Welcome to Luxor where we can
continue our story of Ancient
00:00:10.26\00:00:13.59
Egypt. In our last program we
showed you the mighty monuments
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of the pyramid age. So lets
just first refresh our memory
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as to how it all ended. Firstly
there was the destruction
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of Egypt farms and flocks
by the 10 devastating plagues.
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Then the annihilation if
the Egyptian army in the waters
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of the red sea in the Exodus.
And finally the collapse of
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power of the 12th
dynasty. Egypt was then occupied
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by the mysterious Hyksos who
were later driven out of Egypt.
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And the kings of the 18th
dynasty ushered in a glorious
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era of prosperity and power.
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Well, it was probably
Seqenenre of the 17th dynasty
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who started the war of
liberation against the Hyksos.
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And how it all started
is really rather ludicrous.
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You wouldn't believe it. A
delegation came from the Hyksos
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king, away down there in the
delta, some 700 kilometers away
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And this delegation came up
here to Luxor and said, Look,
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You are digging a canal and
there are hippopotami in this
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canal and they
are grunting at night.
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Its keeping the
Hypsos king awake.
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Well, Seqenenre had to
do something about it and so
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he politely said,
Alright, I'll do something.
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But after they went - I
can just see him turning to his
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courtiers and saying,
Listen you fellows, I've had it!
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That's a last straw! I'm going
to drive these fellows out of
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the land of Egypt. And so
the war of liberation started.
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Well, Seqenenre
was not successful.
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In fact if you look at
his mummy in the Cairo museum,
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you'll find that it has two
savage gashes in the forehead
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and archaeologists have fitted
a battle axe blade in there
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and they find that
it just fits perfectly.
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Apparently he died of a
battle axe wound in this war of
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liberation. But he was
succeeded by his son, Kamoses
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and by his brother, Ahmoses and
between them they successfully
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drove the Hyksos out of Egypt
and off the pages of history.
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Well, they were followed by
Amenhotep I and then Thutmosis I
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Well, Thutmosis I started
something new. You see, up until
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this time all the previous kings
had been buried in pyramids
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But apparently Thutmose I
decided there was no future in
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that. They were being
robbed and plundered anyway.
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And so he started a new idea.
Its a way over there on the
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other side of the river
Nile. And its called the
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Valley of the Kings
where this idea started.
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Ah, this is just
beautiful. I love this scenery.
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I'm walking along, 6:00 in
the morning along the bank of
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the Nile here in Luxor.
The reeds are floating down the
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river. Over there, see
those hills. Well, over there
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is the Valley of the Kings.
And that's where Thutmose I
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started this new burial
fashion. We're going to go
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over on the ferry and finish
up in the Valley of the Kings.
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Right over there.
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Here we are looking down
on the Valley of the Kings.
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And instead of building a
pyramid for his burial place,
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Thutmosis had his workmen chisel
a hole into the side of the
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valley. And there at the
end of the passage he had a tomb
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chamber. Now he was followed
by other kings who did the same
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thing and some of these tomb
passages go a hundred meters
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into the side of the cliff.
And there are some beautiful
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paintings on the walls.
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At the end of the passage was
tomb chamber in which was the
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sarcophagus, in which
the king's mummy was buried.
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Well, Thutmosis I was
responsible for this obelisk
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that you see behind me and
it stands over 21 meters high.
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And if we had to
accept the revised chronology,
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of Dr. Manuel Villacosky,
its rather interesting to notice
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that Thutmosis the 1st would be
contemporary with King Solomon
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of Israel. Alright, if that
is the case, then this passage
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we find here in 1
Kings 3:1, is applicable.
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It says, Now Solomon
made a treaty with Pharaoh,
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king of Egypt, and
married Pharaoh's daughter.
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And so Solomon would have been
the son-in-law of Thutmose I.
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Now, this Pharaoh gave his
daughter a very unusual dowry
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for her wedding. You'll
never guess what it was.
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But I'm going to read to
you from 1 Kings 9 and verse 16
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where it says, Pharaoh, King
of Egypt, had gone up and taken
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Gezer and burned it with fire,
and killed the Canaanites who
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dwelt in the city and had given
it as a dowry to his daughter
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Solomon's wife. Well now,
if what I am saying is correct,
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we should be able to find some
evidence of Gezer being burned
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with fire. Let's have a look
at the city of Gezer and the
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excavations there. It was built
on this hill. And over the other
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side, the archaeologists
have done some excavating.
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They have carved a deep
trench which exposes the strata
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or layers of occupation. I
went there and had a good look
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at the strata, and I found that
there was a layer of ash there,
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very heavy ash, in fact. I
brought back some of the grains
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of wheat that had
been burnt and carbonized.
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You can still distinctly
see the little grains of wheat.
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So Gezer was thoroughly burned.
Alright, then who did it?
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I took some pottery from
underneath this burned stratum.
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And I showed it to one of
Israel's top archaeologists,
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for identification. He, without
hesitation, said, This comes
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from the early bronze period.
