Unit 2

Imperial Egypt

“the gift of the river”

The Nile flooded and produced fertile soil

Egyptians all lived within a few miles of the Nile

Because they relied so heavily on the floods, early Egyptian civilizations were always at risk of disaster, famine, or death

The Gift of the Nile

Written Sources

Earliest texts about 3100 B.C.

Hieroglyphs – earliest form of Egyptian writing They combined

pictographic and phonetic symbols

Later, Egyptians developed the hieratic, demotic, and Coptic written languages

Written Sources

Writing was ubiquitous throughout

Done on papyrus and ostraka

Many ancient cities are buried under current ones

Because of this, we know much more about burial practices than anything else

3100 B.C. - 2686 B.C. - Early Dynastic

2686 B.C. – 2181 B.C. - Old Kingdom

2181 B.C. – 1991 B.C. – First Intermediate

1991 B.C. – 1786 B.C. – Middle Kingdom

1786 B.C. – 1567 B.C. – Second Intermediate

1567 B.C. – 1085 B.C. – New Kingdom

Egyptian Historical Periods

Unification of Egypt

Many Egyptians had to travel for goods

By 3000 B.C., they had traveled as far as Mesopotamia for goods!

Narmer (Menes) most likely unified Egypt Later, Memphis became

their capital city

Narmer Palette

World’s first stable monarchy

King direct heir to the Sun god Ra Ra impregnated the Queen and she and the king served as

surrogate parents to the heir to the throne King wife was “one who unites the two Lords”

Kha – coronation ceremony of the King Sed – jubilee ceremony after thirty years of rule

The King would often have to perform a physical fitness test to prove that he was still “fit enough to rule”

The early Egyptian Kings had the first bureaucracy They had to keep track of taxes, crop yields, and all government officials

The First Dynasties

After death, Ka, the king’s spirit would travel to the afterworld

with Ra

He needed his name recorded on the tomb, preserved and provided with everything it would need for the afterlife.

Family members and other officials were buried with the king If Ra showed them favor, they could ascend to the

afterlife also! How does this make it easier for the King to rule?

Bodies were buried deep in the tombs Why did they do this? This practice forced Ancient Egyptians to do what?

Oldest surviving mummy is from 2400 B.C.

Death of the King

Mastabas

Unit 2

Old and Middle Kingdom Egypt

PYRAMID OF DJOSER

2650 B.C. Third Dynasty King Djoser plans the first pyramid

His engineer Imhotep is the genius behind the structure

Earliest large stone monument in history

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRK6DTpX5Ts

This literally created a “stairway to heaven” for Djoser

SNEFERU’S FIRST ATTEMPT!MEIDUM PYRAMID

Located in Meidum

Originally a step pyramid

Steps were smooth and downward facing

Pyramid inside was never finished

Outer walls were never smoothed out What does this tell us about

when the pyramid collapsed?

SNEFERU’S SECOND ATTEMPT BENT PYRAMID

Located in Dahshur

Sneferu was the first to plan a pyramid from its beginning

He tried to coat it to prevent it from being a step pyramid, but failed

Seneferu commissioned more pyramids than any other king

SENEFERU’S THIRD ATTEMPT!

RED PYRAMID

Most successful pyramid of Sneferu

Largest man-made structure in the world

First smooth-sided pyramid

GREAT PYRAMID OF KHUFU

2560 B.C.

Also the “Great Pyramid of Giza”

View from the Top

Virtual Tour

FACTS:• 481 feet tall• Used 2.3 millions blocks• Weighs 6 million TONS• Used up to 25,000 men!• Took up to 20 years!

THE GREAT SPHINX

Largest monolith in the world

Built approximately 2550 B.C.

66 feet high, 241 feet long

Khefre had it built next to his pyramid Why?

What is the “riddle of the sphyInx”?

Collapse of the Old Kingdom

Kings were losing power, nobles were gaining it

There were famines and droughts

Lack of centralized power

Began to focus more on the god Amun as opposed to Ra. Later these were merged to create Amun-Ra.

Thebes is now the center of the Egyptian Kingdom

Middle Kingdom

United by Mentuhotep II in 2055 B.C.

Nomarchs did much of the governing

Began to expand trade even as far as Asia

Writing became very common

Jewelry had special significance

Mortuary Temple of Mentuhotep II located on the West Bank at Luxor

‘Hyksos’ and the Second Intermediate Period

From Palestine

“chiefs of foreign lands”

Took over in Avaris, north of Cairo

Hyksos in the North, Thebans (Kush) in the South

Ahmos I united the 2 kingdoms in 1550 B.C. to begin the New Kingdom

Unit 2

The New Kingdom

3100 B.C. - 2686 B.C. - Early Dynastic

2686 B.C. – 2181 B.C. - Old Kingdom

2181 B.C. – 1991 B.C. – First Intermediate

1991 B.C. – 1786 B.C. – Middle Kingdom

1786 B.C. – 1567 B.C. – Second Intermediate

1567 B.C. – 1085 B.C. – New Kingdom

Egyptian Historical Periods

Birth of the New Kingdom

1567 B.C. – Ahmos I unites Egypt once again

Thutmose I conquered Syria to the North and Nubia to the South What did Thutmose I

want in Nubia?

