Pyramid

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about pyramid-shaped buildings. For the geometric term, see pyramid
(geometry). For other uses, see Pyramid (disambiguation).

Khafre's Pyramid
A pyramid is a building where the upper surfaces are triangular and converge on one
point. The base of pyramids are usually quadrilateral or trilateral (but generally may
be of any polygon shape), meaning that a pyramid usually has three or four sides.
A pyramid's design, with the majority of the weight closer to the ground, means that
less material higher up on the pyramid will be pushing down from above. This
allowed early civilizations to create stable monumental structures. For thousands of
years, the largest structures on Earth were pyramids: first the Red Pyramid in the
Dashur Necropolis and then the Great Pyramid of Khufu, the only remaining Wonder
of the World. The largest pyramid ever built, by volume, is the Great Pyramid of
Cholula, in the Mexican state of Puebla. This pyramid is considered the largest
monument ever constructed anywhere in the world, and is still being excavated.

Contents
[hide]

1 Ancient monuments
o 1.1 China
o 1.2 Egyptian pyramids
o 1.3 France
o 1.4 Greece
o 1.5 India
o 1.6 Mesoamerican pyramids
o 1.7 Mesopotamian pyramids
o 1.8 North American pyramids
o 1.9 Nubian pyramids
o 1.10 Rome
2 Medieval Europe
3 Modern pyramids

o 3.1 Gallery
4 References

5 External links

Ancient monuments
See also: List of ancient pyramids by country
Pyramid-shaped structures were built by many ancient civilizations.

China
Main article: Chinese pyramids
There are many flat-topped mound tombs in China. The First Emperor of Qin (circa
221 B.C.) was buried under a large mound outside modern day Xi'an. In the following
centuries about a dozen more Han Dynasty royals were also buried under flat-topped
pyramidal earthworks.

Egyptian pyramids
Main article: Egyptian pyramids

The ancient pyramids of Egypt

The most famous pyramids are the Egyptian pyramids huge structures built of
brick or stone, some of which are among the largest man-made constructions. Some
Egyptologists, notably Mark Lehner, state that the Ancient Egyptian word for pyramid
was mer.[1] The Great Pyramid of Giza is the largest in Egypt and one of the largest in
the world. Until Lincoln Cathedral was built in 1300 A.D., it was the tallest building
in the world. The base is over 52,600 square meters in area.
It is one of the Seven Wonders of the World, and the only one of the seven to survive
into modern times. The Ancient Egyptians capped the peaks of their pyramids with
gold and covered their faces with polished white limestone, though many of the stones
used for the purpose have fallen or been removed for other structures.

France
There is a Roman era pyramid built in Falicon, France.[2] There were many more
pyramids built in France in this period.

Greece
There are several structures in Greece that archaeologists have called pyramids.[citation
needed]
Dotted throughout the landscape are remains of buildings that were described by
ancient travelers as pyramids, they were first excavated by Americans and Germans in
the early 1930s and the 1990s.

Pyramid of Hellinikon
Pausanias, a Greek traveler in the second century A.D. described several of the
structures as pyramids. One of these pyramids was located in Hellenikon, in
Greek, a village near Argos near the ancient ruins of Tiryns.[3] The story surrounding
the monument was that it was built as a polyandria, a common grave, for those
soldiers who had fallen in the struggle for the throne of Argos back in the 14th
Century B.C. He described the structure as something that resembled a pyramid with
the decorations of Argolic shields, showing the military connection to it. Another
pyramid that Pausanias saw on his journeys was at Kenchreai, another polyandria
dedicated to the Argives and Spartans who lost their lives at the Battle of Hysiai in
669 B.C. Unfortunately neither of these structures remain fully intact today to test
how closely they resembled the pyramids of Egypt nor is there any proof that they
even resembled an Egyptian pyramid at all.
There are two surviving pyramid-like structures still available to study, one at
Helleniko and the other at Ligourio, a village near the ancient theatre Epidaurus. With
these two pyramids base stones remaining, it is possible to determine that Grecian
pyramids existed, but were not used as the Egyptians used them. These buildings were
not constructed in the same manner as the pyramids in Egypt. The buildings at
Helleniko and Ligourio were no more than 30 meters tall and were surrounded by
walls, with the base of the Helleniko pyramid being nine meters by 7 meters. The
stone used to build the pyramids was limestone quarried locally and was cut to fit, not
into freestanding blocks like the Great Pyramid of Giza. The base of the structures
also differed from the Egyptian pyramids as they were rectangular, not square. This
simple construction shape made it very difficult to make the top of the building come

together in a point. As such, it makes more sense that these structures could have been
peaked by a roof or platform.
There are no remains or graves in or near the structures. Instead, the rooms that the
walls housed were made to be locked from the inside. This coupled with the platform
roof, means that one of the functions these structures could have served was as
watchtowers. Another possibility for the buildings is that they are shrines to heroes
and soldiers of ancient times, but the lock on the inside makes no sense for such a
purpose.
The dating of these pyramids has been made from the pot shards excavated from the
floor and on the grounds. The latest dates available from scientific dating have been
estimated around the 5th and 4th centuries. There are many researchers who have
given dates to the structures that pre-date the pyramids at Giza, but the method to
obtain these dates was thermoluminescence of the stone. Normally this technique is
used for dating pottery, but here researchers have used it to try and date stone flakes
from the walls of the structures. This has created some debate about whether or not
these pyramids are actually older than Egypt, which is part of the Black Athena
controversy. The basis for their use of thermoluminescence in order to date these
structures is a new method of collecting samples for testing. Scientists from
laboratories hired out by the recent excavators of the site, The Academy of Athens,
say that they can use the electrons trapped on the inner surface of the stones to
positively identify the date that the stones were quarried and put together.
The issue with this method is that they date the pyramids with a margin of error of up
to over 700 years. This method dated the Helleniko pyramid to 2730 B.C. with an
error factor of plus or minus 720 years. It also dated the Ligourio pyramid to 2260
B.C. with an error of plus or minus 710 years. Though these initial dates are indicative
of these structures being built before the pyramid complex at Giza, it also means that
they could have been built well after Khufus Great Pyramid was erected. Some
archaeologists, however, have indicated that these samples may have been very select
in their choice of which stones to sample. Further excavations of the site at Helleniko
reveal that it was constructed on a previously existing structure, giving a possibility
that the new methods of dating may be a misinterpretation.
Along with these two structures there are 14 more pyramid-like buildings, or their
remains, scattered throughout the rest of the country side of Greece. These sites do not
get as much attention as the two at Helleniko and Ligourio as they are the only ones
mentioned in surviving accounts of ancient travelers.

India

Detail of the main gopura (tower) of the Thanjavur Temple pyramid in Thanjavur,
Tamil Nadu
Many giant granite temple pyramids were made in South India during the Chola
Empire, many of which are still in religious use today. Examples of such pyramid
temples include Brihadisvara Temple at Thanjavur, the Temple of
Gangaikondacholisvaram and the Airavatesvara Temple at Darasuram. However the
largest temple pyramid in the area is Sri Rangam in Srirangam, Tamil Nadu. The
Brihadisvara Temple was declared by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1987; the
Temple of Gangaikondacholisvaram and the Airavatesvara Temple at Darasuram were
added as extensions to the site in 2004.[4]

Pyramid in the Mayan city of Chichen-Itza, Mexico

Mesoamerican pyramids
A number of Mesoamerican cultures also built pyramid-shaped structures.
Mesoamerican pyramids were usually stepped, with temples on top, more similar to
the Mesopotamian ziggurat than the Egyptian pyramid. The largest pyramid by
volume is the Great Pyramid of Cholula, in the Mexican state of Puebla. This pyramid
is considered the largest monument ever constructed anywhere in the world, and is
still being excavated. There is an unusual pyramid with a circular plan at the site of
Cuicuilco, now inside Mexico City and mostly covered with lava from an ancient
eruption of Xictli. Pyramids in Mexico were often used as places of human sacrifice.

Mesopotamian pyramids

The Mesopotamians also built pyramids, called ziggurats. In ancient times these were
brightly painted. Since they were constructed of mud-brick, little remains of them.
The Biblical Tower of Babel is believed to have been a Babylonian ziggurat.

North American pyramids

Many mound-building societies of ancient North America built large pyramidal earth
structures known as platform mounds. Among the largest and best-known of these
structures is Monk's Mound at the site of Cahokia, which has a base larger than that of
the Great Pyramid at Giza. While the North American mounds' precise function is not
known, they are believed to have played a central role in the mound-building people's
religious life.

Nubian pyramids
Nubian pyramids were constructed (roughly 220 of them) at three sites in Nubia to
serve as tombs for the kings and queens of Napata and Mero.
The Nubians built more pyramids than the Egyptians, but they are smaller. The
Nubian pyramids were constructed at a steeper angle than Egyptian ones and were
monuments to dead kings and queens.[5]
Pyramids were still being built in Nubia up to AD 300.

Rome

Pyramid of Cestius.
The 27-meter-high Pyramid of Cestius was built by the end of the first century BC
and still exists today, close to the Porta San Paolo. Another one, named Meta Romuli,
standing in the Ager Vaticanus (today's Borgo), was destroyed at the end of the 15th
century.
These Roman imitations of Egyptian monuments are important as contemporary
"portraits" of the Egyptian ones, providing some sense of their original color and
smoothness.

Medieval Europe
Pyramids have occasionally been used in Christian architecture of the feudal era, e.g.
as the tower of Oviedo's Gothic Cathedral of San Salvador. In some cases this leads to
speculations on masonic or other symbolical intentions.

Modern pyramids
Examples of modern pyramids are:

The Louvre Pyramid in Paris, France, in the court of the Louvre Museum, is a
20.6 meter (about 70 foot) glass structure which acts as an entrance to the
museum. It was designed by the American architect I. M. Pei and completed in
1989.
The Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco, California, designed by William
Pereira.
The 32-story Pyramid Arena in Memphis, Tennessee (built in 1991) was the
home court for the University of Memphis men's basketball program, and the
National Basketball Association's Memphis Grizzlies until 2004.
The Slovak radio building in Bratislava, Slovakia. This building is shaped like
an inverted pyramid.
The Walter Pyramid, home of the basketball and volleyball teams of the
California State University, Long Beach, campus in California, United States,
is an 18-story-tall blue pyramid.
The Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas, United States, is a 30-story pyramid with light
beaming from the top.
The Summum Pyramid, a 3 story pyramid in Salt Lake City, Utah, used for
instruction in the Summum philosophy and conducting rites associated with
Modern Mummification.
The Palace of Peace and Reconciliation in Astana, Kazakhstan.
The three pyramids of Moody Gardens in Galveston, Texas.
The Co-Op Bank Pyramid or Stockport Pyramid in Stockport, England is a
large pyramid-shaped office block in Stockport in England. (The surrounding
part of the valley of the upper Mersey has sometimes been called the "Kings
Valley" after the Valley of the Kings in Egypt.)
The GoJa Music Hall in Prague.
The Muttart Conservatory greenhouses in Edmonton, Alberta.
The unfinished Ryugyong Hotel in Pyongyang.
Small pyramids similar to those of the Louvre can be found outside the lobby
of the Citicorp Building in Long Island City, Queens NY.
The Pyramids of the City Stars Complex in Cairo, Egypt.
Pyramid building belonging to 3DPLM Software Solutions, at Hinjwadi,
Pune, India.[6]

Gallery

Stockport Pyramid in The Walter Pyramid The Pyramid Arena

Luxor Hotel in Las
Stockport, United
in Long Beach,
in Memphis,
Vegas, Nevada
Kingdom
California
Tennessee

Metairie Cemetery,
New Orleans

The Summum
Pyramid in Salt Lake
Transamerica
City, Utah
Pyramid

Zafer Plaza shopping

center in Bursa,
Turkey

Ancient Egypt

The pyramids are among the most recognizable symbols of the civilization of ancient
Egypt.
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization in eastern North Africa, concentrated along
the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern nation of Egypt. The
civilization began around 3150 BC[1] with the political unification of Upper and
Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh, and it developed over the next three millennia.[2]
Its history occurred in a series of stable periods, known as kingdoms, separated by
periods of relative instability known as Intermediate Periods. After the end of the last
kingdom, known as the New Kingdom, the civilization of ancient Egypt entered a
period of slow, steady decline, during which Egypt was conquered by a succession of
foreign powers. The rule of the pharaohs officially ended in 31 BC when the early
Roman Empire conquered Egypt and made it a province.[3]
The civilization of ancient Egypt thrived from its ability to adapt to the conditions of
the Nile River Valley. Controlled irrigation of the fertile valley produced surplus
crops, which fueled social development and culture. With resources to spare, the
administration sponsored mineral exploitation of the valley and surrounding desert
regions, the early development of an independent writing system, the organization of
collective construction and agricultural projects, trade with surrounding regions, and a
military that defeated foreign enemies and asserted Egyptian dominance. Motivating
and organizing these activities was a bureaucracy of elite scribes, religious leaders,
and administrators under the control of a divine pharaoh who ensured the cooperation
and unity of the Egyptian people through an elaborate system of religious beliefs.[4][5]

Map of ancient Egypt, showing major cities and sites of the Dynastic period (c.
3150 BC to 30 BC)
The many achievements of the ancient Egyptians included a system of mathematics,
quarrying, surveying and construction techniques that facilitated the building of
monumental pyramids, temples, obelisks, faience and glass technology, a practical
and effective system of medicine, new forms of literature, irrigation systems and
agricultural production techniques, and the earliest known peace treaty.[6] Egypt left a
lasting legacy: art and architecture were copied and antiquities paraded around the
world, and monumental ruins have inspired the imaginations of tourists and writers
for centuries. A newfound respect for antiquities and excavations in the early modern
period led to the scientific investigation of Egyptian civilization and a greater
appreciation of its cultural legacy for Egypt and the world.[7]

Contents
[hide]

1 History
o 1.1 Predynastic Period
o 1.2 Early Dynastic Period
o 1.3 Old Kingdom
o 1.4 First Intermediate Period
o 1.5 Middle Kingdom
o 1.6 Second Intermediate Period and the Hyksos
o 1.7 New Kingdom
o 1.8 Third Intermediate Period
o 1.9 Late Period

1.10 Ptolemaic Dynasty

1.11 Roman domination
2 Government and economy
o 2.1 Administration and commerce
o 2.2 Social status
o 2.3 Legal system
o 2.4 Agriculture
2.4.1 Animals
o 2.5 Natural resources
3 Language
o 3.1 Historical development
o 3.2 Sounds and grammar
o 3.3 Writing
o 3.4 Literature
4 Culture
o 4.1 Daily life
o 4.2 Architecture
o 4.3 Art
o 4.4 Religious beliefs
o 4.5 Burial customs
5 Foreign relations
o 5.1 Trade
o 5.2 Military
6 Technology, medicine, and mathematics
o 6.1 Technology
o 6.2 Faience and glass
o 6.3 Medicine
o 6.4 Mathematics
7 Legacy
8 Notes and references
o 8.1 Notes
o 8.2 References
o 8.3 Further reading
o
o

