A View of Egypt by Satellite

A View of Egypt by Satellite

Development of African Agriculture

• Sahara desert originally highly fertile region

• Western Sudan region nomadic herders, c. 9000 BCE– Domestication of cattle c. 7500 BCE– Later, cultivation of sorghum, yams,

increasingly diverse

• Widespread desiccation of the Sahara c. 5000 BCE

The Gift of the Nile

Gradual, predictable flooding– Inundation (July-October)– Sprouting– Summer

Communication:– Nubia-Egypt

• Current: north

• Winds: south

– Sub-Saharan Africa-Mesopotamia

Increased in importance w/ desiccation of Sahara

The Delta & TheCataracts

The Nile Valley, 3000-2000 BCE

Early Agriculture in Nile Valley

• 10,000 BCE migrants from Red Sea hills (northern Ethiopia)– Introduce collection of wild grains, language

roots of Coptic

• 5000 BCE Sudanic cultivators, herders migrate to Nile river valley

• Adaptation to seasonal flooding of Nile through construction of dikes, waterways– Villages dot Nile by 4000 BCE

The Annual Flooding of the Nile

The Annual Flooding of the Nile

Impact on Political Organization

• As in Mesopotamia a need for formal organization of public affairs

• Need to maintain order and organize community projects

• Egypt: simple, local irrigation projects

• Rural rather than heavily urban development

• Trade networks develop

The Fertile Nile Valley

The Fertile Nile Valley

Nile Irrigation-the Shaduf

Nile Irrigation-the Shaduf

Ancient Egyptian History

Ancient Egyptian HistoryPeriods Time Frame

Nile Culture Begins

4000 B. C. E.

Archaic 3100 – 2650 B. C. E.

Old Kingdom 2650 – 2134 B. C. E.

Middle Kingdom 2040 – 1640 B. C. E.

New Kingdom 1550 – 1070 B. C. E.

Late Period 750 – 332 B. C. E.

Greek Ptolemaic Era

332 – 30 B. C. E.

Roman Period 30 B. C. E. – 395 C. E.

Unification of Egypt• Legendary conqueror Menes, c. 3100 unifies

Egyptian kingdom– Sometimes identified with/as Narmer– Tradition: founder of Memphis, cultural and political

center of ancient Egypt– Instituted the rule of the Pharaoh

• Claimed descent from the gods

• Absolute rulers, had slaves buried with them from 2600 BCE

• Most powerful during Archaic Period (3100-2660 BCE) and Old Kingdom (2660-2160 BCE)

Menes: Unifier of Upper & Lower Egypt

Menes: Unifier of Upper & Lower Egypt

c. 3050 B. C. E. ?

c. 3050 B. C. E. ?

The Pyramids• Symbols of the pharaoh’s authority and

divine status• A testimony of the pharaohs’ ability to

marshal Egypt’s resources• Largest Khufu (Cheops) 2.3 million

limestone blocks w/ average weight of 2.5 tons

• Role: burial chambers for Pharaohs

Plan of the Great Pyramid of Khufu

Plan of the Great Pyramid of Khufu

The Valley of the KingsThe Valley of the Kings

Stepped Pyramid at Saqqara

Stepped Pyramid at Saqqara

“Bent” Pyramid of King Sneferu

“Bent” Pyramid of King Sneferu

The Great Sphinx

Valley of the Kings

View of the central East Valley

Relations with Nubia

• Competition over Nile trade

• Military conflict between 3100-2600 BCE

• Drives Nubians to the south– Established Kingdom of Kush, c. 2500 BCE

• Trade, cultural influences continue despite military conflict

The New Kingdom

• Few pyramids, but major monumental architectural projects

• Engaged in empire-building to protect against foreign invasion

• Local resistance drives Egypt out of Nubia

• Kingdom of Kush revives c. 1100 BCE

• Invasions of Kushites, Assyrians destroy Egypt mid 6th century BCE

Imperial Egypt,

1400 BCE

Egyptian Urban Culture• Major cities along Nile river, especially at delta

– Memphis c. 3100 BCE, Heliopolis c. 2900 BCE

• Nubian cities include Kerma, Napata, Meroë– Located at cataracts of the Nile

• Well-defined social classes – Pharaohs to slaves– Archaeological discoveries in Nubia also support

class-based society– Patriarchal societies, notable exceptions: female

Pharaoh Hatshepsut (r. 1473-1458 BCE)

Egyptian Social Hierarchy

Egyptian Social Hierarchy

Egyptian NobilityEgyptian Nobility

Egyptian Priestly ClassEgyptian Priestly Class

Ancient Egyptian Housing

Ancient Egyptian HousingMiddle Class

HomesMiddle Class Homes

Peasant Homes

Peasant Homes

Scenes of Ancient EgyptianDaily Life

Scenes of Ancient EgyptianDaily Life

Making Ancient Egyptian Beer

Making Ancient Egyptian Beer

Making Ancient Egyptian WineMaking Ancient Egyptian Wine

An Egyptian Woman’s “Must-Haves”

An Egyptian Woman’s “Must-Haves”

PerfumePerfume

WigsWigs

MirrorMirror

Economic Specialization

• Bronze metallurgy introduced late, with Hyksos invasion

• Development of iron early, c. 900 BCE

• Trade along Nile river– More difficult in Nubia due to cataracts– Sea trade in Mediterranean

Hieroglyphs• “Holy Inscriptions”

