Watch The History of Ancient Egypt

2023
1 Season

Ancient Egyptian civilization is so grand that our minds sometimes have difficulty adjusting to it. Now, get a comprehensive and spellbinding introduction to one of the greatest civilizations of all time. In this course, famed Egyptologist Bob Brier takes you on a 3,000-year tour of pyramids, pharaohs, mummies, sphinxes, and much more.

The History of Ancient Egypt is a series that ran for 1 seasons (41 episodes) between July 20, 2023 and on The Great Courses

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Seasons

48. The Grand Finale

July 20, 2023

This last lecture crowns the course by briefly summarizing 3,000 years of Egyptian history; outlining Egypt's legacy to us; surveying images of Egypt in film and literature; and listing ways you can pursue your interest in this remarkable civilization. Your learning needn't stop here!

47. Cleopatra - The Last Ptolemy

July 20, 2023

Although Cleopatra is one of the most famous women who ever lived, she remains an enigma - we don't even know her mother's name. History is written by the victors, and Cleopatra lost. Can ancient records help fill out her story?

46. Cleopatra's Family

July 20, 2023

For a Ptolemy, dodging assassination by one's own kin was often the hardest part of ruling. Learn how Cleopatra's father managed this task, and trace the course of Egypt's growing - and ultimately fatal - interaction with the rising power of Rome.

45. Animal Mummies

July 20, 2023

The Ptolemies had a fascination with mummies, especially animal mummies. We will take an in-depth look at the practice of animal mummification, which became a major industry during the Ptolemaic period.

44. The Middle Ptolemies - The Decline

July 20, 2023

With few exceptions, the members of this dysfunctional dynasty were violent, debauched, and generally neglectful of the country they ruled. The Egyptians hated them and frequently rebelled, forcing some to flee for their lives. With each Ptolemy, Egypt sank deeper, making a return to greatness impossible.

43. The First Ptolemies

July 20, 2023

The Greek kings known as the Ptolemies ran Egypt like a business. Taxes were heavy; government was oppressive. There are two great Hellenistic achievements, however: the Pharos Lighthouse and the famed Library of Alexandria.

42. Alexander the Great

July 20, 2023

Alexander the Great began 300 years of Greek control of Egypt. We will trace his extraordinary career as a young general, as pharaoh, and as legendary conqueror.

41. Dynasties XXVIII to XXXI - The Beginning of the End

July 20, 2023

Four very brief dynasties ruled in succession. When the last native-born ruler, Nectanebo II, was forced to flee into Nubia, Egypt's glory was over.

40. Dynasty XXVII - The Persians

July 20, 2023

The Greek traveler Herodotus gives three different reasons Persia invaded Egypt. How do his accounts compare with Egyptian records? How did Egypt express its unbending will to be free under this latest group of foreign rulers?

39. Dynasty XXVI - The Saite Period

July 20, 2023

Egypt fell under and then escaped Assyrian control only to face a new menace in the form of Babylon. As if they knew it was the last gasp, the pharaohs of Dynasty XXVI looked back to the Old Kingdom for inspiration.

38. Dynasty XXV - The Nubians Have Their Day

July 20, 2023

Nubians had been permitted to grow independent, with their leaders taking the title of pharaoh. They were also devoted to Amun, so in a sense, Egypt was their spiritual home. We will see a warrior from the south (Kush) battling a confederation of Egyptian "kings" and unifying Egypt once again.

36. Dynasty XXI - Egypt Divided

July 20, 2023

Egypt's long slide continued as rival dynasties ruled from Thebes and the Delta. Egyptian history had become "a tale of two cities."

34. Dynasty XX - The Decline Continues

July 20, 2023

After Ramses III's brief attempt to restore Egypt's stability, the downward slide continued. Who were the mysterious Sea Peoples? How did they contribute to the weakening of Egypt?

33. The Decline of Dynasty XIX

July 20, 2023

Short reigns and a lack of major building projects betray the beginnings of Egypt's long slide from greatness.

32. The Exodus - Did It Happen?

July 20, 2023

The Book of Exodus, so fundamental to the history of the Jewish people, is the section of the Old Testament most closely tied to Egypt. What light can Egyptology shed on the biblical account?

31. Ramses the Great - The Later Years

July 20, 2023

There is a bit of a mystery about Ramses's reign. Its last 40 years were rather sedentary. In considering what might have happened, you will see how a pharaoh with the resources of Ramses prepared himself and his family for the next world.

29. Dynasty XIX Begins

July 20, 2023

After three childless pharaohs in a row, Egypt desperately needed stability. Thus, the first pharaoh of Dynasty XIX may have been selected not for his ability, but because of his heirs!

28. Making a Modern Mummy

July 20, 2023

Here you'll learn how Professor Brier mummified a human cadaver in the ancient Egyptian manner to determine how the Egyptian embalmers did it. The purpose of the project was not to make a mummy, but to gain knowledge of the instruments, substances, and surgical procedures used during the process.

27. What Mummies Tell Us

July 20, 2023

The primary source for figuring out how the Egyptians mummified their dead is the mummies themselves. What distinguishes mummies from the Old Kingdom, the New Kingdom, and the Late Period, respectively? How have Egyptologists reconstructed this ancient art? By the end of this lecture, you will be able to look at a mummy and tell how old it is.

26. Mummification - How We Know What We Know

July 20, 2023

Mummification was a trade secret. The Egyptians left no records of how they did it. Detective work is needed, and fortunately, there are four papyri that offer some clues.

24. Medicine - The Necessary Art

July 20, 2023

The physicians of Egypt were famous throughout the ancient world. Probe the justification for this fame by examining medical papyri. We will see that there were really two approaches to medicine: clinical and magical.

