Egypt
Timeline
3100 B.C. - End of pre-dynastic period
Ca. 3100 B.C. - Lower and Upper Egypt united under Narmer.
2686-2160 B.C. - (Egypt) Old Kingdom (Third-Sixth dynasties), the Pyramid Age. Kings:
Zoser (Djoser) reigns in Egypt, builds step pyramid, which was designed by his vizier Imhotep.
2613-2494 B.C. - (Egypt) Beginning of the fourth dynasty, where pyramids began being built more commonly. Kings:
Khufu (Cheops), Khafre (Chephren)
2494-2345 B.C. - Fifth dynasty of Egyptian Kings
2345-2160 B.C. - Sixth dynasty of Egyptian Kings
2160-2040 B.C. - Seventh-tenth dynasties of Egyptian Kings.
2040-1786 B.C. - (Egypt) Middle Kingdom (Eleventh-Twelfth dynasties), the Feudal Age
2040-1991 B.C. - Eleventh dynasty of Egyptian Kings
2040-2010 B.C. - (Egypt) Reign of Mentohotep II
1991-1786 B.C. - Twelfth dynasty of Egyptian Kings
1991-1961 B.C. - (Egypt) Reign of Amenemhet I
1961-1938 B.C. - (Egypt) Reign of Sesostris I
1786-1674 B.C. - Thirteenth dynasty of Egyptian Kings
1674-1570 B.C. - The Hyksos capture Memphis and start a period of foreign rule in Egypt.
1570-1075 B.C. - (Egypt) New Kingdom (Eighteenth dynasties), Empire
1570-1320 B.C. - Eighteenth dynasty of Egyptian Kings
1570-1546 B.C. - (Egypt) Reign of Ahmose I
1504-1482 B.C. - (Egypt) Reign of Hatshepsut
1482-1450 B.C. - (Egypt) Reign of Thutmose III
1446 B.C. - Moses and the Israelites leave Egypt during the reign of Amenhotep II.
1417-1379 B.C. - (Egypt) Reign of Amenhotep III
1379-1362 B.C. - (Egypt) Reign of Akhenaton (Amenhotep IV)
1361-1352 B.C. - (Egypt) Reign of Tutankhamun
1352-1348 B.C. - (Egypt) Reign of Ay
1348-1320 B.C. - (Egypt) Reign of Horemheb
1320-1200 B.C. - Nineteenth dynasty of Egyptian Kings
1320-1318 B.C. - (Egypt) Reign of Ramses I
1318-1304 B.C. - (Egypt) Reign of Seti I
1304-1237 B.C. - (Egypt) Reign of Ramses II
1200-1075 B.C. - Twentieth dynasty of Egyptian Kings
1198-1166 B.C. - (Egypt) Reign of Ramses III
525 B.C. - Egypt conquered by the Persians
322 B.C. - Egypt conquered by the Greeks/Macedonians
196 B.C. - Ptolemy V’s proclamation that was engraved on the Rosetta stone, which was written in 3 translations: demotic, hieroglyphic, Greek
30 B.C. - Egypt conquered by the Romans
Summary:
Topography of the land
The Nile valley is a nearly rainless land with miles of desert and barren hills around it. The White Nile which comes from Lake Victoria and the Blue Nile which has its beginnings in the highlands of Ethiopia join at Khartoum, the Sudanese capital. The northern most point, where the river meets at the Mediterranean Sea, is the fertile delta of the Nile.
The land is naturally protected by invaders: deserts in the east and west, the Great Sea in the north, and the cataracts of the river in the south to prevent Nubian attacks. The Egyptians and their culture were therefore protected for centuries.
Natural Resources
The papyrus plant grew along the banks of the Nile, and they used it to form paper and rope. There was copper and turquoise in the Sinai Peninsula. Gold was found in the desert east of Thebes. Limestone was in Lower Egypt, as granite was available in Upper Egypt near the first cataract. Clay was also available to the Egyptians.
Predynastic Egypt: the Foundation of Egyptian Government and Religion
There are findings of ancient peoples living where there is now desert. Because the world’s climate has changed and much of the land became desert, the people settled around the Nile River.
The Egyptian people put into use an irrigation system, as it became necessary. Their system of writing was also developed during this period. Their religious beliefs also have their foundation before the rise of the Kingdoms. Wealthy people were buried in tombs called mastabas.
