During century VIII a. C., the Ancient Egypt was governed by a series of black pharaohs, source Nubia. They reigned in Egypt for nearly a century and constituted the 25th dynasty of pharaohs.
O first black pharaoh that conquered Egypt was called piye. He ruled the kingdom of Nubia (a region of Africa that is located in the current territory of Sudan) and called himself the true Lord of Egypt, that is, the heir to the spiritual traditions of the pharaohs.
His troops walked north from Egypt, navigating the Nile River, and landed at Thebes, capital of Upper Egypt, where they waged a holy war against all the armies they encountered by front. After a year of intense fighting, all the warlords of Egypt had succumbed to its power.
Many warlords cried out for mercy. In exchange for their lives, the defeated offered Piye all of their wealth, gems, and more. After conquering all of Egypt, Piye became known as the Lord of the Two Lands. When everyone least expected it, the conquering sovereign led his army across the Nile and returned to Nubia, without ever returning to Egypt.
Piye died in the year of 715 a. a., ending a reign of 35 years. The black pharaohs reunified Egypt, which found itself with power and fragmented territory, accomplished great deeds and built great monuments. They also created an empire that stretched from the current capital of Sudan, Khartoum, to the northern region, close to the Mediterranean Sea.
The black pharaohs were powerful warriors and their troops were practically the only ones who managed to avoid the domination of the Assyrian peoples (Semitic peoples extremely warlike) in Egypt.
The rule of black pharaohs in Ancient Egypt demonstrates that racism did not exist in the ancient world. In the period when Pharaoh Piye conquered all of Egypt, the fact that his skin was black was not a relevant factor. Slavery, in antiquity, had no racial stamp, people became enslaved for two main reasons: either they were prisoners of war or they became debt slaves.
Therefore, after Piye's death, in 715 BC. C., his brother Shabaka, established the 25th dynasty in the Egyptian city of Memphis. Under Nubian rule, Egypt regained its traditions and its identity. The Nubians were the first people to initiate the so-called “Egytomania” (those who admire and worship the Egyptian civilization).
Leandro Carvalho
Master in History
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/historiag/faraos-negros-egito-antigo.htm
