WH 1111 Ancient egypt

1. Ancient Egypt
8,000-300B.C.

2. ▪ -Egypt is a country in North Africa,
on the Mediterranean Sea, and is
among the oldest civilizations on
earth.
▪ In the early Old Kingdom, Egypt was
simply known as 'Kemet' which means
'Black Land' so named for the rich,
dark soil along the Nile River where
the first settlements began.
▪ For almost 30 centuries—from its
unification around 3100 B.C. to its
conquest by Alexander the Great in
332 B.C.—ancient Egypt was the
preeminent civilization in the
Mediterranean world.

3. Neolithic Period
▪ -Evidence of overgrazing of cattle, on the land which is now
the Sahara Desert, has been dated to about 8,000 BCE.
▪ -This evidence, along with artifacts discovered, points to a
thriving agricultural civilization in the region at that time.
▪ -As the land was mostly arid even then, hunter-gathering
nomads sought the cool of the water source of the Nile River
Valley and began to settle there sometime prior to 5500 BCE.
▪ -- Organized farming began in the region c. 5000 BCE and
communities known as the Badari Culture began to flourish
alongside the river.

4. ▪ -The written history of the land
begins at some point between
5000 and 3200 BCE when
Hieroglyphic Script is
developed by the Naqada
Culture.
▪ -By 3500 BCE mummification of
the dead was in practice at the
city of Hierakonpolis.
▪ -The city of Xois is recorded as
being already ancient by 3100-
2181 BCE as inscribed on the
famous Palermo Stone.

5. -Ancient Egyptian history can be divided into eight distinct periods:
1. ARCHAIC (EARLY DYNASTIC) PERIOD (C. 3100-2686 B.C.)
2. OLD KINGDOM: AGE OF THE PYRAMID BUILDERS (C.
2686-2181 B.C.)
3. FIRST INTERMEDIATE PERIOD (C. 2181-2055 B.C.)
4. MIDDLE KINGDOM: 12TH DYNASTY (C. 2055-1786 B.C.)
5. SECOND INTERMEDIATE PERIOD (C. 1786-1567 B.C.)
6. NEW KINGDOM (C. 1567-1085 B.C.)
7. THIRD INTERMEDIATE PERIOD (C. 1085-664 B.C.)
8. FROM THE LATE PERIOD TO ALEXANDER’S CONQUEST
(C.664-332 B.C.)

6. 1. ARCHAIC (EARLY DYNASTIC) PERIOD (C. 3100-2686 B.C.)
▪ -The Early Dynastic Period (c. 3150-c. 2686 BCE) saw the unification
of the north and south kingdoms of Egypt under the Pharaoh Manes
(also known as Meni or Menes) of the south who conquered the north
in 3118 BCE.
▪ - Trade increased significantly under the rulers of the Early Dynastic
Period and elaborate mastaba tombs, precursors to the later
pyramids, developed in ritual burial practices which included more
elaborate mummification techniques.
▪ -In the Archaic Period, as in all other periods, most ancient Egyptians
were farmers living in small villages, and agriculture (largely wheat
and barley) formed the economic base of the Egyptian state.

8. 2. OLD KINGDOM: AGE OF THE PYRAMID
BUILDERS (C. 2686-2181 B.C.)
▪ -During the period known as the Old Kingdom (c. 2686-c. 2181 BCE),
architecture developed at an increased rate and some of the most famous
monuments in Egypt, such as the pyramids and the Great Sphinx at Giza, were
constructed.
▪ -Around 2630 B.C., the third dynasty’s King Djoser asked Imhotep, an architect,
priest and healer, to design a funerary monument for him; the result was the
world’s first major stone building, the Step-Pyramid at Saqqara, near Memphis.
▪ -Pyramid-building reached its zenith with the construction of the Great
Pyramid at Giza, on the outskirts of Cairo.
▪ -The grandeur of the pyramids on the Giza plateau, as they originally would
have appeared, sheathed in gleaming white limestone, is a testament to the
power and wealth of the rulers during this period.

10. ▪ -During the third and fourth dynasties,
Egypt enjoyed a golden age of peace
and prosperity.
▪ -The pharaohs held absolute power and
provided a stable central government;
the kingdom faced no serious threats
from abroad; and successful military
campaigns in foreign countries like
Nubia and Libya added to its
considerable economic prosperity.
▪ -Over the course of the fifth and sixth
dynasties, the king’s wealth was steadily
depleted, partially due to the huge
expense of pyramid-building.

