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(exciting music)
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- [Narrator] Ancient Egypt.
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For over 3,000 years,
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the world's most vibrant
and puzzling civilization
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flourished through war and peace.
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The Egyptians built great
cities, enduring monuments.
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They advanced mathematics and technology.
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Their astonishing legacy
survives to this day.
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What transformed a simple
community of riverside farmers
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into a great empire outlasting all others?
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Archeologists have uncovered
new clues from Dynasty Zero,
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Egypt's very beginning.
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A 5,000 year old tablet
tells a fascinating tale
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of warfare just before
the founding of Egypt.
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But is it really Egypt's birth certificate
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or civilizations oldest lie?
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Experts have begun to unravel the mystery
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of what really happened.
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They are uncovering the truth
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about the enigmatic King Narmer,
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the man who may have
been the first pharaoh.
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The man who possibly created Egypt.
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(mysterious music)
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Egypt around 3000 BC,
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the time of Dynasty Zero.
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Around one million
people live on the Nile.
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Fisherman, farmers, hunters.
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No single pharaoh rules
this divided country.
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Not yet.
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But history may hinge
on a royal messenger.
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He's been traveling upstream
on the Nile for weeks.
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He carries an urgent reply to
a message sent by King Narmer,
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the ruler of the country's south.
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The response could shake the
destiny of the entire country,
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uniting it in peace
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or plunging it into war.
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King Narmer wants
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to expand his increasingly
powerful southern kingdom
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to include the disparate
tribes of the north.
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But the Principalities
of the Delta in the north
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have always remained beyond his reach.
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Until recently, little was
known about this crucial period
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in Egypt's history.
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- We are learning about Dynasty Zero
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only for the past 10 or 15 years.
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We had no idea prior to that time
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that there were kings,
powerful rulers, in Egypt.
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- [Narrator] King Narmer has demanded
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that the northern tribes bow to his rule.
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Preferably without a fight.
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The messenger finally arrives
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with a response the king
has anxiously awaited.
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(suspenseful music)
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Control of the northern people
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would magnify Narmer's power and wealth.
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But the news is disappointing.
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The tribal chiefs of the
Nile Delta defy his demands.
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They want to remain independent.
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(speaking in foreign language)
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But their decision apparently
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won't quell Narmer's grand ambition
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to rule the whole of Egypt
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all the way to the Mediterranean.
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(music swells)
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Experts are just beginning
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to speculate about Narmer's actions
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and his actual role in history.
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After five millennia,
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it's hard to separate
fact from propaganda.
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Supposedly, this relatively obscure king
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took up the simple spears
and stone clubs of his day
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and went war, vanquishing his enemies
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and uniting the tribes and towns of Egypt
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into a single kingdom.
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(unsettling music)
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At least, according to what is now known
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as the Narmer Palette,
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the most important source from that time,
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The 5,000 year old stone inscription
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shows Narmer wearing two crowns,
representing all of Egypt.
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But does that mean Egypt
was founded by force?
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(speaking in foreign language)
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- [Translator] The palette shows the king
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striking one enemy with his mace,
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while another is being
dragged along by his nose.
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There's papyrus growing out of his back,
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a symbolic representation of his lands.
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Clearly an act of force.
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- [Narrator] Some Egyptologyists speculate
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that the tribal leaders
had fought each other
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for generations.
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But King Narmer sees the bigger pieces.
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He has consolidated his power in the south
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and assembled several hundred
men to expand his domain.
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(tense music)
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The king tells his men
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that the northern tribes
refuse to fall under his rule,
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and that the time to strike is now.
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(crowd shouting passionately)
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But Egyptologist Kent
Weeks sees another origin
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for the Egyptian empire.
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- I think, myself, it was
largely a peaceful operation.
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And I think, too, that it was something
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that was the result of a long period,
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a gradual period of assimilation.
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I don't mean thousands of years,
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but I certainly mean several generations,
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during which time this gradual emergence
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of a unified culture came about.
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- [Narrator] Could Egypt
be united in peace?
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Or would it take a vicious war
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to bring the country
together in a single empire?
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Was an act of suppression,
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an absolute victory over enemy peoples,
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necessary to create a great civilization?
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The answer to this question is crucial
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to our understanding the next 3,000 years
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of Egyptian history.
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To find that answer,
scholars must gather evidence
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from every corner of the empire.
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The swampy lands of the Nile Delta
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swallowed the secrets of
this Predynastic Period.
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(intriguing music)
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But the southern desert
hides many surprises,
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including a political power
center dating to Dynasty Zero.
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A place called Abydos.
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It was a magical settlement,
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nestled in the desert lowlands
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next to the Nile River Valley.
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In this sacred center,
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the graves of the first
pharaohs were discovered.
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And Abydos may help scientists unravel
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how Egypt was founded.
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The excavation here has
been the life's work
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of Egyptologist Gunter Dreyer.
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The ancient ruins speak volumes
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about early Egyptian architecture.
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But they're practically silent
about how Egypt was founded.
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These tombs, looted repeatedly
over the last 5,000 years,
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hold little except broken pottery.
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Dreyer's team spent 30 years
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meticulously sifting
through mountains of sand.
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Some of the most spectacular finds
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are no longer than a fingernail,
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like this evidence of perhaps
the world's earliest writing.
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Next to the tombs of
the very first pharaohs
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lie some of the oldest graves so far,
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dating back to the Fourth Millennium BC.
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It's here, at the edge
of this ancient cemetery,
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that archeologists found the tomb
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of the mysterious King Narmer.
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In fact, it's surprisingly modest
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for the man who portrayed
himself as a great war leader
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and founder of the Egyptian Empire.
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And it wasn't even built to last.
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(speaking in foreign language)
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- [Translator] The tombs here
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are just ditches with brick walls.
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They're very fragile.
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Some of them even
collapsed in ancient times.
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After we excavated and photographed them,
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we filled them up again
for preservation purposes.
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(exciting music)
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- [Narrator] These photographs
from Dreyer's 1981 excavation
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show what Narmer's tomb once looked like.
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It consisted of two simple
brick lined chambers.
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One for a body, one for
a few funerary ornaments.
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Narmer's generic tomb seems
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to contradict his grand
claim as Egypt's unifier.
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Just a few hundred years later,
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Egyptian tombs would
grow to epic proportions,
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taking thousands of workers
decades to complete.
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And entombed within them
were rulers so powerful
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they were venerated like gods.
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Such achievements were only
possible in a unified kingdom
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(music swells)
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with a single ruler.
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If Narmer truly unified Egypt,
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one would think he'd rate that sort
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of monumental funerary
treatment for himself.
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But apparently not.
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Could Narmer's glory be nothing
but an elaborate fiction?
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Perhaps.
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The most important monument of this king
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is the Narmer Palette,
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a document to recount a battle that may
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or may not have happened.
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(music grows tense)
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For the next 3,000 years,
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every Egyptian king portrayed
himself as a victor,
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even if he never fought a war.
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Narmer may have been no different.
