MT1 Week3 Egypt Flashcards
1
Q
Gift of the Nile
A
Ancient Egypt developed in the Nile river floodplain
- The Nile is the longest river in the world (6600 km)
- The Nile has two major tributaries: the Blue Nile (Lake Tana, Ethiopian highlands) and the White Nile (Lake Victoria) and river flows north to its Delta on the Mediterranean Sea)
- Annual floods provide rich alluvium each year
- Floods were more predictable than in Mesopotamia
2
Q
Geography
A
- Ancient Egypt is the first state of its size in history – a territorial state
- Long and narrow oasis surrounded by desert
- Isolated Egypt from tropical Africa and Near East although it traded for gold, ivory, semi-precious stone, timber from Levant and tropical Africa
- Travel along the Nile by boat is ancient (earliest image of boat that resembles pre-dynastic boats is carved onto a pebble in a securely dated site ~7000 BC (near Khartoum)
3
Q
The Red Land and the Black Land
A
Ancient Egyptians called their land “Kemet” (black land) -- the black fertile soils of the floodplain
•“Deshret” (red land) is the dry desert sands
4
Q
2 geopolitical areas
A
- Egypt is divided into 2 geopolitical areas:
- Lower Egypt is the Nile river delta (ta-mehu – land of the papyrus)
- Upper Egypt is the area south of the delta to Nubia (ta-shema –land of the shema reed)
- Unification of Upper and Lower Egypt is represented in the combined crowns
5
Q
2 geopolities represented by crowns
A
White domed crown of Upper Egypt
- Red curled crown of Lower Egypt
- Combined crown of Upper and Lower Egypt
6
Q
Ancient Egypt: Outline
A
- Neolithic/Chalcolithic or Pre-dynastic Period 5000-3100 BC
- Archaic or Early Dynastic Period 3100-2700 BC
- Dynastic Period: 2700-1070 BC
- Old Kingdom 2700-2140 BC
- First Intermediate 2140-2040 BC
- Middle Kingdom 2040-1640 BC
- Second Intermediate 1640-1550 BC
- New Kingdom 1550-1070 BC
- Third Intermediate /decline after 1100 BC
- Kingdoms – the state is under a centralized authority (the king or pharaoh) ruling from a capital city
- Intermediates – periods when power became decentralized and held by local authorities (nomarchs, local authorities)
7
Q
Pre-Dynastic: 5000-3100 BC
A
- About 5000 BC simple farming based in cattle and cereal farming develops (Near Eastern crops)
- Villages were located on the edge of the floodplain
- Planted crops as the flood receded or grazed their animals on the floodplain
- Harvested crops before the next flood
- These were copper using groups (possibly copper ore to make paint)
8
Q
Lower Egypt
A
- By 4000 BC there is evidence of social differences in burials with chiefs buried with a staff that is pointed at one end & flat at the other end
- Most people are buried in simple pit burials within settlements
- By 3500 BC large towns had their own gods and local rulers
- One of these communities is Buto (in suburb of Cairo)
- Maadian culture: traded with Upper Egypt, Levant, Mesopotamia and to some extent with Upper Egypt
9
Q
Upper Egypt (UE): 5000-3600 BC
A
- Earliest farming society in UE (Badarian culture) wheat, barley, lentils, cattle, goats, sheep, fish
- Developed in the Eastern & Western Desert
- Mainly known from burials – individuals buried in pits facing west in desert cemeteries with pots, beads, palettes
- Traded with Sinai and Eastern Desert
- Produced fine pottery called black topped red ware and faience (craft specialists)
- Earliest evidence of intentional mummification ~4300 BC from resins on linens
10
Q
Earliest evidence of embalming
A
- It has been assumed that most pre-dynastic mummification is natural
- New study of Naqada mummy c. 3700-3500 BC is the first direct evidence from an embalmed individual
- Recipe of plant oil, heated conifer resin, and both aromatic plant extract and plant gum/sugar that are antibacterial agents
- These recipes are similar to those used 2500 years later by Egyptian embalmers of the New Kingdom
- First direct evidence of pre-dynastic mummification (most of the mummies are not dated or chemically analyzed) but chemistry is similar to the Badarian period mummy wrappings!
