1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:21,199 This is about as far north in Egypt as it's possible to get, because out there is the 2 00:00:21,199 --> 00:00:26,039 Mediterranean. 3 00:00:26,039 --> 00:00:32,039 To my west is Libya, to my east Palestine and Arabia, while Egypt itself lies down 4 00:00:32,039 --> 00:00:37,119 there to the south, a thousand kilometres of desert cut right through the centre by 5 00:00:37,119 --> 00:00:48,920 the mighty River Nile. And at its top lies this, the great port city of Alexandria. 6 00:00:48,920 --> 00:00:52,480 It was ancient Egypt's last and most influential capital. 7 00:00:52,919 --> 00:00:59,239 It was a city of great power, wealth and luxury, the greatest in the world. 8 00:01:01,239 --> 00:01:07,239 Alexandria was also home of one of Egypt's most famous pharaohs, Cleopatra. 9 00:01:08,439 --> 00:01:13,959 The final ruler of a Greek dynasty and the last in a long line of foreign invaders, 10 00:01:13,959 --> 00:01:19,239 who'd each claimed Egypt for themselves, seduced by its legendary splendours. 11 00:01:23,240 --> 00:01:30,600 By now, the pyramids were already thousands of years old. They were the beginning of a 12 00:01:30,600 --> 00:01:37,000 seemingly indestructible core belief that had survived chaos, famine and war. 13 00:01:37,000 --> 00:01:39,480 It's as if they've been picked clean. 14 00:01:39,480 --> 00:01:45,840 A belief that would shine even more brightly in its fabled Golden Age, 15 00:01:46,200 --> 00:01:53,200 whose temples, tombs and glittering treasures had made Egypt an irresistible temptation. 16 00:01:58,200 --> 00:02:05,200 As jealous foreign rulers eyed a weakened Egypt, how could it survive successive wav... 17 00:02:06,200 --> 00:02:13,199 But Egypt had a secret weapon, a culture so strong and deep-rooted that it seduced and... 18 00:02:18,199 --> 00:02:21,199 Welcome to my story of ancient Egypt. 19 00:02:36,199 --> 00:02:41,199 Throughout the first millennium BC, Egypt faced wave after wave of foreign invaders. 20 00:02:44,199 --> 00:02:51,199 But in the face of such a strong and long-lived culture, all who would try to t... 21 00:03:06,199 --> 00:03:13,199 Almost a thousand years before Cleopatra, Egypt had entered its third intermediate... 22 00:03:13,199 --> 00:03:17,199 a time of political decline and vulnerability. 23 00:03:20,199 --> 00:03:25,199 Well, it's the beginning of the 22nd dynasty, around 945 BC. 24 00:03:25,199 --> 00:03:31,199 The priests are in charge of the south, but in the north, the vultures have started to... 25 00:03:31,199 --> 00:03:38,199 waiting for their chance to swoop, as a group of Libyan generals seize power to rule as... 26 00:03:48,199 --> 00:03:53,199 In many ways, Egypt's waning power had been triggered by a loss of faith. 27 00:03:53,199 --> 00:03:57,199 When the authority of the new kingdom pharaohs had begun to crumble, 28 00:03:57,199 --> 00:04:02,199 Egypt's once pious priests had helped loot the royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings, 29 00:04:02,199 --> 00:04:09,199 systematically dismantling Egypt's previously unshakable belief in the afterlife. 30 00:04:11,199 --> 00:04:19,199 With the decline in power of the new kingdom pharaohs, the Libyans, who'd fought for th... 31 00:04:19,199 --> 00:04:26,199 gradually infiltrated Egypt's power structure and eventually took power as the 22nd... 32 00:04:27,199 --> 00:04:45,199 The first king of the 22nd dynasty, Sheshonq, had a number of sons who helped him keep... 33 00:04:45,199 --> 00:04:51,199 one of whom was called Nimlot, and these are the bracelets of Prince Nimlot. 34 00:04:51,199 --> 00:04:59,199 Egypt's Libyan rulers understood that looking and acting Egyptian would help to keep the... 35 00:04:59,199 --> 00:05:07,199 These beautiful bracelets are just a tiny fraction of the golden treasures created f... 36 00:05:07,199 --> 00:05:13,199 who on the surface at least, upheld many of Egypt's most sacred traditions. 37 00:05:13,199 --> 00:05:21,199 They are portraying a very small figure of the god Horus, who symbolized Egyptian... 38 00:05:21,199 --> 00:05:30,199 shown as a young child emerging from a lotus blossom, and on either side is protected b... 39 00:05:33,199 --> 00:05:42,199 Yet in some ways, these images are simply window dressing, lip service to ancient... 40 00:05:43,199 --> 00:05:50,199 For the Libyans had organized nothing less than the state-sponsored plundering of... 41 00:05:51,199 --> 00:05:57,199 They were so transfixed by the wealth, by the gold, by the bling of ancient Egypt, 42 00:05:57,199 --> 00:06:02,199 they wanted it for themselves, and over their several centuries rule. 43 00:06:02,199 --> 00:06:10,199 While they appeared to look like pharaohs and to rule as pharaohs, Egypt never feels to... 44 00:06:10,199 --> 00:06:14,199 They weren't Egyptians at heart, and that's really what mattered. 45 00:06:17,199 --> 00:06:23,199 In many ways, Libyan rule was destined to fail, because even if they were militarily... 46 00:06:23,199 --> 00:06:30,199 their adoption of Egyptian culture was at best superficial, and was insufficient to... 47 00:06:30,199 --> 00:06:34,199 In the north, the squabbling Libyan elite fought amongst themselves, 48 00:06:34,199 --> 00:06:41,199 while in the south, the Egyptian priesthood, including yet more Libyan princes, still... 49 00:06:41,199 --> 00:06:46,199 The fragmented Egypt was easy pickings for any would-be invader. 50 00:06:46,199 --> 00:06:52,199 Egypt needed a regime that could reconnect with its most powerful asset, its history. 51 00:06:52,199 --> 00:07:02,199 And by 747 BC, that's what happened, when the Kushite rulers of Nubia made a direct... 52 00:07:02,199 --> 00:07:09,199 The Kushites were Egypt's southern neighbours in Nubia, and from time immemorial, 53 00:07:09,199 --> 00:07:14,199 they and the Egyptians had kind of battled around the sort of southern border of Egypt. 54 00:07:14,199 --> 00:07:19,199 By the 8th century BC, however, the Kushites had the upper hand. 55 00:07:21,199 --> 00:07:28,199 They were fervent believers in Egypt's traditional gods, in some ways making them... 56 00:07:28,199 --> 00:07:34,199 The Kingdom of Kush in Nubia was at the very edge of the Egyptian world. 57 00:07:34,199 --> 00:07:41,199 Having been repeatedly conquered by Egypt, the Kushites had been hugely influenced by... 58 00:07:41,199 --> 00:07:38,399 The 59 00:07:38,399 --> 00:07:44,399 beliefs that centred on this great sandstone mountain, Jebel Barkal. 60 00:07:44,399 --> 00:07:50,399 The Kingdom of Kush in Nubia was at the very edge of the Egyptian world. 61 00:07:50,399 --> 00:07:57,399 Having been repeatedly conquered by Egypt, the Kushites had been hugely influenced by... 62 00:07:57,399 --> 00:08:02,399 Beliefs that centred on this great sandstone mountain, Jebel Barkal. 63 00:08:02,399 --> 00:08:10,399 For centuries it had been regarded as the mythical mound of creation. 64 00:08:10,399 --> 00:08:19,399 The mound from which Egypt's great creator god, Amun, was born. 65 00:08:20,399 --> 00:08:27,399 Here is the holy mountain. This is where the god lived in his primeval form. 66 00:08:27,399 --> 00:08:32,399 Dr. Tim Kendall has spent almost 30 years working at the site. 67 00:08:32,399 --> 00:08:39,399 Being at the southern limit of the empire, it was where the Nile began, where fertility... 68 00:08:39,399 --> 00:08:47,659 and the 69 00:08:47,659 --> 00:08:52,659 place where creation began. 70 00:08:52,659 --> 00:08:57,659 So this was the birthplace of the god Amun. 71 00:08:57,659 --> 00:09:02,659 And so this was the primeval carnek. 