All language subtitles for Legends of the Pharaohs Series 1 Part 6 Downfall of a Dynasty 1080p

[dramatic music]

[narrator] in ancient egypt,

A series of legendary pharaohs

Have built the most iconic
monuments in history.

Generations of
builders have toiled

On these giant pyramids.

Transforming the country
and uniting its people,

In the hope of guaranteeing
eternal life for their pharaoh.

But cracks in the country's
unity are beginning to show.

[crowd yelling]

Increasing amounts of power

Are held in the provinces

Independent of the king.

There are like little local
pharaohs all throughout egypt.

[narrator]
religious transformation.

[massimiliano nuzzolo] the king
would appear here on top.

To demonstrate himself
as the sun god.

[narrator] climate change.

It's a perfect storm.

Everything disintegrates.

[narrator] and a weak pharaoh,

Bring the age of the pyramids
to a crushing end.

[intense music]

The story of the pyramids
is one of innovation.

It was a resurrection machine.

[narrator] mysterious rituals.

[salima ikram] these are things
that help the deceased

Re-energize and live
for eternity.

[narrator]
back-breaking work

And palace intrigue.

Unlock the deepest secrets
of the pharaohs.

[mohamed megahed]
every mummy is different,

You never know exactly
what to expect!

[narrator] explore the
lives of ancient workers

And uncover the remarkable story

Of egypt's old kingdom.

[colleen darnell] not only did
ancient egypt make the pyramids,

The pyramids made ancient egypt.

[ominous music]

[crowd yelling]

[narrator] 2,150 bc,

A weak and aging pharaoh
reigns over egypt.

His name is pepi ii.

All over the kingdom,
people are rising up,

Against a king they believe
has lost the favor of the gods.

[suspenseful music]

The harvest has been
poor for several years.

The people are hungry,
and revolution is brewing.

Pepi ii doesn't know it,

But he will be the last
pharaoh of the old kingdom.

To understand how this powerful
empire began to crumble,

We must travel back to a time

300 years before
pepi came to power.

To the giza plateau,

[tense mysterious music]

And the two largest pyramids
in egyptian history.

Each over 450 feet tall.

They were built by the
legendary pharaoh khufu,

And his son khafre.

But when khafre's son,
the pharaoh menkaure,

Orders a new pyramid
on the plateau,

Something has changed.

The last pyramid at giza

Is surprising for its
modest proportions,

It tops out at
just over 200 feet.

[mark lehner] they did go bigger
and bigger,

But then with menkaure,
we get a dramatic reduction.

The base area of
menkaure's pyramid

Is about 1/4 the area
of khufu's pyramid.

[narrator] what pushed menkaure,

A pharaoh from
an illustrious lineage,

To build so small?

Why did he allow his memory
to be relegated in history

By building in the shadow of
his powerful predecessors?

Is that for a lack of resources?
Is it a change of heart?

Does he tempt to focus on
his temple construction?

[suspenseful music]

[narrator] mark lehner thinks
that the bedrock of the plateau,

Known geologically as
the mokattam formation,

Could hold clues.

[lehner] what's going on
with menkaure?

One idea is that he's
running out of space.

The pyramids are aligned
on this great diagonal,

On the mokattam formation.

Menkaure's pyramid is right
at the edge of the formation.

He's running out of good,

Solid foundation
to build a pyramid.

That's one idea.

[narrator] that's a
practical explanation.

But there's another
theory that could explain

The smaller pyramid and
eventual downfall of the empire.

For generations in
the fourth dynasty,

You have innovations going on
in architecture,

With labor,
with administration,

And with the movement
of materials.

There was a tremendous
amount of wear and tear

On the people, on the land,
on the economy.

It just simply
wasn't sustainable.

By the time of menkaure,

It seems that the resources
for the building of pyramids

Were almost exhausted.

[narrator] menkaure was also
worried about the time he had

To build his pyramid tomb.

[lehner] you have to have the
confidence of a long life

To lay out a base area

That's as large as
khufu's or khafre's.

So, he may not have thought

He had that long
to be on the throne.

[narrator] there is
evidence that menkaure

Compensated for size with style.

