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__//**The Ancient Civilization of Kush Essay**//__
The Kingdom of Kush was so grand a civilization that it was considered one of Africa's greatest. It is interesting to see how Kush became so glorious and what caused it decline. Kush’s glory as a civilization was mainly because they were very rich in resources, from the unique minerals, and gold and gems of the vast deserts to the spices, rare woods, and animals found in the fertile land along the Nile River. __Kush-Georaphy__ (< [].>), Oct 10 1999 They remained a great kingdom for a while thanks to their geography and to the resources of the land that kept them going. The reason for their sour fall was the same reason for their rise: they had resources and depended on Egypt too much for their income. __I think that we can relate to and learn a great deal from the glory and decline of the Kingdom of Kush.__

From the beginning, Kush has depended on their resources to stay alive. Later on when the civilization developed into the Kingdom of Kush, they became very involved in trade. Their main economy drive was based on this huge trade system, which they ran, and Egypt’s dependency on their vast resources. Most of the money from this trade went to the government who spent it on building magnificent palaces, leaving the individual Kushite people poor Shillington, Kevin. __History of Africa pg43.__([|http://wysinger.homestead.com/nubainpolitics.html.)], 1995 I believe that Kush left a pretty powerful eco-logical foot- print. They destroyed much of their land keeping up wit Egypt’s demand of products. They exploited the Eastern desert for gold copper and gems, exported products from the Red Sea, both sides of the Nile were mined for precious stones, and many once verdant forests were cut down for lumber and charcoal (< [].>), Oct 10 1999.

One of the reasons why Kush was able to sustain for such a long while was thanks to its geography with the Nile River flowing through its middle. Fishing and much agriculture was possible to provide the Kushites with an annual produce that helped them survive and make a decent living. The agriculture that resulted from the annual floodplain was also very diverse and unique to Egypt, who imported much of its fruits and vegetables (<[].>), Oct. 10 1999. They were very lucky to have land beside the demanding Egypt and were able to control many of the trade routes in Kush from all over Africa. The land Kush inhabited was a huge benefit to them because it had the resources they depended on for trade for thousands of years.

I believe that the reason for Kush’s decline is directly linked to their reliance on the income brought to them by trade. When in 20 BCE, Rome-controlled Egypt had a collapse; Kush’s trade market went straight down, causing its source of income to take a real turn (Service, Pamela F. __The Ancient African Kingdom of Kush__. Tarrytown, New York: Marshall Cavendish Corporation, 1998.) For a long time Kush was seen as a threatening, powerful, rich society, and this constant fierceness kept many other civilizations away for a surprisingly long time. Because of the sudden downfall in its economy, Kush had nothing to hang onto and was very vulnerable to attack. Kush was later attacked and conquered by a civilization in the East called Axum. If Kush had a variety of sources of income, they wouldn’t of been in such a dire situation and might of lived off something else for a while. I believe that a similar event would of happened if Canada would of considered investing their economy like America did in 1 system of banks (ex. RBC), who put all their money in one bank and when they had a recession, they were bankrupt.

The Kingdom of Kush is certainly going to be remembered for their fierce trade and kingdom that grew upon it but definitely not so much for their train of thought and tactics. We can surely compare Kush to the real world today and learn from its legacy as a nation in the right place at the right time. We should learn not to depend on one system for our income and be an independent, strong nation that fought for our place and used their resources in a smart, eco-friendly way.