0:00:13 > 0:00:17This is about as far north in Egypt as it's possible to get,
0:00:17 > 0:00:19because out there is the Mediterranean.
0:00:23 > 0:00:27To my west is Libya, to my east Palestine and Arabia.
0:00:27 > 0:00:30While Egypt itself lies down there to the south -
0:00:30 > 0:00:341,000 kilometres of desert cut right through the centre
0:00:34 > 0:00:36by the mighty river Nile.
0:00:36 > 0:00:39And at its top lies this,
0:00:39 > 0:00:41the great port city of Alexandria.
0:00:46 > 0:00:50It was ancient Egypt's last and most influential capital.
0:00:50 > 0:00:54It was a city of great power, wealth and luxury,
0:00:54 > 0:00:57the greatest in the world.
0:00:59 > 0:01:03Alexandria was also home of one of Egypt's most famous pharaohs -
0:01:03 > 0:01:05Cleopatra -
0:01:05 > 0:01:08the final ruler of a Greek dynasty,
0:01:08 > 0:01:11and the last in a long line of foreign invaders
0:01:11 > 0:01:14who'd each claimed Egypt for themselves,
0:01:14 > 0:01:17seduced by its legendary splendours.
0:01:22 > 0:01:26'By now the pyramids were already thousands of years old.
0:01:26 > 0:01:31'They were the beginning of a seemingly indestructible core belief
0:01:31 > 0:01:34'that had survived chaos, famine and war.'
0:01:34 > 0:01:37It's as if they have been picked clean
0:01:39 > 0:01:42A belief that would shine even more brightly
0:01:42 > 0:01:44in its fabled golden age,
0:01:44 > 0:01:48whose temples, tombs and glittering treasures
0:01:48 > 0:01:51had made Egypt an irresistible temptation.
0:01:56 > 0:02:00As jealous foreign rulers eyed a weakened Egypt,
0:02:00 > 0:02:03how could it survive successive waves of foreign attack?
0:02:07 > 0:02:11But Egypt had a secret weapon -
0:02:11 > 0:02:14a culture so strong and deep rooted that it seduced
0:02:14 > 0:02:18and then absorbed all who would claim it as their own.
0:02:20 > 0:02:23Welcome to my story of ancient Egypt.
0:02:39 > 0:02:42Throughout the first millennium BC,
0:02:42 > 0:02:46Egypt faced wave after wave of foreign invaders.
0:02:49 > 0:02:53But in the face of such a strong and long-lived culture,
0:02:53 > 0:02:57all who would try to take over Egypt would themselves be taken over.
0:03:05 > 0:03:08Almost 1,000 years before Cleopatra,
0:03:08 > 0:03:12Egypt had entered its third intermediate period -
0:03:12 > 0:03:15a time of political decline and vulnerability.
0:03:18 > 0:03:23But it's the beginning of the 22nd Dynasty around 945 BC -
0:03:23 > 0:03:26the priests are in charge of the south,
0:03:26 > 0:03:30but in the north the vultures have started to circle,
0:03:30 > 0:03:32waiting for their chance to swoop,
0:03:32 > 0:03:35as a group of Libyan generals seize power
0:03:35 > 0:03:38to rule as pharaohs of a divided land.
0:03:45 > 0:03:49In many ways Egypt's waning power had been triggered by
0:03:49 > 0:03:53a loss of faith when the authority of the new kingdom pharaohs
0:03:53 > 0:03:55had begun to crumble.
0:03:55 > 0:03:59Egypt's once pious priests had helped loot the royal tombs
0:03:59 > 0:04:03in the Valley Of The Kings, systemically dismantling
0:04:03 > 0:04:07Egypt's previously unshakable belief in the afterlife.
0:04:09 > 0:04:13With the decline in power of the new kingdom pharaohs,
0:04:13 > 0:04:17the Libyans who'd fought for the Egyptians as mercenary generals
0:04:17 > 0:04:20gradually infiltrated Egypt's power structure
0:04:20 > 0:04:24and eventually took power as the 22nd Dynasty.
0:04:36 > 0:04:39The first king of the 22nd Dynasty, Shesonq,
0:04:39 > 0:04:42had a number of sons who helped him keep control of Egypt,
0:04:42 > 0:04:45one of whom was called Nimlot,
0:04:45 > 0:04:48and these are the bracelets of Prince Nimlot.
0:04:49 > 0:04:52Egypt's Libyan rulers understood that looking and
0:04:52 > 0:04:56acting Egyptian would help to keep the country under their control.
0:04:57 > 0:05:01These beautiful bracelets are just a tiny fraction
0:05:01 > 0:05:05of the golden treasures created for Egypt's Libyan royals,
0:05:05 > 0:05:07who, on the surface at least,
0:05:07 > 0:05:10upheld many of Egypt's most sacred traditions.
0:05:11 > 0:05:17They are portraying the very small figure of the god Horus,
0:05:17 > 0:05:19who symbolised Egyptian kingship,
0:05:19 > 0:05:22shown as a young child emerging from a lotus blossom.
0:05:22 > 0:05:26And on either side he's protected by the rearing cobras,
0:05:26 > 0:05:28the royal uraeus symbol.
0:05:31 > 0:05:35Yet in some ways these images are simply window dressing,
0:05:35 > 0:05:38lip service to ancient Egyptian traditions
0:05:38 > 0:05:40in order to claim a greater prize.
0:05:40 > 0:05:44For the Libyans had organized nothing less than
0:05:44 > 0:05:47the state sponsored plundering of Egypt's royal tombs.
0:05:49 > 0:05:53They were so transfixed by the wealth, by the gold,
0:05:53 > 0:05:57by the bling of ancient Egypt they wanted it for themselves.
0:05:57 > 0:05:59And over their several centuries rule,
0:05:59 > 0:06:03while they appeared to look like pharaohs and to rule as pharaohs,
0:06:03 > 0:06:09Egypt never feels to have been a cohesive united kingdom.
0:06:09 > 0:06:12They weren't Egyptians at heart and that's really what mattered.
0:06:15 > 0:06:19In many ways Libyan rule was destined to fail,
0:06:19 > 0:06:22because even if they were militarily superior
0:06:22 > 0:06:26their adoption of Egyptian culture was at best superficial
0:06:26 > 0:06:29and was insufficient to unite the country.
0:06:29 > 0:06:33In the north a squabbling Libyan elite fought amongst themselves,
0:06:33 > 0:06:35while in the south, the Egyptian priesthood,
0:06:35 > 0:06:40including yet more Libyan princes, still clung to power.
0:06:40 > 0:06:44A fragmented Egypt was easy pickings for any would-be invader.
0:06:44 > 0:06:47Egypt needed a regime that could reconnect
0:06:47 > 0:06:51with its most powerful asset - its history.
0:06:51 > 0:06:55And by 747 BC, that's what happened,
0:06:55 > 0:06:59when the Kushite rulers of Nubia made a direct spiritual connection
0:06:59 > 0:07:01with Egypt's glorious past.
0:07:01 > 0:07:05Now the Kushites were Egypt's southern neighbours in Nubia,
0:07:05 > 0:07:10and from time immemorial they and the Egyptians
0:07:10 > 0:07:14had kind of battled around sort of southern border of Egypt
0:07:14 > 0:07:18and by the 8th century BC, however, the Kushites had the upper hand.
0:07:20 > 0:07:24They were fervent believers in Egypt's traditional gods,
0:07:24 > 0:07:27in some ways making them more Egyptian than the Egyptians.
0:07:42 > 0:07:44The kingdom of Kush, in Nubia,
0:07:44 > 0:07:47was at the very edge of the Egyptian world.
0:07:47 > 0:07:50Having been repeatedly conquered by Egypt,
0:07:50 > 0:07:54the Kushites had been hugely influenced by Egyptian beliefs.
0:08:01 > 0:08:05Beliefs that centred on this great sandstone mountain, Gebel Barkal.
0:08:08 > 0:08:13For centuries it had been regarded as the mythical mound of creation.
