The Real Scorpion King | King Scorpion II

This is Oli from History Profiles and in this video we will be going to a mythical age where all that we know are legends and only fragments of history remain. The year is 3000 BC and Egypt was being ruled by King Scorpion or as some of you may know him, the Scorpion King. This was an age where kingdoms would rise and fall like the sun some would prosper and even flourish. The land of Egypt in this time was chaotic, nomadic tribes, bandits and worse would roam the desert taking anything they could. It was a savage time and savage times breed savage men but human nature does not change and every man craved more food, more land, more wealth and more status. Egypt at the time was divided into two kingdoms and those two kingdoms were full of killers clashing in a bitter conflict over lands and riches. King Scorpion would lay the foundation for arguably one of the greatest kingdoms to ever be and would become one of the founding pharaohs of ancient Egypt. This is what we know about him. The proof of the existence of King Scorpion is in his depiction on a scorpion mace head. The king is shown wearing a white crown and holding a hoe which is interpreted as a ritual by the king ceremonially cutting the fields. There are attendants in front of him that look like they are sowing seeds and servants behind him holding fans. In the image there are also dancers, a priest and some ancient deities named Set, Nemti and Min. However the lower section of the mace head has been lost, historians think that on the missing section there is a second depiction of the king wearing the red crown of lower Egypt. If this is the case then the mace head would show King Scorpion as a ruler of all of Egypt. Now in the uppermost scene of the artifact it shows the gods Set, Min and Nemti and there are also hanged lapwing birds and hanged hunting bows. The hanging lapwings are said to represent the common man and the bows represent archers, perhaps hostile nomadic tribes. Their hanging is interpreted as proof that King Scorpion began attacking lower Egypt and Egyptian enemies in different lands. Eventually King Scorpion would overwhelm lower Egypt and unite the land. Another entrancing artifact is a large rock near the Nassar Reservoir in Sudan that depicts a big scorpion figure standing over his killed enemies. Their death is shown by them standing upside down and being pierced by a volley of arrows. There are two further figures that are still holding onto their bows, shooting arrows and causing more devastation. The enemy of King Scorpion are thought to have been the Nubians since the ostrich feather and bow were attributes for the Egyptians to mark the Nubians. The scorpion faces a human figure with an artificial beard and knife. The human figure is holding a long cord to which the Nubians are tied. This scene represents King Scorpion celebrating his victory against the Nubians. King Scorpion may have been a warrior-king as the artifacts associated with him convey him looking over his defeated enemies. In this mythical age, many facts are still uncertain. How did King Scorpion become a king in the first place? Was he born into it or did he gain the throne through the rite of conquest? He did defeat the forces of southern Egypt in battle and the animal which is associated to him is the scorpion. This animal commonly stood for danger and in military contexts, stood for storm or attack. So it is unclear why he is associated with this animal but it may be because he was a dangerous military leader who caused the upmost devastation to his enemies. If this is the case, this behaviour would lead him, according to some historians, to unite all of Egypt, birthing an enormous kingdom, a legacy and one of the richest lands on earth at the time. Some other artifacts have also been identified relating to King Scorpion. Numerous small ivory tags showing the image of a scorpion were found in Tarkhan in Egypt. One of these ivory tags shows the scorpion and reads, the scorpion is great and another shows the scorpion holding a long stick smiting the enemy. These ivory tags once again convey the greatness of King Scorpion and depict his military might. The information regarding this legendary figure is scarce. In the film The Scorpion King, he is represented as a warrior mercenary who then became king through many trials, tribulations and battles. Although we don't know the ins and outs of the life of the real Scorpion King, based on the assumptions of historians who have studied Egyptology and the artifacts relating to the Scorpion King, we can assume that if they are correct, that he was very much a warrior king. His life of mystery is what makes him ever more interesting. How did he rule? Was he just? And what does his name, the Scorpion King, mean? What meaning does the scorpion have? We do not know how the Scorpion King met his end. The burial place of King Scorpion is unknown. However, there are two tombs that could be his resting place. The first candidate lies at Amal-Kab, which is an acropolis for the early dynastic period of kings. This tomb is a chamber divided into four rooms by a simple cross-shaped mud wall. Many ivory tags with scorpion figures were found in that location. The second is located at Herakleopolis and many ivory tags with scorpion figures were found there as well. We do not know for certain, however, if one of these places was the final resting place of the Scorpion King, and we perhaps will never know. His tomb may still be buried under the golden sands of the desert and lost in time. So, do you think that King Scorpion, or the Scorpion King as you know him, was a warrior king, just as he is depicted in the films? Do you believe that he was one of the great pharaohs that united Egypt and was a conqueror as well as a king? And what do you think of his association with the scorpion for which he is famed? Could this represent his character in any way? Let me know in the comment sections down below and I'll see you all next week for another history profile.