Taharqa

The Rise & Fall of the Last Great Nubian Pharaoh

A prolific builder, and merciless conqueror,

Taharqa was the last great Nubian pharaoh to unite
the crowns of both Upper and Lower Egypt.

After his accession to the throne in Memphis upon the death of his brother Shebitku,
Taharqa commemorated the rule of his ancient ancestors by restoring the ancient
Temples of Amun in Kawa and Karnak. Abar, his mother, was proud of her son.

Taharqa and his council were direct descendants of the High Priesthood of Amun and the Kusite Kings
of Old. Taharqa made it his mission before himself and his god Amun to conquer any and all lands ad-
jacent to the Kingdom of Kush in tribute to Amun. Piye, his father, was also King of Upper and Lower
Egypt and was blessed that his son would be able to reunite the kingdom.

Despite the successes Taharqa experienced during his building and conquering
campaigns, they were not to last. The kingdom suffered from a devastating
drought that brought the Nubian pharaoh to his knees before the falcon god,
Hemen. The kingdom was also invaded by dangerous warmongers from the
northeast. This ended all building and restoration projects as the King and his
council were forced deeper into Nubia.

However well-intentioned the King’s plans were, they were not

in accordance with natural law. Taharqa’s rule ended with war,
disaster, retreat and defeat. Taharqa must be remembered.

This is the story of Taharqa the Great.

Nefertumkura Taharqa’s Coronation ......................................... 2

Taharqa & The Falcon ......................................... 3
Taharqa’s Lament ......................................... 4
Taharqa & The Owl ......................................... 6

© 2007 Scruffmouth the Scribe 1

#efertumkhura $aharqa’s %oronation

O Am u n, fo rg ive m e fo r a l l m y s ins .
O Am u n, the s o u rc e o f a l l c rea tio n.
O Am u n, g ra nt m e the po w er w ithin,
To im po s e divine w il l o ver o u r na tio n.
As the s eed m a tu res into the g rea t tree,
Ma y I s ta nd l ike the Go ds o f the B l a c k
La nd,
W ith ro o ts pl a nted in the E a r th a nd the Sea ,
W ith b ra nc hes extended to Am u n’s ha nd.
Ma y the l ea ves o f o u r g rea t tree b e fer til e,
Ma y the f r u its o f o u r tree b e s w eet a nd pu re,
Ma y the w a ters o f l ife f l o w f ro m the Nil e,
And g ive u s o u r c ro p s o w e m a y endu re.
Ju s t a s the s u n ra y s w a r m this o c c a s io n,
Am u n R a s m il es u po n a l l o f his kin,
As the s o n I rec eive c o ro na tio n,
B y divine r ig ht m a y a new reig n b eg in.
Even a s I s is s a w her s o n H o r u s ,
O n the thro ne o f his fa ther O s ir is ,
I b r ing m y b l es s ed m o ther b efo re u s ,
To s ee m y a c c es s io n to the hig hes t.
The ha w k ha s r is en to the thro ne,
Ma y the na m e Ta H a r Ka b e kno w n.

© 2007 Scruffmouth the Scribe 2

 $aharqa & $he &alcon

O wise falcon, if I may be so bold,

O wise Hemen, please guide us with your sight,
I approach in the traditions of old,
I approach with the guidance of your light.
As the perfect god, Taharqa alive,
My kingdom suffers from the drought of death,
Deliver us from thirst so we may revive,
Deliver us from famine with your breath.
For your benevolence, I bring forth wine,
And I bow before your divine presence,
Two vessels, one for each kingdom of mine,
I humbly respect your acquiescence.
Bring forth the waters of the rain,
So our land may be rich again.

© 2007 Scruffmouth the Scribe 3

 $aharqa’s 'ament

O Amun, the wise and almighty God,

O Amun, the great whose praises we sing,
O Amun, who walks with us where we trod,
The two-headed cobra has lost its sting.
O Amun, defeat has followed the flood,
O Amun, we trust your judgment is sound,
Our warriors have fought and shed their blood,
But victory is still yet to be found.
I ask you, O Amun, to please bring forth,
An abundance to make my heart content,
Through you, Amun, I rule the south and the north,
Nubia must rise from the continent.
O Amun, grant us what I ask,
So Horus can complete your task.