11. 3. FIRST INTERMEDIATE PERIOD (C. 2181-2055 B.C.)
▪ -Independent states with their own
rulers developed throughout Egypt
until two great centers emerged:
1. Hierakonpolis in Lower Egypt
2. Thebes in Upper Egypt.

13. 4. MIDDLE KINGDOM: 12TH DYNASTY (C. 2055-1786 B.C.)
▪ -The Middle Kingdom is considered
Egypt’s `Classical Age’ when art and
culture reached great heights and
Thebes became the most important
and wealthiest city in the country.
▪ -Middle-Kingdom Egypt pursued an
aggressive foreign policy, colonizing
Nubia (with its rich supply of gold,
ebony, ivory and other resources) and
repelling the Bedouins who had
infiltrated Egypt during the First
Intermediate Period.

15. 5. SECOND INTERMEDIATE PERIOD (C. 1786-1567 B.C.)
▪ -Luxurious spending and building projects, combined with
uncontrolled flooding of the Nile River which caused famine,
weakened the government at Thebes to the point where it had no
power to halt the increasing influence of the Hyksos people in the Nile
Delta.
▪ -The Hyksos are a mysterious people, most likely from the area of
Syria/Palestine, who first appeared in Egypt c. 1800 and settled in the
town of Avaris.
▪ -The Hyksos grew in power until they were able to take control of the
whole of Lower Egypt by c. 1720 BCE, rendering the Theban Dynasty of
Upper Egypt a vassal state and the pharaoh no more than a figure head.

16. ▪ -While the Hyksos (whose name
simply means `foreign rulers’)
were hated by the Egyptians,
they introduced a great many
improvements to the culture
such as the composite bow, the
horse, and the chariot along with
crop rotation and developments
in bronze and ceramic works.
▪ -The Egyptians mounted a
number of campaigns to drive
the Hyksos out and subdue the
Nubians but all failed until
Ahmose I, who had been a
soldier in the Theban army,
finally succeeded c. 1555/50
BCE.

17. 6. NEW KINGDOM (C. 1567-1085 B.C.)
▪ - Tuthmosis I reign was followed by Queen
Hatshepsut (1479-1458 BCE) who greatly
expanded trade with other nations, most
notably the Land of Punt. Her 22-year reign
was one of peace and prosperity for Egypt.
▪ -Advances in medicine led to improvements
in health. Bathing had long been an important
part of the daily Egyptian’s regimen as it was
encouraged by their religion and modeled by
their clergy. At this time, however, more
elaborate baths were produced, presumably
more for leisure than simply hygiene.

18. ▪ -In 1353 BCE the pharaoh
Amenhotep IV succeeded to the
throne and, shortly after,
changed his name to Akhenaten
(`living spirit of Aten’) to reflect
his belief in a single god, Aten.
▪ -Akhenaten and his queen,
Nefertiti, renounced the
traditional religious beliefs and
customs of Egypt and instituted
a new religion based upon the
recognition of one god.

19. ▪ -The greatest ruler of the New Kingdom, however,
was Ramesses II (also known as Ramesses the
Great, 1279-1213 BCE) who commenced the most
elaborate building projects of any Egyptian ruler
and who reigned so efficiently that he had the
means to do so.
▪ -Although the famous Battle of Kadesh of 1274
(between Ramesses II of Egypt and Muwatalli II of
the Hitties) is today regarded as a draw, Ramesses
considered it a great Egyptian victory and
celebrated himself as a champion of the people, and
finally as a god, in his many public works.
▪ -Under the reign of Ramesses II the first peace
treaty in the world (The Treaty of Kadesh) was
signed in 1258 BCE and Egypt enjoyed almost
unprecedented affluence.

20. ▪ -He became known to later generations
as `The Great Ancestor’ and reigned for
so long that all of his subjects had been
born knowing only Ramesses II as their
ruler. Upon his death, many feared that
the end of the world had come as they
had known no other pharaoh and no
other kind of Egypt.
▪ -The kings who followed Ramses III
were less successful: Egypt lost its
provinces in Palestine and Syria for
good and suffered from foreign
invasions (notably by the Libyans),
while its wealth was being steadily but
inevitably depleted.