0:08:18 > 0:08:22The mound from which Egypt's great creator god, Amun, was born.
0:08:28 > 0:08:30Here is the holy mountain.
0:08:30 > 0:08:35This is where the god lived in his primeval form.
0:08:35 > 0:08:40'Dr Tim Kendal has spent almost 30 years working at the site.'
0:08:40 > 0:08:43Being at the southern limit of the empire it was where,
0:08:43 > 0:08:47where the Nile began, where fertility began
0:08:47 > 0:08:50and so it had to be the place where creation began.
0:08:50 > 0:08:55So this was...they imagined this as the birthplace of the god Amun.
0:08:57 > 0:09:00And so this was the primeval Karnak.
0:09:00 > 0:09:05When the new kingdom pharaohs had arrived here in 1500 BC
0:09:05 > 0:09:07they built this temple,
0:09:07 > 0:09:11and dedicated it to Amun and his wife, the goddess Mut.
0:09:11 > 0:09:17And when the Egyptians withdrew from Nubia some 400 years later,
0:09:17 > 0:09:21the native Kushites continued to honour the sacred mountain,
0:09:21 > 0:09:24and Egypt's spiritual traditions.
0:09:24 > 0:09:28As the Kushite kings gained increasing military power
0:09:28 > 0:09:30they also claimed Egypt for themselves.
0:09:32 > 0:09:37So when King Piye led a Kushite invasion of Egypt in 747 BC,
0:09:37 > 0:09:42he didn't plunder or destroy, but restored and rebuilt,
0:09:42 > 0:09:45and founded Egypt's 25th Dynasty.
0:09:49 > 0:09:52The irony is that he's conquering Egypt,
0:09:52 > 0:09:54to put everything right I suppose.
0:09:54 > 0:09:59So it's all such a cycle of rebirth, re-growth, redevelopment
0:09:59 > 0:10:03and the Kushite kings are really kind of tapping into
0:10:03 > 0:10:05- that ancient power source... - Yeah, yeah.
0:10:05 > 0:10:08..and just sort of giving it back to the Egyptians.
0:10:08 > 0:10:11It's like starting time all over again and doing it right.
0:10:11 > 0:10:15So they had that same sense of history and continuity as the Egyptians.
0:10:15 > 0:10:18They are natural successors of the 18th Dynasty kings.
0:10:19 > 0:10:23Fuelled by a genuine desire to make their own mark in Egypt's long story,
0:10:23 > 0:10:28the Kushites began to rebuild Egypt here in their Nubian heartland.
0:10:29 > 0:10:33King Piye expanded the existing temple of Amun at Gebel Barkal,
0:10:33 > 0:10:38to balance the original great temple of Karnak in Egyptian Thebes.
0:10:39 > 0:10:42But while the Kushites had absorbed the culture of Egypt
0:10:42 > 0:10:44they still had their roots here in Africa.
0:10:46 > 0:10:49This cultural fusion is quite clearly expressed in this
0:10:49 > 0:10:53extraordinary representation of the Egyptian goddess Mut.
0:10:54 > 0:10:57The face of the goddess Mut has tribal scars. And look...
0:10:59 > 0:11:01..we'll see if it shows with this light.
0:11:02 > 0:11:04Can you see the three lines in her face?
0:11:04 > 0:11:07So this is an Egyptian goddess with a Nubian makeover?
0:11:07 > 0:11:10Yeah. She was a goddess of Nubia
0:11:10 > 0:11:13and it was appropriate for Nubians to have tribal scars.
0:11:13 > 0:11:17So this is a very, very graphic version of the way in which
0:11:17 > 0:11:21local Nubians were making the traditional deities of Egypt
0:11:21 > 0:11:23their own, physically marking them.
0:11:23 > 0:11:25It's as if she's has been stamped as a Nubian.
0:11:25 > 0:11:27Yeah, yeah.
0:11:27 > 0:11:30How incredible. This is such a land of surprises.
0:11:30 > 0:11:32That is beautiful.
0:11:43 > 0:11:47Yet this land of surprises has something else in store too.
0:11:47 > 0:11:51Gale force winds whip up the worst sandstorm in years.
0:11:52 > 0:11:56It's a powerful reminder that the ancients would also have had
0:11:56 > 0:11:59to deal with such dramatic natural phenomena.
0:12:04 > 0:12:06You can certainly taste the grit in your teeth.
0:12:08 > 0:12:12The ancients would have tackled this using spells, rituals.
0:12:14 > 0:12:18They would also have made extra offerings to specific deities,
0:12:18 > 0:12:21most notably Osiris's brother, god Seth,
0:12:21 > 0:12:24the god of turbulence and the god of storms,
0:12:24 > 0:12:27the god of red headed individuals
0:12:27 > 0:12:30who were seen somewhat turbulent too. Can't imagine why.
0:12:38 > 0:12:40I'm seeking shelter in this shrine,
0:12:40 > 0:12:44cut into the mountain by Pyie's son, Taharqa,
0:12:44 > 0:12:48which is currently undergoing major restoration by an Italian mission.
0:12:48 > 0:12:54It apparently reveals graphic evidence of Egypt's continuing powerful influence.
0:12:56 > 0:12:58I've never been here before.
0:12:58 > 0:13:00I have no idea what's going on in here,
0:13:00 > 0:13:02so this'll be as new to me as it is to you.
0:13:03 > 0:13:06Oh, flippin' heck!
0:13:06 > 0:13:09'It's a real privilege to see the time blackened walls
0:13:09 > 0:13:12'finally giving up their secrets.'
0:13:12 > 0:13:14Wow, look at that, look at that!
0:13:14 > 0:13:17Oh, that is... Oh, that is so beautiful.
0:13:18 > 0:13:22They're bringing out not just the golds but the blues.
0:13:22 > 0:13:23These two colours -
0:13:23 > 0:13:27the bright blue of the sky and the Nile and the gold.
0:13:27 > 0:13:31This sort of really powerful colour of the sun god.
0:13:31 > 0:13:36'This is Taharqa, the Kushite's most powerful and important pharaoh.
0:13:36 > 0:13:40'In classic Egyptian style he's shown offering to the god Amun
0:13:40 > 0:13:42'and his wife the goddess Mut.'
0:13:42 > 0:13:45It's raised relief. This is old school,
0:13:45 > 0:13:48this is old school technique. This is skill.
0:13:48 > 0:13:51And they're all overlaid in this yellow gold.
0:13:51 > 0:13:56And you can even see the little scales on this corselet
0:13:56 > 0:13:59that Amun's wearing. Every detail is here.
0:14:00 > 0:14:03It's fabulous. It's like Christmas morning, this.
0:14:03 > 0:14:06This is just extraordinary, just look for yourselves, just look.
0:14:06 > 0:14:08Look at their faces. Look at their eyes.
0:14:10 > 0:14:14'This wall truly exemplifies Egypt's ancient magic,
0:14:14 > 0:14:18'as those who try to conquer it end up being seduced by it
0:14:18 > 0:14:21'and then become a part of it.
0:14:21 > 0:14:25'It's a sincere attempt by Taharqa to connect his kingship
0:14:25 > 0:14:28'to the achievements of the pharaohs of Egypt's past,
0:14:28 > 0:14:32'in particular to the rulers of the new kingdom.'
0:14:43 > 0:14:47So, although history records that Taharqa conquered Egypt,
0:14:47 > 0:14:52this scene reveals it's actually Egypt that conquered Taharqa.
0:14:52 > 0:14:57It's as if the Egyptian identity will always win out, no matter what,
0:14:57 > 0:15:02so much so that Taharqa is even shown with the ram's horns of Amun,
0:15:02 > 0:15:06identifying him as the son of Egypt's god of gods.
0:15:07 > 0:15:12These were worn my Amenhotep III in Luxor temple in the 18th Dynasty.
0:15:12 > 0:15:15They were later worn by the great Alexander
0:15:15 > 0:15:17to show he, too, was the son of Amun.
0:15:17 > 0:15:22And here we have Taharqa in all his finery and all his splendour.