8.4 External links

History
Dynasties of Ancient Egypt
Predynastic Egypt
Protodynastic Period
Early Dynastic Period
Old Kingdom
First Intermediate Period
Middle Kingdom
Second Intermediate Period
New Kingdom
Third Intermediate Period

First Persian Period

Late Period
Second Persian Period
Ptolemaic Dynasty

Main articles: History of ancient Egypt and History of Egypt

By the late Paleolithic period, the arid climate of Northern Africa became increasingly
hot and dry, forcing the populations of the area to concentrate along the Nile valley,
and since nomadic hunter-gatherers began living in the region during the Pleistocene
some 1.8 million years ago, the Nile has been the lifeline of Egypt.[8] The fertile
floodplain of the Nile gave humans the opportunity to develop a settled agricultural
economy and a more sophisticated, centralized society that became a cornerstone in
the history of human civilization.[9]

A typical Naqada II jar decorated with gazelles. (Predynastic Period)

Predynastic Period
By about 5500 BC, small tribes living in the Nile valley had developed into a series of
unique cultures demonstrating firm control of agriculture and animal husbandry. The
earliest were established in Lower Egypt at el-Omari, Merimda, and in the Faiyum. At
the intersection of routes from the Sahara, the Nile valley, and the Near East, the
Faiyum Neolithic culture displayed characteristics of each and was noted for
advanced stone tools which shaped the prehistoric lithic industry in Egypt.[10][11]
Merimda was one of the largest northern communities, and was unique for its
sophisticated forms of vases and pottery ring-stands and ladles, and the stone
maceheads that became popular during the Old Kingdom.[12]
The earliest cultures in southern Egypt, the Badari, were established a few centuries
after their northern counterparts. Contemporaneous with the Maadi, Buto and
Heliopolitan cultures to the north,[13] the Badari culture was known for its high quality
ceramics, stone tools, and its use of copper.[14] Badarian burials, simple pit graves with
signs of social stratification, suggest that the culture was coming under the control of
more powerful leaders.[15] In the north, Maadian pottery was occasionally decorated
with birds and serekhs bearing the first Horus names, a sign of increasing cultural
sophistication.[16] Maadi was also the main source of basalt vessels, whose distribution

becomes more widespread in the south after northern Egypt falls under the control of
the Upper Egyptian rulers.[17]
The Naqada culture gradually developed into a civilization along the Nile by about
4000 BC. It had power centers at Nekhen and Abydos and it expanded its control of
Egypt northwards.[18] The people of Naqada manufactured painted pottery, high
quality decorative stone vases, cosmetic palettes, and jewelry made of gold, lapis, and
ivory. They also engaged in trade with Nubia, the oases of the western desert, and the
Levant.[19] Naqada developed a ceramic glaze known as faience, which was used far
into the Roman Period to decorate cups, amulets, and figurines.[20] During the last
phase of the predynastic, the Naqada culture began using written symbols that
evolved into a full system of hieroglyphs for writing the Egyptian language.[21]

[edit] Early Dynastic Period

The Narmer Palette depicts the unification of the Two Lands.[22]

The ancient Egyptians chose to begin their official history with a king named "Meni"
(or Menes in Greek) who they believed had united the two kingdoms of Upper and
Lower Egypt.[23] The transition to a unified state actually happened more gradually
than the ancient Egyptian writers would have us believe, and there is no contemporary
record of Menes. Scholars now believe, however, that the mythical Menes may have
actually been the pharaoh Narmer, who is depicted wearing royal regalia on the
ceremonial Narmer Palette in a symbolic act of unification.[24] The third century BC
Egyptian priest Manetho grouped the long line of pharaohs following Menes into 30
dynasties, a system still in use today.[25]
In the Early Dynastic Period about 3150 BC, the first pharaohs solidified their control
over lower Egypt by establishing a capital at Memphis, from which they could control
the labor force and agriculture of the fertile delta region as well as the lucrative and
critical trade routes to the Levant. The increasing power and wealth of the pharaohs
during the early dynastic period was reflected in their elaborate mastaba tombs and
mortuary cult structures at Abydos, which were used to celebrate the deified pharaoh
after his death.[26] The strong institution of kingship developed by the pharaohs served
to legitimize state control over the land, labor, and resources that were essential to the
survival and growth of ancient Egyptian civilization.[27]

Old Kingdom

Menkaura and his consort Queen Khamerernebty II

Stunning advances in architecture, art, and technology were made during the Old
Kingdom, fueled by the increased agricultural productivity made possible by a well
developed central administration.[28] Under the direction of the vizier, state officials
collected taxes, coordinated irrigation projects to improve crop yield, drafted peasants
to work on construction projects, and established a justice system to maintain peace
and order.[29] With the surplus resources made available by a productive and stable
economy, the state was able to sponsor construction of colossal monuments and to
commission exceptional works of art from the royal workshops. The pyramids built
by Djoser, Khufu, and their descendants are the most memorable symbols of ancient
Egyptian civilization, and power of the pharaohs that controlled it.
Along with the rising importance of a central administration arose a new class of
educated scribes and officials who were granted estates by the pharaoh in payment for
their services. Pharaohs also made land grants to their mortuary cults and local
temples to ensure that these institutions would have the necessary resources to
worship the pharaoh after his death. By the end of the Old Kingdom, five centuries of
these feudal practices had slowly eroded the economic power of the pharaoh, who
could no longer afford to support a large centralized administration.[30] As the power
of the pharaoh diminished, regional governors called nomarchs began to challenge the
supremacy of the pharaoh. This, coupled with severe droughts between 2200 and
2150 BC,[31] ultimately caused the country to enter a 140-year period of famine and
strife known as the First Intermediate Period.[32]

First Intermediate Period

After Egypt's central government collapsed at the end of the Old Kingdom, the
administration could no longer support or stabilize the country's economy. Regional
governors could not rely on the king for help in times of crisis, and the ensuing food
shortages and political disputes escalated into famines and small-scale civil wars. Yet
despite difficult problems, local leaders, owing no tribute to the pharaoh, used their
newfound independence to establish a thriving culture in the provinces. Once in

control of their own resources, the provinces became economically richera fact
demonstrated by larger and better burials among all social classes.[33] In bursts of
creativity, provincial artisans adopted and adapted cultural motifs formerly restricted
to the royalty of the Old Kingdom, and scribes developed literary styles that expressed
the optimism and originality of the period.[34]
Free from their loyalties to the pharaoh, local rulers began competing with each other
for territorial control and political power. By 2160 BC, rulers in Hierakonpolis
controlled Lower Egypt, while a rival clan based in Thebes, the Intef family, took
control of Upper Egypt. As the Intefs grew in power and expanded their control
northward, a clash between the two rival dynasties became inevitable. Around
2055 BC the Theban forces under Nebhepetre Mentuhotep II finally defeated the
Herakleopolitan rulers, reuniting the Two Lands and inaugurating a period of
economic and cultural renaissance known as the Middle Kingdom.[35]

Middle Kingdom

Mentuhotep II, the founder of the Middle Kingdom

The pharaohs of the Middle Kingdom restored the country's prosperity and stability,
thereby stimulating a resurgence of art, literature, and monumental building projects.
[36]
Mentuhotep II and his 11th Dynasty successors ruled from Thebes, but the vizier
Amenemhet I, upon assuming kingship at the beginning of the 12th Dynasty around
1985 BC, shifted the nation's capital to the city of Itjtawy located in Faiyum.[37] From
Itjtawy, the pharaohs of the 12th Dynasty undertook a far-sighted land reclamation
and irrigation scheme to increase agricultural output in the region. Moreover, the
military reconquered territory in Nubia rich in quarries and gold mines, while laborers
built a defensive structure in the Eastern Delta, called the "Walls-of-the-Ruler", to
defend against foreign attack.[38]
Having secured military and political security and vast agricultural and mineral
wealth, the nation's population, arts, and religion flourished. In contrast to elitist Old
Kingdom attitudes towards the gods, the Middle Kingdom experienced an increase in
expressions of personal piety and what could be called a democratization of the
afterlife, in which all people possessed a soul and could be welcomed into the
company of the gods after death.[39] Middle Kingdom literature featured sophisticated
themes and characters written in a confident, eloquent style,[34] and the relief and
portrait sculpture of the period captured subtle, individual details that reached new
heights of technical perfection.[40]

The last great ruler of the Middle Kingdom, Amenemhat III, allowed Asiatic settlers
into the delta region to provide a sufficient labor force for his especially active mining
and building campaigns. These ambitious building and mining activities, however,
combined with inadequate Nile floods later in his reign, strained the economy and
precipitated the slow decline into the Second Intermediate Period during the later 13th
and 14th dynasties. During this decline, the foreign Asiatic settlers began to seize
control of the delta region, eventually coming to power in Egypt as the Hyksos.[41]

Second Intermediate Period and the Hyksos

Around 1650 BC, as the power of the Middle Kingdom pharaohs weakened, Asiatic
immigrants living in the Eastern Delta town of Avaris seized control of the region and
forced the central government to retreat to Thebes, where the pharaoh was treated as a
vassal and expected to pay tribute.[42] The Hyksos ("foreign rulers") imitated Egyptian
models of government and portrayed themselves as pharaohs, thus integrating
Egyptian elements into their Middle Bronze Age culture.[43]
After their retreat, the Theban kings found themselves trapped between the Hyksos to
the north and the Hyksos' Nubian allies, the Kushites, to the south. Nearly 100 years
of tenuous inaction followed, and it was not until 1555 BC that the Theban forces
gathered enough strength to challenge the Hyksos in a conflict that would last more
than 30 years.[42] The pharaohs Seqenenre Tao II and Kamose were ultimately able to
defeat the Nubians, but it was Kamose's successor, Ahmose I, who successfully
waged a series of campaigns that permanently eradicated the Hyksos' presence in
Egypt. In the New Kingdom that followed, the military became a central priority for
the pharaohs seeking to expand Egypts borders and secure her complete dominance
of the Near East.[44]

The maximum territorial extent of Ancient Egypt (15th century BC)

New Kingdom
The New Kingdom pharaohs established a period of unprecedented prosperity by
securing their borders and strengthening diplomatic ties with their neighbors. Military
campaigns waged under Tuthmosis I and his grandson Tuthmosis III extended the
influence of the pharaohs into Syria and Nubia, cementing loyalties and opening
access to critical imports such as bronze and wood.[45] The New Kingdom pharaohs
began a large-scale building campaign to promote the god Amun, whose growing cult
was based in Karnak. They also constructed monuments to glorify their own
achievements, both real and imagined. The female pharaoh Hatshepsut used such

propaganda to legitimize her claim to the throne.[46] Her successful reign was marked
by trading expeditions to Punt, an elegant mortuary temple, a colossal pair of obelisks
and a chapel at Karnak. Despite her achievements, Hatshepsut's nephew-stepson
Tuthmosis III sought to erase her legacy near the end of his reign, possibly in
retaliation for usurping his throne.[47]

Four colossal statues of Ramesses II flank the entrance of his temple Abu Simbel.
Around 1350 BC, the stability of the New Kingdom was threatened when Amenhotep
IV ascended the throne and instituted a series of radical and chaotic reforms.
Changing his name to Akhenaten, he touted the previously obscure sun god Aten as
the supreme deity, suppressed the worship of other deities, and attacked the power of
the priestly establishment.[48] Moving the capital to the new city of Akhetaten
(modern-day Amarna), Akhenaten turned a deaf ear to foreign affairs and absorbed
himself in his new religion and artistic style. After his death, the cult of the Aten was
quickly abandoned, and the subsequent pharaohs Tutankhamun, Ay, and Horemheb
erased all mention of Akhenaten's heresy, now known as the Amarna Period.[49]
The 18th Dynasty ended when its last three kingsTutankhamun, Aye, and
Horemhebeach died without an heir. Ramesses II, also known as Ramesses the
Great, ascended the throne around 1279 BC at the age of 18 and built more temples,
erected more statues and obelisks, and sired more children than any other pharaoh in
history.[50] A bold military leader, Ramesses II led his army against the Hittites in the
Battle of Kadesh and, after fighting to a stalemate, finally agreed to the first recorded
peace treaty around 1258 BC.[51] Egypt's wealth, however, made it a tempting target
for invasion, particularly by the Libyans and the Sea Peoples. Initially, the military
was able to repel these invasions, but Egypt eventually lost control of Syria and
Palestine. The impact of external threats was exacerbated by internal problems such as
corruption, tomb robbery and civil unrest. The high priests at the temple of Amun in
Thebes accumulated vast tracts of land and wealth, and their growing power
splintered the country during the Third Intermediate Period.[52]

Around 730 BC Libyans from the west fractured the political unity of the country.

Third Intermediate Period

Following the death of Ramesses XI in 1078 BC, Smendes assumed authority over
the northern part of Egypt, ruling from the city of Tanis. The south was effectively
controlled by the High Priests of Amun at Thebes, who recognized Smendes in name
only.[53] During this time, Libyans had been settling in the western delta, and
chieftains of these settlers began increasing their autonomy. Libyan princes took
control of the delta under Shoshenq I in 945, founding the so-called Libyan or
Bubastite dynasty that would rule for some 200 years. Sheshonq also gained control
of southern Egypt by placing his family members in important priestly positions.
Libyan control began to erode as a rival dynasty in the delta arose in Leontopolis, and
Kushites threatened from the south. Around 727 BC the Kushite king Piye invaded
northward, seizing control of Thebes and eventually the Delta.[54]
Egypt's far-reaching prestige declined considerably toward the end of the Third
Intermediate Period. Its foreign allies had fallen under the Assyrian sphere of
influence, and by 700 BC war between the two states became inevitable. Between 671
and 667 BC the Assyrians began their attack on Egypt. The reigns of both Taharqa
and his successor, Tanutamun, were filled with constant conflict with the Assyrians,
against whom Egypt enjoyed several victories. Ultimately, the Assyrians pushed the
Kushites back into Nubia, occupied Memphis, and sacked the temples of Thebes.[55]

Late Period
With no permanent plans for conquest, the Assyrians left control of Egypt to a series
of vassals who became known as the Saite kings of the Twenty-Sixth Dynasty. By
653 BC, the Saite king Psamtik I was able to oust the Assyrians with the help of
Greek mercenaries, who were recruited to form Egypt's first navy. Greek influence
expanded greatly as the city of Naukratis became the home of Greeks in the delta. The
Saite kings based in the new capital of Sais witnessed a brief but spirited resurgence
in the economy and culture, but in 525 BC, the powerful Persians, led by Cambyses
II, began their conquest of Egypt, eventually capturing the pharaoh Psamtik III at the

battle of Pelusium. Cambyses II then assumed the formal title of pharaoh, but ruled
Egypt from his home of Susa, leaving Egypt under the control of a satrapy. A few
successful revolts against the Persians marked the 5th century BC, but Egypt was
never able to permanently overthrow the Persians.[56]
Following its annexation by Persia, Egypt was joined with Cyprus and Phoenicia in
the sixth satrapy of the Achaemenid Persian Empire. This first period of Persian rule
over Egypt, also known as the Twenty-Seventh dynasty, ended in 402 BC, and from
380343 BC the Thirtieth Dynasty ruled as the last native royal house of dynastic
Egypt, which ended with the kingship of Nectanebo II. A brief restoration of Persian
rule, sometimes known as the Thirty-First Dynasty, began in 343 BC, but shortly
after, in 332 BC, the Persian ruler Mazaces handed Egypt over to Alexander the Great
without a fight.[57]

Ptolemaic Dynasty

Cleopatra VII adopted the ancient traditions and language of Egypt.

