Immortal Egypt - Episode 4

Joann Fletcher concludes the series with the fall of Egypt.  Wave after wave of invaders tried to conquer Egypt, only to be conquered by Egypt.  The decline in the faith in the Pharaohs weakened Egypt greatly.  The priests started looting the old royal tombs.  Mercenaries, who took orders, were now flexing their muscles to give orders.  The Libyans, former mercenaries, took power for themselves.

The Libyans adapted to the Egyptian culture.  They ruled over a divided land.  Most importantly, they were not Egyptians at heart.  This did not unite the Egyptian empire.  Egypt was open to invaders.  The Kushites invaded Egypt.  Seeing the failure of the Libyans to embrace the ancient history of Egypt, the Kushites took a different tact.  The Kushites tapped into Egypt’s past and used it to conquer Egypt. 

The Kushites rebuilt Egypt and founded the 25th Dynasty.  In a way, it was putting things right for the Egyptians.  They had the same sense of history as the Egyptians, however fused their own culture with Egyptians.  Egyptian gods bore the marks of the Nubian tribal people.  The Kushites made an effort to be Egyptians.  Their images showed that the Kushite Pharaohs were the sons of Ammon and that they made sacrifices to Egyptian gods.

The Kushites also started building pyramids. They were building these pyramids in their homeland.  Eventually, the Kushites built more pyramids than the Egyptians themselves.  The Kushite Dynasty eventually fell to a more ruthless power: Assyrians.  They sacked Thebes as a demonstration of their power and contempt for the people.  The Assyrians were more interested in expanding their power and attempted to stamp out the Egyptian religion.

Then the Egyptian politicians took charge of Egypt and they encouraged Egyptian culture.  Mummification was the tool they used to encourage Egyptian culture.  There was an explosion of mummifying animals.  The death industry was back in Egypt, as it was something that marked the Egyptian Civilization as special.  Uncertainty over whether or not they would have Pharaohs to bury soon gave way to a new tradition: mummifying and burying bulls.  Bulls became sacred and in a way, they were the physical presence of a Pharoah.  During this time, the Pharoah was often absent.  Large tomb complexes were buried to house the bulls. 

The Persians then came in and trampled over the traditions.  The Persian King burned the mummy of the previous Pharoah and slaughtered the sacred bull.  It was a powerful demonstration, showing that he was in charge.  Any attempts at rebellion were cruelly put down.  The Egyptians were little more than servants to the Persians.  This changed when Alexander the Great came in and conquered Egypt.

Alexander the Great adopted Egyptian culture and founded the city of Alexandria.  He preserved the past and saved the Egyptians from the hated Persians.  He marched into Memphis and was crowned as a traditional Pharoah.  He even had his name written in hieroglyphs.  His image in Luxor shows himself as making sacrifices to Ammon.  The key to Alexander’s success was his belief that he was another one of the gods.  He then set to work working on his city.  Alexandria was established and planned by built him.

The Ptolemys then took over Egypt.  Ptolemy was one of Alexander the Great’s Generals and probably half-brother.  They also had control over the body.  They could claim control over Egypt.  They moved the capital from Memphis to Alexandria.  The Ptolemys’s also tapped into the culture of Egypt.  They worshiped the same gods as the Egyptians, dressed like them, and ate like them.  Under the Ptolemys Egypt was restored.

To continue to learn more about Ancient Egypt, continue to watch the documentary.

You can access the YouTube Video here.