Egypt: The Kingdom Along the Nile

Egypt The Kingdom Along the Nile

Egypt: Introduction
A much more stable and hierarchical entity than Mesopotamia, as we will see.
After the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt
The empire lasted 2500-3000 years, depending on interpretation
Only one major episode of political fragmentation (2200-2000 BC)

Location and Map of Egypt
Lower Egypt comprises the Nile delta
Upper Egypt comprises the Nile below the delta
The Nile is constant
There is a predictable flood every spring
Desert on either side contributed to its isolation

Ecology of the Nile Valley
The Nile has a regular pattern of rainfall, which floods the banks of the river regularly every spring and summer from the rainy season further south in the Sudan and East Africa
Flooding was more regular and predictable than the Tigris and Euphrates in Mesopotamia
Soil at either side was fertile because of the flooding
Egypt also had precious metals, stone that was useful both for tools and construction

Demographics of the Nile
The population itself was uniform, with the same language and similar, if not the same, culture
Stability was facilitated by its relative isolation, an advantage that Mesopotamia lacked.
Thus, for 3,000 years, the political, religious, and cultural areas was uniform from the south to the delta.

Egyptian Neolithic: Overview
Domesticated Plants
Food plants: wheat and barley
Fiber plants: flax
Domesticated animals: sheep, goats, cattle, pigs
Small villages formed along both banks of the Nile

Egyptian Neolithic: Merimbe
Merimbe, near Nile Delta (4900)
Subterranean oval houses with roofs of sticks and mud
Tools: stone axes, knives, arrowheads
Grains stored in ceramic jars, pits, baskets
Circular clay-lined threshing floor

Egyptian Neolithic: Badari
Clusters of huts or skin tents
These were precursors of later burial customs
Bodies lowered into circular or rectangular pits after faces painted with green coloring
Grave goods included utensils, food, ivory spoons, and vases of ivory or stone
Possibly the root of Egyptian burial customs
This statuette was buried with both men and women
Sexuality was emphasized, but they also suggest rebirth and regeneration in the afterlife

Pre-Dynastic Egypt: Central Places
Nagada (Naqada)
Early evidence of stratification: sumptuous burials
Control of large hinterland by 5500 BP
Hierkonopolis (Nehken)
Center of pottery manufacture, whose design appears throughout Egypt
Center of a necropolis, or “city of the dead,” evidence by tombs
Left: Mace head of Scorpion II at Hierkonopolis

The Principal Gods of Egypt I:
Amon: (aka, Re, Ra and Aten) the god of the sun (depicted as the sun’s rays; upper left)
He is also depicted as a scarab beetle who emerges in the morning (lower left)
Anubis: the god of embalmers and cemeteries (depicted as a jackal)
Aten: the god of the solar disk (depicted by the disk of the sun)
Hapi: the god of the Nile
Hathor: Mother, wife, daughter of Ra

The Principal Gods of Egypt II
Osiris: God of the underworld (upper left; depicted with Isis)
Set or Seth: God of storms and violence; brother of Osiris who murders him
Isis: Wife of Osiris, goddess of fertility
Horus: Son of Osiris and Isis: God of the sky.
Horus (with head of falcon) and Seth (head of dog) crown Ramses III (lower left)

Other Gods of Egypt
Thoth: God of the scribes, Lord of Language and inventor of writing.
Ptat: Creator of humankind; patron of the craftspeople
Ma’at: Goddess of truth and the universal order; wife of Thoth
She wore an ostrich feather
Judges awarded the feather to the winner of a case
Her feather was used on the scales of judgment of the dead
Bes: Helper of women in childbirth; protector against snakes.

Theocracy
Egypt, as in many civilizations, was a theocracy, government by the priests
Monarchs represented the will of the Sun God
In many conceptions, the Pharaoh was a god; gods’ will flowed through him
The Sphinx, who guarded the entrance to Gizeh’s pyramids, had the head of Khafre and the body of a lion
They represented the head of a powerful man and the body of the king of beasts

Cult of the Dead
At death, the pharaoh was prepared for a life of eternity
A ten-week embalming procedure was followed: see pp. 25-26 for details.
Pyramids themselves were constructed only for entombment of the pharaoh; they were not used for ritual or any other purpose.
See pp. 28-29 for details of a typical pyramid and its structure.