11
Q
Developing complex technology: Egyptian Faience
A
- Faience is made of crushed quartz or sand crystals mixed with sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and copper oxides that produce blue, green, turquoise colour
- Faience paste was shaped in molds & fired in a kiln – calcium silicates in the paste produced a glassy surface
- Objects were also dipped into faience power or painted with a slurry of the paste, fired, & produced the glassy surface
- Possibly intended to imitate turquoise & other gems
- Earliest workshop Abydos 5500 BC
- Ancient Egyptians believed that the reflection of light off these pieces was the light of immortality
12
Q
Upper Egypt: urbanism
A
- 3 important cities form ~3600 BC
- Naqada
- Nekhen (Hierakonpolis)*
- This (Abydos)
- 5000-10,000 people living in mud-brick houses, elite houses, and there are specialized crafts
- Developed irrigation to increase food production
- Poor and rich burials indicate social inequality
- Some burials with symbols of power (mace heads)
- At this timethe material culture of Upper Egypt spreads into Lower Egypt and Maadi culture disappears
13
Q
Bearded Men
A
- new form of sculpture
- beard may be a symbol of power: precursor for false beards of Pharaohs
- e.g. males not identified with primary sexual characteristics but ones related to power
14
Q
Nekhen – city of the falcon deity
A
Nekhen was a prosperous center
- Main businesses were brewing beer and pottery-making
- Large beer brewing installations are estimated to have produced 1000 gallons or more of beer/day
- Pottery-making was also important: produced funerary ware and vessels for beer brewing and daily use
15
Q
Ceremonial complex
A
- Nekhen is the cradle of Egyptian kingship
- Cult of falcon deity - (early form of Horus), patron god of the city’s ruler
- Temple has mud-plastered oval that was surrounded by a mud-plastered reed fence
- There was a large sand mound (representing earth emerging from chaos) with a later mud-brick platform
- Rectangular buildings (shrines, workshops) were located on one side of the oval
- Post for the image of the falcon god (Nekhen)
- Earliest known temple in Egypt
- Separate cemeteries fo different classes and elite individuals
16
Q
Cemeteries: Working class burials
A
- Over 150 graves including women with resin soaked linens wrapped around their arms (early mummification)
- Fetal position facing east or west
- Body wrapped in reed mats and simple grave goods of pottery, palette, beads
17
Q
Elite burials
A
- Clay masks on a few elite burials
- Rich grave goods
- Recent burial (2014) with ivory figurine that has similar face to the masks
- Researchers believe this is the ruler associated with the zoo!
18
Q
Animal burials: the earliest zoo ~3600 BC
A
- Located on the edge of the elite cemetery
- Tombs of exotic animals buried whole (baboons, elephants, leopards, crocodiles, hippos, dogs, cats, auroch)
- Sacrifice wild animals to symbolize control of ruler over the chaos of nature
- Animals were powerful – often animal form taken by gods and early rulers
- Zoos demonstrate ruler’s wealth and power
- Zoos legitimize pharaohs up to the New Kingdom period
19
Q
Nekhen: tomb 100
A
- New cemetery at Nekhen
- first mud-brick sepulcher with painted walls ~3500-3200 BC
- Procession of ruler on boat (barque) carrying him to the afterlife
- Ruler surrounded by dangerous forces, images of him killing lions with royal mace
- Similar scenes and concepts in the Egyptian state: kings upheld order, justice, piety and defeated the forces of chaos
20
Q
King(s) Scorpion Dynasty 0
A
Mace head from cemetery at Nekhen with king wearing white domed crown of Upper Egypt and other regalia of later dynastic kingship
- Bull’s tail hangs from belt (symbol of king’s authority)
- Shepherd’s shemset (apron)
- Goat beard (possibly false)
- Carries tool to open irrigation canal
- Rosette (symbol of divinity)
- Scorpion (his name)
21
Q
This (Abydos) King Scorpion?