Today, traces of reddish rock
at the foot of the pyramid

Hint at the king's plan.

He encases the lower
1/3 of his monument

With expensive red granite.

The granite that menkaure
uses in his pyramid

Probably came from as far afield

As aswan on the very
southern border of egypt.

So, menkaure's
pyramid is smaller,

But it also incorporates

Some much more
expensive stone

To haul all the way
to the giza plateau.

[narrator] the king may have
planned to cover even more

Than 1/3 of his pyramid.

[ikram] and some people
think that, in fact,

He was going to take
this red granite

All the way to the top,
which would be very unusual.

[dramatic music]

[narrator] perhaps menkaure
decides that a fancy exterior

Is better use of his
limited time and resources.

But even this is never finished.

Around 2,440 bc
menkaure dies.

[mohamed megahed] unlike the
other two kings buried in giza,

Menkaure died before
finishing his pyramid.

[narrator] his son
and successor, shepseskaf,

Has to complete
the job in a hurry.

And he seems to
have other plans.

When this new king plans
a tomb for himself,

He breaks with tradition.

He builds 15 miles away
from giza, in south saqqara.

And shepseskaf does
not build a pyramid.

He builds a low flat
tomb called a mastaba,

The shape that royal tombs
were traditionally built

Before the age of the pyramids.

Shepseskaf is the last pharaoh
in what modern historians

Refer to as a dynasty,

A family who pass kingship
within the same bloodline.

The era of the giant pyramid
builders began with djoser

At the start of
the third dynasty.

It ends with shepseskaf,

The last king of
the fourth dynasty.

The fourth dynasty ends

When a new family

Takes control of egypt,

And that begins with userkaf
of the fifth dynasty.

[mysterious suspenseful music]

[narrator] exactly how userkaf
takes control is a mystery.

We believe that king userkaf,

The founder of the fifth dynasty
was not of royal blood.

[narrator] but he will
make a series of choices

That will lead to the
disintegration of the empire.

When userkaf comes
to the throne,

Once again,
kingship is rebranded.

What userkaf does on
a monumental scale

Is it is essentially
let everyone know

In case you didn't realize,

There are major
changes afoot here.

So, "I am the proper successor.

And yet, I'm not following

In the footsteps
of my predecessors."

[narrator] userkaf decides
to transform the tradition

Of pyramid building.

[gentle ominous music]

He builds his tomb next to
egypt's very first pyramid,

At saqqara.

But he puts little
effort into it.

Today it is not much
more than a ruin,

A pile of sand and rock.

But why?

What's changed?

[gentle pensive music]

Archeologist
massimiliano nuzzolo

Thinks the answer is hidden
under the desert sands.

At a place called abu ghurab,
between saqqara and giza.

[nuzzolo] this is the sun
temple of one of the rulers

Of the fifth dynasty.

And this temple was built about

A hundred years after
the pyramids of giza.

There is a big change
in the architecture

In the fifth dynasty,
no more giant pyramids,

No more big architecture,

But a huge temple
dedicated specifically

To the cult of the sun god.

And through the cult of the sun
god to the cult of the king.

[suspenseful music]

[narrator] during
this time period,

The sun god ra

Becomes the most
important god in egypt.

The pharaoh userkaf
now presents himself

As ra's one and only son.

The king's priorities
have changed,

And it will have
a profound effect on egypt.

[dramatic music]

[narrator] in egypt,

The first king of
the fifth dynasty, userkaf,

Has thrown out tradition.

He builds a tiny pyramid,

But a grand new type
of monument, a solar temple.

The fifth dynasty rulers

Didn't stop the construction
of the pyramids,

But they put most of the energy,
in this sun temple.

[narrator] they built them here,

At a place called abu ghurab.

[nuzzolo] it's very interesting
to note that abu ghurab

Is placed in such
a way to be in the middle

Between the big pyramids
of giza to the north,

And the pyramids of
snefru to the south.

This is, of course,
not by chance.

It's intentional.

The king wanted to
stand exactly

In the middle of his ancestor,

In order to be visible to them

And also to interact
symbolically with them,

To demonstrate he was
the legitimate successor

Of the big kings of
giza and dahshur.

