Introduction about Archaeological Sites In Egypt
Introduction about Archaeological Sites In Egypt
Introduction about Archaeological Sites In Egypt
Although much of the history of Egypt is still based on various
hypotheses and suppositions its beginnings lie in the Paleolithic
period when the appearance of the Nile Valley was quite different
to that of today.
The river covered almost the entire region and this, combined
with a much damper climate than that of today, created a vast
swamp that stretched as far as the Delta.
Towards the end of the Paleolithic era, the climate began to
change and as a result the Nile changed its course, eventually
becoming that of today.
The slow but progressive transformation of the surrounding area
into desert meant that life become concentrated along the fertile
banks of the river.
In the Neolithic period m about 10,000 years before the birth of
Christ. two quite distinct populations of different origins were
present, the first was African from the center of the continent,
while the second was Mediterranean from the heart of Asia.
Yet there was still a third race, people who may have come from
the legendary Atlantis and who reached the Nile Valley after
traveling across Libya.
Thus two civilizations developed, one remained in the north of
the country around the Delta, Establishing Merimda, the first
settlement, while the second group remained in the south where
the major town was Tasa.
Thus even in the earliest times, the population of Egypt was split,
and despite the later unification of the country, this territorial
division survived in the names of which Upper Egypt had 22 and
Lower Egypt 20.
This was the dawn of the Egyptian civilization, the period that the
Egyptians were to call the "time of The God" the time when King
Osiris sat on the throne of The country.
According to legend it was Osiris who succeeded in bringing the
two groups together, but this unification did not in fact, last long
and Egyptian history can really only be thoughts of as beginning
around 3200 BC.
The history of Egypt really begins therefore with king Narmer
often identified as the mythical Menes who succeeded in uniting
the two kingdoms and founded the first of thirty one dynasties
that alternated on the Egyptian throne until 332 the year in which
Alexander the great conquered the country.
An implacable and ferocious king, he is portrayed in the famous
Narmer stele, 74 cm. high, dated about 3100 BC, that was found
in Hierakonpolis "Now Elkab" a sacred city in the prehistoric
kingdom of Upper Egypt.
On one side of the stele, which is actually a simple schist palette
for cosmetics, the king is represented brandishing a cudgel in
one hand and grasping his enemy by the hair with the other as
he lies already defeated on the ground.
On this side of the stele, the king king wears the conical crown of
Upper Egypt, and on the other side he is seen standing before
numerous beheaded enemies, wearing the crown of Lower
Egypt.
The symbol of royalty, there were in fact three crowns, the white
crown of the south, the red of the north and the double crown
formed by the combination of these, symbolishing the united
kingdom.
The symbol of Upper Egypt was the vulture, and that of Lower
Egypt the Cobra.
The Old Kingdom
The Old Kingdom began around 3200 BC and is considered by
many to represent the most splendid period of the entire
Egyptian civilization.
When the capital was moved from Abydos to Memphis, the main
town of the first nomes of lower Egypt, the kingdom also become
known as the Empire of Memphis.
During this period civil and religious laws were established and
writing and artistic styles developed.
The 3rd Dynasty began with Djoser who built the pyramid of
Saqqara, the first large stone structure in Egypt.
He also appointed a prime minister who could substitute him
and assisted with the administration of the kingdom which was
now by necessity rather complex and quite extensive.
For sheer architectural grandeur however, he was surpassed by
three other kings of his own dynasty "Khufu, Khafre, Mankaure"
who were responsible for the famous complex at Giza.
Unfortunately little is known about them, though Khufu lead
several military campaigns towards Sinai.
The god of Ra himself was said to have fathered the first three
kings born of a wife of one of his priests, and from then on all
the kings were known as the son of Ra the most important
figure of the last dynasty of the Old Kingdom seems to have
been Pepi II, who came to the throne at the age of six and ruled
for 94 years the longest reign in Egyptian history.The fifth
dynasty originated in the city of Heliopolis.
At the end of the 6th Dynasty, however central power was
weakened by the nomarchs, the administrative officials who
fought among then selves for control while the king was unable
to intervene or suppress them.
This lead to the first intermediate period, a dark and troubled
time during which Egypt experienced anarchy and social
upheaval beginning around 2180 BC with the 7th Dynasty and
continuing until the start of the 11th Dynasty.
The Middle Kingdom
The Middle Kingdom began about 2060 BC. King Mentuhotpe reasserted power over Lower Egypt with the help of the Egyptian bourgeoisie. Commerce and trade were strengthened under his successors Mentuhotpe II and Mentuhotpe III, a commercial route was opened towards the red sea and the policy of expansion towards Nubia was reactivated. The 12th Dynasty began around 2000 BC and was one of the most splendid and famous in Egyptian history.
The founder was Amenemhat I who favored the cult of Amun,
elevating him to the rank of principle deity.
