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Egypt. 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
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Egypt 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 • Upper Egypt comprises the Nile delta • Lower 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
Ecology of the Nile Valley • 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
Egyptian Neolithic: Badari • 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)
Pre-Dynastic Egypt: Central Places • 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)
The Principal Gods of Egypt I • 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
The Principal Gods of Egypt II • 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
Other Gods of Egypt • Thoth: God of the scribes, Lord of Language and inventor of writing. • Ptat: Creator of humankind; patron of the craftspeople
Other Gods of Egypt • 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
Theocracy • 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
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)
Egyptians: Conceptions of Death and the Soul • 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.
Pyramids • 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, Anubis balances the heart against the feather of Ma’at • If the heart outweighs the feather, the animal (part crocodile, lion, and hippo) to the right will devour the judged • Thoth the scribe records the proceedings.
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
Unification of Egypt • 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
The Symbolism of the Unionand 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. 85
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 • Institutions, economic arrangements, and artistic traditions established • Subject brings offering to gods
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 • Further details: see pp. 95-96
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 • See box on p. 96 for further details
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 • Note profile of face but frontward orientation of trunk
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
Archaic Kingdom (3000-2575 BC) • 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
Pyramids: Construction • 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.