0:15:27 > 0:15:33Who knew that they were here, hidden away in this special, special rock?
0:15:33 > 0:15:35We've come to heart of Gebel Barkal now.
0:15:35 > 0:15:38We've come to heart of Egyptian religion.
0:15:38 > 0:15:42Because this the very birthplace of Amun himself
0:15:42 > 0:15:46and here he is, just for us, right now emerging from the walls.
0:15:46 > 0:15:49Very few people have ever seen this.
0:15:55 > 0:15:59Here inside the temple, where only the most pious were allowed,
0:15:59 > 0:16:03Taharqa is shown in deference to Egypt's most powerful god.
0:16:08 > 0:16:12And outside, on the mountain, he exhibits his devotion
0:16:12 > 0:16:14on a truly monumental scale
0:16:14 > 0:16:17by embellishing the very top of its pinnacle.
0:16:19 > 0:16:23180 metres tall and 11 metres from the cliff face,
0:16:23 > 0:16:25it seems completely inaccessible.
0:16:26 > 0:16:30But Taharqa pulled off an incredible technical achievement.
0:16:30 > 0:16:33He built a crane arm and elaborate scaffolding
0:16:33 > 0:16:37in order to make his own permanent mark on the mountain.
0:16:37 > 0:16:41What he did was, he made an inscription for himself
0:16:41 > 0:16:43commemorating his victories east and west.
0:16:43 > 0:16:47And then underneath his men set a small statue of the king
0:16:47 > 0:16:50and they covered the inscription in gold.
0:16:50 > 0:16:52Today you can hardly see it, but in those days
0:16:52 > 0:16:56it would've been the most conspicuous feature of the mountain.
0:16:56 > 0:16:59- I mean that's meant to be seen by the gods.- Seen by the gods.
0:16:59 > 0:17:02'Of course no mortal eye could read this from the ground.
0:17:02 > 0:17:04'But that wasn't the point.
0:17:04 > 0:17:06'This was a message to the gods,
0:17:06 > 0:17:09'carved on a monument built to impress.
0:17:10 > 0:17:14'Completely covered in gold, it reflected the sun's rays
0:17:14 > 0:17:19'and it acted like a giant billboard as it telegraphed Taharqa's message
0:17:19 > 0:17:21'for miles around.
0:17:21 > 0:17:26'And this, again, harked back to Egypt's past when previous pharaohs
0:17:26 > 0:17:30'had placed gilded capstones on their pyramids and obelisks
0:17:30 > 0:17:33'to harness the potent powers of the sun.
0:17:35 > 0:17:38'Just to the east of Gebel Barkal lies the necropolis of Nuri
0:17:38 > 0:17:44'where the Kushite kings' transformation into Egyptian pharaohs was finally completed,
0:17:44 > 0:17:47'for the dynasty who'd invaded Egypt
0:17:47 > 0:17:50'were now copying Egypt's ultimate symbol,
0:17:50 > 0:17:53'and for the first time in over 1000 years,
0:17:53 > 0:17:57'the kings who ruled Egypt were buried in pyramids.'
0:17:57 > 0:18:00When the kings made their capital at Memphis,
0:18:00 > 0:18:03they were living right across the river from the great pyramids.
0:18:03 > 0:18:05Taharqa had spent most of his life there
0:18:05 > 0:18:08and was familiar with the great pyramids and so when he died
0:18:08 > 0:18:11he needed a pyramid of commensurate scale,
0:18:11 > 0:18:14and he sort of established this new type
0:18:14 > 0:18:17and it was followed by all his successors.
0:18:19 > 0:18:22The Kushites eventually built more pyramids here,
0:18:22 > 0:18:26in their Nubian homeland, than the Egyptians had built in Egypt.
0:18:26 > 0:18:29And just as at Giza,
0:18:29 > 0:18:32Taharqa's pyramid is precisely aligned to its environment.
0:18:38 > 0:18:42For on the exact day when the Nile flood begins to recede
0:18:42 > 0:18:45the sun sets just like this,
0:18:45 > 0:18:48directly behind the Gebel Barkal pinnacle.
0:18:48 > 0:18:51Yet only on this specific day
0:18:51 > 0:18:55and only when viewed from the top of Taharqa's pyramid.
0:18:56 > 0:18:58That is totally impressive.
0:18:58 > 0:19:01Not just a skill, a feat of engineering,
0:19:01 > 0:19:04but such devotion to the gods.
0:19:04 > 0:19:06The gods, observing nature.
0:19:06 > 0:19:09- Yeah.- I mean it would take a huge amount of observation
0:19:09 > 0:19:12to get the position just right, to get the day just right.
0:19:15 > 0:19:19Surrounded by these pyramids, the images of Amun and Mut,
0:19:19 > 0:19:21and their monumental temples,
0:19:21 > 0:19:24it's easy to forget that the Kushites were actually
0:19:24 > 0:19:28a foreign power who'd taken Egypt by force.
0:19:28 > 0:19:31Yet it's almost as if Egypt was taunting its invaders.
0:19:31 > 0:19:34"While you may try and dominate our land,
0:19:34 > 0:19:37"our culture will ultimately dominate you."
0:19:37 > 0:19:42And as such, the Kushites left a legacy of renewal and resurrection.
0:19:45 > 0:19:47But, like all Egypt's conquerors,
0:19:47 > 0:19:50the Kushites' moment in the sun was fleeting,
0:19:50 > 0:19:54for their 25th Dynasty lasted but a century,
0:19:54 > 0:19:58as a far more ruthless and ambitious power now invaded.
0:20:04 > 0:20:10In 674 BC, the fearsome Assyrian army marched into Egypt.
0:20:10 > 0:20:15As ruthless expansionists, they had little interest in Egyptian culture.
0:20:15 > 0:20:18They graphically demonstrated their contempt
0:20:18 > 0:20:21by sacking the sacred city of Thebes.
0:20:33 > 0:20:35The Assyrians unlike the Egyptians,
0:20:35 > 0:20:39are interested in expanding their empire and really taking over
0:20:39 > 0:20:43other parts of the world, and they do that by violence.
0:20:44 > 0:20:49This very un-Egyptian bronze helmet was discovered in Thebes.
0:20:49 > 0:20:53It is one of the very few objects that reveal the Assyrian takeover of Egypt.
0:20:56 > 0:21:00Despite possessing equally powerful iconography of their own,
0:21:00 > 0:21:04the Assyrians had little time to leave their mark.
0:21:04 > 0:21:06They simply stamped their authority upon Egypt
0:21:06 > 0:21:09by trying to rip out its religious heart.
0:21:12 > 0:21:16This holy complex, this really huge sacred space,
0:21:16 > 0:21:18had never been attacked in Egyptian history.
0:21:18 > 0:21:22And so for a mob to damage the temple,
0:21:22 > 0:21:24to damage statues perhaps,
0:21:24 > 0:21:28to damage precious things would really have been
0:21:28 > 0:21:30absolute anathema to the Egyptians.
0:21:30 > 0:21:33What's really striking is it's obviously not an Egyptian item
0:21:33 > 0:21:36but the Egyptians didn't even wear helmets, did they?
0:21:36 > 0:21:39- They relied on their thick hair, didn't they?- Yeah, yeah.
0:21:39 > 0:21:42So for me it really evokes a completely alien image.
0:21:42 > 0:21:46I mean the Assyrians... I mean war was their business, wasn't it?
0:21:55 > 0:21:58With their sophisticated weapons and armour,
0:21:58 > 0:22:00the Assyrians were a war machine,
0:22:00 > 0:22:04whose unstoppable progress seemed to spell disaster for Egypt.
0:22:06 > 0:22:10Yet after little more than 20 years, the Assyrians returned east
0:22:10 > 0:22:14to tackle problems at home, leaving vassals in charge of Egypt.
0:22:16 > 0:22:20Based at the delta city of Sais, these were the Saite kings,
0:22:20 > 0:22:26shrewd Egyptian politicians who first appeared to serve their Assyrian masters,
0:22:26 > 0:22:30but soon became strong enough to declare their independence.
