The first exhibition devoted exclusively to Meroe, a kingdom of the ancient Sudan known for its legendary capital and the pyramids of its famous necropolis, endeavors to present a majestic and enigmatic civilization that developed on the banks of the Nile between 270 BC and AD 350. Cultural heir to Pharaonic Egypt, caught up in the Eastern Mediterranean trade networks, this kingdom is an example of a successful cultural amalgam that nevertheless retained its African identity.

Two hundred artifacts will be exhibited at the Musée du Louvre, including treasures from the Louvre and other museums of international renown, along with a hundred or so artifacts from the national museum of Sudan in Khartoum, specially restored for the occasion: glassware, faience and earthenware, jewelry, sculptures, relief work, and seals. Such an exhibition was made possible in the light of further knowledge gained on this kingdom through recent digs carried out by the Louvre in Sudan.

The accompanying catalog, beautifully illustrated and written by the top specialists in the field, also serves as a reference book on the subject and the first of its kind in French.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Discovering Meroe: from ancient authors to archaeologists

2. History and identity of an African empire

3. Meroitic civilization: the material aspects of a culture

4. The writing and language of Meroe

5. The Meroitic royalty

6. City, temple, and palace

7. Necropolises, tombs, and beyond

8. The gods of Meroe

9. Conclusion - The end of Meroe