NILE RIVER

1
NILE RIVER

• Central geographic fact is Nile River
• Began in lakes of equatorial Africa and flows
  northward into the Mediterranean Sea
• Passes through rocky ledges (cataracts) which
  causes rapids and small waterfalls
• Calms down 750 miles south of the Mediterranean
• This 750 mile stretch was ancient Egypt
• Narrow valley

Lower Egypt
Floods every fall, leaving behind fertile layer
of silt Gave region capability to support an
abundant agriculture and large population
Upper Egypt
2
MORE GEOGRAPHY

• Nile also served as excellent artery of
  communication
• Encouraged early and lasting political
  unification
• Isolated by cataracts in the south, the
  Mediterranean Sea in the north, and huge deserts
  to east and west
• Would protect Egypt from periodic waves of new
  people which so often disrupted Mesopotamia
• Allowed civilization to develop in relatively
  peaceful and stable conditions
• Gave them cheerful and optimistic outlook

3
PREHISTORIC EGYPTIANS

• Original settlers were a mixture of people from
  Nubia, Palestine, Syria, and Lybian Desert
• Settled in small villages
• Gradually cleared valley of swamps and wild
  animals by 4000 BC
• Some evidence of Mesopotamian influence

4
ZOSER

• Settlements along Nile unified into a single
  kingdom around 3100 BC
• Perhaps by Zoser
• Egyptian history begins with this act
• Old Kingdom (3100-2000 BC)
• Middle Kingdom (2000-1575)
• Each period divided into Dynasties

5
OLD KINGDOM

• Zoser established capital at Memphis in Lower
  Egypt
• Most records from this period have been lost
• Most of our knowledge today comes from monuments
  and tombs of pharaohs

6
PYRAMIDS

• Pyramids would be normal form of burial for
  pharaohs until 1500 BC
• About 80 are still standing
• Most within 70 mile stretch of desert near
  Memphis
• Largest is the Great Pyramid of Cheops
• 481 feet high, made from 6 million tons of stone,
  covering 13 square acres
• Foundation is almost perfectly level and its
  sides perfectly square

Great Pyramid
7
PHARAOHS

• Pharaoh was, in theory, all-powerful ruler
• But as time went on and government became more
  complex, he was assisted by growing bureaucracy
• Began to dominate pharaoh and act independently
  towards end of Old Kingdom

8
REASONS FOR DECLINE IN PHARAOHS POWER

• Partly caused by enormous drain of pharaohs
  resources in maintaining pyramids and priests
• Partly due to custom of rewarding loyal officials
  with large estates and treasure
• Partly due to power struggles with the royal
  family
• By 2000 BC, central authority had virtually
  disappeared and the Old Kingdom was over
• Country plagued by anarchy

Old Kingdom bureaucrat
9
MIDDLE KINGDOM

• Egypt recovered from decay of Old Kingdom and
  entered age of tranquility and progress
• 2000-1575 BC
• Regained strength under 12th Dynasty pharaohs
• Large sections of Lower Egypt brought into
  agricultural productivity by irrigation projects
• Pharaoh controlled bureaucracy
• Established loose political control over
  Palestine and trade contacts with Syria and
  Mesopotamia

10
FALL OF THE MIDDLE KINGDOM

• When power and prosperity of Middle Kingdom began
  to decay, the country was invaded by the Hyksos
• Semitic tribe
• Took over northern half of kingdom
• Destroyed political unity
• Region enter 100-year period of chaos, foreign
  occupation, and economic stagnation

11
FUNDAMENTAL RELIGIOUS MYTHS

• Sun rose daily in the east and traveled to the
  west, where it entered a mystical netherworld
• Fought off forces of chaos and disorder and then
  emerged in the east the next morning with renewed
  strength
• Nile river passed annually through a cycle of
  birth and death
• Flooded every fall and then receded, leaving
  behind fertile silt
• These events served as models of the unchanging
  rhythm of the universe
• Egyptians saw themselves as a part of all this

12
THE DIVINE PHARAOH

• Orderly world was conscious creation of the gods
• But could be disrupted by evil forces
• To make sure that evil forces never succeeded,
  the gods delegated Horus to guard over the
  balance and harmony of the universe and serve as
  pharaoh
• Pharaoh was Horus in human form

