Ancient Egypt

Isthmus of Suez

Libyan Desert

Arabian

Desert

Death

Life

Agricultural districts called nomeswere made up of villages. Kingsunited 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 Age2660 – 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 ofa Hyksos women

Queen Ahhotep and Kamose

Ahhotep’s bracelet

Fought the Hyksos

Kamose perused them across theSinai peninsula intoPalestine

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-el-Amarna (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 familyPharaoh 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

NefertariWife of Ramses II?

Banquet scene

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 workshopwall painting

Artisan workshopsculpture

Peasant farmersmodels 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 removethe brain from the nose

Judgment by Osiris

AnubisDevourer of SoulsThoth

Horus Osiris

Scale of justice

Heart and feather 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)