The government: Egypt was first organized into districts from the original tribes of Egypt. These districts were called nomes. The leaders of the nomes were called nomarchs, and were also the chief-priests of the tribal god. They were supervisors of tribal life, such as overseers of irrigation, tax collection, and military force.
The nomes slowly gathered into two kingdoms: Upper Egypt in the south, and Lower Egypt in the north. The most important nomarchs gained hegemony over the others, and became to be pharaohs. Upper Egypt extended from Nubia to the Delta; its symbol was the falcon. This pharaoh’s crown was white. Lower Egypt was in the delta area; its symbol was the cobra. This pharaoh’s crown was red.
The most revered god was Re (Ra), the sun god, and was worshipped by all Egyptians. Their gods were anthropomorphic, and often had powers of certain animals. Their pharaohs were considered gods; this concept comes from their legend of Osiris. Osiris was thought to be a prehistoric pharaoh who achieved life after death. He was killed by a wicked god Seth, but brought back to life by Isis. Osiris and Isis conceived a son who was called Horus. Horus took revenge on Seth with the help of Thoth, another god. The pharaoh was considered the son of Re, and was associated with the living Horus, yet joined to Osiris in death.
Life after death was a common belief throughout Egyptian history, and tombs were equipped with food and other necessities because people were thought to come back to life once buried. Pharaohs were given model boats in their tombs to travel the sky with sun god Re in the after life.
Osiris was the god who governed the underworld, and judged the worthiness of those to enter his kingdom, supposedly under the western desert. The books of the dead were painted in tombs so the dead could find their way to this land. The tombs also had shabti, which were small figurines that could be used as ‘substitutes’ to work in the fields for them in the underworld.
The Dynasties of Egypt
The two kingdoms were united by Narmer approximately 3100 B.C. He wore a double crown, which symbolized both Lower and Upper Egypt. Narmer built his capital city which was later called Memphis where the 2 kingdoms meet. The slate-palette of Narmer (excavated 1898) symbolizes this event.
There are thirty dynasties of Egypt, recorded by Manetho, an Egyptian priest of the third century B.C.
The Old Kingdom
One of the main features of this period is the pyramid. Zoser was the first one to build such a structure to be his burial place. The architect of this structure was Imhotep, his vizier. The structure built was the Step Pyramid of Sakkara. Imhotep was a philosopher and a healer as well, and also was worshipped as being among the minor deities.
The pharaoh’s authority came from his divine being, and the concept of ma’at, which represented "continuity, eternity, harmony, goodness, and truth" (Howe, 50). He executed the laws because he was considered to have direct communication ability with the gods.
In the fourth dynasty dawned the age of the pyramids. The biggest pyramid was the pyramid of Khufu (smasher of foreheads), and this pyramid is one of the pyramids of Giza (Gizeh). Khufu was a difficult ruler that the Greeks called Cheops. The pyramids of Giza were thought often to be the granaries of Joseph son of Jacob (Genesis 41), treasuries, or astronomical observatories. Khafre, his son, continued the tradition by building at Giza, and added an enormous Sphinx.
The First Intermediate Period
Pyramid building exhausted the treasuries of the pharaohs, and their power declined. The kingdom divided into the two kingdoms again.
The Middle Kingdom
Mentohotep II reunited the kingdom with the dawning of the eleventh dynasty. He established his capital at Thebes. He called the national god Amun, also called Amun-Re. He was the first to be buried in the Valley of the Kings, and he also opened trade to the peoples of Syria and Palestine.
The vizier of Mentohotep II’s grandson called Amenemhet I became pharaoh in 1991 B.C. This dynasty (12) was the most stable and of prosperous reign. He made a new policy for pharaohs to co-reign with their successor to smooth out the transition of kings. This policy is seen also in the New Kingdom.
Trade also was on the rise during this dynasty, and ships were made of cedar from Lebanon. A canal was also built for this purpose called the Wadi Tumilat. This allowed boats to pass from the Red Sea to the Great Sea. The wealth of this dynasty attracted the Hyksos to Egypt. These were Asiatic peoples sometimes are referred to as the Shepherd Kings. They copied the culture of the Egyptians. They eventually captured Memphis with their superior military equipment and later one of them was crowned pharaoh. There was a period of peaceful coexistence between the Asiatics and the Egyptians. The Hyksos were allied with the Nubians. The Egyptian pharaoh Kamose was extremely dissatisfied with the situation of foreign rule. Kamose launched an attack on the Hyksos, and succeeded, but his younger brother Ahmose successfully expelled them after his death.
