Ancient Egypt By: Monier Fitean, Max Hart, Sean Bellora, and Gianni Pham Climate • Climate: very dry; there is almost no rainfall on a regular basis. The people depend on the annual summer floods of the Nile River for water. The floods begin in June and end in October. Without the Nile, there would likely be no Egypt. • The Flood Season - From mid July - mid November. The fields were flooded in July and there was no work, some Egyptians relaxed while others worked on schemes, like the pyramids. Creation • In the beginning there was only the swirling watery chaos, called Nu. Out of these chaotic waters rose Atum, the sun god of the city of Heliopolis. • It is believed that he created himself, using his thoughts and will. • His next act was to create more gods. Because he was all alone in the world, without a mate Creation Cont. • He gave birth to his son by spitting him out. His daughter he vomited. • After some time Shu and Tefnut became separated from their father and lost in the watery chaos of Nu. Atum, who had only one eye, which was removable. This was called the Udjat eye. • Atum removed the eye and sent it in search of his children. In time they returned with the eye. At this reunion Atum wept tears joy, where these tears hit the ground, men grew. Major Historical Events • Around 2575 BC Pharaoh Khufu (aka. Cheops) constructed the Great Pyramid of Giza. • The Old Kingdom became weakened by famine and weak leadership. • In 1878 BC the Pharaoh Senusret III became king. He continued the military campaigns in Nubia and was the first to try to extend Egypt's power into Syria. • During the Middle Kingdom, the next phase in tomb design was the rock-cut tomb. The best examples of these can be seen in the Valley of the Kings. Historical Events Cont. • migration into Egypt by a mysterious people known as the Hyksos, who took advantage of the political instabilities of the Nile Delta to take control of it and later extend their powers south, brought with them the horse-drawn war chariot. • The eighteenth dynasty was a time of great wealth and power for Egypt. By the time of Amenophis III (1417 BC – 1379 BC), Egypt had become so wealthy that he did nothing to further extend its powers and instead rested upon his throne gilded with Nubian gold. Historical Events Cont. • In 332 BC Alexander the Great, King of Macedon, conquered Egypt, with little resistance from the Persians. He was welcomed by the Egyptians as a deliverer. He visited Memphis, and went on pilgrimage to the oracle of Amun at the Oasis of Siwa. The oracle had the good sense to declare him to be the son of Amun. He conciliated the Egyptians by the respect which he showed for their religion, but he appointed Greeks to virtually all the senior posts in the country, and founded a new Greek city, Alexandria, to be the new capital. The wealth of Egypt could now be harnessed for Alexander's conquest of the Persian Empire. Historical Events Cont. • After Alexander's death in 323 BC, his empire was divided up among his generals. Ptolemy, son of Lagus, one of Alexander's closest companions, was appointed satrap of Egypt, and soon established himself as a ruler in his own right, although he did not take the title of king until 305 BC. As Ptomely I Soter ("Saviour"), he founded the Ptolemiac dynasty, which was to rule Egypt for 300 years. Political Hierarchy • About 5200 years ago, King Menes laid down the oldest legislative systems in human history when he issued the law of "Tehut“. • The king (Pharaoh) was the Head of the State who appointed the Great Treasurer or Tax Collector. Local government was successfully applied in Egypt since the time of the Old Kingdom. Major Features of Legislation and Common Law in this Kindom: 1- Royal Court: As the unified state in the old kingdom was firmly established, the king’s authorities grew wider. Consequently, the royal court and the status and terms of reference of court staff gained more importance ranging from religious, civil, judicial and military duties. Cont. • 2- Central Government: The central government was headed by the king who was assisted by a number of civil servants. Government executives were subject to a complete, administrative hierarchy. It is worth noting that this legal system was obligatory and binding to the king whose powers in selecting and promoting civil servants were restricted. Cont. • 3- Advisors: The advisor was the highest official in the state and the head but not a member of the government’s