0:22:31 > 0:22:34Egypt was now back in Egyptian hands.
0:22:34 > 0:22:39The Saites instigated a spectacular renaissance in native culture,
0:22:39 > 0:22:42at the heart of which lay Egypt's most powerful symbol
0:22:42 > 0:22:45of national identity - mummification.
0:22:47 > 0:22:49But no longer limited to humans,
0:22:49 > 0:22:52there was an explosion of animal mummification.
0:22:52 > 0:22:55Everything from dogs, cats, crocodiles,
0:22:55 > 0:22:58ibis and even tiny shrews.
0:23:00 > 0:23:04The ancient Egyptians had always mummified their dead,
0:23:04 > 0:23:06both human and animal.
0:23:06 > 0:23:11And with the Saites, we can almost see it as a way of the Saite kings
0:23:11 > 0:23:15trying to declare, "We are Egypt, we are important,
0:23:15 > 0:23:17"this is what makes us special."
0:23:17 > 0:23:22No-one else in the ancient world could mummify like the Egyptians
0:23:22 > 0:23:24and so they rolled it out a millionfold.
0:23:26 > 0:23:29With animals specifically bred for mummification
0:23:29 > 0:23:32and then sold as offerings at temples,
0:23:32 > 0:23:36the Saites had reinvigorated Egypt's oldest industry.
0:23:36 > 0:23:39Death was once again big business.
0:23:58 > 0:24:02Now, this might look pretty silly, but around 2,000 years ago
0:24:02 > 0:24:05here at Saqqara, this would have been a very common sight.
0:24:09 > 0:24:12This place would've been packed with pilgrims,
0:24:12 > 0:24:14with priests making animal mummies,
0:24:14 > 0:24:18and they'd be trundling the mummies across the landscape in carts like this one.
0:24:18 > 0:24:21So we must get out of our minds this idea of Egyptian priests
0:24:21 > 0:24:24as these pious, quiet figures wafting through the landscape,
0:24:24 > 0:24:28when, at by this time, it was all carried out in great numbers.
0:24:34 > 0:24:38And it was Egypt's endless ability to reinterpret its core beliefs
0:24:38 > 0:24:41that was the key to its longevity.
0:24:41 > 0:24:45For millennia, the Egyptians had believed that the pharaoh
0:24:45 > 0:24:48was a living god, who embodied the soul of Egypt.
0:24:48 > 0:24:53When the king died, their soul lived on in their mummified body,
0:24:53 > 0:24:58which must be kept safe to guarantee the continuity of Egypt.
0:24:58 > 0:25:01So they'd always buried their rulers in the safety of pyramids
0:25:01 > 0:25:04or elaborate rock-cut tombs.
0:25:10 > 0:25:13But in times of increasing unrest and foreign rule,
0:25:13 > 0:25:17the Egyptians could no longer rely on even having a pharaoh to bury,
0:25:17 > 0:25:21and so they turned to another centuries-old practice.
0:25:22 > 0:25:28The Serapeum at Saqqara is a huge subterranean tomb complex in which
0:25:28 > 0:25:33the concepts of kingship and animal mummification were fused together.
0:25:33 > 0:25:37For each of these giant granite sarcophagi once contained
0:25:37 > 0:25:42an animal believed to embody all the qualities of kingship.
0:25:42 > 0:25:46This is the burial site of the sacred Apis bull.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52These were bodies of mummified bulls
0:25:52 > 0:25:55of such importance to the Egyptian mind-set
0:25:55 > 0:25:59they extended all this effort and cost to create
0:25:59 > 0:26:03a suitably impressive burial site, and they've done this in spades.
0:26:03 > 0:26:06As one bull dies and is mummified and buried,
0:26:06 > 0:26:08the other one is then worshipped in life,
0:26:08 > 0:26:11and at death mummified and buried again,
0:26:11 > 0:26:13and so there's a real progression.
0:26:13 > 0:26:16The cult of the Apis bull dates right back to the beginning
0:26:16 > 0:26:20of Egyptian history, and it's closely linked to the pharaoh.
0:26:20 > 0:26:23It was believed that when the sacred bull died,
0:26:23 > 0:26:27it became one with Osiris, the god of the afterlife.
0:26:27 > 0:26:32And so became an Osiris Apis or Serapis for short.
0:26:34 > 0:26:37And these sacred bulls became hugely important under the Saites.
0:26:38 > 0:26:41During times of foreign occupation,
0:26:41 > 0:26:46when Egypt was increasingly being ruled by pharaohs in absentia,
0:26:46 > 0:26:48be it in Persia or wherever else,
0:26:48 > 0:26:52for the Egyptians, they needed a physical presence
0:26:52 > 0:26:54and the Apis bull provided this presence,
0:26:54 > 0:26:57because they could see it with their own eyes, they could
0:26:57 > 0:27:01celebrate rituals in its company, and at death it would be mummified
0:27:01 > 0:27:05and then buried in the manner of pharaohs going back for millennia.
0:27:05 > 0:27:09So it was crucial to have this creature here -
0:27:09 > 0:27:13each one successively buried in a sarcophagus just like this one.
0:27:13 > 0:27:16We're looking at some serious devotion
0:27:16 > 0:27:20to this sacred creature and everything it represented for Egypt.
0:27:24 > 0:27:28In many ways, the Serapeum is Egypt writ large,
0:27:28 > 0:27:32in which its core beliefs are taken to extremes.
0:27:34 > 0:27:39Being down here really makes you feel minuscule.
0:27:39 > 0:27:41You realise you're now walking amongst the gods.
0:27:41 > 0:27:45Words fail me frankly because of the enormity of it all.
0:27:45 > 0:27:48But that was the thing, that was the skill of the Egyptians.
0:27:48 > 0:27:52They batter you over the head with the idea of the colossal,
0:27:52 > 0:27:54the monumental, the spectacular.
0:27:56 > 0:28:00Yet the Egyptians' devotion to the Apis bull had left them vulnerable.
0:28:01 > 0:28:05By embodying the power of Egypt within a single living animal,
0:28:05 > 0:28:07they had created an easy target.
0:28:12 > 0:28:14Given the Apis bull's divine status,
0:28:14 > 0:28:17harming it would have been completely unthinkable.
0:28:17 > 0:28:22But when the Persian king Cambyses invaded Egypt, he had other plans.
0:28:30 > 0:28:35The Persian empire is swept west, taking all before it,
0:28:35 > 0:28:37and then into Egypt itself.
0:28:37 > 0:28:41The Persian king Cambyses entered Egypt in 525 BC
0:28:41 > 0:28:44and destroyed the Saite dynasty.
0:28:45 > 0:28:50Much like the Assyrians, the Persians were ruthless expansionists,
0:28:50 > 0:28:53chiefly interested in enlarging their empire.
0:28:53 > 0:28:59And Cambyses seemed to have trampled all over Egypt's ancient traditions.
0:29:02 > 0:29:04Having taken Egypt by force,
0:29:04 > 0:29:08Cambyses burnt the mummy of the previous Saite pharaoh,
0:29:08 > 0:29:12before stabbing the Apis bull, which slowly bleed to death.
0:29:16 > 0:29:17And by doing this,
0:29:17 > 0:29:21Cambyses was sending a very clear message to the Egyptians -
0:29:21 > 0:29:23"I am now in charge."
0:29:37 > 0:29:40For the next 200 years, the Egyptians were little more
0:29:40 > 0:29:44than the heavily taxed servants of the Persian empire,
0:29:44 > 0:29:48and with all attempts at rebellion met with extreme retaliation,
0:29:48 > 0:29:51Egypt needed a saviour,
0:29:51 > 0:29:55an outsider who could be transformed by Egypt's powerful ideology
0:29:55 > 0:29:59and, in return, could transform Egypt.
0:29:59 > 0:30:04Enter the Macedonian superman. Enter Alexander the Great.