72 00:09:02,659 --> 00:09:07,659 When the new kingdom pharaohs had arrived here in 1500 BC, 73 00:09:07,659 --> 00:09:13,659 they built this temple and dedicated it to Amun and his wife, the goddess Mut. 74 00:09:13,659 --> 00:09:18,659 And when the Egyptians withdrew from Nubia some 400 years later, 75 00:09:18,659 --> 00:09:25,659 the native Kushites continued to honour the sacred mountain and Egypt's spiritual... 76 00:09:25,659 --> 00:09:33,659 As the Kushite kings gained increasing military power, they also claimed Egypt fo... 77 00:09:33,659 --> 00:09:38,659 So when King Pai led a Kushite invasion of Egypt in 747 BC, 78 00:09:38,659 --> 00:09:46,659 he didn't plunder or destroy, but restored and rebuilt and founded Egypt's 25th dynasty. 79 00:09:50,659 --> 00:09:56,659 The irony is that he's conquering Egypt, to put everything right, I suppose. 80 00:09:56,659 --> 00:10:01,659 So it's all such a cycle of rebirth, regrowth, redevelopment, 81 00:10:01,659 --> 00:10:06,659 and the Kushite kings are really kind of tapping into that ancient power source 82 00:10:06,659 --> 00:10:11,659 and just sort of giving it back to the Egyptians. 83 00:10:11,659 --> 00:10:16,659 So they had that same sense of history and continuity as the Egyptians. 84 00:10:16,659 --> 00:10:21,659 They are the natural successors of the 18th dynasty kings. 85 00:10:21,659 --> 00:10:26,659 Fueled by a genuine desire to make their own mark in Egypt's long story, 86 00:10:26,659 --> 00:10:31,659 the Kushites began to rebuild Egypt, here in their Nubian heartland. 87 00:10:31,659 --> 00:10:35,659 King Pai expanded the existing Temple of Amun at Jebel Barkal 88 00:10:35,659 --> 00:10:40,659 to balance the original great Temple of Karnak in Egyptian Thebes. 89 00:10:40,659 --> 00:10:47,659 But while the Kushites had absorbed the culture of Egypt, they still had their roo... 90 00:10:47,659 --> 00:10:56,659 This cultural fusion is quite clearly expressed in this extraordinary... 91 00:10:56,659 --> 00:10:59,659 The face of the goddess Mut has tribal scars. 92 00:10:59,659 --> 00:11:04,659 And look, we'll see if it shows with this light. 93 00:11:04,659 --> 00:11:06,659 Do you see the three lines on her face? 94 00:11:06,659 --> 00:11:09,659 So this is an Egyptian goddess with a Nubian makeover. 95 00:11:09,659 --> 00:11:15,659 Yeah, she was a goddess of Nubia, and it was appropriate for Nubians to have tribal scars. 96 00:11:15,659 --> 00:11:20,659 So this is a very, very graphic version of the way in which local Nubians 97 00:11:20,659 --> 00:11:25,659 were making the traditional deities of Egypt their own, physically marking them. 98 00:11:25,659 --> 00:11:28,659 As if she's been stamped as a Nubian. 99 00:11:28,659 --> 00:11:30,659 How incredible. 100 00:11:30,659 --> 00:11:34,659 This is such a land of surprises. That is beautiful. 101 00:11:45,659 --> 00:11:49,659 Yet this land of surprises has something else in store too. 102 00:11:49,659 --> 00:11:53,659 Gale force winds whip up the worst sandstorm in years. 103 00:11:54,659 --> 00:12:01,659 It's a powerful reminder that the ancients would also have had to deal with such... 104 00:12:05,659 --> 00:12:09,659 You can certainly taste the grit in your teeth. 105 00:12:09,659 --> 00:12:14,659 The ancients would have tackled this using spells, rituals. 106 00:12:15,659 --> 00:12:20,659 They would also have made extra offerings to specific deities, 107 00:12:20,659 --> 00:12:25,659 most notably Osiris's brother, god Seth, the god of turbulence, the god of storms. 108 00:12:25,659 --> 00:12:30,659 The god of redheaded individuals who are seen as somewhat turbulent too. 109 00:12:30,659 --> 00:12:32,659 Can't imagine why. 110 00:12:32,659 --> 00:12:37,659 I'm seeking shelter in this shrine cut into the mountain by Pai's son Teharka, 111 00:12:37,659 --> 00:12:41,659 which is currently undergoing major restoration by an Italian mission. 112 00:12:41,659 --> 00:12:46,659 It apparently reveals graphic evidence of Egypt's continuing powerful influence. 113 00:12:49,659 --> 00:12:53,659 Never been here before. I have no idea what's going on in here. 114 00:12:53,659 --> 00:12:57,659 So I'm going to try to find out what's going on in here. 115 00:12:58,659 --> 00:13:01,659 Never been here before. I have no idea what's going on in here. 116 00:13:01,659 --> 00:13:04,659 So this will be as new to me as it is to you. 117 00:13:05,659 --> 00:13:07,659 Oh, flipping egg. 118 00:13:08,659 --> 00:13:13,659 It's a real privilege to see the time-blackened walls finally giving up the... 119 00:13:13,659 --> 00:13:19,659 Wow, look at that, look at that. Oh, that is so beautiful. 120 00:13:20,659 --> 00:13:25,659 They're bringing out not just the golds but the blues, these two colours. 121 00:13:25,659 --> 00:13:32,659 The bright blue of the sky and the Nile and the gold, this really powerful colour of t... 122 00:13:32,659 --> 00:13:37,659 This is Teharka, the Kushite's most powerful and important pharaoh. 123 00:13:37,659 --> 00:13:44,659 In classic Egyptian style, he's shown offering to the god Amun and his wife, the... 124 00:13:44,659 --> 00:13:48,659 It's raised relief. This is old school, this is old school technique. 125 00:13:48,659 --> 00:13:52,659 This is skill and they're all overlaid in this yellow gold. 126 00:13:53,659 --> 00:14:01,659 And you can even see the little scales on this corselet that Amun's wearing, every... 127 00:14:01,659 --> 00:14:06,659 It's fabulous, it's like Christmas morning, this. This is just extraordinary. 128 00:14:06,659 --> 00:14:10,659 Just look for yourselves, just look. Look at their faces, look at their eyes. 129 00:14:12,659 --> 00:14:16,659 This wall truly exemplifies Egypt's ancient magic. 130 00:14:16,659 --> 00:14:22,659 As those who try to conquer it end up being seduced by it and then become a part of it. 131 00:14:22,659 --> 00:14:29,659 It's a sincere attempt by Teharka to connect his kingship to the achievements of the... 132 00:14:29,659 --> 00:14:33,659 in particular to the rulers of the new kingdom. 133 00:14:33,659 --> 00:14:42,659 So although history records that Teharka conquered Egypt, this scene reveals it's... 134 00:14:42,659 --> 00:14:47,659 It's as if the Egyptian identity will always win out, no matter what. 135 00:14:47,659 --> 00:14:52,659 So much so that Teharka is even shown with the ram's horn. 136 00:14:52,659 --> 00:14:58,659 It's as if the Egyptian identity will always win out, no matter what. 137 00:14:59,659 --> 00:15:04,659 So much so that Teharka is even shown with the ram's horns of the moon, 138 00:15:04,659 --> 00:15:08,659 identifying him as the son of Egypt's god of gods. 139 00:15:09,659 --> 00:15:13,659 These were worn by Amunotec III in Luxor Temple in the 18th dynasty. 140 00:15:13,659 --> 00:15:19,659 They were later worn by the great Alexander to show he too was the son of the moon. 141 00:15:19,659 --> 00:15:23,659 And here we have Teharka in all his finery, in all his splendour. 142 00:15:29,659 --> 00:15:35,659 Who knew that they were here, hidden away in this special, special rock? 143 00:15:35,659 --> 00:15:37,659 We've come to the heart of Jebel Barkal now. 144 00:15:37,659 --> 00:15:43,659 We've come to the heart of Egyptian religion, because this is the very birthplace of Amu... 145 00:15:43,659 --> 00:15:47,659 And here he is, just for us, right now, emerging from the walls. 