Piankhi -- Egypt

Piankhi the Nubian, was a Kushite king and founder of the Twenty fifth dynasty of Egypt who ruled Egypt from around 746 to 653 BC. He ruled from the city of Napata, located deep in Nubia.  

His predecessor as king of Kush, Kashta, almost certainly exercised a strong degree of influence over Thebes prior to Piankhi's accession because Kashta managed to have his daughter, Amenirdis I, adopted as the Heiress to the serving God's Wife of Amun, Shepenupet I, before the end of his reign.

The Twenty-Fifth Dynasty is of special importance, since it marked the end of an all out effort by Blacks to reclaim Egypt. As ruler of Nubia and Upper Egypt, Piankhi extended Nubia's power beyond Thebes into Lower Egypt.

In reaction to this, Tefnakht of Sais formed a coalition between the local kings of the Delta Region and enticed Piankhi's nominal ally king Nimlot of Hermopolis to defect to his side.  Tefnakht then sent his coalition army south and besieged Herakleopolis where its king Peftjaubast and the local Nubian commanders appealed to Piankhi for help.  Piankhi assembled an army that invaded Middle and Lower Egypt, with time to visit Thebes for the great Opet Festival.  Piankhi then marched north and achieved complete victory at Herakleopolis, conquering the cities of Hermopolis and Memphis among others, and received the submission of the kings of the Nile Delta including Iuput II of Leontopolis, Osorkon IV of Tanis and his former ally Nimlot. Hermopolis also fell to the Nubian king after a siege lasting five months.  Satisfied with his triumph, Piankhi proceeded to sail south to Thebes and returned to his homeland in Nubia

While precise length of Piankhi's reign is still unknown, the traditional view is that Piankhi lived to 30 and celebrated his Jubilee that year, Piankhi was buried east of his Pyramid.  The Sudanese consider Piankhi and Taharqa their historical figures and regarded more than the other pharaohs from the Twenty fifth dynasty of Egypt.