MeroeLF


 * THE GOLDEN AGE OF MEROE**

Meroe lay closer to the Red Sea than Napata did, and so became active in the flourishing trade amoung Africa, Arabia, and India. Kush used the natural resources around Meroe and thrived for several years. Unlike Egypt, Meroe enjoyed significant rainfall and boasted abundant supplies of iron ore. As a result Meroe became a major center for the manufacture of iron and tools. They transported there goods to the Red Sea, where they exchanged these goods for jewelry, fine cotton cloth, silver lamps, and glass bottles. As the mineral wealth of the central Nile Valley flowed out of Meroe, luxury goods from India and Arabia flowed in. After four centuries of prosperity, Meroe began to decline.