[narrator] this is the solar
temple of a king called niuserre

Who carried on
this new tradition.

It's dedicated to
the worship of the sun god ra.

[tense music]

A clear example of this is this
unique area of purification

Composed of these
ten basins of alabaster.

The priests were pouring
the water into the basin

And through this hole,

The basin was flowing
on a pavement

With channels going in
the east to west direction.

So, following the cycle of the
sun and reenacting every day,

The nile flow because
the nile is in egypt

The real source of life.

And is also associated with
the energy of the sun gods.

So, sun and water together
can regenerate nature.

[narrator]
these purification basins

Are each carved out of
a massive block of alabaster,

A rare and precious stone

Hauled here from
quarries 200 miles away.

They sit at the base of the most
important symbol of this temple,

An obelisk,

The ruins of which are
still visible today.

[nuzzolo] so, we have
to imagine this construction

As an obelisk.

But don't imagine monolithic
and slender pieces of granite.

Here the obelisk was probably
built of blocks of stone,

Limestone in particular.

[gentle suspenseful music]

[narrator] massimiliano has
discovered a special stone

That reveals exactly what
the monument once looked like.

Well, this granite block
is very interesting

Because it's the only block

Where we have the original
name of the temple,

That you can see here,
at least in part.

The temple was
called shesepibre,

This was the sound
of ancient egyptian,

And it would look like something

The place of the joy over ra.

And here especially
with my finger,

I can point to the
hieroglyphic sign

That was indicating the
original shape of the temple.

[ominous music]

[narrator] ancient builders
constructed an obelisk

Some 65 feet high,

Standing in the center
of a wide building

Which the king would
enter during rituals.

Nowadays this monument
is very damaged,

And it's open to the sun.

But you have to imagine
it in the antiquity,

In the time of niuserre, we
were entering a very dark space.

There is a sort of
theatrical trick.

The king was entering
the darkness of this corridor

And then he would
have reappeared

On top of the obelisk
as the new shining sun.

[dramatic music]

[narrator] massimiliano
has been able to identify

The ritual path niuserre walked

During the most
important ceremonies.

They took place during the
winter and summer solstices

When the days were the shortest
or longest of the year.

Here we have one block.

This is all that
remains of the ceiling

That was once covering the
inner corridor of the building.

And on this side,

We have also decoration
of the original ceiling

With the starry sky.

You can still see
some blue color.

So, after having
climbed the obelisk,

The king would appear
again here on top.

To demonstrate himself
as the sun god.

And you have to imagine all
people gathering downstairs

Around the altar and
celebrating the new appearance

Of the sun god or
the king as the sun god.

[narrator] a new temple
to empower the sun cult,

Born in the fifth dynasty
with niuserre's predecessor,

Userkaf.

[nuzzolo]
but also, I would say,

This idea does not really
come from niuserre.

The first king of
the fifth dynasty, userkaf,

Put his temple just
400 meters to the south

Of this one in
the same position.

So, this idea comes
indeed from userkaf,

From the beginning
of the fifth dynasty.

[majestic music]

[narrator] userkaf's decision
to build a grand solar temple

And elevate the importance
of the sun god ra,

Will transform egypt,

Just as the first pyramids
had generations before.

From now on, the pharaohs
will funnel resources

Into building grand
solar temples.

Their pyramids will get smaller.

[gentle pensive music]

Just like userkaf,
they will celebrate the sun,

The primordial
source of all life.

[der manuelian] the pyramids
tend to shrink in size,

But the temples
get more elaborate.

More different materials,
more inscriptions,

More elaboration.

[john darnell] one way to look
at userkaf's constructions

Is to say that he needlessly
diverted funds and work

And material from his pyramid

To a separate
mortuary monument.

On the other hand,
he may be responding

To certain changes
in the priesthood,

In egyptian religion.

He's clearly
wanting to emphasize

Certain aspects
of the solar cult.

[narrator]
the solar temple is a sign

Of the rising power of priests,

Who left offerings at
a sun-shaped altar every day.

The walls of tombs from the time

Reveal clues about
the rituals performed here.

Every morning priests
expose animals

To the first rays of the sun,

Before taking them
to the solar temple.

