Kush vs. Rome: the forgotten war on the Nile (25 to 21 B.C.)

Most stories about Rome are about Rome winning. The war between Rome and the Kingdom of Kush is different. It lasted only a few years, around 25 to 21 B.C., but it ended with Augustus making concessions to an African kingdom he had never conquered.

Why it started

After Rome took Egypt in 30 B.C., its new frontier ran up against Kush at the First Cataract of the Nile, near Syene (Aswan). Rome pushed into the borderland known as Lower Nubia and expected tribute. Ancient writers say the Kushites resented Roman tax collectors. When much of the Roman garrison left Egypt for a campaign in Arabia, Kush saw its chance.

The raid on Syene

Kushite forces attacked Syene, Elephantine and Philae, defeated the Roman cohorts left behind, took prisoners and pulled down statues of Augustus. This is the moment Episode 2 of Kandake dramatizes.

Rome strikes back

Gaius Petronius, the prefect of Egypt, gathered an army and marched south. According to Strabo, he defeated the Kushites near Pselchis (Dakka), took the fortress of Primis (Qasr Ibrim) and pushed on to Napata, an old royal city of Kush, which he destroyed. Many captives were taken. Then he turned back, leaving a garrison at Primis rather than marching on Meroë, the real capital.

Kush strikes again

The war was not over. Kushite forces, led by the queen, advanced on Primis. Petronius got there first and held it. Both sides now had reasons to stop: Rome had stretched its supply lines down the Nile, and Kush had lost Napata.

The peace of Samos

Kushite envoys travelled to Augustus on the island of Samos around 21 to 20 B.C. Strabo reports that they obtained everything they asked for and that Augustus remitted the tribute. Rome kept a frontier zone in Lower Nubia, but Kush kept its independence, and the two powers traded peacefully for a long time afterwards.

Why it matters

The war shows Kush as a serious military and diplomatic power, able to raid Roman Egypt, survive a counterattack and negotiate on equal terms with the most powerful man in the Mediterranean. It also left behind one of the most famous objects in the British Museum: the bronze head of Augustus that Kush buried at Meroë.