City, ancient Kush , northeastern Africa.
Situated on the eastern bank of the Nile River , north of modern Kabūshiyyah, Sudan, it was the southern administrative centre for the kingdom of Kush, beginning с 750 BC. After the sack of Napata (с 590), it became the capital of the kingdom. It included the region between the Nile and Atbara rivers, where the Meroitic language developed. It survived a Roman invasion but fell to Aksumite armies in the 4th century AD. The ruins of its temples and palaces still exist near Kabūshiyyah.