13
MUMMIES

• When human form died, Horus returned to heaven
  and then returned in a new human form
• In short, Horus continually died and was reborn
  in an endless cycle of succeeding pharaohs
• Explains why Egyptians went to such lengths to
  preserve the body of a dead pharaoh
• To ensure Horus safe journey back to heaven
• Built pyramids because they were meant to house
  the physical remains of what had once been a god

14
PHARAOHS POWER

• Pharaohs authority was unchallenged and total
  (at least in theory)
• Charged with being the shepherd of his people
• Symbolized by shepherds staff
• Sole source of law
• No written law codes
• Obligated to administer law in accordance with
  the natural order of the universe and with mercy

15
GODS
Popularity of various gods rose and fell with time
Seth
Nekhbet
Wedjet half woman/half cobra
Some had human form Min, Ptah, Atum, and Amon
Hathor
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TEMPLES

• Temples build of stone and meant to last forever
• Laid out in a straight line with one room leading
  to another
• Each one symbolically further removed from the
  outside world
• Last room was were statue of god rested
• Only priests could enter this room

17
PRIESTS

• Were not a closed caste set above the rest of
  society
• Ordinary laymen who spent part of the year
  serving the gods and the rest of their time
  performing their secular occupations
• Played no ethical role, counseled no one, never
  tried to convert others
• Sole function was to see that temple operated
  properly and that the god was properly taken care
  of
• Religious technicians, not holy men

18
AFTERLIFE

• Believed dead person had to be provided with
  everything he or she might need to survive in the
  next world
• Hence treasures piled in tombs of pharaohs
• Hence household items, agricultural implements,
  tools and weapons in tombs of ordinary people
• Not sure what Egyptians thought their afterlife
  was like
• Some believed it was just a repetition of earthly
  life
• Others believed souls became stars after death
• Others saw it as escape from hardships of earthly
  life

19
ART

• Tomb art not intended to be decorative or
  artistic
• Designed to serve a religious purpose
• to portray symbolically the things that the dead
  persons soul needed to survive in the afterlife
• Was also public
• Served the needs of the state or the gods
• Never considered to be private expression of an
  individual

20
HIERIOGLYPHICS

• Developed writing around 3000 BC
• Always remained a clumsy means of creative
  expression
• Better for bureaucratic reports than for
  literature
• Very complex system
• Could only be mastered after years of study at
  special schools
• Because only small elite could read and write,
  there never was communication between writer and
  mass audience

21
LITERATURE

• Most concentrated on the greatness of pharaohs
  and the gods
• Consisted of repetitious refrains
• Object was to evoke strong feelings designed for
  maximum verbal impact
• Intended to be read aloud at public events

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WISDOM LITERATURE

• Developed at the end of the Old Kingdom
• Among scribes
• Practical advice on how to survive and advance in
  bureaucracy
• As time went on, it went beyond practical advice
  to aspiring bureaucrats and emphasized moral
  values

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MESOPOTAMIA AND EGYPT I

• Both civilizations had powerful religious flavor
• Religion dominated all aspects of life to a
  degree that seldom occurred afterwards
• Gods were seen as forces that directed and
  controlled nature
• Their ethical or moral qualities were at best
  incidental
• An ethical god would not appear until the
  development of YAHWEH by the Hebrews
• Had power of life or death over man
• Frightened and/or inspired Mesopotamians and
  Egyptians to devote so much energy, time, and
  wealth to religion

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MESOPOTAMIA AND EGYPT II

• Mesopotamians in the grip of deep fear of their
  capricious and often cruel gods
• Egyptians more at ease with their more orderly
  and peaceful gods
• Difference influenced by geography
• Wild rivers, rough terrain, and harsh climate of
  Mesopotamia produced a pessimistic and brooding
  people
• Totally predictable Nile produced a more
  optimistic and cheerful people
• Geography also fomented the early political unity
  of Egypt and political fragmentation of
  Mesopotamia
• Desire to control harsh environment caused
  Mesopotamians to focus on science while
  appreciation of more gentle surroundings caused
  Egyptians to focus on art