The pyramid of Taharqa at Nuri, Sudan
- 25th Dynasty
- For much of Egyptian history, Nubia had been regarded merely as a source of manpower and minerals for the Egyptian state. Then, around 730 BC, tables were turned, and the Nubian King Piye invaded and conquered Egypt. The king and his successors were, however, steeped in Egyptian culture, and viewed themselves as the renewers of ancient glories, rather than as foreign incomers. As such, they revived the ancient custom of pyramid building, which had been dropped by the pharaohs some eight centuries before - shown above are the ruins of the pyramid of Taharqa (690-664 BC). Despite this history, Taharqa's successor was soon driven out of Egypt by an Assyrian invasion, never to return.
