The Kingdom of Kush or Cush was an ancient Nubian state centered on the confluences of the Blue Nile; White Nile and River Atbara in what is now the Republic of Sudan.

Established after the Bronze Age collapse and the disintegration of the New Kingdom of Egypt; it was centered at Napata in its early phase. After King Kashta ('the Kushite') invaded Egypt in the 8th century BCE; the Kushite kings ruled as Pharaohs of the Twenty-fifth dynasty of Egypt for a century; until they were expelled by Psamtik I in 656 BCE.

During Classical Antiquity; the Nubian capital was at Meroe. In early Greek geography; the Meroitic kingdom was known as Ethipia. The Nubian kingdom at Meroe persisted until the 4th century CE; when it fell to the expanding Kingdom of Aksum.