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Overview. Pre-dynastic period Old Kingdom Middle Kingdom The Hyksos Discussion of Gifts. Chronology. 5000: neolithic “ revolution ” reaches Egypt 4000: city states emerge along the Nile 3100: upper and lower Egypt united 3200 – 2700 Archaic Period 2695-2160 : The Old Kingdom
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Overview • Pre-dynastic period • Old Kingdom • Middle Kingdom • The Hyksos • Discussion of Gifts
Chronology • 5000: neolithic “revolution” reaches Egypt • 4000: city states emerge along the Nile • 3100: upper and lower Egypt united • 3200 – 2700 Archaic Period • 2695-2160 : The Old Kingdom • 2160-2025: period of anarchy - First Intermediate Period • 2025-1786: Middle Kingdom • 1786-1550: Hyksos (Semites) - Second Intermediate Period • 1550-1075: New Kingdom • 1200-1150: invasion of the Sea Peoples
Early Egypt: prior to 3000 BCE • Agriculture reaches Egypt c. 4000 BCE • Agricultural and tribal society in the pre-dynastic period • violent and unsettled prior to 3000 • totems: the people of the moon, the falcon, the river; victors would impose their totem on the vanquished • similar to the religious orientation of the Sumerians: henotheistic with wide adoption of patronal and tribal gods • Eating of deceased relatives frequently practiced • c. 3200 BCE Upper Egypt (no more than 14 miles wide) unites under the emblem of the Falcon
Early Egypt: prior to 3000 BCE • According to legend, the tribe centered at Hierakopolis in Upper Egypt unifies upper and lower regions under the banner of the falcon god, Horus • Gradually the rulers (later called pharaohs by the Hebrews) de-emphasize the importance of Horus, the falcon god, and emphasizes a more universal emblem: Ra, or Amen-Ra, the Sun god • Eventually upper and lower Egypt united under the banner of the Sun god, although totemic or patronal gods, such as Horus, are still venerated; they are localized, whereas Amem-Re is the universal god of Egypt that is eventually associated with the pharaoh, who is worshipped as a divine presence on earth
Cuneiform Letter written by a merchant c. 1800 BCE
Uruk Mosaic walls of Uruk, Staatliche Museum zu Berlin The Lady of Warka, Iraqi Museum, Baghdad
Third millennium agglomeration of Sumerian city states Located in Northern Sumeria Controlled by Semitic Akkadians Probably Sargon = Who claimed to represent the gods Akkadian Empirec. 2200 BCE
Included art and decorations intended to facilitate the immortality of the inhabitant Pyramid Tombs
How was Ma’at related to the end of the Old Kingdom? • It inspired foreign invasion from the Hyksos • Climate change & irregular flooding undermined faith in pharaoh’s ability to maintain ma’at • It encouraged development of a powerful group of provincial governors • It provoked an outbreak of plague
Middle Kingdom Temple of Amon, Karnak
Similar in form to Washington monument, obelisks were usually dedicated to the sun god, Re and stood outside his temples Hieroglyphic inscription on all four sides The earliest surviving ones date from the Middle Kingdom although evidence indicates that they existed as early as the Old Kingdom Obelisks
The Old Kingdom: 2695-2160 BCE • Old Kingdom incredibly stable political entity especially in contrast to Sumeria • The period of pyramid construction • the pyramids at Giza include the Great pyramid at Cheops (Khufu); according to Herodotus this one pyramid took 20 years to build and required the labor of 100,000 people; modern estimates suggest closer to 20,000 laborers • Overall Egypt has about three dozen major pyramids, evidence of an elaborate funerary cult focused around the immortality and godliness of the pharaohs • pyramids contained mausoleums of the pharaohs and were intended to assist with the ascent of the pharaoh’s soul into the sky, where it would join the other pharaohs (stars)
The Old Kingdom: 2695-2160 BCE • The power of the pharaohs • in the early centuries of their rule, the pharaohs were extremely powerful • they owned all property and had authority to employ towns of thousands of workers in the construction of pyramids • these workers worked on pyramids during the slow times of the agricultural season • the pharaohs had literally hundreds of priests, intellectuals, and administrators at their command • the size of the Egyptian bureaucracy was enormous compared to the city-states of Sumer; the courtiers developed a primarily pictorial written language, known as hieroglyphics (“sacred writings)