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There's another important
center of Dynasty Zero
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that might help solve the
mystery of the Narmer Palette.
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It's 250 kilometers south of Abydos
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in Hierakonpolis.
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(soft exotic music)
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This city had a pivotal role
in the founding of the empire.
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For 500 years,
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this was one of the great
power centers of the south,
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a vital part of King Narmer's rule.
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And here, during the 19th century,
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archeologists found the Narmer Palette.
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Archeologist Renee
Friedman has been working
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at Hierakonpolis for more than a decade,
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piecing together the few remaining traces
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of the ancient city.
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She and her team have
painstakingly assembled a picture
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of what this place must have looked like.
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They've learned to tease vital information
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from mundane ruins,
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like this foundation of a simple house.
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She can even determine who it belonged to.
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- This is the house of a
potter, who, fortunately for us,
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burnt his house down with his own kiln,
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ensuring its incredible preservation,
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because it's been cut
into the native dirt.
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And otherwise, it would have eroded away.
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But because he burnt it
and made it like pottery,
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it's red like pottery
now because of the fire,
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it's preserved it against
the wind and the elements.
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So we can see and get a feel
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for how the ancient Egyptians
at this time actually lived.
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(speaking in foreign language)
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- [Narrator] Until tragedy
burnished his place in history,
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the potter lived with his
family in a simple clay house
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like many of his neighbors.
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(music swells)
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In the adjacent shop,
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he produced pottery for
inhabitants of Hierakonpolis,
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at that time, one of the greatest
settlements in the world.
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Nearly 10,000 people lived here,
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where a huge temple
dominated the city center.
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But fire isn't the only way the structures
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of Hierakonpolis survived.
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Archeologists have excavated remains
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of central breweries and bakeries.
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(exciting music)
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The most remarkable discovery, however,
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came from outside the city.
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It's a cemetery for Egyptian
elite with about 200 tombs.
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And not just people were buried here.
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Antelopes, two elephants, and several dogs
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have been found in the sand.
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- With our elite,
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they were all buried with
many animals surrounding them.
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And it's unique in Egypt.
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We don't know exactly why
they chose to do this,
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but we think it's a symbol of power.
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It's a symbol of their wealth
and their control of nature.
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(low fast-paced music)
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- [Narrator] Their burial
practices may seem strange to us,
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but life in Hierakonpolis seems orderly
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and strikingly civilized.
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The city stretched five
kilometers along the Nile.
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When most Europeans still lived
in fragmented settlements,
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the residents of Hierakonpolis
enjoyed a flourishing society
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based on trade and cooperation.
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And that suggests that
Narmer's battle never happened,
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and that the Egyptians
of the country's north
261
00:14:34,876 --> 00:14:37,812
and south united peacefully.
262
00:14:37,812 --> 00:14:40,787
But it doesn't really prove it.
263
00:14:40,787 --> 00:14:41,747
To get to the truth,
264
00:14:41,747 --> 00:14:44,278
we need to dig further back into history
265
00:14:44,278 --> 00:14:48,238
to discover where the ancient
Egyptians actually came from.
266
00:14:48,238 --> 00:14:51,518
The search for roots of
the very first Egyptians
267
00:14:51,518 --> 00:14:53,747
takes us 500 kilometers across one
268
00:14:53,747 --> 00:14:57,330
of the driest deserts
on Earth: the Sahara.
269
00:15:02,426 --> 00:15:05,613
Prehistorian and
climatologist Rudolf Kuper
270
00:15:05,613 --> 00:15:09,420
has been exploring Africa's
deserts for over 40 years.
271
00:15:09,420 --> 00:15:12,047
Now he heads to the Gil Kebir Plateau
272
00:15:12,047 --> 00:15:16,214
to examine a cave tourists
discovered a few years ago.
273
00:15:17,665 --> 00:15:19,425
The drifting sands of the Sahara
274
00:15:19,425 --> 00:15:23,080
have partially hidden the cave's interior.
275
00:15:23,080 --> 00:15:25,484
As the archeologists go to work,
276
00:15:25,484 --> 00:15:28,664
they bring to light images unseen
277
00:15:28,664 --> 00:15:30,497
for up to 9,000 years.
278
00:15:32,327 --> 00:15:35,359
But Kuper and his team have
years of work ahead of them,
279
00:15:35,359 --> 00:15:39,526
uncovering and interpreting
the significance of this site.
280
00:15:40,598 --> 00:15:41,645
It may well be one
281
00:15:41,645 --> 00:15:45,839
of the world's largest
prehistoric paintings.
282
00:15:45,839 --> 00:15:50,103
The pictures on the cave walls
show ancient people dancing,
283
00:15:50,103 --> 00:15:54,463
like snapshots from a
vivacious prehistoric world.
284
00:15:54,463 --> 00:15:57,796
Strange creatures, beasts without heads.
285
00:16:00,633 --> 00:16:02,383
Hunters chasing deer.
286
00:16:03,282 --> 00:16:04,699
Children at play.
287
00:16:05,786 --> 00:16:08,666
And animals not associated
with the desert.
288
00:16:08,666 --> 00:16:11,666
Antelopes, ostriches, even giraffes.
289
00:16:13,353 --> 00:16:14,594
(speaking in foreign language)
290
00:16:14,594 --> 00:16:15,856
- [Translator] With some of the paintings,
291
00:16:15,856 --> 00:16:17,388
you really have the feeling
292
00:16:17,388 --> 00:16:20,486
that music is coming out of the walls.
293
00:16:20,486 --> 00:16:23,499
Something was really happening here.
294
00:16:23,499 --> 00:16:26,300
(intriguing music)
295
00:16:26,300 --> 00:16:30,467
- [Narrator] But who lived
here and why remains a mystery.
296
00:16:32,711 --> 00:16:36,045
Prehistorians Hikorima and Francis Cabots
297
00:16:36,045 --> 00:16:38,295
are part of the expedition.
298
00:16:39,549 --> 00:16:41,535
Everywhere, they've discovered evidence
299
00:16:41,535 --> 00:16:43,702
of early human habitation.
300
00:16:48,356 --> 00:16:52,508
As they carefully examine
the area around the cave,
301
00:16:52,508 --> 00:16:55,675
they make some surprising discoveries.
302
00:16:58,470 --> 00:17:02,872
Layers of sediment,
deposits of an ancient lake,
303
00:17:02,872 --> 00:17:07,039
reveal why people could live
in this deserted area long ago.
304
00:17:08,446 --> 00:17:12,547
The landscape looked
very different back then.
305
00:17:12,547 --> 00:17:14,503
9,000 years ago,
306
00:17:14,503 --> 00:17:17,586
the climate here supported a savanna.
307
00:17:21,032 --> 00:17:25,431
Giant herds roamed the fertile
plains of North Africa.
308
00:17:25,431 --> 00:17:28,300
(stirring music)
309
00:17:28,300 --> 00:17:29,901
For 4,000 years,
310
00:17:29,901 --> 00:17:34,225
human hunter-gatherers had
more than enough to eat.
311
00:17:34,225 --> 00:17:36,142
Then the rains stopped.