A
- Tomb U-J dated to 3250 BC
- brick lined tomb set up as a house for the King
- Name Scorpion inked on several jars
- Ivory tags attached to jars that came from far away places including 700 wine jars (NAA analysis shows pots from the Levant) (elaborate long-distance exchange networks)
- Earliest hieroglyphic writing 3200 BC but already a well-developed system
- Stamps in other tombs 3400 BC
22
Q
Unification: King Narmer (Menes) 3100 BC
A
- Many competing kings in Upper Egypt in period leading up to unification
- Hieroglyphic writing and irrigation were widespread practices
- Narmer Palette found at Nekhen (Hierakonpolis)
- commemorates unification of Egypt by King Narmer of This
- Narmer is shown wearing combined crown of Upper and Lower Egypt
23
Q
Role of the king
A
Early rulers come from Upper Egypt (Thinite dynasty)
- Kings were responsible for mediating between forces of order and chaos
- Concept of ma’at (order, justice, moral righteousness) vs Isfet(disorder)
- Creator god (Ra) instituted ma’at at the beginning of time and passed it down to each king
- King was earthly manifestation of the Creator god and returned to the Creator god after death
24
Q
Burial practices of Early Dynastic Kings
A
- Abydos remained sacred burial place of early dynastic kings
- Kings were buried in mastabas (low mud-brick structures)
- The burial chamber was cut beneath mud-brick structure that was entered by staircase
- Chapel in upper structure for offerings
- Queens and retainers were buried around the king in simple pit graves
- Earliest evidence of boat burials is at Abydos – moored with a stone
25
Q
Human sacrifice
A
Human sacrifice ended about 2700 BC before the Early Dynastic period
- Human sacrifices likely were intended to serve king in afterlife
- Replaced by shabtis – figures who magically came to life in afterworld and served the dead ruler
- Made from different materials including stone , clay, faience & wood
26
Q
Religious ideology
A
- Kings created cult centers to the gods to link themselves to all local deities (hundreds of gods)
- Forged a national religion represented in a standardized art style that lasts for 3000 years
- King identified with Horus and with sun god Ra (top deity)
- Ra sailed across the sky during the day in the day-barque
- Stepped onto night-barque at sunset to fight the forces of chaos
- Metaphor of the cyclical process of death and rebirth, and the flooding of the Nile
27
Q
Afterlife: ba and ka
A
- Ba is person’s spirit that can leave the body, roam around, but still needs the body to return to
- Ka is the life force that needs to be nourished (e.g. at feasting tables painted in tombs)
- It was essential to preserve the body
- Initially afterlife only available to rulers and their entourage
28
Q
Mummification increasingly refined
A
Increasing development of mummification over time
- Removed organs, dried body with salt (natron), perfumed body with resin/milk/incense and then wrapped in linen with protective amulets
- Specialist practice, process took up to 70 days
29
Q
Pyramid Texts and the Book of the Dead
A
Based in early texts like the Pyramid Texts (some of the same spells)
- Collection of texts with magic spells that aid the deceased in traveling through the underworld
- Dangerous place with supernatural beasts
- Call out spell to make beasts disappear or book provided answers to riddles/questions that posed barriers along the route
30
Q
Political organization
A
- Ancient Egypt was different from Mesopotamia
- Territorial state with many cities under a centralized authority
- State was divided into nomes (provinces), governed by nomarchs
- Nomarchs were local rulers
- In centralized state, nomarchs were appointed by the king (loyal local leaders or royal family members)
- Nomarchs received titles and estates and were wealthy
- Often hereditary position
31
Q
Memphis
A
Capital set up by Early Dynastic kings
- Located at border between Upper and Lower Egypt
- King and his vizier lived here
- King ruled by his word and through (ma’at) but no written law code
- Society was a hierarchy of the minority (a leisure class), and then classes of priests, bureaucrats, scribes, artisans, farmers
32
Q
The bureaucracy: “followers of Horus”
A
- “followers of Horus” ran the King’s household
- administered the King’s storehouses
- made decisions about running state (monumental building, taxes, trade)
- redistributed resources to loyal officials, rations to workers and bureaucrats
- Bureaucracy requires writing
- class of scribes important and high status
- Paper invented in Egypt
33
Q
Egyptian writing & notation
A
Hieroglyphic writing deciphered by Champollion 1822 using Rosetta Stone
