c. 747–656 BC Black Pharaohs of Kush who reunited Egypt and marched to oppose Sennacherib (Tirhakah)
The Nubian pharaohs of the Kingdom of Kush who conquered Egypt to establish the 25th Dynasty, reviving pyramid burials at Nuri, restoring temple cults, and deploying formidable military armies to confront the Assyrian Empire in Palestine.
Rigorous 4-part empirical analysis separating ancient text from bias and consensus
Temple inscriptions at Kawa and royal granite stelae depict Pharaoh Taharqa wearing the double uraeus crown of Egypt and Kush, detailing his military campaigns into the Levant to support anti-Assyrian revolts.
Directly corroborates 2 Kings 19:9 and Isaiah 37:9, where Sennacherib's siege of Jerusalem in 701 BC was disrupted by news that 'Tirhakah king of Cush has set out to fight against you.'
Kitchen and Macadam established that in 701 BC, Taharqa was crown prince and military general commanding the allied Egyptian-Kushite expeditionary force, later ascending the throne as Pharaoh in 690 BC, explaining why biblical authors proleptically refer to him as 'king'.
Royal Kushite piety celebrating the revival of ancient Amun worship and divine legitimacy over all Egypt and Nubia.