146 00:15:47,659 --> 00:15:50,659 Very few people have ever seen this. 147 00:15:51,659 --> 00:15:55,659 Here inside the temple, where only the most pious were allowed, 148 00:15:55,659 --> 00:15:59,659 Teharka is shown in deference to Egypt's most powerful god. 149 00:16:05,659 --> 00:16:11,659 And outside on the mountain, he exhibits his devotion on a truly monumental scale, 150 00:16:11,659 --> 00:16:14,659 by embellishing the very top of its pinnacle. 151 00:16:14,659 --> 00:16:20,659 180 metres tall and 11 metres from the cliff face, it seems completely inaccessible. 152 00:16:20,659 --> 00:16:24,659 But Teharka pulled off an incredible technical achievement. 153 00:16:24,659 --> 00:16:31,659 He built a crane arm and elaborate scaffolding in order to make his own... 154 00:16:31,659 --> 00:16:36,659 What he did was he made an inscription for himself commemorating his victory. 155 00:16:36,659 --> 00:16:38,659 And he wrote it down on the wall. 156 00:16:38,659 --> 00:16:40,659 And he wrote it down on the wall. 157 00:16:40,659 --> 00:16:42,659 And he wrote it down on the wall. 158 00:16:42,659 --> 00:16:44,659 And he wrote it down on the wall. 159 00:16:44,659 --> 00:16:46,659 And he wrote it down on the wall. 160 00:16:46,659 --> 00:16:48,659 And he wrote it down on the wall. 161 00:16:48,659 --> 00:16:50,659 And he wrote it down on the wall. 162 00:16:50,659 --> 00:16:52,659 And he wrote it down on the wall. 163 00:16:52,659 --> 00:16:54,659 And he wrote it down on the wall. 164 00:16:54,659 --> 00:16:56,659 And he wrote it down on the wall. 165 00:16:56,659 --> 00:16:58,659 And he wrote it down on the wall. 166 00:16:58,659 --> 00:17:00,659 And he wrote it down on the wall. 167 00:17:00,659 --> 00:17:02,659 And he wrote it down on the wall. 168 00:17:02,659 --> 00:17:04,659 And he wrote it down on the wall. 169 00:17:04,659 --> 00:17:06,659 And he wrote it down on the wall. 170 00:17:06,660 --> 00:17:11,660 This was a message to the gods carved on a monument built to impress. 171 00:17:12,660 --> 00:17:16,660 Completely covered in gold, it reflected the sun's rays. 172 00:17:16,660 --> 00:17:22,660 And it acted like a giant billboard as it telegraphed Teharka's message for miles... 173 00:17:23,660 --> 00:17:26,660 And this again harked back to Egypt's past. 174 00:17:26,660 --> 00:17:35,660 When previous pharaohs had placed gilded capstones on their pyramids and obelisks t... 175 00:17:36,660 --> 00:17:40,660 Just to the east of Jebel Barkal lies the necropolis of Nuri. 176 00:17:40,660 --> 00:17:46,660 Where the Kushite king's transformation into Egyptian pharaohs was finally completed. 177 00:17:46,660 --> 00:17:51,660 For the dynasty who'd invaded Egypt were now copying Egypt's ultimate symbol. 178 00:17:51,660 --> 00:17:58,660 And for the first time in over a thousand years, the kings who ruled Egypt were buri... 179 00:17:58,660 --> 00:18:04,660 When the kings made their capital at Memphis, they were living right across the river fr... 180 00:18:04,660 --> 00:18:08,660 Teharka spent most of his life there and was familiar with the great pyramids. 181 00:18:08,660 --> 00:18:13,660 And so when he died, he needed a pyramid of commensurate scale. 182 00:18:13,660 --> 00:18:19,660 And he sort of established this new type and it was followed by all of his successors. 183 00:18:21,660 --> 00:18:27,660 The Kushites eventually built more pyramids here in their Nubian homeland than the... 184 00:18:28,660 --> 00:18:34,660 And just as at Giza, Teharka's pyramid is precisely aligned to its environment. 185 00:18:40,660 --> 00:18:49,660 For on the exact day when the Nile flood begins to recede, the sun sets just like... 186 00:18:50,660 --> 00:18:56,660 Yet only on this specific day and only when viewed from the top of Teharka's pyramid. 187 00:18:58,660 --> 00:19:05,660 That is totally impressive, not just a skill, a feat of engineering, but such devotion t... 188 00:19:05,660 --> 00:19:13,660 Gods observing nature. I mean, it would take a huge amount of observation to get the... 189 00:19:17,660 --> 00:19:23,660 Surrounded by these pyramids, the images of Amun and Mut and their monumental temples, 190 00:19:23,660 --> 00:19:29,660 it's easy to forget that the Kushites were actually a foreign power who'd taken Egypt... 191 00:19:29,660 --> 00:19:33,660 Yet it's almost as if Egypt was taunting its invaders. 192 00:19:33,660 --> 00:19:39,660 While you may try and dominate our land, our culture will ultimately dominate you. 193 00:19:39,660 --> 00:19:45,660 And as such, the Kushites left a legacy of renewal and resurrection. 194 00:19:46,660 --> 00:19:52,660 But like all Egypt's conquerors, the Kushites' moment in the sun was fleeting. 195 00:19:52,660 --> 00:19:59,660 For their 25th dynasty lasted but a century, as a far more ruthless and ambitious power... 196 00:20:06,660 --> 00:20:11,660 In 674 BC, the fearsome Assyrian army marched into Egypt. 197 00:20:11,660 --> 00:20:16,660 As ruthless expansionists, they had little interest in Egyptian culture. 198 00:20:16,660 --> 00:20:22,660 They graphically demonstrated their contempt by sacking the sacred city of Thebes. 199 00:20:22,660 --> 00:20:27,660 The Assyrians, unlike the Egyptians, are interested in expanding their empire 200 00:20:27,660 --> 00:20:31,660 and really taking over other parts of the world, and they do that by violence. 201 00:20:34,660 --> 00:20:38,660 This very un-Egyptian bronze helmet was discovered in Thebes. 202 00:20:38,660 --> 00:20:42,660 It is one of the very few objects that has been discovered in the world. 203 00:20:42,660 --> 00:20:44,660 It's a very rare piece of bronze. 204 00:20:44,660 --> 00:20:46,660 It's a very rare piece of bronze. 205 00:20:46,660 --> 00:20:50,660 This very un-Egyptian bronze helmet was discovered in Thebes. 206 00:20:50,660 --> 00:20:55,660 It is one of the very few objects that reveal the Assyrian takeover of Egypt. 207 00:20:58,660 --> 00:21:02,660 Despite possessing equally powerful iconography of their own, 208 00:21:02,660 --> 00:21:05,660 the Assyrians had little time to leave their mark. 209 00:21:05,660 --> 00:21:11,660 They simply stamped their authority upon Egypt by trying to rip out its religious... 210 00:21:11,660 --> 00:21:17,660 This holy complex, this really huge sacred space, had never been attacked in Egyptian... 211 00:21:17,660 --> 00:21:22,660 And so for a mob to damage the temple, to damage statues perhaps, 212 00:21:22,660 --> 00:21:27,660 to damage precious things, would really have been absolute anathema to the Egyptians. 213 00:21:27,660 --> 00:21:31,660 What's really striking is it's obviously not an Egyptian item, 214 00:21:31,660 --> 00:21:34,660 but the Egyptians didn't even wear helmets, did they? 215 00:21:34,660 --> 00:21:36,660 They relied on their thick hair, didn't they? 216 00:21:36,660 --> 00:21:39,660 So for me, it's a very rare piece of bronze. 217 00:21:39,660 --> 00:21:44,660 Yeah, didn't they? So for me, it really evokes a completely alien image. 218 00:21:44,660 --> 00:21:48,660 I mean, the Assyrians, war was their business, wasn't it? 219 00:21:57,660 --> 00:22:02,660 With their sophisticated weapons and armour, the Assyrians were a war machine, 220 00:22:02,660 --> 00:22:06,660 whose unstoppable progress seemed to spell disaster for Egypt. 221 00:22:07,660 --> 00:22:14,660 Yet after little more than 20 years, the Assyrians returned east to tackle problems... 222 00:22:14,660 --> 00:22:17,660 leaving vassals in charge of Egypt. 223 00:22:17,660 --> 00:22:22,660 Based at the delta city of Seis, these were the Seite kings, 224 00:22:22,660 --> 00:22:27,660 shrewd Egyptian politicians who first appeared to serve their Assyrian masters, 225 00:22:27,660 --> 00:22:32,660 but soon became strong enough to declare their independence. 