•2 Egyptian scripts:
•Hieroglyphics (sacred writing) reserved for monumental buildings and funerary use (combination of pictographs and phonetics
(represent language sounds)
•Demotic: cursive script used in everyday
•Parallel script in Greek
34
Q
The Old Kingdom ~2700-2140 BC
A
- Third Dynasty kings ruled as sons of Ra-Horakhty (combination of Ra and Horus)
- Kingship legitimated by ideology that well-being of the people relied on a divine pharaoh who acted as the people’s intermediary to the gods
- Program of monumental building began
- Royal tombs shift from mud-brick mastabas to pyramids
- The first was built by Djoser
35
Q
Increasing divinity of kings
A
- Old Kingdom kings were viewed as the sun god Ra’s representative on earth (Ra-Horakhty)
- Powerful priesthood emerges around the cult to the sun god Ra
- After death the king is assimilated with Ra
- Enormous effort of nation put into pyramid construction
36
Q
Pyramid building: Saqqara
A
- 1st pyramid built at Saqqara on west bank of the Nile
- Pyramid is surrounded by stone wall enclosure with temples
- Constructed by King Djoser under supervision of Imhotep
- Pyramid is in 6 steps surrounded by several buildings and shrines
- Built entirely of stone to last for eternity
- First major stone building in antiquity
37
Q
Smooth sided ‘true’ pyramids
A
- Sneferu (Snofru) built first true pyramid (but took 3 tries)
- One was stepped, one was ‘bent ‘and finally the Red Pyramid was perfect 43º
- The Red pyramid has an interior with a corbelled ceiling
- Encased in smooth limestone
- Topped with pyramidion capstone
- Symbolized mound that Ra stood on at time of creation
- Also represented rays of the sun – king would ascend on death to ride with Ra in afterworld on day and night barques
38
Q
Giza Plateau
A
- Khufu builds Great Pyramid on Giza plateau (near Cairo)
- Smooth-sided pyramids with limestone blocks with paved causeways linked to mortuary temples
- Khafre builds the middle pyramid with the Sphinx guarding his mortuary temple
- Menkaure builds the last and smallest pyramid using red granite (quality over quantity?)
39
Q
Sphinx: first monumental sculpture
A
- Khafre’s head is depicted on the sphinx
- Khafre is reborn as the sun god guarding the necropolis of the kings
- Kings lived forever and influenced the living world and that of the gods
40
Q
Construction
A
Huge stone blocks cut with stone, bronze and copper tools
- Transported by boats, rollers, sledges
- 5000 full-time workers and 20,000 temporary workers 3-4 months / year
- worker community with bakeries to feed the workers (ration of bread dough, onions, beer)
- Long-term projects integrated people into state, dependent on work
41
Q
First Intermediate:~ 2140-2040 BC
A
- centralized authority broke down and power shifted to local nomarchs
- Why this occurred: after Pepi II weak rulers and/or widespread
- Now considered to be a period of social reorganization & some warfare
42
Q
First Intermediate changes
A
- In Old Kingdom only king and elite could afford the afterlife (mummification, tombs)
- As more people were wealthy they began to demand privileges that Old Kingdom reserved for the elite
•nature of Egyptian society was sustained (religion, hierarchy) -vibrant culture of ordinary people continued so not a break-down
of Egyptian society
43
Q
The Middle Kingdom 2040-1640 BC
A
- Mentuhotep II from Upper Egypt reunites Egypt
- Moves capital to Thebes but later his successor moved the capital to Lisht near Memphis
- Middle Kingdom is Egypt’s “Classical Age”
- Greatest literature and art from this period (Old kingdom texts about religion, texts on tombs, monuments)
- Peaceful period of monumental building (irrigation, temples to Amun)
44
Q
Amun-Ra
A
- Shift in cult of sun god from Ra to Amun-Ra
- Combines Amun (southern counterpart to Ra) with Ra
- Depicted wearing a headdress with 2 tall plumes
- King more approachable – presented as shepherd of his people
45
Q
Cult of Osiris from Abydos
A
MK democratization of religion: now everyone has a chance at the afterlife
- Osiris is god and judge of the dead and pharaoh now assimilated with Osiris after death
- Anyone can go into the afterlife if they can account for their deeds on earth
- Also a metaphor for life and resurrection in the floods of the Nile
46
Q
Story of Osiris
A
Osiris: Isis Seth: Nepthis
- Brother/sister teams also husband/wife teams for deities (and for pharaohs)
- Osiris leaves Egypt to bring civilization to the world
- Brother Seth builds a coffin, when Osiris returns Seth tricks Osiris to try on the coffin and Seth seals him inside!
- Seth throws the coffin into Nile and it floats to Lebanon!