0:30:15 > 0:30:19Alexander was one of the world's greatest military leaders,
0:30:19 > 0:30:23and during his short life amassed an empire that stretched across
0:30:23 > 0:30:27three continents, founding over 70 cities that bore his name.
0:30:30 > 0:30:32After his initial defeat of the Persian king,
0:30:32 > 0:30:37Alexander marched unopposed into Egypt in 332 BC.
0:30:37 > 0:30:41The world's most successful empire builder had arrived,
0:30:41 > 0:30:44not only transforming Egypt's future,
0:30:44 > 0:30:46but preserving its ancient past
0:30:48 > 0:30:52It really is no exaggeration to say that Alexander the Great
0:30:52 > 0:30:55is one of the most remarkable people who ever lived.
0:30:55 > 0:30:59He really was the superhero of the ancient world.
0:30:59 > 0:31:02So you'd think that Egypt would be filled with his images,
0:31:02 > 0:31:05after all he had saved them from the hated Persians.
0:31:05 > 0:31:09And yet other than the great city of Alexandria that bears his name,
0:31:09 > 0:31:13he is remarkably hard to find within Egypt's traditional temples.
0:31:13 > 0:31:19Except here in this modest little shrine at the heart of Luxor temple.
0:31:23 > 0:31:28Alexander was not only a brilliant soldier, but a master politician...
0:31:30 > 0:31:33..marching into Egypt's ancient capital, Memphis,
0:31:33 > 0:31:36amid rumours he was the son of Egypt's last native pharaoh.
0:31:38 > 0:31:42This instantly plugged him into Egypt's long native history
0:31:42 > 0:31:44and he was crowned as a traditional pharaoh.
0:31:46 > 0:31:48Here he is, the great man,
0:31:48 > 0:31:52repeatedly across the walls of this limestone shrine.
0:31:52 > 0:31:56And yet you'd never know it was Alexander simply by looking,
0:31:56 > 0:31:59cos he looks like every other Egyptian pharaoh.
0:31:59 > 0:32:03But he knew their secret, that to rule Egypt you had to appear
0:32:03 > 0:32:07to be an Egyptian, and he did this brilliantly.
0:32:07 > 0:32:12To the extent that he had his name, his Greek name Alexandros,
0:32:12 > 0:32:16written in the Egyptian tradition, even in a royal cartouche.
0:32:16 > 0:32:20And it's the only giveaway that this is Alexander the Great,
0:32:20 > 0:32:22because there is his name,
0:32:22 > 0:32:27Alexandros, written in typical Egyptian style,
0:32:27 > 0:32:32and there he's even wearing the red and the white dual crown of a united land,
0:32:32 > 0:32:37and so he's encapsulating everything that it was to be an Egyptian pharaoh.
0:32:38 > 0:32:42Just like the Kushite king Taharqa at Gebel Barkal,
0:32:42 > 0:32:46Alexander is shown offering incense to the king of the gods, Amun.
0:32:46 > 0:32:49But simply connecting with the gods wasn't enough.
0:32:49 > 0:32:55Alexander understood that real power came from BECOMING a god.
0:32:55 > 0:32:59And so he undertook a perilous journey across the Libyan desert
0:32:59 > 0:33:02to the remote oasis shrine of Siwa,
0:33:02 > 0:33:06where he could commune with the oracle of Amun himself.
0:33:09 > 0:33:13And it's said, in this legendary story,
0:33:13 > 0:33:16that the god actually said to him, "You are my son,"
0:33:16 > 0:33:20and from then on something clicked in Alexander's mind
0:33:20 > 0:33:23and he went off to conquer the rest of the ancient world,
0:33:23 > 0:33:26truly believing he was divine and he had the full blessing
0:33:26 > 0:33:30and support of Amun himself, the king of the gods of Egypt.
0:33:33 > 0:33:38Alexander would only stay in Egypt for six short months.
0:33:40 > 0:33:44But during his time here, he founded a city
0:33:44 > 0:33:49that would be his lasting legacy - the great city of Alexandria.
0:33:50 > 0:33:52Built on the Mediterranean coast,
0:33:52 > 0:33:55to create trading links with the rest of the ancient world,
0:33:55 > 0:33:59the later historian Arrian recorded that Alexander
0:33:59 > 0:34:02had laid out the city's general plan himself.
0:34:02 > 0:34:05But lacking chalk or other means,
0:34:05 > 0:34:08he resorted to marking it out with grain.
0:34:08 > 0:34:11When a flock of birds began eating the grain,
0:34:11 > 0:34:14Alexander regarded this as a bad omen.
0:34:14 > 0:34:17Yet his religious advisor quickly spun bad news into good,
0:34:17 > 0:34:23and interpreted this as a sign that the new city would soon prosper
0:34:23 > 0:34:25and would one day feed the whole world -
0:34:25 > 0:34:28a remarkably accurate prophecy.
0:34:33 > 0:34:37For within a very few years, Alexandria would not only be
0:34:37 > 0:34:41Egypt's new capital, but the greatest city on Earth...
0:34:44 > 0:34:48..although Alexander himself would never see it.
0:34:49 > 0:34:51Yet, despite his pious nature,
0:34:51 > 0:34:54Alexander was essentially a soldier
0:34:54 > 0:34:57and in his quest to conquer the Persian empire
0:34:57 > 0:35:02he left Egypt in 331 BC, never to return alive.
0:35:02 > 0:35:07Moving as far east as India, he conquered an empire of two million square miles
0:35:07 > 0:35:11before dying in Babylon, aged only 32,
0:35:11 > 0:35:14but still undefeated
0:35:14 > 0:35:16and still the pharaoh of Egypt.
0:35:17 > 0:35:20At death Alexander was mummified
0:35:20 > 0:35:23and his body became the focus of a power struggle.
0:35:23 > 0:35:27Some of his officers wanted him buried in his Greek homeland,
0:35:27 > 0:35:30but for others he had to return to Egypt
0:35:30 > 0:35:35and be buried as a pharaoh, thereby preserving Egypt's long traditions.
0:35:35 > 0:35:40But it obviously meant that anyone who possessed his mummified body
0:35:40 > 0:35:42could also claim the throne of Egypt.
0:35:42 > 0:35:46And clues to this drama can be found here,
0:35:46 > 0:35:48in the windswept desert of Saqqara.
0:35:49 > 0:35:53Ten years after he'd left Egypt alive, Alexander returned here,
0:35:53 > 0:35:56for his body had been mummified Egyptian-style
0:35:56 > 0:35:59and it became a hugely powerful talisman,
0:35:59 > 0:36:04for whoever held the body of Alexander the Great, held Egypt.
0:36:06 > 0:36:09While en route to Greece, his cortege was diverted
0:36:09 > 0:36:11and his mummified body brought here
0:36:11 > 0:36:14to Egypt's ancient necropolis of Saqqara.
0:36:15 > 0:36:19Exactly where his tomb itself was remains a mystery -
0:36:19 > 0:36:22although situated just metres from the Serapeum
0:36:22 > 0:36:26is this collection of very un-Egyptian looking statues.
0:36:26 > 0:36:31And it's these somewhat sand-blasted statues that give us a real clue
0:36:31 > 0:36:35that Alexander may have initially been buried somewhere close by,
0:36:35 > 0:36:39because these are the sculpted images of some of the greatest
0:36:39 > 0:36:42scholars and artists of ancient Greece.
0:36:42 > 0:36:47Although exactly who is who has kept academics scratching their heads for years,
0:36:47 > 0:36:50their likely identities reveal a direct link
0:36:50 > 0:36:53to the world in which Alexander grew up and was educated.
0:36:56 > 0:36:59Take Homer for example -
0:36:59 > 0:37:03his great warrior hero Achilles was Alexander's lifelong role model...
0:37:04 > 0:37:09..Plato, who had tutored Aristotle, who in turn had tutored Alexander...
0:37:10 > 0:37:16..and Pindar, whose poetry had praised Alexander's Macedonian ancestors.
