Intro to the Geography(Nile River Valley)

Two main tributaries: Blue (Ethiopia) and White Nile

Blue Nile fed by monsoon rains

Flooded annually (July-October)

Flooding predictable, planting and harvest coincided with the inundation.

The Nile Delta

At the mouth of the Nile where it empties into the Mediterranean.

Largest cultivatable land

The large Egyptian centres were located here.

The Faiyum

The oasis that surrounded Lake Moeris

The third largest cultivatable area

Extensive irrigation was used in this area.

The Role of the Sahara Desert

Flanked the Nile on both sides (Eastern & Western Deserts)

Protected the Nile from external influence

Isolationism resulted in a conservative and stable society

Desert also provided resources: copper, gold, tin, alabaster (gypsum-like), limestone, amethyst and natron (sodium carbonate)

Map of Northern Africa

The Old Kingdom Two kingdoms first

united between 3100 and 2700 BCE

Double crown symbolized the unification King Menes et al. had absolute rule in Egypt

King Menes was deified and supreme ruler of all secular and religious affairs.

Period known for pyramid building

Old Kingdom - 4th Dynasty Golden Age Old Kingdom peaked in the 4th Dynasty.

Achieved by extensive trade in the Mediterranean

Copper (Sinai), Timber (Syria), Wine & )Oil (Crete), and the Potter’s Wheel (Mesopotamia)

Pyramids @ Giza built (2600-2500 BCE)

Built by Khufu (Cheops), Khafre, and Menkure.

Famous Pyramids

Giza Necropolis

First Intermediate Period - ca. 2200

BCE Towards the end of the Old Kingdom, local and

provincial powers became more powerful.

Internal struggles of power became a problem.

This led to civil wars

Drought and led to fail crops and then famine

Resulted in 150 years of chaos: aka the First Intermediate Period.

Middle Kingdom - Theban Kings

Egypt reunited by Theban kings by 2050 BCE.

Theban monarchs ruled for 250 years.

Centre was Thebes, then moved into Memphis

Their chosen god was Amon

Amon was combined with Ra to become Amon-Ra (Egypt’s national god)

Middle Kingdom was a period of territorial and economic expansion (Libya, Palestine, and Nubia

Second Intermediate Period - ca. 1786-1567 BCE

Hyksos invasion

From Syria and Palestine

War-like people (What does this mean? Is this biased?)

Conquered with the use of superior technology: bows, horse-drawn chariots, and bronze weapons.

The Hyksos took over for two dynasties (150 years)

They were driven out their own weapons.

New Kingdom - The Golden Age

Characterized by empire building, fine works of art and larger than life leaders.

Hatshepsut - powerful female leader

Husband Thutmose II died, step-son too young to rule, so she assumed the throne.

Her statues have false beards to show power.

She reestablished trading routes disrupted by the Hyksos

Building projects: 2 obelisks @ the Temple of Karnak, the Red Chapel

Her reign was known for peace, stability, and prosperity.

She was replaced by her stepson Thutmose III

New Kingdom - The Golden Age

Thutmose III - Egypt’s Napoleon

Credited with creating the largest Egyptian empire

Controlled Anatolia, Syria, and parts of Mesopotamia.

They paid tribute

His reign was known for the conquest of Egypt’s neighbours.

He was succeeded by Amenhotep

Amarna Period - Religion Reform

Amenhotep - later Akhenaton and his wife was Nefertiti

Started a religious revolution as she disliked the worship of Amon-Ra and replaced Amon-Ra with Aton - the Sun Disk and all of the Non-Aton temples were closed and a new “cult” was monetheistic was formed.

Capital moved to Ahketaton

Akhenaton was preoccupied with his new religion and neglected his empire.

His empire was weak and began to crumble and thus starts the decline of the Egyptian empire, with which he is credited before he was succeeded by the famous boy king

Religious Restoration

Tutankhamon Started his reign at the

age of 8/9

Died @ 18

He destroyed the Aton cult and restored traditional religion

He is better known for the wealth in his tomb.

Late Dynasty After the New Kingdom was the

weakening end of the Egyptian empire.

The 19th and 20th Dynasties

Notable King was Ramses II reigned for 62 years and lots of buildings built (eg. Abu Simbel)

Defaced many building in an attempt to erase the Amarna Period from history

Took part in one of the first peace treaties (with Kadesh)

Characteristics of Egyptian

Architecture• Massive structures came to be favoured from

the Old Kingdom on.

• Mud brick was the principal building material for domestic building.