[suspenseful music]

They lead them into
the inner courtyard.

This cow will be sacrificed
to the sun god ra.

[dagger swishes]

The choice cuts, such as
the right front leg of cattle,

Are offered to the god ra
to gain his favor.

But the priests and their
assistants get the rest.

The clergy of the solar cult

Will grow ever more
powerful and numerous.

With the building
of the sun temples,

You find another innovative
type of architecture.

But this also shows the rising
power of the raw priesthood

And how much that
priesthood has to be fed.

[john darnell] but it's
interesting that it focused

On what we might consider a

Separate but parallel
solar cult

Represented by
the solar monument.

So, we seem to see
a kind of a trickle-down

Of the wealth and authority.

No longer is everything
focused purely on the king.

[narrator] the pharaoh himself
becomes increasingly isolated.

He alone is the son of ra.

To affirm his divine nature,

He devotes himself
to the solar cult

And puts ever less time

Into the day to day
management of his country.

In the palace,

The pharaoh will no longer
meet with his court.

The king is creating a rift
that will fracture the country.

[gentle majestic music]

[narrator] the pharaoh userkaf

Is becoming increasingly
isolated from his people.

Now, he even denies
his ruling elite

The opportunity to be
buried alongside their king.

In the fifth dynasty,
there is a big shift

Between the king
and his subjects.

That's a big difference
with the giza pyramids.

[narrator] at giza,
a huge necropolis

Spreads out around the pyramids
of the earlier pharaohs,

Khufu, khafre, and menkaure.

Their families and privileged
members of their court

Rest for all eternity

At the side of the
pharaohs they served.

Granted immortality by proxy.

All the kings of
the fifth dynasty

Had a completely different idea,
to be secluded

From all the other subject.

The king is standing alone
in the center of this site,

To be represented as
the son of the sun god.

So, seclusion, isolation,

To demonstrate
that he's the only

Representative of
the sun god on earth.

-[sparse tense music]
-[wind billowing]

[narrator]
userkaf and his successors

Claim that they alone are
blessed by the sun god ra.

Ordinary people will
have to look elsewhere.

[townsfolk chattering]

And they do.

And that's for this reason
that in the fifth dynasty

We have also the appearance
of the god osiris.

That's a very important figure
of egyptian religion.

[narrator]
osiris is judge of the dead,

And lord of the underworld.

Osiris appears for
the first time,

In the tombs of the
people buried in saqqara,

So, it seems that the
king gave these people

The possibility to
have a personal god,

A personal deity, osiris.

Whereas he had his own deity,
the sun god.

[narrator] as userkaf
and his successors

Become ever more distant
from the affairs of state,

The administration
of the kingdom

Is left in the
hands of bureaucrats

And high-ranking civil servants,

The class created by the
pyramid construction projects

Of previous kings.

When userkaf takes the throne,

He makes a conscious effort
to move the power

Out of the royal family,
which is where it's been

Through most of
the fourth dynasty,

Mainly to circumvent
rival princes.

[lehner]
there are more officials,

They're not just the nearest
family members of the king.

Now there's a
professional bureaucracy.

And so, the interesting
thing is

The bureaucracy in
the state is expanding,

Just as the pyramids
are decreasing.

[flora anthony]
during userkaf's reign,

He starts to spread out

His power amongst

Officials by marrying out
his daughters

To officials

That were the elite

Within the ancient
egyptian society.

I don't think he thinks about
the long-term ramifications

Of this strategy politically.

-[tense music]
-[townsfolk chattering]

[narrator] by ceding power
and status to local officials

The king is becoming
less relevant

To the ordinary people of egypt.

The change initiated by userkaf

Will create a seismic
shift in power,

[suspenseful music]

One that egyptologists have
exposed by examining the tomb

Of a powerful bureaucrat
called mereruka.

This man was given the job
of vizier by king teti,

The founder of
the sixth dynasty,

Who let mereruka
marry his daughter.

Mereruka has a mastaba tomb

Located a stone's throw

From teti's pyramid at saqqara.

And inside the tomb are reliefs

That tell us so much about
what mereruka's life was like.

[narrator] it offers
a unique glimpse into the lives

Of the court elite at the time.

