(gentle music) (waves lapping) - This is about as far north
in Egypt as it's possible to get, because out there
is the Mediterranean. (waves lapping) To my west is Libya, to my
east Palestine and Arabia, while Egypt itself lies
down there to the south, 1,000 kilometers of desert
cut right through the center by the mighty river Nile. And at its top lies this, the
great port city of Alexandria. (mysterious music) It was ancient Egypt's last
and most influential capital. It was a city of great
power, wealth and luxury, the greatest in the world. (water murmuring) Alexandria was also home of one of Egypt's most famous
pharaohs, Cleopatra, the final ruler of a Greek dynasty, and the last in a long
line of foreign invaders who'd each claimed Egypt for themselves, seduced by its legendary splendors. (gentle music) By now the pyramids were
already thousands of years old. They were the beginning of a seemingly indestructible core belief that had survived chaos, famine and war. It's as if they have been picked clean. A belief that would
shine even more brightly in its fabled golden age, whose temples, tombs
and glittering treasures had made Egypt an irresistible temptation. (dramatic music) As jealous foreign rulers
eyed a weakened Egypt, how could it survive successive
waves of foreign attack? (dramatic music) But Egypt had a secret weapon: a culture so strong and
deep-rooted that it seduced and then absorbed all who
would claim it as their own. Welcome to my story of ancient Egypt. (waves lapping) (birds chirping)
(dramatic music) Throughout the first millennium BC, Egypt faced wave after
wave of foreign invaders. But in the face of such a
strong and long-lived culture, all who would try to take over Egypt would themselves be taken over. (birds chirping)
(dramatic music) Almost 1,000 years before Cleopatra, Egypt had entered its
third intermediate period, a time of political
decline and vulnerability. But it's the beginning of the
22nd Dynasty around 945 BC, the priests are in charge of the south, but in the north the vultures
have started to circle, waiting for their chance to swoop, as a group of Libyan generals seize power to rule as pharaohs of a divided land. (dramatic music)
(wind howling) In many ways Egypt's waning
power had been triggered by a loss of faith when the authority of the new kingdom pharaohs
had begun to crumble. Egypt's once pious priests had
helped loot the royal tombs in the Valley Of The Kings,
systemically dismantling Egypt's previously unshakable
belief in the afterlife. With the decline in power
of the new kingdom pharaohs, the Libyans, who'd
fought for the Egyptians as mercenary generals, gradually infiltrated
Egypt's power structure and eventually took power
as the 22nd Dynasty. (dramatic music) The first king of the
22nd Dynasty, Shesonq, had a number of sons who helped
him keep control of Egypt, one of whom was called Nimlot, and these are the
bracelets of Prince Nimlot. Egypt's Libyan rulers
understood that looking and acting Egyptian would help to keep the country under their control. These beautiful bracelets
are just a tiny fraction of the golden treasures created
for Egypt's Libyan royals, who, on the surface at least, upheld many of Egypt's
most sacred traditions. They are portraying the very
small figure of the god Horus, who symbolized Egyptian kingship, shown as a young child
emerging from a lotus blossom. And on either side he's
protected by the rearing cobras, the royal uraeus symbol. (mysterious music) Yet in some ways these images
are simply window dressing, lip service to ancient Egyptian traditions in order to claim a greater prize. For the Libyans had organized nothing less than the state-sponsored
plundering of Egypt's royal tombs. They were so transfixed by
the wealth, by the gold, by the bling of ancient Egypt
they wanted it for themselves. And over their several centuries rule, while they appeared to look like pharaohs and to rule as pharaohs, Egypt never feels to have been a cohesive united kingdom. They weren't Egyptians at heart and that's really what mattered. In many ways Libyan rule
was destined to fail, because even if they
were militarily superior, their adoption of Egyptian
culture was at best superficial and was insufficient to unite the country. In the north a squabbling
Libyan elite fought amongst themselves, while in the south, the Egyptian priesthood,
including yet more Libyan princes, still clung to power. A fragmented Egypt was easy pickings for any would-be invader. Egypt needed a regime that could reconnect with its most powerful asset: its history. And by 747 BC, that's what happened, when the Kushite rulers of Nubia made a direct
spiritual connection with Egypt's glorious past. Now, the Kushites were Egypt's
southern neighbors in Nubia, and from time immemorial they
and the Egyptians had kind of battled around sort of
southern border of Egypt, and by the 8th century BC, however, the Kushites had the upper hand. (dramatic music) They were fervent believers
in Egypt's traditional gods, in some ways making them more
Egyptian than the Egyptians. (intense percussive music) The kingdom of Kush, in Nubia, was at the very edge
of the Egyptian world. Having been repeatedly conquered by Egypt, the Kushites had been hugely
