AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA

THE ANCIENT EGYPTIAN CIVILIZATION CIVILIZATION 102

OCTOBER 12, 2012 BY ALIYU SAID AHMED A00014693

The Ancient Egyptian Civilization Civilization comes from the Latin word civis meaning a citizen. A civilization must comprise of a form of government, art and technology and the ancient Egyptians had the earliest forms of such. The ancient Egyptians where an extraordinary set of people mostly because of their renowned civilization. They incorporated the earliest and one of the most successful forms of civilizations the world has yet seen. The ancient Egyptian civilization matters to all of us today because they were the first set of people to establish a very successful and long lasting civilization more than three thousand years ago. In this essay I will focus on the chain of events that occurred in three major periods in ancient Egypt namely; The Old Kingdom, the Middle Kingdom and the New Kingdom under the various dynasties in detail. These phases are important because they encompass the majority of important events in the ancient Egyptian history such as the reign of the Pharaohs, theocratic system of governance, their triumphs and turmoil. In the second phase of this essay, I will focus more on the culture of the ancient Egyptians which emphasizes mostly on their religion, architecture, arts and writing. I found it a priority to put in this essay because their culture was the most complex of all cultures at the time and it is still resonating in societies today, particularly its monumental forms such as the Louvre Pyramid in Paris which was influenced by the ancient Egyptian Pyramids.

Egypt is located in the north eastern corner of Africa with the coordinates 28.8013 N, 31.1711 E. It borders Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, the Mediterranean Sea to the north and Israel to the east. Egypt has about 1,001,450 Sq.km of land area. Ancient Egypt transformed to an arid land which was formerly a green vegetated land after 500BC. The Nile River is the longest river in Africa; it is the lifeline of the Egyptian civilization. It made the very existence of the civilization possible by influencing the livelihoods of the Egyptians during the three major periods and beyond. The Nile Valley and Delta is the most densely populated as compared to the rest of Egypt.1

A map of Egypt

The Location of Egypt, Egypt Travel Hub. Accessed October 20, 20 .http://www.Egypttravelhub.com/location-of-Egypt.html.

The Old Kingdom (2575 2150) Ancient Egypt was divided into three major periods that harbored major events in its history, those were; the Old Kingdom, the Middle Kingdom and the New Kingdom. Ancient Egypt hadnt always been unified; initially it was not a single entity or Kingdom. It consisted of many settlements and the population was scattered all across Egypt ruled by chieftains. King Menes in the 1st dynasty united all of Egypt to form a single Kingdom in 3100BC. The Upper Egypt to the north was united with the Lower Egypt to the south to form a single Kingdom ruled by King Menes thus becoming the supreme ruler of the entire region. This advent by King Menes marked the beginning of the Old Kingdom. The Old Kingdom spanned from 2686 to 2181BCE and covered the third to the sixth dynasty in Egypt.2 Its Capital was the ancient city of Memphis (Check location in the map above). Memphis was located between the border of the upper and lower Nile region. It also housed the great Pyramids and great Pharaohs like Thutmosis III and Amenhotep II. The city was founded by King Menes when Egypt was united according to Menatho the great Egyptian historian.3 The Old Kingdom was governed with a theocratic form of government which is a form of government that is believed by its followers to be divinely guided. The kings were perceived to be gods and not to be compared with any other soul. The Egyptian kings were called Pharaohs. The Pharaohs had supreme power but despite it all they had to follow a set of codes in directing their rule; those codes were called the Maat. The Maat emphasized the ideals of
2

Speilvogel, Jackson J. Western Civilization. United Kingdom: Cengage learning, 2011. 17-

18. Old Kingdom, The Ancient Egypt Site. Accessed October 21, 2012.http://www.AncientEgypt.org/index.html
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truthfulness, equality and righteousness in the rule that existed in the universe. Egypt was split into regions called Nomes and each nomarchy were governed by a nomarch. Later on the nomes became more powerful and engaged in rivalry with the supreme Pharaohs.4 The Old Kingdom came to a chaotic end due to bad governance. The 5th dynasty saw the end of the Old Kingdom and the last king was King Unas (2381 2345). A drastic climatic change further catalyzed the downfall of the Old Kingdom characterized by drying out of lakes, low river levels and insufficient harvest. There were also political clashes and disputes with the various rising nomes which ravaged starvation and plagues among the Egyptian people resulting in the ultimate collapse of the Old Kingdom.5 The Middle Kingdom The Middle Kingdom was a golden age for the ancient Egyptian civilization. It spanned for four hundred years with relative peace, prosperity and tranquility. It saw the advent of a more refined literature, arts and advanced technological achievements.6 The Middle Kingdom occurred in the endings of the 11thdynasty and full length of the 12th and 13th dynasty. It is significant because it marked the reunification of Egypt and centralization