Including his favorite hobbies.

Hunting.

Fishing in the marshes.

And relaxing with his wife,
princess sesheshet.

She plays the harp for him

And joins him for
a board game called senet.

[colleen darnell] these are
the sorts of details

That really give a richness

To our understanding of
life in ancient egypt.

We even have the
lyrics of the songs

That the women were singing.

[narrator] life seems sweet,

But there is also evidence of
a brutal authoritarian state.

On one of the walls
of mereruka's tomb,

Engravers carved scenes
depicting what happens

To anyone who breaks the law.

[tense music]

A local chief is accused
of not paying mereruka

The pharaoh's tax.

He is said to have hidden
part of his village's harvest.

A bold move.

[megahed] this scene is unique
because it tells us

That the power of the
country is declining.

Before that time,
people couldn't do this.

[narrator] scribes
record the offense

And the punishment
in their archives.

-[suspenseful music]
-[group chattering]

The administrator
of the district

Orders him to be escorted
to a public area.

Then, tied to a pole in
full view of everyone,

He receives his sentence.

-[cane thudding]
-[man grunting]

A caning.

The tomb inscriptions reveal

A rising new tension
in the country.

It's divided into administrative
regions called nomes,

Each with their own symbol.

There are 22 along
the nile in upper egypt,

And about 20 more
in lower egypt,

Dotted through the delta region.

The capital at memphis is
no longer in total control.

Really beginning in
the fifth dynasty

And picking up
pace in the sixth,

We started to see
that the complexity

Of the local administration
must be growing,

And it's necessary now to
have an official per district

And that person probably
needs to be spending

A fair amount of their
time in that district.

[der manuelian] if these
officials start to focus

On just their own region,
just their own province,

Then they become what's
called a nomarch,

A sort of governor of
a region or a precinct

Or a district or a nome.

And then why are
they as interested

In supporting the
pharaoh and the state?

[colleen darnell] if your family
was already in charge,

Then that same family
would continue to hold power.

And what this means is that

Increasing amounts of
political and economic power

Are held in the provinces

Independent of the king.

[lehner] there are like
little local pharaohs

All throughout egypt.

Those officials began building
their own monumental tombs,

Starting in the next dynasty.

Whole family tombs
appear in the provinces.

[people chattering]

[cups clinking]

[narrator] the growing power
of these civil servants

Begins to threaten the monarchy.

You find various types of
decrees that give evidence

That pharaoh is having
to give up various control,

Over certain estates
or individuals,

And inabilities to tax them.

And so that means that
some of the provinces

Are getting more powerful.

So that may have actually
decreased pharaoh's wealth.

At least it distributed
it more widely.

[people chattering]

[narrator]
from the fifth dynasty,

The pharaohs increasingly lose

Their superiority in the nomes.

The future of egypt as a
unified kingdom is now at risk.

[gentle music]

In ancient egypt, the pyramid
of the fifth dynasty king unas

Hides evidence of a growing
unease among royalty.

Underground, the king covered
his burial chamber's walls

In mysterious writing.

They are now known
as the pyramid texts.

[hartwig]
these are texts that

Decorated the
king's burial chamber

That give instructions
and recitations to the king

To make his journey
into the next world

Where he'll become
one of the gods

Of the circumpolar
northern stars.

[der manuelian]
they are a set of spells

Designed to help the king

Join with the heavens,
join with the gods,

Defeat bothersome
and threatening enemies,

And the orientation and
layout on the various rooms

Are significant as well.

[man chants] ho, unas!

The messengers of
your ka come to you,

The messengers of
your father come to you,

The messengers of
ra come to you.

[narrator] words that ensure
the pharaoh's immortality.

Written down for the first time.

[der manuelian]
the very first example is

At the end of dynasty five,

The last king of dynasty five,
king unas at saqqara.

At giza the three pyramids
are not inscribed,

So we don't have
pyramid texts there.

[narrator] the later
pharaohs may be aware

That they are losing
their grip on the kingdom,

And cannot rely on future
generations to know these spells

Or perform them.

Perhaps one of the reasons
that the pyramid texts

Are inscribed
insides the pyramid.