226 00:22:33,660 --> 00:22:36,660 Egypt was now back in Egyptian hands. 227 00:22:36,660 --> 00:22:41,660 The Seites instigated a spectacular renaissance in native culture, 228 00:22:41,660 --> 00:22:48,660 at the heart of which lay Egypt's most powerful symbol of national identity,... 229 00:22:49,660 --> 00:22:54,660 But no longer limited to humans, there was an explosion of animal mummification, 230 00:22:54,660 --> 00:23:01,660 everything from dogs, cats, crocodiles, ibis and even tiny shrews. 231 00:23:02,660 --> 00:23:08,660 The ancient Egyptians had always mummified their dead, both human and animal. 232 00:23:08,660 --> 00:23:14,660 And with the Seites, we can almost see it as a way of the Seite kings trying to declare, 233 00:23:14,660 --> 00:23:19,660 we are Egypt, we are important, this is what makes us special. 234 00:23:19,660 --> 00:23:22,660 No one else in the ancient world could mummify like the Egyptians, 235 00:23:22,660 --> 00:23:26,660 and so they rolled it out a million fold. 236 00:23:27,660 --> 00:23:33,660 With animals specifically bred for mummification and then sold as offerings a... 237 00:23:33,660 --> 00:23:38,660 the Seites had reinvigorated Egypt's oldest industry. 238 00:23:38,660 --> 00:23:42,660 Death was once again big business. 239 00:23:56,660 --> 00:24:01,660 Now this might look pretty silly, but around 2000 years ago here at Saqqara, 240 00:24:01,660 --> 00:24:05,660 this would have been a very common site. 241 00:24:07,660 --> 00:24:11,660 This place would have been packed with pilgrims, with priests making animal mummies, 242 00:24:11,660 --> 00:24:15,660 and they'd be trundling the mummies across the landscape in carts like this one. 243 00:24:15,660 --> 00:24:19,660 So we must get out of our minds this idea of Egyptian priests as these 244 00:24:19,660 --> 00:24:22,660 pious, quiet figures wafting through the landscape, 245 00:24:22,660 --> 00:24:26,660 and by this time it was all carried out in great numbers. 246 00:24:32,660 --> 00:24:39,660 And it was Egypt's endless ability to reinterpret its core beliefs that was the ... 247 00:24:39,660 --> 00:24:44,660 For millennia, the Egyptians had believed that the pharaoh was a living god 248 00:24:44,660 --> 00:24:47,660 who embodied the soul of Egypt. 249 00:24:47,660 --> 00:24:51,660 When the king died, the Seites were the only place to find a place to live. 250 00:24:51,660 --> 00:24:55,660 When the king died, their soul lived on in their mummified body, 251 00:24:55,660 --> 00:25:00,660 which must be kept safe to guarantee the continuity of Egypt, 252 00:25:00,660 --> 00:25:06,660 so they'd always buried their rulers in the safety of pyramids or elaborate rock-cut... 253 00:25:12,660 --> 00:25:15,660 But in times of increasing unrest and foreign rule, 254 00:25:15,660 --> 00:25:19,660 the Egyptians could no longer rely on even having a pharaoh to bury, 255 00:25:19,660 --> 00:25:23,660 and so they turned to another centuries-old practice. 256 00:25:24,660 --> 00:25:29,660 The Serapium at Saqqara is a huge subterranean tomb complex 257 00:25:29,660 --> 00:25:35,660 in which the concepts of kingship and animal mummification were fused together. 258 00:25:35,660 --> 00:25:38,660 For each of these giant granite sarcophagi, 259 00:25:38,660 --> 00:25:43,660 ones contained an animal believed to embody all the qualities of kingship. 260 00:25:43,660 --> 00:25:48,660 This is the burial site of the sacred Apis bull. 261 00:25:50,660 --> 00:25:56,660 These were the bodies of mummified bulls of such importance to the Egyptian mindset. 262 00:25:56,660 --> 00:26:02,660 They extended all this effort and cost to create a suitably impressive burial site, 263 00:26:02,660 --> 00:26:04,660 and they've done this in spades. 264 00:26:04,660 --> 00:26:07,660 As one bull dies and is mummified and buried, 265 00:26:07,660 --> 00:26:11,660 the other one is then worshipped in life and at death mummified and buried again, 266 00:26:11,660 --> 00:26:13,660 and so there's a real progression. 267 00:26:13,660 --> 00:26:18,660 The cult of the Apis bull dates right back to the beginning of Egyptian history. 268 00:26:18,660 --> 00:26:20,660 It's closely linked to the pharaoh. 269 00:26:20,660 --> 00:26:23,660 It was believed that when the sacred bull died, 270 00:26:23,660 --> 00:26:27,660 it became one with Osiris, the god of the afterlife, 271 00:26:27,660 --> 00:26:32,660 and so became an Osiris Apis, or Serapis for short. 272 00:26:33,660 --> 00:26:38,660 And these sacred bulls became hugely important under the Saites. 273 00:26:38,660 --> 00:26:41,660 During times of foreign occupation, 274 00:26:41,660 --> 00:26:46,660 when Egypt was increasingly being ruled by pharaohs in absentia, 275 00:26:46,660 --> 00:26:49,660 be it in Persia or wherever else, 276 00:26:49,660 --> 00:26:52,660 for the Egyptians they needed a physical presence, 277 00:26:52,660 --> 00:26:55,660 and the Apis bull provided this presence 278 00:26:55,660 --> 00:26:58,660 because they could see it with their own eyes, 279 00:26:58,660 --> 00:27:01,660 they could celebrate rituals in its company, 280 00:27:01,660 --> 00:27:04,660 and at death it would be mummified and then buried 281 00:27:04,660 --> 00:27:07,660 in the manner of pharaohs going back for millennia. 282 00:27:07,660 --> 00:27:10,660 So it was crucial to have this creature here, 283 00:27:10,660 --> 00:27:15,660 each one successively buried in a sarcophagus just like this one. 284 00:27:15,660 --> 00:27:19,660 We're looking at some serious devotion to this sacred creature 285 00:27:19,660 --> 00:27:21,660 and everything it represented for Egypt. 286 00:27:26,660 --> 00:27:30,660 In many ways, the Serapium is Egypt writ large, 287 00:27:30,660 --> 00:27:33,660 in which its core beliefs are taken to extremes. 288 00:27:36,660 --> 00:27:40,660 Being down here really makes you feel miniscule. 289 00:27:40,660 --> 00:27:43,660 You realise you're now walking amongst the gods. 290 00:27:43,660 --> 00:27:47,660 Words fail me, frankly, because of the enormity of it all, 291 00:27:47,660 --> 00:27:50,660 but that was the thing, that was the skill of the Egyptians. 292 00:27:50,660 --> 00:27:53,660 They bat you over the head with this idea of the colossal, 293 00:27:53,660 --> 00:27:55,660 the monumental, the spectacular. 294 00:27:57,660 --> 00:28:01,660 Yet the Egyptians' devotion to the Apis bull had left them vulnerable. 295 00:28:02,660 --> 00:28:06,660 By embodying the power of Egypt within a single living animal, 296 00:28:06,660 --> 00:28:09,660 they had created an easy target. 297 00:28:14,660 --> 00:28:16,660 Given the Apis bull's divine status, 298 00:28:16,660 --> 00:28:19,660 harming it would have been completely unthinkable. 299 00:28:19,660 --> 00:28:22,660 But when the Persian king Cambyses invaded Egypt, 300 00:28:22,660 --> 00:28:24,660 he had other plans. 301 00:28:33,660 --> 00:28:37,660 The Persian Empire swept west, taking all before it, 302 00:28:37,660 --> 00:28:39,660 and then into Egypt itself. 303 00:28:39,660 --> 00:28:43,660 The Persian king Cambyses entered Egypt in 525 BC 304 00:28:43,660 --> 00:28:45,660 and destroyed the Saite dynasty. 305 00:28:47,660 --> 00:28:51,660 Much like the Assyrians, the Persians were ruthless expansionists, 306 00:28:51,660 --> 00:28:54,660 chiefly interested in enlarging their empire. 307 00:28:55,660 --> 00:29:00,660 And Cambyses seemed to have trampled all over Egypt's ancient traditions. 