Egyptolo(GIF)s

“He who has seized the lands, who has curbed the Nine Bows, the king of Upper and Lower Egypt, Horus, mighty of hand, the Lord of the Two Lands, Lord of Achievement, the son of Re, Taharqo, may he live forever…”

King Taharqo of the 25th Dynasty is considered the most successful of the Nubian pharaohs. Born in modern-day Sudan (but crowned in Memphis), he was a proliferative builder and a very successful military leader. The above quotation is from Taharqo’s Year 6 Inscription at Kawa—a temple dedicated to Amun-Re of Gem-Aten (Kawa’s ancient name). Such building began with the man commonly believed to be Taharqo’s father, Piankhy (whom I blogged about a while back)—the Kushite ruler to first conquer Egypt and incorporate it into a Double Kingdom with Nubia.  

Pictured above are all beautiful traces of Taharqo’s rule. The topmost and middle right images depict Taharqo’s shrine (ca. 690-664), also from Kawa. Today, the structure is housed in the Ashmolean Museum, and is Britain’s only free-standing pharaonic structure. Furthermore, the sphinx is probably one of the most famous representations of Taharqo. While the sphinx motif hearkens back to Egypt, he wears the Double uraeus typical of Kushites. Finally, in my favorite portrayal of my favorite pharaoh (!), Taharqo makes an offering of wine to a gold-leafed Falcon deity, Hemen.

Taharqo ruled for about three decades, until he was driven out of Egypt by the Assyrians. This military struggle marked the beginning of the end for the 25th Dynasty kings, and their role in history is often forgotten. But it is an extremely fascinating time in Egyptian history—and presents a fantastic example of close ties between two tremendous Ancient African civilizations.