Now that means, in my thinking,
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that this was the Canaanite
occupation and above it was the
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middle bronze, which I consider
to be the Israelite occupation.
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So here we have the evidence
at Gezer that if the Canaanites
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were conquered at some
time, their city was burned
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and above it is the evidence
of Israelite occupation.
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When Tutmoses I died, he was
succeeded by his son Tutmoses II
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But this poor guy didn't
last very long, another 4 years.
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Then he seems to have dropped
dead. Well, he had no successor,
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except his son by another
wife, who was Tutmoses III.
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but he was only a boy,
only a child at the time.
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And so the wife of
Tutmoses II assumed the throne.
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Her name was Queen Hatshepsut.
Her statue you see here.
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And Hatshepsut reigned for
21 peaceful and prosperous years
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Well, she seems to have liked
the job, because she started off
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as a regent. But then
this statue depicts her with a
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queen's attire, female
attire. Now, this statue here
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depicts her as having
male attire. You see that?
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In other words, she was assuming
the role, not of a queen now
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but of a king, a Pharaoh.
And she took all the titles of
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a Pharaoh. And her statues
in the Cairo museum actually
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depict her as wearing a
beard. For instance, this statue
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and then this sphinx of
her shows her with a beard.
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Now, you might say, That's
ridiculous, a woman wearing a
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beard? But you see, the Pharaohs
themselves were clean shaven.
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And they simply stuck a beard
on their chins for a ceremonial
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occasion, and I suppose
Hatshepsut figured that if the
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men can do it, she can do it,
too. Anyway that's what she did.
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Well, Hatshepsut built
some tremendous obelisks.
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This one lying here is
the biggest one in the land of
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Egypt at the present time.
It snapped in half, actually.
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And this other one that
is standing over here is the
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largest standing obelisk in the
land of Egypt in contrast with
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her father's, Tutmoses over
there. Her obelisk is more than
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30 meters high. She was
also responsible for magnificent
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mortuary temple.
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Well, western people
today are buried in holes
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in the ground like that and then
they put a tombstone on top.
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Well, this is
Hatshepsut's tombstone.
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And you call it a
beautiful mortuary temple.
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And I consider that she should
be identified with the Queen of
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Sheba. You see, it says, in
1 Kings chapter 10 and in verse
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one, Now when the Queen of Sheba
heard of the fame of Solomon
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concerning the name of
the Lord, she came to test him
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with hard questions. Well,
who was this Queen of Sheba?
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I don't think we should be in
any doubt, myself, because Jesus
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Christ identifies her. In
Matthew 12 and in verse 42,
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he says, Now when the Queen
of the South came to hear the
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wisdom of Solomon, she
came from the ends of the earth
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to hear the wisdom of Solomon.
He calls her the Queen of the
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South. Well, in Daniel chapter
eleven, we have the king of the
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North and the King of the South
and there the King of the South
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is identified as the King of
Egypt. And so if the King of the
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South is the King of Egypt, well
then surely the Queen of the
00:11:42.31\00:11:44.79
South must be the Queen of
Egypt and that is what Josephus,
00:11:44.82\00:11:47.90
the ancient historian says.
He identifies her as the Queen
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of Egypt and Ethiopia. Here
is Hatshepsut's model and she's
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seated on the birth stool.
The baby will be placed here.
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And she depicts herself as being
born in the presence of the god.
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Here's the god, Tut.
Here's the god Ammon.
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And here was the baby
being received by the gods.
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This is to establish
her claim to the throne.
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This segment shows Hatshepsut's
expedition to the land of Tut.
00:12:18.77\00:12:21.20
You can see her soldiers with
their shields standing on the
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deck of the ship. See the fish
underneath? And they're going
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on this expedition to God's land
Here are the sailors pulling on
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the oars. You see the
ship there? And the masts?
00:12:33.84\00:12:36.93
They're on the way
to the haven of Hash.
00:12:36.96\00:12:39.71
Now up here are some trees
and plants that this expedition
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brought back to the area of Punt
The archaeologist didn't know
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where the land of Punt was
so they called on the botanists
00:12:53.57\00:12:56.66
and said, Listen, you fellows,
can you tell us where these
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plants come from. And the
botanist said, Sure we can
00:12:59.61\00:13:02.41
tell you. They come from east
Africa, maybe from Somalia or
00:13:02.44\00:13:05.41
Eritrea and so the archaeologist
said, Fine now we know where the
00:13:05.44\00:13:08.93
the land of Punt is. But I think
there's another explanation.
00:13:08.96\00:13:11.87
Look at it this way. In 1 Kings,
chapter 10, and in verse 10
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it says, Then she, that is the
Queen of Sheba, gave the king
00:13:16.71\00:13:20.71
120 talents of gold, spices,
in precious great abundance,
00:13:20.89\00:13:24.89
precious stones, also the ships
and King Solomon gave the Queen
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of Sheba all she desired.
Also the ships of Hiram brought
00:13:29.24\00:13:32.70
gold from Ophir and great
quantities of Almug wood or
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trees and precious stones from
Ophir. So you see they actually
00:13:36.53\00:13:41.84
brought these things from East
Africa. And when the Queen of
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Sheba came there, she
said, yea, I want some of them.
