Egyptian Civilization

Egyptian Civilization

Geography & History

Geography

All aspects of life in ancient Egypt revolved around the Nile River

The Nile is the longest river in the world (over 4,000 miles!)

It flows south to north, but winds blow north to south (allowing for easy travel in either direction)

The river splits before emptying into the Mediterranean, giving this area the name of the Nile Delta (from the Greek letter Δ)

Upper & Lower Egypt

Annual flooding gave life to the region

Geography as a Security Blanket

What does the geography of Egypt suggest?

The annual flooding of the Nile, combined with other geographical features, led to a sense of isolation and security

How did the different flooding patterns in Mesopotamia & Egypt help these societies to develop differently?

Egyptian History

Egyptian history is generally divided into 3 periods, or kingdoms:

Old Kingdom (2700–2300 BC)

Middle Kingdom (2000–1650 BC)

New Kingdom (1550–1200 BC)

These periods were characterized by strong leadership, freedom from invasion, great building projects, & rich cultural productivity

Egyptian history really begins with King Menes (c. 3100 BC), who united Upper & Lower Egypt to create the first royal dynasty

Old Kingdom (2700–2300 BC)

Beginnings of Pharaohs

Divine kingship

Kings were appointed by the gods and should be treated with appropriate respect

Rise of bureaucracy (administrative organization with officials and procedures)

Importance of vizier (pic of Jafar)

Large-scale building projects like the pyramids

The Pyramids

Pyramids were built as part of a large complex of buildings dedicated to the dead

Pyramids had rooms stocked with all of the amenities that the dead person would need in the afterlife: chairs, boats (why?),  weapons, games, dishes, food

Bodies were mummified in order to preserve them

Supposedly, the largest pyramid (the Great Pyramid of King Khufu) took 100,000 Egyptians 20 years to build!

There are other explanations…

Great Pyramid of King Khufu at Giza

The Pyramids at Giza

Middle Kingdom (2000–1650 BC)

The Middle Kingdom is often referred to as the “Golden Age” of Egyptian history

What connotations does the phrase “Golden Age” have?

Increased expansion into Nubia, Palestine, and Syria

Concern of pharaohs for the people

In the Old Kingdom the pharaohs had been god-kings, far removed from the people

In the Middle Kingdom the pharaoh was seen more as the shepherd of the people

Draining of swampland in the Nile Delta & digging a canal to connect the Nile River to the Red Sea

How might these activities benefited the lives of the people?

New Kingdom (1550–1200 BC)

After overthrowing foreign invaders, Egypt became the most powerful state in Southwest Asia

Massive wealth was used to build numerous temples

Many military campaigns into Syria, Palestine, and even as far as the Euphrates River

Famous (& sometimes important) pharaohs:

Hatshepsut

Akhenaten

Tutankhamen

Ramses II

Hatshepsut

Hatshepsut was one of the first female pharaohs

She came to power when her husband died

She seems to have presided over a time of prosperity

Increased trade and ambitious building projects

All official depictions show her as a man

Why?

Akhenaten (dates)

Originally named Amenhotep IV, he changed his name to Akhenaten ( = “it is well with Aten”)

Akhenaten introduced the worship of Aten, the god of the sun-disk

A type of henotheism that proved unpopular

Tutankhamen

Possibly the most famous of all pharaohs

Known mostly because of his exquisite burial chambers

“King Tut” reversed many of Akhenaten’s religious reforms

Ramses II (1279–1213 BC)

Regained control of areas lost because of upheavals regarding Akhenaten’s reforms

Ramses II was a great builder

He built more temples, statues, and obelisks than any other pharaoh

Ramses II may be the pharaoh of the Exodus

External and internal pressures moved Egypt into a steady decline

But pharaohs ruled until 31 BC!

Egyptian Civilization

Society & Culture

Structure of Egyptian Society

Egyptian Society

Highly structured and stratified

Social status was displayed for others to see

Those from the lower classes had to pay a “labor tax” and work on government construction projects

The upper classes were known as the “white kilt class” because of their bleached linen garments that were a mark of their rank

Men and women from all social classes were basically equal under the law

Egyptian women had more freedom than many others in the ancient world

Egyptian Art

Egyptian art influenced many other cultures

Painting, Sculpture, Pottery

Symbols and symbolic art:

Colors were symbolic (red for tanned youth, yellow for women and men who worked indoors, blue or gold for divinity, black for fertility)

Much art was designed to provide comfort in the afterlife

Egyptian Painting

Egyptian Sculpture

Egyptian Architecture

Most domestic dwellings were made out of mud bricks and wood, and do not survive

The Egyptians were extremely skilled builders

Simple but effective tools

Precision sighting instruments

Massive amounts of manpower

Examples of Egyptian Architecture

Egyptian Hieroglyphs

Early hieroglyphs date to c. 3200 BC

Roughly 500 symbols

Hieroglyph = “sacred carving”

Hieroglyphs can represent either a word or a sound

The same hieroglyph can represent two different things depending on the context (i.e., “read” vs “read”)

The Book of the Dead

Egyptian Religion

Polytheistic religion, but no coherent story or system

Gods were worshiped in temples

Cult statues; temples were not open to the public except on feast days

The ba and ka were the soul and life-force respectively

The goal was to reunite these two forces to become one of the “blessed dead”

Judgment of the heart…

Mummification

The Judgment of Ani’s Heart

Some Egyptian Gods

Egyptian Fail