Egyptians: Conceptions of Death and the Soul
Death was the doorway to a new life
The body had to be preserved
Ka : the dead person’s soul that it housed, enabling the body to enjoy life in the afterlife as in the earthly life
Upraised arms above head symbolized the ka (upper left)
A surrogate could act as substitute for body
Second aspect: the akh , or spiritual transformation of the dead
Third aspect: the ba , which entered and exited the body
The ba was represented by a human-headed bird (lower left)

Mummification of the Body
At death, the pharaoh was prepared for a life of eternity
A ten-week embalming procedure was followed: see pp. 88 for details.
Here, the jackal-headed Anubis prepares the mummy for entombment
He was the god of embalmers
He was also the guide and the judge of the dead

Pyramids
Pyramids themselves were constructed only for entombment of the pharaoh;
They were not used for ritual or any other purpose.
See pp. 90-93 for details of a typical pyramid and its structure.
This diagram shows the internal structure of the pyramid of Khufu (Cheops)
The largest pyramid at Giza

Book of the Dead
The Tibetan Book of the Dead describes the journey of the soul between one life and the next; judgment based on karma
The Egyptian Book of the Dead prepares the soul for judgment.
Here, Horus balances the heart against the feather of Ma’at
If the heart outweighs the feather, the animal to the right will devour the judged

Egypt: Upper and Lower
Before 3100 BC, the regions were divided into two parts of the Nile
Lower Egypt : the part from the Nile Delta to Memphis; it was lower in the sense that it was the terminus of the Nile
Upper Egypt : All points along the river south of Memphis to Nubia, a separate kingdom

Unification of Egypt
After the conquest attributed to Menes, or Narmer (left)
The region was united into one empire
Narmer was the first pharaoh of a family dynasty of 33 generations
Symbolism: a boxy Red Crown (Lower Egypt) with a curlicue;
And a White Crown (Upper Egypt)
After Narmer’s conquest, he wore a Double Crown to symbolize the unification of the two Egypts (lower left)

The Symbolism of the Union—And Defeat of Upper Egypt
To the right, Narmer (wearing white crown) subdues a captive
Hieroglyph at top writes out Narmer’s name
God Horus holds the captive by a feather
Papyrus blossoms symbolize Lower Egypt
To the left, two long-necked lions are entwined, suggesting union), with lion tamers on either side.
There are the decapitated warriors in defeat
At the bottom is a bull symbolizing royal power
For other symbols on this palette, see p. 25

History of Dynastic Egypt: Early Phases
Divided into 33 dynasties of each pharaoh including Narmer/Menes
Archaic Period (3100 BC): Consolidation of state
Old Kingdom (2920-2134):
Despotic pharaohs build pyramids and foster conspicuous funerary monuments
The Sphinx with pyramid in background (upper left)
Institutions, economic arrangements, and artistic traditions established
Subject brings offering to gods (lower left)

Sculptures of the Pharaohs: Seated Figures
Khafre, son of Khufu
Note formal regal posture
Note fusion of body to throne
Note clenched fist of right hand, downward placement of open left hand
Horus, son of Osiris and Isis, is perched in back of the figure

Sculptures of the Pharoahs: Stance
This statue of Memkaure and wife Khamerernebty shows the formalism of Egyptian sculputure
Note clenched fists, rigid stance, left foot forward, and beard and headdress of the Pharaoh
Note supportive stance of wife; hand around waist and on arm

History of Egypt: First Intermediate Period to Middle Kingdom
First Intermediate Period (2134-2040): political disunity
Middle Kingdom (2040-1650 BC)
Thebes achieves dominance
Priesthood of Amun (seen here with Mut, his consort, and son Khons

History of Egypt: Later Phases
Second Intermediate Period (1640-1530 BC ): Hyskos invasion and occupation of Nile Delta
New Kingdom (1530-1070 BC):
Great Imperial Period
Pharaohs buried in Valley of Kings
Ramses II, Tutankhamun, Seti I
Akhenaten, heretic ruler

History of Egypt: Terminal Periods
Late Period (1072-332 BC):
Gradual decline in pharaonic authority
Persians rule (525-404 BC and 343-332 BC)
Ptolemaic Period (332-30 BC):
Alexander the Great Conquers Egypt
Ptolemy dynasties bring Greek culture to Egypt
Roman Occupation (30 BC): Egypt becomes imperial province of Rome

Archaic Kingdom (3000-2575 BC)
First known pharaoh: Horus Aha
Consolidation in which pharaohs assumed role of divine kings
Centralized authority over labor, food storage, and taxation
Sponsored spectacular feasts/rituals
Translated into large-scale, well-designed architecture of which the pyramids were examples
Introduction of hieroglyphic writing
One function: To propagate the pharaonic religion at the expense of local cults
Scribes held enormous power, as the few who could read and write

Hieroglyphic Writing
Definition: Writing system in which
Pictorial symbols are used to
Convey particular sound, object, and/or idea
Original known use: accounting
Gunter Dreyer found the oldest evidence of Egyptian writing
200 small bone and ivory tags attached to containers holding linen and oil
Attributed to a leader called Scorpion I
Date: 5200 BP
Location: Abydos, 250 miles below Cairo

