Transcript Egypt 2 - District 155

Ancient Egypt
Isthmus of Suez
Libyan
Desert
Death
Life
Agricultural districts called nomes
were made up of villages. Kings
united the nomes into kingdoms,
one of the earliest forms of
government.
Menes
•Unified Upper and Lower Egypt ~ 3100 BC
•Memphis his capital
•First dynasty
•Pharaoh - name used to describe the king which
means great house. (this term developed during
the New Kingdom when pharaohs were great builders)
•Considered a god-king who had absolute power
•He was an autocrat who made, enforced, & interprets laws
Old Kingdom or Pyramid Age
2660 – 2180 BC
•Pharaoh was worshipped as a god and the center of Egypt’s religion,
government, and army.
•Pharaoh bore full responsibility for the kingdom’s well being; he fostered truth,
justice, and all the goods things of life
•Egyptians believed that their pharaoh’s ka (eternal spirit) continued
to rule after his death
•Egyptians built pyramids (tombs) as the pharaoh’s resting place decorating
the burial chamber with wall paintings of things he would need or want in
his afterlife.
•Pyramids contained great wealth and were built by peasants not slaves
Sandal label 1st Dynasty
Old Kingdom sculpture
First Illness
2180 – 2080 BC
• Period of poor harvest, lawlessness, and
civil war. Pharaohs lost power to nobles
Middle Kingdom 2080 – 640 BC
• Strong pharaohs
reestablished law and
order, farming revived,
trade and arts grew
• Capital moved from
Memphis to Thebes
• Afterlife for all
commoners, people
prepared for their burials
(note: this preoccupation
with death did not stop
the Egyptians from
enjoying life)
Middle Kingdom tomb painting
Middle Kingdom coffin
Middle Kingdom tomb painting
Second Illness 1640 – 1570 BC
• Hyksos (Asians) invade
using horse drawn
chariots
• Egyptians learn from the
Hyksos how to
–
–
–
–
Make bronze
Use chariots and fight
Use a new bow and arrow
Spin and weave
• Intermarriage (influx of
new blood) between
Egyptians & Hyksos
• Strong pharaohs expel
the Hyksos
Rare statue of
a Hyksos women
Queen Ahhotep and Kamose
Fought the Hyksos
Kamose perused
them across the
Sinai peninsula into
Palestine
Ahhotep’s bracelet
New Kingdom 1570 – 1075 BC
• Egypt becomes an
empire extending its
territory to include the
Sinai Peninsula, parts of
Syria, and Palestine
• Egypt becomes wealthy
and lavish large temples
are constructed
• The rulers name was
considered too sacred to
use (pharaoh = great
house)
Royal tombs are built in the
Valley of the Kings
Luxor
Hatshepsut
• declared herself pharaoh in
1478 BC after the death of her
½ brother/husband, pharaoh
Thutmose II. Her father,
Thutmose I had groomed
Hatshepsut for the job as
pharaoh. Royal brothers and
sisters often married each
other.
• Ruled for 22 years encouraging
trade and constructing temples
• Hated by her nephew/step-son
who may have had her
murdered
• Statue of Hatshepsut
located in the Valley
of the Queens
Thutmose III
• Became pharaoh in
1450 BC. He
extended the empire
to its greatest limits.
• He made Egypt a
mighty and wealthy
empire
• Cultural diffusion
brought Egypt new
ideas as well as
material goods
Sphinx of Thutmose III
Amenhotep IV
• (Akhenaton), tried to make Egypt
monotheistic in 1375 BC.
• Tried to force the woship of only one god,
the sun god, Aton
• Temples of the other gods were shut down
which angered their priests
• Priests of Amon, the chief god of Thebes,
were very angry at the closure of their
wealthy temples and the transfer of their
wealth to Aton’s treasury
• Amonhotep changed his name to
Akhenaton (He who serves Aton)
• He moved the capital from Thebes to Tell-elAmarna (Akhetaton, the place of Aton’s
power)
• He started a new art style depicting
everyday life. Facial expressions revealed
emotions and feelings very unlike the
traditional art style
Akhenaton, his wife Nefertiti and
his daughters
Armana style of art ended after the
death of Akhenaton
Depicted daily life of the royal family
Tutankhamon
• Son-in-law of Amonhotep
IV, became pharaoh at
age 8 in 1347 BC
• The capital was returned
to Thebes and polytheism
was restored. Aton’s
name was removed from
the temples.
