The Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt (notated Dynasty XXV,alternatively 25th Dynasty or Dynasty 25), also known as the Nubian Dynasty or the Kushite Empire, was the last dynasty of the Third Intermediate Period of Egypt that occurred after the Nubian invasion.

The 25th dynasty was a line of pharaohs who originated in the Kingdom of Kush, located in present-day northern Sudan and Upper Egypt. Most of this dynasty's kings saw Napata as their spiritual homeland. They reigned in part or all of Ancient Egypt from 744–656 BC.

The dynasty began with Kashta's invasion of Upper Egypt and culminated in several years of both successful and unsuccessful wars with the Mesopotamia-based Neo-Assyrian Empire. The 25th Dynasty's reunification of Lower Egypt, Upper Egypt, and Kush created the largest Egyptian empire since the New Kingdom. They assimilated into society by reaffirming Ancient Egyptian religious traditions, temples, and artistic forms, while introducing some unique aspects of Kushite culture. It was during the 25th dynasty that the Nile valley saw the first widespread construction of pyramids (many in what is now Sudan) since the Middle Kingdom.

The twenty-fifth dynasty originated in Kush, which is presently in Northern Sudan. The city-state of Napata was the spiritual capital and it was from there that Piye (spelled Piankhi or Piankhy in older works) invaded and took control of Egypt. Piye personally led the attack on Egypt and recorded his victory in a lengthy hieroglyphic filled stele called the "Stele of Victory". Piye revived one of the greatest features of the Old and Middle Kingdoms, pyramid construction. An energetic builder, he constructed the oldest known pyramid at the royal burial site of El-Kurru and expanded the Temple of Amun at Jebel Barkal.

Piye made various unsuccessful attempts to extend Egyptian influence in the Near East, then controlled from Mesopotamia by the Semitic Assyrian Empire. In 720 BC he sent an army in support of a rebellion against Assyria in Philistia and Gaza, however Piye was defeated by Sargon II, and the rebellion failed.

Shebitku was the second king of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt who ruled from 714 BC-705 BC. Shebitku conquered the entire Nile Valley, including Upper and Lower Egypt, around 712 BC.

Neferkare Shabaka (or Shabako) was the third Kushite pharaoh of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt, who reigned from 705–690 BC. Shabaka restored the great Egyptian monuments and returned Egypt to a theocratic monarchy by becoming the first priest of Amon. In addition, Shabaka is known for creating a well-preserved example of Memphite theology by inscribing an old religious papyrus into the Shabaka Stone. Shabaka supported an uprising against the Assyrians in the Israelite city of Ashdod, however he and his allies were defeated by Sargon II.

Taharqa was a Nubian king that ruled over Egypt after the Kushite invasion. He ruled as Pharaoh from Memphis, but constructed great works throughout the Nile Valley, including works at Jebel Barkal, Kawa, and Karnak. At Karnak, the Sacred Lake structures, the kiosk in the first court, and the colonnades at the temple entrance are all owed to Taharqa and Mentuemhet. Taharqa built the largest pyramid in the Nubian region at Nuri (near El-Kurru).

King Esarhaddon, tired of attempts by Egypt to meddle in the Assyrian Empire, began an invasion of Egypt in 671 BC. Taharqa was defeated, and Egypt conquered by Esarhaddon. Taharqa fled to his Nubian homeland. Esarhaddon describes "installing local kings (i.e. rulers and governors) Nubians/Kushites I deported from Egypt, leaving not one left to do homage to me". The Assyrian conquest ended the Nubian invasion that was in the 25th dynasty in Egypt.

His successor, Tantamani, also made a failed attempt to regain Egypt from the Assyrian Empire. He invaded Egypt and defeated Necho, a native Egyptian prince and vassal ruler of Ashurbanipal, taking Thebes in the process. The Assyrians, based in the north, then sent a large army southwards. Tantamani was routed and fled back to Nubia, and the Assyrian army sacked Thebes to such an extent that it never truly recovered. A native Egyptian ruler, Psamtik I, was placed on the throne, as a vassal of Ashurbanipal of Assyria; he was the first ruler of the Twenty-Sixth Dynasty. In 656 BC, Psamtik I peacefully took control of rebellious Thebes and effectively unified all of Egypt, though it remained subject to Assyria until the Assyrian Empire began to tear itself apart with a brutal series of internal civil wars in the 620s BC. Tantamani and the Nubians were never again to pose a threat to either Assyria or Egypt. However, upon his death, Tantamani was buried with full honours in the royal cemetery of El-Kurru, upstream from the Kushite capital of Napata.

The Twenty-fifth Dynasty ruled for a little more than one hundred years. The successors of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty settled back in their Nubian homeland, where they established a kingdom at Napata (656–590 BC), then, later, at Meroë (590 BC – 4th century AD).

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty-fifthDynastyof_Egypt