Meroe

Meroe, the capital of a Sudanese kingdom that lasted from about 300 BC to AD 350, is the focus of a new exhibit at the Louvre, which you can read about here. It seems that in matters of royal style and public religion, Meroe closely followed Egyptian models. One difference is that in addition to the Egyptian pantheon they worshiped a local deity, the lion god Apedemak (below). But the culture of ordinary people seems to have been much less Egyptian, with distinctive local styles of pottery and other objects.