In 332 BC, Alexander the Great conquered Egypt with little resistance from the
Persians and was welcomed by the Egyptians as a deliverer. The administration
established by Alexander's successors, the Ptolemies, was based on an Egyptian
model and based in the new capital city of Alexandria. The city was to showcase the
power and prestige of Greek rule, and became a seat of learning and culture, centered
at the famous Library of Alexandria.[58] The Lighthouse of Alexandria lit the way for
the many ships, which kept trade flowing through the city, as the Ptolemies made
commerce and revenue-generating enterprises, such as papyrus manufacturing, their
top priority.[59]
Greek culture did not supplant native Egyptian culture, as the Ptolemies supported
time-honored traditions in an effort to secure the loyalty of the populace. They built
new temples in Egyptian style, supported traditional cults, and portrayed themselves
as pharaohs. Some traditions merged, as Greek and Egyptian gods were syncretized
into composite deities, such as Serapis, and classical Greek forms of sculpture

influenced traditional Egyptian motifs. Despite their efforts to appease the Egyptians,
the Ptolemies were challenged by native rebellion, bitter family rivalries, and the
powerful mob of Alexandria which had formed following the death of Ptolemy IV.[60]
In addition, as Rome relied more heavily on imports of grain from Egypt, the Romans
took great interest in the political situation in the country. Continued Egyptian
revolting, ambitious politicians, and powerful Syrian opponents made this situation
unstable, leading Rome to send forces to secure the country as a province of its
empire.[61]

The Fayum mummy portraits epitomize the meeting of Egyptian and Roman cultures.

Roman domination
Main article: History of Roman Egypt
Egypt became a province of the Roman Empire in 30 BC, following the defeat of
Marc Antony and Ptolemaic Queen Cleopatra VII by Octavian (later Emperor
Augustus) in the Battle of Actium. The Romans relied heavily on grain shipments
from Egypt, and the Roman army, under the control of a prefect appointed by the
Emperor, quelled rebellions, strictly enforced the collection of heavy taxes, and
prevented attacks by bandits, which had become a notorious problem during the
period.[62] Alexandria became an increasingly important center on the trade route with
the orient, as exotic luxuries were in high demand in Rome.[63]
Although the Romans had a more hostile attitude than the Greeks towards the
Egyptians, some traditions such as mummification and worship of the traditional gods
continued.[64] The art of mummy portraiture flourished, and some of the Roman
emperors had themselves depicted as pharaohs, though not to the extent that the
Ptolemies had. The former lived outside Egypt and did not perform the ceremonial
functions of Egyptian kingship. Local administration became Roman in style and
closed to native Egyptians.[64]
From the mid-first century AD, Christianity took root in Alexandria and spread.
Incompatible with paganism, Christianity sought to win converts and threatened
popular religious traditions. This led to persecution of converts to Christianity,
culminating in the great purges of Diocletian starting in 303 AD, but eventually
Christianity won out.[65] As a consequence, Egypt's pagan culture was continually in
decline. While the native population continued to speak their language, the ability to

read hieroglyphic writing slowly disappeared as the role of the Egyptian temple
priests and priestesses diminished. The temples themselves were sometimes converted
to churches or abandoned to the desert.[66]

Government and economy

Administration and commerce

The pharaoh was usually depicted wearing symbols of royalty and power.
The pharaoh was the absolute monarch of the country and, at least in theory, wielded
complete control of the land and its resources. The king was the supreme military
commander and head of the government, who relied on a bureaucracy of officials to
manage his affairs. In charge of the administration was his second in command, the
vizier, who acted as the king's representative and coordinated land surveys, the
treasury, building projects, the legal system, and the archives.[67] At a regional level,
the country was divided into as many as 42 administrative regions called nomes each
governed by a nomarch, who was accountable to the vizier for his jurisdiction. The
temples formed the backbone of the economy. Not only were they houses of worship,
but were also responsible for collecting and storing the nation's wealth in a system of
granaries and treasuries administered by overseers, who redistributed grain and goods.
[68]

Much of the economy was centrally organized and strictly controlled. Although the
ancient Egyptians did not use coinage until the Late period, they did use a type of
money-barter system,[69] with standard sacks of grain and the deben, a weight of
roughly 91 grams (3 oz) of copper or silver, forming a common denominator.[70]
Workers were paid in grain; a simple laborer might earn 5 sacks (200 kg or 400 lb)
of grain per month, while a foreman might earn 7 sacks (250 kg or 550 lb). Prices
were fixed across the country and recorded in lists to facilitate trading; for example a
shirt cost five copper deben, while a cow cost 140 deben.[70] Grain could be traded for
other goods, according to the fixed price list.[70] During the 5th century BC coined
money was introduced into Egypt from abroad. At first the coins were used as

standardized pieces of precious metal rather than true money, but in the following
centuries international traders came to rely on coinage.[71]

Social status
Egyptian society was highly stratified, and social status was expressly displayed.
Farmers made up the bulk of the population, but agricultural produce was owned
directly by the state, temple, or noble family that owned the land.[72] Farmers were
also subject to a labor tax and were required to work on irrigation or construction
projects in a corve system.[73] Artists and craftsmen were of higher status than
farmers, but they were also under state control, working in the shops attached to the
temples and paid directly from the state treasury. Scribes and officials formed the
upper class in ancient Egypt, the so-called "white kilt class" in reference to the
bleached linen garments that served as a mark of their rank.[74] The upper class
prominently displayed their social status in art and literature. Below the nobility were
the priests, physicians, and engineers with specialized training in their field. Slavery
was known in ancient Egypt, but the extent and prevalence of its practice are unclear.
[75]

The ancient Egyptians viewed men and women, including people from all social
classes except slaves, as essentially equal under the law, and even the lowliest peasant
was entitled to petition the vizier and his court for redress.[76] Both men and women
had the right to own and sell property, make contracts, marry and divorce, receive
inheritance, and pursue legal disputes in court. Married couples could own property
jointly and protect themselves from divorce by agreeing to marriage contracts, which
stipulated the financial obligations of the husband to his wife and children should the
marriage end. Compared with their counterparts in ancient Greece, Rome, and even
more modern places around the world, ancient Egyptian women had a greater range of
personal choices and opportunities for achievement. Women such as Hatshepsut and
Cleopatra even became pharaohs, while others wielded power as Divine Wives of
Amun. Despite these freedoms, ancient Egyptian women did not take part in official
roles in the administration, served only secondary roles in the temples, and were not
as likely to be as educated as men.[76]

Scribes were elite and well educated. They assessed taxes, kept records, and were
responsible for administration.

Legal system
The head of the legal system was officially the pharaoh, who was responsible for
enacting laws, delivering justice, and maintaining law and order, a concept the ancient
Egyptians referred to as Ma'at.[67] Although no legal codes from ancient Egypt survive,
court documents show that Egyptian law was based on a common-sense view of right
and wrong that emphasized reaching agreements and resolving conflicts rather than
strictly adhering to a complicated set of statutes.[76] Local councils of elders, known as
Kenbet in the New Kingdom, were responsible for ruling in court cases involving
small claims and minor disputes.[67] More serious cases involving murder, major land
transactions, and tomb robbery were referred to the Great Kenbet, over which the
vizier or pharaoh presided. Plaintiffs and defendants were expected to represent
themselves and were required to swear an oath that they had told the truth. In some
cases, the state took on both the role of prosecutor and judge, and it could torture the
accused with beatings to obtain a confession and the names of any co-conspirators.
Whether the charges were trivial or serious, court scribes documented the complaint,
testimony, and verdict of the case for future reference.[77]
Punishment for minor crimes involved either imposition of fines, beatings, facial
mutilation, or exile, depending on the severity of the offense. Serious crimes such as
murder and tomb robbery were punished by execution, carried out by decapitation,
drowning, or impaling the criminal on a stake. Punishment could also be extended to
the criminal's family.[67] Beginning in the New Kingdom, oracles played a major role
in the legal system, dispensing justice in both civil and criminal cases. The procedure
was to ask the god a "yes" or "no" question concerning the right or wrong of an issue.
The god, carried by a number of priests, rendered judgment by choosing one or the
other, moving forward or backward, or pointing to one of the answers written on a
piece of papyrus or an ostracon.[78]

Agriculture
See also: Ancient Egyptian cuisine

A tomb relief depicts workers plowing the fields, harvesting the crops, and threshing
the grain under the direction of an overseer.
A combination of favorable geographical features contributed to the success of
ancient Egyptian culture, the most important of which was the rich fertile soil
resulting from annual inundations of the Nile river. The ancient Egyptians were thus
able to produce an abundance of food, allowing the population to devote more time

and resources to cultural, technological, and artistic pursuits. Land management was
crucial in ancient Egypt because taxes were assessed based on the amount of land a
person owned.[79]
Farming in Egypt was dependent on the cycle of the Nile River. The Egyptians
recognized three seasons: Akhet (flooding), Peret (planting), and Shemu (harvesting).
The flooding season lasted from June to September, depositing on the river's banks a
layer of mineral-rich silt ideal for growing crops. After the floodwaters had receded,
the growing season lasted from October to February. Farmers plowed and planted
seeds in the fields, which were irrigated with ditches and canals. Egypt received little
rainfall, so farmers relied on the Nile to water their crops.[80] From March to May,
farmers used sickles to harvest their crops, which were then threshed with a flail to
separate the straw from the grain. Winnowing removed the chaff from the grain, and
the grain was then ground into flour, brewed to make beer, or stored for later use.[81]
The ancient Egyptians cultivated emmer and barley, and several other cereal grains,
all of which were used to make the two main food staples of bread and beer.[82] Flax
plants, uprooted before they started flowering, were grown for the fibers of their
stems. These fibers were split along their length and spun into thread, which was used
to weave sheets of linen and to make clothing. Papyrus growing on the banks of the
Nile River was used to make paper. Vegetables and fruits were grown in garden plots,
close to habitations and on higher ground, and had to be watered by hand. Vegetables
included leeks, garlic, melons, squashes, pulses, lettuce, and other crops, in addition
to grapes that were made into wine.[83]

Sennedjem plows his fields with a pair of oxen, used as beasts of burden and a source
of food.
Animals
The Egyptians believed that a balanced relationship between people and animals was
an essential element of the cosmic order; thus humans, animals and plants were
believed to be members of a single whole.[84] Animals, both domesticated and wild,
were therefore a critical source of spirituality, companionship, and sustenance to the
ancient Egyptians. Cattle were the most important livestock; the administration
collected taxes on livestock in regular censuses, and the size of a herd reflected the
prestige and importance of the estate or temple that owned them. In addition to cattle,
the ancient Egyptians kept sheep, goats, and pigs. Poultry such as ducks, geese, and
pigeons were captured in nets and bred on farms, where they were force-fed with
dough to fatten them.[85] The Nile provided a plentiful source of fish. Bees were also
domesticated from at least the Old Kingdom, and they provided both honey and wax.
[86]

The ancient Egyptians used donkeys and oxen as beasts of burden, and they were
responsible for plowing the fields and trampling seed into the soil. The slaughter of a
fattened ox was also a central part of an offering ritual.[85] Horses were introduced by
the Hyksos in the Second Intermediate Period, and the camel, although known from
the New Kingdom, was not used as a beast of burden until the Late Period.[85] Dogs,
cats and monkeys were common family pets, while more exotic pets imported from
the heart of Africa, such as lions, were reserved for royalty. Herodotus observed that
the Egyptians were the only people to keep their animals with them in their houses.[84]
During the Predynastic and Late periods, the worship of the gods in their animal form
was extremely popular, such as the cat goddess Bastet and the ibis god Thoth, and
these animals were bred in large numbers on farms for the purpose of ritual sacrifice.
[87]

Natural resources
Further information: Mining in Egypt
Egypt is rich in building and decorative stone, copper and lead ores, gold, and
semiprecious stones. These natural resources allowed the ancient Egyptians to build
monuments, sculpt statues, make tools, and fashion jewelry.[88] Embalmers used salts
from the Wadi Natrun for mummification, which also provided the gypsum needed to
make plaster.[89] Ore-bearing rock formations were found in distant, inhospitable
wadis in the eastern desert and the Sinai, requiring large, state-controlled expeditions
to obtain natural resources found there. There were extensive gold mines in Nubia,
and one of the first maps known is of a gold mine in this region. The Wadi
Hammamat was a notable source of granite, greywacke, and gold. Flint was the first
mineral collected and used to make tools, and flint handaxes are the earliest pieces of
evidence of habitation in the Nile valley. Nodules of the mineral were carefully flaked
to make blades and arrowheads of moderate hardness and durability even after copper
was adopted for this purpose.[90]
The Egyptians worked deposits of the lead ore galena at Gebel Rosas to make net
sinkers, plumb bobs, and small figurines. Copper was the most important metal for
toolmaking in ancient Egypt and was smelted in furnaces from malachite ore mined in
the Sinai.[91] Workers collected gold by washing the nuggets out of sediment in
alluvial deposits, or by the more labor-intensive process of grinding and washing
gold-bearing quartzite. Iron deposits found in upper Egypt were utilized in the Late
Period.[92] High-quality building stones were abundant in Egypt; the ancient Egyptians
quarried limestone all along the Nile valley, granite from Aswan, and basalt and
sandstone from the wadis of the eastern desert. Deposits of decorative stones such as
porphyry, greywacke, alabaster, and carnelian dotted the eastern desert and were
collected even before the First Dynasty. In the Ptolemaic and Roman Periods, miners
worked deposits of emeralds in Wadi Sikait and amethyst in Wadi el-Hudi.[93]