308 00:29:03,660 --> 00:29:05,660 Having taken Egypt by force, 309 00:29:05,660 --> 00:29:09,660 Cambyses burnt the mummy of the previous Saite pharaoh 310 00:29:09,660 --> 00:29:13,660 before stabbing the Apis bull, which slowly bled to death. 311 00:29:17,660 --> 00:29:22,660 And by doing this, Cambyses was sending a very clear message to the Egyptians. 312 00:29:22,660 --> 00:29:25,660 I am now in charge. 313 00:29:36,660 --> 00:29:40,660 For the next 200 years, the Egyptians were little more 314 00:29:40,660 --> 00:29:43,660 than the heavily taxed servants of the Persian Empire. 315 00:29:43,660 --> 00:29:47,660 And with all attempts at rebellion met with extreme retaliation, 316 00:29:47,660 --> 00:29:52,660 Egypt needed a savior, an outsider who could be transformed 317 00:29:52,660 --> 00:29:57,660 by Egypt's powerful ideology, and in return could transform Egypt. 318 00:29:58,660 --> 00:30:01,660 Enter the Macedonian Superman. 319 00:30:01,660 --> 00:30:03,660 Enter Aliya. 320 00:30:03,660 --> 00:30:04,660 Enter the Superman. 321 00:30:04,660 --> 00:30:07,660 Enter Alexander the Great. 322 00:30:17,660 --> 00:30:21,660 Alexander was one of the world's greatest military leaders. 323 00:30:21,660 --> 00:30:23,660 And during his short life, 324 00:30:23,660 --> 00:30:26,660 amassed an empire that stretched across three continents, 325 00:30:26,660 --> 00:30:29,660 founding over 70 cities that bore his name. 326 00:30:30,660 --> 00:30:34,660 After his initial defeat of the Persian king, 327 00:30:34,660 --> 00:30:38,660 Alexander marched unopposed into Egypt in 332 BC. 328 00:30:38,660 --> 00:30:42,660 The world's most successful empire builder had arrived, 329 00:30:42,660 --> 00:30:47,660 not only transforming Egypt's future, but preserving its ancient past. 330 00:30:49,660 --> 00:30:53,660 It really is no exaggeration to say that Alexander the Great 331 00:30:53,660 --> 00:30:56,660 is one of the most remarkable people who ever lived. 332 00:30:56,660 --> 00:30:59,660 He really was the superhero of the ancient world. 333 00:30:59,660 --> 00:31:02,660 So you'd think that Egypt would be filled with his images. 334 00:31:02,660 --> 00:31:06,660 After all, he had saved them from the hated Persians. 335 00:31:06,660 --> 00:31:10,660 And yet other than the great city of Alexandria that bears his name, 336 00:31:10,660 --> 00:31:14,660 he is remarkably hard to find within Egypt's traditional temples. 337 00:31:14,660 --> 00:31:19,660 Except here, in this modest little shrine at the heart of Luxor Temple. 338 00:31:19,660 --> 00:31:24,660 Alexander was not only a brilliant soldier, but a master politician. 339 00:31:26,660 --> 00:31:29,660 Marching into Egypt's ancient capital, Memphis, 340 00:31:29,660 --> 00:31:33,660 amid rumours he was the son of Egypt's last native pharaoh. 341 00:31:34,660 --> 00:31:37,660 This instantly plugged him into Egypt's long native history, 342 00:31:37,660 --> 00:31:40,660 and he was crowned as a traditional pharaoh. 343 00:31:42,660 --> 00:31:45,660 Here he is, the son of the Egyptian pharaoh. 344 00:31:45,660 --> 00:31:51,660 Here he is, the great man, repeatedly across the walls of this limestone shrine. 345 00:31:51,660 --> 00:31:54,660 And yet you'd never know it was Alexander simply by looking, 346 00:31:54,660 --> 00:31:57,660 because he looks like every other Egyptian pharaoh. 347 00:31:57,660 --> 00:32:03,660 But he knew their secret, that to rule Egypt, you had to appear to be an Egyptian. 348 00:32:03,660 --> 00:32:08,660 And he did this brilliantly, to the extent that he had his name, 349 00:32:08,660 --> 00:32:12,660 his Greek name, Alexandros, written in the Egypt's name. 350 00:32:12,660 --> 00:32:16,660 His Greek name, Alexandros, written in the Egyptian tradition, 351 00:32:16,660 --> 00:32:18,660 even in a royal cartouche. 352 00:32:18,660 --> 00:32:22,660 And it's the only giveaway that this is Alexander the Great. 353 00:32:22,660 --> 00:32:28,660 Because there is his name, Alexandros, written in typical Egyptian style, 354 00:32:28,660 --> 00:32:33,660 and there he's even wearing the red and the white, dual crown of a united land. 355 00:32:33,660 --> 00:32:38,660 And so he's encapsulating everything that it was to be an Egyptian pharaoh. 356 00:32:38,660 --> 00:32:41,660 Just like the Kushite king Taharka at Jebel Barkal, 357 00:32:41,660 --> 00:32:46,660 Alexander is shown offering incense to the king of the gods, Amun. 358 00:32:46,660 --> 00:32:49,660 But simply connecting with the gods wasn't enough. 359 00:32:49,660 --> 00:32:54,660 Alexander understood that real power came from becoming a god. 360 00:32:54,660 --> 00:32:58,660 And so he undertook a perilous journey across the Libyan desert 361 00:32:58,660 --> 00:33:02,660 to the remote oasis shrine of Siwa, 362 00:33:02,660 --> 00:33:06,660 where he could commune with the oracle of Amun himself. 363 00:33:06,660 --> 00:33:11,660 And it's said in this legendary story that the god actually said to him, 364 00:33:11,660 --> 00:33:13,660 you are my son. 365 00:33:13,660 --> 00:33:16,660 And from then on, something clicked in Alexander's mind, 366 00:33:16,660 --> 00:33:19,660 and he went off to conquer the rest of the ancient world, 367 00:33:19,660 --> 00:33:21,660 truly believing he was divine, 368 00:33:21,660 --> 00:33:25,660 and he had the full blessing and support of Amun himself, 369 00:33:25,660 --> 00:33:27,660 the king of the gods of Egypt. 370 00:33:30,660 --> 00:33:34,660 Alexander, the son of Amun, was a great man. 371 00:33:35,660 --> 00:33:39,660 Alexander would only stay in Egypt for six short months. 372 00:33:42,660 --> 00:33:48,660 But during his time here, he founded a city that would be his lasting legacy, 373 00:33:48,660 --> 00:33:51,660 the great city of Alexandria. 374 00:33:51,660 --> 00:33:57,660 Built on the Mediterranean coast to create trading links with the rest of the ancient... 375 00:33:57,660 --> 00:34:03,660 the later historian, Arrian, recorded that Alexander had laid out the city's general... 376 00:34:04,660 --> 00:34:09,659 But lacking chalk or other means, he resorted to marking it out with grain. 377 00:34:10,659 --> 00:34:15,659 When a flock of birds began eating the grain, Alexander regarded this as a bad omen. 378 00:34:15,659 --> 00:34:19,659 Yet his religious advisor quickly spun bad news into good 379 00:34:19,659 --> 00:34:24,659 and interpreted this as a sign that the new city would soon prosper 380 00:34:24,659 --> 00:34:27,659 and would one day feed the whole world. 381 00:34:27,659 --> 00:34:30,659 A remarkably accurate prophecy. 382 00:34:35,659 --> 00:34:40,659 For within a very few years, Alexandria would not only be Egypt's new capital, 383 00:34:40,659 --> 00:34:43,659 but the greatest city on earth. 384 00:34:46,659 --> 00:34:49,659 Although Alexander himself would never see it. 385 00:34:50,659 --> 00:34:55,659 Yet despite his pious nature, Alexander was essentially a soldier. 386 00:34:55,659 --> 00:35:01,659 In his quest to conquer the Persian Empire, he left Egypt in 331 BC, 387 00:35:01,659 --> 00:35:04,659 never to return alive. 388 00:35:04,659 --> 00:35:09,659 Moving as far east as India, he conquered an empire of 2 million square miles 389 00:35:09,659 --> 00:35:13,659 before dying in Babylon, aged only 32. 390 00:35:13,659 --> 00:35:18,659 But still undefeated and still the pharaoh of Egypt. 391 00:35:19,659 --> 00:35:25,659 At death, Alexander was mummified and his body became the focus of a power struggle. 392 00:35:25,659 --> 00:35:29,659 Some of his officers wanted him buried in his Greek homeland. 