influenced by Egyptian beliefs. (dramatic music) Beliefs that centered on this great sandstone
mountain, Gebel Barkal. For centuries it had been regarded as the mythical mound of creation. (birds crying) The mound from which
Egypt's great creator god, Amun, was born. (dramatic music) - [Man] Here is the holy mountain. This is where the god
lived in his primeval form. - [Joann] Dr. Tim Kendal has
spent almost 30 years working at the site. - Being at the southern
limit of the empire it was where the Nile began,
where fertility began, and so it had to be the
place where creation began. So this was... They imagined this as the
birthplace of the god Amun. And so this was the primeval Karnak. - [Joann] When the new kingdom
pharaohs had arrived here in 1500 BC, they built this temple and dedicated it to Amun and
his wife, the goddess Mut. And when the Egyptians withdrew from Nubia some 400 years later, the native Kushites continued
to honor the sacred mountain and Egypt's spiritual traditions. As the Kushite kings gained
increasing military power, they also claimed Egypt for themselves. So when King Piye led a
Kushite invasion of Egypt in 747 BC, he didn't plunder or destroy but restored and rebuilt, and
founded Egypt's 25th Dynasty. - The irony is that he's
conquering Egypt, (chuckles) to put everything right I suppose. - So it's all such a cycle
of rebirth, re-growth, redevelopment, and the
Kushite kings are really kind of tapping into that ancient power source--
- Yeah, yeah. - And just sort of giving
it back to the Egyptians. - It's like starting time all
over again and doing it right. - So they had that same sense of history and continuity as the Egyptians. They are natural successors
of the 18th Dynasty kings. Fueled by a genuine desire
to make their own mark in Egypt's long story, the Kushites began to rebuild Egypt here in
their Nubian heartland. King Piye expanded the
existing temple of Amun at Gebel Barkal to balance
the original great temple of Karnak in Egyptian Thebes. But while the Kushites had
absorbed the culture of Egypt, they still had their roots here in Africa. This cultural fusion is
quite clearly expressed in this extraordinary representation of the Egyptian goddess Mut. - The face of the goddess
Mut has tribal scars. And look, we'll see if
it shows with this light. Can you see the three lines in her face? - [Joann] So this is an Egyptian goddess with a Nubian makeover? - [Tim] Yeah. She was a goddess of Nubia,
and it was appropriate for Nubians to have tribal scars. - So this is a very, very
graphic version of the way in which local Nubians were
making the traditional deities of Egypt their own,
physically marking them. It's as if she's has been stamped as a Nubian.
- Yeah, yep. - How incredible. This is such a land of surprises. That is beautiful. (metal clanks) (wind howling) Yet this land of surprises has
something else in store too. Gale force winds whip up the
worst sandstorm in years. (wind howling) It's a powerful reminder that the ancients would
also have had to deal with such dramatic natural phenomena. (wind howling) You can certainly taste
the grit in your teeth. The ancients would have tackled
this using spells, rituals. (wind howling) They would also have made extra offerings to specific deities, most
notably Osiris's brother, god Seth, the god of
turbulence, the god of storms, the god of red-headed individuals who were seen somewhat turbulent too. Can't imagine why. (wind howling) I'm seeking shelter in this shrine, cut into the mountain
by Pyie's son, Taharqa, which is currently
undergoing major restoration by an Italian mission. It apparently reveals graphic evidence of Egypt's continuing powerful influence. Never been here before. I have no idea what's going on in here, so this'll be as new to me as it's to you. Oh, flippin' heck! It's a real privilege to
see the time-blackened walls finally giving up their secrets. Wow, look at that! Look at that! (claps hands) Oh, that is... Oh, that's so beautiful! They're bringing out not
just the golds but the blues. These two colors, the bright blue of the sky
and the Nile and the gold, this sort of really powerful
color of the sun god. This is Taharqa, the
Kushite's most powerful and important pharaoh. In classic Egyptian
style, he's shown offering to the god Amun and his
wife, the goddess Mut. It's raised relief. This is old school, this
is old school technique. This is skill. And they're all overlaid
in this yellow gold. And you can even see the little scales on this corselet that Amun's wearing. Every detail is here. It's fabulous. It's like Christmas morning, this. This is just extraordinary. Just look for yourselves, just look. Look at their faces. Look at their eyes. This wall truly exemplifies
Egypt's ancient magic, as those who try to conquer
it end up being seduced by it and then become a part of it. It's a sincere attempt by
Taharqa to connect his kingship to the achievements of the
pharaohs of Egypt's past, in particular to the
rulers of the new kingdom. (dramatic music) So, although history records
that Taharqa conquered Egypt, this scene reveals it's actually Egypt that conquered Taharqa. It's as if the Egyptian
