The Story of the World: History for the Classical Child, Volume 1: Ancient Times: From the Earliest Nomads to the Last Roman Emperor

by Susan Wise Bauer

For the next seven hundred years, the Nubians were ruled by the Egyptians. Slowly, they began to think of themselves as Egyptians. They learned the Egyptian language and followed the Egyptian religion, and obeyed the Egyptian pharaoh. The Egyptians began to respect them. And they gained power of their own in Egypt. One Nubian woman even became the queen of Egypt, when she married the pharaoh Amenhotep III! Her name was Queen Tiye. And Queen Tiye wasn’t the only Nubian who moved into the palaces of Egypt. Eventually, the Nubians who lived in Kush founded their own dynasty—and became pharaohs of Egypt themselves. So the Egyptians were also Africans. And the people of Africa brought their own stories, traditions, and skills into the Egyptian empire. When we read about the greatness of the Egyptians, we are also reading about the greatness of Africa.