312
00:17:37,503 --> 00:17:39,920
The savanna turned to desert.
313
00:17:42,054 --> 00:17:44,158
(speaking in foreign language)
314
00:17:44,158 --> 00:17:45,848
- [Translator] As the desert returned,
315
00:17:45,848 --> 00:17:47,976
humans were gradually forced to move
316
00:17:47,976 --> 00:17:50,946
to areas with favorable living conditions,
317
00:17:50,946 --> 00:17:53,926
like the mountains, where
you could still find rain,
318
00:17:53,926 --> 00:17:55,695
or to an oasis.
319
00:17:55,695 --> 00:17:58,228
But eventually, the people
of the Sahara had to move
320
00:17:58,228 --> 00:18:00,035
to the Nile Valley.
321
00:18:00,035 --> 00:18:01,401
(exciting music)
322
00:18:01,401 --> 00:18:03,541
- [Narrator] As the Sahara dried out,
323
00:18:03,541 --> 00:18:07,505
it became the motive
force of Egyptian history.
324
00:18:07,505 --> 00:18:11,833
The expanding desert
drove humans before it.
325
00:18:11,833 --> 00:18:15,445
Their search for water
took them to the Nile,
326
00:18:15,445 --> 00:18:17,996
where they stopped and settled.
327
00:18:17,996 --> 00:18:21,394
(music swells triumphantly)
328
00:18:21,394 --> 00:18:22,854
Many generations later,
329
00:18:22,854 --> 00:18:25,542
the people of the Nile constructed some
330
00:18:25,542 --> 00:18:28,394
of antiquity's greatest buildings
331
00:18:28,394 --> 00:18:32,561
and became one of history's
longest lived civilizations.
332
00:18:33,431 --> 00:18:37,933
A civilization forged from
diverse embattled tribes
333
00:18:37,933 --> 00:18:41,066
by the power of King Narmer.
334
00:18:41,066 --> 00:18:44,566
At least, according to the Narmer Palette.
335
00:18:47,227 --> 00:18:50,686
Now the king's soldiers prepare for war.
336
00:18:50,686 --> 00:18:53,286
Their weapons include not
just lances and maces,
337
00:18:53,286 --> 00:18:55,338
but also bows and arrows,
338
00:18:55,338 --> 00:18:59,505
like their ancestors hundreds
of years ago in the savanna.
339
00:19:01,747 --> 00:19:05,164
They train well, always ready for battle.
340
00:19:06,782 --> 00:19:09,885
Narmer, his country's most senior warrior,
341
00:19:09,885 --> 00:19:12,385
senses that war there will be.
342
00:19:13,333 --> 00:19:15,158
(tense music)
343
00:19:15,158 --> 00:19:17,741
(music swells)
344
00:19:25,103 --> 00:19:28,603
And when it comes, he is prepared to lead.
345
00:19:31,869 --> 00:19:33,882
(low suspenseful music)
346
00:19:33,882 --> 00:19:36,002
But more than a military leader,
347
00:19:36,002 --> 00:19:39,537
Narmer controls just about
everything else as well.
348
00:19:39,537 --> 00:19:41,370
Taxes, religion,
349
00:19:41,370 --> 00:19:45,203
and the annual harvest
fall under his command.
350
00:19:49,156 --> 00:19:50,922
As the chief administrator,
351
00:19:50,922 --> 00:19:54,611
he travels with his family
through the kingdom of the south.
352
00:19:54,611 --> 00:19:57,511
The well-being of his
subjects falls squarely
353
00:19:57,511 --> 00:19:58,928
on his shoulders.
354
00:20:02,803 --> 00:20:06,466
But there is one thing he can't control.
355
00:20:06,466 --> 00:20:09,966
One thing even more powerful than himself.
356
00:20:12,901 --> 00:20:14,234
The mighty Nile.
357
00:20:17,460 --> 00:20:18,534
(speaking in foreign language)
358
00:20:18,534 --> 00:20:22,593
Rising and falling tides
of this gigantic river
359
00:20:22,593 --> 00:20:26,176
determine the welfare
of the whole country.
360
00:20:29,452 --> 00:20:31,418
Jutting into the Nile River,
361
00:20:31,418 --> 00:20:35,585
the island of Elephantine
marks Egypt's southern border.
362
00:20:36,950 --> 00:20:40,037
The early Egyptians considered
it the source of the Nile,
363
00:20:40,037 --> 00:20:42,037
and therefore, all life.
364
00:20:43,167 --> 00:20:45,067
(soft mysterious music)
365
00:20:45,067 --> 00:20:49,018
As early as Dynasty Zero,
pilgrims flocked to Elephantine,
366
00:20:49,018 --> 00:20:52,132
one of the oldest sacred sites in Egypt.
367
00:20:52,132 --> 00:20:56,299
They come to worship the
goddess of the Nile floods,
368
00:20:57,873 --> 00:20:58,706
Satet.
369
00:21:00,449 --> 00:21:02,762
Called the donor of the cool water
370
00:21:02,762 --> 00:21:04,608
which springs from Elephantine,
371
00:21:04,608 --> 00:21:08,275
Satet plays a pivotal
role in Egyptian life.
372
00:21:09,169 --> 00:21:12,266
(music swells)
373
00:21:12,266 --> 00:21:15,289
The real sources of the
Nile weren't discovered
374
00:21:15,289 --> 00:21:17,206
until the 19th century.
375
00:21:21,690 --> 00:21:25,247
Some of its water springs from
the mountains of Ethiopia.
376
00:21:25,247 --> 00:21:26,770
It feeds into the Blue Nile,
377
00:21:26,770 --> 00:21:30,687
providing almost 60% of the Nile's volume.
378
00:21:32,589 --> 00:21:36,756
And there's a second tributary,
the White Nile, in Sudan.
379
00:21:38,539 --> 00:21:43,084
It's here that one can see
what the Nile looked like
380
00:21:43,084 --> 00:21:46,001
at the time of the first Egyptians.
381
00:21:47,134 --> 00:21:50,129
A menagerie of African animals thrived
382
00:21:50,129 --> 00:21:53,145
in the river's fertile flood plains.
383
00:21:53,145 --> 00:21:56,062
(intriguing music)
384
00:21:58,153 --> 00:22:02,320
Papyrus and lotus plants
flourished in the marshes.
385
00:22:09,531 --> 00:22:11,798
At Khartoum in the Sudan,
386
00:22:11,798 --> 00:22:13,546
the White and the Blue Nile merge
387
00:22:13,546 --> 00:22:16,796
to form the longest river in the world.
388
00:22:19,464 --> 00:22:21,023
And once a year,
389
00:22:21,023 --> 00:22:24,862
the river lets loose
its fury like no other,
390
00:22:24,862 --> 00:22:29,682
delivering bounty or destruction
along its entire path.
391
00:22:29,682 --> 00:22:32,778
(drop thunders)
392
00:22:32,778 --> 00:22:35,663
Each summer, weeks of severe rainfall
393
00:22:35,663 --> 00:22:38,628
in the Ethiopian
highlands swell the waters
394
00:22:38,628 --> 00:22:40,545
of the Nile enormously.