higher council or the council of big ten. Gods of Ancient Egypt Anubis • He looks like a Man with a jackal head • Since jackals were often seen in cemeteries, the ancient Egyptians believed that Anubis watched over the dead. • Anubis was the god who watched over the process of mummifying people when they died. • Priests often wore a mask of Anubis during mummification ceremonies. Horus • He looks like a Man with the head of a hawk • The Egyptians believed that the pharaoh was the 'living Horus'. • After Osiris was murdered by his brother Seth, Horus fought with Seth for the throne of Egypt. • In this battle, Horus lost one of his eyes. The eye was restored to him and it became a symbol of protection for the ancient Egyptians. Thoth • A man with the head of an ibis holding a writing palette • Thoth was the god of writing and knowledge. • The ancient Egyptians believed that Thoth gave them the gift of hieroglyphic writing. Thoth was also connected with the moon. Seth • Man with the head of a 'Seth animal' (unidentifiable) • Seth was the god of chaos. • Seth represented everything that threatened harmony in Egypt. Amun • He is a man with a ram-head or man wearing an ostrich plumed hat • Amun was one of the most powerful gods in ancient Egypt. • At the height of Egyptian civilization he was called the 'King of the Gods'. Bes • Dwarf with lion and human features • Bes was the protector of pregnant women, newborn babies and the family. • The ancient Egyptians also believed that Bes protected against snake and scorpion bites. Women in Egypt’s Society • Egyptian women received the same legal and economic rights as men in theory. • People were discriminated based upon social class not gender. • Women could manage, own, and sell things such as, slaves, land, portable goods, servants, livestock, and money. Women Cont. • A woman had claims to up to one-third of all the community property in her marriage • When a woman brought her own private property to marriage it remained hers throughout the marriage but her husband could use it freely. • When a woman’s husband died the woman inherited two-thirds of their community property, but the other one-third was divided among their children. Slavery in Ancient Egypt • Slavery in ancient Egypt was much different than slavery in places like Greece or Rome. • “Hem” translates as “slave” and originally meaning body, was a person with lessened rights dedicated to a certain task such as the service of a god or the royal administration. • Slaves usually served because of debt, punishment, voluntary servitude, or they were a prisoner of war. Slavery Cont. • This makes slaves different from Greece or Rome because slaves were not necessarily born into slavery and usually only served as a slave for a limited time. • Egypt was less involved in the slave trade as other countries of its time and was a small part of the Middle East slave trade. • The slave trade was on a much smaller scale than other strong countries of its time and there were no rich slave merchants. Architecture of Ancient Egypt • The great architectural achievements of the past are built of stone. Stone quarries supplied the large blocks of granite, limestone, and sandstone that were used for building temples and tombs. Architects planned carefully as building was done without mortar, so the stones had to fit precisely together. Only pillars were used to sustain short stone supports. The Pyramids • One of the most notable and lasting achievements of the Ancient Egyptians are their pyramids. The size, design, and structure of the pyramids reveal the skill of these ancient builders. The pyramids were great monuments and tombs for the kings. The Egyptians believed that a king's soul continued to guide affairs of the kingdom even after his death. To ensure that they would continue to enjoy the blessings of the gods, they preserved the pharaoh's body through the mummification process. They built the pyramids to protect the pharaoh's body, the pyramid was a symbol of hope, because it would ensure the pharaoh's union with the gods. Art of Ancient Egypt • The art of the Egyptians reflects every aspect of their lives. Depicted in tomb and temple drawings are scenes of everyday living, models of people and animals, glass figures and containers, and jewelry made from gold and semi-precious stones. • The wall and pillar drawings are perhaps the best known. In these drawings, it can be seen that people are going about the everyday business