A 2002 Channel 4 History Documentary narrated by Stephen Nashbrook.
Cambyses II (Old Persian: Kambūjiya) was the second King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire from 530 to 522 BC. He was the oldest son and successor of Cyrus the Great (r. 550 – 530 BC) and his mother was Cassandane.
According to the Greek historian Herodotus, Cambyses II, King of Persia, sent his army to destroy the Oracle of Amun at Siwa Oasis after the priests there refused to legitimize his claim to Egypt. The army of 50,000 men entered Egypt’s western desert near Luxor but halfway through, a massive sandstorm sprang up and reportedly buried them all.
"A wind arose from the south, strong and deadly, bringing with it vast columns of whirling sand, which entirely covered up the troops and caused them wholly to disappear," wrote Herodotus.
Yet, in the centuries since, no traces of their existence - or their brutal deaths - have been uncovered.
It was as though they simply vanished into thin air. Did this event actually took place, or is it merely an example of a myth made more grandiose over time?
For many years, countless archeologists, geologists and historians have attempted to uncover the mystery of the missing army. Most notably, desert explorer Laszlo Almasy - whose daring efforts formed the basis of the lead character in the Oscar winning film The English Patient - claimed to have discovered evidence of the army in the 1930s. Alas, the exact location of his supposed discoveries died with him.
Then in 1996, an explorer happened upon a series of bone fragments and ancient arrowheads in the desert by accident. He was later banned from returning to the site by Egyptian authorities, but a new team of explorers soon decided to pick up where he left off. The filmmakers follow this team as they make their journey through the barren wasteland in search of the most profound archeological find of all time.
Along the way, the team begins to question the probability that the Cambyses army could successfully make such a journey all those years ago. They estimate it would have taken over 3,000 tons of food, water and supplies to keep them nourished during their travels. Additional skepticisms focus on the route the army is reported to have taken given their unfamiliarity with the environment and lack of sophisticated maps.
Beyond the obvious suspense generated by what these modern-day explorers might at last uncover, The Lost Army of King Cambyses offers rich perspectives on ancient Egyptian history, and a tactile sense of what life in a desert oasis truly entails.
𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐑: 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐨𝐬, 𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐬, 𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐥 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦.
𝐂𝐨𝐩𝐲𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝟏𝟎𝟕 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐩𝐲𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐀𝐜𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝟏𝟗𝟕𝟔, 𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 “𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐮𝐬𝐞” 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐦, 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩, 𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡. 𝐅𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐲𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐛𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠.
