Monuments of the Ancient Kushites

Alice C. Linsley

The King Lists of Genesis tell a fascinating story of the succession of rulers from their Proto-Saharan ancestors to the time of Abraham. The marriage and ascendancy pattern of these ruling families drove dispersion into Syria, Anatolia, India and beyond. Some sons were sent away to establish territories of their own. These rulers are ethnically Kushite.

The connection of these rulers to ancient Kush is confirmed by Genesis 10:6-8 which tells us that Ham's son Kush had two first-born sons: Ramah and Nimrod. Ramah's territory was in Arabia. His two first-born sons were Dedan and Sheba. These ruling houses intermarried. The ruling houses of Dedan and Sheba were aligned with the Horite rulers of Edom. The Dedanite and Edomite ruling lines intermarried.

Nimrod's territory was in the Tigris-Euphrates Valley. His first-born son by his cousin bride was Asshur the Younger, named after Shem's son, Asshur the Elder. To understand how Abraham is a descendant of Nimrod, study the diagram below.

Nimrod is a Nilotic title. It means "ruler over all the waters." His Akkadian name was Šarru-kīnu, which is usually translated “the true king.” He is described as a warrior-hunter or a mighty hunter. The term is related to the Hausa sarkin maharba, meaning chief or lead hunter. Sar means king in Sumerian. Sar-gon means high king or king of kings.  In the Targum nah shirkan refers to a great hunter.

The "mighty men of old" (Gen. 6:4) are called "nephilim" which comes from npyl in Aramaic, meaning "great one" and is equivalent to nfy in Arabic, meaning hunter.

The archaic rulers controlled the major water systems such as Lake Chad, the Nile and the Tigris and Euphrates. A shrine associated with Seth (Kain's brother) called Ka-ta-seti (Sanam) connected Gebel Barkal and Meroe, and was one of the important ports of the river trade that extended from ancient Nubia to the Orontes in Turkey. That is why there are two sites named "Meroe." The best known is Meroe of Nubia. The lesser known was built on the precipice of Mt. Silpius. This is Meroe overlooking the Orontes.

Genesis refers to these rulers as the "mighty men of old" because they controlled the major water systems and the high places. They dispersed into Southern Europe and the Hindu Kush, a melting pot of ancient peoples. They likely controlled commerce through the Pamir Junction. These were aggressive kingdom builders who regarded themselves as divinely appointed to disperse and subdue the earth. Later rulers, such as Alexander the Great, sought the same divine legitimacy.

Alexander the Great sought such validation for this conquests from the oracle of Amun-Ra at the Siwa shrine in the Libyan Desert. This coin shows his image with the ram horns associated with Amun-Ra.

Monuments and pyramids

The archaic rulers built monuments throughout the ancient Afro-Asiatic Dominion like these at Jebel Barkal in ancient Nubia (Upper Nile Valley). 

Standing stones at the temple of Amun at Mount Barkal

The ancient Nilo-Saharan kings built fortified shrine cities and pyramids. Pyramids built near the city of Karima in Sudan date to the eighth century BC.  The word "Karima" refers to a rock shelter or fortified elevated shrine city. Likewise, the word "Karnak" (spelled "Carnak" in Brittany) refers to a rock shelter or enclosure of standing stones where religious rites were performed such as circumcision and the removal of teeth - naak. Similar standing stones have been found in the Judean higher elevations.

At Mount Barkal the rulers constructed a shrine city with a temple dedicated to the Creator Amun-Ra. Other Amun sanctuaries were constructed at Kawa (Gematen) and at Sanam.

Relief of Amun-Ra, temple of Amun at Kawa, in Ancient Nubia

Amun-Ra is the Creator whose solar emblem rises and sets each day. This speaks of the resurrection of the dead ruler, an expectation of Abraham's Habiru (Hebrew) people. This is the meaning behind the narrative of Abraham with his son on Mount Moriah. The son of Ra was Horus. Horus was called the Lamb in his weaker (kenotic) existence and he was called the Ram in his glorified strength. Both lamb and ram are associated with the resurrection symbolism of the vernal equinox.

The oldest known temple (c. 5000 BC) to have association with Abraham's ancestors is the predynastic temple at Nekhen (Greek Hierakonpolis). The temple was located on the Nile, making it easier for temple officials to weigh and measure goods and assess tolls on the vessels that docked there. Many artifacts of great importance have been found at Nekhen. These include funeral masks, statues, jewelry, beer vats, large flint knives, and the pillared halls characteristic of later Egyptian monuments and temples. Nekhen is where the oldest life-sized human statue was found: a priest from the temple of Horus, c.3000 BC.

An intriguing discovery at Nekhen involves the recovery of a beard associated with the redheaded man in Burial no. 79. The presence of long wavy natural red hair and a full beard suggests that this ruler was in Haplogroup R1b. It appears that the "red" features were found widely among archaic rulers. The Bible associates the red feature with the Horite rulers of Edom, like Esau, and with David who had Edomite blood.

Noah controlled the region around Lake Chad - the "Land of Noah" or "Bor-no" - which is also one of the hot spots of the R1b rulers as shown on this map at the southernmost dark red dot.

The ancient stone monuments and sacred circles of the British Isles were likely the work of the R1b stone workers and mining experts who arrived there between 8000 and 4000 BC.  Genetic research indicates that about 70% of British men are in Haplogroup R1b.

Related reading: Kushite Shrines; The High Places; The Nubian Context of YHWH; Stone Work of the Ancient World; The Religion of the Archaic Rulers; Sent-Away Sons; Dispersion of the Archaic Rulers; Abraham and the Hittites; Circumcision and Standing Stones in the Judean Hills; INDEX of Topics at Just Genesis