- Isis must get Osiris’ body back for burial but Seth finds body first, cuts it into pieces & throws bits around Egypt
- Isis finds everything except Osiris’ phallus – she makes a false one
- Isis turns herself into a bird, hovers over Osiris saying magic words and conceives Horus
- Osiris is reincarnated as god of the dead
- Horus avenges his father by killing his uncle Seth
The story is a metaphor of the Nile and the relationship of Nile with kingship
- Osiris is the Nile, Seth the hot desert wind
- Osiris is dead when the river is dry
- Isis finds his body on the start of the annual flood
- Osiris fertilizes Isis bringing forth new life in Horus just as Nile brings new life to Egypt
- Osiris is the Nile, Isis is the Earth
- Pharaoh is manifestation of Osiris – giver of life
47
Q
Funerary objects: mass consumption and national adoption of elite culture
A
- More people had wealth and wanted to go to the afterlife
- Mass production of cheaper objects for funerary use
- Modeled on Old Kingdom elite objects
- increased demand for goods – massive expansion of trade
48
Q
Second Intermediate 1640-1550 BC
The Hyksos!
A
Not clear why MK declines
- Second intermediate marked by rise of the Hyksos in Lower Egypt and Theban rulers in Upper Egypt
- End of MK large number of Asiatics living in Egypt
- Cooks, brewers, artisans, winemakers from Syria
- Cosmopolitan society
- Merchants moving caravans of goods by donkey from Levant to Lower Egypt
49
Q
Hyksos Pharaohs
A
Hyksos gain political control of Lower Egypt with capital at Avaris
- Archaeologists have found friezes painted by Minoan artists of bull-leaping scenes in the palace
- Hyksos respected Egyptian traditions and took on the titles, traditions, religious beliefs of the pharaohs
- Also brought innovations to Egypt: bronze technology, improved weaponry, horse drawn war chariot
- Drew Egypt into ‘global economy
50
Q
The New Kingdom 1550-1070 BC
A
- Period of Imperial Egypt
- Upper Egyptian kings at Thebes were enemies of Hyksos and their allies, especially the Nubians at Kerma
- Ahmose I attacked the Hyksos and drove them back to Syria
- Ahmose reunites Egypt & founds the 18th dynasty
- He was a skilled general and turns Egypt into an empire
- He also set a new tone: pharaoh as military hero, tolerated no rivals, gave soldiers grants of land, kept power and wealth in his own hands
51
Q
New Kingdom Empire
A
Major world player
- Main rivals: Hatti the kingdom of the Hittites in Anatolia and Mitanni east of the Euphrates
- At stake: control of Eastern Mediterranean trade in gold, copper, pottery, wine, oil & resin
- Financed empire with Nubian gold – defeated Kush and made it into a colony
- Expanded Red Sea trade routes to ‘Land of Punt’
52
Q
New Kingdom Dynasties 18-20
A
- Period of great prosperity & Egypt extends its empire to parts of Nubia, Syria, Lebanon and Palestine
- Irrigation is improved with the invention of the shaduf & saqiya
- Population increased
- At this time pharaohs married sisters and close relatives to consolidate power within royal lines
- Many famous 18th dynasty pharaohs
- Know more about these pharaohs than those of any other period
53
Q
New Kingdom
Society
A
- Society highly stratified
- Pharaoh at top and aloof from people
- Below him the aristocracy & nobles
- Educated and professional classes
- Then workers, craftsmen, soldiers
- Below them the farmers
- Bottom: unskilled labourers
- There were separate administrations for conquered lands
54
Q
New Institutions: Estate of Amun
A
Thebes was home to the cult of Amun-Ra and was referred to as the Estate of Amun
- Temple of Amun built at Karnak in 18th dynasty
- Karnak represents an architectural shift
- Previously kings built monuments on edge of western desert
- Local temples were of mud-brick
- In New Kingdom religion became public spectacle – required new architecture (Annual Opet festival)
55
Q
Amun-Re
A
- King of the gods
- Solar deity represented in human form
- Source of fecundity
- Divine father of kings in life and death
- Festivals were performed to show people that the king and the temple were ensuring proper rule (keeping the forces of chaos and order in balance)
- Eventually power shifted to the priesthood
56
Q
Temples of Amun
A
- Surrounded by mud-brick walls painted white to keep out the populace
- Great pylons at front entrance with scenes of kings conquering enemies while gods look-on