identity will always win out, no matter what, so much so
that Taharqa is even shown with the ram's horns of Amun, identifying him as the son
of Egypt's god of gods. These were worn my Amenhotep
III in Luxor temple in the 18th Dynasty. They were later worn
by the great Alexander to show he, too, was the son of Amun. And here we have Taharqa in all his finery and all his splendor. (dramatic music) Who knew that they were here, hidden away in this special, special rock? We've come to heart of Gebel Barkal now. We've come to heart of Egyptian religion. Because this the very
birthplace of Amun himself and here he is, just for us, right now emerging from the walls. Very few people have ever seen this. (dramatic music) Here inside the temple, where only the most pious were allowed, Taharqa is shown in deference
to Egypt's most powerful god. (wind howling) And outside, on the mountain,
he exhibits his devotion on a truly monumental scale by embellishing the very
top of its pinnacle. 190 meters tall and 11
meters from the cliff face, it seems completely inaccessible. But Taharqa pulled off an
incredible technical achievement. He built a crane arm and
elaborate scaffolding in order to make his own
permanent mark on the mountain. - What he did was, he made an inscription for himself commemorating
his victories east and west. And then underneath his men
set a small statue of the king and they covered the
inscription with gold. Today you can hardly see it, but in those days it would've been the most conspicuous
feature of the mountain. - I mean, that's meant
to be seen by the gods. - Seen by the gods. - [Joann] Of course no
mortal eye could read this from the ground. But that wasn't the point. This was a message to the gods, carved on a monument built to impress. Completely covered in gold,
it reflected the sun's rays and it acted like a giant billboard as it telegraphed Taharqa's
message for miles around. And this, again, harked
back to Egypt's past, when previous pharaohs had
placed gilded capstones on their pyramids and obelisks
to harness the potent powers of the sun. Just to the east of Gebel
Barkal lies the necropolis of Nuri, where the Kushite
kings' transformation into Egyptian pharaohs
was finally completed, for the dynasty who'd invaded Egypt were now copying Egypt's ultimate symbol, and for the first time
in over 1,000 years, the kings who ruled Egypt
were buried in pyramids. - When the kings made
their capital at Memphis, they were living right across the river from the great pyramids. Taharqa had spent most of his life there and was familiar with the
great pyramids, and so, when he died, he needed a
pyramid of commensurate scale, and he sort of established this new type and it was followed by all his successors. - The Kushites eventually
built more pyramids here in their Nubian homeland than the Egyptians had built in Egypt. And just as at Giza, Taharqa's
pyramid is precisely aligned to its environment. (dramatic music) For on the exact day when the
Nile flood begins to recede, the sun sets just like this, directly behind the Gebel Barkal pinnacle, yet only on this specific day and only when viewed from
the top of Taharqa's pyramid. That is totally impressive. Not just a skill, a feat of engineering, but such devotion to the gods. - The gods, observing nature. - Yeah.
- I mean, it would take a huge amount of observation to get the position just right,
to get the day just right. (dramatic music) - Surrounded by these pyramids,
the images of Amun and Mut, and their monumental
temples, it's easy to forget that the Kushites were
actually a foreign power who'd taken Egypt by force. Yet it's almost as if Egypt
was taunting its invaders: "While you may try and dominate our land, "our culture will
ultimately dominate you." And as such, the Kushites left a legacy of renewal and resurrection. But, like all Egypt's conquerors, the Kushites' moment in
the sun was fleeting, for their 25th Dynasty
lasted but a century, as a far more ruthless and
ambitious power now invaded. (dramatic music) In 674 BC, the fearsome Assyrian
army marched into Egypt. As ruthless expansionists, they had little interest
in Egyptian culture. They graphically
demonstrated their contempt by sacking the sacred city of Thebes. (men shouting)
(dramatic music) - The Assyrians, unlike the Egyptians, are interested in expanding their empire and really taking over
other parts of the world, and they do that by violence. - [Joann] This very un-Egyptian
bronze helmet was discovered in Thebes. It is one of the very few objects that reveal the Assyrian
takeover of Egypt. Despite possessing equally
powerful iconography of their own, the
Assyrians had little time to leave their mark. They simply stamped their
authority upon Egypt by trying to rip out its religious heart. (men shouting) - This holy complex, this
really huge sacred space, had never been attacked
in Egyptian history. And so for a mob to damage the temple, to damage statues perhaps,
to damage precious things would really have been absolute
anathema to the Egyptians. - What's really striking is it's obviously not an Egyptian item, but the Egyptians didn't
even wear helmets, did they? They relied on their thick hair, didn't they?