Perhaps the kings were
worried that their rituals

And the offerings will not
be given in the temples.

[ominous music]

[narrator] no rituals,
no eternal life.

[der manuelian] they start
as pyramid texts for royalty,

They morph or evolve
into a coffin texts

In the middle kingdom,
available to non-royals as well.

And by the new kingdom, they're
called the book of the dead.

So, all of these are
a collection of spells

Meant to guarantee a successful
afterlife for the deceased.

[narrator] the kings must ensure

That they can survive
in the afterlife,

But also maintain control
and unity of their kingdom

In the real world.

A challenge for pharaohs
whose influence decreases

The further from their capital
of memphis they go.

-[gentle pensive music]
-[waves lapping]

[birds cawing]

A recent and
remarkable discovery

Gives evidence of
the dramatic shift.

The find was made in
the south of egypt,

In the region of aswan.

During antiquity, this was
the first nome of upper egypt

And the furthest
from the capital.

It was known as the nome of
the countries of the arc.

[camel groans]

On this rocky hill on
the west bank of the nile,

Facing aswan, a german-egyptian
team is excavating an area

That has never been
investigated before.

Friederike seyfried
is the director

Of the egyptological
museum in berlin.

She has spent four years
excavating the tomb

Of a local dignitary,

The ruler,
or nomarch of this area.

-[tense music]
-[workers chattering]

We are at the region called
qubbet el-hawa north,

And what you see here is

A very large ancient staircase,

Because the funeral is coming

From the river nile
so they are proceeding

The steps upwards

To the entrance of the tomb.

Which is a tomb of
the late sixth dynasty,

Belonging to a certain
person named khunis.

Khunis was of course
a privileged person

Because only a privileged
person could afford

To have a rock-cut tomb
of such a size.

They wanted to have a tomb
which marked their position

And you want to show your
richness and your property.

This is something
which is, of course,

Impressive for everybody.

[dramatic music]

The quality of the rock is poor

But having such a view,

Over the river nile,
is so beautiful

That you will
accept the bad rock.

[door creaking]

[suspenseful music]

[narrator] egyptologists
discovered this tomb

After the events of
the arab spring in 2014,

During which some locals
looked for antiquities to sell.

The tomb raiders unearthed
the burial chamber,

Which had remained sealed
for more than 4,000 years.

The first thing what
you see are two pillars,

Left and right
through the entrance,

And both pillars were decorated.

And you see a small servant

Having an incense
burner in his hand.

Incense is still something
for purification.

That one is bringing
something to drink, yeah?

This is typical of a beer jar.

Because you have to drink
and eat in the netherworld.

It is fantastic to see that
you have these two servants

Coming directly inside the tomb

And giving the
offerings for khunis

Who should be buried of course
in the burial chamber here.

[narrator] in this room,

Archeologists found
a few small bones.

The looters had taken
everything else.

So, you have the second row
of pillars here.

You have here the depiction
of the tomb owner.

[solemn music]

Here you have the title,
khunis.

So, he was the
sealer of the king,

He was a friend
at the courtyard,

And he was a priest.

He was really a
distinguished person

Of the elite of
the late old kingdom.

[gentle tense music]

[narrator] the tomb is
a perfect illustration

Of the changing power
structure in egypt.

It reveals that khunis
was styling himself

As a regional pharaoh
in his own right.

If you are wealthy enough
to build up such a tomb,

You are really
a person of the elite.

It is something which shows

The richness
of the people here.

[suspenseful music]

There are many tombs in egypt
which are not decorated,

Which have no inscriptions.

And when we came in
for us it was fantastic

To see these depictions
and a relief on the wall

And the name,

At least the name
of the tomb owner.

So, this was really
fantastic for us.

-[tense music]
-[camel groans]

[narrator] but this tomb would
be amongst the last of its kind.

In the capital of
memphis 500 miles away,

A young pharaoh ascends
the throne of egypt.

[dramatic music]

This is pepi ii,

And under his rule,
egypt's old kingdom

Will finally collapse.

[narrator] in ancient egypt,

Around 2,216 bc,

Pepi ii is crowned king.

[mysterious upbeat music]

He is only six years old.