00:13:45.12\00:13:47.42
And so they brought them
back and I think that's why they
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finished up on this wall.
00:13:49.97\00:13:50.95
There was something else that
impressed the Queen of Sheba,
00:13:52.77\00:13:56.15
in her visit to Solomon.
It says, And when the Queen of
00:13:56.18\00:13:59.21
Sheba had seen all the wisdom
of Solomon, the house that
00:13:59.24\00:14:02.26
he had built,-that's his temple-
and his entry way or his ascent
00:14:02.29\00:14:06.26
by which he went up to the house
of the Lord, there was no more
00:14:06.34\00:14:09.60
spirit in her. You see, there
was something about the way
00:14:09.63\00:14:12.87
he went up to the temple
that impressed her. And when you
00:14:12.90\00:14:16.05
look at this, it seems to
me that she came back and said,
00:14:16.08\00:14:18.97
to her workmen, Now Look, I
want a temple built like that.
00:14:19.00\00:14:22.52
This is unique, you see. There
was never anything like this
00:14:22.55\00:14:24.68
before in the land of
Egypt. Now, it is true that most
00:14:24.71\00:14:28.34
archaeologists identify
Sheba with the city in southwest
00:14:28.37\00:14:32.09
Arabia, by the name of
Marib. But for this there is no
00:14:32.12\00:14:35.30
descriptional evidence to
support it. Wendell Phillips,
00:14:35.33\00:14:38.63
an American archaeologist
conducted an excavation there,
00:14:38.66\00:14:42.30
Very exciting, really.
and he wrote a book called,
00:14:42.33\00:14:44.65
Sheba's Buried City. Wonderful
book but there's no evidence
00:14:44.68\00:14:48.19
to support this view, that
the Queen of Sheba came from the
00:14:48.22\00:14:51.40
Southwest Arabia. But suddenly
Queen Hatshepsut disappears from
00:14:51.43\00:14:56.83
the scene, and we suspect that
her son-in-law Tutmoses III,
00:14:56.87\00:15:01.87
whose relief is seen
here, knew something about it.
00:15:01.97\00:15:05.51
Because, immediately we find
him going around the land of
00:15:05.54\00:15:09.25
Egypt demolishing her statues,
and erasing her name from her
00:15:09.28\00:15:14.00
inscriptions. Here was a relief
of Hatshepsut seated upon her
00:15:14.04\00:15:19.12
throne with her scepter in her
hand. Tutmoses sent his workmen
00:15:19.16\00:15:23.92
down here and see how
they chiseled it all off.
00:15:23.96\00:15:26.61
This was part of his
rage to show his anger
00:15:26.64\00:15:30.46
at being held back
from the throne so long.
00:15:30.49\00:15:33.33
So he became the
mightiest of all the Pharaohs.
00:15:33.36\00:15:36.15
He conducted no less
than 17 military campaigns.
00:15:36.18\00:15:39.61
Very successful, and he
left some very fine statues of
00:15:39.64\00:15:43.33
himself. For instance there is
this statue in the Luxor museum
00:15:43.36\00:15:47.34
and this very fine
statue in the New York museum.
00:15:47.58\00:15:51.13
Tutmoses was also responsible
for this great festal hall here
00:15:51.16\00:15:56.78
at Carnac in which the
archaeologist found a very
00:15:56.81\00:15:59.95
important key list. He was also
responsible for erecting 4 big
00:15:59.98\00:16:04.58
obelisks. He depicts two of
them on his wall over there.
00:16:04.62\00:16:08.53
One of them has since gone to
the city of London and stands on
00:16:08.56\00:16:14.01
the Thames embankment.
Another has gone to New York.
00:16:14.04\00:16:16.65
Another one has gone to
Istanbul. And the biggest
00:16:16.68\00:16:20.26
of them all stands in front
of the churches of John Lateran
00:16:20.29\00:16:23.21
in Rome. It's 32.2
meters high and weighs 455 tons.
00:16:23.24\00:16:30.32
It's an enormous thing,
the biggest obelisk ever made
00:16:30.36\00:16:32.88
in the land of Egypt. Tutmoses
the 3rd whose relief you see
00:16:32.91\00:16:38.18
here, left this record
of his military campaigns.
00:16:38.22\00:16:41.65
And he records here over
100 cities, each one depicted
00:16:41.68\00:16:47.03
by this oval with the form on
top, cities which he conquered
00:16:47.06\00:16:51.51
in Palestine and Syria. At the
top of this list there is the
00:16:51.54\00:16:55.96
city of Kadesh. Now the word
Kadesh means holy or holy city.
00:16:56.29\00:17:01.33
and this could refer to
Jerusalem. Now if what we're
00:17:01.37\00:17:05.59
saying is correct, this
then is a record of the bible
00:17:05.63\00:17:09.82
story of Rehoboam being
invaded by the Pharaoh of Egypt.
