
The Black Pharaohs: Egypt’s Nubian Rulers – Robert Morkot – Google Books
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