Designing the Divine

Abstract This paper focuses on the ancient Egyptian god Amun and the way he was perceived in Nubia. His perception changed during the period from about 1500 BCE to the 3 rd century CE and saw a gradual transformation of this originally Egyptian god to the central state deity in the Kingdom of Kush. The alterations in his appearance, naming, and functions in the ideology of kingship as well as cult practices can be followed in order to identify stages that, using Hans-Peter Hahn’s terminology, created a model of cultural appropriation in Nubia. This article follows the transformation, naming, contextualisation, and finally incorporation that are recognizable as the component steps.