0:37:16 > 0:37:18As for who placed these statues here,
0:37:18 > 0:37:21the most likely candidate is Alexander's general
0:37:21 > 0:37:25and probable half-brother, Ptolemy, for by burying Alexander here,
0:37:25 > 0:37:28close to Egypt's ancient capital Memphis,
0:37:28 > 0:37:31Ptolemy could legitimise his own takeover of Egypt.
0:37:33 > 0:37:37And by laying claim to Alexander's body and to Egypt,
0:37:37 > 0:37:39he founded the dynasty named after himself,
0:37:39 > 0:37:42the fabulous and outrageous Ptolemies.
0:37:44 > 0:37:47Ruling Egypt for the last three centuries BC,
0:37:47 > 0:37:51the Ptolemaic dynasty would be Egypt's final flowering.
0:37:51 > 0:37:5615 male kings all named Ptolemy, with their female co-rulers,
0:37:56 > 0:37:58half of whom were called Cleopatra.
0:37:58 > 0:38:03Macedonian Greek by descent, their dynasty would bring Greek style,
0:38:03 > 0:38:07culture, knowledge and fabulous wealth into Egypt,
0:38:07 > 0:38:10while, at the same time, immersing themselves
0:38:10 > 0:38:13in Egypt's irresistible religion and customs.
0:38:14 > 0:38:18They were very, very sensitive to the cultural practices
0:38:18 > 0:38:21and the religious sensibilities of the Egyptians.
0:38:21 > 0:38:25They knew that to control this ancient land of Egypt,
0:38:25 > 0:38:28they had to tap in to what made Egypt powerful,
0:38:28 > 0:38:30what made Egypt special.
0:38:30 > 0:38:32They wore the right clothes, the right crowns,
0:38:32 > 0:38:36they built the right temples, they worshipped the right gods.
0:38:37 > 0:38:41And the Ptolemies relocated Egypt's capital from Memphis
0:38:41 > 0:38:44to their new super city, Alexandria.
0:38:55 > 0:38:58Built to Alexander's original plan,
0:38:58 > 0:39:02it was one of the most lavish construction projects on Earth.
0:39:03 > 0:39:06The historian Strabo would later comment that the city had
0:39:06 > 0:39:10magnificent public precincts and royal palaces that covered
0:39:10 > 0:39:13a fourth or even a third of the entire area.
0:39:17 > 0:39:21The colonnaded marble streets were over ten metre's wide.
0:39:21 > 0:39:25There were public baths, a huge gymnasium,
0:39:25 > 0:39:28and one of the greatest wonders of the ancient world -
0:39:28 > 0:39:32the 135 metre tall Pharos Lighthouse,
0:39:32 > 0:39:35that guided ships safely into port.
0:39:39 > 0:39:43And at the centre of the city, Alexander himself,
0:39:43 > 0:39:47whose mummified body had been exhumed from Saqqara and brought here.
0:39:53 > 0:39:58The Ptolemies had built a capital unlike anything Egypt had ever seen before,
0:39:58 > 0:40:02for in Alexandria a new Egypt was being born.
0:40:04 > 0:40:07The creation of Alexandria and the great influx
0:40:07 > 0:40:10of immigrants gave it a freshness, a vivacity
0:40:10 > 0:40:14and really kind of transformed the ancient culture.
0:40:14 > 0:40:17Whereas, previously, Egyptian civilisation had developed
0:40:17 > 0:40:22along the Nile, and in many ways was quite inward-looking, quite insular.
0:40:22 > 0:40:28I think the fact that Alexandria was open to so many diverse influences,
0:40:28 > 0:40:33religiously, culturally, and this gave it a real air of tolerance.
0:40:37 > 0:40:40I think I'd have felt very at home here.
0:40:40 > 0:40:43There's a real sense of culture and learning
0:40:43 > 0:40:45and an appreciation of life.
0:40:47 > 0:40:51Today Alexandria is the largest city on the Mediterranean,
0:40:51 > 0:40:55stretching for over 20 miles along the coast.
0:40:58 > 0:41:00As Egypt's largest seaport,
0:41:00 > 0:41:04it caters for over 80% of the country's imports and exports,
0:41:04 > 0:41:08a legacy that reaches directly back to the Ptolemies.
0:41:10 > 0:41:13Having improved Egyptian agriculture by reclaiming new farmland
0:41:13 > 0:41:18through increased irrigation, they supplemented the Egyptian staples
0:41:18 > 0:41:23with new crops such as cotton, and better grapes for wine-production.
0:41:23 > 0:41:26And today the markets of Alexandria still buzz
0:41:26 > 0:41:30with some of the early city's lively, cosmopolitan style.
0:41:32 > 0:41:34THEY SPEAK EGYPTIAN
0:41:34 > 0:41:37I'm going to try and find the nearest equivalent to
0:41:37 > 0:41:40ancient Egyptian delicacies, and these are dates
0:41:40 > 0:41:44and the ancient Egyptians used to make pastries and bread from them,
0:41:44 > 0:41:46because they had a very sweet tooth.
0:41:46 > 0:41:50I think I might have to taste one, just for quality control you understand.
0:41:50 > 0:41:52See how authentic they are.
0:41:54 > 0:41:56They are very nice.
0:41:56 > 0:41:58This is incense in its raw state
0:41:58 > 0:42:02and, of course, this was burnt in temples and in funerary rites.
0:42:02 > 0:42:07'The port city of Alexandria became a huge hub of international trade,
0:42:07 > 0:42:10'establishing routes with Greece, the Middle East,
0:42:10 > 0:42:12'India and even Britain.
0:42:12 > 0:42:16'And as native Egyptian goods like papyrus and perfume
0:42:16 > 0:42:17'flowed out of the country,
0:42:17 > 0:42:22'new exotic luxuries like spices, silks and wines poured in.'
0:42:23 > 0:42:27The Greeks loved olives and so these were imported
0:42:27 > 0:42:30and the Egyptians started to grow them.
0:42:30 > 0:42:33I'll definitely have some of these. Delicious.
0:42:33 > 0:42:35Black pepper? Oh! We've got to get some black pepper.
0:42:35 > 0:42:39So this is one of the really, really popular things,
0:42:39 > 0:42:42certainly in Ptolemaic times, because markets had opened up
0:42:42 > 0:42:45and certainly as far east as India
0:42:45 > 0:42:47and the Greeks went crazy for this stuff.
0:42:49 > 0:42:51HORNS BLAST
0:42:56 > 0:42:58SHE CHUCKLES
0:42:58 > 0:43:02It's certainly lively shopping in Egypt. Never a dull moment.
0:43:08 > 0:43:12With Alexandria now at the heart of the ancient world,
0:43:12 > 0:43:14the rest of Egypt benefitted too,
0:43:14 > 0:43:18for, determined to honour their adopted country's long history,
0:43:18 > 0:43:23the Ptolemies undertook a massive temple rebuilding and restoration programme.
0:43:25 > 0:43:29Indeed, modern visitors can often fail to realise that many of
0:43:29 > 0:43:33the places they visit were either built or restored by the Ptolemies.
0:43:35 > 0:43:38Esna, Edfu, Dendara, Kom Ombo -
0:43:38 > 0:43:42all of these are Ptolemaic buildings
0:43:42 > 0:43:44that tourists and scholars admire so much,
0:43:44 > 0:43:48and yet they really don't give sufficient credit to the people
0:43:48 > 0:43:51whose vision created them.
0:43:51 > 0:43:57The most impressive all such temples lies the farthest from Alexandria.
0:43:57 > 0:44:00Deep into upper Egypt, close to Aswan,
0:44:00 > 0:44:04is the stunning temple of Philae, which in Egyptian meant "the end",
0:44:04 > 0:44:08since it was located at the very southern edge of Egypt.
0:44:08 > 0:44:11Much of the temple was built by Ptolemy II
0:44:11 > 0:44:15and his co-ruler and sister Arsinoe.
0:44:19 > 0:44:23There was a law passed by her husband, Ptolemy,
0:44:23 > 0:44:26to say that a statue of Arsinoe had to be erected
0:44:26 > 0:44:28in every single temple in Egypt.