The Old Kingdom: 2695-2160 BCE • The power of the bureaucrats & provincial governors • as the system of hieroglyphics became increasingly complex, the difficulty in mastering the language increased • the pharaohs reliance on the administrators grew; he established governors to oversea the provinces • governors, scribes, and administrators increasingly obtained gifts of land from the pharaohs who had originally owned all of the land in Egypt • during the 800 year period, from 3000-2220 the governors sapped the absolute power of the pharaohs and eventually anarchy broke out as the richest administrators challenged the authority of the pharaohs, who came to believe in their own divinity
Egyptian Religion • Polytheistic: pharaoh was not the only god • Re, the sun god was pharaoh’s father • Horus, the sky or falcon god • Osiris, god of the afterlife or underworld • Ptah, the god of craftsmen; a god of creation • Mystery cults: secret societies organized to worship deities • Sacred temples • Syncretism – the mixing of various religious beliefs, some of them inconsistent with one another • The cult of Re-Atum: the sun god, the god of justice and the god of creation • Belief in the afterlife was pervasive; Egyptian visions of the afterlife tended to emphasize a pleasant existence with abundance
Egyptian Religion • Egyptian evidence suggests that initially only the pharaohs enjoyed immortality but by 2000 a discernible trend toward democratization of the afterlife was apparent in Egyptian culture • The development of the cult of Isis and Osiris • beginnings during the Old Kingdom • based on an elaborate mythology • potential for an afterlife; initially restricted to pharaohs but gradually opens up • sins accumulate in the heart during this life • the hearts is weighed against and feather at death and if lighter the soul proceeds to heaven
The Middle Kingdom (2025-1786) • Governor of Thebes establishes order and consolidates control after period of unrest, civil war, ends Old Kingdom • Pharaohs open administrative positions up to larger portion of the literate • Tombs become less ostentatious: no more pyramids • Democratization of the afterlife • public works projects dedicated to agriculture rather than funerary rites • Literature produced
The Hyksos: 1786-1560 • Invasion of Lower Egypt (Nile Delta) from Semitic people living in the Levant • A Bronze Age Culture that connected the rather isolated Egypt to the rest of the Eastern Mediterranean, which had quietly been developing commercial networks • Introduced chariots, bronze armor, and bow & arrows to the Egyptians • It was during their rule that the Hebrews settled in Egypt; also Semitic the Hebrews probably enjoyed preferential treatment during the rule of the Hyksos
The New Kingdom: 1560-1075 • Egypt becomes an empire • its connection to the rest of the Mediterranean culture is strengthened • The term pharaoh first comes into usage as the Hebrews fall into servitude and then escape to Sinai (Exodus) c.1200 • Experiment with monotheism in the 1300s (rule of Akhenaten or Amenhotep IV, 1351-1335) when pharaoh declares Aten the only God • revolt by temple priests (especially of Amun-Re) and masses of the population
Invasion of the Sea Peoples: 1200-1150 • Somewhat mysterious disruption of civilized life in the eastern Mediterranean • end of Bronze Age trade networks • Introduction of iron into weaponry • affected various regions for hundred of years • war may have been accompanied by famine and plague
Comparison Between Egypt & Sumeria • Except for a few interruptions c. 2200-2100, life in Egypt was relatively static and peaceful for over 1000 years (3000-1800) BCE) • Unlike, Sumeria, which was a conglomeration of city-states, Egypt was predominately a large agricultural polity that was under the direct rule of the power ruler/gods, the pharaohs • Egyptian life fell into an easy predictable rhythm with the flooding of the Nile • Egyptian kings claimed to be gods, Sumerian rulers claimed to be representatives of gods • Egyptian visions of the afterlife tended to be more optimistic
Summary • Egypt developed a very prosperous society during the Old Kingdom and this prosperity continued to characterize Egypt throughout most of ancient times • Even during the Roman Empire, Egypt exported much of the grain that was to feed the masses who flocked to Rome • The Egyptians consistently displayed mastery in architecture and great building projects from pyramids to temples and obelisks • The pharaohs were great patrons of painting, sculpture, and architecture; they employed thousands of artisans at a very early period c. 2700 BCE
Summary • The Hebrew encounter with Egyptian religion probably influenced the formation of their monotheistic principles, which strengthened following their servitude in Egypt; this period was also influential in developing the aspects of the Hebrew religion that emphasized God’s love of the dispossessed and downtrodden, a feature that Christianity would later amplify