- Place to nurture gods with food offerings from the temple estates
- Temple estates were farmed by smallholders who paid rent in produce
- Temples also had cattle, mineral rights, enormous grain storage facilities
- Large temples, especially of Amun, became extremely rich and powerful in New Kingdom
57
Q
God’s wife of Amun
A
- Begins with 18th dynasty
- Usually taken by the pharaoh’s wife/sister (selected her own successor)
- Privileges normally reserved for pharaoh: throne name, name in cartouche
- Had own estates, property, staff, administrators
- Performed rituals at temple of Amun in Thebes as god’s wife (50 thousand priests in Thebes)
- Wealth and power
- monument builders in their own right
58
Q
Valley of the Kings
A
- “Estate of Amun” extends to the western bank of the Nile
- Beginning of 18th dynasty Pharaoh Amenhotep (~1505 BC) decided to be buried in secret rock-cut tombs in the Valley of the Kings
- Also Valley of the Queens nearby and tombs of princes and court officials
59
Q
The workers village at Deir-el-Medina
A
- Generations of a large number of workers, artisans lived in this community (18th dynasty to Ramesside period 500 years)
- Records indicate many strikes, poor rations, harsh conditions
- Top artisans were “Servitors of the Place of Truth” and they built their tombs similar to those of the kings
- Painted walls, topped with small pyramids
60
Q
Hatshepsut
A
- 18th Dynasty Pharaoh and daughter of Thutmoses I
- Married to Thutmoses II but he dies 3 years into the marriage
- Thutmoses II had a daughter with Hatshepsut (Neferure) and a son with another wife (Thutmoses III)
- Hatshepsut is Thutmoses III’s co-regent
- 5th year of reign she crowns herself king
- removed Thutmose III as co-regent
- In essence, she is king
- Great builder
- She is presented in statuary and imagery in full pharaoh regalia Monument builder at Karnak (she had held position as God’s wife of Amun)
- Replaces courtiers with those loyal to her
20 year reign was peaceful and prosperous
- Brings in luxury goods from Near East, Eastern desert, Nubia via Red Sea fleet and overland transport
- Current evidence indicates that she had diabetes and bone cancer when she died at ~50 years of age
- Mortuary temple at Deir el-Bahri
- When Thutmose III takes the throne researchers have argued that he aggressively wiped her from history (chips out name from monuments, defaces her image)
- Does not explain why he remained as co-regent for 20 years, head of army and did not overthrow her
- Possibly defacing occurred when transfer of power to his son Amenhotep II who was not clear successor over Hatshepsut’s relatives!
61
Q
Expedition to Punt
A
Journey to Punt recorded at Deir el-Bahri (1493 BC)
- Punt fabled land for gold, ebony, wild animals, ivory, leopard skins, live apes, incense (especially myrrh), aromatic gum
- Expedition led by Senenmut, consort of Hatshepsut
- Transplanted frankincense trees in Egypt
- Relations of Egyptians and Puntites was mutual and respectful
62
Q
Thutmose III
A
greatest ruler of New Kingdom
- “Napoleon” of ancient Egypt
- 18th dynasty domination of Southwest Asia
- taxed Assyria, Anatolia, Babylonia
- Traded with Nubia, Aegean, Crete, Phoenicia
- Also great builder of temples and monuments
- Artisans began making glass vessels
63
Q
Political Context of New Kingdom
A
- Mitanni and Hittites were the other major powers
- Thutmose is considered military genius
- 17 campaigns in 20 years – conquered 350 cities and controlled most of Near East from Euphrates to Nubia
- Received tribute from all princes of Syria,
- One of his policies of colonization was to take sons of conquered rulers as hostages
64
Q
Amenhotep III
A
- strong pharaoh Amenhotep III & maintained a strong empire
- Wife was Tiye
- Inherited very rich Empire and indebted other rulers with gifts of gold
- Major monument builder
- Mortuary temple is gone with exception of the colossi of Memnon that stood at the front
- Left his son Akhenaten a rich and powerful empire
65
Q
Akhenaten: Amarna period
A
Akhenaten (1353-1347 BC) married sister Nefertiti
- Originally coronated at Karnak by priests of Amun
- Fifth year of his reign he moves to break the power of the priests of Amun and makes the cult of the sun god Aten the state religion
- Declares himself and Nefertiti to be gods
- Moves capital to Amarna in Middle Egypt
- Policy to remove mention of Amun from monuments of Egypt
66
Q
