In 701 B.C. the Assyrian empire was in its ascendancy. It had already vanquished the kingdom of Israel to the north including the capital at Samaria. It then prepared an assault on Judah and its capital at Jerusalem.
But in one of those significant events that changes the course of world history, Assyria was repelled. Jerusalem was saved until 586 B.C. when the Babylonians sacked the city, forcing its leadership class into exile.
Henry Aubin, in a major feat of scholarship, determines that Jerusalem was aided by a Kushite army from Africa which had marched northeast from the Nile valley. While the Bible attributes the Assyrian retreat to an angel and secular commentators cite pestilence, Aubin, in a meticulously documented work, demonstrates that an alliance with the African nation of Kush bolstered Jerusalem’s defences.
Kush, also known as Nubia, was located in what is now southern Egypt and northern Sudan. A monarchy that existed for more than 1000 years, from 900 B.C. to A.D. 350, Kushites held sway over Egypt from 712 B.C. to about 660 B.C. Of Egypt’s 31 dynasties, this, the 25th Dynasty, is the only one that all scholars agree, was black.
The commander of the Kushite expeditionary force was Taharqa (or as the Bible calls him Tirhakah). This Kushite prince, who had his own interests in halting Assyrian expansion, likely caught the aggressors by surprise as they prepared their siege of Jerusalem.
Aubin offers a thrilling military history and a stirring political analysis of the ancient world. He also sees the event as influential over the centuries.
The Kushite rescue of the Hebrew kingdom of Judah enabled the fragile, war-ravaged state to endure, to nurse itself back to economic and demographic health, and allowed the Hebrew religion, Yahwism, to evolve within the next several centuries into Judaism. Thus emerged the monotheistic trunk supporting Christianity and Islam.
Henry T. Aubin, a Harvard graduate and former Washington Post reporter, is a columnist at the Montreal Gazette, where he has won three National Newspaper Awards. He is the author of acclaimed non-fiction book for adults on the Kushites, Rescue of Jerusalem: The Alliance Between Hebrews and Africans in 701 B.C.
Rise of the Golden Cobra is his first work for young readers.
“Aubin keeps the pages turning… This is a well-crafted and intriguing adventure that exposes students to a different world, even as it offers them danger, excitement, and the opportunity to ponder serious moral issues.”
School Library Journal (U.S.)
“Bursting with action, political intrigue and military strategy in enticing historical detail,… This is an epic adventure for young adult readers.”
CanLit for Teens
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Awards:
2008 Nautilus Book Awards Silver Winner
Children’s Africana Book Awards 2008 Honour Book for Older Readers
World Rights /Annick Books
Rise of the Golden Cobra
A quest for revenge on the battlefields of ancient Egypt
Though only 14, Nebi is caught up in events that will shape his country’s future. When his master is brutally slain, he barely escapes into the desert. As the sole survivor of the treacherous attack, Nebi knows that only one man can stave off the destruction of this great civilization. That man is Piankhy, ruler of the African kingdom of Kush. In desperation, Nebi flees to this remote but powerful king.
Set in the eighth century BCE, this epic adventure dramatizes the true story of King Piankhy’s command of one of the biggest military campaigns in Egypt’s history.
Through Nebi’s eyes, this world of furious ground battle, ship-to-ship combat, and cities under siege come to life. But another struggle is raging in the young man’s heart: Should he seek revenge against his murderous personal enemy, Count Nimlot? Or should he forgive him his terrible crimes?
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