– Writing appeared at least by 3200 BCE– Pictographic supplemented with symbols

representing sounds and ideas– Survives on monuments, buildings and sheets of

papyrus– Hieroglyphs for formal writing, hieratic script for

everyday affairs used from 2600 BCE – 600 CE– Adopts Greek alphabet – demotic and Coptic scripts

• Meroitic writing - flexible system borrowed from hieroglyphs, represents sounds rather than ideas

Hieroglyphics “Alphabet”Hieroglyphics “Alphabet” 24 “letters” + 700 phonetic

symbols 24 “letters” + 700 phonetic

symbols

Hieroglyphic

“Cartouche”

Hieroglyphic

“Cartouche”

Champollion & the Rosetta Stone

Champollion & the Rosetta Stone

Egyptian ScribeEgyptian Scribe

Papyrus PaperPapyrus Paper

Papyrus PlantPapyrus Plant

Hieratic Scroll Piece

Hieratic Scroll Piece

Papyrus plant growing in a garden, Australia

Egyptian Papyrus Drawing

Development of Organized Religious Traditions

• Principal gods Amon and Re

• Religious tumult under Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten) (r. 1364-1347 BCE)– Introduces sole worship of sun god Aten– One of the world’s earliest expressions of

Monotheism

• Death of Akhenaten, traditional priest restore the cult of Amon-Re to privileged status

Ankhenaton: First Monotheist?

Ankhenaton: First Monotheist?

Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten) • Akhenaten was the only

pharaoh to try and introduce the idea of monotheism to the polytheistic Egyptians.

• Because he predated Zoroaster by approximately 700 years, he is considered the first monotheist.

• The one god he believed in was the sun, represented by Aton, god of the sun disc.

Egyptian Gods & Goddesses:

“The Sacred ‘Trinity’”

Egyptian Gods & Goddesses:

“The Sacred ‘Trinity’”

Osiris Isis Horus Osiris Isis Horus

Mummification and the Afterlife• Inspiration of the cycles of the Nile• Belief in the revival of the dead

– First: ruling classes only, later expanded to include lower classes

• Cult of Osiris– Lord of the underworld– Power to determine who deserved immortality– Held out hope of eternal reward for those who

lived moral lives

• Nubian worship of Apedemak and Sebiumeker

The Final JudgementThe Final Judgement

Osiris Anubis Horus Osiris Anubis Horus

Preparations for the Underworld

Preparations for the Underworld

Priests protected your KA, or soul-spirit

Priests protected your KA, or soul-spirit

ANUBIS weighs the dead person’s heart against a feather.

ANUBIS weighs the dead person’s heart against a feather.

Preparation for the Afterlife

Preparation for the Afterlife

Egyptian MummiesEgyptian Mummies

Seti I1291-1278

B. C. E.

Seti I1291-1278

B. C. E.Queen Tiye,

wife of Amenhotep II

1210-1200 B. C. E.

Queen Tiye, wife of

Amenhotep II1210-1200 B. C. E.

Ramses II1279-1212 B.

C. E.

Ramses II1279-1212 B.

C. E.

Journey to the Underworld

Journey to the Underworld

A boat for the journey is

provided for a dead pharaoh

in his tomb

A boat for the journey is

provided for a dead pharaoh

in his tomb

The dead travel on the “Solar Barge”

The dead travel on the “Solar Barge”

Egyptian Book of the Dead

Egyptian Book of the Dead

Archaeologist, Howard Carter (1922)

Archaeologist, Howard Carter (1922)

King Tutankhamon’s Death Mask

King Tutankhamon’s Death Mask

1336-1327 B. C. E.1336-1327 B. C. E.

King TutankhamonKing Tutankhamon

King Tutankhamun’s Tomb

King Tutankhamun’s Tomb

Treasures From Tut’s Tomb

Treasures From Tut’s Tomb

The Valley of the Queens

The Valley of the Queens

Temple of Queen Hatshepsut

Temple of Queen Hatshepsut

1473-1458 B. C. E.

1473-1458 B. C. E.

The Ankh – The “Cross” of LifeThe Ankh – The “Cross” of Life

QueenNefertitiQueen

Nefertiti

Abu Simbel:Monument to Ramses II

Abu Simbel:Monument to Ramses II

1279-1213 B. C. E.

1279-1213 B. C. E.

Canopic JarsThe four sons of Horus: the jackal-headed jar represented the east,

contained the stomach, the falcon-headed jar representing the west, contained the intestines, the baboon-headed jar representing the north,

contained the lungs, the human-headed jar representing the south, contained the liver.

Ramses II

• After King Tut, only Ramses II would rise to be a strong pharaoh.

• Under Ramses there was a new increase in the building of temples and monuments.

• It is believed that Ramses is the pharaoh that allowed Moses to lead the Hebrews out of Egypt.

• He had 48-50 sons and 40-53 daughters.

Bantu Migrations, 3000-1000 BCE

• Bantu: means “people”• Originated in what would be modern Nigeria• Migration throughout sub-Saharan regions

– Population pressures

• Over 500 variations of original Bantu language– 90 million speakers– Similar to Indo-Europeans in that they spread

language as they moved.

• By 1000 BCE, occupied most of Africa south of the equator

Bantu Migrations, 2000 BCE-1000 CE

Bantu Migration

Bantu Religions

• Evidence of early monotheism

• Deistic views as well– Prayers to intercessors, e.g. ancestor spirits

• Great variations among populations

Aswan High Dam: 1968

Aswan High Dam (NASA satellite photo)

The hydroelectric power station of

Aswan Dam