21. FROM THE LATE PERIOD TO ALEXANDER’S CONQUEST (C.664-332 B.C.)
▪ -In 525 B.C., Cambyses, king of Persia, defeated Psammetichus III, the last Saite
king, at the Battle of Pelusium, and Egypt became part of the Persian Empire.
▪ -Persian rulers such as Darius (522-485 B.C.) ruled the country largely under the
same terms as native Egyptian kings: Darius supported Egypt’s religious cults and
undertook the building and restoration of its temples.
▪ -The tyrannical rule of Xerxes (486-465 B.C.) sparked increased uprisings under him
and his successors. One of these rebellions triumphed in 404 B.C., beginning one last
period of Egyptian independence under native rulers (dynasties 28-30).
▪ -in 332 B.C., Alexander the Great of Macedonia defeated the armies of the Persian
Empire and conquered Egypt.
▪ -The last ruler of Ptolemaic Egypt–the legendary Cleopatra VII–surrendered Egypt
to the armies of Octavian (later Augustus) in 31 B.C. Six centuries of Roman rule
followed, during which Christianity became the official religion of Rome and its
provinces (including Egypt).

22. Ancient Egyptian Religion
▪ -During its more than 3,000 years of development, Egyptian religion
underwent significant changes of emphasis and practice, but in all
periods religion had a clear consistency in character and style.
▪ -It is inappropriate to define religion narrowly, as consisting only in the
cult of the gods and in human piety.
▪ - Religious behavior encompassed contact with the dead, practices such
as divination and oracles, and magic, which mostly exploited divine
instruments and associations.
▪ -There were two essential foci of public religion:
1. the king
2. and the gods.

23. ▪ -Egyptian religion was polytheistic. The
gods who inhabited the bounded and
ultimately perishable cosmos varied in
nature and capacity.
▪ - The word netjer (“god”) described a
much wider range of beings than the
deities of monotheistic religions,
including what might be termed
demons.
▪ -As is almost necessary in polytheism,
gods were neither all-powerful nor all-
knowing.

24. ▪ -Most gods were generally benevolent, but their
favor could not be counted on, and they had to be
propitiated and encouraged to inhabit their cult
images so that they could receive the cult and further
the reciprocity of divine and human.
▪ -The god Seth embodied the disordered aspects of
the ordered world, and in the 1st millennium bce he
came to be seen as an enemy who had to be
eliminated (but would remain present).
▪ -The most important deities were the sun god, who
had several names and aspects and was associated
with many supernatural beings in a solar cycle
modeled on the alternation of night and day, and
Osiris, the god of the dead and ruler of the
underworld.

26. ▪ -The Egyptians conceived of the cosmos as including the gods and the present
world—whose center was, of course, Egypt—and as being surrounded by the realm
of disorder, from which order had arisen and to which it would finally revert.
▪ -The task of the king as the protagonist of human society was to retain the
benevolence of the gods in maintaining order against disorder.
▪ -Despite this pessimism, the official presentation of the cosmos on the monuments
was positive and optimistic, showing the king and the gods in perpetual reciprocity
and harmony.
▪ -Death and the next world dominate both the archaeological record and popular
modern conceptions of Egyptian religion.

27. King, cosmos, and society:
▪ -The king was the center of human society,
the guarantor of order for the gods, the recipient
of god-given benefits including life itself, and
the benevolent ruler of the world for humanity.
▪ -He was ultimately responsible for the cults of
the dead, both for his predecessors in office and
for the dead in general.
▪ -His dominance in religion corresponded to
his central political role: from late predynastic
times (c. 3100 bce), state organization was based
on kingship and on the service of officials for
the king.

28. ▪ -In his intermediate position between
humanity and the gods, the king could receive
the most extravagant divine adulation and
was in some ways more prominent than any
single god.
▪ -In death he aspired to full divinity but
could not escape the human context.
▪ -The gods, the king, humanity, and the
dead existed together in the cosmos, which
the creator god had brought into being from
the preexistent chaos.
▪ -The ordered cosmos was surrounded by
and shot through with disorder, which had to
be kept at bay.

29. ▪ -Disorder menaced most strongly at
such times of transition as the passage
from one year to the next or the death of
a king. Thus, the king’s role in
maintaining order was cosmic and not
merely social. His exaction of service
from people was necessary to the
cosmos.
▪ -The concept of maat (“order”) was
fundamental in Egyptian thought. The
king’s role was to set maat in place of
isfet (“disorder”).
▪ - Maat was crucial in human life and
embraced notions of reciprocity, justice,
truth, and moderation.

30. ▪ -Maat extended into the world of the dead: in the weighing
of the heart after death, shown on papyri deposited in
burials, the person’s heart occupies one side of the scales and
a representation of maat the other.
▪ -The meaning of this image is deepened in the
accompanying text, which asserts that the deceased behaved
correctly on earth and did not overstep the boundaries of
order, declaring that he or she did not “know that which is
not”—that is, things that were outside the created and
ordered world.