of baking, fishing, boating, marketing, and meeting together in family groups. Such drawings were also used to help the deceased to live forever by giving them all of the instructions they would need as they met the gods on their way to eternal life • Tutankhamen, known to many as King Tut, was just a nine years old when he was crowned pharoah in the 18th Dynasty. He was still a teenager when he died of unknown causes and was entombed in the Egyptian Valley of Kings. Seti I • Seti I is considered to be one of the greatest of pharoahs and warriors, and was also the father of another very notable pharoah, Rameses II (or Rameses the Great). Seti ruled in the 19th Dynasty • Surviving accounts of Seti's exploits tell us that he was highly successful at protecting Egypt from such invaders as the marauding armies of neighboring Libya. Seti was also known to have extended his powers beyond the boundaries of Egypt as far east as modern-day Syria. Rameses II (reigned 1279-1212 B.C.) • Rameses the Great ruled over Egypt from 1279-1212 BC, an incredible 67 years. Rameses was legendary in many respects. At a time when most people lived only a few decades, Rameses was about 92 years old when he died. He was a tall man about six feet in height, when the average Egyptian was a little over five feet tall. Rameses had many wives in his lifetime and is believed to have fathered over 100 children. Hatshepsut (reigned 1498-1483 B.C.) • Hatshepsut was the wife of Thutmose II. • When her husband died, she was appointed to rule Egypt until her young stepson Thutmose III was old enough. However Queen Hatshepsut was ambitious and had herself crowned pharaoh. Hatshepsut is famous for her trading expeditions to the land of Punt. Thutmose III (reigned 1479-1425 B.C.) • Thutmose III is remembered as a brave warrior king, He launched many military campaigns against the Syrians in the Near East. Records from the time tell of Thutmose marching fearlessly into battle at the head of his army, unconcerned about his own safety. • Thutmose III was buried in the valley of the Kings Ancient Egyptian Military • Early armies in Egypt used massed infantry armed with bows and spears. • Around 2000 BC Egyptians began using war chariots. • First pulled by onager, oxen, and donkeys, they allowed rapid traversing of the relatively flat lands of the Middle East. The chariots were light enough that they could easily be floated across rivers. The breeding of more powerful horses soon allowed them to be used to pull chariots, and their greater speed made chariots even more efficient. Inventions of Ancient Egypt • Monotheism • Philosophy • National Government • Architecture Cont. • Organized Science Anthropology-Ethnology (identifying and labeling racial groups) Botany Zoology Astronomy Mathematics • Medicine Anatomy (identifying and labeling internal and external body parts) Antibiotics Embalming Surgical instruments Medical specialists Dentists Cont. Technology Steam engine (Heron of Alexandria, a native Egyptian, called Michanikos, the Machine Man) Automaton (Heron) Automatic door (Heron) Lock Key Clock Loom Ink Metal piping Egg hatchery Carpentry joints Fiberglass Cont. • Transportation Rudder Canals (including the first Suez canal) Navy (including the circumvention of the African continent) • Sexual Contraceptive Spermicide Circumcision • Food  & Drink Pancakes Marshmallows • Agriculture Plow Cont. • Personal Comb Hot Comb/Hair straightening comb Scissors Shoes (sandals) Birthdays Cosmetics Beauty shop Eye makeup Deodorant Toothbrush Toothpaste Cough drops Wigs Cont. • Customs Wedding ring Handshake Table manners "Amen" (Hidden) Thumbs up, thumbs down • Home Air-cooling system Fan Master bedroom Canopy bed Indoor lighting - oil lamps Cont. • At play Checkers Senet Rattles Marbles Bowling Darts Doll making industry Mechanical toys Zoos Literature (novels, poetry, narrative, drama) Sistrum Bagpipe Trumpet Wind Organ (Heron) Bibliography • http://members.aol.com/egyptart/crea.html • http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/gods/explore/main.html • www.sptimes.com/Egypt/egyptcredit.4.1.html • www.members.shaw.ca/snefru/egypt.htm • www.angelfire.com/ca/pye/life.html • www.geocities.com/Athens/Olympus/3426/Politics/index.html • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Ancient_Egypt#Egyptian_chronology • www.sptimes.com/Egypt/EgyptCredit.4.4.html • http://ancient-warfare.ask.dyndns.dk/ • http://www.geocities.com/wally_mo/inventions.html