- Yeah, yeah. - So for me it really evokes
a completely alien image. I mean, the Assyrians, I mean, war was their business, wasn't it? (dramatic music) With their sophisticated
weapons and armor, the Assyrians were a war machine, whose unstoppable progress seemed to spell disaster for Egypt. Yet after little more than 20 years, the Assyrians returned east
to tackle problems at home, leaving vassals in charge of Egypt. Based at the delta city of Sais, these were the Saite kings,
shrewd Egyptian politicians who first appeared to serve
their Assyrian masters, but soon became strong enough to declare their independence. Egypt was now back in Egyptian hands. The Saites instigated a
spectacular renaissance in native culture, at the heart of which lay Egypt's most powerful symbol of national identity: mummification. But no longer limited to humans, there was an explosion
of animal mummification, everything from dogs, cats, crocodiles, ibis and even tiny shrews. The ancient Egyptians had
always mummified their dead, both human and animal. And with the Saites, we can almost see it as a way of the Saite
kings trying to declare, "We are Egypt, we are important, "this is what makes us special." No one else in the ancient
world could mummify like the Egyptians and so they
rolled it out a millionfold. (chiming music) With animals specifically
bred for mummification and then sold as offerings at temples, the Saites had reinvigorated
Egypt's oldest industry. Death was once again big business. (dramatic music) Now, this might look pretty silly, but around 2,000 years
ago here at Saqqara, this would've been a very common sight. (dramatic music) This place would've been
packed with pilgrims, with priests making animal mummies, and they'd be trundling the
mummies across the landscape in carts like this one. So we must get out of our minds this idea of Egyptian priests as these pious, quiet figures wafting
through the landscape, when, at by this time,
it was all carried out in great numbers. (dramatic music) And it was Egypt's endless ability to reinterpret its core beliefs that was the key to its longevity. For millennia, the Egyptians had believed that the pharaoh was a living god who embodied the soul of Egypt. When the king died, their soul lived on in their mummified body,
which must be kept safe to guarantee the continuity of Egypt. So they'd always buried
their rulers in the safety of pyramids or elaborate rock-cut tombs. (dramatic music) But in times of increasing
unrest and foreign rule, the Egyptians could no longer rely on even having a pharaoh to bury, and so they turned to another
centuries-old practice. The Serapeum at Saqqara is a
huge subterranean tomb complex in which the concepts of kingship and animal mummification
were fused together. For each of these giant granite sarcophagi once contained an animal believed to embody all the qualities of kingship. This is the burial site
of the sacred Apis bull. These were bodies of mummified bulls of such importance to
the Egyptian mindset, they extended all this effort and cost to create a suitably
impressive burial site, and they've done this in spades. As one bull dies and is
mummified and buried, the other one is then worshiped in life, and at death mummified and buried again, and so there's a real progression. The cult of the Apis bull dates
right back to the beginning of Egyptian history, and it's
closely linked to the pharaoh. It was believed that when
the sacred bull died, it became one with Osiris,
the god of the afterlife, and so became an Osiris
Apis, or Serapis for short. And these sacred bulls
became hugely important under the Saites. During times of foreign occupation, when Egypt was increasingly
being ruled by pharaohs in absentia, be it in
Persia or wherever else, for the Egyptians, they
needed a physical presence, and the Apis bull provided this presence, because they could see
it with their own eyes, they could celebrate
rituals in its company, and at death it would be
mummified and then buried in the manner of pharaohs
going back for millennia. So it was crucial to
have this creature here, each one successively buried in a sarcophagus just like this one. We're looking at some serious devotion to this sacred creature and everything it represented for Egypt. (dramatic music) In many ways, the Serapeum
is Egypt writ large, in which its core beliefs
are taken to extremes. (dramatic music) Being down here really
makes you feel minuscule. You realize you're now
walking amongst the gods. Words fail me frankly because
of the enormity of it all. But that was the thing, that
was the skill of the Egyptians. They batter you over the head
with the idea of the colossal, the monumental, the spectacular. Yet the Egyptians' devotion to the Apis bull had left them vulnerable. By embodying the power of Egypt within a single living animal, they had created an easy target. Given the Apis bull's divine status, harming it would have been
completely unthinkable. But when the Persian king
Cambyses invaded Egypt, he had other plans. (dramatic music) The Persian empire is swept
west, taking all before it, and then into Egypt itself. The Persian king Cambyses
entered Egypt in 525 BC and destroyed the Saite dynasty. Much like the Assyrians, the Persians were ruthless expansionists, chiefly interested in
enlarging their empire. And Cambyses seemed to have trampled all over
Egypt's ancient traditions. Having taken Egypt by force, Cambyses burned the mummy of
the previous Saite pharaoh, before stabbing the Apis bull,
which slowly bleed to death. And by doing this, Cambyses was