23. The Murder of Tutankhamen - A Theory

July 20, 2023

Was Tutankhamen the victim of foul play? Do his mummified remains hold clues? Who might have wanted him dead, and why? Sift the physical and circumstantial evidence for this intriguing hypothesis and form your own conclusion.

22. The Discovery of Tutankhamen's Tomb

July 20, 2023

Unearthed by Howard Carter in 1922, the burial place of this young son of Akhenaten is the only royal tomb to have been found substantially intact. Follow the careful research and planning that led up to Carter's discovery, and learn the significance of the thousands of artifacts found.

21. Akhenaten the Heretic Pharaoh

July 20, 2023

The most enigmatic and controversial pharaoh in Egypt's history, Akhenaten rocked the pillars of Egyptian society. He may have been the first monotheist and the first "individual" in history.

20. The Fabulous XVIIIth Dynasty Rolls On

July 20, 2023

Witness this glorious dynasty continue through two superior pharaohs and then one great one, Amenhotep III, "The Sun King."

19. Tuthmosis III - King At Last

July 20, 2023

For 22 years, Tuthmosis III was second fiddle to his aunt Hatshepsut, who ruled as a king although she was a woman. When she died and he ruled by himself, he became one of the greatest military pharaohs Egypt had ever known. Learn what it meant to be a great king by tracing the epic events of his reign.

18. Obelisks

July 20, 2023

Obelisks are a purely Egyptian invention. Quarrying, transporting, and erecting one is perhaps an even greater engineering feat than the building of a pyramid. Learn the origins and religious significance of obelisks.

17. Queen Hatshepsut

July 20, 2023

One of the greatest individuals in Egyptian history, Hatshepsut appears in no official Egyptian record. When she died, she was "King of Upper and Lower Egypt." How did she handle the three core activities of kingship - building, warfare, and trading expeditions? Why was her name later systematically expunged?

16. The Beginning of the New Kingdom - The Fabulous XVIIIth Dynasty

July 20, 2023

Practices we think of as defining ancient Egypt - including the use of a standing army to exact foreign tribute and the burial of the pharaohs in the Valley of the Kings - have their origins in this seminal period. We will also take a detailed look at what warfare was like in the ancient world.

15. Joseph in Egypt

July 20, 2023

The Bible describes a lengthy sojourn of the Israelites in Egypt. We examine the Joseph story in the Book of Genesis to see what light Egyptology might shed on its authenticity.

13. The Middle Kingdom - Dynasty XII

July 20, 2023

The seven kings of Dynasty XII built pyramids, fostered great literature (often for political purposes), and consolidated power once again in the center.

11. The First Intermediate Period

July 20, 2023

After centuries of power, pyramids, and prosperity, Egypt totally collapsed. Why? A look at this period also shows the methods that Egyptologists use to reconstruct history where the resources are scant.

9. The Great Pyramid of Giza

July 20, 2023

From leveling the foundation to setting the capstone, here are - as best as we can make out - the "nuts and bolts" of the Egyptians' most literally "monumental" feat: pyramid building. This lecture also discusses the 144-foot solar boat that was found in 1954, buried near the Great Pyramid.

8. Sneferu, the Pyramid Builder

July 20, 2023

This lecture will present a portrait of the founder of the "Fabulous Fourth" Dynasty, Sneferu. Using trial and error, he figured out how to build a true pyramid. His reign also saw Egypt's blossoming as an international power and the setting of artistic standards that would last for thousands of years.

7. The Rise of the Old Kingdom

July 20, 2023

As Egypt becomes a great nation led by a single all-powerful ruler, traditions arise that will last for millennia: a capital city, separate burial places (and eventually mighty pyramids) for the kings, solar boats for the trip to the next world, and more.

6. The First Nation in History

July 20, 2023

How did Egypt become history's first nation? Once King Narmer unified Upper and Lower Egypt, it took only a few hundred years to build a power that would dominate the Near East for millennia. Learn why the political structure of ancient Egypt made this possible and how the "Narmer Palette" tells this story.

5. The Rosetta Stone, and Much More

July 20, 2023

The Rosetta Stone is a large granite stela, carved under Ptolemy V and unearthed by French troops in 1799. With inscriptions of the same text in Greek and Egyptian, it provided the key to deciphering the ancient Egyptian language. Learn the four scripts in which ancient Egyptian can be written, as well as the three ways hieroglyphic signs can be used.

4. Napoleon and the Beginnings of Egyptology

July 20, 2023

Why does modern Egyptology begin with Napoleon? How was Egypt studied before he and his army arrived with 150 scientists in tow in 1798? How did the monumental "Description de l'Egypte" that Bonaparte's savants produced become the benchmark for all future publications in the field?

3. Ancient Egyptian Thought

July 20, 2023

What distinguishes mythology, religion, and philosophy from one another? What role did each play in the lives of the ancient Egyptians?

2. Prehistoric Egypt

July 20, 2023

In this lesson, we will see just how old "old" is. The basic divisions of prehistory will be discussed, and each category will be defined and its specific characteristics delineated. Once these categories are clear, we will discuss the difficulties of studying a prehistoric civilization.

1. Introduction

July 20, 2023

What makes ancient Egypt so interesting? How do we know what we know about it? What can you, as a student, expect from these episodes?

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Where to Watch The History of Ancient Egypt

The History of Ancient Egypt is available for streaming on the The Great Courses website, both individual episodes and full seasons. You can also watch The History of Ancient Egypt on demand at Apple TV Channels and Amazon Prime and Amazon.