00:17:09.85\00:17:16.15
And it says here in 1 Kings 14,
and verse 25, Now it happened
00:17:16.18\00:17:20.14
in the 5th year of the king
Rehoboam that Shishak, king of
00:17:20.47\00:17:23.49
Egypt came up against Jerusalem
and he took away the treasures
00:17:23.52\00:17:27.12
of the house of the Lord
and the treasures of the kings
00:17:27.15\00:17:29.76
house. He took everything
away. He also took away the gold
00:17:29.79\00:17:32.86
shields which Solomon had made.
Now Tutmoses not only left a
00:17:32.89\00:17:36.86
record of the cities he
conquered, but he left a record
00:17:37.68\00:17:41.06
of the loot that he
took. And I want to show that.
00:17:41.09\00:17:44.65
It was on this wall that
Tutmoses depicted a list of all
00:17:44.68\00:17:48.65
the loot that he took
from his military campaign.
00:17:49.13\00:17:52.49
Dr. Immanuel Velikovsky who is
from Jewish origin, has made a
00:17:52.52\00:17:56.50
comparison between what was
in Solomon's temple, according
00:17:56.61\00:17:59.45
to the record of the book of
Chronicles, and the items that
00:17:59.48\00:18:02.65
are listed here, and he claims
there is a very close similarity
00:18:02.68\00:18:05.81
between those. For instance,
you will notice up here the
00:18:05.84\00:18:08.83
fire pans and the bowls,
the dishes. There's something up
00:18:08.86\00:18:12.83
here that looks very much
like the ark of the covenant
00:18:13.74\00:18:16.64
with the poles through it
by which priests carried it.
00:18:16.67\00:18:19.43
And there is an altar. It
looks like a fire altar such as
00:18:19.46\00:18:23.43
would be expected in the temple
in Jerusalem. And then there's
00:18:23.60\00:18:27.26
this other altar up here. Well
it looks more like 7 lampstands.
00:18:27.29\00:18:32.51
that sounds a bit familiar.
In particular look up there,
00:18:32.54\00:18:36.75
There are two doors. You see
that? And they're golden doors.
00:18:36.78\00:18:40.70
And it says in 1 Kings chapter
6 and in verse 32, The two doors
00:18:40.73\00:18:46.53
were of olive wood and
he carved on them figures of
00:18:46.56\00:18:48.73
cherubim, palm trees and open
flowers overlaid them with gold.
00:18:48.76\00:18:52.32
Golden doors. And so we
have golden doors up here.
00:18:52.35\00:18:56.06
Hedjkheperre Sheshenq was
the founder of the Libyan 22nd
00:19:00.58\00:19:04.95
dynasty. And just around the
corner here he has left a relief
00:19:04.98\00:19:09.84
which shows a list of cities
that were in Palestine and
00:19:09.87\00:19:15.33
Syria and authorities have
identified this list with the
00:19:15.36\00:19:19.61
cities conquered by Shishak of
the bible. The list is somewhat
00:19:19.64\00:19:22.99
similar as you can see these
ovals with the heads on top
00:19:23.02\00:19:26.54
similar to the list that
was left by Tutmoses the 3rd.
00:19:26.57\00:19:29.79
But I don't consider this
to be a valid identification.
00:19:29.82\00:19:32.95
If this really was the Shishak
of the bible, what city would
00:19:32.98\00:19:36.70
you expect to find at the
top of the list? Well, Jerusalem
00:19:36.73\00:19:39.44
of course. But Jerusalem
is not even in this list.
00:19:39.47\00:19:42.38
Moreover authorities consider
that this is not a historical
00:19:42.41\00:19:46.22
list. For some of the
cities mentioned here had ceased
00:19:46.25\00:19:49.55
to exist by the time of Shishak.
The Matani in particular had
00:19:49.58\00:19:54.24
been wiped out 400 years
prior to this list. So I don't
00:19:54.27\00:19:58.40
consider this to be
a valid identification.
00:19:58.43\00:20:00.84
Tutmoses the 3rd had transformed
Egypt from a nation into an
00:20:10.17\00:20:15.75
empire by his military
conquests and from then on
00:20:15.78\00:20:19.64
the tribute flowed in
from the surrounding nations.
00:20:19.67\00:20:22.65
Enabling the Pharaohs of
the 18th and 19th dynasties
00:20:22.68\00:20:26.33
to build such massive
temples and monuments.
00:20:26.36\00:20:28.79
He was followed by Amenophis
the 2nd. Amenhotep the 2nd.
