In the absence of written records from Kerma, our perceptions of 'Nubia' during this period have of course been greatly influenced by Egyptian historical records. They, however, only tell half the story of the frontier wars and the gradual colonisation of Lower Nubia. Following the collapse the Egyptian New Kingdom, by the early first millennium BC the kingdom of Kush re-emerged in its own right as a great power in the Middle Nile. Between 712-657 BCE, Sudanese kings conquered and ruled Egypt, as the XXVth Dynasty. With its original core in the Dongola Reach, by about 400 BC the centre of the kingdom had shifted south to the Meroe region in central Sudan.
Great cemeteries marked by pyramids mark the burials of the kings and queens.
Located on the northern margins of the Sudanic savannah lands, Meroe exploited substantial areas away from the Nile. Many Meroitic sites are known from the Western Butana - south of Meroe, northeast of modern Khartoum. This remarkable temple is at Musawwarat es Sofra, an enigmatic complex of temples and enclosures - probably a pilgrimage centre. The famous 'kiosk' at Naqa, also in the western Butana, again reflects the use of northern architectural styles by the Meroites. In the Meroitic period the potential for cultivation, grazing and hunting was probably considerable.