ancient egypt

2 main geopolitical areas

• Lower Egypt

  • The Nile river delta

• Upper Egypt

  • Area that is South of the delta

• Images depicting combined crowns show unification

lower egypt (LE)

• Pre dynastic period

  • Neolithic, chalcolithic

  • 5000 to 3100 BCE

• By 4000 BC social differences are evident

  • Chiefs were buried with a staff that was pointed on one end and flat on the other

  • Most people were buried in simple pits within their settlements

• 3500 BCE

  • Larger towns have their own gods and rulers

  • ex. Buto

    • Modern day Cairo

• Maadians

  • Trade with upper Egypt to some extent, the Levant, Mesopotamia

  • Their pottery was undecorated

  • Used donkey caravans to trade with the near eastern area

upper egypt (UE)

• Pre dynastic period

  • Neolithic, chalcolithic

  • 5000 to 3600 BCE

• The first farming society is the badarian culture in badari

• Burials

  • Facing the West

  • Included pots, beads, pallets

• Craft specialists

  • Fine black topped redware

  • Faience

• Earliest evidence of intentional modification around 4300 BCE

  • Through finding resin on linens

egyptian faience

• Material

  • Crushed quartz or sand crystals mixed with sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, copper oxides that produce the blue-green turquoise colour

• The paste was shaped into molds and high fired on kiln

• The calcium silicates produced a glassy surface

• Objects were sometimes dipped into them to produce the glassy surface

• Intended to imitate turquoise and other gems

• The earliest workshop was found in Abydos and 5500 BCE

• Believed that the reflection of light from these pieces was the light of immortality

ceremonial complex in nekhen

• Nekhen was the cradle of Egyptian kingship

• The Falcon diety

  • The earliest form of Horus

  • The patron God of the cities ruler

• The temple was a mud plastered Oval surrounded by a mud plastered Reed fence

• The post would have the image of the Falcon God

• This is the earliest known temple in Egypt

• Different classes of people had different cemeteries

nekhen elite burials

• Clay masks were found on a few of them

• Luxurious grave

• Recently an ivory figurine with a similar face to the masks was found

first zoo burial

• Found on the edge of the elite cemetery in Nekhen

• Tombs of exotic animals who were buried whole

• Baboons, Elephants, leopards, crocodiles, hippos, dogs, cats, auroch (wild cattle)

  • These are all animals that gods and early rulers take the form of

• The sacrifices symbolizes the ruler as the controller of the chaos of nature

• Zoos show the rulers wealth and power and legitimizes the Pharaohs up to the new Kingdom

proto-dynastic

• Around 3400 to 3100 BCE

• Now named kings emerge as the head of states in upper Egypt which led to unification

king scorpion dynasty 0

• A mace head from the cemetery at nekhen

• The king is wearing a white domed crown for upper Egypt and other regalia for later dynastic kingship

• ex.

  • A bull's tail hangs from the belt which is a symbol of authority

  • Shepherds shem set

    • AKA apron

  • Goat beard

    • Probably false

  • He is carrying the tool that opens the irrigation canal

    • So signifies power

  • The rosette which is a symbol of divinity

  • Scorpion which alludes to his name

unification

• By king narmer

  • Menes

• 3100 BCE

• Lots of competing kings up until this point

• Hieroglyphic writing and irrigation was widespread

• The narmer palate was found at nekhen

  • Shows the unification of Egypt

  • He is wearing the crown of upper and lower Egypt separately

  • It depicts lower Egypt being taken by force

early dynastic aka archaic period

• 3100 to 2700 BCE

• Dynastic kingship becomes well developed

burial practices of early dynastic kings

• Mainly in Abydos

  • Earliest evidence of boat burials here

    • Bodies were moored with a stone

• They were buried in mastabas

  • Lower mud brick structures

• The chamber is beneath the structure and was to be entered by a staircase

• The Chapel on top was for offerings

• Queens and retainers were buried around the king in simple pit graves

after life beliefs

• Ba

  • A person spirit can leave the body but the body still needs to exist so that it can return to it

