Immortal Egypt

{{Short description|British documentary television series}}

{{Use British English|date=May 2023}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2023}}

{{Infobox television

| image = Immortal Egypt (2016) title card.jpg

| image_upright =

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| image_alt =

| caption =

| alt_name = The Story of Egypt

| genre =

| creator =

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| writer = Joann Fletcher{{cite web|url=https://www.barnsleychronicle.com/article/11156/joann-fletcher-designs-egypt-exhibitions-for-barnsley-museums|title=Joann Fletcher designs Egypt exhibitions for Barnsley Museums|date=24 March 2017|website=Barnsley Chronicle|access-date=28 May 2023}}

| screenplay =

| story =

| director = Sophie Elwin-Harris

| presenter = Joann Fletcher

| starring =

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| country = United Kingdom

| language = English

| num_seasons = 1

| num_episodes = 4

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| runtime = 59 minutes

| company = Lion Television

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| network = BBC Two

| first_aired = {{Start date|2016|01|04|df=yes}}

| last_aired = {{End date|2016|01|25|df=yes}}

}}

Immortal Egypt with Joann Fletcher, also known as The Story of Egypt, is a British documentary television miniseries about ancient Egypt, written and presented by Egyptologist and educator Joann Fletcher. The series first aired on BBC Two from 4 to 25 January 2016.{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/tv-and-radio-reviews/12120965/Immortal-Egypt-with-Joann-Fletcher-episode-four-review.html|title=Immortal Egypt with Joann Fletcher, review: 'excellent'|last=Harrison|first=Phil|date=25 January 2016|website=The Telegraph|access-date=28 May 2023}}

Immortal Egypt chronicles the history of ancient Egypt, from its prehistoric era through each of its different periods: the Early Dynastic Period, the Old Kingdom, the First Intermediate Period, the Middle Kingdom, the Second Intermediate Period, the New Kingdom, the Third Intermediate Period, the Late Period and the era of Persian rule, the Ptolemaic period, and the Roman period.

Throughout the miniseries' four episodes, Fletcher is shown visiting numerous tombs, ruins, archaeological sites, and other locations across Egypt, as well as examining artefacts housed at various British museums. During the production of Immortal Egypt, Fletcher and the miniseries' production company Lion Television were granted "unprecedented access" to the Mortuary Temple of Amenhotep III.{{cite news|last=Burrell|first=Ian|date=28 December 2015|title=Could fresh discoveries help lure tourists back to Egypt?|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-independent/125567704/|newspaper=The Independent|location=London, England|page=7|access-date=30 May 2023|via=Newspapers.com}}

Episodes

{{Episode table |background=#decd87 |overall= |title= |director= |writer= |airdate= |episodes=

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 1

| Title = The Road to the Pyramids

| DirectedBy = Sophie Elwin-Harris

| WrittenBy = Joann Fletcher

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2016|01|4|df=yes}}{{cite news|title=Television {{!}} BBC2|date=4 January 2016|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/evening-standard/125488516/|newspaper=Evening Standard|location=London, England|page=44|access-date=29 May 2023|via=Newspapers.com}}

| ShortSummary = The first episode introduces ancient Egypt, from its prehistoric era to its Early Dynastic and Old Kingdom periods. Subjects featured include Paleolithic petroglyphs in Qurta; the development of Egyptian gods and goddesses such as Hathor; the rise of settlements along the Nile River like Faiyum and Qena; mummification and the Gebelein predynastic mummies; early calendars and tax records; the Narmer Palette; the pharaoh Djoser and his chancellor Imhotep; the Pyramid of Djoser; and the Giza pyramid complex.