sending a very clear message to the Egyptians: "I am now in charge." (birds chirping)
(dramatic music) For the next 200 years, the
Egyptians were little more than the heavily taxed
servants of the Persian empire, and with all attempts at rebellion met with extreme retaliation. Egypt needed a savior, an
outsider who could be transformed by Egypt's powerful
ideology and, in return, could transform Egypt. Enter the Macedonian superman. Enter Alexander the Great. (birds chirping)
(dramatic music) Alexander was one of the world's
greatest military leaders, and during his short
life amassed an empire that stretched across three continents, founding over 70 cities
that bore his name. After his initial defeat
of the Persian king, Alexander marched unopposed
into Egypt in 332 BC. The world's most successful
empire builder had arrived, not only transforming Egypt's future but preserving its ancient past. (birds chirping) It really is no exaggeration to say that Alexander the Great is one of the most remarkable
people who ever lived. He really was the superhero
of the ancient world. So you'd think that Egypt would
be filled with his images, after all he had saved them
from the hated Persians. And yet other than the
great city of Alexandria that bears his name, he
is remarkably hard to find within Egypt's traditional temples, except here in this modest little shrine at the heart of Luxor temple. (birds chirping) Alexander was not only a brilliant soldier but a master politician marching into Egypt's ancient capital, Memphis, amid rumors he was the son of
Egypt's last native pharaoh. This instantly plugged him into
Egypt's long native history and he was crowned as
a traditional pharaoh. (birds chirping) Here he is, the great man, repeatedly across the walls
of this limestone shrine. And yet you'd never know it was
Alexander simply by looking, 'cause he looks like every
other Egyptian pharaoh. But he knew their secret,
that to rule Egypt you had to appear to be an Egyptian,
and he did this brilliantly, to the extent that he had his name, his Greek name Alexandros, written in the Egyptian tradition,
even in a royal cartouche. And it's the only giveaway that
this is Alexander the Great, because there is his name, Alexandros, written in typical Egyptian style, and there he's even wearing the
red and the white dual crown of a united land, and so
he's encapsulating everything that it was to be an Egyptian pharaoh. Just like the Kushite king
Taharqa at Gebel Barkal, Alexander is shown offering incense to the king of the gods, Amun. But simply connecting with
the gods wasn't enough. Alexander understood that real power came from becoming a god. And so he undertook a perilous journey across the Libyan desert to the
remote oasis shrine of Siwa, where he could commune with
the oracle of Amun himself. (dramatic music) And it's said, in this legendary story, that the god actually said
to him, "You are my son," and from then on something
clicked in Alexander's mind and he went off to conquer
the rest of the ancient world, truly believing he was divine
and he had the full blessing and support of Amun himself,
the king of the gods of Egypt. (dramatic music) Alexander would only stay in
Egypt for six short months. (dramatic music) But during his time
here, he founded a city that would be his lasting legacy, the great city of Alexandria. Built on the Mediterranean
coast to create trading links with the rest of the ancient world, the later historian Arrian recorded that Alexander had laid out the
city's general plan himself. But lacking chalk or other means, he resorted to marking it out with grain. When a flock of birds
began eating the grain, Alexander regarded this as a bad omen. Yet his religious advisor
quickly spun bad news into good, and interpreted this as a sign that the new city would soon prosper and would one day feed the whole world. A remarkably accurate prophecy. (dramatic music) (birds cooing) For within a very few years, Alexandria would not only
be Egypt's new capital but the greatest city on Earth. Although Alexander himself
would never see it. Yet, despite his pious nature, Alexander was essentially a soldier, and in his quest to conquer the
Persian empire he left Egypt in 331 BC, never to return alive. Moving as far east as India,
he conquered an empire of two million square miles
before dying in Babylon, aged only 32, but still undefeated and still the pharaoh of Egypt. At death, Alexander was mummified and his body became the
focus of a power struggle. Some of his officers wanted him buried in his Greek homeland, but
for others he had to return to Egypt and be buried as a pharaoh, thereby preserving
Egypt's long traditions. But it obviously meant that anyone who possessed his mummified body could also claim the throne of Egypt. And clues to this drama can be found here, in the windswept desert of Saqqara. 10 years after he'd left Egypt alive, Alexander returned here, for his body had been
mummified Egyptian-style and it became a hugely powerful talisman, for whoever held the body of Alexander the Great, held Egypt. While en route to Greece,
his cortege was diverted and his mummified body brought here to Egypt's ancient necropolis of Saqqara. Exactly where his tomb
itself was remains a mystery, although situated just
meters from the Serapeum is this collection of very
un-Egyptian looking statues. And it's these somewhat
sand-blasted statues that give us a real clue
that Alexander may initially have been buried somewhere close by, because these are the
sculpted images of some of the greatest scholars and
artists of ancient Greece. Although exactly who is who has kept academics scratching
their heads for years, their likely identities
reveal a direct link to the world in which Alexander
grew up and was educated. (playful music) Take Homer, for example: his
great warrior hero Achilles was Alexander's lifelong role model; Plato, who had tutored Aristotle, who in turn had tutored Alexander; and Pindar, whose poetry had praised Alexander's
Macedonian ancestors. As for who placed these statues here, the most likely candidate
is Alexander's general and probable half-brother, Ptolemy, for by burying Alexander here, close to Egypt's ancient capital Memphis, Ptolemy could legitimize
his own takeover of Egypt. And by laying claim to
Alexander's body and to Egypt, he founded the dynasty
named after himself, the fabulous and outrageous Ptolemies. (dramatic music) Ruling Egypt for the
last three centuries BC, the Ptolemaic dynasty would
be Egypt's final flowering: 15 male kings all named Ptolemy, with their female co-rulers, half of whom were called Cleopatra. Macedonian Greek by descent, their dynasty would bring
Greek style, culture, knowledge, and fabulous wealth into Egypt, while, at the same time,
immersing themselves in Egypt's irresistible
religion and customs. They were very, very sensitive
to the cultural practices and the religious
sensibilities of the Egyptians. They knew that to control
this ancient land of Egypt, they had to tap in to
what made Egypt powerful, what made Egypt special. They wore the right
clothes, the right crowns, they built the right temples,
they worshiped the right gods. And the Ptolemies relocated
Egypt's capital from Memphis to their new super city, Alexandria. (intense percussive music)
(water murmuring) Built to Alexander's
original plan, it was one of the most lavish
construction projects on Earth. The historian Strabo would later comment that the city had
magnificent public precincts and royal palaces that covered a fourth or even a third of the entire area. (intense percussive music) The colonnaded marble streets
were over 10 meters wide. There were public baths, a huge gymnasium, and one of the greatest
wonders of the ancient world: the 135-meter tall Pharos Lighthouse that guided ships safely into port. (traffic humming) And at the center of the
city, Alexander himself, whose mummified body had been exhumed from Saqqara and brought here. (water murmuring)
(car horns honking) (intense percussive emusic) The Ptolemies had built a capital unlike anything Egypt
had ever seen before, for in Alexandria a new
Egypt was being born. The creation of Alexandria
and the great influx of immigrants gave it
a freshness, a vivacity and really kind of transformed
the ancient culture, whereas, previously, Egyptian
civilization had developed along the Nile, and in many
ways was quite inward-looking, quite insular. I think the fact that Alexandria was open to so many diverse influences,
religiously, culturally, and this gave it a real air of tolerance. (people murmuring) I think I'd have felt very at home here. There's a real sense
of culture and learning and an appreciation of life. (traffic humming) Today Alexandria is the largest
city on the Mediterranean, stretching for over 20
miles along the coast. (waves crashing) As Egypt's largest seaport, it caters for over 80% of the
country's imports and exports, a legacy that reaches directly
back to the Ptolemies. Having improved Egyptian agriculture by reclaiming new farmland
through increased irrigation, they supplemented the Egyptian
staples with new crops, such as cotton, and better
grapes for wine-production. And today the markets
of Alexandria still buzz with some of the early city's
lively, cosmopolitan style. (speaking foreign language) I'm gonna try and find
the nearest equivalent to ancient Egyptian delicacies,
and these are dates, and the ancient Egyptians
used to make pastries and bread from them, because
they had a very sweet tooth. I think I might have to taste one, just for quality control, you understand. See how authentic they are. They are very nice. (car horn tooting) This is incense in its
raw state and, of course, this was burned in temples
and in funerary rites. The port city of Alexandria
became a huge hub of international trade,
establishing routes with Greece, the Middle East, India and even Britain. And as native Egyptian goods like papyrus and perfume flowed out of the country, new exotic luxuries like spices,
silks and wines poured in. The Greeks loved olives
and so these were imported and the Egyptians started to grow them. I'll definitely have some of these. Delicious. Black pepper? (gasps) We've got to get some black pepper. So this is one of the really,
really popular things, certainly in Ptolemaic times,
because markets had opened up and certainly as far east as India, and the Greeks went crazy for this stuff. (people murmuring)
(traffic humming) (Joann laughs) It's certainly lively shopping in Egypt. Never a dull moment. (people murmuring) With Alexandria now at the
heart of the ancient world, the rest of Egypt benefited
too, for, determined to honor their adopted
country's long history, the Ptolemies undertook a
massive temple rebuilding and restoration program. Indeed, modern visitors can
often fail to realize that many of the places they visit were either built or restored by the Ptolemies. Esna, Edfu, Dendara, Kom Ombo, all of these are Ptolemaic buildings that tourists and scholars admire so much, and yet they really don't
give sufficient credit to the people whose vision created them. The most impressive all such