• ka

  • The life force that needs to be nourished

  • This occurs through feasting tables

    • This is what preserves the body

• Initially the afterlife was only available to rulers and their entourage not to commoners

political org. of egypt

• A territorial state with many cities under a centralized authority

• The state is divided into nomes AKA provinces along the Nile

• governed by nomarchs

  • local rulers

  • Appointed by the king

  • Usually loyal local leaders or family members of Royals

  • Received titles and given estates

  • Usually a hereditary position

old kingdom

• Around 2700 to 2140 BCE

• 3rd dynasty

• Kings ruled as sons of Ra-horakhty

  • A combination of ra and horus

• The people relied on a divine pharaoh who was the intermediary to the gods

  • Kings are not yet declaring themselves to be God

  • Representatives and extensions of the sun God ra

  • After the king dies they become assimilated with ra

• This is when monumental building began AKA pyramids

  • Burials did not use mastabas anymore

  • First pyramid was built by Djoser

giza plateau

• Khufu built great pyramid of Giza plateau

• Pyramids

  • smooth sided with limestone blocks

• They had paved causeways linked to Mortuary temples

• The middle pyramid

  • Built by khafre

  • The sphinx in front of it guarding it

  • face on the sphinx is his

  • lines show strata of the sandstone that has undergone erosion

    • harder material erodes faster

  • equated himself to god

• Mankuare

  • Builds the last in smallest pyramid using red granite

• khufu and khafre were described to be tyrants by historians which is why workers were confused to be slaves

pyramid of unas

• Contains the pyramid text

• Earliest religious text in Egypt

• Magical spells that guide the king to the afterlife

first intermediate

• Around 2140 to 2040 BCE

• Centralized authority is broken down to the local nomarchs

  • A breakdown of both the state and its ideologies

  • Because Pepi II had weak rulers and there was widespread droughts

  • pepi ruled for a long time but did not leave heirs in a strong position

• Weakness allows for people to take agency of their own affairs

• A period of social reorganization and warfare

• The people became more wealthy and they wanted the privileges of the old Kingdom that were reserved for the elite

• cult culture expanded to more people

  • causes mass production of funerary objects

  • drives the economy

  • religion and hierarchy changed to do this

middle kingdom

• The classical age

• Best literature and art are from this.

  • About religion, texts on tombs, monuments

  • Art style changes

    • Introduces the idea of internal youth in people

• Mentuhotep II from upper Egypt reunites Egypt

  • The capital is moved to thebes

• A peaceful period For monumental building

  • Irrigation

  • Temple temples dedicated to Amun

  • Smaller pyramids in different parts of Egypt

• His successor moves the capital to lisht

• By the end of the middle Kingdom lots of asiatics were living in Egypt

amun-ra

• Cult shifts from just worshipping the sun God Ra to amun ra

• Depicted wearing a head dress with two tall plumes

• role of the king is more of a shepherd of the people

  • cuz after the time of the old kingdom this is what the people were willing to accept

cult of osiris from abydos

• The middle Kingdom democratizes religion

  • Everyone has a chance for the afterlife but they have to account for their deeds on earth

  • class based

    • need to be mummified, embalmed etc.first which you need to be able to pay for

• Story of osiris is A metaphor for life and resurrection and the floods of the Nile

• Osiris is God

  • He judges the dead and the pharaoh assimilates with him after death

2nd intermediate

• 1640 to 1550 BCE

• Entry of the hyksos in lower Egypt

  • Consisted of cooks, Brewers, artisans, wine makers from Syria

  • Respected Egyptian traditions and embrace the titles and religious beliefs of the Pharaohs which angered the Pharaohs

  • Brought innovations like bronze technology, improved weaponry, horse drawn war Chariots to Egypt

  • Integrated Egypt into a larger economy

• Theban rulers in upper Egypt

• Centralized rulership breaks down again

• Cosmopolitan society

  • Multiculture and religion

new kingdom

• 1550 to 1070 BCE

• A period of imperial Egypt

• Upper Egyptian kings at thebes were enemies of the hyksos and their allies who were the nubians

• Ahmose I attacks the hyksos and drives them back to Syria which they never returned from

  • He then reunites Egypt and finds the 18th dynasty

  • Skill general and turns Egypt into an empire

• The pharaoh is now viewed as a military hero who did not tolerate his rivals

• Soldiers were given land, kept power and wealth

• Allow eqypt to become a major world player at this time.

