After conquering Egypt in 525 BCE, Persian King Cambyses II faces resistance from the Oracle of Amun, who refuses to recognize his rule. Enraged, he dispatches fifty thousand soldiers into Egypt's merciless Western Desert. They never return. Ancient accounts blame a catastrophic sandstorm, but later discoveries suggest something darker: a coordinated ambush, a military cover-up, or perhaps both. As modern explorers unearth clues in the sand, the line between myth and history blurs.