The New Kingdom
Egypt becomes an imperial power. The pharaohs of the eighteenth dynasty sought a permanent military presence in Syria and Palestine, and rivaled with the Hittites and the Mitanni of Syria and Northern Mesopotamia. They annexed part of the Nubian territory and commenced in a military campaign in Syria. Literacy was also important during this period. Hatshepsut expanded Egypt’s trade to Punt, near or in modern Somalia. Her son Thutmose III ascended the throne after her, and he established domination over the areas in Palestine and Syria. He had 17 military campaigns during his reign. His empire reached from the fourth cataract of the Nile in modern Sudan to the Euphrates.
The Amarna Period
The period of military conquest continued and prospered with Thutmose III’s successors. Following was Amenhotep IV’s reign, which was unique. His reign was the known as the Amarna period. During this period, religious and artistic customs were developed that were very different from any other period. He shifted toward monotheism with the mandate of worship of one god, Aton. His name was also changed to Akhenaton, which means the glory of Aton. He also demanded that artists deviate from the tradition of idealistic portrayal of things to portray things as they really were, as Akhenaton’s odd features were revealed in artwork from the period. He was a king, however, that was politically very weak.
Latter Dynasties
Akhenaton’s 10 year old son-in-law took up the throne after him, and his reign was manipulated by the officials to return to the worship of Amun-Re. The pharaoh’s name was Tutankhaton, which became known as Tutankhamun. He died at the age of 19, and was succeeded by his vizier Ay. Horemheb was to follow, who was Tutankhamun’s general.
The nineteenth dynasty began with Ramses I, but the most important reign is that of his grandson Ramses II. He was a king of many military defeats, though he embellished often his achievements unlike his predecessor Thutmose III. For example, he challenged the Hittites and lost, but recorded that he had the victory. Later when Ramses made an attack on them, the two powers made a treaty not to make any attacks on each other; this treaty is the first non-aggression treaty in history. Ramses II had many building projects to emphasize his wealth.
The twentieth dynasty: Ramses III ascended the throne and was confronted by an enemy known as the Sea Peoples. This group had plundered the Hittite kingdom, but Ramses III drove them away in two great battles. Following, however, was a period of economic decline. The Ramses III’s successors were weak, and a group of priests began to dominate governmental affairs, which played in the role in the economic decline.
Technology of the Middle East was superior to that of Egypt. Later the Persians overtook Egypt in 525 B.C. In 322 B.C., the Greeks took them, and in 30 B.C., was the Roman conquest of Egypt.
Science and Technological Contributions
The shadoof: because of the little rainfall, the shadoof was invented, a balance beam with a bucket on one end to lift water from the river into irrigation ditches.
Geometry: The Egyptians needed to relocate property lines because of the flooding of Nile. Thus, they developed the science of geometry.
Architecture: they needed to learn how to transport stone, and they used the post-and-lintel construction as opposed to the Mesopotamians that used archways and supports with clay bricks. The pyramids of course were a magnificent contribution to architecture, where large sledges were used to slide gigantic blocks over wet ground to the location of the pyramid.
Writing: Literacy was important in Egypt, especially in the New Kingdom. They started by creating ideograms just as the Mesopotamians. The pictographs often had many synonyms. They created then phonograms to solve the problem. Some phonograms were also ideograms, so scribes indicated meaning by a determinative symbol. There was also less formal cursive writing known as hieratic. An even more abbreviated script was called demotic. An alphabet was never introduced. Writing was made by either sharpened reeds or paint brushes. The pictographs were called hieroglyphics by the Greeks because they were thought to be religious or ‘sacred writings’. The Rosetta Stone brought light to the translation of Egyptian writings because it had inscriptions of demotic, hieroglyphics, and Greek.
Papyrus: Unlike the Mesopotamians who wrote on clay, the Egyptians wrote on paper made from papyrus. This invention encouraged "the communication of ideas and the growth of literature and other arts" (Howe, 63).
Science: Found the solar cycle of the year to be 365 days, 12 30-day months followed by a 5-day festival period. The Egyptians also had an interest in medicine and surgery, where documents were found describing certain procedures.
Sources
Howe, Helen and Robert Howe. Ancient and Medieval Worlds. White Plains: Longman, 1992. Chapter 2.
Related
Book Review of When Egypt Ruled the East
The Date of the Exodus and the Conquest