12 Facts About Piye

Piye ruled from the city of Napata, located deep in Nubia, modern-day Sudan.

Piye was passionate about the worship of the god Amun, like many kings of Nubia.

Piye revitalized the moribund Great Temple of Amun at Jebel Barkal, which was first built under Thutmose III of the New Kingdom, employing numerous sculptors and stonemasons from Egypt.

Piye was once thought to have used the throne name 'Menkheperre' but this prenomen has now been recognized as belonging to a local Theban king named Ini instead who was a contemporary of Piye.

Piye reacted quickly to this crisis in his regnal year 20 by assembling an army to invade Middle and Lower Egypt and visited Thebes in time for the great Opet Festival which proves he effectively controlled Upper Egypt by this time.

Related searches

Piye viewed his campaign as a Holy War, commanding his soldiers to cleanse themselves ritually before beginning battle.

Satisfied with his triumph, Piye proceeded to sail south to Thebes and returned to his homeland in Nubia never to return to Egypt.

Piye's highest known date was long thought to be the "Year 24 III Akhet day 10" date mentioned in the "Smaller Dakhla Stela" from the Sutekh temple of Mut el-Kharab in the Dakhla Oasis.

Kenneth Kitchen has suggested a reign of 31 years for Piye, based on the Year 8 donation stela of a king Shepsesre Tefnakht who is commonly viewed as Piye's opponent.

Piye's tomb was located next to the largest Pyramid in the cemetery, designated Ku.

Piye's body had been placed on a bed which rested in the middle of the chamber on a stone bench with its four corners cut away to receive the legs of the bed so that the bed platform lay directly on the bench.

Piye was played by Chris Rochester in The 25th Dynasty, an animated short film produced in 2012, written and directed by Jason Young.