00:20:28.82\00:20:34.74
And he left a rather interesting
statue which is today in the
00:20:34.77\00:20:39.23
the Cairo museum. And it depicts
him as a devotee of the cow
00:20:39.26\00:20:44.61
goddess Hathor. At the front end
you see him under the protection
00:20:44.64\00:20:48.99
of the cow goddess and at the
other end, well, he's drawing
00:20:49.02\00:20:53.09
nourishment off the grid
from this deity. After Amenophis
00:20:53.12\00:20:58.49
the 2nd came Tutmoses the
4th. And he has left rather an
00:20:58.52\00:21:04.07
interesting stela between those
paws of the sphinx. He records
00:21:04.10\00:21:09.47
there how he was to become
the Pharaoh as the result of
00:21:09.50\00:21:14.06
a dream he had in which the
sphinx appeared to him and said,
00:21:14.09\00:21:17.32
If you'll only clear the sand
that's stifling me, I'll make
00:21:17.35\00:21:21.17
you the next Pharaoh. Some
people have read a lot into
00:21:21.20\00:21:23.55
this and tried to make out that
he was made the Pharaoh as the
00:21:23.58\00:21:29.51
result of this dream. Well,
I don't consider that to be
00:21:29.54\00:21:32.09
plausible. It was simply
a device the Pharaohs had
00:21:32.12\00:21:35.62
to claim the throne as a divine
right. And so he simply claims
00:21:35.65\00:21:41.96
that the sphinx had appeared
to him and spoke to him.
00:21:41.99\00:21:44.63
Well, he was followed
by Amenophis III. Sometimes
00:21:44.66\00:21:48.95
referred to as Amenophis
or Amenhotep the magnificent.
00:21:48.98\00:21:52.56
because of his
tremendous building program.
00:21:52.59\00:21:55.91
And the largest statue in the
Cairo museum depicts Amenophis
00:21:55.94\00:22:00.71
III, and his wife with her arm
affectionately around his waist
00:22:00.75\00:22:05.49
The magnitude of his building
projects can be gauged from
00:22:05.52\00:22:11.33
these two colossal statues of
Amenophis llI which once stood
00:22:11.36\00:22:17.79
at the entrance of his
great temple here at Luxor.
00:22:17.82\00:22:23.84
To give you some idea of
the enormous magnitude of this
00:22:47.78\00:22:51.54
temple, do you see that
stela away back there. Well that
00:22:51.57\00:22:56.48
marked the rear end of the
temple which stretched right
00:22:56.51\00:22:59.59
forward to those two
huge statues known as the
00:22:59.62\00:23:02.97
Colossi of Memnon which
mark the front of the temple.
00:23:03.00\00:23:05.53
Around the other side of this
statue of Amenophis is a small
00:23:07.25\00:23:12.90
statue of his mother, Mutemwiya.
00:23:12.93\00:23:14.74
And on this side is a
statue of his wife, Tiye.
00:23:14.77\00:23:19.85
Now she's a bit cut down to size
of course, but anyway he was
00:23:19.88\00:23:22.76
apparently very devoted to her.
because she appeared in so many
00:23:22.88\00:23:26.00
statues and its a little
difficult to understand why
00:23:26.03\00:23:28.99
if we go by a statue of
her in the Berlin museum.
00:23:29.02\00:23:32.07
She is not exactly beautiful.
But anyway maybe she had a
00:23:32.10\00:23:35.62
nice personality or something
like that. Now around the side
00:23:35.65\00:23:40.56
of this statue there is a
very interesting symbolism.
00:23:40.59\00:23:45.12
Can you see here two figures?
And they're both of the river
00:23:45.15\00:23:50.14
god Hapi, representing upper and
lower Egypt. And you notice how
00:23:50.17\00:23:56.08
they're sort of tying something
together? Well, actually that's
00:23:56.11\00:24:00.17
what the river Egypt does.
It binds upper and lower Egypt
00:24:00.20\00:24:04.01
together. And so this is a
very fitting symbolism of the
00:24:04.04\00:24:07.84
unity of Egypt which the
Pharaohs tried to obtain and the
00:24:07.87\00:24:11.62
river god Hapi binding
upper and lower Egypt together.
00:24:11.65\00:24:15.46
Now we come to a really
intriguing era of Egyptian
00:24:20.75\00:24:24.49
history. Following
Amenophis the 3rd, came his son,
00:24:24.52\00:24:28.98
Amenophis the 4th. And this
character adopted a new form of
00:24:29.01\00:24:33.71
religion. He began to worship
the sun god under the form of
00:24:33.74\00:24:38.86
his god, Aten, the Sun disk.
And he changed his name from
00:24:38.89\00:24:43.56
Amenophis, which included
the name of the god Ammon, to
00:24:43.59\00:24:48.26
Atonaton, which incorporated
the sun disk, Aton. And his
00:24:48.29\00:24:53.94
reliefs show him as worshiping
this sun god. For instance
00:24:53.97\00:24:58.84
in this relief which is in
the Cairo museum, we see him
00:24:58.87\00:25:04.50
standing with hands
upraised, worshiping Aton
00:25:04.53\00:25:08.03
and Aton on the other hand
is reaching down his arms and
00:25:08.06\00:25:11.85
extend a blessing with hands
outstretched upon the Pharaoh
00:25:11.88\00:25:15.82
and his wife. Now Atonaton was a
grotesque figure if we're going
00:25:15.85\00:25:20.50
to go by his statues, thick lips
thin cheek, protruding belly,
00:25:20.53\00:25:26.81
thick thighs. Did he really look
like this? Or was it a new art
00:25:26.84\00:25:33.26
form. There's a lot of
advocates of the latter theory
00:25:33.29\00:25:35.70
actually, I can't think
anyone would want to be depicted
00:25:35.73\00:25:38.59
like this unless he was really
like this. It is true that the
00:25:38.62\00:25:43.47
other members of his court
also adopted a similar art form
00:25:43.50\00:25:47.94
but I think that was
just following the fashion.