A capable administrator, under his rule Egypt experienced a
period of great prosperity.He was succeeded by his son Senusert
I who shared the throne with his eldest son in order to ensure
continuity of the dynasty, a practice that was adopted by his
successors.
However, we know little of Amenemhat II and Senusert II except
that they developed trading links with Phenicia and drained the
region around Fayum.
In contrast, one of the most important kings of Egypt was
Senusert III who in four military campaigns, finally colonized
Nubia, advanced as far as Palestine and built numerous
fortresses along the border with Sudan.
With the 12th dynasty, the Middle Kingdom came to an end and
was followed by the second intermediate period, still today one
of the most obscure in Egyptian history,
fraught with problems and dominated by the invasions of foreign
peoples of Semitic origin,
known as Hyksos a corruption of the Egyptian word Hekakhasut
meaning the "heads of foreign countries".
These peoples invaded the fertile plain of the delta, fortified the
city of Avaris and made it their capital.
With their much superior military power, Heksos easily defeated
the weak Egyptian government and for a century were supreme
rules.
Eventually a group of Egyptian princes succeeded in creating a
coalition with other dynasties of Upper Egypt and together they
initiated the reconquest and liberation of the country, a
process that continued until 1622 BC, when Ahmose, founder
of the 18th dynasty drove the enemy into southern Palestine
once more uniting Egypt under his rule.
The New Kingdom
In 1580 BC, during the New Kingdom, Egyptian power triumphed over the entire known world of the day. This was an epoch of both military power that was no longer based on defense but cultural splendor. Thebes was still the capital and the priests of the god Amun were increasingly influential. The successors of Ahmose, Tuthmosis I and Tuthmosis II were primarily interested in military campaigns and conquests, but not so queen Hatshepsut.
After the death of his aunt, Tuthmosis III reclaimed his throne,
can celled the name of his usurping aunt from all monuments
and reigned for 34 years, one of the most splendid periods in
Egyptian history.She removed her young nephew Tuthmosis III
from the throne, proclaimed herself regent and reigned on her
own for 22 years during which time she wore a beard and
dressed in male clothes.
In 1372 BC the throne passed to Amenhotep IV, who has passed
into history not only as a poet king but also as heretical and
schismatic leader.
Worried by the priests of Amun, who had all but created aa state
within the state, he replaced the religion of Amun with that of
Aten,
a sun go represented by aa disc, who could be worshiped without
intermediaries thus enabling him to close the temples and
disband the priesthood.
He abandoned Thebes and founded a new capital, Akhetaten
"the Horizon of the Aten" now called Tell al Amarnah.
Finally he changed his own name from Amenhotep which meant
"Amun in happy" to Akhenton "pleasing to Aten".
However, the schism would not survive its instigator.
The crown Passed to the youthful Tutankhaton Who Convinced
by many, Including the beautiful Nefertiti "the beautiful one has
come" the sister bride of Akhenaten "Eventually returned to
Thebes, Reinstated the cult of Amun and changed His Own
name to Tutankhamen.
As Egypt slipped gradually into a state of anarchy, power passed
to the military leaders, Horemheb, Ramesses I "a professional
soldier", Seti I who continued the policy of expansion towards
the east, and lastly Ramesses II, known as Ramesses the Great,
who concentrated all his energies on defeating the Hittite army.
The Third intermediate period began in 1070 BC with the 21st
Dynasty whose capital was at Tanis. The next Dynasty saw
power in the hands of Libyan kings and later Ethiopian rulers
"the capital was moved to Napata in Sudan ". At the age of 18
he died unexpectedly and is principally renowned for the
fascinating discovery of his tomb by Howard Carter in 1922.
This was followed by the era of Persia and Sais and under the
27th Dynasty the Persians of Cambyses conquered Egypt for the
first time. He succeeded in at least halting them in an epic battle
at Kadesh,
During the 67 years of his reign this king gave expression to his
might with colossal monuments at Luxor, Karnak and Abu
Simble. His son Merneptah succeeded him and the slow,
inexorable decline of the Egyptian empire began.
The already precarious internal equilibrium broke down with
anarchy from within and the arrival of Indo European
populations in Libya.
Asia and the entire Mediterranean area during the end of the
second millennium.
In 332 the Egyptians sought the the aid of Alexander the Great
who was seen as their liberator and was declared a "son of Ra"
by the oracle of Luxor.
He founded the new city of Alexander, destined to become the
cultural capital of the ancient world, and here he was buried in
323 BC. On his death, the Ptolemaic period began and the
process of Hellenization can be traced to this time. The two
centuries that preceded the birth of Christ saw the continuing
decline of Egypt, increasingly crushed by the growing power of
Rome and eventually becoming merely one of its colonies.
Finally, with the death of Theodosius in 395 AD, Egypt became
part of the Eastern Roman Empire and a pall of sand seems to
have descended over the past, almost as if to obliterate all
memory of it.
