The Black Pharaohs of Egypt

The feature article for the February 2008 issue of the National Geographic Magazine is on the black pharaohs of Egypt. The following is an excerpt from the article:

In the year 730 B.C., a man by the name of Piye decided the only way to save Egypt from itself was to invade it. Things would get bloody before the salvation came.

“Harness the best steeds of your stable,” he ordered his commanders. The magnificent civilization that had built the great pyramids had lost its way, torn apart by petty warlords. For two decades Piye had ruled over his own kingdom in Nubia, a swath of Africa located mostly in present-day Sudan. But he considered himself the true ruler of Egypt as well, the rightful heir to the spiritual traditions practiced by pharaohs such as Ramses II and Thutmose III. Since Piye had probably never actually visited Lower Egypt, some did not take his boast seriously. Now Piye would witness the subjugation of decadent Egypt firsthand—“I shall let Lower Egypt taste the taste of my fingers,” he would later write.

When Piye died at the end of his 35-year reign in 715 B.C., his subjects honored his wishes by burying him in an Egyptian-style pyramid, with four of his beloved horses nearby. He was the first pharaoh to receive such entombment in more than 500 years. A pity, then, that the great Nubian who accomplished these feats is literally faceless to us. Images of Piye on the elaborate granite slabs, or stelae, memorializing his conquest of Egypt have long since been chiseled away. On a relief in the temple at the Nubian capital of Napata, only Piye’s legs remain. We are left with a single physical detail of the man—namely, that his skin was dark.

This is an excellent article. The National Geographic Magazine always excels in providing accurate and relevant information about archaeological, anthropological, and other scientific issues. To read the article, visit the web page of the National Geographic Magazine by clicking here.

Credit for picture: National Geographic Magazine

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Black Pharaoh, Egypt, Nubia, Piye, Pharaoh