Egyptians and bronze age

Geography of Egypt

Nile River dominates Egypt's geography. The Nile descends into 6 cataracts. Desert surrounds the Nile. Floods deposit silt creating fertile areas especially in Lower Egypt.

ancient Egyptian culture

Hieroglyphs make up the Egyptian writing. Commonly inscribed on clay tablets, but also found on stone and papyrus. The symbols actually represent what they look like. Temple scribes were the record keepers, while other scribes worked for nobles.

hieratic:

Short, informal handwritten form of Egyptian writing, usually used in paper form and not on stone.

Rosetta Stone:

A stone with 3 different languages on it leading to the deciphering of the hieroglyphics. Hieroglyphics, demotic, and Greek. Same message in all 3 languages: “Khufu was the Old Kingdom pharaoh who built the Great Pyramid”

Religion

Egyptians were polytheistic, each city had its own patron god just like the greeks

Isis:

Chief goddess in Egyptian religion.

Osiris:

God of the dead and Isis mate. Portrayed in green because he is the vegetation god.

Horus:

God of kingship. King of the living.

Osiris

Becomes god and judge of the dead. All dead have a soul called a ka. Mummification preserved the body and organs for the afterlife. The ka was believed the re-enter a properly prepared body.

Maat

Justice, order, truth. What the ka was measured against to determine if you went on to the afterlife or not.

What would sacrificers bring

They would bring the judge bread, wine, fowl and flowers as a sacrifice.

What were Egyptian kings considered

Considered gods, believed that Horus was reborn with each new king

Lower and upper egypt

Each king was king of both lower and upper Egypt, lower was the northern part, upper was southern part. Lower Egypt was symbolized with a bee/cobra and upper Egypt was symbolized with a reed/vulture.

Symbolism in Egypt

Titles given to the king are royal propaganda that portray them as gods. Symbolism was common throughout Egyptian artifacts like the flail and shepherd’s crook to represent the pharoh as both taskmaster and protector.

Egyptian gender norms

Male dominated society, women had more rights than other societies but could not be scribes or hold government position, could divorce, start business, own 1/3 of property, not confined to work at home. Men were portrayed in different ways while women were only portrayed as youthful beauties in paintings, women always stood behind the men.

Developments

Used to believe in magic but developed skills observing symptoms, diagnosing illness, and finding cures, did surgery, had astronomers, had literature and folktales like tales of sinuhe

Kingdoms vs intermediate periods

Periods of peace and unity were kingdoms, periods of transition do to weak rulers and/ or rival kingdoms were called intermediate periods. had 30 dynasties (families of kings) throughout Egyptian history

Old Kingdom

Time of Pyramid building, Djoser and his vizier created the first step pyramids, first true pyramid was the red pyramid by sneferu, first king of the fourth dynasty, then khufu made the great pyramid, ends with first intermediate period

First intermediate period

The nile stopped flooding which caused drought which then caused famine. Civil wars against weakened throne and outside invaders caused a period of chaos.

Middle kingdom

The role of pharaoh changed to benevolent Shepard of the people, they replied on pharaoh to provide for them. Building projects like large scale drainage and irrigation projects used to create new farmland. Trade expanded to Nubia, racism emerges.

Second intermediate period

Hyksos (Semitic speaking Asiatic, means Shepard) people moved into Egypt and took control, had long hair, introduced Egypt to horses and chariots warfare, adopted Egyptian customs but were still outsiders. Ex: adopted Seth as favorite god

New Kingdom

Began with Ahmose driving out the Hyksos, time of expansion and imperialism for egyptians. (expansions to protect themselves from outside invasions) Reaches Euphrates river in northern siberia and move south to Nubia. Punishment for Nubians for forming alliance with Hyksos. Nubia becomes Egyptian colony.

third intermediate period

Political chaos, power of great pharaoh decline, capitol moved to Tanis, less lapis lazuli suggesting trading with Afghanistan declined or lessened

King Menes/ Narmar

Unifier of egypt

Djoser

built step first pyramids

Sneferu

Made the first “real” pyramid- red pyramid

Khufu

Sneferu’s sons responsible for great pyramid

Pepi II

Longest ruling monarch for 94 years

Ahmose

Drives Hyksos out

Hatshepsut

longest reigning female in egypt 22 years, portrayed herself as a man

Thutmose III

Stepson/nephew of Hatshepsut, 19 campaigns in 17 years, destroyed and defaced Hatshepsut’s monument.

Akhenaten

Introduced monotheism, worshiped Aten, outlawed other gods moved capital from thebes to amarna

Tutankhamun

Tomb untouched

Ramses II

ruled for over 60 years, worlds first peace treaty

Merneptah

Ramses II’s son first mention of the israelites

Ramses III

tried to copy the II not related, fought the sea people

Lydians

Asia minor civilization contemporary to the Assyrians and Babylonians, inventors of coinage

King Croesus

famous for being rich

Nebuchadnezzar II

Chaldaean ruler of Babylon, lead battle of Carchemish-battle that marked the end of the Assyrian empire, rebuilds Babylon, the gates of Ishtar, and a new ziggurat, conquered Jerusalem, last great Mesopotamian king, Cyrus and the Persians arrived ending the Chaldean empire.

Cyrus II

referred to as Cyrus the great, defeated Croesus, lydians, and the Babylonians. Croesus talked to an oracle and thought she meant he would win, allowed captives of Judah to return from Babylonian exile. Rebuilt temples destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar. Killed by a nomad group. Cyrus was known as the founder of the Persian empire

Nabonidus

Last King of Babylonian empire, defeated by Cyrus the great, he worshipped the moon god sin but Babylonian priests preferred Marduk so when Cyrus appeared many Babylonians were already upset at with Nabonidus.

Why were the Persian empire successful

Did not displace aristocracy of territories they invaded worked with the people they invaded, generally tolerant to different cultures and religions

Cambyses II

Son of Cyrus, conquered egypt, expanded the Persian empire from India all the way to the Mediterranean in a matter of decades

Darius I

cousin of Cyrus, overcame 9 other claimants to the Persian throne, considered 2nd founder of Persian empire, claimed Ahuramazda ordained his kingship, builds much of the kingdoms infrastructure. taxed his subjects in not only money but gold, darics, food, and animals. Brought coinage to Persia and developed a postal system

Satrapies

Persia was divided into 20 satrapies with ruler of each province called Satraps, they had to collect taxes, recruit new soldiers, and administrate peace.

Eyes and ears of the king

Military officials traveled throughout realms to visit and spy on the Satraps

The royal roads of Persia

Connected Satrapies to each other, had posts every 14 miles because horses could only go that far, allowed for the creation of an early postal system

Persian religion

They were Zoroastrian (dualism) concepts of maintaining the balance of good and evil also called Mazdaism

Zoroaster

Founder of the Persian religion, not dirty, more considered a prophet

Ahuramazda

chief god of Persian religion, god of light good and arta( like maat, stood for truth justice and order but for the living), counterbalance of Ahriman

Ahriman

secondary god of zoroastrianism, god of dark, chaos, and evil

Anahita

Mother goddess

Mithra

solar deity who helps Ahuramazda.