Language
Main article: Egyptian language

Historical development

r n kmt
'Egyptian language'
in hieroglyphs

The Egyptian language is a northern Afro-Asiatic language closely related to Berber

and Semitic.[94] It has the longest documented history of any language, having
remained in written use from c. 3200 BC to the Middle Ages and as a spoken
language for longer. Two major phases of the language are identified: Earlier
Egyptian comprising Old and Middle Egyptian (Classical Egyptian), and Later
Egyptian, which includes the Late, Demotic and Coptic stages of the language.[95]
While pre-Coptic writing does not convey dialectal differences, it is likely that
Egyptian was spoken in several regional dialects centered around Memphis and later
Thebes.[96]
The transition from Earlier to Later Egyptian displays a number of innovations,
namely a change from synthetic to more analytic patterns that undergo
grammaticalization, and the development of different scripts for writing the language.
Later Egyptian develops prefixal definite and indefinite articles, which replace the
earlier suffix markers of inflectional categories, and undergoes a change from the
older VSO word order to SVO.[97] The older Egyptian writing systems, namely the
native hieroglyphic, hieratic, and demotic scripts, eventually give way to the more
phonetic Coptic alphabet. The last phase of Egyptian, Coptic, continues to be used in
the liturgy of the Egyptian Orthodox Church, and traces of it are found in modern
Egyptian Arabic.[98]

Sounds and grammar

Egyptian has a phonemic inventory of about 25 consonants similar to those of other
Afro-Asiatic languages. These include the characteristic pharyngeal and to a lesser
extent emphatic consonants, in addition to voiced and voiceless stops, voiceless
fricatives and voiced and voiceless affricates. Three long and three short vowels,
which expanded in Later Egyptian to about nine, are distinguished.[99] The basic word
in Egyptian, similar to Semitic and Berber, is a triliteral or biliteral root made up of a
sequence of consonants and semiconsonants to which affixes are attached to indicate
grammatical categories. Finite verbs correspond to the forms of the person markers,
yielding a paradigm of 11 in Earlier Egyptian. The triconsonantal skeleton S--M is
the semantic core of the word 'hear'; its basic conjugation is sm=f 'he hears'. In most
cases, a non-finite verb heads a clause if the subject is nominal:[100] sm mt 'the
woman hears'.
Adjectives are formed derivationally from a noun through a process that
Egyptologists call nisbation due to its similarity with that of Arabic.[101] The typical
order of constituents is PREDICATE-SUBJECT in sentences with verbal and adjectival
predicates, and SUBJECT-PREDICATE in sentences in which the predicate is a noun
phrase or an adpositional phrase.[102] Verb arguments can be topicalized at the

beginning of sentences if they are long noun phrases, and are followed by a
coreferential pronoun.[103] Negation in Middle Egyptian is usually expressed through
the addition of the particle n before a verb form or a noun phrase, or nn to negate a
clause with an adverbial or adjectival predicate. Stress falls on the ultimate or
penultimate syllable, which can be open (CV) or closed (CVC).[104]

Writing
Main article: Egyptian hieroglyphs

The Rosetta stone enabled linguists to begin the process of hieroglyph decipherment.
[105]

Hieroglyphic writing dates to c. 3200 BC, and is composed of some 500 symbols. A
hieroglyph can represent a word, a phoneme, or a silent determinative; and the same
symbol can serve different purposes in different contexts. Hieroglyphs were a formal
script, used on stone monuments and in tombs, that could be as detailed as individual
works of art. In day-to-day writing, scribes used a cursive form of writing, called
hieratic, which was quicker and easier. While formal hieroglyphs may be read in rows
or columns in either direction (though typically written from right to left), hieratic was
always written from right to left, usually in horizontal rows. A new form of writing,
Demotic, became the prevalent writing style, and it is this form of writingalong
with formal hieroglyphsthat accompany the Greek text on the Rosetta Stone.
Around the 1st century AD, the native demotic script gave way to the Coptic alphabet,
a modified Greek alphabet with the addition of demotic graphemes.[106] Although
formal hieroglyphs were used in a ceremonial role until the 4th century AD, towards
the end only a small handful of priests could still read them. As the traditional
religious establishments were disbanded, knowledge of hieroglyphic writing was
mostly lost. Attempts to decipher them date to the Byzantine[107] and Islamic periods in
Egypt,[108] but only in 1822, after the discovery of the Rosetta stone and years of
research by Thomas Young and Jean-Franois Champollion, were hieroglyphs almost
fully deciphered.[109]

The Edwin Smith surgical papyrus describes anatomy and medical treatments and is
written in hieratic.

Literature
Main article: Ancient Egyptian literature
Writing first appeared in association with kingship on labels and tags for items found
in royal tombs. It was primarily an occupation of the scribes, who worked out of the
Per Ankh institution or the House of Life. The latter comprised offices, libraries
(called House of Books), laboratories and observatories.[110] Some of the best-known
pieces of ancient Egyptian literature, such as the Pyramid and Coffin Texts, were
written in Classical Egyptian, which continued to be the language of writing until
about 1300 BC. Later Egyptian was spoken from the New Kingdom onward and is
represented in Ramesside administrative documents, love poetry and tales, as well as
in Demotic and Coptic texts. During this period, the tradition of writing had evolved
into the tomb autobiography, such as those of Harkhuf and Weni. The genre known as
Sebayt (Instructions) was developed to communicate teachings and guidance from
famous nobles; the Ipuwer papyrus, a poem of lamentations describing natural
disasters and social upheaval, is a famous example.
The Story of Sinuhe, written in Middle Egyptian, might be the classic of Egyptian
literature.[111] Also written at this time was the Westcar Papyrus, a set of stories told to
Khufu by his sons relating the marvels performed by priests.[112] Towards the end of
the New Kingdom, the vernacular language was more often employed to write
popular pieces like the Story of Wenamun and the Instructions of Ani. The former
tells the story of a noble who is robbed on his way to buy cedar from Lebanon and of
his struggle to return to Egypt. From about 700 BC, narrative stories and instructions,
such as the popular Instructions of Onchsheshonqy, as well as personal and business
documents were written in the demotic script and phase of Egyptian. Many stories
written in demotic during the Graeco-Roman period were set in previous historical
eras, when Egypt was an independent nation ruled by great pharaohs such as
Ramesses II.[113]

Culture
Daily life

Lower-Class Ancient Egyptian Statuettes.

The ancient Egyptians maintained a rich cultural heritage complete with feasts and
festivals accompanied by music and dance.
Most ancient Egyptians were farmers tied to the land. Their dwellings were restricted
to immediate family members, and were constructed of mud-brick designed to remain
cool in the heat of the day. Each home had a kitchen with an open roof, which
contained a grindstone for milling flour and a small oven for baking bread.[114] Walls
were painted white and could be covered with dyed linen wall hangings. Floors were
covered with reed mats, while wooden stools, beds raised from the floor and
individual tables comprised the furniture.[115]
The ancient Egyptians placed a great value on hygiene and appearance. Most bathed
in the Nile and used a pasty soap made from animal fat and chalk. Men shaved their
entire bodies for cleanliness, and aromatic perfumes and ointments covered bad odors
and soothed skin.[116] Clothing was made from simple linen sheets that were bleached
white, and both men and women of the upper classes wore wigs, jewelry, and
cosmetics. Children went without clothing until maturity, at about age 12, and at this
age males were circumcised and had their heads shaved. Mothers were responsible for
taking care of the children, while the father provided the family's income.[117]
The staple diet consisted of bread and beer, supplemented with vegetables such as
onions and garlic, and fruit such as dates and figs. Wine and meat were enjoyed by all
on feast days while the upper classes indulged on a more regular basis. Fish, meat,
and fowl could be salted or dried, and could be cooked in stews or roasted on a grill.
[118]
Music and dance were popular entertainments for those who could afford them.
Early instruments included flutes and harps, while instruments similar to trumpets,
oboes, and pipes developed later and became popular. In the New Kingdom, the
Egyptians played on bells, cymbals, tambourines, and drums and imported lutes and
lyres from Asia.[119] The sistrum was a rattle-like musical instrument that was
especially important in religious ceremonies.
The ancient Egyptians enjoyed a variety of leisure activities, including games and
music. Senet, a board game where pieces moved according to random chance, was
particularly popular from the earliest times; another similar game was mehen, which
had a circular gaming board. Juggling and ball games were popular with children, and
wrestling is also documented in a tomb at Beni Hasan.[120] The wealthy members of
ancient Egyptian society enjoyed hunting and boating as well.

Karnak temple's hypostyle halls are constructed with rows of thick columns
supporting the roof beams.

Architecture
Main article: Ancient Egyptian architecture
The architecture of ancient Egypt includes some of the most famous structures in the
world: the Great Pyramids of Giza and the temples at Thebes. Building projects were
organized and funded by the state for religious and commemorative purposes, but also
to reinforce the power of the pharaoh. The ancient Egyptians were skilled builders;
using simple but effective tools and sighting instruments, architects could build large
stone structures with accuracy and precision.[121]
The domestic dwellings of elite and ordinary Egyptians alike were constructed from
perishable materials such as mud bricks and wood, and have not survived. Peasants
lived in simple homes, while the palaces of the elite were more elaborate structures. A
few surviving New Kingdom palaces, such as those in Malkata and Amarna, show
richly decorated walls and floors with scenes of people, birds, water pools, deities and
geometric designs.[122] Important structures such as temples and tombs that were
intended to last forever were constructed of stone instead of bricks. The architectural
elements used in the world's first large-scale stone building, Djoser's mortuary
complex, include post and lintel supports in the papyrus and lotus motif.
The earliest preserved ancient Egyptian temples, such as those at Giza, consist of
single, enclosed halls with roof slabs supported by columns. In the New Kingdom,
architects added the pylon, the open courtyard, and the enclosed hypostyle hall to the
front of the temple's sanctuary, a style that was standard until the Graeco-Roman
period.[123] The earliest and most popular tomb architecture in the Old Kingdom was
the mastaba, a flat-roofed rectangular structure of mudbrick or stone built over an
underground burial chamber. The step pyramid of Djoser is a series of stone mastabas
stacked on top of each other. Pyramids were built during the Old and Middle
Kingdoms, but later rulers abandoned them in favor of less conspicuous rock-cut
tombs.[124]

Art

The Bust of Nefertiti, by the sculptor Thutmose, is one of the most famous
masterpieces of ancient Egyptian art.
Main article: Art of Ancient Egypt
The ancient Egyptians produced art to serve functional purposes. For over 3500 years,
artists adhered to artistic forms and iconography that were developed during the Old
Kingdom, following a strict set of principles that resisted foreign influence and
internal change.[125] These artistic standardssimple lines, shapes, and flat areas of
color combined with the characteristic flat projection of figures with no indication of
spatial depthcreated a sense of order and balance within a composition. Images and
text were intimately interwoven on tomb and temple walls, coffins, stelae, and even
statues. The Narmer Palette, for example, displays figures which may also be read as
hieroglyphs.[126] Because of the rigid rules that governed its highly stylized and
symbolic appearance, ancient Egyptian art served its political and religious purposes
with precision and clarity.[127]
Ancient Egyptian artisans used stone to carve statues and fine reliefs, but used wood
as a cheap and easily carved substitute. Paints were obtained from minerals such as
iron ores (red and yellow ochres), copper ores (blue and green), soot or charcoal
(black), and limestone (white). Paints could be mixed with gum arabic as a binder and
pressed into cakes, which could be moistened with water when needed.[128] Pharaohs
used reliefs to record victories in battle, royal decrees, and religious scenes. Common
citizens had access to pieces of funerary art, such as shabti statues and books of the
dead, which they believed would protect them in the afterlife.[129] During the Middle
Kingdom, wooden or clay models depicting scenes from everyday life became
popular additions to the tomb. In an attempt to duplicate the activities of the living in
the afterlife, these models show laborers, houses, boats, and even military formations
that are scale representations of the ideal ancient Egyptian afterlife.[130]
Despite the homogeneity of ancient Egyptian art, the styles of particular times and
places sometimes reflected changing cultural or political attitudes. After the invasion
of the Hyksos in the Second Intermediate Period, Minoan-style frescoes were found in
Avaris.[131] The most striking example of a politically driven change in artistic forms
comes from the Amarna period, where figures were radically altered to conform to
Akhenaten's revolutionary religious ideas.[132] This style, known as Amarna art, was
quickly and thoroughly erased after Akhenaten's death and replaced by the traditional
forms.[133]

Religious beliefs
Main article: Ancient Egyptian religion

The book of the dead was a guide to the deceased's journey in the afterlife.
Beliefs in the divine and in the afterlife were ingrained in ancient Egyptian
civilization from its inception; pharaonic rule was based on the divine right of kings.
The Egyptian pantheon was populated by gods who had supernatural powers and were
called on for help or protection. However, the gods were not always viewed as
benevolent, and Egyptians believed they had to be appeased with offerings and
prayers. The structure of this pantheon changed continually as new deities were
promoted in the hierarchy, but priests made no effort to organize the diverse and
sometimes conflicting creation myths and stories into a coherent system.[134]

The Ka statue provided a physical place for the Ka to manifest.

Gods were worshiped in cult temples administered by priests acting on the king's
behalf. At the center of the temple was the cult statue in a shrine. Temples were not
places of public worship or congregation, and only on select feast days and
celebrations was a shrine carrying the statue of the god brought out for public
worship. Normally, the god's domain was sealed off from the outside world and was
only accessible to temple officials. Common citizens could worship private statues in
their homes, and amulets offered protection against the forces of chaos.[135] After the
New Kingdom, the pharaoh's role as a spiritual intermediary was de-emphasized as
religious customs shifted to direct worship of the gods. As a result, priests developed a
system of oracles to communicate the will of the gods directly to the people.[136] An
oracle could be a statue of a god that could be asked a yes or no question, to which it
would "respond" by hidden manipulations of a priest, who could also pose questions
behind closed doors. Oracles became very popular for appealing legal verdicts or for
justifying military actions and political decisions.[136]

The Egyptians believed that every human being was composed of physical and
spiritual parts or aspects. In addition to the body, each person had a wt (shadow), a
ba (personality or soul), a ka (life-force), and a name.[137] The heart, rather than the
brain, was considered the seat of thoughts and emotions. After death, the spiritual
aspects were released from the body and could move at will, but they required the
physical remains (or a substitute, such as a statue) as a permanent home. The ultimate
goal of the deceased was to rejoin his ka and ba and become one of the "blessed
dead", living on as an akh, or "effective one". In order for this to happen, the deceased
had to be judged worthy in a trial, in which the heart was weighed against a "feather
of truth". If deemed worthy, the deceased could continue their existence on earth in
spiritual form.[138]

Pharaohs' tombs were provided with vast quantities of wealth, such as this golden
mask from the mummy of Tutankhamun.

