Episode 38 Dynasty XXV: The Nubians Have Their Day
he History of Ancient Egypt
Professor Robert Brier
Film Review
Dynasty XXII (the Libyan dynasty) became fragmented after different princes claimed sovereignty over different regions of Egypt.
The Nubians (referred to as Kushites in the Bible) consisted of multiple warring tribes south of the Aswan. They experienced repeated Egyptian invasions for thousands of years before uniting under King Piye in 747 BC to defend themselves. Leading his troops and bowmen* north, he seized power from the four Egyptian kings representing the XXIII and XXIV Dynasties in the delta region.
Piye (747-716 BC) then unified Egypt by making his sister Amenirdis I the Divine Adoratrice of Amun at Karnak (in Upper Egypt) and allowing petty princes to rule on his behalf in delta. Taking one of the delta kings prisoner, he returned home to rule from Nubia.
His brother Shabak (716-697 BC) succeeded him (according to Nubian tradition) and erected a large stella summarizing the creation of the world by Ptah.**
Shabak’s nephew Shubilku (697-690 BC) succeeded Shabak. He appointed his daughter Shepenwept II the Divine Adoratrice of Amun at Karnak.Under his reign, Assyria which was annexing more and more of the Middle East invaded and occupied Palestine.
Taharqa (possibly the son of Piye) succeeded Shubiku and ruled from 690-664 BC. He allied with the kingdom of Judah to defeat Assyrians at Eltekeh in (in modern day Israel( in 701 BC.
The Assyrian king Sennacherib was assassinated on his return to Assyria, and Taharqa was defeated by Sennarcherib’s successor Esarshaddon at Ahkelon (in southern Israel), resulting in the Assyrian invasion of Egypt. Taharqa fled to northern Nubia, and Esarshaddon was assassinated in 668 BC during a rebellion in northern Egypt. In retaliation Ashurbanipal, who succeeded him, killed the entire Egyptian nobility except for Necho I, who he made vassal king of Egypt.
Assuming the throne of Nubia and Upper Egypt following Taharqa’s death, his cousin Tahuatamun launched an unsuccessful assault on the Assyrian in northern Egypt. Victorious, the Assyrians marched south seizing all the gold in Thebes and occupying all of Egypt.
Brier uses the last 10 minutes of the lecture to address the controversy around two questions: 1) whether Western civilization originated in Africa (ie Egypt) and 2) whether Egyptians were Back.
He cites Socrates and Plato as affirming Egypt was the origin of Greek civilization. Greek scholars often visited Egypt to learn math, and Greeks learned stone building from the Egyptians.
According to Brier, Egyptians came in all skin colors. In tomb frescoes, Nubians have black skin (Nubians also depicted themselves as black), Egyptian men red skin and Egyptian women yellow skin. Libyans (who lived in large numbers in the delta region) had fairer skin than Egyptians.
*The Egyptians had hired Nubians as mercenary bowmen for centuries.
**There were numerous temples to Amun and other gods in northern Nubia, and educated Nubians totally embraced Egyptian gods.
Film can be viewed free with a library card on Kanopy.
https://www.kanopy.com/en/pukeariki/watch/video/1492791/1492875
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