Speilvogel. 19

Stanly, Daniel-Jean. The End of the Old Kingdom. Last modified 18, 2012. http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/Egypt/the_end_of_the_Old_Kingdom.htm
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Morkot, Robert. The Egyptians: An Introduction. London: Routledge, 2005. 107

of power by Menjuhotep II. This occurred after the Theban kings victory against the kings of Nen-nesut at Heracleopolis with their counterpart normarchs.7 He expanded his territory to Nubia and he built luxury fortresses in Nubia which were later converted to military posts. He also formed an alliance with the Medja people of the eastern desert that he used as reinforcements to his army. Egypt established a very strong economic bond with Nubia through trading to the south into Nubia. A Nubian Kingdom emerged in lower Nubia led by a ruler who thoroughly opposed the Egyptian rule. This advent triggered a steadfast and aggressive new foreign policy for Egypt.8 Menjuhotep II was succeeded by Menjuhotep III and IV whose reign did not last very long. Menjuhotep III was significant for his buildings with high architectural detail in Punt. Menjuhotep IV marked the end of the dynasty. He was finally overthrown by Amenemhat. 9 The 12thdynasty (1985 1773 BC) was relatively stable due to the centralization of power. For the most part the various normarch powers were completely dissolved by Senusret III and replaced by his personally appointed personnel. Senusret succeeded Amenemhat I. After his assassination Senusret II established the north and south of Egypt as two administrative territories.10

Ibid. Ibid., 108. Ibid., 109. Ibid., 115.

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The Second Intermediate Period The gradual transition to the New Kingdom saw the second intermediate period. This was a chaotic period fueled by political turmoil, decentralization of power between the end of the 12th dynasty and the beginning of the 18th dynasty. Egypt fell under foreign rule of a people of western Asiatic origin known as the Hyksos who came with chariots, horses and bronze weapons that were superior to the Egyptians.11 The Hyksos control was concentrated in the northern part of Egypt. They established trade with Nubia and the Aegan. The rulers of the ending of the 17th dynasty boycotted the Hyksos rule. Among them were king Seqenenre Taa who was killed in the process but his successors Khamose and Amose succeeded in expelling the Hyksos from Egypt. This period saw the innovation of the rishi a coffin shaped like a man with protective vulture wing illustrations and the advent of a funerary text called the Book of the Dead. 12 The New Kingdom (1540 1070) The 17th dynasty came along with the extraction of the Hyksos by Kamose. Their complete extraction was concluded by king Ahmose of the 18th dynasty (1540-1307BC) in 1522. That event initiated the age of empire or imperialism in Egypt. Egypt conquered parts of Syria, Palestine and Nubia thus becoming the most powerful in the near east. Thutmosis I and III inherited Ahmoses vigorous foreign policies to add more territories to their empire with the Ancient Egypt: 2nd Intermediate Period, British Museums. Accessed October 24,2012. http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/article_index/a/Ancient_Egypt_2nd_ intermediat.aspx
11 12

Ibid.,

Euphrates river region around modern day turkey. Egypts conquest of these regions increased their wealth and power drastically in which they destroyed many temples only to construct new ones and refurbish old ones, for example the Theban temple of Karnak dedicated to Amun.13 The ending of the 18th dynasty brought radical changes, instability and loss of territory in the near east and Nubia due to the Amarna revolution. King Amenhotep IV reformed the Egyptian religion system and pledged his allegiance to Aton the sun god.14 Egypts lost territories and power was sought to be recovered by the kings of the 19th Dynasty (1307 - 1196 BC) such as Ramesses II. In the process of their recuperation; the Hittites proved to be a very formidable enemy to Egypt but King Rameses II negotiated a peace treaty to end their fatal encounters which resulted in stability and peace.15 Soon after in the 20th dynasty (1196-1070BC), Rameses III managed to recover lost territory in the near east but his era was corrupt and stirred up internal strife within Egypt. 11 His last years witnessed instability and the division of Egypt. The Pharaohs lost their influence in the Upper Egypt to the Theban priests and were left with Lower Egypt to rule. These chains of events marked the end of the New Kingdom.

Egypts Golden Empire, Religion, Accessed November 1, 2012. http://www.pbs.org/empires/Egypt/NewKingdom/religion.html

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13

Ibid. Ibid.

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Ahmose and Thutmoses II credited the king of the Gods Amen-re for their military victory throughout the region. Amen-re became very prominent religiously in Thebes during the New Kingdom.16 Religion and Afterlife For all of the past eras religion had been very important in the lives of the ancient Egyptians. Almost anything they engaged in had had something to do with religion. They were polytheist; the most important deities among the hundreds of others were Amun the sun god, Horus the sky god and Osiris the god of the afterlife. Their gods were mostly depicted as half man half animal, for example Horus represented with a human body and the head of a hawk.17 The Egyptians accumulated wealth just for survival in the afterlife as they were buried with their wealth. Many Egyptians worshipped the god of their choice or the god that suites their lives better, temples were built in every city to establish relations with the gods through priest thus making them very powerful people. However Amun was very important and was worshiped by everyone, he was regarded to be the king of the gods. They also believed in reincarnation and the three categories of soul; the ka , ba , akh . If properly conducted by the priest ensured the complete resurrection of ones body in next world. During the funeral, prayers are invoked by priest to try to bring back the body. The organs are removed and replaced with embalming fluids then the body is mummified and placed in a tomb surrounded Egypts Golden Empire, Religion, Accessed November 1, 2012. http://www.pbs.org/empires/Egypt/NewKingdom/religion.html Ancient Egyptian Religion, Sptimes, Accessed October 26, 2012. http://www2.sptimes.com/Egypt/EgyptCredit.4.3.html
17 16

