The kingdom of Kerma was an African state located along the Nile River south of Egypt, on the edge of the ancient Middle Eastern world-system. It had complex and well-documented relations with Egypt—trade partner, military adversary, source of immigrants—from the late Old Kingdom (ca. 2300 BC) until its conquest by Egyptian armies at the beginning of the New Kingdom (ca. 1500 BC). The kingdom of Kerma also developed trade relations with regions further to the south and west, although these are much less well documented, and it mediated the exchange of products from inner Africa to Egypt and the broader Mediterranean and Middle East. This chapter summarizes the growth of the city of Kerma and the regional expansion of its culture and political control until its conquest by New Kingdom Egypt.
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