• Main rivals

  • The indo European -> hattie the Kingdom of the Hittites in anatolia and mitanni east of the Euphrates

• Everyone wanted to control the eastern Mediterranean trade of gold, copper, pottery, wine, oil and resin (incense)

• The Kingdom was financed with nubian gold after defeating kush and making it a colony

• Red Sea trade routes were expanded to the later land of punt

new kingdom society

• Highly stratified

1. Pharaoh

   1. no longer the shepherd of the people due to deification

2. Aristocrats, nobles, priests

3. The educated and professional class

4. Workers, Craftsman, soldiers, traders, artisans, shopkeepers, scribes

5. Farmers and herders

6. Unskilled laborers

• There were separate administrations for conquered lands

estate of amun

• aka thebes

• temple of amun Built in karnak in 18th dynasty

  • this is An architectural shift because kings usually put monuments at the edge of the western desert aka in pyramid cities

• had 50,000 priests

temples in the new kingdom

• Most local temples were made of mud brick

• Religion became more of a public spectacle which required new architecture

• ex. The annual opet festival

  • Celebrates the Nile flood

• Power eventually shifts to priesthood

gods wife of amun

• Begins in the 18th dynasty

• A position taken by the pharaoh's wife or sister who selects her own successor

• Gives the privileges that are normally reserved for only the pharaoh

  • Like a throne name or having your name in the cartouche

• They have their own estates, property, staff, administrators

• Performed rituals at the temple of amun as God's wife

• Lots of wealth and power and monumental builders as well

hatshepsut

• 18th dynasty pharaoh and the daughter of thutmoses I

• Also the gods wife of amun

• Married to thutmoses II

  • He dies three years into the marriage

  • He has a son with another wife =  thutmoses III

• Has a daughter

  • Neferure

• She becomes the Co Regent of thutmoses III

• In the 5th year of her reign she crowns herself king and removes thutmoses III as Co Regent

• A monumental builder

• She is presented and statues and imagery with full pharaoh regalia

  • Her earlier portraits were more feminine but later ones were more masculine

• Reigned for 20 years

  • Peaceful and prosperous

  • Brought luxury goods from the nearest, eastern desert, Nubia through the Red Sea fleet which she re-establishes and through over land transport

  • Reestablishes connection with punt

thutmose III

• Takes the throne from hatshepsut

  • Either he or his son (amenhotep)tries to erase her from history

• The greatest ruler of the new Kingdom

  • Refer to as the Napoleon of ancient Egypt

• Dominated southwest Asia

• Generated tax revenue from Assyria, anatolia, babylonia

• Trade relations with Nubia, Aegan, Crete, phoenicia (levant)

• Built many temples

• takes sons of colonized kings as hostage and keep them in the royal court

  • a type of diplomacy

• 50 year reign

cult of aten

• It caused an architectural style that emphasizes light which is the essence of aten

• Quasi monotheist

  • Restricted from worshipping the old gods

• The only way to afterlife is through loyalty to Akhenaten and following his teachings

• There was no real impact of the cult beyond the royal family because there was no regular access to it

akhenaten

• The amarna period

  • Capital is moved to amarna in middle Egypt

  • 20 year period That broke down the relationship between the religion and state

• 1353 to 1347 BCE

• He married his sister Nefertiti

• Was coronated at karnak by the priests of amun

• His main concern was religion

• In his fifth year he breaks the power of the priests and makes the cult of the sun God aten the state religion

  • Removed mentions of amun from monuments

  • closed amun temples

  • Temples of isis and osiris were destroyed too

• He declares himself and Nefertiti to be gods

• Ignored foreign policy and requests from allies for help

  • Cause Egypt to isolate itself

• Control of near eastern conquests were lost

• His son was Tutankhamun

battle of kadesh

• kadesh is a city in Syria

  • Held by the hittites

• Rameses II vs. King muwatalli

  • 1274 BC

• One of the best documented battles of the near east

• They both claimed victory

• Result was the first ever bilateral peace treaty

• Both states were greatly diminished

 

abu simbel

• A propaganda piece to show that rameses won the battle of kadesh

• A warning to the kushites of egypt's power

eastern mediterranean collapse

• Late Bronze Age

• Hittite and Egypt fall because of weak rulers

• Begins the Iron Age

  • 1200 to 1000 BCE

• Populations begin moving by land and sea

• 1200 to 900 BCE the sea peoples raid and settle

  • Multiracial group that was known to the Egyptians

  • Included some aegen mercenaries that were previously employed by the pharaoh

  • Many cities were destroyed

the 3rd intermediate

• 1069 to 653 BCE

• Libyans take control of the delta

• Priests of amun take upper Egypt

• The neo assyrians become powerful in the near east

• The nubian kings of kush invade Egypt in 727 BCE and take control of all of Egypt forming the 25th dynasty

  • Causes a cultural renewal

kushite pharaohs

• They expanded the empire

• worshipped amun

• Restored religion, art, architecture of dynastic Egypt

• King taharka helps the king of Jerusalem stop the assyrians but the assyrians chase the pharaoh back to Nubia and they take control of Egypt

• then babylonians then persians then greeks (alexander the great) -> late period

  • egypt becomes part of the roman empire and other empires throughout time