temples lies the farthest from Alexandria. Deep into upper Egypt, close to Aswan, is the stunning temple of Philae, which in Egyptian meant "the end," since it was located at the
very southern edge of Egypt. Much of the temple was built by Ptolemy II and his co-ruler and sister Arsinoe. (dramatic music)
(birds chirping) There was a law passed
by her husband, Ptolemy, to say that a statue of
Arsinoe had to be erected in every single temple in Egypt. She had to become its resident goddess. Arsinoe was a powerful female pharaoh, associated with the goddess Isis, a role the famous Cleopatra
would adopt two centuries later, and under the Ptolemies,
Philae became a major center of the Isis cult. And here, in the heart of Philae Temple, Arsinoe's golden statue
would have stood side-by-side with that of Isis, so the
walls are full of images of Isis and her fellow gods. According to myth, Isis was responsible for the vital Nile
flood, swelling the river as she wept tears of sorrow for
her murdered husband Osiris, who she then resurrected. And with its spectacular location, Philae still retains its
hugely spiritual atmosphere. I guess it's that sense of
continuity you really feel when you're up here. You feel like you're at
the center of the world. I suppose for the ancient
Egyptians you were, the center of their religious world. And at this point, which was the heart of ancient Egyptian religion
way into the Christian era, way into the 6th century AD, it kind of messes with your head. It's a very, very holy place this. But while Philae was
becoming an increasingly important center of Egyptian religion, its new capital, Alexandria,
had become the leading center of knowledge, for the
Ptolemies created some of the first scholarships,
attracting academics from across the world to study
a wide range of subjects. Biology, theology, astronomy,
geometry, anatomy, philosophy. And, of course, my own
personal favorite: history! (gentle music) And at the center of this
intellectual hot house was the famous royal library. Up to half a million works
were once housed within, to compete with the
famous schools of Plato and Aristotle in Athens, and
today that legacy lives on with Alexandria's striking new library. The Ptolemies really did appreciate that knowledge was power,
and they wanted that power, so they brought together,
in this one single place, some of the greatest
works in human history: the plays of Aeschylus,
Sophocles and Euripides, the works of Aristotle the philosopher, the Old Testament scriptures, and all the accumulated knowledge from the temples of ancient Egypt, all brought into this
one, single building. (gentle music) The great library also contained
the works of Herodotus, a Greek historian who'd
traveled the length of Egypt over a century before the
Ptolemies had come to power. His accounts sum up the Greek fascination with Egyptian society. "Not only is the climate
different from that of the rest "of the world, and the river
unlike any other river, "but the people also, in most
of their manners and customs, "exactly reverse the
common practice of mankind, "for the women attend
the markets and trade, "while the men sit at
home and do the weaving." Indeed, the level of equality of Egypt's women shocked Herodotus, something he vividly records
when he witnessed a group of men and women traveling together by boat to the delta city of Bubastis. (people murmuring) "Some of the women make
a noise with clappers, "others play the oboe,
while the rest of the women "and men sing and clap their hands. (Egyptian traditional music) "Some of the women shout
mockery to the women "of that town they are
passing, whilst others dance "and others stand up and
expose their private parts!" (Egyptian traditional music) (Joann gasps) (Egyptian traditional music) In temples the length of Egypt, the Ptolemies ensured they were portrayed as Egyptian pharaohs, making
them almost indistinguishable from their native Egyptian predecessors. Yet in Alexandria, the blend of Greek and Egyptian could
sometimes create a hybrid of rather strange results. Hi, Nermine.
- Hi, how are you? - [Joann] Nermine Sami
is a local historian who's spent years studying
this remarkable tomb complex, built just after the Ptolemaic period. - And here we come to the unique burial, main burial chamber. (Joan chuckles) - That's mad! (chuckles) That is fabulous. Guarded by Greek Doric columns,
the entrance is covered in images of Egyptian gods
who would ensure safe passage into the afterlife. It's like a tomb, but
it's also like a temple. - A temple, a facade of a temple, but a typical Egyptian style. - Yeah, yeah. It's really--
- With cobras protecting the entrance.
- Yeah, yeah. - You know why cobras chosen
to be presented in the tombs? Because the cobra has no eyelashes, it keeps her eyes open 24 hours, which means it's awake to protect the tomb for 24 hours, day and night. - [Joann] I love these snakes. That's a very Greek-looking snake, but it's wearing a very
little ancient Egyptian crown. It's crazy.
- Exactly. (both chuckle) - [Joann] They literally are
throwing everything they've got at this tomb. I mean, Medusa, Horus, sun disk. - [Nermine] To guarantee safety. - This is the best
guarded doorway I've seen in Egypt.
- Exactly. - It's got everything here. And there's statues. They represent the
inhabitants of the tomb: a single wealthy family. These, too, exhibit an odd
mix of the Greek and Egyptian. I think the bodies are ancient Egyptian, the stance is ancient Egyptian, the man's kilt is Egyptian.
