Egypt! from whose all dateless tombs arose
Forgotten Pharaohs from their long repose,
And shook within their pyramids to hear
A new Cambyses thundering in their ear;
While the dark shades of forty ages stood
Like startled giants by Nile’s famous flood. Lord Byron, The Age of Bronze V
In the history of the ancient world there’s one woman who eclipses all others. Her name has become a byword for beauty, luxury and excess. More than that, her story is entwined with some of the most powerful men in Western history. Vanessa Collingridge, Cleopatra: A Timewatch Guide, BBC 2015
A pharaoh queen who took on the might of the Roman empire. Along the way seducing two of Rome's greatest generals. ibid.
1960s re-telling of the story: ‘Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra: Siren of the Nile’. ibid.
The truth doesn’t seem to always match up to the legend. ibid.
Everything from Shakespeare to Hollywood blockbusters, one image has tended to hold sway. The archetypal femme fatale. ibid.
Just how remarkable a woman she really was. ibid.
It’s one of the greatest archaeological finds of all time. Egypt’s only intact pharaoh's tomb whose treasures compare with the fabled King Tut. The Silver Pharaoh Mystery, National Geographic 2014
It’s reckoned that Egypt has been ruled by at least 170 pharaohs. But for many there’s little hard evidence. ibid.
The casket is a human form forged in silver instead of the familiar gold. ibid.
It’s a mystery three thousand years in the making. Tutankhamun has captivated the world ... How did he die? Ultimate Tutankhamun, National Geographic 2014
The boy king had a strange and inauspicious burial. ibid.
Tut was a warrior fighting in major battle abroad ... What sort of battle injury could have caused the damage found on the body? ibid.
Tut’s supposedly sacred burial was a disaster ... Someone wanted him in the ground fast. ibid.
The discovery was a one in a million chance. ibid.
As my eyes grew accustomed to the light, details of the room within emerged slowly from the mist, strange animals, statues, and gold – everywhere the glint of gold. For the moment – an eternity it must have seemed to the others standing by – I was struck dumb with amazement, and when Lord Carnarvon, unable to stand the suspense any longer, inquired anxiously, ‘Can you see anything?’ It was all I could do to get out the words, ‘Yes, wonderful things.’ Howard Carter
King Tutankhamun’s tomb was found in 1922 by archaeologist Howard Carter. He told his sponsor in England Lord Carnarvon of his wonderful discovery. Carnarvon rushed to Egypt at once to examine the treasure. But warning voices sounded. Arthur C Clarke’s Mysterious Universe, citing Carnarvon
Yet Alexandria, in the Province of Egypt, still retained much of its splendour ... As well as the greatest Library on Earth. The Library was not only a cultural symbol but also a religious one, a place where the pagans worshipped their ancestral gods. Agora 2009 starring Rachel Weisz & Max Minghella & Oscar Isaac & Sami Samir & Manuel Cauchi & Ashraf Barhom & Michael Lonsdale & Rupert Evans & Homayoun Ershadi et al, director Alejandro Amenabar
After the storming of the Library many pagans converted to Christianity and Alexandria enjoyed a time of peace. Hypatia continued her teaching and research, while her former disciples occupied important posts among the social elite. ibid.
Egypt had once been the glory of the world ... The World’s oldest kingdom became just another Roman province. Andrew Marr’s History of the World III, BBC 2012
The earliest mathematical innovators: the Egyptians needed some way to record the results of their calculations. ibid.
The Egyptians were using a decimal systems motivated by the ten fingers on our hand. ibid.
The Egyptians were brilliant problem solvers. ibid.
The Egyptians have understood the power of binary ... Today the whole technological world depends on the same principles that were used in ancient Egypt. Professor Marcus du Sautoy, The Story of Maths I, BBC 2008
Their names are legendary … Hatshepsut, Nefertiti, and Cleopatra – these icons ... dominated ancient Egypt. Women Pharaohs, 2001
Women could own property, make wills and get divorced. ibid.
There weren’t any camels here when the pyramids were built … Ancient Egypt is instantly recognisable but all too often completely misunderstood. Immortal Egypt with Joann Fletcher I, BBC 2016
So important was the cow they chose to take it through to the afterlife with them to sustain them on a spiritual level. ibid.
Gods and Goddesses: Egyptians couldn’t get enough of them. ibid.
Egypt is blessed with some of the most fertile land in the world. ibid.
The Egyptians were masters in making sense of their world. ibid.
Levels of bureaucracy that border on the obsessive. ibid.
With its mighty pharaohs, multiple gods and magnificent art it’s easy to think ancient Egypt was always powerful and successful. Immortal Egypt with Joann Fletcher II
Egypt was plunged into a dark age … Egyptians had lost faith in both the monarchy and state-run religion … Welcome to the Age of Fear. ibid.
In Egypt women enjoyed much the same status as men. ibid.
This was a society in which ideas were often taken to extremes … The Pyramid Age: over a hundred and thirty pyramids would be built across Egypt, and they represent the zenith in royal tomb building. ibid.
Hundreds of tons of stone to portray a mighty pharaoh. Colossal testament to Egypt’s golden age … Amenhotep III was Egypt’s greatest pharaoh. Immortal Egypt with Joann Fletcher III
1,155 B.C.: The first recorded labour strike in history. ibid.
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. Immortal Egypt with Joann Fletcher IV
Libyan rule was destined to fail. ibid.
The Kushites were actually a foreign power who had taken Egypt by force. In 674 B.C. the fearsome Assyrian army marched into Egypt. ibid.
Egypt was now back in Egyptian hands. ibid.
There was an explosion of animal mummification. ibid.
The Persians were ruthless expansionists. ibid.
Enter the Macedonian Superman: enter Alexander the Great. ibid.
Soon the expanding Roman empire bore down on a divided Egypt; only the famous Cleopatra stood in their way. ibid.
This fascinating ancient culture … They’ve achieved their ultimate goal – to live for ever. ibid.
1,470 B.C.: Egyptians of all stripes would come together for the ancient equivalent of Woodstock – complete with sex, drugs and rock-n-roll. Scandals of Ancient Egypt, History 2016
It hints at a potentially explosive secret affair – between a female pharaoh and Egypt’s most brilliant architect … His ultimate fate is unknown. ibid.
Thutmose III finally claimed his rightful throne and promptly rose to the zenith of his power. He expanded the empire into the Middle East and ushered in an age of unprecedented prosperity. ibid.
A sinister assassination plot against the last great pharaoh of ancient Egypt – Ramesses III. ibid.
The very man whose job it was to protect the sacred burial grounds was giving the thieves the green light. ibid.
The biggest building programme since the pyramids. He was Ramesses the II, and his crowning glory was the construction of a magnificent new capital city Pi-Ramesses. A city that vanished from history. Ancient Mysteries s1e2: The Lost City of the Pharaohs, Channel 5 2016
Excavations have uncovered an important military base from the reign of Ramesses II … a great city lay hidden beneath the fields. ibid.
The tomb of the boy-king Tutankhamun – one of the most incredible discoveries in the history of archaeology … But the tomb is only full of mysteries that have baffled scholars. Ancient Mysteries s1e3: King Tut’s Tomb: The Hidden Chamber
November 2015: The north wall holds a secret: ‘There may be another doorway behind the north wall.’ ibid.
Experts have discovered that some of the objects found in the tomb probably first belonged to a woman. ibid.