• Stone was favoured for temples and tombs.

Characteristics of Egyptian Architecture• Features of mud

construction were often echoed in stone.• For example,

columns were built to resemble plants or bunches of plants.

Characteristics of Egyptian

Architecture.• Features of mud

construction were often echoed in stone.

• Corner detailing often resembled bunches of reeds used as a binding material in mud construction.

Funerary Structures

• Egyptian aristocratic culture focussed on preparation for life after death.

• Preservation of bodies through mummification and providing goods for the afterlife were considered essential.

Mastabas

• Early Old Kingdom aristocratic and royal burials were in mastabas - square or rectangular buildings connected by shafts to tomb chambers deep beneath the earth.

• The mastaba also housed a chapel and a statue of the dead.

The Step Pyramid led to the regular pyramid.

Mastabas

Shaft

Tomb

Chapel

Another Mastaba Diagram

Zoser’s Step Pyramid

• Built during the 3rd dynasty, Zoser’s architect, Imhotep, added steps above Zoser’s mastaba to create a step pyramid -- a stairway to the heavens.

The Great Pyramids of Gizeh

• These were built during the 4th dynasty.

• What remains is but a fraction of the great funerary districts of each of the pyramids.

• Construction was hugely labour intensive -- but this was paid labour during slow agricultural seasons, not slave labour as is commonly supposed.

The Great Pyramids at Gizeh

Section of Pyramid of Khufu

Relieving Blocks

Grand GalleryKing’s Chamber

Queen’s Chamber

False Tomb ChamberThieves Tunnel

Entrance

The Great Pyramids of Gizeh

• These were buildings that housed chambers and passages, including small air shafts that may have been used for ventilation -- or were, perhaps, passages for the spirit of the pharaohs to pass through.

• Pyramid building was abandoned during the Old Kingdom. They provided tomb robbers with easily identifiable targets.

The Theban Necropolis

• Pyramidal structures were abandoned in the Old Kingdom.

• Later Pharaohs were buried in Upper Egypt across the Nile from Karnak.

• Large concentrations of tombs were cut into cliffsides at what are now known as the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens.

Theban Necropolis.

• Interiors were richly decorated with paintings and low-relief carvings.

The Valley of the Kings

• Entrances were hidden to protect tomb treasures from grave-robbers.

• Over the millennia this has proven largely unsuccessful. Only Tutenkhamen’s tomb eluded them.

Mortuary Temples

• Though mummies and treasures might be concealed, more conspicuous temple structures were still required -- like Hatshepsut’s temple near the Theban Necropolis.

Egyptian Beliefs

Simple society = simple worship i.e. nature deities: animals

Complex society = complex worship i.e. anthropomorphic deities: animal attributes with human bodies

Animals were used for their characteristics: hawks/falcons = swiftness crocodiles = fear ichneumon = ferocity dog/cat = loyalty

Temples

• These were built in the same forms as palaces, with three increasingly restricted areas.

First PylonSecond Pylon

Hypostile Hall

Sacred Area including Chapels

Entrance

Temples

• The entire temple was surrounded by a windowless wall.

• Within the temple, light and shadow were important features.

• Walls might be blank or incised with low relief carvings.

Temple Wall

Temples

• Lighting through wall openings, columns, and clerestory windows in the colonnade, were intended to feature particular locations.

• In the case of Abu Simbel, the statures on the wall deepest in the temple, emerged from shadow on two days during the year.

Abu Simbel

Temple at Karnak

• Great Pylons marked entrances.

Luxor Temple

• The most public area was a large courtyard, surrounded by a post and lintel colonnade.

Temple at Karnak

• The Second Area was the great hypostyle hall, with its dense forest of columns.

Temple of Karnak

• Columns & Capitals in Hypostyle Hall

Temple Architecture

• Light & shadow were important features.

• Light came through:• Wall openings• gaps between

columns• clerestory windows

In Closing

• Egyptian Architecture showed both variety and continuity over ca. 3,000 years.

• While domestic structures of mud brick have been obliterated by time, monumental structures in stone still astound visitors to Egypt today.

Sources• Slides from Corel Gallery Magic Photo Library.

• Amiet, Pierre et.al. Forms and Styles; Antiquity. Cologne, Evergreen, 1981.

• Janson, H.W. (and Anthony), History of Art. Abrams, New York, 1995.

• Ruffle, John. Heritage of the Pharaohs. Oxford, Phaidon, 1977.

• Stierlin, Henri. Encyclopedia of World Architecture. Cologne, Evergreen, 1977.