- A leg forward. - From the neck down they're Egyptian, but from the neck up they're European. It's clear the tomb owners
had done everything they could to ensure safe passage into
the Egyptian afterlife. Oh, look! It's the Apis bull. Even if they didn't quite
understand how it all worked. (dramatic music) All the features are there,
you've got Thoth with, you know, presenting the oils, and Anubis doing the
same, mummifying the dead. You've even got canopic jars underneath. - Canopic jars and feather of
Maat, the goddess of justice. Without her approval you will
never cross to the other side. He didn't forget to add a
Greek touch in a lower part: two depictions of Dionysus. - [Joann] Dionysus was the
Greek god of wine and fertility. Clearly these tomb occupants intended to continue the lives
they lived in Alexandria into the beyond. - I want all what I enjoy
in life to be with me-- - Of course.
- In the other side. - Especially the wine. What a great place to spend eternity. (dramatic music) Despite its rather cartoon-like quality, the apparent opulence of this
tomb demonstrates the desire of the Alexandrian elite to
integrate into Egyptian culture. Yet in many ways, it was
little more than a veneer, hiding the real force that
would ultimately destroy Egypt, for where the external
invaders had largely tried and failed, Egypt's real nemesis would be the Ptolemies famous
love of luxury and excess. Much of this luxury was just a facade, for the royals of Alexandria,
notorious for their love of display, were like actors on a stage. As one ancient commentator observed, "Everything in Egypt is simply play acting "and painted scenery." A comment which cuts to the heart of this melodramatic monarchy, for whom image was everything. (water murmuring)
(dramatic music) Because while the ruling
elite were living it up in Alexandria, other parts of
Egypt were far from content. By the end of the 3rd century BC, Egypt was once more riven with civil war. Upper Egypt began to rebel,
and it fell to Ptolemy V to try and fight the fires of anarchy. So, not only did he portray
himself as an Egyptian, he went even further in his support for Egypt's ancient beliefs. In doing so he left the world one of its most famous ancient artifacts: The Rosetta Stone. (dramatic music) It's best known as the means by which the French scholar
Champollion was first able to decipher Egyptian hieroglyphs in 1822. And we can tell that the inscription on the stone was of huge importance because it was written out
in three types of script: Greek, Demotic and Hieroglyphic. In a way you could almost describe it as a kind of news bulletin. It's the priests of Memphis
issuing this decree, to let as many people know
exactly what the religious and the political policy
was of crown and clergy. And it particularly focuses on Ptolemy V's generous patronage. The priests are praising
him because he's the one that gives wealth to the temple, and gives due honor and
respect to the sacred animals which were such an integral
part of Egyptian religion. The priests really are grateful
to their Ptolemaic pharaoh, who they see as wanting to sort of tap in to the ancient Egyptian culture and ancient Egyptian religion,
much like Alexander had, much like the Saites had
and the Kushites had. They knew that to attain true
power, true control in Egypt, you had to do things the Egyptian way. Yet Ptolemy V's philanthropy
came at a price. Keeping the peace in Egypt
proved cripplingly expensive, so the second half of the
Ptolemaic dynasty was riven by debt, corruption and vicious civil war. Soon the expanding Roman empire bore down on a divided Egypt. Only the famous Cleopatra
stood in their way. In the mold of Great Uncle Alexander, she believed herself divine and managed to hold the Romans
at bay for over 20 years. But not even the great Cleopatra could prevent the inevitable. (waves lapping) And so it was that in August 30 BC Cleopatra's famous suicide brought an end to ancient Egypt as we know it. This epic culture, which
had lasted for 3,000 years, came to an end in a matter of days when on 31st of August, Egypt
was formally annexed by Rome. (whooshing) This was Egypt's point of no return, a slow, painful decline of
Egyptian beliefs and culture until the arrival of Christianity. With its numerous temples abandoned, built over or simply destroyed, Egypt's glories began to fade from memory. (dramatic music) But Egypt's great story can
now be traced back 20,000 years to the very origins of
its magical culture, which had evolved from
its unique environment, creating a series of
sophisticated beliefs able to unite a country to
build great monuments. (dramatic music) It had survived chaos and
famine, only to rise again in a glorious zenith of
rebirth and resurrection. Even waves of foreign invasions
were ultimately assimilated by Egypt's powerful traditions. And despite being eventually
absorbed into the Roman Empire, the ancient culture had continued until the arrival of Christianity. Yet as the Egyptians had always believed, there would be a life after death. (dramatic music) Cleopatra's Needle, on
London's Embankment, had lain forgotten in Egypt
until the 19th century. But as pioneering Egyptologists
began a 200-year process of rediscovery, ancient Egypt was reborn, and this time it went global. (dramatic music) And what a privilege it
is for us today to be able to see such wonderful things
and capture just a glimpse of this fascinating ancient culture. (intense percussive music) The culture of a people at
one with their environment, and who captured, through
their timeless monuments, their own unique view of the world. In fact, the story of
Egypt is far from over, for its rediscovery means that
it is only just beginning. And it's the things that made the Egyptians so very special have ensured that they're now
known right across the world and they've achieved their
ultimate goal: to live forever. (dramatic music)