Burial customs
Main article: Ancient Egyptian burial customs
The ancient Egyptians maintained an elaborate set of burial customs that they
believed were necessary to ensure immortality after death. These customs involved
preserving the body by mummification, performing burial ceremonies, and interring,
along with the body, goods to be used by the deceased in the afterlife.[129] Before the
Old Kingdom, bodies buried in desert pits were naturally preserved by desiccation.
The arid, desert conditions continued to be a boon throughout the history of ancient
Egypt for the burials of the poor, who could not afford the elaborate burial
preparations available to the elite. Wealthier Egyptians began to bury their dead in
stone tombs and, as a result, they made use of artificial mummification, which
involved removing the internal organs, wrapping the body in linen, and burying it in a
rectangular stone sarcophagus or wooden coffin. Beginning in the Fourth Dynasty,
some parts were preserved separately in canopic jars.[139]

Anubis was the ancient Egyptian god associated with mummification and burial
rituals; here, he attends to a mummy.
By the New Kingdom, the ancient Egyptians had perfected the art of mummification;
the best technique took 70 days and involved removing the internal organs, removing
the brain through the nose, and desiccating the body in a mixture of salts called
natron. The body was then wrapped in linen with protective amulets inserted between
layers and placed in a decorated anthropoid coffin. Mummies of the Late Period were
also placed in painted cartonnage mummy cases. Actual preservation practices
declined during the Ptolemaic and Roman eras, while greater emphasis was placed on
the outer appearance of the mummy, which was decorated.[140]
Wealthy Egyptians were buried with larger quantities of luxury items, but all burials,
regardless of social status, included goods for the deceased. Beginning in the New
Kingdom, books of the dead were included in the grave, along with shabti statues that
were believed to perform manual labor for them in the afterlife.[141] Rituals in which
the deceased was magically re-animated accompanied burials. After burial, living
relatives were expected to occasionally bring food to the tomb and recite prayers on
behalf of the deceased.[142]

Foreign relations
Trade
The ancient Egyptians engaged in trade with their foreign neighbors to obtain rare,
exotic goods not found in Egypt. In the Predynastic Period, they established trade
with Nubia to obtain gold and incense. They also established trade with Palestine, as
evidenced by Palestinian-style oil jugs found in the burials of the First Dynasty
pharaohs.[143] By the Second Dynasty, the ancient Egyptians had established trade with
Byblos, a critical source of quality timber not found in Egypt. In the Fifth Dynasty,
trade was established with the Land of Punt, which provided gold, aromatic resins,
ebony, ivory, and wild animals such as monkeys and baboons.[144]
Egypt relied on trade with Anatolia for essential quantities of tin as well as
supplementary supplies of copper, both metals being necessary for the manufacture of
bronze. The ancient Egyptians prized the blue stone lapis lazuli, which had to be
imported from far-away Afghanistan. Egypt's Mediterranean trade partners also
included Greece and Crete, which provided, among other goods, supplies of olive oil.
[145]
In exchange for its luxury imports and raw materials, Egypt mainly exported
grain, gold, linen, and papyrus, in addition to other finished goods including glass and
stone objects.[146]

Military
Main article: Military history of Ancient Egypt

Wooden figures of Egyptian soldiers, from the tomb of Mesehti, 11th Dynasty
The ancient Egyptian military was responsible for defending Egypt against foreign
invasion, and for maintaining Egypt's domination in the ancient Near East. The
military protected mining expeditions to the Sinai during the Old Kingdom and fought
civil wars during the First and Second Intermediate Periods. The military was
responsible for maintaining fortifications along important trade routes, such as those
found at the city of Buhen on the way to Nubia. Forts also were constructed to serve
as military bases, such as the fortress at Sile, which was a base of operations for
expeditions to the Levant. In the New Kingdom, a series of pharaohs used the
standing Egyptian army to attack and conquer Kush and parts of the Levant.[147]
Typical military equipment included bows and arrows, spears, and round-topped
shields made by stretching animal skin over a wooden frame. In the New Kingdom,
the military began using chariots that had earlier been introduced by the Hyksos
invaders. Weapons and armor continued to improve after the adoption of bronze:
shields were now made from solid wood with a bronze buckle, spears were tipped
with a bronze point, and the Khopesh was adopted from Asiatic soldiers.[148] The
pharaoh was usually depicted in art and literature riding at the head of the army, and
there is evidence that at least a few pharaohs, such as Seqenenre Tao II and his sons,
did do so.[149] Soldiers were recruited from the general population, but during, and
especially after, the New Kingdom, mercenaries from Nubia, Kush, and Libya were
hired to fight for Egypt.[150]

Technology, medicine, and mathematics

Technology
Main article: Ancient Egyptian technology
In technology, medicine and mathematics, ancient Egypt achieved a relatively high
standard of productivity and sophistication. Traditional empiricism, as evidenced by
the Edwin Smith and Ebers papyri (c. 1600 BC), is first credited to Egypt, and the
roots of the scientific method can also be traced back to the ancient Egyptians. The
Egyptians created their own alphabet and decimal system.

Glassmaking was a highly developed art.

Faience and glass

Even before the Old Kingdom, the ancient Egyptians had developed a glassy material
known as faience, which they treated as a type of artificial semi-precious stone.
Faience is a non-clay ceramic made of silica, small amounts of lime and soda, and a
colorant, typically copper.[151] The material was used to make beads, tiles, figurines,
and small wares. Several methods can be used to create faience, but typically
production involved application of the powdered materials in the form of a paste over
a clay core, which was then fired. By a related technique, the ancient Egyptians
produced a pigment known as Egyptian Blue, also called blue frit, which is produced
by fusing (or sintering) silica, copper, lime, and an alkali such as natron. The product
can be ground up and used as a pigment.[152] The ancient Egyptians could fabricate a
wide variety of objects from glass with great skill, but it is not clear whether they
developed the process independently.[153] It is also unclear whether they made their
own raw glass or merely imported pre-made ingots, which they melted and finished.
However, they did have technical expertise in making objects, as well as adding trace
elements to control the color of the finished glass. A range of colors could be
produced, including yellow, red, green, blue, purple, and white, and the glass could be
made either transparent or opaque.[154]

Medicine
Main article: Ancient Egyptian medicine

This wood and leather prosthetic toe was used by an amputee to facilitate walking.
The medical problems of the ancient Egyptians stemmed directly from their
environment. Living and working close to the Nile brought hazards from malaria and
debilitating schistosomiasis parasites, which caused liver and intestinal damage.
Dangerous wildlife such as crocodiles and hippos were also a common threat. The

life-long labors of farming and building put stress on the spine and joints, and
traumatic injuries from construction and warfare all took a significant toll on the body.
The grit and sand from stone-ground flour abraded teeth, leaving them susceptible to
abscesses (though caries were rare).[155] The diets of the wealthy were rich in sugars,
which promoted periodontal disease.[156] Despite the flattering physiques portrayed on
tomb walls, the overweight mummies of many of the upper class show the effects of a
life of overindulgence.[157] Adult life expectancy was about 35 for men and 30 for
women, but reaching adulthood was difficult as about one-third of the population died
in infancy.[158]
Ancient Egyptian physicians were renowned in the ancient Near East for their healing
skills, and some, like Imhotep, remained famous long after their deaths.[159] Herodotus
remarked that there was a high degree of specialization among Egyptian physicians,
with some treating only the head or the stomach, while others were eye-doctors and
dentists.[160] Training of physicians took place at the Per Ankh or "House of Life"
institution, most notably those headquartered in Per-Bastet during the New Kingdom
and at Abydos and Sas in the Late period. Medical papyri show empirical knowledge
of anatomy, injuries, and practical treatments.[161] Wounds were treated by bandaging
with raw meat, white linen, sutures, nets, pads and swabs soaked with honey to
prevent infection,[162] while opium was used to relieve pain. Garlic and onions were
used regularly to promote good health and were thought to relieve asthma symptoms.
Ancient Egyptian surgeons stitched wounds, set broken bones, and amputated
diseased limbs, but they recognized that some injuries were so serious that they could
only make the patient comfortable until he died.[163]

Mathematics
Main article: Egyptian mathematics
The earliest attested examples of mathematical calculations date to the predynastic
Naqada period, and show a fully developed number system.[164] The importance of
mathematics to an educated Egyptian is suggested by a New Kingdom fictional letter
in which the writer proposes a scholarly competition between himself and another
scribe regarding everyday calculation tasks such as accounting of land, labor and
grain.[165] Texts such as the Rhind Mathematical Papyrus and the Moscow
Mathematical Papyrus show that the ancient Egyptians could perform the four basic
mathematical operationsaddition, subtraction, multiplication, and divisionuse
fractions, compute the volumes of boxes and pyramids, and calculate the surface areas
of rectangles, triangles, circles and even spheres. They understood basic concepts of
algebra and geometry, and could solve simple sets of simultaneous equations.[166]

in hieroglyphs

Mathematical notation was decimal, and based on hieroglyphic signs for each power
of ten up to one million. Each of these could be written as many times as necessary to

add up to the desired number; so to write the number eighty or eight hundred, the
symbol for ten or one hundred was written eight times respectively.[167] Because their
methods of calculation could not handle most fractions with a numerator greater than
one, ancient Egyptian fractions had to be written as the sum of several fractions. For
example, the fraction two-fifths was resolved into the sum of one-third + onefifteenth; this was facilitated by standard tables of values.[168] Some common fractions,
however, were written with a special glyph; the equivalent of the modern two-thirds is
shown on the right.[169]
Ancient Egyptian mathematicians had a grasp of the principles underlying the
Pythagorean theorem, knowing, for example, that a triangle had a right angle opposite
the hypotenuse when its sides were in a 345 ratio.[170] They were able to estimate
the area of a circle by subtracting one-ninth from its diameter and squaring the result:
Area [(89)D]2 = (25681)r2 3.16r2,
a reasonable approximation of the formula r2.[171][170]
The golden ratio seems to be reflected in many Egyptian constructions, including the
pyramids, but its use may have been an unintended consequence of the ancient
Egyptian practice of combining the use of knotted ropes with an intuitive sense of
proportion and harmony.[172]

Legacy

Dr. Zahi Hawass is the current secretary general of the Supreme Council of
Antiquities.
The culture and monuments of ancient Egypt have left a lasting legacy on the world.
The cult of the goddess Isis, for example, became popular in the Roman empire, as
obelisks and other relics were transported back to Rome.[173] The Romans also
imported building materials from Egypt to erect structures in Egyptian style. Early
historians such as Herodotus, Strabo and Diodorus Siculus studied and wrote about
the land which became viewed as a place of mystery.[174] During the Middle Ages and
the Renaissance, Egyptian pagan culture was in decline after the rise of Christianity
and later Islam, but interest in Egyptian antiquity continued in the writings of
medieval scholars such as Dhul-Nun al-Misri and al-Maqrizi.[175]
In the 17th and 18th centuries, European travelers and tourists brought back
antiquities and wrote stories of their journeys, leading to a wave of Egyptomania
across Europe. This renewed interest sent collectors to Egypt, who took, purchased, or

were given many important antiquities.[176] Although the European colonial occupation
of Egypt destroyed a significant portion of the country's historical legacy, some
foreigners had more positive results. Napoleon, for example, arranged the first studies
in Egyptology when he brought some 150 scientists and artists to study and document
Egypt's natural history, which was published in the Description de l'gypte.[177] In the
19th century, the Egyptian Government and archaeologists alike recognized the
importance of cultural respect and integrity in excavations. The Supreme Council of
Antiquities now approves and oversees all excavations, which are aimed at finding
information rather than treasure. The council also supervises museums and monument
reconstruction programs designed to preserve the historical legacy of Egypt.

Notes and references

Notes
1. ^ Only after 664 BC are dates secure. See Egyptian chronology for details.
"Chronology". Digital Egypt for Universities, University College London.
Retrieved on 2008-03-25.
2. ^ Dodson (2004) p. 46
3. ^ Clayton (1994) p. 217
4. ^ James (2005) p. 8
5. ^ Manuelian (1998) pp. 67
6. ^ Clayton (1994) p. 153
7. ^ James (2005) p. 84
8. ^ Shaw (2002) p. 17
9. ^ Shaw (2002) pp. 17, 6769
10. ^ Hayes (1964) p. 220
11. ^ Midant-Reynes (2000) p. 106
12. ^ Hayes (1964) p. 230
13. ^ Midant-Reynes (2000) pp. 21019
14. ^ "The Badarian Civilisation". Digital Egypt for Universities, University
College London. Retrieved on 2008-03-09.
15. ^ Shaw (2002) p. 39
16. ^ Midant-Reynes (2000) p. 211
17. ^ Mallory-Greenough (2002), p. 84
18. ^ "Chronology of the Naqada Period". Digital Egypt for Universities,
University College London. Retrieved on 2008-03-09.
19. ^ Shaw (2002) p. 61
20. ^ "Faience in different Periods". Digital Egypt for Universities, University
College London. Retrieved on 2008-03-09.
21. ^ Allen (2000) p. 1
22. ^ Robins (1997) p. 32
23. ^ Shaw (2002) pp. 7880
24. ^ Clayton (1994) pp. 1213
25. ^ Clayton (1994) p. 6
26. ^ Shaw (2002) p. 70
27. ^ "Early Dynastic Egypt". Digital Egypt for Universities, University College
London. Retrieved on 2008-03-09.
28. ^ James (2005) p. 40

29. ^ Shaw (2002) p. 102

30. ^ Shaw (2002) pp. 1167
31. ^ Fekri Hassan. "The Fall of the Old Kingdom". British Broadcasting
Corporation. Retrieved on 2008-03-10.
32. ^ Clayton (1994) p. 69
33. ^ Shaw (2002) p. 120
34. ^ a b Shaw (2002) p. 146
35. ^ Clayton (1994) p. 29
36. ^ Shaw (2002) p. 148
37. ^ Clayton (1994) p. 79
38. ^ Shaw (2002) p. 158
39. ^ Shaw (2002) pp. 17982
40. ^ Robins (1997) p. 90
41. ^ Shaw (2002) p. 188
42. ^ a b Ryholt (1997) p. 310
43. ^ Shaw (2002) p. 189
44. ^ Shaw (2002) p. 224
45. ^ James (2005) p. 48
46. ^ "Hatshepsut". Digital Egypt for Universities, University College London.
Retrieved on 2007-12-09.
47. ^ Clayton (1994) p. 108
48. ^ Aldred (1988) p. 259
49. ^ Cline (2001) p. 273
50. ^ From his two principal wives and large harem, Ramesses II sired more than
100 children. Clayton (1994) p. 146
51. ^ Tyldesley (2001) pp. 767
52. ^ James (2005) p. 54
53. ^ Cerny (1975) p. 645
54. ^ Shaw (2002) p. 345
55. ^ Shaw (2002) p. 358
56. ^ Shaw (2002) p. 383
57. ^ Shaw (2002) p. 385
58. ^ Shaw (2002) p. 405
59. ^ Shaw (2002) p. 411
60. ^ Shaw (2002) p. 418
61. ^ James (2005) p. 62
62. ^ James (2005) p. 63
63. ^ Shaw (2002) p. 426
64. ^ a b Shaw (2002) p. 422
65. ^ Shaw (2002) p. 441
66. ^ Shaw (2002) p. 445
67. ^ a b c d Manuelian (1998) p. 358
68. ^ Manuelian (1998) p. 363
69. ^ Meskell (2004) p. 23
70. ^ a b c Manuelian (1998) p. 372
71. ^ Walbank (1984) p. 125
72. ^ Manuelian (1998) p. 383
73. ^ James (2005) p. 136
74. ^ Billard (1978) p. 109

