{"database": "deitydb", "table": "periods", "rows": [["PER_MER_NAPATAN_MEROITIC", "Meroitic", "Napatan\u2013Meroitic Kingdom of Kush", -750, 350, "The period of the Kingdom of Kush during which the Meroitic religious tradition reached its fullest development, spanning the Napatan phase (c. 750\u2013270 BCE, centered on Napata and the Nile Fourth Cataract region) through the Meroitic phase (c. 270 BCE \u2013 350 CE, centered on Meroe between the Fifth and Sixth Cataracts, in modern Sudan). The Napatan rulers conquered Egypt in the 25th Dynasty (747\u2013656 BCE) and maintained Egyptian religious forms before returning south and developing a more distinctly Meroitic cultic tradition. The Meroitic phase sees the construction of the great indigenous temples: the Lion Temple at Musawwarat es-Sufra (principal cult center of Apedemak, c. 270 BCE), the Lion Temple at Naga (Natakamani and Amanitore, c. 1\u201320 CE), and the temple of Mandulis at Kalabsha (rebuilt under Augustus, c. 20 BCE). The Meroitic script (both hieroglyphic and cursive forms) was developed in this period; Meroitic remains substantially undeciphered as a language, so the religious evidence depends heavily on the relief programs and the Greek/Demotic dedications found at cult centers. The kingdom's end is conventionally placed c. 350 CE, though regional successor states (the Noba kingdoms) carried elements of the tradition forward. T\u00f6r\u00f6k (1997) is the standard handbook; \u017dabkar (1975) covers Apedemak in depth."]], "columns": ["period_id", "tradition", "period_name", "start_year", "end_year", "notes"], "primary_keys": ["period_id"], "primary_key_values": ["PER_MER_NAPATAN_MEROITIC"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 72.99968500046816, "source": "jebboone/deitydb", "source_url": "https://github.com/jebboone/deitydb", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT"}