395
00:22:44,518 --> 00:22:46,182
(tense music)
396
00:22:46,182 --> 00:22:49,982
Kilometer by kilometer, the
flood advances northward,
397
00:22:49,982 --> 00:22:54,149
leaving only small islands
poking above the water.
398
00:22:55,428 --> 00:22:57,551
Depending on the amount of rainfall,
399
00:22:57,551 --> 00:23:01,301
the water rises between
two and eight meters.
400
00:23:04,870 --> 00:23:08,780
The flood waters finally
swallow the Nile Delta,
401
00:23:08,780 --> 00:23:12,030
turning much of it into a shallow lake.
402
00:23:15,855 --> 00:23:18,078
For some of the first settlers,
403
00:23:18,078 --> 00:23:21,081
the flooding Nile often meant disaster.
404
00:23:21,081 --> 00:23:23,166
If they'd built their
house on low-lying land,
405
00:23:23,166 --> 00:23:24,938
they could lose everything.
406
00:23:24,938 --> 00:23:29,302
To survive, they had to
learn to live with the flood
407
00:23:29,302 --> 00:23:30,219
and use it.
408
00:23:32,291 --> 00:23:35,208
The ancient Egyptians learned fast.
409
00:23:38,761 --> 00:23:40,897
At the time of Dynasty Zero,
410
00:23:40,897 --> 00:23:42,913
they would wait keenly at Elephantine
411
00:23:42,913 --> 00:23:45,580
for the first sign of the flood.
412
00:23:47,805 --> 00:23:51,222
Their descendants even built a nilometer.
413
00:23:54,153 --> 00:23:56,573
(speaking in foreign language)
414
00:23:56,573 --> 00:23:57,984
- [Translator] We have markings here
415
00:23:57,984 --> 00:24:00,734
to measure the level of the Nile.
416
00:24:02,447 --> 00:24:05,040
It was important to be able to check it,
417
00:24:05,040 --> 00:24:06,194
because that was the only way
418
00:24:06,194 --> 00:24:10,716
to predict how the harvest would
develop in the coming year.
419
00:24:10,716 --> 00:24:12,823
If the Nile didn't flood enough,
420
00:24:12,823 --> 00:24:14,801
there might be no harvest at all.
421
00:24:14,801 --> 00:24:19,047
If it flooded too much, that
could destroy all the crops.
422
00:24:19,047 --> 00:24:22,627
It was vital for the officials
to estimate this in advance,
423
00:24:22,627 --> 00:24:26,710
so they could work out
the taxes for the farmers.
424
00:24:32,236 --> 00:24:34,102
- [Narrator] For the ancient Egyptians,
425
00:24:34,102 --> 00:24:37,647
the height of the water
is no random event.
426
00:24:37,647 --> 00:24:41,814
It flows as a blessing or a
curse directly from their gods.
427
00:24:45,121 --> 00:24:47,607
The people must be worthy.
428
00:24:47,607 --> 00:24:52,312
As the water surges, it
carries hope along with it.
429
00:24:52,312 --> 00:24:56,028
The king is crucial to the process.
430
00:24:56,028 --> 00:24:57,614
(speaking in foreign language)
431
00:24:57,614 --> 00:25:02,022
If he displeases the gods,
his people will parish.
432
00:25:02,022 --> 00:25:04,913
So King Narmer performs
spiritual ceremonies
433
00:25:04,913 --> 00:25:07,009
to ensure that the flood waters flow
434
00:25:07,009 --> 00:25:11,176
in the proper volumes to bring
a healthy harvest each year.
435
00:25:14,426 --> 00:25:17,073
The rising waters renew the annual bond
436
00:25:17,073 --> 00:25:19,740
between the gods and the people.
437
00:25:20,987 --> 00:25:23,569
And to ensure this great
gift isn't squandered,
438
00:25:23,569 --> 00:25:27,736
Narmer has to see that the
water is properly managed.
439
00:25:29,711 --> 00:25:31,245
- Controlling the Nile flood,
440
00:25:31,245 --> 00:25:33,717
ensuring that there were
healthy crops each year
441
00:25:33,717 --> 00:25:36,901
was one of the many duties
that fell on the pharaoh.
442
00:25:36,901 --> 00:25:41,059
It was his task to ensure that
the gods treated us properly
443
00:25:41,059 --> 00:25:44,969
by raising the Nile, not
too much, not too little,
444
00:25:44,969 --> 00:25:49,308
but just enough for a good flood
by producing adequate crops
445
00:25:49,308 --> 00:25:52,067
to provide surplus foods for trade,
446
00:25:52,067 --> 00:25:55,400
and in case of emergencies and so forth.
447
00:25:56,520 --> 00:25:58,692
- [Narrator] The river brought dual gifts
448
00:25:58,692 --> 00:26:00,446
to the people of Egypt.
449
00:26:00,446 --> 00:26:03,428
Not one, but two great elements essential
450
00:26:03,428 --> 00:26:07,011
for the development of
an advanced culture.
451
00:26:08,728 --> 00:26:11,596
- The reason Egyptian
civilization could exist,
452
00:26:11,596 --> 00:26:12,925
the River Nile.
453
00:26:12,925 --> 00:26:16,066
It not only provided water,
essential for all life,
454
00:26:16,066 --> 00:26:19,518
but every year about a
millimeter of fresh Nile silts
455
00:26:19,518 --> 00:26:23,116
were deposited over the
landscape of Egypt.
456
00:26:23,116 --> 00:26:25,077
The nutrients in these silts made possible
457
00:26:25,077 --> 00:26:27,049
the richest agricultural landscape
458
00:26:27,049 --> 00:26:29,216
on the face of the planet.
459
00:26:30,473 --> 00:26:32,266
- [Narrator] The Nile's silt does more
460
00:26:32,266 --> 00:26:34,298
than just feed the fields.
461
00:26:34,298 --> 00:26:38,312
This muddy sediment provides
the building materials
462
00:26:38,312 --> 00:26:40,425
for huts and palaces.
463
00:26:40,425 --> 00:26:43,258
Whole cities rise from mud bricks.
464
00:26:46,436 --> 00:26:49,372
In its marshes, papyrus flourishes,
465
00:26:49,372 --> 00:26:53,935
providing the raw material
for the very first paper
466
00:26:53,935 --> 00:26:57,449
for the chronicles of the scribes,
467
00:26:57,449 --> 00:27:00,325
the letters of the living,
468
00:27:00,325 --> 00:27:02,492
and the books of the dead.
469
00:27:10,454 --> 00:27:14,204
But mud alone can't
guarantee a good harvest.
470
00:27:15,090 --> 00:27:19,257
People have to learn how to
manage the Nile's great gift.
471
00:27:20,601 --> 00:27:23,674
Through dams, reservoirs,
and irrigation canals,
472
00:27:23,674 --> 00:27:26,892
the Egyptians learned to
manage their agriculture.