75. ^ "Social classes in ancient Egypt". Digital Egypt for Universities, University
College London. Retrieved on 2007-12-11.
76. ^ a b c Janet H. Johnson. "Women's Legal Rights in Ancient Egypt". University
of Chicago. Retrieved on 2008-03-09.
77. ^ Oakes (2003) p. 472
78. ^ McDowell (1999) p. 168
79. ^ Manuelian (1998) p. 361
80. ^ Nicholson (2000) p. 514
81. ^ Nicholson (2000) p. 506
82. ^ Nicholson (2000) p. 510
83. ^ Nicholson (2000) pp. 577 and 630
84. ^ a b Strouhal (1989) p. 117
85. ^ a b c Manuelian (1998) p. 381
86. ^ Nicholson (2000) p. 409
87. ^ Oakes (2003) p. 229
88. ^ Greaves (1929) p. 123
89. ^ Lucas (1962) p. 413
90. ^ Nicholson (2000) p. 28
91. ^ Scheel (1989) p. 14
92. ^ Nicholson (2000) p. 166
93. ^ Nicholson (2000) p. 51
94. ^ Loprieno (1995b) p. 2137
95. ^ Loprieno (2004) p. 161
96. ^ Loprieno (2004) p. 162
97. ^ Loprieno (1995b) p. 2137-38
98. ^ Vittman (1991) pp. 197227
99. ^ Loprieno (1995a) p. 46
100.
^ Loprieno (1995a) p. 74
101.
^ Loprieno (2004) p. 175
102.
^ Allen (2000) pp. 67, 70, 109
103.
^ Loprieno (2005) p. 2147
104.
^ Loprieno (2004) p. 173
105.
^ Allen (2000) p. 13
106.
^ Allen (2000) p. 7
107.
^ Loprieno (2004) p. 166
108.
^ El-Daly (2005) p. 164
109.
^ Allen (2000) p. 8
110.
^ Strouhal (1989) p. 235
111.
^ Lichtheim (1975) p. 11
112.
^ Lichtheim (1975) p. 215
113.
^ Lichtheim (1980) p. 159
114.
^ Manuelian (1998) p. 401
115.
^ Manuelian (1998) p. 403
116.
^ Manuelian (1998) p. 405
117.
^ Manuelian (1998) pp. 4067
118.
^ Manuelian (1998) pp. 399400
119.
^ "Music in Ancient Egypt". Digital Egypt for Universities, University
College London. Retrieved on 2008-03-09.
120.
^ Manuelian (1998) p. 126
121.
^ Clarke (1990) pp. 947

122.
^ Badawy (1968) p. 50
123.
^ "Types of temples in ancient Egypt". Digital Egypt for Universities,
University College London. Retrieved on 2008-03-09.
124.
^ Dodson (1991) p. 23
125.
^ Robins (1997) p. 29
126.
^ Robins (1997) p. 21
127.
^ Robins (2001) p. 12
128.
^ Nicholson (2000) p. 105
129.
^ a b James (2005) p. 122
130.
^ Robins (1998) p. 74
131.
^ Shaw (2002) p. 216
132.
^ Robins (1998) p. 149
133.
^ Robins (1998) p. 158
134.
^ James (2005) p. 102
135.
^ James (2005) p. 117
136.
^ a b Shaw (2002) p. 313
137.
^ Allen (2000) pp. 79, 945
138.
^ Wasserman, et al (1994) pp. 1503
139.
^ "Mummies and Mummification: Old Kingdom". Digital Egypt for
Universities, University College London. Retrieved on 2008-03-09.
140.
^ "Mummies and Mummification: Late Period, Ptolemaic, Roman and
Christian Period". Digital Egypt for Universities, University College London.
Retrieved on 2008-03-09.
141.
^ "Shabtis". Digital Egypt for Universities, University College
London. Retrieved on 2008-03-09.
142.
^ James (2005) p. 124
143.
^ Shaw (2002) p. 72
144.
^ Shaw (2002) p. 322
145.
^ Manuelian (1998) p. 145
146.
^ Harris (1990) p. 13
147.
^ Shaw (2002) p. 245
148.
^ Manuelian (1998) pp. 3667
149.
^ Clayton (1994) p. 96
150.
^ Shaw (2002) p. 400
151.
^ Nicholson (2000) p. 177
152.
^ Nicholson (2000) p. 109
153.
^ Nicholson (2000) p. 195
154.
^ Nicholson (2000) p. 215
155.
^ Filer (1995) p. 94
156.
^ Filer (1995) pp. 7880
157.
^ Filer (1995) p. 21
158.
^ Figures are given for adult life expectancy and do not reflect life
expectancy at birth. Filer (1995) p. 25
159.
^ Filer (1995) p. 39
160.
^ Strouhal (1989) p. 243
161.
^ Stroual (1989) pp. 24446
162.
^ Stroual (1989) p. 250
163.
^ Filer (1995) p. 38

164.
^ Understanding of Egyptian mathematics is incomplete due to paucity
of available material and lack of exhaustive study of the texts that have been
uncovered. Imhausen et al. (2007) p. 13
165.
^ Imhausen et al. (2007) p. 11
166.
^ Clarke (1990) p. 222
167.
^ Clarke (1990) p. 217
168.
^ Clarke (1990) p. 218
169.
^ Gardiner (1957) p. 197
170.
^ a b Strouhal (1989) p. 241
171.
^ Imhausen et al. (2007) p. 31
172.
^ Kemp (1989) p. 138
173.
^ Siliotti (1998) p. 8
174.
^ Siliotti (1998) p. 10
175.
^ El-Daly (2005) p. 112
176.
^ Siliotti (1998) p. 13
177.
^ Siliotti (1998) p. 100

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Exploration Society. doi:10.2307/3822337.
Manuelian, Peter Der (1998). Egypt: The World of the Pharaohs. Bonner
Strae, Cologne Germany: Knemann Verlagsgesellschaft mbH. ISBN 389508-913-3.
McDowell, A. G. (1999). Village life in ancient Egypt: laundry lists and love
songs. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-814998-0.
Meskell, Lynn. Object Worlds in Ancient Egypt: Material Biographies Past
and Present (Materializing Culture). Oxford, England: Berg Publishers. ISBN
1-85973-867-2.
Midant-Reynes, Batrix (2000). The Prehistory of Egypt: From the First
Egyptians to the First Pharaohs. Oxford, England: Blackwell Publishers.
ISBN 0-631-21787-8.
Nicholson, Paul T. et al. (2000). Ancient Egyptian Materials and Technology.
Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521452570.
Oakes, Lorna (2003). Ancient Egypt: An Illustrated Reference to the Myths,
Religions, Pyramids and Temples of the Land of the Pharaohs. New York,
New York: Barnes & Noble. ISBN 0-7607-4943-4.

Robins, Gay (2000). The Art of Ancient Egypt. Cambridge, Massachusetts:

Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-00376-4.
Ryholt, Kim (January 1997). The Political Situation in Egypt During the
Second Intermediate Period. Copenhagen, Denmark: Museum Tusculanum.
ISBN 8772894210.
Scheel, Bernd (1989). Egyptian Metalworking and Tools. Haverfordwest,
Great Britain: Shire Publications Ltd. ISBN 0747800014.
Shaw, Ian (2003). The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt. Oxford, England:
Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-500-05074-0.
Siliotti, Alberto (1998). The Discovery of Ancient Egypt. Edison, New Jersey:
Book Sales, Inc.. ISBN 0-7858-1360-8.
Strouhal, Eugen (1989). Life in Ancient Egypt. Norman, Oklahoma: University
of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 0-8061-2475-x.
Tyldesley, Joyce A. (2001). Ramesses: Egypt's greatest pharaoh.
Harmondsworth, England: Penguin, 7677. ISBN 0-14-028097-9.
Vittman, G. (1991). "Zum koptischen Sprachgut im gyptisch-Arabisch".
Wiener Zeitschrift fr die Kunde des Morgenlandes 81: 197227. Vienna,
Austria: Institut fr Orientalistik, Vienna University.
Walbank, Frank William (1984). The Cambridge ancient history. Cambridge,
UK: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-23445-X.
Wasserman, James; Faulkner, Raymond Oliver; Goelet, Ogden; Von Dassow,
Eva (1994). The Egyptian Book of the dead, the Book of going forth by day:
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0-8118-0767-3.
Wilkinson, R. H. (2000). The Complete Temples of Ancient Egypt. London,
England: Thames and Hudson. ISBN 0500051003.

History of ancient Egypt

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
This article is part of the
History of Egypt series.
Ancient Egypt
Achaemenid Egypt
Ptolemaic Egypt
Roman Egypt
Christian Egypt
Arab Egypt
Ottoman Egypt

Muhammad Ali dynasty

Modern Egypt
Egyptians
The History of ancient Egypt spans the period from the early predynastic settlements
of the northern Nile Valley to the Roman conquest in 30 BC. The Pharaonic Period is
dated from around 3150 BC, when Lower and Upper Egypt became a unified state,
until the country fell under Greek rule in 332 BC.
Ancient Egyptian history is broken into several different periods according to the
dynasty of the ruling pharaoh. The dating of events is still a subject of research. The
conservative dates are not supported by any reliable absolute date for a span of about
three millennia. The following is the list according to conventional Egyptian
chronology.

Predynastic Period (Prior to 3100 BC)

Protodynastic Period (Approximately 3100 - 3000 BC)
Early Dynastic Period (1st2nd Dynasties)
Old Kingdom (3rd6th Dynasties)
First Intermediate Period (7th11th Dynasties)
Middle Kingdom (12th13th Dynasties)
Second Intermediate Period (14th17th Dynasties)
New Kingdom (18th20th Dynasties)
Third Intermediate Period (21st25th Dynasties) (also known as the Libyan
Period)
Late Period (26th31st Dynasties)

Note
For alternative 'revisions' to the chronology of Egypt, see Egyptian
chronology.

Contents
[hide]

1 Prehistoric Egypt
o 1.1 Paleolithic period
o 1.2 Predynastic period
2 Dynastic Egypt
o 2.1 Early dynastic period
o 2.2 Old Kingdom
o 2.3 First Intermediate Period
o 2.4 Middle Kingdom
o 2.5 Second Intermediate Period and the Hyksos
o 2.6 New Kingdom
2.6.1 Eighteenth Dynasty
2.6.2 Nineteenth Dynasty
2.6.3 Twentieth Dynasty
o 2.7 Third Intermediate Period

2.8 Late Period

2.9 Persian domination
2.10 Ptolemaic dynasty
3 Notes and references
o 3.1 References
o 3.2 Bibliography
3.2.1 Pharaonic Egypt
3.2.2 Ptolemaic Egypt
o
o
o

3.3 External links

[edit] Prehistoric Egypt

[edit] Paleolithic period
The Nile has been the lifeline for Egyptian culture since nomadic hunter-gatherers
began living along the Nile during the Pleistocene. Traces of these early people appear
in the form of artifacts and rock carvings along the terraces of the Nile and in the
oases.
Along the Nile, in the 11th millennium BC, a grain-grinding culture using the earliest
type of sickle blades had been replaced by another culture of hunters, fishers, and
gathering people using stone tools. Evidence also indicates human habitation and
cattle herding in the southwestern corner of Egypt, near the Sudan border, before 8000
BC. Geological evidence and computer climate modeling studies suggest that natural
climate changes around 8000 BC began to desiccate the extensive pastoral lands of
northern Africa, eventually forming the Sahara (c.2500 BC). Early tribes in the region
naturally tended to aggregate close to the Nile River where they developed a settled
agricultural economy and more centralized society. There is evidence of pastoralism
and cultivation of cereals in the East Sahara in the 7th millennium BC.
Continued desiccation forced the early ancestors of the Egyptians to settle around the
Nile more permanently and forced them to adopt a more sedentary lifestyle. However,
the period from 9,000 to 6,000 BC has left very little in the way of archaeological
evidence.

[edit] Predynastic period

Main article: Predynastic Egypt
Further information: Naqada

A Naqada II vase decorated with gazelles, on display at the Louvre.