393 00:35:29,659 --> 00:35:34,659 But for others, he had to return to Egypt and be buried as a pharaoh, 394 00:35:34,659 --> 00:35:37,659 thereby preserving Egypt's long traditions. 395 00:35:37,659 --> 00:35:41,659 But it obviously meant that anyone who possessed his mummified body 396 00:35:41,659 --> 00:35:44,659 could also claim the throne of Egypt. 397 00:35:44,659 --> 00:35:50,659 And clues to this drama can be found here in the windswept desert of Saqqara. 398 00:35:50,659 --> 00:35:55,659 Ten years after he left Egypt alive, Alexander returned here, 399 00:35:55,659 --> 00:35:58,659 for his body had been mummified Egyptian style. 400 00:35:58,659 --> 00:36:01,659 It became a hugely powerful talisman, 401 00:36:01,659 --> 00:36:06,659 for whoever held the body of Alexander the Great, held Egypt. 402 00:36:07,659 --> 00:36:11,659 While en route to Greece, his cortege was diverted 403 00:36:11,659 --> 00:36:16,659 and his mummified body brought here to Egypt's ancient necropolis of Saqqara. 404 00:36:16,659 --> 00:36:20,659 Exactly where his tomb itself was remains a mystery. 405 00:36:20,659 --> 00:36:24,659 Although situated just metres from the Serapium, 406 00:36:24,659 --> 00:36:28,659 is this collection of very un-Egyptian looking statues. 407 00:36:28,659 --> 00:36:33,659 And it's these somewhat sandblasted statues that give us a real clue 408 00:36:33,659 --> 00:36:37,659 that Alexander may initially have been buried somewhere close by. 409 00:36:37,659 --> 00:36:43,659 Because these are the sculpted images of some of the greatest scholars and artists of... 410 00:36:43,659 --> 00:36:48,659 Although exactly who is who has kept academics scratching their heads for years, 411 00:36:48,659 --> 00:36:55,659 their likely identities reveal a direct link to the world in which Alexander grew up an... 412 00:36:58,659 --> 00:37:00,659 Take Homer for example. 413 00:37:00,659 --> 00:37:05,659 His great warrior hero Achilles was Alexander's lifelong role model. 414 00:37:05,659 --> 00:37:11,659 Plato, who had tutored Aristotle, who in turn had tutored Alexander. 415 00:37:11,659 --> 00:37:17,659 And Pinder, whose poetry had praised Alexander's Macedonian ancestors. 416 00:37:18,659 --> 00:37:25,659 As for who placed these statues here, the most likely candidate is Alexander's gener... 417 00:37:25,659 --> 00:37:30,659 For by burying Alexander here, close to Egypt's ancient capital Memphis, 418 00:37:30,659 --> 00:37:34,659 Ptolemy could legitimise his own takeover of Egypt. 419 00:37:35,659 --> 00:37:41,659 And by laying claim to Alexander's body and to Egypt, he founded the dynasty named aft... 420 00:37:41,659 --> 00:37:44,659 The fabulous and outrageous Ptolemies. 421 00:37:45,659 --> 00:37:52,659 Ruling Egypt for the last three centuries BC, the Ptolemaic dynasty would be Egypt's fin... 422 00:37:52,659 --> 00:37:59,659 15 male kings all named Ptolemy, with their female co-rulers, half of whom were called... 423 00:37:59,659 --> 00:38:08,659 Macedonian Greek by descent, their dynasty would bring Greek style, culture, knowledg... 424 00:38:08,659 --> 00:38:14,659 While at the same time immersing themselves in Egypt's irresistible religion and customs. 425 00:38:15,659 --> 00:38:22,659 They were very, very sensitive to the cultural practices and the religious... 426 00:38:22,659 --> 00:38:30,659 They knew that to control this ancient land of Egypt, they had to tap into what made... 427 00:38:30,659 --> 00:38:37,659 They wore the right clothes, the right crowns, they built the right temples, they... 428 00:38:39,659 --> 00:38:46,659 And the Ptolemies relocated Egypt's capital from Memphis to their new super city,... 429 00:38:57,659 --> 00:39:03,659 Built to Alexander's original plan, it was one of the most lavish construction projec... 430 00:39:04,659 --> 00:39:15,659 The historian Strabo would later comment that the city had magnificent public precincts ... 431 00:39:19,659 --> 00:39:23,659 The colonnaded marble streets were over 10 metres wide. 432 00:39:23,659 --> 00:39:29,659 There were public baths, a huge gymnasium and one of the greatest wonders of the ancient... 433 00:39:30,659 --> 00:39:36,659 The 135 metre tall Pharos lighthouse that guided ships safely into port. 434 00:39:41,659 --> 00:39:49,659 And at the centre of the city, Alexander himself, whose mummified body had been... 435 00:39:49,659 --> 00:39:54,659 The Ptolemies had built a capital unlike anything Egypt had ever seen before. 436 00:39:54,659 --> 00:39:58,659 For in Alexandria, a new Egypt was being born. 437 00:40:00,659 --> 00:40:09,659 The creation of Alexandria and the great influx of immigrants gave it a freshness o... 438 00:40:09,659 --> 00:40:16,659 Whereas previously Egyptian civilisation had developed along the Nile and in many ways ... 439 00:40:16,659 --> 00:40:25,659 I think the fact that Alexandria was open to so many diverse influences, religiously,... 440 00:40:25,659 --> 00:40:33,659 I think I'd have felt very at home here. There's a real sense of culture and learni... 441 00:40:36,659 --> 00:40:42,659 Today, Alexandria is the largest city on the Mediterranean, stretching for over 20 mill... 442 00:40:42,659 --> 00:40:47,659 The city is home to the largest of the world's most important cities. 443 00:40:48,659 --> 00:40:56,659 Today, Alexandria is the largest city on the Mediterranean, stretching for over 20 mile... 444 00:40:59,659 --> 00:41:10,659 As Egypt's largest seaport, it caters for over 80% of the country's imports and... 445 00:41:11,659 --> 00:41:24,659 Having improved Egyptian agriculture by reclaiming new farmland through increased... 446 00:41:25,659 --> 00:41:32,659 And today the markets of Alexandria still buzz with some of the early city's lively... 447 00:41:33,659 --> 00:41:40,659 I'm going to try and find the nearest equivalent to ancient Egyptian delicacies. 448 00:41:40,659 --> 00:41:47,659 And these are dates and the ancient Egyptians used to make pastries and bread from them... 449 00:41:47,659 --> 00:41:52,659 I think I might have to taste one just for quality control, you understand. See how... 450 00:41:55,659 --> 00:41:56,659 They are very nice. 451 00:41:57,659 --> 00:42:03,659 This is incense in its raw state and of course this was burnt in temples and in... 452 00:42:03,659 --> 00:42:13,659 The port city of Alexandria became a huge hub of international trade, establishing route... 453 00:42:13,659 --> 00:42:23,659 And as native Egyptian goods like papyrus and perfume flowed out of the country, new exo... 454 00:42:24,659 --> 00:42:31,659 The Greeks loved olives and so these were imported and the Egyptians started to grow... 455 00:42:31,659 --> 00:42:33,659 I'll definitely have some of these delicious. 456 00:42:34,659 --> 00:42:37,659 Black pepper. We've got to get some black pepper. 457 00:42:37,659 --> 00:42:45,659 This is one of the really, really popular things, certainly in Ptolemaic times becau... 458 00:42:45,659 --> 00:42:48,659 And the Greeks went crazy for this stuff. 459 00:42:53,659 --> 00:43:04,659 It's certainly lively shopping in Egypt, never a dull moment. 460 00:43:10,659 --> 00:43:16,659 With Alexandria now at the heart of the ancient world, the rest of Egypt benefited... 461 00:43:16,659 --> 00:43:25,659 For determined to honour their adopted country's long history, the Ptolemies... 462 00:43:27,659 --> 00:43:35,659 Indeed, modern visitors can often fail to realise that many of the places they visit... 