He will rule egypt longer
than any other king before.

Too long as history will show.

When the king reaches
36 years of age,

He seeks to solidify his power
with a symbolic gesture.

[collen darnell]
after 30 years on the throne,

A king celebrated
the jubilee festival,

Literally called the heb sed
or the festival of the tail.

And what the jubilee
festival meant

Was a renewal of kingship.

So, after 30 years
on the throne,

Pepi ii would have
renewed his kingship

By celebrating the jubilee.

[der manuelian]
this was a kind of recharge

The batteries celebration
where the king demonstrate

The fact that he deserves
to stay on the throne.

[dramatic music]

[narrator] several physical
and symbolic events

Make up this ritual,

Which traditionally
takes place in the courtyard

Next to egypt's very
first pyramid at saqqara.

In one, the king
runs around a marker

Four times in one direction
and four in another,

To take symbolic
possession of his kingdom.

[majestic music]

[arrow whooshing]

During another ritual test,

Pepi ii must prove
his archery skills

In front of his entire court.

He shoots arrows in the
direction of the cardinal points

To symbolically show his
command over the universe.

[arrow whooshing]

[crowd applauding]

At the time of his
first heb sed festival

The pharaoh is still young
and in good shape.

But as time goes by,

The monarch begins to
show signs of weakness.

Every three years he
undertakes another festival,

Inadvertently
showcasing his decline.

Egyptologists think that pepi ii
reigned for at least 63 years.

[gentle music]

-[arrow thudding]
-[arrow clattering]

-[arrow thudding]
-[arrow clattering]

It must be clear
to pepi's people

That he's no longer in control.

And a catastrophe is about
to add to the king's problems.

[colleen darnell] towards the
end of the reign of pepi ii

There seemed to be a series
of low nile floods

And when there was
less of a flood,

There would also be less
agricultural production.

So, a series of low nile floods
would result in scarcer food

And a greater strain
of any food

That had been stored.

[tense music]

[megahed] for an ordinary
ancient egyptian,

The king is everything.

He is a living god.

He's a representative
of all the gods.

So, it means if
there are no flood,

It means the king
is responsible.

The king is responsible to
bring the water every year.

[ominous music]

-[man yells]
-[stick thuds]

[hartwig] it's a perfect storm.

You have massive famine
going on in the country.

You have a lessened power

Of the pharaonic state.

The king has
succession problems,

Pepi ii simply lived too long.

And on top of that,

You have a separation between
the king and his officials.

[narrator]
ordinary egyptians believed

That the gods had
abandoned the pharaoh.

-[men yelling]
-[fists thudding]

The nomarchs in the provinces

Took this as an opportunity
to secede from the kingdom.

You've relied on the system
of a powerful king

Who redistributes
taxes through grain

And food across the country

In times of incredible stress,
such as a drought.

And you don't have
that resource anymore.

So, having a system

That's fragmented and broken

And no centralized government
is highly problematic.

And so, what happens?

Everything disintegrates

And they end up in a civil war

With small little kinglets
fighting among themselves.

And the king, once so powerful
during the great pyramid age,

Has vanished into the shadows.

[gentle music]

[narrator] today,
pepi ii is known as the pharaoh

Responsible for the end
of the first golden age

Of egyptian civilization.

The era we now call
the old kingdom

Or the pyramid age.

But pyramids themselves
didn't completely disappear.

[lehner] they started
building pyramids again

In the middle kingdom but they
are less well known.

Now they're building pyramids
a little out of stone

But mostly out of mud brick.

They carried on into late
antiquity, of course, in nubia,

So pyramids had a long run.

[dramatic music]

[narrator] the fragmentation
of the country

And the end of the old kingdom

Did not spell the end of
egyptian civilization.

A few centuries after
the reign of pepi ii,

Egypt will reinvent itself.

New pharaohs will
unite the territories

Of the north and the south.

They will reconstruct the state

And reweave a common identity.

These new pharaohs will rely
on the incredible advances

Made by their forbearers.

They will use the
engineering skills

And organizational structure
that built the pyramids.

It's the legacy of the pyramids

That will rebuild egypt itself.

[theme music plays]