Meröe

Meröe, also spelled Meroë, is an ancient city on the east bank of the Nile in present-day Sudan. It was the capital of the Kingdom of Kush after Napata and flourished from approximately the 8th century BCE to the 4th century CE. The site lies near the modern town of Shendi, at the northern edge of the Nubian region, close to the Fourth Cataract of the Nile.

Meröe developed as a major political, religious and commercial center. The city is best known for its royal necropolis, which contains more than 200 pyramids built for Kushite kings and nobles. Unlike the Egyptian pyramids, these are relatively small, with steep sides, and arranged in three main cemeteries around the ceremonial core. The region also produced iron and other metal goods, and the surrounding industrial zone contains furnaces and slag heaps indicating intensive ironworking.

Nubian and Kushite culture left a distinctive architectural and artistic record at Meröe, including temples and inscriptions in the Meroitic script and language. The city served as a religious center during its peak, with temples dedicated to Kushite deities such as Amun.

Decline came in the late antique period, around the 4th century CE, due to factors including climate change, shifting trade routes, and pressure from Axumite expansion, after which Meröe gradually lost political prominence.

Today Meröe is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and an important archaeological site. Preservation efforts seek to protect the pyramids from erosion and looting, while research continues to illuminate Kushite history and the role of Meröe in ancient Nubia.