Once vassals to pharaohs, the Kushite kings of Nubia took control of Egypt for almost a century. Embracing Egyptian rituals, they created a culture that influenced both civilizations.

Egypt was home to the first known scientist, Imhotep, a brilliant Black physician. Famous for designing King Djoser’s Step Pyramid at Saqqara, the Egyptian polymath Imhotep (Greek: Imouthes, c.

Laila Soueif is a mathematician, a university professor, a political activist. But as she slumped in a folding chair outside ...