473
00:27:26,892 --> 00:27:29,309
Simply, but very effectively.
474
00:27:30,675 --> 00:27:32,866
Even today, many farmers along the Nile
475
00:27:32,866 --> 00:27:37,033
use the same time-proven
methods as their ancestors.
476
00:27:39,032 --> 00:27:42,682
The ancient Egyptians
recognize only three seasons:
477
00:27:42,682 --> 00:27:45,099
flood, planting, and harvest.
478
00:27:46,276 --> 00:27:48,276
That's all that matters.
479
00:27:50,023 --> 00:27:51,440
Each sewing season,
480
00:27:51,440 --> 00:27:56,116
they plant an area of two
and a half million hectares.
481
00:27:56,116 --> 00:27:59,543
A ceremonial mace from
the time of Dynasty Zero
482
00:27:59,543 --> 00:28:03,376
shows a king inaugurating
an irrigation canal.
483
00:28:05,101 --> 00:28:06,532
The opening of the sluice gate
484
00:28:06,532 --> 00:28:09,095
is a ritual reserved for the king.
485
00:28:09,095 --> 00:28:12,214
It demonstrates the reverence
of ancient Egyptians
486
00:28:12,214 --> 00:28:16,093
for the mighty and temperamental river.
487
00:28:16,093 --> 00:28:18,034
After the flood subsides,
488
00:28:18,034 --> 00:28:22,403
the stored water is channeled
to irrigate the fields.
489
00:28:22,403 --> 00:28:25,153
(reverant music)
490
00:28:26,772 --> 00:28:29,655
In the rich soil of the Nile Valley,
491
00:28:29,655 --> 00:28:33,052
the wheat grows faster than
anywhere else in the world,
492
00:28:33,052 --> 00:28:34,206
producing enough grain
493
00:28:34,206 --> 00:28:36,876
to feed an estimated one million people
494
00:28:36,876 --> 00:28:39,442
at the time of Dynasty Zero.
495
00:28:39,442 --> 00:28:43,192
(music grows more wonderous)
496
00:28:45,349 --> 00:28:48,777
Ancient tomb paintings
depict cattle breeding
497
00:28:48,777 --> 00:28:52,944
and the bounty that Egypt's
agricultural society relied on.
498
00:28:58,188 --> 00:29:01,937
Grain becomes the country's currency,
499
00:29:01,937 --> 00:29:05,187
and also Egypt's most important export.
500
00:29:07,947 --> 00:29:09,820
- Early on, the Egyptians realized
501
00:29:09,820 --> 00:29:12,130
that cooperation amongst themselves
502
00:29:12,130 --> 00:29:15,417
was going to be key to their success.
503
00:29:15,417 --> 00:29:18,613
And by success, I mean
having agricultural surpluses
504
00:29:18,613 --> 00:29:20,993
that could see them through the bad times,
505
00:29:20,993 --> 00:29:23,740
or having the ability to repair damage
506
00:29:23,740 --> 00:29:27,737
that might be caused by a
flood that was a bit too high.
507
00:29:27,737 --> 00:29:29,197
This kind of cooperative effort
508
00:29:29,197 --> 00:29:31,801
also provided something
extremely important,
509
00:29:31,801 --> 00:29:34,377
and that was the ability for specialists
510
00:29:34,377 --> 00:29:36,960
to develop in Egyptian society.
511
00:29:38,933 --> 00:29:41,161
(captivating music)
512
00:29:41,161 --> 00:29:44,784
- [Narrator] The Nile provides
more than bumper harvests.
513
00:29:44,784 --> 00:29:48,367
It is also the country's
main thoroughfare.
514
00:29:50,306 --> 00:29:53,581
With no regular roads to
connect the Egyptian towns,
515
00:29:53,581 --> 00:29:56,657
people rely on the Nile to get around.
516
00:29:56,657 --> 00:29:58,574
Boats are indispensable
517
00:29:59,503 --> 00:30:02,474
for food and transportation.
518
00:30:02,474 --> 00:30:04,694
The Nile provides a dual lifeline
519
00:30:04,694 --> 00:30:07,924
for the people of Dynasty Zero.
520
00:30:07,924 --> 00:30:12,093
By boat, Narmer and his family
visit the entire kingdom.
521
00:30:12,093 --> 00:30:14,676
Every village is in easy reach.
522
00:30:19,581 --> 00:30:23,054
They travel south using wind power.
523
00:30:23,054 --> 00:30:27,928
When they go back north,
they're carried by the current.
524
00:30:27,928 --> 00:30:30,341
The wind is faster than the current.
525
00:30:30,341 --> 00:30:34,508
One cruises upstream at about
four kilometers an hour.
526
00:30:36,179 --> 00:30:37,563
Traveling from the delta
527
00:30:37,563 --> 00:30:40,563
to the far south takes just 30 days.
528
00:30:47,113 --> 00:30:51,232
Hundreds of modeled boats have
been found in Egyptian tombs,
529
00:30:51,232 --> 00:30:55,805
a testimony to their value,
even in the afterlife.
530
00:30:55,805 --> 00:30:59,389
Boats can carry crops, building materials,
531
00:30:59,389 --> 00:31:01,389
people, and their ideas.
532
00:31:02,593 --> 00:31:04,760
Everyone possesses a boat.
533
00:31:07,934 --> 00:31:11,649
The farmers and fishermen
use small papyrus boats.
534
00:31:11,649 --> 00:31:13,455
They're perfectly adequate for crossing
535
00:31:13,455 --> 00:31:17,097
from one bank of the Nile to the other.
536
00:31:17,097 --> 00:31:20,983
For longer journeys, they sail
in more substantial vessels,
537
00:31:20,983 --> 00:31:22,954
built from tougher materials
538
00:31:22,954 --> 00:31:27,061
with more sophisticated
construction methods.
539
00:31:27,061 --> 00:31:28,695
- These are boats built
out of wooden planks.
540
00:31:28,695 --> 00:31:30,839
And we know that not only by their shape,
541
00:31:30,839 --> 00:31:34,061
but because we found one
from about the same age.
542
00:31:34,061 --> 00:31:35,753
These wooden planks are help together
543
00:31:35,753 --> 00:31:39,254
in a way that nobody else in
the world has built boats.
544
00:31:39,254 --> 00:31:42,251
And it's a way that actually
reflects the construction
545
00:31:42,251 --> 00:31:43,918
of the papyrus raft.
546
00:31:45,531 --> 00:31:47,692
- [Narrator] The Egyptians
built their earliest boats
547
00:31:47,692 --> 00:31:50,348
by lashing papyrus reeds together,
548
00:31:50,348 --> 00:31:52,874
lifting the ends out of the water
549
00:31:52,874 --> 00:31:56,874
and forming a crescent
to cut through the waves.
550
00:32:03,084 --> 00:32:06,751
A straw roof gave
shelter, and oars steered.
551
00:32:12,232 --> 00:32:15,223
The first wooden boats mimicked the shape
552
00:32:15,223 --> 00:32:19,390
of the papyrus boats and were
constructed in the same way.