0:44:28 > 0:44:30She had to become its resident goddess.
0:44:30 > 0:44:34Arsinoe was a powerful female pharaoh,
0:44:34 > 0:44:36associated with the goddess Isis -
0:44:36 > 0:44:40a role the famous Cleopatra would adopt two centuries later -
0:44:40 > 0:44:45and under the Ptolemies, Philae became a major centre of the Isis cult.
0:44:45 > 0:44:51And here, in the heart of Philae Temple, Arsinoe's golden statue
0:44:51 > 0:44:54would have stood side-by-side with that of Isis,
0:44:54 > 0:44:57so the walls are full of images of Isis and her fellow gods.
0:44:57 > 0:45:02According to myth, Isis was responsible for the vital Nile flood,
0:45:02 > 0:45:05swelling the river as she wept tears of sorrow
0:45:05 > 0:45:08for her murdered husband Osiris, who she then resurrected.
0:45:08 > 0:45:11And with its spectacular location,
0:45:11 > 0:45:15Philae still retains its hugely spiritual atmosphere.
0:45:15 > 0:45:18I think it's that sense of continuity you really feel when you're up here.
0:45:18 > 0:45:21You feel like you're at the centre of the world.
0:45:21 > 0:45:24I suppose for the ancient Egyptians you were -
0:45:24 > 0:45:26the centre of their religious world.
0:45:26 > 0:45:28And at this point, which was the heart
0:45:28 > 0:45:31of ancient Egyptian religion way into the Christian era,
0:45:31 > 0:45:34way into the 6th century AD, it kind of messes with your head.
0:45:36 > 0:45:38It's a very, very holy place this.
0:45:38 > 0:45:43But while Philae was becoming an increasingly important centre of Egyptian religion,
0:45:43 > 0:45:48its new capital Alexandria had become the leading centre of knowledge,
0:45:48 > 0:45:52for the Ptolemies created some of the first scholarships,
0:45:52 > 0:45:56attracting academics from across the world to study a wide range of subjects.
0:45:58 > 0:46:01Biology, theology, astronomy,
0:46:01 > 0:46:04geometry, anatomy, philosophy.
0:46:04 > 0:46:06'And, of course, my own personal favourite...'
0:46:06 > 0:46:08History!
0:46:11 > 0:46:15And at the centre of this intellectual hot house
0:46:15 > 0:46:17was the famous royal library.
0:46:18 > 0:46:22Up to half a million works were once housed within,
0:46:22 > 0:46:26to compete with the famous schools of Plato and Aristotle in Athens,
0:46:26 > 0:46:32and today that legacy lives on with Alexandria's striking new library.
0:46:33 > 0:46:36The Ptolemies really did appreciate that knowledge was power,
0:46:36 > 0:46:38and they wanted that power,
0:46:38 > 0:46:42so they brought together, in this one single place,
0:46:42 > 0:46:45some of the greatest works in human history -
0:46:45 > 0:46:48the plays of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides,
0:46:48 > 0:46:51the works of Aristotle the philosopher,
0:46:51 > 0:46:53the old testament scriptures,
0:46:53 > 0:46:57and all the accumulated knowledge from the temples of ancient Egypt -
0:46:57 > 0:47:00all brought into this one, single building.
0:47:03 > 0:47:08The great library also contained the works of Herodotus,
0:47:08 > 0:47:11a Greek historian who'd travelled the length of Egypt
0:47:11 > 0:47:14over a century before the Ptolemies had come to power.
0:47:14 > 0:47:19His accounts sum up the Greek fascination with Egyptian society.
0:47:21 > 0:47:25"Not only is the climate different from that of the rest of the world,
0:47:25 > 0:47:27"and the river unlike any other river,
0:47:27 > 0:47:31"but the people also, in most of their manners and customs,
0:47:31 > 0:47:35"exactly reverse the common practice of mankind,
0:47:35 > 0:47:38"for the women attend the markets and trade,
0:47:38 > 0:47:41"while the men sit at home and do the weaving."
0:47:42 > 0:47:46Indeed, the level of equality of Egypt's women shocked Herodotus.
0:47:46 > 0:47:50Something he vividly records when he witnessed a group of men and women
0:47:50 > 0:47:54travelling together by boat to the delta city of Bubastis.
0:47:56 > 0:48:00"Some of the women make a noise with clappers, others play the oboe
0:48:00 > 0:48:04"while the rest of the women and men sing and clap their hands."
0:48:09 > 0:48:13"Some of the women shout mockery to the women of that town they are passing,
0:48:13 > 0:48:15"whilst others dance
0:48:15 > 0:48:19"and others stand up and expose their private parts!"
0:48:27 > 0:48:29In temples the length of Egypt,
0:48:29 > 0:48:33the Ptolemies ensured they were portrayed as Egyptian pharaohs,
0:48:33 > 0:48:38making them almost indistinguishable from their native Egyptian predecessors.
0:48:40 > 0:48:43Yet in Alexandria, the blend of Greek and Egyptian
0:48:43 > 0:48:46could sometimes create a hybrid of rather strange results.
0:48:48 > 0:48:49- Hi, Nermine.- Hi, how are you?
0:48:49 > 0:48:54'Nermine Sami is a local historian who's spent years studying
0:48:54 > 0:48:58'this remarkable tomb complex, built just after the Ptolemaic period.'
0:48:58 > 0:49:02And here we come to the unique burial, main burial chamber.
0:49:02 > 0:49:04That's mad!
0:49:04 > 0:49:06That is fabulous.
0:49:07 > 0:49:11'Guarded by Greek Doric columns, the entrance is covered in images
0:49:11 > 0:49:16'of Egyptian gods who would ensure safe passage into the afterlife.'
0:49:16 > 0:49:19It's like a tomb but it's also like a temple.
0:49:19 > 0:49:23A temple, a facade of a temple but a typical Egyptian style.
0:49:23 > 0:49:27- Yeah, yeah. It's really... - With cobras protecting the entrance.
0:49:27 > 0:49:32- Yeah, yeah.- You know why cobras chosen to be presented in the tombs?
0:49:32 > 0:49:35Because the cobra has no eyelashes,
0:49:35 > 0:49:39it keeps her eyes open 24 hours,
0:49:39 > 0:49:42which means it's awake to protect the tomb
0:49:42 > 0:49:45for 24 hours a day and night.
0:49:47 > 0:49:49I love these snakes.
0:49:49 > 0:49:52That's a very Greek-looking snake,
0:49:52 > 0:49:55but it's wearing a very little ancient Egyptian crown.
0:49:55 > 0:49:58- It's crazy.- Exactly.
0:49:58 > 0:50:01They literally are throwing everything they've got at this tomb.
0:50:01 > 0:50:06- I mean Medusa, Horus, sun disk... Everything.- To guarantee safety.
0:50:06 > 0:50:10- This is the best guarded doorway I've seen in Egypt.- Exactly.
0:50:10 > 0:50:13It's got everything here. And there's statues.
0:50:13 > 0:50:18'They represent the inhabitants of the tomb, a single wealthy family.
0:50:18 > 0:50:23'These, too, exhibit an odd mix of the Greek and Egyptian.'
0:50:24 > 0:50:26I think the bodies are ancient Egyptian,
0:50:26 > 0:50:30the stance is ancient Egyptian, the man's kilt is Egyptian.
0:50:30 > 0:50:33- A leg forward. - From the neck down they're Egyptian,
0:50:33 > 0:50:36but from the neck up they're European.
0:50:36 > 0:50:39'It's clear the tomb owners had done everything they could
0:50:39 > 0:50:44'to ensure safe passage into the Egyptian afterlife...'
0:50:44 > 0:50:46Oh, look! It's the Apis bull.
0:50:46 > 0:50:50'..even if they didn't quite understand how it all worked.'
0:50:54 > 0:50:58All the features are there, you've got Thoth with, you know, presenting the oils,
0:50:58 > 0:51:01and Anubis doing the same, mummifying the dead.
