Ancient Egypt

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Ancient Egypt
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Why Was Ancient Egypt So Stable?

• Ancient Egypt lasted for 3500 years due to many
  factors
• Geography
• Politics
• Social structure
• Education
• Economy
• Religion

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Nile River

• What was the SOUL of Ancient Egypt?
• THE NILE was considered the SOUL as it was the
  source of life and path to immortality
• Egyptians lived on Eastern side but buried on
  Western side
• River was symbol of passage of one life to next
  (eternity)
• Creation story began in swirling waters of the
  Nile
• Allowed for development of agriculture in dry
  land.
• Communities formed along its banks.

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Creation Story

• Only the ocean existed at first. Then Ra (the
  sun) came out of an egg that appeared on the
  surface of the water.
• Ra brought forth four children, the gods Shu and
  Geb and the goddesses Tefnut and Nut.
• Shu and Tefnut became the atmosphere. They stood
  on Geb, who became the earth, and raised up Nut,
  who became the sky. Ra (the sun) ruled over all.
• Geb (earth) and Nut (sky) later had two sons, Set
  and Osiris, and two daughters, Isis and Nephthys.
• Osiris succeeded Ra as king of the earth, helped
  by Isis, his sister-wife.
• Set, however, hated his brother and killed him.
  Isis then embalmed her husband's body with the
  help of the god Anubis, who thus became the god
  of embalming.
• The powerful charms of Isis resurrected Osiris,
  who became king of the netherworld, the land of
  the dead. Horus, who was the son of Osiris and
  Isis, later defeated Set in a great battle and
  became king of the earth.

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Egyptian Gods and Goddesses
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Religion

• The Egyptians were deeply religious people-
  Religious rituals accompanied every aspect of
  Egyptian daily life

Key Belief Eternal Life
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Geography Populated Areas

• There were three main areas that were populated
  in Egypt
• 1.  The Nile Valley
• Sole source of water for Egypt
• Predictable flooding provided rich fertile soil
• Both revered and feared (too much flooding or
  droughts)
• 2. The Nile Delta 
• Area where Nile empties into Mediterranean Sea
• Largest piece of fertile land
• Encompassed major centres of Egypt
• 3. Faiyum
• Lake Moeris lies at end of branch of Nile is
  centre of oasis called Faiyum
• Irrigation from Nile made Faiyum the third most
  populated land

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Geographic Effects on Egypts Stability and
History

• Fertile soil
• Deserts provided protection and shelter from
  outside influences
• Access to Mediterranean increased and expanded
  trade and culture
• Culture was one of stability and not rapid change
  
• Deserts were an important source of minerals and
  building supplies (copper, tin, gold and natron,
  the drying agent used in mummification)

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Highlights of Ancient Egyptian History

• UNIFICATION OF EGYPT  King Menes unites Upper
  and Lower Egypt and wears double crown in 3100
  BCE.  Following Menes came 31 dynasties over 3000
  years. 
• AGE OF PYRAMIDS  Era of the Old Kingdom (2690
  BCE), Pharaohs were absolute rulers and viewed as
  a god holding absolute secular and religious
  power.  Stone monuments were embodiment of
  Pharaoh's power and a medium of immortality. 
  Pyramids evolved from mastabas, then Step
  Pyramids, most known are Pyramids at Giza
  (2600-2500 BCE)
• IMHOTEP  not a ruler but revered and his life
  was recorded (architect, medicine, right hand to
  Pharaoh Djoser (2686-2613 BCE)
• NATIONAL GOD AMON-RE   Middle Kingdom   Under
  Theban Kings (south),  the Theban god Amon
  merged with sun god Re which became Egyptian
  national god Amon-Re
• EXODUS  under the leadership of Moses, Hebrew
  slaves under Rames II leave Egypt in mass
  migration called Exodus (end of 13th century
  BCE).  Moses receives the 10 Commandments at
  Mount Sinai but never finds the Promised Land

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Pharaohs

• 1470 BCE Reign of Hatsheput (one of four female
  Kings)
• 1350 BCE Reign of Akhenaton (Wanted to change
  religious beliefs to monotheism)
• 1334 BCE Reign of Tutankhamun (Religious
  revolution is reversed)
• 1297 BCE -  Reign of Ramses II.  He had over 200
  wives and concubines,  approximately 90 sons and
  60 daughters and reigned over 67 years!  His
  reign saw massive building projects in Egypt. 
  The Exodus of Jews from Egypt also occurred
  during his reign.
• 525 BCE Persians conquer Egypt
• 332 BCE Alexander the Great defeats the
  Persians and considered savior of Egypt
• 50 BCE Cleopatra VII is crowned Queen of Egypt
• 30 BCE Egypt becomes part of Roman Empire after
  death of Cleopatra VII and Mark Anthony

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Politics

• How did Pharaoh's rule?
• Absolute rulers of the land
• Believed to be the earthly embodiment of the god
  Horus who was the son of Amon-Re
• Therefore they had the divine right to rule
• This allowed them to move between god and their
  people
• People followed their orders because they
  believed they were from god
• No one would challenge the Kings authority and
  he could rule in relative peace
• The throne passed on to the eldest son of
  Principal Queen who was usually the eldest
  daughter of the previous king therefore the
  kings sister
• Pharaohs owned all the land government
  hierarchy to help rule
• Second to the Pharaohs were Scribes who
  recorded all the doings of the Pharaoh