553
00:32:23,980 --> 00:32:25,769
Wooden planks were sewn together
554
00:32:25,769 --> 00:32:28,598
with straps made of grass or papyrus.
555
00:32:28,598 --> 00:32:29,563
They were strong enough
556
00:32:29,563 --> 00:32:32,690
to haul heavy cargo over long distances.
557
00:32:32,690 --> 00:32:37,275
But they could also be taken
apart and carried over land.
558
00:32:37,275 --> 00:32:40,034
They formed the backbone
of the Egyptian trade
559
00:32:40,034 --> 00:32:44,201
and transport system, which
began during Dynasty Zero.
560
00:32:45,793 --> 00:32:48,384
- Boats were the major
means of transportation.
561
00:32:48,384 --> 00:32:51,603
And having said that, they
were also a major means
562
00:32:51,603 --> 00:32:56,527
of bringing together the
country, of unifying the country.
563
00:32:56,527 --> 00:32:59,865
(mysterious music)
564
00:32:59,865 --> 00:33:01,051
- [Narrator] According to most
565
00:33:01,051 --> 00:33:05,300
of the archeological
evidence, 5,000 years ago,
566
00:33:05,300 --> 00:33:08,413
a prosperous agricultural
and trading society
567
00:33:08,413 --> 00:33:12,870
flourished peacefully along
the banks of the Nile.
568
00:33:12,870 --> 00:33:14,917
But one would never guess that
569
00:33:14,917 --> 00:33:17,498
looking at the Narmer Palette.
570
00:33:17,498 --> 00:33:20,242
The stone is a monument to war,
571
00:33:20,242 --> 00:33:22,687
with graphic depictions of violence,
572
00:33:22,687 --> 00:33:24,395
the slaughter of enemies,
573
00:33:24,395 --> 00:33:27,728
and prisoners bound through their noses.
574
00:33:28,960 --> 00:33:31,762
How can both accounts be right?
575
00:33:31,762 --> 00:33:35,929
How can archeologists
reconcile the contradictions?
576
00:33:38,926 --> 00:33:40,674
The Narmer Palette was discovered
577
00:33:40,674 --> 00:33:42,967
in the temple of Hierakonpolis.
578
00:33:42,967 --> 00:33:47,312
So archeologists believe King
Narmer offered it to Horus,
579
00:33:47,312 --> 00:33:51,479
the god of kings to whom
the temple was dedicated.
580
00:33:54,994 --> 00:33:57,876
The palette proclaims that Narmer,
581
00:33:57,876 --> 00:34:00,202
the unifier of both lands,
582
00:34:00,202 --> 00:34:04,079
laid the foundation for a great future.
583
00:34:04,079 --> 00:34:08,158
But this could be part of
the official cult of the king
584
00:34:08,158 --> 00:34:10,548
rather than historical reality.
585
00:34:10,548 --> 00:34:14,032
Narmer's great battle could be a metaphor
586
00:34:14,032 --> 00:34:15,615
or an exaggeration.
587
00:34:18,323 --> 00:34:22,421
In Cairo, Belgian
Egyptologist Stan Hendrickx
588
00:34:22,421 --> 00:34:24,505
is allowed to examine the Narmer Palette
589
00:34:24,505 --> 00:34:26,979
for the first time in 100 years.
590
00:34:26,979 --> 00:34:29,725
The tiniest detail could provide clues
591
00:34:29,725 --> 00:34:32,392
about events of 5,000 years ago.
592
00:34:34,622 --> 00:34:36,494
He and his team assess the data
593
00:34:36,494 --> 00:34:39,661
in their research facility in Belgium.
594
00:34:42,754 --> 00:34:47,128
Perhaps some overlooked detail
could solve the great mystery
595
00:34:47,128 --> 00:34:50,961
that has confounded
Egyptologists for decades.
596
00:34:52,886 --> 00:34:55,346
- Is the Narmer palette,
597
00:34:55,346 --> 00:34:57,970
does it refer to historical facts?
598
00:34:57,970 --> 00:35:00,973
Or it only a symbolic representation
599
00:35:00,973 --> 00:35:03,505
of the power of Egyptian kings
600
00:35:03,505 --> 00:35:07,885
and of the violence that
is related to this power.
601
00:35:07,885 --> 00:35:10,548
- [Narrator] But even with
precise copies of the reliefs,
602
00:35:10,548 --> 00:35:13,099
the images remain cryptic.
603
00:35:13,099 --> 00:35:16,050
There's a figure with papyrus
growing out of its back,
604
00:35:16,050 --> 00:35:17,134
the enemy.
605
00:35:17,134 --> 00:35:19,005
But we still don't know anything about him
606
00:35:19,005 --> 00:35:21,120
apart from his name.
607
00:35:21,120 --> 00:35:23,789
Yet the weight of the
evidence, Hendrickx believes,
608
00:35:23,789 --> 00:35:26,956
suggests that the war really happened.
609
00:35:28,515 --> 00:35:31,340
- There are too many details referring
610
00:35:31,340 --> 00:35:33,423
to badly specific places.
611
00:35:35,103 --> 00:35:37,632
A specific person who,
612
00:35:37,632 --> 00:35:41,815
the name of his principle
victim is mentioned.
613
00:35:41,815 --> 00:35:44,675
There are too many of
these kind of details
614
00:35:44,675 --> 00:35:48,746
to accept that it is just a
purely symbolic representation.
615
00:35:48,746 --> 00:35:50,330
(intriguing music)
616
00:35:50,330 --> 00:35:52,319
- [Narrator] In his
headquarters in Abydos,
617
00:35:52,319 --> 00:35:54,866
Professor Gunter Dreyer
searches for evidence
618
00:35:54,866 --> 00:35:57,949
among the fragments he has excavated.
619
00:36:00,324 --> 00:36:02,636
Most of these ivory and clay tablets refer
620
00:36:02,636 --> 00:36:05,136
to shipments of oil and wheat.
621
00:36:09,189 --> 00:36:13,784
But the oldest of them has
some special information.
622
00:36:13,784 --> 00:36:17,451
It dates an oil delivery
to a specific year,
623
00:36:18,791 --> 00:36:19,624
the year
624
00:36:20,769 --> 00:36:24,102
that Narmer defeated the papyrus people.
625
00:36:27,557 --> 00:36:31,390
This tiny piece of clay
has rewritten history.
626
00:36:35,261 --> 00:36:37,427
(speaking in foreign language)
627
00:36:37,427 --> 00:36:40,187
- [Translator] We know that
later, in the first dynasty,
628
00:36:40,187 --> 00:36:42,685
they didn't count the
years as year one, two,
629
00:36:42,685 --> 00:36:44,649
or three of a particular king,
630
00:36:44,649 --> 00:36:45,842
but they named the years
631
00:36:45,842 --> 00:36:48,212
after significant events that happened.
632
00:36:48,212 --> 00:36:51,004
This tablet is the very first of its kind.
633
00:36:51,004 --> 00:36:55,171
And it cites Narmer's victory
over the papyrus people.
