The splendor of Meroe, Capital of the Meroitic Kingdom

Meroe is situated about 150 mi south of Napata, in a strategic location connected to trade routes to the Red Sea, Ethiopia, and other areas to the south. Initially the capital of the Kushite kingdom after the destruction of Napata, it later became the heart of the Meroitic kingdom, which was renowned in the ancient world (ca. 250 BCE-350 CE). Meroe is well known for several important features, such as a royal wall city, a palace, temples and other religious structures for the Egyptian gods Amun and Isis, the Nubian war god Apedemak, and the Greek god of wine, festivity and fertility Dionysus, industrial areas for making pottery and iron artifacts, and several large cemeteries, some of which were already in use during the Napatan era. Three royal cemeteries at Meroe’s district of Begarawiya included both mastaba-like and pyramid tombs. The latter were smaller and steeper versions of Egyptian pyramids. They had underground burial chambers and funerary chapels on their eastern sides. Check the map on the right for the location of Meroe, and scan the QR code nearby to see a 3D reconstruction of Meroe's monuments!