 
Deliver me from the pain of defeat,
It is you who gives the orders of life,
To Nubia we have had to retreat,
Our people suffer from terror and strife.
The invasion has come at a great cost,
We have taken our exit from Kadesh,
The Hatti lands to the north have been lost,
So too has the honour from Carchemish.
Naharain and Assur have been taken,
Place these lands under my domination,
The faith of the people has been shaken,
Turmoil has followed the inundation.
The tribute from Khor is no more,
Such are the detriments of war.

© 2007 Scruffmouth the Scribe 4

  
Save me the land which is not mine to rule,
Save me from discontent and bad actions,
Nebuchadrezzar’s intentions are cruel,
You will repulse the Babylon factions.
You have given the orders to defend,
We stand at the ready in the Black land,
O Amun, we know that you will amend,
And deliver us with your divine hand.
Restore the venom to the cobra king,
So we may bite our way back to our land,
O Amun, we await your high blessing,
O Amun, liberate us with your hand.
So our fate has been set in stone.
So the Hawk must take back his throne.

© 2007 Scruffmouth the Scribe 5

 $aharqa & $he )wl

In a very ancient existence there were a people that persisted,

In establishing a beautiful land.
And in this place there was a King,
That hailed from the land of the Nubian,
And he ruled with a mighty Black hand.
His name was Taharqa and knowledge was his river,
That flowed like the powerful Nile.
And in this great nation,
He fertilized the population,
With wisdom to every man, woman, and child.
Now Taharqa had a council that he trusted with his life,
And that was the Royal Priesthood.
He looked at his civilization and was content with his creation,
And he decided that everything was good.

His next order of business was to produce an heir,

To carry on the royal bloodlines,
And though he bedded many women, only one was his Queen,
And it was with her that he planted seeds divine.
While asleep in his quarters, the King had a dream,
That would change the way we all perceive reality.
The King saw a bird with glowing golden eyes,
It was perched on a date tree in the middle of the night.
“What manner of beast is this? Its appearance is quite foul.”
(Little did the King know it was an all-seeing owl.)
“Who might you be?” The owl asked the King,
Taharqa stood up straight and was appalled to even have to answer him.
“I am everything, and everything is me.
I rule over this entire kingdom that you see.”
The owl was not impressed. “Who?” Was all he could say.
The mighty Nubian Pharaoh threw his hands up in dismay.
Taharqa was clearly angered by the bird perched in the tree, he said,
“Only I possess the sacred knowledge of 12 royal priests.”
“Who?” the owl questioned.
Taharqa kicked and cursed,
Finally he decided to tell the owl the secrets of the universe.

© 2007 Scruffmouth the Scribe 6

He told the owl the histories of the peoples of the Earth,
He told the owl the mysteries of gold and what its worth,
He told the owl the reason for the movement of the sun,
He told the owl the cosmic connection between constellations.
He told the owl of knowledge on the dark side of the moon,
He told the owl of music that was played with divine tunes.
He told the owl the powers of the stars and sky above,
He told the owl the philosophies of time, hate, and love.
He told the owl of strategy to be used in war and peace,
All these things he told the owl in the innocence of sleep.

And while the king slept the owl flew all night.
The owl unravelled the spirals of time with his newly acquired sight.
The owl stole our precious metals, the owl hid us from the sun,
The owl sent in its spies to suppress the soul rebellion,
The owl commandeered our music and changed its frequency,
The owl colonized our land and and deceived us of our history,
The owl deployed its soldiers to kill the righteous and the pure,
The owl released disease to which there is to be no cure.
The owl initiated conflict, and witnessed kingdoms fall.
The owl observed wars, death, hate, the owl saw it all.

And when the owl finished flying from the past into our present,
The King finally woke up only to find he was a peasant.
The King only remembered his past life as a dream,
He mumbled, “I was everything and everything was me.
I was everything and everything was me.
So why did I succumb to the owl’s evil trickery?
I was everything and everything was me.
So why did I lose my throne to a bird perched on a tree?
I was everything and everything was me.
My arrogance has le0 me in a place of poverty.
I must have been a fool to let the owl deceive me,
And allow my wise rule to turn into ignorant vanity.
And it was in this state I lost my reality,
My divine earthly kingdom was taken from right before me,
The owl has plucked the truth and transformed it into lies,
And with this stolen knowledge, the owl is now thought of to be wise.

© 2007 Scruffmouth the Scribe 7