Hieroglyphic Writing
Note that hieroglyphs would stand for a sound
Still relied on pictographic writing

Complexity of Hieroglyphic Writing
There is some indication that hieroglyphs were more important for recording rule and kinship
than the were for economic transactions
Over time, hieroglyphic writing became more and more complex
Writing was reserved for the scribes, ranked third below the pharaoh and priests

Old Kingdom (2575-2134)
Further consolidation of empire
Construction of Pyramids
Zoser (Djoser): stepped pyramid at Saqqara
Khufu (Cheops) of Giza: smooth-sided pyramid, largest in the world
Lesser pyramids
Khafre (Chephren)
Menkaure (Mycerinus)
Sphinx (likeness of Khafre)
Complex covered 25 miles on the western side of the Nile

Pyramids: Analysis
Pharaonic institution probably the most successful of cults
Pharaohs were divine, capable of controlling Nile flood pattern of Nile, rise of sun, and other natural forces
Source of law (no codified law) and top of a complex bureaucracy
At death, said to dwell in the tomb while his double moved on to the other world
Pyramids was the divine house of the ruler
Never meant for any ritual purpose

Pyramids: Construction
Function in all locations: to inspire awe among population
Constructed during flood season
Reinforced power by feeding the builders
Egyptian pyramids were build in one continuous process of solid stone blocks
Constructed, as in Mesoamerica, in a four-sided design
Contained passageways and tombs, including a fake chamber
Like all pyramids, involves
Massive inputs of manpower
Sophisticated planning and organization

Other Pyramids
Most New World pyramids were constructed in stages (as were Near Eastern ziggurats)
Teotihuacan: Rubble covered with stone facades
Base was as wide as Khufu’s pyramid
Half as high
Moche: Adobe bricks, roughly rectangular
Cahokia: Earthen mounds
Monk’s Mound is largest in North America
After Cholula and Pyramid of the Sun

First Intermediate Period (2134-2040)
The Old Kingdom underwent decline
Long drought—probably damaged pharaonic divinity claims
High cost of pyramid construction in labor and resources
Dominance by warring regional kingdoms
Provincial powers increased
Smaller tombs constructed in various localities.

Middle Kingdom (2040-1640 BC)
Thebes of Upper Egypt rises
Pharaohs
Made fewer claims to divinity
More approachable than past pharaohs
Less despotic
Increased efficiency
Expanded irrigation systems
Stockpiled granaries
Other Changes
Expanded overseas trade
Secured Egypt’s borders
Effectiveness of leadership still relied on personal attributes

Second Intermediate Period (1640-1530 BC)
Succession disputes erupted
Thousands of Asians (Hyksos) invaded Lower Egypt
Divided again into Upper and Lower Egypt
Lower Egypt under traditional pharaohs
Upper Egypt under Hyksos
Hyksos introduced new technology
Bronze
Horse-drawn chariots
New weapons

New Kingdom (1530-1075 BC)
Ahmose the Liberator created militaristic state
Imperial power lay between the Asians to the north and Africans to the south
Thebes again capital
Amun again worshipped as sun god
Temple built at Karnak, west bank of Nile (left)
Valley of Kings arose at that site

Pharaohs After Ahmose
New Kingdom after Ahmose
Akhenaten: the “heretic” who worshipped the sun disk Aten’
Aten was the sole god: precedent of monotheism
Tutankhamun: “boy king” who lasted 10 years—tomb of “King Tut”; advisors restored old order
Ramses II engaged in military expansion; lost in Syria to Hittites

Late Period (1070 BC-30 BC)
A period of political weakness
Attacks from Nubians to south (controlled Egypt during 8 th Century BC
Invasions by Assyrians and Persians
Alexander the Great takes over Egypt in 332 BC—rule by Ptolemy I and his successors
Roman conquest in 30 BC

Egypt and Mesopotamia: Subsistence Base
Subsistence base
Both based on irrigation
Both relied on staples such as wheat and barley
Egypt had steadier water supply than Mesopotamia
Tigris and Euphrates were subjected to drought

Egypt and Mesopotamia: Government and Law
Mesopotamia:
Priest kings represented the gods; they were not divine beings themselves
Codified Law, solidified by Hammurabi’s time
Egypt
Divine Pharaohs
Law derived from Pharaohs
Precedent was based on their personal decision

Egypt and Mesopotamia: Writing
Mesopotamia: Ideographic cuneiform
These consisted of wedges
The symbols were not phonetic
Egypt: Pictographic hieroglyphics
Some of the pictographs represented consonants and vowels of spoken language

Architectural Megastructures
Near East: Multifunctional ziggurats
Ritual but also administrative centers
Egypt: Funerary pyramids
Sole purpose: to house the pharaoh

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Egypt: The Kingdom Along the Nile

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