Monday, January 21, 2008

The Black Pharaohs

The National Geographic's latest issue highlights the fact that: "For 75 years Nubian kings ruled over ancient Egypt, reunifying the country and building an empire. Until recently, theirs was a chapter of history lost in the shadows."

"The magazine claims the that true impact of these rulers has never been widely accepted because European powers colonized the region in the 19th century and the role of the "darker skinned" conquerors was seen as irrelevant." Copied from Daily News, January 20th.

I am inclined to agree with the above analysis since most of Egypt's Ancient history was indeed written by Europeans, so a racist manipulation of history does not shock me.

But the question that bugs me is: "Did any Egyptian (Egyptologist or historian) expose this well kept secret ahead of the National Geographic article or any other resource? And if not, is this failure purely out of ignorance?

I pray the answer to the first question is a yes, and if not then I pray (twice as hard) that the answer to the second question is.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Yes - Cheik Anta Diop, PhD - "The African Origin of Civilization" Lawrence Hill Books, 1974