Kushite Civil War

The Kushite Civil War was a short civil was in Kush during the OFK-EC War, immediately following the assassination of the Kushite qore Taharqa. It was fought between Harsiotef, Taharqa's brother who had secretly aligned himself with Egypt and the OFK, and Taharqa's wife Benemba, with her young son Nassor, who wanted to remain in the EC and continue fighting Egypt.
Once Taharqa was assassinated on 26 Peret I, an unofficial ceasefire began between Egypt and Kush, as the Egyptians wanted to recover and the Kushites were fighting on who would become their new leader. However, the Egyptian army secretly supported Harsiotef to help him win the civil war faster. When the war began, Harsiotef assumed control of the former capital Kerma and everything south of it, while Benemba took Chenem-Waset and the surrounding areas. Yet with less area and fewer supporters, as well as no possible supply routes from the EC, Benemba was quickly defeated by Harsiotef. Chenem-Waset was once again put under siege, though this time the Kushites were fighting other Kushites, and fell in a couple of weeks. Harsiotef did not face much resistance afterwards, as he allowed Benemba and Nassor to live, though under lockdown at home and strict surveillance, and pardoned most of the soldiers who had been fighting on her side, welcoming them in his own army, which greatly increased his popularity.
After reunifying Kush, Harsiotef formally left the EC and denounced the faction while furthering ties with the OFK and arguing to his subjects that joining it would be the better move. Eventually in 75 AEE Harsiotef did join the war on OFK's side, though did not send many troops to the front, as he was busy with the rebuilding of his realm, though this still freed up Egyptian troops who had been fighting in Kush. After the end of the war, in 76 AEE, Kush would become part of the Commonwealth of Kemet, Kush, and Retjenu, as a direct result of the outcome of this civil war.
Category:Egypt
Category:Kush
Category:Wars
Category:OFK-EC War
Category:The March of Deshret