Transcript Ancient Egyptian History: Mr. Hermansen

Characteristics of Egyptian
Civilization
• Centralized political authority embodied in the absolute ruler the
pharaoh in Egypt and the person of the King in the region of Kush
(Nubia)
• Imperialist expansion in the second millennium B.C.E. as the
Egyptian army pushed into Palestine, Syria, and north Africa and
south into Nubia and as the Kushites later conquered Egypt and
expanded their influence to the south
• Highly stratified and patriarchal societies based on an agricultural
economy
• Development of industries, transportation, and trade networks
that facilitated economic growth and the intermingling of cultural
traditions
• Writing systems: hieroglyphic, hieratic, demotic, and Coptic
scripts in Egypt and the yet-to-be-translated Meroitic inscriptions
in Nubia
• Organized religious traditions that include worship of Amon and
Re, sun gods, the cult of Osiris, pyramid building, and in Egypt,
mummification of the dead
Classification of Egyptian History
Period
Dates
Significant Events
Archaic:
3100-2600 BC
Unification of Egypt
Old Kingdom
2660-2180 BC
Construction of the
pyramids
First Intermediate
2180-2080 BC
Political Chaos
Middle Kingdom
2080-1640 BC
Recovery and Political
Stability
Second Intermediate
1640-1570 BC
Invasion of the Hyskos
New Kingdom
1570-1075 BC
Creation of an Egyptian
Empire, King Tut/Religious
Chaos.
Final Decline
1075-626 BC
Invasion of numerous
groups, crushed by
Assyrians.
The Natural Setting
The Nile
Black and Red Land
Egypt: The Natural Setting
Center of Egyptian Civilization
• Location
• Nile
• Climate
The early kingdoms of Menes
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Two original kingdoms
3100 BC
Capital
The 1st dynasty (of 32)
Shrouded in Mystery
Archaic Period 3100-2660 BCE
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Earliest hieroglyphics
Foundation of the Egyptian State
Creation of Memphis
Contact with people outside the region
Step pyramids are built
The Old Kingdom:
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2580-2190 BC
Pharaoh as leaders
Absolutism of Pharaoh
Religion
Government
The age of the pyramids
Governmental structure:
An Age of Pyramids: Zoser
Decline of the Old Kingdom
• The first Intermediate Period-(2190-2025
BC)
• Huge costs of the vast pyramids
• Low Floods
• Rise in power of the priests at Re
• Split of the Egyptian state (MemphisNorth, Thebes-South)
Egyptian Religion:
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Religion centered around Pharaoh
Polytheistic
Creation story
Pyramids
Hierarchy of Gods: Egypt
• Ra: Sun God (Amon Re)
– Daughter of Ra: Maat: Goddess of Justice
• Isis: Goddess of Love and Creation
• Married to OSIRIS: death, Nile, creation
– Son: Horus (Pharaoh, human incarnation)
Falcon god
Decline of the Old Kingdom:
The 1st intermediate period
• Natural Factors
• Class system
• Power of pharaohs weakened
The construction of Pyramids:
• Shrouded in mystery
• Theories
• History Channel Video
The Middle Kingdom:
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2052-1778 BC
Reunification by Mentuhotep
Conquest of Nubia
Achievements
Reign of the Hyksos
 Politics: the
absolutism of the Old
Kingdom comes to an end.
• Pharaohs portrayed it as a Golden Age.
• Goal benevolent rule for all. Pharaoh
characterized himself as a shepherd to his
people.
• Nomes (districts) were clarified and taxes
spelled out.
 “He
who created me as one who should
do that which he had done, and to carry
out that which he commanded should be
done. He appointed me herdsman of this
land, for he knew who would keep it in
order for him”
Pharaoh
Nobles and Priests
Merchants and Artisans
Farmers and
Laborers
 Osiris
becomes a
more prominent
figure.
 Osiris cult had the
effect (Book of the
Dead) of
“democratizing”
Egypt.
 Bronze
 Chariots
 Desire
for new
territories to create
“buffer zones”
The Second Intermediate
Period:
• Decline of Middle Kingdom
• Hyksos
• Division
The New Kingdom:
• 1570-1085 BC
• Pharaohs take on a more militaristic
approach
• Thutmoses III’s chip on his shoulder!
• Monotheism and Amenhotep
Dominant rulers of the New
Kingdom:
• 18th dynasty-greatest string of rulers in Egyptian
history:
– Thutmose II (Useless)
– Hathesput:
– Thutmose III
– Amenhotep IV
– Ramses the Great
Hathesput: 1st female ruler
Akhenaton: divine
revolutionary
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Amenhotep IV:
Akhen????
Monotheistic?
Priests at Amon, a burden of all of
Egyptian history
Akhenaton:
• Role in history Montheism
 Amun
surges in
importance.
 After Akhenaton the
god saw 2/3 of all
temples in Egypt.
 Husband
was allowed
to keep more than 1
wife if she didn’t bare
him a child.
 Patriarchal, queens
were strong and
women did serve as
Pharaohs.
 Women kept their
property even in
marriage.
The era and Legacy of King
Tut:
• Tutankhamen:
• Howard Carter’s excavation
Transformation of beliefs:
• Tut’s real legacy
• Reason for reverence?
The riches and legacy
:
• Field Museum, Chicago
• Best example for mummification
• Mummification?
The age of Ramses:
• Egypt’s best?
• Arrogant
• Beginning of the end
The Final Declination:
• 1085-525 BC
• Causes
• Egyptian Society and class structure
Legacy and Achievements of
Ancient Egypt:
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Writing
Papyrus
Engineering
Architecture
Mathematics
Astronmy
Solar Year
Medicine
Egyptian Mysteries:
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Sphinx
Rosetta Stone
Tombs
Mummification
Pyramids
Valley of the dead
Later Dynasties:
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Persian
Greek/Hellenistic
Age of Alexander
Roman