<P> In about 300 BC the move to Meroë was made more complete when the monarchs began to be buried there, instead of at Napata . One theory is that this represents the monarchs breaking away from the power of the priests at Napata . According to Diodorus Siculus, a Kushite king, "Ergamenes", defied the priests and had them slaughtered . This story may refer to the first ruler to be buried at Meroë with a similar name such as Arqamani, who ruled many years after the royal cemetery was opened at Meroë . During this same period, Kushite authority may have extended some 1,500 km along the Nile River valley from the Egyptian frontier in the north to areas far south of modern Khartoum and probably also substantial territories to the east and west . </P> <P> Kushite civilization continued for several centuries . In the Napatan Period Egyptian hieroglyphs were used: at this time writing seems to have been restricted to the court and temples . From the 2nd century BC there was a separate Meroitic writing system . This was an alphabetic script with 23 signs used in a hieroglyphic form (mainly on monumental art) and in a cursive form . The latter was widely used; so far some 1278 texts using this version are known (Leclant 2000). The script was deciphered by Griffith, but the language behind it is still a problem, with only a few words understood by modern scholars . It is not as yet possible to connect the Meroitic language with other known languages . </P> <P> Strabo describes a war with the Romans in the 1st century BC . After the initial victories of Kandake (or "Candace") Amanirenas against Roman Egypt, the Kushites were defeated and Napata sacked . Remarkably, the destruction of the capital of Napata was not a crippling blow to the Kushites and did not frighten Candace enough to prevent her from again engaging in combat with the Roman military . Indeed, it seems that Petronius's attack might have had a revitalizing influence on the kingdom . Just three years later, in 22 BC, a large Kushite force moved northward with intention of attacking Qasr Ibrim . </P> <P> Alerted to the advance, Petronius again marched south and managed to reach Qasr Ibrim and bolster its defences before the invading Kushites arrived . Although the ancient sources give no description of the ensuing battle, we know that at some point the Kushites sent ambassadors to negotiate a peace settlement with Petronius . By the end of the second campaign, however, Petronius was in no mood to deal further with the Kushites . The Kushites succeeded in negotiating a peace treaty on favourable terms and trade between the two nations increased . Some historians like Theodore Mommsen wrote that during Augustus times Nubia was a possible client state of the Roman Empire . </P>

Who did the kushites learn iron work from