634
00:36:56,228 --> 00:36:57,923
(tense music)
635
00:36:57,923 --> 00:37:01,188
- [Narrator] Proof at last
that descriptions of violence
636
00:37:01,188 --> 00:37:05,355
and warfare from Dynasty Zero
are more than simply mythical.
637
00:37:16,434 --> 00:37:20,645
Archeologist Maria Gatto,
working deep in Southern Egypt,
638
00:37:20,645 --> 00:37:22,645
has found more evidence.
639
00:37:24,492 --> 00:37:28,900
Rock art long thought
lost that tells of king
640
00:37:28,900 --> 00:37:32,817
whose power reached all
corners of the kingdom.
641
00:37:33,977 --> 00:37:38,144
These pictures have been
vandalized over recent decades.
642
00:37:39,885 --> 00:37:43,284
Luckily, they were
photographed many years ago.
643
00:37:43,284 --> 00:37:46,034
(shutter clicks)
644
00:37:48,801 --> 00:37:50,640
To study the pictures better,
645
00:37:50,640 --> 00:37:54,301
Maria Gatto has transcribed
them onto paper.
646
00:37:54,301 --> 00:37:58,468
The drawings show an impressive,
sweeping royal procession.
647
00:37:59,614 --> 00:38:04,366
- There was a king with a
white crown and a stick.
648
00:38:04,366 --> 00:38:06,931
Then there was a fan bearer behind him.
649
00:38:06,931 --> 00:38:09,226
And then there was a dog in the center.
650
00:38:09,226 --> 00:38:11,467
So, because of this
iconographic connection
651
00:38:11,467 --> 00:38:12,717
with the Narmer Palette,
652
00:38:12,717 --> 00:38:15,425
and because of this presence of the dog,
653
00:38:15,425 --> 00:38:19,520
we are wondering if this
king might be Narmer.
654
00:38:19,520 --> 00:38:21,241
- [Narrator] Perhaps King Narmer wanted
655
00:38:21,241 --> 00:38:23,873
to impose his authority here, too,
656
00:38:23,873 --> 00:38:26,733
far from the center of his power.
657
00:38:26,733 --> 00:38:28,266
Many other similar depictions
658
00:38:28,266 --> 00:38:30,378
have been found across the region,
659
00:38:30,378 --> 00:38:33,045
a reminder of who was in charge.
660
00:38:34,429 --> 00:38:35,806
(speaking in foreign language)
661
00:38:35,806 --> 00:38:37,557
And so, it seems likely
662
00:38:37,557 --> 00:38:41,057
that King Narmer did unify Egypt by force.
663
00:38:44,641 --> 00:38:47,896
When the north refuses to
succumb to the rule of the south,
664
00:38:47,896 --> 00:38:50,443
King Narmer plans for war.
665
00:38:50,443 --> 00:38:54,276
(crowd shouting passionately)
666
00:39:00,363 --> 00:39:02,811
Controlling the north is now essential
667
00:39:02,811 --> 00:39:05,676
for the rulers of the south.
668
00:39:05,676 --> 00:39:08,604
As their prosperity and
population have grown,
669
00:39:08,604 --> 00:39:11,987
so has southern demand for luxury goods
670
00:39:11,987 --> 00:39:15,654
that can only be supplied
via the Near East.
671
00:39:17,879 --> 00:39:18,995
(speaking in foreign language)
672
00:39:18,995 --> 00:39:20,774
- [Translator] The trade
routes to the Near East
673
00:39:20,774 --> 00:39:24,345
led past the delta, and
they were under threat.
674
00:39:24,345 --> 00:39:26,845
I think the main reason for
the expansion of the rule
675
00:39:26,845 --> 00:39:31,148
of the south into the north
was to secure the trade routes.
676
00:39:31,148 --> 00:39:32,728
(stirring music)
677
00:39:32,728 --> 00:39:35,584
- [Narrator] Narmer and
his invading army set off
678
00:39:35,584 --> 00:39:39,751
on the long march north
through unforgiving terrain.
679
00:39:41,694 --> 00:39:45,861
The locals watch anxiously
as Narmer's warriors pass.
680
00:39:48,238 --> 00:39:50,125
(crowd shouting)
681
00:39:50,125 --> 00:39:51,742
The papyrus people are determined
682
00:39:51,742 --> 00:39:54,325
to preserve their independence.
683
00:39:56,100 --> 00:39:59,007
But Narmer has other plans,
684
00:39:59,007 --> 00:40:02,007
and hundreds of warriors behind him.
685
00:40:05,529 --> 00:40:07,475
We now know that the Narmer Palette
686
00:40:07,475 --> 00:40:10,225
depicts actual historical events.
687
00:40:11,192 --> 00:40:14,377
The outcome of Narmer's battle
against the papyrus people
688
00:40:14,377 --> 00:40:16,794
unifies and transforms Egypt.
689
00:40:22,478 --> 00:40:26,327
This is one of the first
great battles ever recorded.
690
00:40:26,327 --> 00:40:27,944
(music swells)
691
00:40:27,944 --> 00:40:32,412
Somewhere in the Nile
Delta, 5,000 years ago,
692
00:40:32,412 --> 00:40:36,055
King Narmer's royal
forces of the south clash
693
00:40:36,055 --> 00:40:39,681
with the principalities
of the delta to the north
694
00:40:39,681 --> 00:40:41,848
in a battle without mercy.
695
00:40:43,611 --> 00:40:47,778
At stake is the independence
of the northern people.
696
00:40:48,800 --> 00:40:52,467
But eventually, Narmer
and his army triumph.
697
00:40:55,644 --> 00:40:58,909
(pained shouting)
698
00:40:58,909 --> 00:41:03,272
One of Narmer's ceremonial
maces shows a victory parade.
699
00:41:03,272 --> 00:41:07,053
Narmer sits under a canopy
with the crown of Egypt,
700
00:41:07,053 --> 00:41:09,434
his standard bearers behind him.
701
00:41:09,434 --> 00:41:12,259
(exciting music)
702
00:41:12,259 --> 00:41:15,176
The hieroglyphics record the booty.
703
00:41:16,812 --> 00:41:18,229
120,000 captives.
704
00:41:21,347 --> 00:41:24,292
More than a million goats.
705
00:41:24,292 --> 00:41:25,542
400,000 cattle.
706
00:41:27,873 --> 00:41:29,201
On the Narmer Palette,
707
00:41:29,201 --> 00:41:32,701
the king inspects the lines of enemy dead.
708
00:41:34,321 --> 00:41:37,321
They've been beheaded and castrated.
709
00:41:39,462 --> 00:41:44,148
- Warfare is not only
violence, but also psychology.
710
00:41:44,148 --> 00:41:46,731
So humiliation of your opponent
711
00:41:48,698 --> 00:41:52,198
may break the resistance of your opponent.
712
00:41:53,589 --> 00:41:55,076
(triumphant music)
713
00:41:55,076 --> 00:41:58,107
- [Narrator] For Narmer,
victory is complete.