00:25:47.97\00:25:50.11
Anyway, Atonotan had some
strange statues of himself
00:25:50.14\00:25:54.49
for instance there's this
one that shows him without any
00:25:54.52\00:25:56.86
clothing on. Well now,
this was abnormal for a Pharaoh.
00:25:56.89\00:26:00.79
They are always modestly dressed
and this has given rise to a lot
00:26:00.82\00:26:03.99
of speculation as to why
this should be. Was it because
00:26:04.02\00:26:08.36
he was like this? Actually
you'll notice that something
00:26:08.39\00:26:12.39
else was missing, too. And this
has led to some suggestions that
00:26:12.42\00:26:16.20
he was not able to procreate.
But, we do know that he had
00:26:16.23\00:26:21.91
six daughters. You
might say they were adopted.
00:26:21.94\00:26:24.81
But if the Pharaoh was
going to adopt any children,
00:26:24.84\00:26:27.63
you tell me, what would they be?
Well, of course they'd be sons.
00:26:27.66\00:26:31.22
so its quite apparent that he
was able to procreate. Well his
00:26:31.25\00:26:37.64
beautiful wife, Nefertiti, had
her statue made and this head
00:26:37.67\00:26:42.27
of her is in the Berlin Museum.
Its a beautiful statue. I went
00:26:42.30\00:26:45.70
to Berlin just purely and simply
to see this statue and I wasn't
00:26:45.73\00:26:48.62
disappointed. And
the extraordinary part is
00:26:48.65\00:26:52.07
that it depicts her as blind in
the left eye. Do you see that?
00:26:52.10\00:26:55.15
Now this has led to a lot of
speculation, too. Was she really
00:26:55.18\00:27:00.17
blind or didn't the
artist finish his work?
00:27:00.20\00:27:03.13
Or was the statue
mutilated afterward?
00:27:03.16\00:27:06.21
Well, personally I think
that she did become blind
00:27:06.24\00:27:10.03
in the left eye. And that would
explain why she had a separate
00:27:10.06\00:27:14.79
palace built for herself.
Apparently Atonaton still loved
00:27:14.82\00:27:18.61
her but maybe he didn't want
her as the retaining queen and
00:27:18.64\00:27:22.43
so not wishing to banish her,
and yet not wishing to retain
00:27:22.46\00:27:25.43
her he built this
separate palace for her down the
00:27:25.46\00:27:27.56
other end of the new city that
he built, Akhetaten, half way
00:27:27.59\00:27:31.30
between Memphis and Thebes. Now
Atonaton apparently went through
00:27:31.33\00:27:39.02
a very strange phase towards the
end of his reign. And I think
00:27:39.05\00:27:44.45
that is the reason that he is
depicted in that statue that I
00:27:44.48\00:27:47.52
showed you. Perhaps even as
someone suggested, he developed
00:27:47.55\00:27:51.81
homosexual qualities. Whatever
it was, his was an extraordinary
00:27:51.84\00:27:56.70
reign and a strange
era in Egyptian history.
00:27:56.73\00:28:00.84
Atonaton was followed by
his younger brother, Tutankhaton
00:28:06.48\00:28:09.98
and he reverted to the religion
of Ammon. And so changed his
00:28:10.01\00:28:13.69
name to Tutankhamen. In 1922
Howard Carter made a spectacular
00:28:13.72\00:28:19.56
discovery of Tutankhamun's
tomb. Its away down there in
00:28:19.59\00:28:23.07
the valley and later on in this
series we're going to have a
00:28:23.10\00:28:26.56
full program on Tutankhaman.
You want to stay around for
00:28:26.59\00:28:29.79
that. Its exciting. Tutankhamun
was succeeded by Ay and then by
00:28:29.82\00:28:34.96
Horemheb who went around the
land of Egypt smashing all the
00:28:34.99\00:28:39.82
statues of Atonaton and
demolishing all his temples.
00:28:39.85\00:28:44.03
So this is where the
archaeologists have stacked the
00:28:44.06\00:28:48.92
stones from Atonaton's smashed
temple. And from the beautiful
00:28:48.95\00:28:54.03
reliefs you can see what
a magnificent temple it was.
00:28:54.06\00:28:56.74
This is the way the
18th dynasty came to its end.
00:29:00.69\00:29:04.13
Ramesses the 1st is usually
considered to be the 1st king of
00:29:07.52\00:29:13.05
of the 19th dynasty and he
was followed by Seti the 1st
00:29:13.08\00:29:17.30
and then came Ramesses
II or Ramesses the great.