463 00:43:36,659 --> 00:43:45,659 Ezner, Edfu, Dendera, Komombo, all of these are Ptolemaic buildings that tourists and... 464 00:43:45,659 --> 00:43:52,659 And yet they really don't give sufficient credit to the people whose vision created... 465 00:43:53,659 --> 00:43:58,659 The most impressive of all such temples lies the farthest from Alexandria. 466 00:43:58,659 --> 00:44:09,659 Deep into Upper Egypt, close to Aswan, is the stunning Temple of Philae, which in Egypti... 467 00:44:09,659 --> 00:44:16,659 Much of the temple was built by Ptolemy II and his co-ruler and sister, Arsinoe. 468 00:44:16,659 --> 00:44:25,659 There was a law passed by her husband, Ptolemy, to say a statue of Arsinoe had to... 469 00:44:25,659 --> 00:44:28,659 She had to become its resident goddess. 470 00:44:28,659 --> 00:44:37,659 Arsinoe was a powerful female pharaoh associated with the goddess Isis, a role t... 471 00:44:38,659 --> 00:44:43,659 And under the Ptolemies, Philae became a major centre of the Isis cult. 472 00:44:43,659 --> 00:44:51,659 And here in the heart of Philae temple, Arsinoe's golden statue would have stood s... 473 00:44:51,659 --> 00:44:54,659 So the walls are full of images of Isis and her fellow gods. 474 00:44:54,659 --> 00:45:03,659 According to myth, Isis was responsible for the vital Nile flood, swelling the river a... 475 00:45:03,659 --> 00:45:09,659 And with its spectacular location, Philae still retains its hugely spiritual... 476 00:45:09,659 --> 00:45:12,659 I think it's that sense of continuity you really feel when you're up here. 477 00:45:12,659 --> 00:45:14,659 You feel like you're at the centre of the world. 478 00:45:14,659 --> 00:45:16,659 I suppose for the ancient Egyptians you were. 479 00:45:16,659 --> 00:45:18,659 The centre of their religious world. 480 00:45:18,659 --> 00:45:26,659 And at this point, which was the heart of ancient Egyptian religion way to the... 481 00:45:26,659 --> 00:45:29,659 It's a very, very holy place this. 482 00:45:29,659 --> 00:45:38,659 But while Philae was becoming an increasingly important centre of Egyptian religion, its... 483 00:45:38,659 --> 00:45:44,659 For the Ptolemies created some of the first scholarships, attracting academics from... 484 00:45:44,659 --> 00:45:50,659 Biology, theology, astronomy, geometry, anatomy, philosophy. 485 00:45:50,659 --> 00:45:53,659 And of course, my own personal favourite. 486 00:45:53,659 --> 00:45:55,659 History. 487 00:45:58,659 --> 00:46:01,659 And at this point, Philae was no longer a centre of knowledge. 488 00:46:01,659 --> 00:46:03,659 It was a centre of knowledge. 489 00:46:03,659 --> 00:46:05,659 And it was a centre of knowledge. 490 00:46:05,659 --> 00:46:07,659 And it was a centre of knowledge. 491 00:46:07,659 --> 00:46:09,659 And it was a centre of knowledge. 492 00:46:09,659 --> 00:46:10,659 Yay! 493 00:46:14,659 --> 00:46:20,659 And at the centre of this intellectual hothouse was the famous Royal Library. 494 00:46:20,659 --> 00:46:28,659 Up to half a million works were once housed within to compete with the famous schools ... 495 00:46:28,659 --> 00:46:34,659 And today that legacy lives on with Alexandria's striking new library. 496 00:46:35,659 --> 00:46:38,659 Ptolemies really did appreciate that knowledge was power. 497 00:46:38,659 --> 00:46:40,659 And they wanted that power. 498 00:46:40,659 --> 00:46:47,659 So they brought together in this one single place some of the greatest works in human... 499 00:46:47,659 --> 00:46:51,659 The plays of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides. 500 00:46:51,659 --> 00:46:53,659 The works of Aristotle the philosopher. 501 00:46:53,659 --> 00:46:55,659 The Old Testament scriptures. 502 00:46:55,659 --> 00:46:59,659 And all the accumulated knowledge from the temples of ancient Egypt. 503 00:46:59,659 --> 00:47:02,659 All brought into this one single building. 504 00:47:05,659 --> 00:47:09,659 The great library also contained the works of Herodotus. 505 00:47:09,659 --> 00:47:16,659 A Greek historian who travelled the length of Egypt over a century before the Ptolemies ... 506 00:47:16,659 --> 00:47:21,659 His accounts sum up the Greek fascination with Egyptian society. 507 00:47:23,659 --> 00:47:26,659 Not only is the climate different from that of the rest of the world. 508 00:47:26,659 --> 00:47:29,659 And the river unlike any other river. 509 00:47:29,659 --> 00:47:36,659 But the people also in most of their manners and customs exactly reverse the common... 510 00:47:36,659 --> 00:47:39,659 For the women attend the markets and trade. 511 00:47:39,659 --> 00:47:43,659 While the men sit at home and do the weaving. 512 00:47:43,659 --> 00:47:48,659 Indeed the level of equality of Egypt's women shocked Herodotus. 513 00:47:48,659 --> 00:47:56,659 Something he vividly records when he witnessed a group of men and women travell... 514 00:47:57,659 --> 00:48:00,659 Some of the women make a noise with clappers. 515 00:48:00,659 --> 00:48:02,659 Others play the oboe. 516 00:48:02,659 --> 00:48:06,659 While the rest of the women and men sing and clap their hands. 517 00:48:11,659 --> 00:48:15,659 Some of the women shout mockery to the women of that town they are passing. 518 00:48:15,659 --> 00:48:21,659 Whilst others dance and others stand up and expose their private parts. 519 00:48:27,659 --> 00:48:34,659 In temples the length of Egypt the Ptolemies ensured they were portrayed as Egyptian... 520 00:48:34,659 --> 00:48:39,659 Making them almost indistinguishable from their native Egyptian predecessors. 521 00:48:39,659 --> 00:48:47,659 Yet in Alexandria the blend of Greek and Egyptian could sometimes create a hybrid o... 522 00:48:47,659 --> 00:48:50,659 Hi Namin. Hi, how are you? 523 00:48:51,659 --> 00:49:00,659 Namin Sami is a local historian who spent years studying this remarkable tomb comple... 524 00:49:00,659 --> 00:49:04,659 And here we come to the unique period, the main period chamber. 525 00:49:04,659 --> 00:49:08,659 That's mad. That is fabulous. 526 00:49:08,659 --> 00:49:17,659 Guarded by Greek Doric columns the entrance is covered in images of Egyptian gods who... 527 00:49:17,659 --> 00:49:20,659 It's like a tomb but it's also like a temple. 528 00:49:20,659 --> 00:49:24,659 A temple, a facade of a temple but a typical Egyptian style. 529 00:49:24,659 --> 00:49:26,659 Yeah, yeah. It's really... 530 00:49:26,659 --> 00:49:29,659 With heros protecting the entrance. Yeah, yeah. 531 00:49:29,659 --> 00:49:33,659 You know why cobra is chosen to be presented in the tombs? 532 00:49:33,659 --> 00:49:36,659 Because the cobra has no eyelashes. 533 00:49:36,659 --> 00:49:40,659 It keeps her eyes open 24 hours. 534 00:49:40,659 --> 00:49:46,659 Which means it's awake to protect the tomb for 24 hours a day and night. 535 00:49:47,659 --> 00:49:50,659 I love these snakes. 536 00:49:50,659 --> 00:49:56,659 That's a very Greek looking snake but it's wearing a very little ancient Egyptian crown. 537 00:49:56,659 --> 00:49:59,659 That's crazy. Exactly. 538 00:49:59,659 --> 00:50:05,659 They literally are throwing everything they've got at this tomb. I mean Medusa,... 539 00:50:05,659 --> 00:50:07,659 To guarantee safety. 540 00:50:07,659 --> 00:50:13,659 This is the best guarded doorway I've seen in Egypt. It's got everything here. And the... 541 00:50:14,659 --> 00:50:19,659 They represent the inhabitants of the tomb, a single wealthy family. 542 00:50:19,659 --> 00:50:24,659 These two exhibit an odd mix of the Greek and Egyptian. 543 00:50:24,659 --> 00:50:31,659 I think the bodies are ancient Egyptian. The stance is ancient Egyptian. The man's kilt... 544 00:50:31,659 --> 00:50:37,659 From the neck down they're Egyptian but from the neck up they're European. 