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{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 2

| Title = Chaos

| DirectedBy = Sophie Elwin-Harris

| WrittenBy = Joann Fletcher

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2016|01|11|df=yes}}{{cite news|title=Television {{!}} BBC2|date=11 January 2016|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/evening-standard/125488583/|newspaper=Evening Standard|location=London, England|page=40|access-date=29 May 2023|via=Newspapers.com}}

| ShortSummary = The second episode explores the First Intermediate Period of Egypt—an era marked by famines and civil wars—as well as the Middle Kingdom Period and Second Intermediate Period. Topics covered include the pyramid of Unas and its accompanying causeway; the decentralization of the Egyptian state and the rise of provincial nomarchs like Ankhtifi; Mentuhotep II; a warriors' tomb in Deir el-Bahari, part of the Theban Necropolis; the development of fortifications; and the rise to power and eventual defeat of the Hyksos.

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{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 3

| Title = Zenith

| DirectedBy = Sophie Elwin-Harris

| WrittenBy = Joann Fletcher

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2016|01|18|df=yes}}{{cite news|title=Television {{!}} BBC2|date=18 January 2016|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/evening-standard/125488645/|newspaper=Evening Standard|location=London, England|page=44|access-date=29 May 2023|via=Newspapers.com}}

| ShortSummary = The third episode focuses on the age of ancient Egypt's New Kingdom. Subjects examined include Amenhotep III and the Colossi of Memnon, which stand at the front of Amenhotep III's now-ruined Mortuary Temple; the establishment of the Valley of the Kings; the temple complex of Karnak; the introduction of Atenism by the pharaoh Akhenaten and his Great Royal Wife Nefertiti; Tutankhamun and his tomb; and the relocation of royal mummies by Butehamun, under the orders of Karnak's High Priests of Amun.

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{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 4

| Title = Invasion

| DirectedBy = Sophie Elwin-Harris

| WrittenBy = Joann Fletcher

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2016|01|25|df=yes}}{{cite news|title=Television {{!}} BBC2|date=25 January 2016|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/evening-standard/125488664/|newspaper=Evening Standard|location=London, England|page=38|access-date=29 May 2023|via=Newspapers.com}}

| ShortSummary = The fourth episode spans ancient Egypt's Third Intermediate Period, Late Period, Ptolemaic period, and Roman period. Among the topics explored are the Libyan takeover of Egypt; the Nubian invasion, which led to the Twenty-Fifth Dynasty (whose pharaohs originated from the Kingdom of Kush); Taharqa and the Nubian pyramids; the Assyrian conquest of Egypt; the rule of the Saites and an explosion in animal mummification; the cult of the sacred bull Apis; the Achaemenid conquest of Egypt by the Persian Cambyses II; the Rosetta Stone; and the arrival of Alexander the Great and the establishment of the city of Alexandria.

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Critical reception

Sally Newall of The Independent wrote of Immortal Egypt that, "You couldn't fault Fletcher's passion or knowledge, which, like in her previous outing in Life and Death in the Valley of the Kings, was always accessible"; this perceived accessibility, Newall said, "[makes] it easy to share her enthusiasm – even without Egyptology's most eye-catching artifacts".{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/immortal-egypt-with-joann-fletcher-bbc2-tv-review-plenty-of-passion-from-the-redhaired-prof-a6796586.html|title=Immortal Egypt with Joann Fletcher, BBC2 - TV review: Plenty of passion from the red-haired prof|last=Newall|first=Sally|date=4 January 2016|website=The Independent|access-date=28 May 2023}} The Telegraph{{'}}s Phil Harrison gave the miniseries a positive review, writing: "Fletcher's greatest achievement has been to rescue these abstract historical figures from the ossuary and endow them with real, relatable humanity. ... There's also her passion – declaiming enthusiastically from burial chambers and stomping keenly around archaeological digs, she's frequently seemed not just fascinated by her subjects but visibly moved by their travails."

Hadar Sela, writing for the UK division of the pro-Israel Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA), criticized Immortal Egypt for making reference to Egypt's geographical relation to Palestine instead of Israel.{{cite web|url=https://camera-uk.org/2016/01/29/the-drip-drip-of-politicised-geography-on-bbc-two/|title=The Drip Drip of Politicised Geography on BBC Two|last=Sela|first=Hadar|date=29 January 2016|website=CAMERA UK|access-date=30 May 2023}}

References

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