714
00:41:58,107 --> 00:41:59,287
On the front of the palette,
715
00:41:59,287 --> 00:42:02,120
he wears the crown of Upper Egypt.
716
00:42:03,423 --> 00:42:06,590
On the back, the crown of Lower Egypt.
717
00:42:12,975 --> 00:42:17,867
King Narmer has finished
what his predecessors began,
718
00:42:17,867 --> 00:42:20,367
the unification of the empire.
719
00:42:22,775 --> 00:42:24,767
And to symbolize that unity,
720
00:42:24,767 --> 00:42:27,536
the two crowns of Upper and Lower Egypt
721
00:42:27,536 --> 00:42:29,510
are combined into one.
722
00:42:29,510 --> 00:42:33,558
From now on, and for at
least 3,000 years to come,
723
00:42:33,558 --> 00:42:35,720
every pharaoh will wear it.
724
00:42:35,720 --> 00:42:38,220
Something truly new has begun.
725
00:42:40,274 --> 00:42:41,271
(speaking in foreign language)
726
00:42:41,271 --> 00:42:42,811
- [Translator] The period of Narmer's rule
727
00:42:42,811 --> 00:42:45,186
was a turning point in Egyptian history.
728
00:42:45,186 --> 00:42:47,908
It marks the transition
from the Predynastic
729
00:42:47,908 --> 00:42:49,825
to the Dynastic Period.
730
00:42:52,230 --> 00:42:56,581
- [Narrator] Narmer's victory
ushers in 3,000 years,
731
00:42:56,581 --> 00:42:59,414
31 dynasties of god-like pharaohs.
732
00:43:01,013 --> 00:43:05,863
Great names will follow,
names we still remember.
733
00:43:05,863 --> 00:43:07,031
Thutmose.
734
00:43:07,031 --> 00:43:09,297
(sweeping music)
735
00:43:09,297 --> 00:43:10,130
Amenhotep.
736
00:43:12,466 --> 00:43:13,299
Akhenaten.
737
00:43:14,958 --> 00:43:15,791
Ramses.
738
00:43:17,851 --> 00:43:18,768
Hatshepsut.
739
00:43:19,827 --> 00:43:21,160
And many others.
740
00:43:26,366 --> 00:43:29,743
At last, the lotus of the south
741
00:43:29,743 --> 00:43:33,076
and the papyrus of the north are linked.
742
00:43:35,018 --> 00:43:37,954
From now on the pharaoh's
most important task
743
00:43:37,954 --> 00:43:40,756
is to protect the unity of the kingdom
744
00:43:40,756 --> 00:43:42,923
and to defend its borders.
745
00:43:48,049 --> 00:43:52,946
Egypt has become the first
territorial state in history,
746
00:43:52,946 --> 00:43:54,363
the first empire.
747
00:43:57,535 --> 00:44:00,173
Before long, the country subdivides
748
00:44:00,173 --> 00:44:03,185
into administrative districts, the nomes.
749
00:44:03,185 --> 00:44:05,935
22 in the north, 20 in the south.
750
00:44:08,735 --> 00:44:12,470
When King Narmer dies
after a successful reign.
751
00:44:12,470 --> 00:44:14,853
The entire country mourns.
752
00:44:14,853 --> 00:44:18,471
(emotional music)
753
00:44:18,471 --> 00:44:22,638
In Abydos, Narmer's body
begins its final journey.
754
00:44:24,662 --> 00:44:28,174
Even here, at the time of Dynasty Zero.
755
00:44:28,174 --> 00:44:29,881
The people of Egypt believe
756
00:44:29,881 --> 00:44:33,922
that death is the portal to eternal life.
757
00:44:33,922 --> 00:44:38,089
Mummification is important,
but not yet perfected.
758
00:44:39,963 --> 00:44:42,208
Beneath the desert sand,
759
00:44:42,208 --> 00:44:45,623
an eternal home receives
the crudely preserved body
760
00:44:45,623 --> 00:44:48,123
of the founder of the kingdom.
761
00:44:54,436 --> 00:44:56,824
Burial here is a simple affair compared
762
00:44:56,824 --> 00:44:58,824
to what will come later.
763
00:45:07,470 --> 00:45:11,637
The end of Narmer's reign marks
the beginning of a new era.
764
00:45:16,495 --> 00:45:18,593
By the next generation,
765
00:45:18,593 --> 00:45:22,260
royal tombs are growing
considerably larger.
766
00:45:25,730 --> 00:45:29,897
At Abydos, construction
starts on a new cemetery area.
767
00:45:32,998 --> 00:45:37,165
The necropolis of the first
pharaohs of a unified empire.
768
00:45:40,190 --> 00:45:42,029
(speaking in foreign language)
769
00:45:42,029 --> 00:45:44,391
- [Translator] The energy that
had previously been channeled
770
00:45:44,391 --> 00:45:48,893
into the conquest of Egypt
was now no longer needed.
771
00:45:48,893 --> 00:45:53,269
It could flow into the
architecture of the empire instead.
772
00:45:53,269 --> 00:45:55,498
(captivating music)
773
00:45:55,498 --> 00:45:58,334
- [Narrator] The kings, now pharaohs,
774
00:45:58,334 --> 00:46:01,057
are no longer obsessed with war,
775
00:46:01,057 --> 00:46:05,376
but with eternal life
awaiting them in the beyond.
776
00:46:05,376 --> 00:46:08,028
And so, they turn their
architectural ambitions
777
00:46:08,028 --> 00:46:11,194
to the construction of tombs.
778
00:46:11,194 --> 00:46:13,777
(music swells)
779
00:46:15,840 --> 00:46:17,763
Each successive pharaoh
780
00:46:17,763 --> 00:46:20,930
will build a grander underground tomb.
781
00:46:22,061 --> 00:46:26,228
And the monuments above them
will new extravagant heights.
782
00:46:28,967 --> 00:46:31,550
They culminate in the pyramids,
783
00:46:32,643 --> 00:46:35,880
an expression of the glory and power
784
00:46:35,880 --> 00:46:38,297
of the united Egyptian state.
785
00:46:41,452 --> 00:46:45,619
The pyramids dazzled visitors
then as they still do today.
786
00:46:46,912 --> 00:46:48,939
Born out of warfare,
787
00:46:48,939 --> 00:46:52,858
Egypt's peaceful and
collaborative traditions
788
00:46:52,858 --> 00:46:54,608
ultimately prevailed.
789
00:46:55,596 --> 00:46:57,516
The blessings of the Nile gave rise
790
00:46:57,516 --> 00:47:00,231
to a civilization of plenty,
791
00:47:00,231 --> 00:47:03,814
where ample food created
a wealthy culture.
792
00:47:06,472 --> 00:47:10,020
Civilization sprouted and flourished,
793
00:47:10,020 --> 00:47:12,353
united under god-like kings.
794
00:47:15,763 --> 00:47:18,596
The age of the pharaohs had begun.
795
00:47:21,167 --> 00:47:23,917
(sweeping music)
61902
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