545 00:50:38,659 --> 00:50:45,659 It's clear the tomb owners had done everything they could to ensure safe passa... 546 00:50:45,659 --> 00:50:48,659 Look, it's the Episkel. 547 00:50:48,659 --> 00:50:52,659 Even if they didn't quite understand how it all worked. 548 00:50:55,659 --> 00:51:01,659 All the features are there. You've got Thoth presenting the oils and Eubis doing the same. 549 00:51:01,659 --> 00:51:05,659 Mummifying the dead. You've even got a big jar underneath. 550 00:51:05,659 --> 00:51:10,659 The big jar and feather of Mides, the goddess of justice. 551 00:51:10,659 --> 00:51:15,659 Without her approval you will never cross the other side. 552 00:51:15,659 --> 00:51:22,659 He didn't forget to add a Greek touch in a lower part. Two depictions of Dionysus. 553 00:51:22,659 --> 00:51:26,659 Dionysus was the Greek god of wine and fertility. 554 00:51:26,659 --> 00:51:32,659 Clearly these tomb occupants intended to continue the lives they lived in Alexandri... 555 00:51:32,659 --> 00:51:37,659 I want all that I enjoy in life to be with the other side. 556 00:51:37,659 --> 00:51:39,659 Especially the wine. 557 00:51:39,659 --> 00:51:42,659 What a great place to spend eternity. 558 00:51:43,659 --> 00:51:54,659 Despite its rather cartoon-like quality, the apparent opulence of this tomb demonstrate... 559 00:51:55,659 --> 00:52:03,659 Yet in many ways it was little more than a veneer hiding the real force that would... 560 00:52:03,659 --> 00:52:13,659 For where the external invaders had largely tried and failed, Egypt's real nemesis wou... 561 00:52:13,659 --> 00:52:16,659 Much of this luxury was just a facade. 562 00:52:16,659 --> 00:52:23,659 For the royals of Alexandria, notorious for their love of display, were like actors on... 563 00:52:23,659 --> 00:52:30,659 As one ancient commentator observed, everything in Egypt is simply play acting ... 564 00:52:30,659 --> 00:52:36,659 A comment which cuts to the heart of this melodramatic monarchy for whom image was... 565 00:52:38,659 --> 00:52:45,659 Because while the ruling elite were living it up in Alexandria, other parts of Egypt wer... 566 00:52:45,659 --> 00:52:51,659 By the end of the 3rd century BC, Egypt was once more riven with civil war. 567 00:52:51,659 --> 00:52:58,659 Upper Egypt began to rebel and it fell to Ptolemy V to try and fight the fires of... 568 00:52:58,659 --> 00:53:06,659 So not only did he portray himself as an Egyptian, he went even further in his supp... 569 00:53:06,659 --> 00:53:12,659 In doing so, he left the world one of its most famous ancient artefacts. 570 00:53:15,659 --> 00:53:17,659 The Rosetta Stone. 571 00:53:18,659 --> 00:53:28,659 It's best known as the means by which the French scholar Champollion was first able ... 572 00:53:28,659 --> 00:53:35,659 And we can tell that the inscription on the stone was of huge importance because it wa... 573 00:53:35,659 --> 00:53:38,659 Greek, Demotic and Hieroglyphic. 574 00:53:38,659 --> 00:53:42,659 In a way you could almost describe it as a kind of news bulletin. 575 00:53:42,659 --> 00:53:54,659 It's the priests of Memphis issuing this decree to let as many people know exactly... 576 00:53:54,659 --> 00:53:59,659 And it particularly focuses on Ptolemy V's generous patronage. 577 00:53:59,659 --> 00:54:08,659 The priests are praising him because he's the one that gives wealth to the temple and gi... 578 00:54:08,659 --> 00:54:12,659 which were such an integral part of Egyptian religion. 579 00:54:12,659 --> 00:54:23,659 The priests really are grateful to their Ptolemaic pharaoh, who they see as wanting... 580 00:54:23,659 --> 00:54:28,659 Much like Alexander had, much like the Saïites had and the Kushites had. 581 00:54:28,659 --> 00:54:35,659 They knew that to attain true power, true control in Egypt, you had to do things the... 582 00:54:38,659 --> 00:54:42,659 Yet Ptolemy V's philanthropy came at a price. 583 00:54:42,659 --> 00:54:46,659 Keeping the peace in Egypt proved cripplingly expensive. 584 00:54:46,659 --> 00:54:53,659 So the second half of the Ptolemaic dynasty was riven by debt, corruption and vicious... 585 00:54:53,659 --> 00:54:58,659 Soon the expanding Roman Empire bore down on a divided Egypt. 586 00:54:58,659 --> 00:55:02,659 Only the famous Cleopatra stood in their way. 587 00:55:02,659 --> 00:55:11,659 In the mould of great uncle Alexander, she believed herself divine and managed to hol... 588 00:55:11,659 --> 00:55:16,659 But not even the great Cleopatra could prevent the inevitable. 589 00:55:16,659 --> 00:55:18,659 And so it was. 590 00:55:18,659 --> 00:55:25,659 But in August 30 BC, Cleopatra's famous suicide brought an end to ancient Egypt as... 591 00:55:25,659 --> 00:55:33,659 This epic culture, which had lasted for 3,000 years, came to an end in a matter of days, 592 00:55:33,659 --> 00:55:39,659 when on the 31st of August, Egypt was formally annexed by Rome. 593 00:55:39,659 --> 00:55:43,659 This was Egypt's point of no return. 594 00:55:43,659 --> 00:55:50,659 A slow, painful decline of Egyptian beliefs and culture until the arrival of... 595 00:55:50,659 --> 00:55:55,659 With its numerous temples abandoned, built over or simply destroyed, 596 00:55:55,659 --> 00:55:59,659 Egypt's glories began to fade away. 597 00:55:59,659 --> 00:56:04,659 And so the Roman Empire was forced to leave Egypt. 598 00:56:04,659 --> 00:56:10,659 Built over or simply destroyed, Egypt's glories began to fade from memory. 599 00:56:16,659 --> 00:56:23,659 But Egypt's great story can now be traced back 20,000 years to the very origins of i... 600 00:56:23,659 --> 00:56:26,659 which had evolved from its unique environment, 601 00:56:26,659 --> 00:56:33,659 creating a series of sophisticated beliefs able to unite a country to build great... 602 00:56:35,659 --> 00:56:43,659 It had survived chaos and famine, only to rise again in a glorious zenith of rebirth... 603 00:56:45,659 --> 00:56:52,659 Even waves of foreign invasions were ultimately assimilated by Egypt's powerful... 604 00:56:52,659 --> 00:56:56,659 And despite being eventually absorbed into the Roman Empire, 605 00:56:56,659 --> 00:57:01,659 the ancient culture had continued until the arrival of Christianity. 606 00:57:01,659 --> 00:57:06,659 It has the Egyptians had always believed there would be a life after death. 607 00:57:16,659 --> 00:57:23,659 Cleopatra's needle on London's embankment had lain forgotten in Egypt until the 19th... 608 00:57:23,659 --> 00:57:29,659 But as pioneering Egyptologists began a 200 year process of rediscovery, 609 00:57:29,659 --> 00:57:35,659 ancient Egypt was reborn and this time it went global. 610 00:57:40,659 --> 00:57:46,659 And what a privilege it is for us today to be able to see such wonderful things 611 00:57:46,659 --> 00:57:51,659 and capture just a glimpse of this fascinating ancient culture. 612 00:57:51,659 --> 00:57:56,659 The culture of a people at one with their environment 613 00:57:56,659 --> 00:58:03,659 and who captured through their timeless monuments their own unique view of the world. 614 00:58:03,659 --> 00:58:08,659 In fact, the story of Egypt is far from over. 615 00:58:08,659 --> 00:58:12,659 For its rediscovery means that it is only just beginning. 616 00:58:12,659 --> 00:58:16,659 And it's the things that made the Egyptians so very special. 617 00:58:16,659 --> 00:58:20,659 And they've achieved their ultimate goal to live forever. 618 00:58:46,659 --> 00:58:51,659 For more information visit www.mooji.org