0:51:01 > 0:51:03You've even got canopic jars underneath.
0:51:03 > 0:51:07Canopic jars and feather of Maat, the goddess of justice.
0:51:07 > 0:51:11Without her approval you will never cross to the other side.
0:51:13 > 0:51:18He didn't forget to add a Greek touch in a lower part,
0:51:18 > 0:51:20two depictions of Dionysus.
0:51:20 > 0:51:23'Dionysus was the Greek god of wine and fertility.
0:51:23 > 0:51:27'Clearly these tomb occupants intended to continue
0:51:27 > 0:51:30'the lives they lived in Alexandria into the beyond.
0:51:30 > 0:51:34"I want, all what I enjoy in life to be with me...
0:51:34 > 0:51:37- Of course.- ..in the other side. - Especially the wine.
0:51:37 > 0:51:40What a great place to spend eternity.
0:51:42 > 0:51:44'Despite its rather cartoon-like quality,
0:51:44 > 0:51:47'the apparent opulence of this tomb demonstrates
0:51:47 > 0:51:52'the desire of the Alexandrian elite to integrate into Egyptian culture.
0:51:52 > 0:51:56'Yet in many ways, it was little more than a veneer,
0:51:56 > 0:52:01'hiding the real force that would ultimately destroy Egypt,
0:52:01 > 0:52:05'for where the external invaders had largely tried and failed,
0:52:05 > 0:52:11'Egypt's real nemesis would be the Ptolemies' famous love of luxury and excess.'
0:52:11 > 0:52:14Much of this luxury was just a facade,
0:52:14 > 0:52:19for the royals of Alexandria, notorious for their love of display,
0:52:19 > 0:52:21were like actors on a stage.
0:52:22 > 0:52:24As one ancient commentator observed,
0:52:24 > 0:52:29"Everything in Egypt is simply play acting and painted scenery."
0:52:29 > 0:52:32A comment which cuts to the heart of this melodramatic monarchy,
0:52:32 > 0:52:35for whom image was everything.
0:52:37 > 0:52:41Because while the ruling elite were living it up in Alexandria,
0:52:41 > 0:52:44other parts of Egypt were far from content.
0:52:44 > 0:52:47By the end of the 3rd century BC,
0:52:47 > 0:52:49Egypt was once more riven with civil war.
0:52:51 > 0:52:53Upper Egypt began to rebel,
0:52:53 > 0:52:57and it fell to Ptolemy V to try and fight the fires of anarchy.
0:52:57 > 0:53:00So, not only did he portray himself as an Egyptian,
0:53:00 > 0:53:04he went even further in his support for Egypt's ancient beliefs.
0:53:04 > 0:53:10In doing so he left the world one of its most famous ancient artefacts...
0:53:13 > 0:53:15The Rosetta Stone.
0:53:17 > 0:53:21It's best known as the means by which the French scholar Champollion
0:53:21 > 0:53:26was first able to decipher Egyptian hieroglyphs in 1822.
0:53:26 > 0:53:30And we can tell that the inscription on the stone was of huge importance
0:53:30 > 0:53:33because it was written out in three types of script -
0:53:33 > 0:53:37Greek, Demotic and Hieroglyphic.
0:53:37 > 0:53:41In a way you could almost describe it as a kind of news bulletin.
0:53:41 > 0:53:44It's the priests of Memphis issuing this decree,
0:53:44 > 0:53:49to let as many people know exactly what the religious
0:53:49 > 0:53:53and the political policy was of crown and clergy.
0:53:53 > 0:53:58And it particularly focuses on Ptolemy V's generous patronage.
0:53:58 > 0:54:02The priests are praising him because he's one that gives wealth
0:54:02 > 0:54:07to the temple, and gives due honour and respect to the sacred animals
0:54:07 > 0:54:10which were such an integral part of Egyptian religion.
0:54:10 > 0:54:14The priests really are grateful to their Ptolemaic pharaoh,
0:54:14 > 0:54:18who they see as wanting to sort of tap in to
0:54:18 > 0:54:21the ancient Egyptian culture and ancient Egyptian religion,
0:54:21 > 0:54:24much like Alexander had,
0:54:24 > 0:54:27much like the Saites had and the Kushites had.
0:54:27 > 0:54:29They knew that to attain true power,
0:54:29 > 0:54:33true control in Egypt you had to do things the Egyptian way.
0:54:37 > 0:54:40Yet Ptolemy V's philanthropy came at a price.
0:54:40 > 0:54:44Keeping the peace in Egypt proved cripplingly expensive,
0:54:44 > 0:54:51so the second half of the Ptolemaic dynasty was riven by debt, corruption and vicious civil war.
0:54:51 > 0:54:56Soon the expanding Roman empire bore down on a divided Egypt.
0:54:56 > 0:55:00Only the famous Cleopatra stood in their way.
0:55:00 > 0:55:03In the mould of Great Uncle Alexander,
0:55:03 > 0:55:05she believed herself divine
0:55:05 > 0:55:09and managed to hold the Romans at bay for over 20 years.
0:55:09 > 0:55:14But not even the great Cleopatra could prevent the inevitable.
0:55:21 > 0:55:24And so it was that in August 30 BC
0:55:24 > 0:55:30Cleopatra's famous suicide brought an end to ancient Egypt as we know it.
0:55:30 > 0:55:35This epic culture, which had lasted for 3,000 years,
0:55:35 > 0:55:37came to an end in a matter of days
0:55:37 > 0:55:43when on 31st August, Egypt was formally annexed by Rome.
0:55:49 > 0:55:53This was Egypt's point of no return -
0:55:53 > 0:55:57a slow, painful decline of Egyptian beliefs and culture
0:55:57 > 0:55:59until the arrival of Christianity.
0:55:59 > 0:56:05With its numerous temples abandoned, built over or simply destroyed,
0:56:05 > 0:56:08Egypt's glories began to fade from memory.
0:56:14 > 0:56:17But Egypt's great story can now be traced back
0:56:17 > 0:56:2220,000 years to the very origins of its magical culture,
0:56:22 > 0:56:25which had evolved from its unique environment,
0:56:25 > 0:56:28Creating a series of sophisticated beliefs,
0:56:28 > 0:56:32able to unite a country to build great monuments.
0:56:33 > 0:56:36It had survived chaos and famine,
0:56:36 > 0:56:41only to rise again in a glorious zenith of rebirth and resurrection.
0:56:43 > 0:56:47Even waves of foreign invasions were ultimately assimilated
0:56:47 > 0:56:50by Egypt's powerful traditions.
0:56:50 > 0:56:54And despite being eventually absorbed into the Roman Empire,
0:56:54 > 0:56:59the ancient culture had continued until the arrival of Christianity.
0:56:59 > 0:57:02Yet as the Egyptians had always believed,
0:57:02 > 0:57:04there would be a life after death.
0:57:15 > 0:57:18Cleopatra's Needle, on London's Embankment
0:57:18 > 0:57:21had lain forgotten in Egypt until the 19th century.
0:57:21 > 0:57:27But as pioneering Egyptologists began a 200-year process of rediscovery...
0:57:28 > 0:57:30..ancient Egypt was reborn,
0:57:30 > 0:57:33and this time it went global.
0:57:38 > 0:57:42And what a privilege it is for us today to be able to see
0:57:42 > 0:57:46such wonderful things and capture just a glimpse
0:57:46 > 0:57:48of this fascinating ancient culture.
0:57:57 > 0:58:01The culture of a people at one with their environment,
0:58:01 > 0:58:03and who captured, through their timeless monuments,
0:58:03 > 0:58:06their own unique view of the world.
0:58:08 > 0:58:12In fact the story of Egypt is far from over,
0:58:12 > 0:58:16for its rediscovery means that it is only just beginning.
0:58:16 > 0:58:20And it's the things that made the Egyptians so very special,
0:58:20 > 0:58:23have ensured that they're now known right across the world
0:58:23 > 0:58:27and they've achieved their ultimate goal - to live forever.