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Legal Traditions

• Law was governed by religious principle of Maat
• GODDESS MAAT represented truth, righteousness
  and justice balance and order
• Laws were applied equally to all
  classesspecifically protected the family
  (children and wives)
• Punishments could be quite severe- act as a
  detterent or disgrace the guilty  (Examples 
  minor crimes had 100 lashed rapist were
  castrated corrupt officials had their hands
  amputated crimes that resulted in a death
  sentence could have choice devoured by a
  crocodile, suicide, burning alive)

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Social Roles

• Role of Women
• Well treated and had considerable legal rights
  compared to other civilizations
• Same legal rights as men (land, property,
  divorce)
• Allowed women to be economically independent
• Primary role was in domestic life
• Common title for a married women in ancient Egypt
  was nebet per meaning the lady of the house
• Bear and raise children
• Role of Men
• Head of the family
• Men could have numerous wives but economically
  men had only 1 wife
• Labourers, craftsmen
• Jobs were hereditary
• Labour required for construction projects and was
  mostly filled by poor, serfs
• Stability of Egypt thrived  as skilled trades
  were passed from father to son
• Children always learned the trade from parents
  seldom could choose occupation

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What determined Egypts economic prosperity?

•   Wealth
• Agriculture made up most of Egypts wealth
  grain, vegetables, fruit, cattle, goats, pigs and
  fowl
• Abundance and management of food supplies(not
  royal treasury) was the measure of Egypts
  wealth full granaries, plenty of wildlife and
  fish, and thriving herds were the signs of
  prosperity.  These were the images used in the
  tombs of the Pharaohs to illustrate the wealth
  of their reigns
• Economy
• Simple economy based on food production and
  minerals from desert
• Access to the Mediterranean their routes extended
  trade as far as Northern Europe, subtropical
  Africa and the Near East
• Trading was done by bartering goods (grain, oil,
  wheat)
• Taxes, salaries and loans were all paid entirely
  on goods
• Extensive trading made Egypt a powerful influence
  on culture, art, ideas and technology (ie.
  Western  calendar was taken from the Romans who
  had borrowed it from the Egyptians)
• Trade eventually grew and expanded, bringing new
  ideas and goods into Egyptian society

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Education

• Contributed to stability and continuity of Egypt
• All children, regardless of social class,
  received some education
• Followed a moral and ethical guide Instructions
  in Wisdom
• Goal for education was to ensure youth exhibited
  self control and good manners
• At 14, young boys followed fathers in jobs, and
  girls learned from mothers in the household
• Children of priests were schooled more formally
• Literacy was stressed for government jobs
• Education respected for creating a well rounded
  individual

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Hieroglyphics
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History of Writing

• 1)  pictograms  (sun sun) 2)  ideograms (sun
  sun, daylight, warmth, light)3)  phonograms 
  symbols that suggest a  particular sound related
  ideas and also sound  (Sun sun, son, Sunday)
• Each hieroglyph found in pyramids and tombs
  often symbolized more than one consonant. Actual
  Egyptian hieroglyphs were a combination of
  sound-signs, pictograms, and ideograms. No wonder
  it was so hard to decode them!

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Rosetta Stone

• What is the Rosetta Stone?
• The Rosetta Stone is a stone with writing on it
  in two languages (Egyptian and Greek), using
  three scripts (hieroglyphic, demotic and
  Greek).   It was carved in 196 BCE. 
• Why is it in three different scripts?
• The Rosetta Stone is written in three scripts
  (hieroglyphs for religious documents demotic-
  common script of Egypt Greek- language of the
  rulers of Egypt at that time)
• The Rosetta Stone was written in all three
  scripts so that the priests, government officials
  and rulers of Egypt could read what it said.
• When was the Rosetta Stone found?
• The Rosetta Stone was found in 1799 by French
  soldiers who were rebuilding a fort in Egypt (in
  a small village in Delta called Rosetta (Rashid)
• What does the Rosetta Stone say?
• The Rosetta Stone is a text written by a group of
  priests in Egypt to honour the Egyptian pharaoh.
  It lists all of the things that the pharaoh had
  done that were good for the priests and the
  people of Egypt.

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Rosetta Stone
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Life and Death

• Life and death was measured in accordance to
  Maat  the goddessand symbol of equilibrium of
  the universe. The king had to rule according to
  her principles. Death was viewed as a new
  beginning
• Afterlife common to all, regardless of social
  status  (preparation varied as well as goods
  stored in tombs)
• 2 Common Principles  1)  body preservation in a
  lifelike form2)  the deceased must have items
  necessary for life in the afterworld
• Personal belongings were usually placed in the
  tomb to make the Ka more at home and to assist
  the dead in their journey into the afterlife.
• Text was read from the 'Book of the Dead' which
  was a collection of spells, charms, passwords,
  numbers and magical formulas for the use of the
  deceased in the afterlife.

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Upon Egyptian Death. . .

• Panel of 14 judges
• Ka (soul /spiritual duplicate), ba (personality)
  ankh (form mummy took in afterlife / the key of
  life)
• Weighing of the heart vs Maat
• Judgment of scale
• Record of the outcome

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Mummification

• Mummification focused on Egyptian belief of the
  importance of preserving the body
• Afterlife would be spent enjoying best of life
  experiences
• Body covered with natron and dried for up to 70
  days
• Body wrapped in linen coated with resins and oils
  
• Middle Kingdom became customary to place a mask
  over the face
• Removal of organs (lungs, stomach, intestines,
  liver) in Canopic Jars were closed with stoppers
  fashioned in the shape of four heads -- human,
  baboon, falcon, and jackal - representing the
  four protective spirits called the Four Sons of
  Horus.
• Brain was sucked out of the cranial cavity and
  thrown away because the Egyptian's thought it was
  useless.