Hatshepsut Daughter of Thutmose I, half-

sister of Thutmose II

Took over as “co-regent” in 1479 B.C.

She eventually claimed that she was ruler by right as the heir of Thutmose I

In some representations she is presented as a male, in others as a female

Her chief official Senenmut was her lover and close advisor

Hatshepsut’s Death

It is rumored that Senenmut orchestrated Thutmose III’s return to power…

ALL of the hieroglyphics including Hatshepsut’s name were erased after Thutmose III came to power.

Why would he do this?

Update on Hatshepsut’s death…

Administration of the New Kingdom

1st Dept. – Family Ramses – 160 children!

2nd Dept. – control of Nubia and Asia Were not good colonizers, relied on military force Usually 15,000-20,000 in a military force Egyptians focused more on raids, but did put

governors in charge of collecting taxes, raw materials and other goods from conquered lands

3rd Dept. – internal administration Religious affairs, army, royal estates, internal

administration Each of these administrations were run by a trusted

group of men The New Kingdom was divided into two sections:

Upper Egypt (Thebes) and Lower Egypt (Memphis)

Akhenaten (Amenhotep IV)

1352-1336 B.C.

Kings were focusing once again on Memphis, fearful of the power that Theban temples had gained in the recent generations…

Installed Aten (sun in its physical form) as the official, singular god for Egypt

Discouraged the praising of Amun and upset the structure of Egypt

The economics, structure, way of life were disrupted

Akhenaten even went as far as to rid the “Amun” name or any reference to “gods” in Egypt.

KING TUT

Akhenaten moved the capital to Akhetaten (present day Tell el-Amarna)

He relaxed Egyptian traditions

Died and had his son Tutankhamun succeed him King Tut dies from a

cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 19

Following Akhenaten’s death, Egypt turned away from Aten and focused once again on Amun and Osiris

The End of the New Kingdom

Hittites to the North

Ramses II (1275) – Battle of Qadesh

New Pharaohs continued to build beautiful temples and tombs Temples took up 30% of farmable land!

Lost northern Egyptian boundaries

Gold from Nubia was gone

By 1060, Egypt was within its original valley boundaries.

Western Thebans began to raid tombs, even royal tombs! What does this tell us about Egyptian society at the time? Egypt was never the same. It had moments of revival, but

would never see the same success as it had in the New Kingdom

RAMSES II TEMPLES

http://whc.unesco.org/pg.cfm?cid=31&l=en&id_site=88&gallery=1&&maxrows=32

Unit 2

Daily Life in Egypt

Villagers of Deir el-Medina

Closed community, decorated royal tombs They were walled off from the

rest of Egyptian society

Men would get a day off every ten, use that free time for their home or tomb

Many of the religious texts were mixed with the casual texts. What does this tell us about

the sanctity of religion during this period?

Economy and Enterprise

Peasants worked for the elites Less than 5% of pop. Did VERY little to

provide for and support community

Some were able to turn a profit though

Many even “rented” out their skills in their free time

Average lifespan was 29.

Most people had various medical problems

Doctors could set bones and even perform surgery

Heart was considered central to EVERYTHING in the body

http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/timelines/topics/medicine.htm

Egyptian Medicine

Crucial to administration and building

Calendar based on the “dog star” Sirius. Predicted the Nile floods

They used a primitive sun clock to measure time during the day

Math was extremely important to every day life Used for adding wages calculating

granary, areas of field, collect taxes and calculate the number of bricks for building

Used math as a focus of solutions to administrative problems

Astronomy and Mathematics

“There was almost no symbolism, hardly any conscious thought about abstraction, no formulation of general methodology, and no concept of proof or even plausible argument that might convince one of a correctness of a procedure or formula”

- Morris Kline

Family was very important in Egypt, especially

care for the mother

Marriage Girls – 12-14, Men – about 20 Elite brothers and sisters would sometimes

marry, but this was seldom for commoners

Women’s roles: 1. take care of home 2. have a son 3. prepare burial services

Some women exercised considerable influence behind the scenes Women with lighter skin were regarded with

higher status Why?

Home and Family

Boys would ceremonially be circumcised at 14

Boys would begin their training young

“I am told you neglect your studies and think only of your pleasure. You wander through the streets, stinking of beer and have been found performing acrobatics on a wall” - Poor report given by a scribe to one of his students

Much of the wealth for families was put into homes or servants

Home and Family

“When a wealthy man went out on business, he

might be accompanied by two servants. One carried a mat and a fly-whisk, the other a pair of his sandals. His destination reached, the master would have his feet washed, his fresh sandals put on, and then he would settle down on his mat with the flies being flicked from him. Within the home, cooking cleaning, and waiting at table would be done by servants or by slaves captured in military campaigns.”

- “ Egypt, Greece and Rome” Charles Freeman

Work Travel for a Wealthy Egyptian

Death was inevitable

People focused on personal piety Especially after the reign of

Akhenaten

Afterlife wasn’t available without a preserved body All organs would also be preserved in

Canopic jars, except for the heart The wrapping of the body could take

as many as 15 days!

The time between death and burial was 70 days, maximum

The Rituals of Death