France Televisions - Pharaohs of the Two Lands (2022)

In the 8th century BC, Egypt was unstable and divided. The brilliant Ramses dynasty was no more. Nubia, long dominated by Egypt, gained its independence and the Kingdom of Kush was established there, infused with Pharaonic ideology, art and religion. Its capital was located in Napata, near the Pure Mountain of Jebel Barkal, in the region of the fourth cataract of the Nile, in the heart of present-day Sudan.
In about 730 BC, the Nubian king Piankhy conquered Egypt and founded the 25th Dynasty of Kushite kings, who ruled for more than fifty years over a kingdom stretching from the Nile Delta to the confluence of the White and Blue Niles. The most famous of those kings is the pharaoh Taharqa. Founder of many temples, he left many traces of his conquests throughout the valley.
The Kushite pharaohs ruled northern Sudan and over Great Pharaonic Egypt between 775 and 656 BC. Who were these kings of Napala who passed on to posterity temples, pyramids and refined objects? Recent archaeological research lifts a veil over the 25th dynasty.
About 4000 years ago, in the land of Kush – now northern Sudan and southern Egypt, strong kings ruled for over 1500 years, conquered Egypt and became pharaohs reigning over the lands of Egypt and Kush. Who were these African kings? Why did they adopt their neighbour's religion and culture? What happened to them? All these mysteries will be answered during the preparation of the first and biggest exhibition about the Kush at the Louvre.