New style
A
Amarna built with new architectural style that emphasized light –the essence of Aten
- Surrounded by community of 20000 people in 2 housing areas to north and south of city
- Developed new art style and royal family portrayed holding children on their laps
- Elongated heads and limbs
67
Q
Cult of Aten
A
- quasi-monotheistic
- Only way to afterlife is through loyalty to Akhenaten and through his teachings
- Closed Temples of Amun and diverted money to Temples of Aten (required military to do this)
- Worship of old gods banned, temples of Isis and Osiris destroyed
- Cult of Aten had almost no impact beyond royal family – no regular access to new cult
68
Q
Kings and sun gods
A
- Sun god and king are foundation of Egyptian religion
- Daily activities at temples ensure sun-god’s daily journey through the heavens
- Maintains cosmic order
- people expected to see ruler in pageants (made king’s role as a god real)
- Also relied on temple of Amun for food in bad harvests, temples were a major employer
- Amarna period – 20 years that broke down the relationship between religion and state
69
Q
Akhenaten’s politics
A
Religious concerns took his attention
- Ignored foreign policy and requests of allies for help including King of Byblos who sent over 50 letters and was conquered by enemies
- Lost control of Near Eastern conquests
70
Q
Tutankhamun 1333-1323 BC
A
- Son of Akhenaten
- Died at young age (about 20)
- His advisors had him reinstate the cult of Amun, restored temples
- Abandoned Amarna and lived in Thebes and Memphis
- Empire crumbled: Hittites defeated the Mitanni (Egyptian allies) and lost other vassals
- Left no heirs – power usurped by Ay (vizier) and then to Hornenhab (general)
71
Q
Ramesside pharaohs 19th dynasty
A
Ramesses II (the Great) Tried to restore Egypt’s former glory by defeating the Hittites
- Not from a royal lineage (military)
- Used Nubian gold to rebuild empire
- Ramesses II built on huge scale: Abu Simbel
72
Q
Battle of Kadesh
A
Kadesh - city in Syria, hub of trade held by Hittites
- Ramesses II vs King Muwatalli II (Hittite Empire) ~1274 BC
- Best documented battle of Near East in ancient times
- Both kings claimed victory! Probably a draw
- Ramesses led his division too quickly into battle and became isolated in face of Hittite army
- Egyptians claimed that Ramesses led a heroic battle until the rest of his army arrived
- Egyptians were caught between the river and Hittite forces
- for unknown reasons the Muwatalli did not deploy his reserve forces and allowed his best force to be slaughtered by the Egyptians
- Result was first bilateral peace treaty (first true peace treaty)
- But both great states were diminished – neither conquered the other
73
Q
Abu Simbel
A
Ramesses claimed to have won the Battle of Kadesh
- Written on walls of Abu Simbel that stood on border with Nubia
- Propaganda – warning to the Kushites of Egypt’s power
74
Q
Decline of Egypt after 1000 BC
A
- Egypt had been a successful provider state
- Massive intervention in the agricultural economy
- Huge storage of grain to allocate to workers and to people in hard times
- This unraveled in 18th dynasty and with weak rulers after Ramesses II
~1200 BC the great Hittite empire falls apart
- Power shifts in eastern Mediterranean
- Egypt retreated from Nubia & battling Libyans and ’Sea People’
- Bureaucracy became corrupt
- Tomb robbers broke into tombs in Valley of Kings and Queens (detailed descriptions of the looting in court ~1200 BC)
- Priests of Amun accumulate vast amounts of land and wealth in this period of decline
75
Q
Third Intermediate 1069- 653 BC
A
Libyans gradually took control of Delta
- Priests of Amun controlled Upper Egypt
- Neo-Assyrians increasingly powerful in the Near East
- Nubian kings of Kush under Piankhy invade Egypt in 727 BC and take control of Upper and Lower Egypt forming the 25th dynasty
76
Q
25th dynasty: the Kushite Pharaohs
A
Egyptian renaissance
- Expanded empire again
- Kushite rulers renowned for piety to Amun
- Restored religion, art and architecture of Dynastic Egypt
- Pharaoh Taharka helps the King of Jerusalem stop the Assyrians but eventually chased back to Nubia by Assyrian
- Assyria took control of Egypt
77
Q
Late Period 672-332 BC
A
- Saite kings (vassals to the Assyrians)
- Invaded by Babylonians 567 BC
- Persians invade in 525 BC
- Greeks 332 BC under Alexander the Great (Ptolemaic rulers)
