MUST WATCH: How Ancient Egypt Lost its Place as the Center of World Civilization

Hi welcome back to another episode of the Sankofa Pan-African series In this episode I'll be examining the decline of ancient Egypt's Old Kingdom and the rise of Nubia and Kush Around 3184 BC matters grew complicated in Egypt following the death of King Amenemhet IV who left no heir At the time the tradition was for power to be passed down through the pharaoh 's daughter yet she was forbidden from exercising the authority she inherited Instead she was expected to pass her royal authority to her husband who then became the pharaoh Thus the tradition was for a reigning pharaoh to be succeeded by his son-in-law This tradition compelled pharaohs to be inventive in safeguarding their bloodline For example generations of pharaohs preserved their bloodline by marrying their eldest daughters to their eldest sons ensuring that the king’s sons were also their sons-in-law and thus eligible to succeed them The decline of ancient Egypt began with one such marriage Amenemhet IV continued this tradition by marrying his sister Subeneferu but unfortunately he died before having any children Subeneferu was then expected to marry another man from her noble Theban family But she defied tradition by marrying a commoner from Lower Egypt Now let me quickly pause to claim this woman as the first recorded African feminist The way I imagine it is that Subeneferu likely reached this conclusion after the death of her brother-husband She longed for the chance to wield the power granted to her by birth Thus she decided to rule instead of passing authority to another noble member of her Theban family She did what any intelligent woman would do in her position—married a commoner and ruled as pharaoh According to Kim Riholt Subeneferu was the final ruler of Egypt's 12th Dynasty reigning for approximately four years from 1806 to 1802 BC Unfortunately she died without leaving any children and is the first recorded female pharaoh It's possible that the commoner she married or members of his family from Lower Egypt attempted to seize the throne after her death Egypt was then plunged into civil war as the Theban nobility refused to accept rule by a commoner from Lower Egypt This war dragged on for approximately a century during which Egypt was split into two rival dynasties One was operated by Theban nobility in Thebes the other by monarchs from Lower Egypt in Memphis This naturally left Egypt exposed to invasion by other groups such as the Hyksos nomadic people from Asia The Hyksos first conquered Lower Egypt and then advanced on Thebes subsequently holding the entire country under their control for approximately 150 years The rule of the Hyksos compelled members of the Theban nobility to flee southward into Nubia o organize an underground liberation movement that worked to gradually erode the authority of the Hyksos First they recaptured Thebes and then expelled the Hyksos marking the beginning of what is known as the New Kingdom The pharaohs of this New Kingdom then transformed Egypt into its golden age Egypt emerged as the dominant power in the world around that time engaging in trade with all the major commercial centers that were then beginning to flourish It imported timber from Syria and constructed large ships enabling sailors to voyage to East Africa Egypt traded with Punt located southeast of Egypt importing ivory ebony spices and gold Thebes expanded greatly with magnificent mansions constructed by the nobility According to C V Vilna some of these mansions had as many as 50 to 60 rooms They featured walls and halls adorned with exquisite artworks embellished with costly furniture and sculptures Finally according to one account in 761 BC Egypt was conquered by an Ethiopian king named Piankhi Between the time that marked the start of Piankhi's reign and 525 BC Egypt was governed by several pharaohs and endured invasions from various groups including the Assyrians It was the Greeks who built the renowned city of Alexandria as a tribute to Alexander the Macedonian Among the lasting innovations ancient Egypt gave the world are writing paper ink the pen and the calendar based on a lunar year of 354 days—just 11 days shorter than the solar year Egypt also gave us the foundations of the zodiac system and several other innovations too numerous to list here Don’t forget to subscribe to our channel if you haven’t already give it a like and feel free to share with your friends See you next time