By about 6000 BC, organized agriculture and large building construction had
appeared in the Nile Valley.[1] At this time, Egyptians in the southwestern corner of
Egypt were herding cattle and also constructing large buildings. Mortar was in use by
4000 BC. The Predynastic Period continues through this time, variously held to begin
with the Naqada culture..
Between 5500 and 3100 BC, during Egypt's Predynastic Period, small settlements
flourished along the Nile, whose delta empties into the Mediterranean Sea. By 3300
BC, just before the first Egyptian dynasty, Egypt was divided into two kingdoms,
known as Upper Egypt, Ta Shemau to the south, and Lower Egypt, Ta Mehu to the
north.[2] The dividing line was drawn roughly in the area of modern Cairo.
The Tasian culture was the next to appear in Upper Egypt. This group is named for the
burials found at Der Tasa, a site on the east bank of the Nile between Asyut and
Akhmim. The Tasian culture group is notable for producing the earliest blacktopware, a type of red and brown pottery which has been painted black on its top and
interior.[3]
The Badarian Culture, named for the Badari site near Der Tasa, followed the Tasian
culture, however similarities between the two have lead very many to not differentiate
between them at all. The Badarian Culture continued to produce the kind of pottery
called Blacktop-ware (although its quality was much improved over previous
specimens), and was assigned the Sequence Dating numbers between 21 and 29.[4]
The significant difference, however, between the Tasian and Badarian culture groups
which prevents scholars from completely merging the two together is that Badarian
sites use copper in addition to stone, and thus are chalcolithic settlements, while the
Tasian sites are still Neolithic, and are considered technically part of the Stone Age.[4]
The Amratian Culture is named after the site of el-Amra, about 120 km south of
Badari. El-Amra was the first site where this culture group was found unmingled with
the later Gerzean culture group, however this period is better attested at the Naqada
site, thus it is referred to also as the Naqada I culture.[5] Black-topped ware continues
to be produced, but white cross-line ware, a type of pottery which has been decorated
by close parallel white lines being crossed by another set of close parallel white lines,
begins to be produced during this time. The Amratian period falls between S.D. 30

and 39 in Petrie's Sequence Dating system.[6] Trade between Upper and Lower Egypt
is attested at this time, as new excavated objects attest. A stone vase from the north
has been found at el-Amra, and copper, which is not present in Egypt, was apparently
imported from the Sinai, or perhaps from Nubia. Obsidian[7] and an extremely small
amount of gold[6] were both definitively imported from Nubia during this time. Trade
with the oases was also likely.[7]
The Gerzean Culture, named after the site of Gerza, was the next stage in Egyptian
cultural development, and it was during this time that the foundation for Dynastic
Egypt was laid. Gerzean culture is largely an unbroken development out of Amratian
Culture, starting in the delta and moving south through upper Egypt, however failing
to dislodge Amratian Culture in Nubia.[8] Gerzean culture coincided with a significant
drop in rainfall,[9] and farming produced the vast majority of food.[8] With increased
food supplies, the populace adopted a greatly more sedentary lifestyle, and the larger
settlements grew to cities of about 5,000 residents.[8] It was in this time that the city
dwellers started building using mudbrick to build their cities.[8] Copper instead of
stone was increasingly used to make tools,[8] and weaponry as well.[10] Silver, gold,
lapis, and faience were used ornamentally,[8] and the grinding palettes used for eyepaint since the Badarian period began to be adorned with relief carvings.[10]

[edit] Dynastic Egypt

Dynasties of Pharaohs
in Ancient Egypt
Predynastic Egypt
Protodynastic Period
Early Dynastic Period
1st 2nd
Old Kingdom
3rd 4th 5th 6th
First Intermediate Period
7th 8th 9th 10th
11th (Thebes only)
Middle Kingdom
11th (All Egypt)
12th 13th 14th
Second Intermediate Period
15th 16th 17th
New Kingdom
18th 19th 20th
Third Intermediate Period
21st 22nd 23rd
24th 25th 26th
First Persian Period
Late Period
28th 29th 30th
Second Persian Period
Macedonian-Roman Period

Alexander the Great

Ptolemaic Dynasty
Roman Egypt
Arab Conquest

[edit] Early dynastic period

Main article: Early Dynastic Period of Egypt

Stela of the 2nd dynasty pharaoh Raneb, displaying the hieroglyph for his name
within a serekh, surmounted by Horus. On display at the Metropolitan Museum of
Art.
The historical records of ancient Egypt begin with Egypt as a unified state, which
occurred sometime around 3150 BC. According to Egyptian tradition Menes, thought
to have unified Upper and Lower Egypt, was the first king. This Egyptian culture,
customs, art expression, architecture, and social structure was closely tied to religion,
remarkably stable, and changed little over a period of nearly 3000 years.
Egyptian chronology, which involves regnal years, began around this time. The
conventional Egyptian chronology is the chronology accepted during the twentieth
century, but it does not include any of the major revision proposals that also have been
made in that time. Even within a single work, archaeologists often will offer several
possible dates or even several whole chronologies as possibilities. Consequently, there
may be discrepancies between dates shown here and in articles on particular rulers or
topics related to ancient Egypt. There also are several possible spellings of the names.
Typically, Egyptologists divide the history of pharaonic civilization using a schedule
laid out first by Manetho's Aegyptiaca (History of Egypt) that was written during the
Ptolemaic era, during the third century BC.
Prior to the unification of Egypt, the land was settled with autonomous villages. With
the early dynasties, and for much of Egypt's history thereafter, the country came to be

known as the Two Lands. The rulers established a national administration and
appointed royal governors.
According to Manetho, the first king was Menes, but archeological findings support
the view that the first pharaoh to claim to have united the two lands was Narmer (the
final king of the Protodynastic Period). His name is known primarily from the famous
Narmer Palette, whose scenes have been interpreted as the act of uniting Upper and
Lower Egypt.
Funeral practices for the elite resulted in the construction of mastaba tombs, which
later became models for subsequent Old Kingdom constructions such as the Step
pyramid.

[edit] Old Kingdom

Main article: Old Kingdom

Graywacke statue of the pharaoh Menkaura and his consort Queen Khamerernebty II.
Originally from his Giza Valley temple, now on display at the Museum of Fine Arts,
Boston.
The Old Kingdom is most commonly regarded as spanning the period of time when
Egypt was ruled by the Third Dynasty through to the Sixth Dynasty (2686 BC 2134
BC). The royal capital of Egypt during the Old Kingdom was located at Memphis,
where Djoser established his court. The Old Kingdom is perhaps best known,
however, for the large number of pyramids, which were constructed at this time as
pharaonic burial places. For this reason, the Old Kingdom is frequently referred to as
"the Age of the Pyramids." The first notable pharaoh of the Old Kingdom was Djoser
(26302611 BC) of the Third Dynasty, who ordered the construction of a pyramid (the
Step Pyramid) in Memphis' necropolis, Saqqara.

It was in this era that formerly independent ancient Egyptian states became known as
nomes, ruled solely by the pharaoh. Subsequently the former rulers were forced to
assume the role of governors or otherwise work in tax collection. Egyptians in this era
worshiped their pharaoh as a god, believing that he ensured the annual flooding of the
Nile that was necessary for their crops.
The Old Kingdom and its royal power reached their zenith under the Fourth Dynasty.
Sneferu, the dynasty's founder, is believed to have commissioned at least three
pyramids; while his son and successor Khufu erected the Great Pyramid of Giza,
Sneferu had more stone and brick moved than any other pharaoh. Khufu (Greek
Cheops), his son Khafra (Greek Chephren), and his grandson Menkaura (Greek
Mycerinus), all achieved lasting fame in the construction of their pyramids. To
organize and feed the manpower needed to create these pyramids required a
centralized government with extensive powers, and Egyptologists believe the Old
Kingdom at this time demonstrated this level of sophistication. Recent excavations
near the pyramids led by Mark Lehner have uncovered a large city which seems to
have housed, fed and supplied the pyramid workers. Although it was once believed
that slaves built these monuments, a theory based on the biblical Exodus story, study
of the tombs of the workmen, who oversaw construction on the pyramids, has shown
they were built by a corve of peasants drawn from across Egypt. They apparently
worked while the annual Nile flood covered their fields, as well as a very large crew
of specialists, including stone cutters, painters, mathematicians and priests.
The Fifth Dynasty began with Userkhaf (24652458 BC), who initiated reforms that
weakened the central government. After his reign civil wars arose as the powerful
nomarchs (regional governors) no longer belonged to the royal family. The worsening
civil conflict undermined unity and energetic government and also caused famines.
The final blow came when a severe drought in the region that resulted in a drastic
drop in precipitation between 2200 and 2150 BC, which in turn prevented the normal
flooding of the Nile.[11] The result was the collapse of the Old Kingdom followed by
decades of famine and strife.

[edit] First Intermediate Period

Main article: First Intermediate Period

Pottery model of a house used in a burial from the First Intermediate Period, on
display at the Royal Ontario Museum.
After the fall of the Old Kingdom came a roughly 200-year stretch of time known as
the First Intermediate Period, which is generally thought to include a relatively
obscure set of pharaohs running from the end of the Sixth to the Tenth, and most of
the Eleventh Dynasty. Most of these were likely local monarchs who did not hold

much power outside of their own limited domain, and none held power over the
whole of Egypt.
While there are next to no official records covering this period, there are a number of
fictional texts known as Lamentations from the early period of the subsequent Middle
Kingdom that may shed some light on what happened during this period. Some of
these texts reflect on the breakdown of rule, others allude to invasion by "Asiatic
bowmen". In general the stories focus on a society where the natural order of things in
both society and nature was overthrown.
It is also highly likely that it was during this period that all of the pyramid and tomb
complexes were robbed. Further lamentation texts allude to this fact, and by the
beginning of the Middle Kingdom mummies are found decorated with magical spells
that were once exclusive to the pyramid of the kings of the sixth dynasty.
By 2160 BC a new line of pharaohs (the Ninth and Tenth Dynasties) consolidated
Lower Egypt from their capital in Herakleopolis Magna. A rival line (the Eleventh
Dynasty) based at Thebes reunited Upper Egypt and a clash between the two rival
dynasties was inevitable. Around 2055 BC the Theban forces defeated the
Heracleopolitan Pharaohs, reunited the Two Lands. The reign of its first pharaoh,
Mentuhotep II marks the beginning of the Middle Kingdom.

[edit] Middle Kingdom

Main article: Middle Kingdom of Egypt

An Osiride statue of Mentuhotep II, the founder of the Middle Kingdom, on display at
the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The Middle Kingdom is the period in the history of ancient Egypt stretching from the
establishment of the Eleventh Dynasty to the end of the Fourteenth Dynasty, roughly
between 2030 BC and 1640 BC.
The period comprises two phases, the 11th Dynasty, which ruled from Thebes and the
12th Dynasty onwards which was centered around el-Lisht. These two dynasties were
originally considered to be the full extent of this unified kingdom, but historians
now[12] consider the 13th Dynasty to at least partially belong to the Middle Kingdom.

The earliest pharaohs of the Middle Kingdom traced their origin to a nomarch of
Thebes, "Intef the Great, son of Iku", who is mentioned in a number of contemporary
inscriptions. However, his immediate successor Mentuhotep II is considered the first
pharaoh of this dynasty.
An inscription carved during the reign of Wahankh Intef II shows that he was the first
of this dynasty to claim to rule over the whole of Egypt, a claim which brought the
Thebeans into conflict with the rulers of Herakleopolis Magna, the Tenth Dynasty.
Intef undertook several campaigns northwards, and captured the important nome of
Abydos.
Warfare continued intermittently between the Thebean and Heracleapolitan dynasts
until the 14th regnal year of Nebhetepra Mentuhotep II, when the Herakleopolitans
were defeated, and the Theban dynasty began to consolidate their rule. Mentuhotep II
is known to have commanded military campaigns south into Nubia, which had gained
its independence during the First Intermediate Period. There is also evidence for
military actions against Palestine. The king reorganized the country and placed a
vizier at the head of civil administration for the country.
Mentuhotep IV was the final pharaoh of this dynasty, and despite being absent from
various lists of pharaohs, his reign is attested from a few inscriptions in Wadi
Hammamat that record expeditions to the Red Sea coast and to quarry stone for the
royal monuments. The leader of this expedition was his vizier Amenemhat, who is
widely assumed to be the future pharaoh Amenemhet I, the first king of the 12th
Dynasty. Amenemhet is widely assumed by some Egyptologists to have either
usurped the throne or assumed power after Mentuhotep IV died childless.
Amenemhat I built a new capital for Egypt, known as Itjtawy, thought to be located
near the present-day el-Lisht, although the chronicler Manetho claims the capital
remained at Thebes. Amenemhat forcibly pacified internal unrest, curtailed the rights
of the nomarchs, and is known to have at launched at least one campaign into Nubia.
His son Senusret I continued the policy of his father to recapture Nubia and other
territories lost during the First Intermediate Period. The Libyans were subdued under
his forty-five year reign and Egypt's prosperity and security were secured.
Senusret III (1878 BC 1839 BC) was a warrior-king, leading his troops deep into
Nubia, and built a series of massive forts throughout the country to establish Egypt's
formal boundaries with the unconquered areas of its territory. Amenemhat III (1860
BC 1815 BC) is considered the last great pharaoh of the Middle Kingdom.
Egypt's population began to exceed food production levels during the reign of
Amenemhat III, who then ordered the exploitation of the Fayyum and increased
mining operations in the Sina desert. He also invited Asiatic settlers to Egypt to labor
on Egypt's monuments. Late in his reign the annual floods along the Nile began to
fail, further straining the resources of the government. The Thirteenth Dynasty and
Fourteenth Dynasty witnessed the slow decline of Egypt into the Second Intermediate
Period in which some of the Asiatic settlers of Amenemhat III would grasp power
over Egypt as the Hyksos.

[edit] Second Intermediate Period and the Hyksos

Main articles: Second Intermediate Period and Hyksos

The Second Intermediate Period marks a period when Ancient Egypt once again fell
into disarray between the end of the Middle Kingdom, and the start of the New
Kingdom. This period is best known as the time the Hyksos made their appearance in
Egypt, the reigns of its kings comprising the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Dynasties.
The Thirteenth Dynasty proved unable to hold onto the long land of Egypt, and a
provincial ruling family located in the marshes of the western Delta at Xois broke
away from the central authority to form the Fourteenth Dynasty. The splintering of the
land accelerated after the reign of the Thirteenth Dynasty king Neferhotep I.
The Hyksos first appear during the reign the Thirteenth Dynasty pharaoh Sobekhotep
IV, and by 1720 BC took control of the town of Avaris. The outlines of the traditional
account of the "invasion" of the land by the Hyksos is preserved in the Aegyptiaca of
Manetho, who records that during this time the Hyksos overran Egypt, led by Salitis,
the founder of the Fifteenth Dynasty. In the last decades, however, the idea of a simple
migration, with little or no violence involved, has gained some support.[13] Under this
theory, the Egyptian rulers of 13th Dynasty were unable to stop these new migrants
from travelling to Egypt from Asia because they were weak kings who were
struggling to cope with various domestic problems including possibly famine.
The Hyksos princes and chieftains ruled in the eastern Delta with their local Egyptian
vassals. The Hyksos Fifteenth Dynasty rulers established their capital and seat of
government at Memphis and their summer residence at Avaris.
The Hyksos kingdom was centered in the eastern Nile Delta and Middle Egypt and
was limited in size, never extending south into Upper Egypt, which was under control
by Theban-based rulers. Hyksos relations with the south seem to have been mainly of
a commercial nature, although Theban princes appear to have recognized the Hyksos
rulers and may possibly have provided them with tribute for a period.
Around the time Memphis fell to the Hyksos, the native Egyptian ruling house in
Thebes declared its independence from the vassal dynasty in Itj-tawy and set itself up
as the Seventeenth Dynasty. This dynasty was to prove the salvation of Egypt and
would eventually lead the war of liberation that drove the Hyksos back into Asia. The
two last kings of this dynasty were Tao II the Brave and Kamose. Ahmose I
completed the conquest and expulsion of the Hyksos from the delta region, restored
Theban rule over the whole of Egypt and successfully reasserted Egyptian power in
its formerly subject territories of Nubia and Canaan.[14] His reign marks this beginning
of the Eighteenth Dynasty and the New Kingdom period.