00:29:17.33\00:29:21.79
And Seti and Ramesses the 2nd
were responsible for this huge
00:29:21.82\00:29:26.69
hypostyle hall, 134 massive
columns in this great hypostyle
00:29:26.72\00:29:32.97
hall. Ramesses was
really great because he was a
00:29:33.00\00:29:36.93
compulsive builder and he
also fought the famous battle of
00:29:36.96\00:29:41.24
Kadesh depicted on his
reliefs. He was often rejoiced
00:29:41.27\00:29:45.82
to be able to tell
about the battle of Kadesh.
00:29:45.85\00:29:47.90
And if you still don't feel
like Ramesses was great, just
00:29:47.93\00:29:51.59
consider this. He had
92 sons and 106 daughters.
00:29:51.62\00:29:55.72
And if that doesn't make a man
great, you tell me what does.
00:29:55.75\00:29:59.13
Well, Ramesses also was
responsible for the magnificent
00:29:59.16\00:30:03.09
temple of Abu Simbel.
00:30:03.12\00:30:04.59
And there also he depicts
his battle against the Hittites
00:30:31.13\00:30:35.48
at Kadesh. And we'll have more
to say about them in our next
00:30:35.51\00:30:38.82
program.
00:30:38.85\00:30:45.76
But Ramesses also had
made provision for his death.
00:30:45.79\00:30:51.96
This is the Ramassea
which is his mortuary temple,
00:30:51.99\00:30:55.27
still in remarkably
good condition, even the roof
00:30:55.30\00:30:58.70
is intact. And lying on
the ground you can see a statue
00:30:58.73\00:31:04.19
of Ramesses, which is the
biggest statue in the land of
00:31:04.22\00:31:07.30
Egypt. You can get an idea of
the enormous size of this statue
00:31:07.33\00:31:15.27
by the shaping of the feet.
00:31:15.30\00:31:16.51
Well, Ramesses the great died
of course he ruled for 67 years
00:31:23.51\00:31:27.51
and that is his mortuary temple
away over there in the distance
00:31:27.54\00:31:31.03
and he was succeeded
by his son, Merenptah.
00:31:31.06\00:31:34.70
Now Merenptah left a
stelae which is very important
00:31:34.73\00:31:39.08
just for one word that occurs
on it, the word Israel. You see
00:31:39.11\00:31:43.27
the only place in all of Egypt
that the word is Israel occurs.
00:31:43.30\00:31:46.98
Now Mereneptah is not
saying that he conquered Israel,
00:31:47.01\00:31:49.89
he is simply
recording a historical fact.
00:31:49.92\00:31:52.21
He says Israel is destroyed, her
seed is no more. And personally
00:31:52.24\00:31:56.32
I consider this refers to the
Assyrian invasion of Palestine
00:31:56.35\00:31:59.80
and the exile of the 10
tribes of Israel into Assyria.
00:31:59.83\00:32:03.46
We are at the Medinet Habu,
a temple of Ramesses the 3rd.
00:32:15.51\00:32:20.99
And in this relief that you see
here on the wall, Ramesses has
00:32:21.02\00:32:27.20
his club lifted and he's about
to bash somebody's brains out.
00:32:27.23\00:32:30.71
And he is depicting here his
battle with what I referred to
00:32:30.74\00:32:36.10
the peoples of the sea.
Now this battle was supposed to
00:32:36.13\00:32:39.95
have occurred around 1200
BC. But there's some awkward
00:32:39.98\00:32:43.61
anachronisms involved
here by this present dating.
00:32:43.64\00:32:46.64
One is, for instance, that
Ramesses the 3rd is supposed
00:32:46.67\00:32:51.39
to be repelling these peoples
of the sea who swept over
00:32:51.42\00:32:54.06
Anatolia around 1200 BC
and annihilated the Hittites.
00:32:54.09\00:32:58.14
But we have a relief of
Shalmaneser in his obelisk
00:32:58.17\00:33:03.25
in which he refers to
his battle with the Hittites.
00:33:03.28\00:33:06.13
So here you are in the
9th century BC and here's
00:33:06.16\00:33:10.66
Shalmaneser fighting the
Hittites who were supposed
00:33:10.69\00:33:13.20
to have been extinguished
1200 BC, you see it just doesn't
00:33:13.23\00:33:16.43
fit. And then, too, in
this gateway over here, there is
00:33:16.46\00:33:20.73
obvious a Syrian influence. And
you've got to date that to the
00:33:20.76\00:33:24.67
either the 8th or the
9th century BC. So where did
00:33:24.70\00:33:27.82
Ramesses llI get this concept
from? Well, you can't say that
00:33:27.85\00:33:31.67
he anticipated the Syrian
influence. It is much easier
00:33:31.70\00:33:35.42
to say that Ramesses was a
later date. And that's where I
00:33:35.45\00:33:39.09
think it should be. In other
words, what he is depicting
00:33:39.12\00:33:41.20
here is his conflicts with the
Assyrians. And that would put it
00:33:41.23\00:33:46.02
around the 8th century BC.
and there is just one more thing
00:33:46.05\00:33:49.60
that's rather interesting.