• His tomb is discovered in
the Valley of the Kings in
1922
Howard Carter examining King Tut
Coffin of King Tut
Tomb items
Ramses II
• Ruled from 1279 – 1212 BC,
considered the last of the great
pharaohs
• Signed a peace treaty with the
Hittites
• Identified as the pharaoh of the
Exodus
• Built massive temples to Amon at
Karnak and decorated his
buildings with statues of himself
• Died at age 99 after a 67 year
reign. Fathered 150 children and
had many wives
Mummy of Ramses II
Mourning the death of Ramses
Alexander the Great ~ conquered the
entire Persian Empire including Egypt
Cleopatra – last independent ruler
of Egypt
Social structure ~ Royal family
Pharaoh Ramses III and son
Nobles
Hunting with a boomerang
Tomb paintings found in a royal official’s
tomb shows the officials importance
Royal official from Asia
Africans bearing gifts
Officials inspecting the fields
Egyptian women
Banquet scene
Nefertari
Wife of Ramses II?
Women at a party
Scribe ~ literate middle class
people could advance socially
The army was another way for middle
classes to attain social mobility
Bronze helmet
Flint knife
Inebny’s block statue
• The inscription on this block statue contains the
conventional prayer for offerings, and Inebny's
name and titles, as commander of bowmen and
overseer of the king's weapons. It also records
that it was 'made by the favour' of the joint
sovereigns Hatshepsut (1479-1457 BC) and
Thutmose III (1479-1425 BC), who ruled
together for a time. Hatshepsut's name is
preceded by the phrase 'perfect goddess, lady of
Two Lands', a feminine version of the titles of
Pharaoh. However, Hatshepsut's name has
subsequently been erased.
Artisan workshop
wall painting
Artisan workshop
sculpture
Peasant farmers
models from tombs
Women baking
Ma’at
Note the feather
Anubis preparing the body
Process of Mummification
• The best literary account of the mummification process is
given by Herodotus, who says that the entire process
took seventy days. The internal organs, apart from the
heart and kidneys, were removed via a cut in the left
side. The organs were dried and wrapped, and placed in
canopic jars, or later replaced inside the body. The brain
was removed, often through the nose, and discarded.
Bags of natron or salt were packed both inside and
outside the body, and left for forty days until all the
moisture had been removed. The body was then
cleansed with aromatic oils and resins and wrapped with
bandages, often household linen torn into strips.
• Scientific analysis of mummies, by X-rays, CT scans,
etc. has revealed a wealth of information about how
individuals lived and died. It has been possible to identify
conditions such as lung cancer, osteoarthritis and
tuberculosis, as well as parasitic disorders.
Canopic jars & chest held the
organs of the deceased
Bronze hook used to remove
the brain from the nose
Judgment by Osiris
Anubis
Scale of justice
Heart and feather
Thoth
Horus
Devourer of Souls
Osiris
Isis & her
sister
3 Priests ~ Opening of the mouth
ceremony for Hunefer
Book of the Dead
Any’s Book of the Dead
• These vignettes (small scenes that illustrate the text)
accompany Spell 110 of Any’s Book of the Dead. Spell
110 is essentially a series of addresses to deities who
dwell in the 'next world', specifically the Field of Offering
and Field of Rushes. The deceased was expected to
undertake agricultural work in the Field of Rushes.
• Any is shown offering to three deities of the ennead
(group of nine gods) at the top, and then paddling his
boat across the Lake of Offerings. Any is also shown
worshipping the 'Western Falcon' and the 'Heron of
Plenty'. He is shown reaping, winnowing and ploughing
below. The boat of Wennefer (a name for the god Osiris),
shown with a head of a snake, is moored on the edge of
the water at the bottom.
Aton – sun god
Amon the principle god of Thebes
Osiris
Isis
With Horus
Horus
Eye of Horus
Making papyrus
Rosetta Stone
Champollion’s alphabet
Post and lintel construction
Obelisk
Temple in Luxor
The Sphinx
Pyramids
Sculpture ~ Old Kingdom
Sculpture ~ Middle Kingdom
Tomb Art
Egyptian Science
• Calendar to keep track of time between
the floods
• Geometry to survey and measure land.
• Medicine - Book of Healing Diseases,
classified diseases and prescribed drugs.
Doctors knew a great deal about anatomy
• Astronomy was used in creating their
calendar (365 days, 12 months, 30 days, 5
holiday or feast days)