[edit] New Kingdom

Main article: New Kingdom of Egypt
Possibly as a result of the foreign rule of the Hyksos during the Second Intermediate
Period, the New Kingdom saw Egypt attempt to create a buffer between the Levant
and Egypt, and attain its greatest territorial extent. It expanded far south into Nubia

and held wide territories in the Near East. Egyptian armies fought Hittite armies for
control of modern-day Syria.
[edit] Eighteenth Dynasty

Golden mask from the mummy of Tutankhamun

This was a time of great wealth and power for Egypt. Some of the most important and
best-known Pharaohs ruled at this time. Hatshepsut was a pharaoh at this time.
Hatshepsut is unusual as she was a female pharaoh, a rare occurrence in Egyptian
history. She was an ambitious and competent leader, extending Egyptian trade south
into present-day Somalia and north into the Mediterranean. She ruled for twenty years
through a combination of widespread propaganda and deft political skill. Her coregent and successor Thutmose III ("the Napoleon of Egypt") expanded Egypt's army
and wielded it with great success. Late in his reign he ordered her name hacked out
from her monuments. He fought against Asiatic people and was the most successful of
Egyptian pharaohs. Amenhotep III built extensively at the temple of Karnak including
the Luxor temple which consisted of two pylons, a colonnade behind the new temple
entrance, and a new temple to the goddess Ma'at.
[edit] Nineteenth Dynasty

Egypt and its world in 1300 BC.

Colossal depictions of Ramesses II at a temple dedicated to him at Abu Simbel.

Ramesses I reigned for a couple of years and was succeeded by his son Seti I. Seti I
carried on the work of Horemheb in restoring power, control, and respect to Egypt. He
also was responsible for creating the temple complex at Abydos.
Arguably Ancient Egypt's power as a nation-state peaked during the reign of
Ramesses II ("the Great") of the 19th Dynasty. He reigned for 67 years from the age
of 18 and carried on his immediate predecessor's work and created many more
splendid temples, such as that of Abu Simbel on the Nubian border. He sought to
recover territories in the Levant that had been held by 18th Dynasty Egypt. His
campaigns of reconquest culminated in the Battle of Kadesh in 1274 BC, where he led
Egyptian armies against those of the Hittite king Muwatalli II and was caught in
history's first recorded military ambush. Ramesses II was famed for the huge number
of children he sired by his various wives and concubines; the tomb he built for his
sons, many of whom he outlived, in the Valley of the Kings has proven to be the
largest funerary complex in Egypt.
His immediate successors continued the military campaigns, though an increasingly
troubled court complicated matters. Ramesses II was succeeded by his son Merneptah
and then by Merenptah's son Seti II. Seti II's throne seems to have been disputed by
his half-brother Amenmesse, who may have temporarily ruled from Thebes. Upon his
death, Seti II son Siptah, who may have been afflicted with polio during his life, was
appointed to the throne by Chancellor Bay, an Asiatic commoner who served as vizier
behind the scenes. At Siptah's early death, the throne was assumed by Twosret, the
dowager queen of Seti II (and possibly Amenmesses's sister). A period of anarchy at
the end of Twosret's short reign saw a native reaction to foreign control leading to the
execution of the chancellor, and placing Setnakhte on the throne, establishing the
Twentieth Dynasty.
[edit] Twentieth Dynasty

The last "great" pharaoh from the New Kingdom is widely regarded to be Ramesses
III, the son of Setnakhte who reigned three decades after the time of Ramesses II. In
Year 8 of his reign, the Sea People, invaded Egypt by land and sea. Ramesses III
defeated them in two great land and sea battles. He claimed that he incorporated them
as subject people and settled them in Southern Canaan, although there is evidence that
they forced their way into Canaan. Their presence in Canaan may have contributed to
the formation of new states in this region such as Philistia after the collapse of the
Egyptian Empire. He was also compelled to fight invading Libyan tribesmen in two
major campaigns in Egypt's Western Delta in his Year 6 and Year 11 respectively.[15]
The heavy cost of these battles slowly exhausted Egypt's treasury and contributed to
the gradual decline of the Egyptian Empire in Asia. The severity of these difficulties is
stressed by the fact that the first known labor strike in recorded history occurred
during Year 29 of Ramesses III's reign, when the food rations for the Egypt's favoured
and elite royal tomb-builders and artisans in the village of Deir el Medina could not
be provisioned.[16] Something in the air prevented much sunlight from reaching the
ground and also arrested global tree growth for almost two full decades until 1140
BC.[17] One proposed cause is the Hekla 3 eruption of the Hekla volcano in Iceland,
but the dating of that event remains in dispute.
Following Ramesses III's death there was endless bickering between his heirs. Three
of his sons would go on to assume power as Ramesses IV, Ramesses VI and
Ramesses VIII respectively. However, at this time Egypt was also increasingly beset
by a series of droughts, below-normal flooding levels of the Nile, famine, civil unrest
and official corruption. The power of the last pharaoh, Ramesses XI, grew so weak
that in the south the High Priests of Amun at Thebes became the effective defacto
rulers of Upper Egypt, while Smendes controlled Lower Egypt even before Ramesses
XI's death. Smendes would eventually found the Twenty-First dynasty at Tanis.

[edit] Third Intermediate Period

Main article: Third Intermediate Period

Sphinx of the Nubian pharaoh Taharqa.

After the death of Ramesses XI, his successor Smendes ruled from the city of Tanis in
the north, while the High Priests of Amun at Thebes had effective rule of the south of

the country, whilst still nominally recognizing Smendes as king.[18] In fact, this
division was less significant than it seems, since both priests and pharaohs came from
the same family. Piankh, assumed control of Upper Egypt, ruling from Thebes, with
the northern limit of his control ending at Al-Hibah. (The High Priest Herihor had
died before Ramesses XI, but also was an all-but-independent ruler in the latter days
of the king's reign.) The country was once again split into two parts with the priests in
Thebes and the Pharaohs at Tanis. Their reign seems to be without any other
distinction, and they were replaced without any apparent struggle by the Libyan kings
of the Twenty-Second Dynasty.
Egypt has long had ties with Libya, and the first king of the new dynasty, Shoshenq I,
was a Meshwesh Libyan, who served as the commander of the armies under the last
ruler of the Twenty-First Dynasty, Psusennes II. He unified the country, putting
control of the Amun clergy under his own son as the High Priest of Amun, a post that
was previously a hereditary appointment. The scant and patchy nature of the written
records from this period suggest that it was unsettled. There appear to have been many
subversive groups, which eventually led to the creation of the Twenty-Third Dynasty,
which ran concurrent with the latter part of the Twenty-Second Dynasty. After the
withdrawal of Egypt from Nubia at the end of the New Kingdom, a native dynasty
took control of Nubia. Under king Piye, the Nubian founder of Twenty-Fifth Dynasty,
the Nubians pushed north in an effort to crush his Libyan opponents ruling in the
Delta. He managed to attain power as far as Memphis. His opponent Tefnakhte
ultimately submitted to him, but he was allowed to remain in power in Lower Egypt
and founded the short-lived Twenty-Fourth Dynasty at Sais.
The country was reunited by the Twenty-Second Dynasty founded by Shoshenq I in
945 BC (or 943 BC), who descended from Meshwesh immigrants, originally from
Ancient Libya. This brought stability to the country for well over a century. After the
reign of Osorkon II the country had again splintered into two states with Shoshenq III
of the Twenty-Second Dynasty controlling Lower Egypt by 818 BC while Takelot II
and his son (the future Osorkon III) ruled Middle and Upper Egypt.
The Nubian kingdom to the south took full advantage of this division and political
instability. Piye waged a campaign from Nubia and defeated the combined might of
several native-Egyptian rulers such as Peftjaubast, Osorkon IV of Tanis, and Tefnakht
of Sais. Piye established the Nubian Twenty-Fifth Dynasty and appointed the defeated
rulers to be his provincial governors. He was succeeded first by his brother, Shabaka,
and then by his two sons Shebitku and Taharqa.
The international prestige of Egypt declined considerably by this time. The country's
international allies had fallen under the sphere of influence of Assyria and from about
700 BC the question became when, not if, there would be war between the two states.
Taharqa's reign and that of his successor, Tanutamun, were filled with constant
conflict with the Assyrians against whom there were numerous victories, but
ultimately Thebes was occupied and Memphis sacked.

[edit] Late Period

Main article: Late Period of Ancient Egypt

From 671 on, Memphis and the Delta region became the target of many attacks from
the Assyrians, who expelled the Nubians and handed over power to client kings of the
Twenty-Sixth Dynasty. Psamtik I was the first to be recognized as the king of the
whole of Egypt, and he brought increased stability to the country during a 54-year
reign from the new capital of Sais. Four successive Saite kings continued guiding
Egypt successfully and peacefully from 610-526 BC, keeping the Babylonians away
with the help of Greek mercenaries.
By the end of this period a new power was growing in the Near East: Persia. The
pharaoh Psamtik III had to face the might of Persia at Pelusium; he was defeated and
briefly escaped to Memphis, but ultimately was captured and then executed.

[edit] Persian domination

Main article: History of Achaemenid Egypt
Achaemenid Egypt can be divided into three eras: the first period of Persian
occupation when Egypt became a satrapy, followed by an interval of independence,
and the second and final period of occupation.
The Persian king Cambyses assumed the formal title of Pharaoh, called himself
Mesuti-Re ("Re has given birth"), and sacrificed to the Egyptian gods. He founded the
Twenty-seventh dynasty. Egypt was then joined with Cyprus and Phoenicia in the
sixth satrapy of the Achaemenid Empire.
Cambyses' successors Darius I the Great and Xerxes pursued a similar policy, visited
the country, and warded off an Athenian attack. It is likely that Artaxerxes I and
Darius II visited the country as well, although it is not attested in our sources, and did
not prevent the Egyptians from feeling unhappy.
During the war of succession after the reign of Darius II, which broke out in 404, they
revolted under Amyrtaeus and regained their independence. This sole ruler of the
Twenty-eighth dynasty died in 399, and power went to the Twenty-ninth dynasty. The
Thirtieth Dynasty was established in 380 BC and lasted until 343 BC. Nectanebo II
was the last native king to rule Egypt.
Artaxerxes III (358338 BC) reconquered the Nile valley for a brief period (343332
BC). In 332 BC Mazaces handed over the country to Alexander the Great without a
fight. The Achaemenid empire had ended, and for a while Egypt was a satrapy in
Alexander's empire. Later the Ptolemies and then the Romans successively ruled the
Nile valley.

[edit] Ptolemaic dynasty

Main article: Ptolemaic dynasty
In 332 BC Alexander III of Macedon conquered Egypt with little resistance from the
Persians. He was welcomed by the Egyptians as a deliverer. He visited Memphis, and
went on pilgrimage to the oracle of Amun at the Oasis of Siwa. The oracle declared
him to be the son of Amun. He conciliated the Egyptians by the respect which he

showed for their religion, but he appointed Greeks to virtually all the senior posts in
the country, and founded a new Greek city, Alexandria, to be the new capital. The
wealth of Egypt could now be harnessed for Alexander's conquest of the rest of the
Persian Empire. Early in 331 BC he was ready to depart, and led his forces away to
Phoenicia. He left Cleomenes as the ruling nomarch to control Egypt in his absence.
Alexander never returned to Egypt.
Following Alexander's death in Babylon in 323 BC, a succession crisis erupted among
his generals. Initially, Perdiccas ruled the empire as regent for Alexander's halfbrother Arrhidaeus, who became Philip III of Macedon, and then as regent for both
Philip III and Alexander's infant son Alexander IV of Macedon, who had not been
born at the time of his father's death. Perdiccas appointed Ptolemy, one of Alexander's
closest companions, to be satrap of Egypt. Ptolemy ruled Egypt from 323 BC,
nominally in the name of the joint kings Philip III and Alexander IV. However, as
Alexander the Great's empire disintegrated, Ptolemy soon established himself as ruler
in his own right. Ptolemy successfully defended Egypt against an invasion by
Perdiccas in 321 BC, and consolidated his position in Egypt and the surrounding areas
during the Wars of the Diadochi (322 BC-301 BC). In 305 BC, Ptolemy took the title
of King. As Ptolemy I Soter ("Saviour"), he founded the Ptolemaic dynasty that was
to rule Egypt for nearly 300 years.
The later Ptolemies took on Egyptian traditions by marrying their siblings, had
themselves portrayed on public monuments in Egyptian style and dress, and
participated in Egyptian religious life.[19][20] Hellenistic culture thrived in Egypt well
after the Muslim conquest. The Ptolemies had to fight native rebellions and were
involved in foreign and civil wars that led to the decline of the kingdom and its
annexation by Rome.

[edit] Notes and references

[edit] References
1. ^ Redford, Donald B. Egypt, Canaan, and Israel in Ancient Times. (Princeton:
University Press, 1992), p. 6.
2. ^ Adkins, L. and Adkins, R. (2001) The Little Book of Egyptian Hieroglyphics,
p155. London: Hodder and Stoughton. ISBN .
3. ^ Gardiner (1964), p.388
4. ^ a b Gardiner (1964), p.389
5. ^ Grimal (1988) p.24
6. ^ a b Gardiner (1964), 390.
7. ^ a b Grimal (1988) p.28
8. ^ a b c d e f Redford, Donald B. Egypt, Canaan, and Israel in Ancient Times.
(Princeton: University Press, 1992), p. 16.
9. ^ Redford, Donald B. Egypt, Canaan, and Israel in Ancient Times. (Princeton:
University Press, 1992), p. 17.
10. ^ a b Gardiner (1694), p.391
11. ^ The Fall of the Old Kingdom by Fekri Hassan
12. ^ Callender, Gae. The Middle Kingdom Renasissance from The Oxford
History of Ancient Egypt, Oxford, 2000

13. ^ Booth, Charlotte. The Hyksos Period in Egypt. p.10. Shire Egyptology.
2005. ISBN 0-7478-0638-1
14. ^ Grimal, Nicolas. A History of Ancient Egypt p. 194. Librairie Arthme
Fayard, 1988.
15. ^ Nicolas Grimal, A History of Ancient Egypt, Blackwell Books, 1992. p.271
16. ^ William F. Edgerton, The Strikes in Ramses III's Twenty-Ninth Year, JNES
10, No. 3 (July 1951), pp. 137-145
17. ^ Frank J. Yurco, "End of the Late Bronze Age and Other Crisis Periods: A
Volcanic Cause" in Gold of Praise: Studies on Ancient Egypt in Honor of
Edward F. Wente, ed: Emily Teeter & John Larson, (SAOC 58) 1999, pp.456458
18. ^ Cerny, p.645
19. ^ Bowman (1996) pp25-26
20. ^ Stanwick (2003)