Ramesses llI has a palace or
00:33:49.63\00:33:54.55
had a palace down in the delta
at a place called Tel Yehudah.
00:33:54.58\00:34:00.87
Now some tiles were found there
if you please, and they also
00:34:00.90\00:34:05.36
showed Persian influence, by
the way, but on the back of the
00:34:05.39\00:34:08.51
tiles there were some Greek
letters. Now these Greek letters
00:34:08.54\00:34:13.04
were intended so that they
could put the wall in the right
00:34:13.07\00:34:14.93
place, you see. But the problem
is, the Greek alphabet was not
00:34:14.96\00:34:19.74
invented until 800 BC. And yet
here is Ramesses supposed to be
00:34:19.77\00:34:24.50
making these tiles 1200 BC. So
I think all the evidence really
00:34:24.53\00:34:28.94
points to the fact. That this
is Ramesses the 3rd fighting
00:34:28.97\00:34:33.15
a battle with the Assyrians,
around about the 8th century BC.
00:34:33.18\00:34:38.39
And as far as the sea
peoples who were involved, well,
00:34:38.42\00:34:42.18
The Assyrians simply conscripted
the Phoenician navy and used
00:34:42.21\00:34:47.68
them in their battles
against the Egyptians.
00:34:47.71\00:34:50.35
Well, we're just about down
to the end of the history of
00:35:07.65\00:35:10.53
ancient Egypt. We come down
to the time of Pharaoh-hophra.
00:35:10.56\00:35:14.03
He's mentioned in the biblical
account in Jeremiah chapter
00:35:14.06\00:35:16.83
44 and in verse 30 where it says
Behold I will give Pharaohhophra
00:35:16.86\00:35:20.81
king of Egypt into the
hand of of his enemies.
00:35:20.84\00:35:22.91
hophra is to be identified with
Pharaoh-Apries and this Pharaoh
00:35:22.94\00:35:27.99
left rather a cute sort of an
obelisk that is today perched on
00:35:28.02\00:35:31.16
the back of an elephant
outside the Pantheon in Rome.
00:35:31.19\00:35:34.83
The prophets of Israel were
beginning to predict the doom
00:35:34.86\00:35:38.18
of Egypt. Ezekiel 30 and verse
13 says, I will also destroy the
00:35:38.21\00:35:43.71
idols and cause the images to
cease from Noph. They shall no
00:35:43.74\00:35:47.92
longer be princes
from the land of Egypt.
00:35:47.95\00:35:50.28
Well, that's exactly what
happened. The Persian invasion
00:36:06.83\00:36:09.91
came in the 4th century
BC and Cambyses smashed this
00:36:09.94\00:36:14.16
statue of Ramesses
the great here in Luxor.
00:36:14.19\00:36:16.97
The great conqueror Alexander
the great came here in 332 BC
00:36:17.00\00:36:22.58
and this relief show him
worshiping the god Ammon.
00:36:22.61\00:36:26.45
In the latter centuries came
the Romans. Here for instance is
00:36:26.48\00:36:30.37
Diocletian's pillar down
there at Alexandria. Sometimes
00:36:30.40\00:36:33.38
referred to as Pompey's pillar.
In the 7th century came the
00:36:33.41\00:36:37.00
Islamic invasion and finally we
come down to the present state
00:36:37.03\00:36:41.11
of the united Arab republic
of Egypt. And right down to the
00:36:41.14\00:36:45.36
present time there has never
been a native prince in the land
00:36:45.39\00:36:49.71
of Egypt over the last more
than 2000 years. The idols have
00:36:49.74\00:36:53.77
been smashed. Everything
is just as the bible says, so
00:36:53.80\00:36:57.60
it seems the bible knew
what it was talking about.
00:36:57.63\00:37:00.32
What makes Egypt so exciting,
I believe, is its ability
00:37:00.35\00:37:04.94
to take you back in time to the
glories of its long lost past
00:37:04.97\00:37:09.54
empire, an empire that was
once nearly lost to the powerful
00:37:09.58\00:37:14.15
Hittites. To find out more
about this relief of Ramesses
00:37:14.18\00:37:18.80
the great fighting the Hittites
we take you in our next program
00:37:18.83\00:37:22.88
to Turkey. There we'll be
visiting the weird and wonderful
00:37:22.91\00:37:27.35
world of Cappidocia with
its incredible underground city
00:37:27.38\00:37:31.89
and geological formations.
Although they succeeded in
00:37:31.92\00:37:36.43
defeating the Egyptians, the
Hittites were lost from history
00:37:36.46\00:37:40.55
for thousands of years.
The scholars even denied their
00:37:40.58\00:37:44.69
very existence until recently,
that is. Don't miss it.
00:37:44.72\00:37:49.45
this next exciting episode of
Digging up the Past when David
00:37:49.48\00:37:52.92
reveals the dramatic story
of how the Hittites were found
00:37:52.95\00:37:56.82
once again.
00:37:56.85\00:37:57.82