The Age of Egyptian Empire
This series traces Egypt’s recovery from fragmentation into its greatest imperial age — from the twilight of the Middle Kingdom through the Second Intermediate Period into the full expansion and eventual stresses of the New Kingdom (c. 1650–1077 BC). It follows the political rebound, territorial expansion from Nubia to the Euphrates, and the military, diplomatic, and administrative innovations that made Egypt the dominant power of the eastern Mediterranean — then the strains that began the long slide toward decentralization.
What the videos cover
Collapse and comeback: How the breakdown of central Middle Kingdom authority gave way to new power centers, the Hyksos interlude, and the drive to expel foreign rulers and reunify Egypt.
Statebuilding and empire: The formation of a militarized, bureaucratic New Kingdom — professional armies, standing fortresses in Nubia, diplomacy and vassalage in Canaan and Syria, Egyptian expeditions to Punt and the Aegean.
Iconic rulers and campaigns: The rise of warrior-pharaohs (Ahmose I, Thutmose I–III, Amenhotep III, Ramesses II) who pushed borders from the Fourth Cataract to the Euphrates, led famous battles (Megiddo, Kadesh), and combined monumental building with frontier management.
Religion, administration, and logistics: How temples, royal titulary, the military, and logistics (ships, forts, garrisons) sustained empire — and how ideological moves (Akhenaten’s religious revolution) and court intrigue destabilized the political order.
Signs of strain: The late New Kingdom troubles — overextended borders, rising priestly power, foreign pressures (Sea Peoples, Mitanni, Hittites), and internal conspiracies that culminate in the weakening of centralized control (ending with Ramesses XI and the loss of Nubia).
These episodes balance battlefield drama with the practical nuts-and-bolts of empire: how armies were raised and supplied, why diplomacy mattered as much as force, and how religion and propaganda underpinned rule. If you want a compact narrative of military triumphs (Megiddo, Kadesh), diplomatic balancing acts (Mitanni, Hittite treaties), and the administrative backbone that made long-distance control possible — this playlist gives you a clear, source-aware tour of Egypt at its imperial peak and the early cracks that presaged decline. Read the summaries for quick context and primary-source references; watch the videos for maps, monuments, and the visual sweep of imperial ambition.
References:
“The New Kingdom - Encyclopaedia Britannica
Second Intermediate Period - University College London
Second Intermediate Period - UCLA eScholarship
Middle Kingdom and Second Intermediate Period - The Oxford Handbook of Egyptology
Egyptian civilization and military rule - Encyclopaedia Britannica
The New Kingdom – Discover Egypt - Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities