Pharaonic Egypt

Date: c. 3050-305 b.c.e.

Locale: Nile River Valley in northeastern Africa

Pharaonic Egypt

The ancient Greek historian Herodotus called Egypt “the gift of the Nile,” which recognized the country’s total dependence on the river. Flowing through an arid desert, the Nile each year overflowed and deposited fertile mud that made agriculture possible. Because of the dark soil, the ancient Egyptians called the country Kemet, which meant “black land.” In addition to providing food, the Nile was a means of transportation and commerce, and it also had a tendency to encourage the unification of the region into a single political entity. With desert sand to its east and west, the Nile cataracts to its south, and the Mediterranean to its north, Egypt had the advantage of natural defenses from outside invasion.

History

The Egyptian priest Manetho, writing about 280 b.c.e., arranged the long history of Egyptian pharaohs into thirty-one dynasties (or hereditary rulers), extending from legendary times until Alexander the Great. Manetho’s arrangement, despite its problems, is still used. The thirty dynasties are usually divided into seven periods as shown in the table: Archaic Period (First to Second Dynasties), Old Kingdom (Third to Sixth Dynasties), First Intermediate Period (Seventh to Tenth Dynasties), Middle Kingdom (Eleventh to Twelfth Dynasties), Second Intermediate Period (Thirteenth to Seventeenth Dynasties), New Kingdom (Eighteenth to Twentieth Dynasties), and Post-empire (Twenty-first to Thirty-first Dynasties). Earlier dates in Egyptian history are only approximations, but fairly precise dates are possible after the Persian conquest of 525 b.c.e.

Even in the predynastic era, the Egyptians had taken fundamental steps toward the creation of an advanced civilization. Settled in farming villages, they had learned to dig irrigation canals, to make tools made of copper and stone, to use written symbols to preserve records, and to exchange goods and services based on a specialization of labor. In time, Egyptian villages were organized into two political systems: the delta area was known as Lower Egypt, and the southern region was called Upper Egypt.

The First Dynasty was established about 3050 b.c.e., when a legendary southern king, Menes (also known as Narmer or Aha), conquered the northern region and united all Egypt into a single national monarchy. Unification was important because it meant that a single government was able to maintain order and regulate trade from the Mediterranean to the first cataract of the Nile. Menes established a new city, later called Memphis (near present-day Cairo), as the capital of his kingdom. Probably Menes was also known as Narmer, the name written on a famous slate palette in the Cairo museum.

Beginning about 2700 b.c.e., the kings of the Old Kingdom greatly strengthened the central government, and they constructed the famous pyramids of Egypt. King Zoser (also known as Djoser), the founder of the Third Dynasty, constructed the first pyramid, which was the Step Pyramid at Saqqara. Khufu and other kings of the Fourth Dynasty were responsible for the largest pyramids. The king was considered a divine being, having powers that were almost unlimited. After five hundred years, the united kingdom was broken up for a combination of reasons: climatic changes resulting in crop failures, discontent with high taxes, conflict between priests and secular rulers, and the usurpation of power from provincial strongmen.

The First Intermediate Period was a time of weak central government, with numerous invasions by desert tribes and regional leaders often at war with one another. About 2050 b.c.e., the rulers of Thebes gradually reestablished centralized rule, so that Thebes became the capital for most of the next millennium. The kings of the Middle Kingdom achieved only a limited authority over regional warlords and nobles, but they were able to promote trade and prosperity. These kings were recognized as dispensers of justice and had a reputation for being concerned about the welfare of the people.

About 1790 b.c.e., Egypt again became disunited and entered its Second Intermediate Period. Soon thereafter, the country was conquered by the Hyksos (called Shepherd Kings), who were apparently a Semitic people from Syria. The Hyksos introduced the horse-drawn chariot, knowledge of casting bronze tools and weapons, the composite bow made of laminated wood and horn, and Asian ideas of religion and government. Under Hyksos hegemony, which lasted about a century, the Nile Delta became the capital. Although the Hyksos accepted most aspects of Egyptian culture, they were nevertheless resented as foreign intruders.

Ahmose I, founder of the Eighteenth Dynasty, expelled the Hyksos about 1570 b.c.e., which marked the beginning of the New Kingdom. During the next five hundred years, Egypt ruled over a large empire extending from the Euphrates River in the east to the fourth cataract of the Nile River. The many gold artifacts in Tutankhamen’s preserved tomb give testimony to the ostentatious wealth of the time. The temples and other buildings of the Eighteenth Dynasty are recognized as the zenith of Egyptian architecture. Ramses II, probably the pharaoh mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, was especially notable for his many monuments, such as the impressive temples at Karnak, Luxor, and Abu Simbel.

Following the end of the Twentieth Dynasty (about 1085 b.c.e.), Egypt’s power and level of cultural achievement declined rapidly. During the next seven hundred years, foreign invaders often ruled over Egypt. From 931 to c. 711 b.c.e., Libyan kings controlled most of the northern half of the country. They were followed by Nubians from the southern deserts, but the Nubians were soon driven out by Assyrian invaders. Following another period of independence, Persians took command of Egypt in 525 b.c.e. The Persians exercised hegemony over Egypt on and off until Alexander the Great added Egypt to his empire in 332 b.c.e., the same year that he began building the city of Alexandria. After Alexander’s death, his general Ptolemy Soter established a Greek-speaking dynasty in 305 b.c.e., which is usually considered the end of the pharaonic age.

Agriculture and animal husbandry

Sometime before 5000 b.c.e., people in the Nile River Valley were planting seeds and domesticating animals. It is not known whether this practice evolved independently in Egypt or was brought to Egypt from elsewhere in the Mediterranean world. Because of almost a total lack of rainfall, large-scale agriculture was possible only with the use of irrigation. The building of canals required a great deal of difficult labor and social cooperation, which promoted centralized government and authoritarian rule.

The work of farm laborers did not change much during the history of ancient Egypt. To prepare their fields for planting, the Egyptians usually used wooden plows pulled by oxen. The vast majority of farm laborers did not own their own land, but they were forced to work on the large estates of the nobility. Usually such laborers were sharecroppers who received a small amount of the crops as pay, with most of the wealth going to land owners and to the government in the form of taxes.

Because of the importance of bread to the diet, wheat and barley were the major crops. The cultivation of dates and grapes was also important for the making of wine. Flax was grown to make linen and cotton for clothing. Other crops included beans, lentils, onions, melons, figs, lettuce, and cucumbers. In addition, the ancient Egyptians raised beef and dairy cattle, goats, donkeys, geese, and ducks.

Government and law

During periods of centralized rule, the kings of ancient Egypt had few restrictions on their authority to make and enforce laws, although priests and nobles exercised considerable political influence. During the New Kingdom, the king became known as the pharaoh, a term that originally meant “great house” or “palace.” The position of kingship was inherited by the eldest son of the king’s chief wife. Sometimes the eldest daughter of a chief wife would claim the right to the throne, and at least four women became monarchs. The Egyptian religion taught that the royal family descended from the falcon-headed god Horus, a belief that strengthened royal authority.

The king’s highest officials were called viziers. They acted as the highest judges of the land and also supervised the collection of taxes, a difficult task that was crucial to the preservation of centralized power. For local government, the country was usually divided into forty-two provinces called nomes. The king appointed an official called a nomarch to administer each of the provinces.

As in other early civilizations, the Egyptian political system was usually harsh and dictatorial. There is no evidence that the Egyptians ever developed the concepts of representation and democracy. Often, however, they did maintain a rule of law, with written rules and impersonal enforcement in national courts. It is not known whether the common people ever believed in the official ideology that was supported by the ruling elite.

Class and gender

An enormous gulf separated the upper from the lower classes. Wealthy people lived in elegant palaces, while the poor lived in mud-brick shanties. The class system, however, was not rigid when compared with those of other ancient societies, and there were limited opportunities for individuals to advance to more prestigious positions. The upper class included the royal family, government officials, rich landowners, and priests. The middle class consisted of merchants, skilled craftspeople, and soldiers. The lower class, which included the majority of the population, was made up of unskilled workers. Most of the slaves were foreigners who had been captured in warfare.

Class distinctions were more important than gender distinctions. Compared with other ancient societies, women were not especially subordinate to men. Although polygamy was permitted, most families were monogamous. Women were not secluded and could own property and operate businesses. Women of the upper classes enjoyed significant privileges. During the New Kingdom, Egyptians queens often acted as royal regents and were sometimes depicted on an identical scale as their husbands. In Egyptian art, women of the lower classes are commonly seen engaging in agricultural work and the manufacture of clothing.

Education

A small percentage of children from the upper classes were able to attend schools and learn to read and write. Schools concentrated on the skills necessary for practical occupations, which included scribes, physicians, priests, and builders. Among the common people, most Egyptian boys were taught to follow the occupations of their fathers. Sometimes boys were placed with master craftspeople in order to learn professions, although the majority of the people became simple farmers. Girls were almost always taught by their mothers to become wives and mothers.

Writing systems

The dominant type of writing used in ancient Egypt is called hieroglyphics, which means “sacred inscriptions.” Scholars are not certain whether Egypt’s development of a writing system was influenced by Mesopotamia. Once begun, hieroglyphics developed rapidly, and it was largely perfected by the beginning of the Old Kingdom. The developed system utilized more than six hundred conventionalized pictures, or pictograms, each representing an idea, a syllable, or the sound of a single consonant. The Phoenicians probably acquired the basic idea of an alphabetic system from the Egyptians.

During the Middle Kingdom, a cursive form of writing called hieratic (from the Greek word for “priestly”) began replacing hieroglyphics. Later, during the New Kingdom, a more developed style of handwriting, the demotic (from the Greek word for “popular”), was widely used except on monuments and in funeral texts. By the time of Roman rule, knowledge of how to read Egyptian hieroglyphics was entirely lost, and it was regained only after 1799, when French investigators discovered a stone slab, the Rosetta Stone, containing both Greek and Egyptian writings outside Rosetta, a city near Alexandria.

Religion

The religion of ancient Egypt had a profound impact on all aspects of life. In general, the Egyptians believed in some version of polytheism, with a variety of deities that resembled humans, animals, or objects of nature. It appears likely that each city or region originally had its own local deity but that the unification of the country resulted in a fusion into several main deities. Therefore, many of the guardian deities were merged into the Sun deity Re (also called Amun, Amon, or Amun-Re). The gods personifying the vegetative forces of nature were gradually combined into the god of the Nile, called Osiris.

The Egyptians sometimes appeared almost obsessed with issues relating to an afterlife, although particular beliefs and rituals did change over time. During the Old Kingdom, the cult devoted to the Sun god Re seemed to show little concern for the fate of most individuals, but the immortality of the king was considered important for the survival and prosperity of the society. During the Middle Kingdom, there was a widespread belief that each individual soul (ka) could survive in an afterlife. Osiris was recognized as the judge of the dead. Presumably Osiris had been murdered, but his sister and wife, Isis, had miraculously resurrected his body to life. During the New Kingdom, images of Osiris judging the dead were commonly found in funerary texts, many of which were collected and are now known as the Book of the Dead (compiled and edited in the sixteenth century b.c.e.; English translation, 1842). While emphasizing ritual and magical formulas, the texts indicated that future happiness in the afterlife was also dependent on the deceased having lived a virtuous life on earth.

Because of its polytheistic nature, Egyptian religion was generally tolerant toward different beliefs. The priests of the dominant cults were among the small elite who had the advantage of formal education, and they enjoyed a great deal of prestige. About 1375 b.c.e., the devotion of Pharaoh Akhenaton (also known as Amenhotep IV) to the Sun deity Aton is now considered an early form of monotheism. Akhenaton’s new capital of Amarna prohibited worship of any other deities. Most Egyptians, however, were not prepared for such a radical change. Following Akhenaton’s death, his successors returned the capital to Thebes and brought back traditional polytheism.

Science and technology

Ancient Egyptians were interested in the practical applications of science, with only limited concern for theoretical explanations. They made important observations in the field of astronomy, making it possible to produce a calendar of 365 days a year. They noted that the annual flooding began shortly after the star Sirius reappeared about June 20 each year. In mathematics, they devised a system of counting by tens, and they could calculate area and volume. Although having no zero, they were able to use complex fractions. They formulated principles of geometry to design buildings and to determine boundaries. Egyptian physicians used empirical observations and measurements in studying the human body. They could set broken bones, sew up wounds, and treat many illnesses.

Ancient Egyptians also made important advances in industrial technology. In predynastic times, they learned to mine and smelt copper. Probably copper was the only metal available during the Old Kingdom, but there are indications that Egyptians were making some bronze tools before the Hyksos invasion. Apparently Egypt had to import its iron and silver from Asia. It is possible that Egyptians were the first to invent glass, which became an Egyptian specialty about 1500 b.c.e. For constructing buildings, they developed a large assortment of tools, including drills, pulleys, rollers, and lathes. One of Egypt’s most important innovations was a writing material made from strips of the stems of papyrus plants.

Architecture

The ancient Egyptians used two principal materials for constructing buildings, unbaked mud bricks and stone. Tombs and religious temples were generally constructed in stone, while private houses, towns, and fortresses were usually made of mud brick. Most of the ancient towns have been lost because they were located in the flooded regions of the Nile River Valley. Numerous tombs and temples, in contrast, have survived because they were located in the desert regions. The modern study of Egyptian architecture, therefore, places an inordinate emphasis on religious funerary constructions.

The pyramids of the Old Kingdom are the largest and oldest stone structures of the world. An individual king built his own pyramid in order to preserve his body throughout eternity. A small passage in the northern wall usually led to the body of the dead king, located deep below the surface. The three pyramids of Giza are ranked as one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The largest of the three, built for Khufu, covers thirteen acres and originally rose 482 feet (147 meters). It is composed of 2.3 million limestone blocks, weighing an average of more than two tons each.

During and after the Middle Kingdom, the temple became the dominant architectural form. The largest temples were built for the worship of major deities, but funeral temples were also built to honor dead kings. The temples of Karnak and Luxor are especially notable for their massive size and richly carved columns. The Karnak temple has 130 columns that rise 80 feet (24 meters), and it is 1,300 feet (396 meters) long, encompassing the largest area of any religious edifice ever constructed. The famous temple at Abu Simbel was carved out of a sandstone cliff, with three consecutive halls extending 185 feet (56 meters) into the cliff. The entrance contains four seated statues of Ramses II, each rising 66 feet (20 meters).

Visual arts

Egyptians liked to decorate their tombs and temples with paintings and other works of art. The colorful pictures were typically related to religious themes and conceptions about the afterlife. Apparently the Egyptians believed that the future life would be similar to known experiences, so the walls of tombs were often covered with scenes of daily life and work. In addition to paintings, tombs and temples also included statues, which demonstrated the patience and skill of Egyptian craftspeople. The most impressive statues were large representations of kings, proclaiming their power and divine grandeur. The Great Sphinx, for example, represented the king with a human head and the body of a powerful lion.

Current views

The ancient Egyptians maintained an orderly way of life and an essential continuity for an amazingly long period of time. Like the majority of their contemporaries, they showed almost no interest in speculative philosophy or theoretical science, and their culture did not encourage the production of great works of literature or theater. Whatever the limitations of the culture, however, Egyptian achievements in art, architecture, and technology were among the most impressive of the ancient world. Clearly Egyptian civilization had a significant influence on later developments in the Mediterranean world, although the direct and indirect influences are difficult to determine in specific instances.

During the 1990’s, there was considerable controversy about the racial makeup of ancient Egyptian society. The best evidence suggests that most Egyptians had relatively dark hair and dark skin, but paintings also seem to indicate that they were somewhat lighter in complexion than the Nubians to the south. Because of frequent contact with diverse peoples from southwest Asia, southern Europe, and Nubia, the Egyptian population included a diversity of physical traits. There is no evidence that the Egyptians had a concept of race or that their social positions were based on physical attributes such as skin color or hair texture.

Bibliography

Aldred, Cyril. The Egyptians. London: Thames and Hudson, 1998.

Clayton, Peter. Chronicle of the Pharaohs. London: Thames and Hudson, 1994.

Johnson, Paul. The Civilization of Ancient Egypt. New York: HarperCollins, 1999.

Quirke, Stephen. Ancient Egyptian Religion. London: British University Press, 1992.

Reeves, Nicholas, and Richard Wilkinson. The Complete Valley of the Kings. London: Thames and Hudson, 1996.

Siliotti, Alberto. Egypt: Splendor of an Ancient Civilization. London: Thames and Hudson, 1994.

Silverman, David, ed. Ancient Egypt. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997.