by furniture and valuables. The opening of the mouth ce remony is done to restore the deceased eating and speech abilities in the afterlife. Finally, the mummified body is enclosed in a sarcophagus.18 The mighty Pharaohs undergo a similar process, the difference being that they are buried in mighty Pyramids.

From L-R: an Egyptian mummy and Osiris the god of the afterlife. The Pyramids are ancient pyramid shaped structures used for keeping tombs (Mastaba) of mummified Pharaohs. They are located in Cairo on the Giza plateau by the west bank of the Nile. They are famed to being among the seven wonders of the ancient world. The first was the step Pyramid of King Djoser (3rd dynasty). The Pyramids took the lime light with the construction of the great Pyramids of Giza built by King Khufu in the Old Kingdom. The

Ancient Egyptian Religion, Sptimes, Accessed October 26, 2012. http://www2.sptimes.com/Egypt/EgyptCredit.4.3.html

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construction of Pyramids came to a halt in the New Kingdom. The great Pyramids were built for religious purposes in accordance with the sun god Ra (Atun) and to aid the dead Pharaohs in their ascent to heaven. Inside the Pyramids were centrally tomb chambers and a complex network of shafts. Another famed ancient Egyptian building is the Sphinx; it consists of a human head, a body of a lion and it was worshipped. The Pyramids are a major tourist attraction in the world today. The Pharaohs where buried not just with their wealth in the Pyramids but they were also buried with art works such as pottery ornament with hieroglyphic texts and other paintings.19 The Egyptian marvels especially the Pyramids were built by Egyptian slaves. Many movies, books and critics depict horrible scenes with whips lashed at the slaves during the construction of the Pyramids by guards. In contradiction, I personally believe that the Egyptians built the Pyramids with divine commitment because it was their top priority to ensure a sound passing of their god king to the afterlife. Slaves under oppressive labor cannot build a quality

Egyptian Pyramids, King Tut. Accessed October 26, 2012.http://www.kingtut.org.uk/Ancient-Egypt/Egyptian-Pyramids.htm

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building that can last for over 3000 years like the Pyramids.

Behind is a Pyramid and in front is a Sphinx. Writing and Arts The ancient Egyptian text was called hieroglyphics. Its mainly illustrations of symbols and pictures that convey meaning. For example, a leg simply referred to movement. The text was written in all manners from bottom to top, left side to the right side and vice versa. Hieroglyphics were written on tombs, walls, art works and papyrus (paper). The texts were decoded by the French Champollion who studied them on the Rosetta stone for more than a decade and thus deciphered them. It was used by the Egyptians for more than 3000 years. They also made pottery, textiles, paintings and sculptures. Their pottery was made as small vases covered with enamel with illustrations on the sides and were deposited in burial chambers. The paintings illustrated mainly the abode of the Pharaohs in the afterlife. Some include paintings of Osiris and warriors. The paintings owe their preservation to the dry climate of Egypt. Their

sculptures are also figure of Gods and Pharaohs sometimes in a seated position with their hands on their laps.20

From L-R: The Rosetta stone and Hieroglyphic Text. Conclusion Finally, the ancient Egyptian civilization is very important and is not to be ignored for any reason because it is reputed to being one of the longest living civilizations of all time owing its success mostly to the Nile River. It was also one of the most powerful of all nations in the ancient world, with its absolute control of eastern Asia and further south and west in Africa. Their theocratic form of government with patterns of bureaucracy was very elaborate. Most importantly the Egyptian Pyramids are the last standing ancient wonders of the world

Ancient Egyptian art, Writing and Sculpture, Accessed October 26, 2012. http://www.crystalinks.com/Egyptart.html
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displaying the architectural prowess of the ancient Egyptians. Their architectural feet is still found astonishing today and is a major tourist destination. I also commend the Egyptians on how they managed to sustain such a complex civilization for a very long period of time and their forceful regain of sovereignty from the mighty Hyksos. It is also amazing how they mysteriously understood the cosmic order of the world, how they built their Pyramids with precise alignment to the cosmic bodies without modern instruments and so much more.

Bibliography
Alexander Stille, Perils of the Sphinx, A Reporter at Large, December 1996, 1.

Ancient Egyptian art, Writing and Sculpture, Accessed October 26, 2012. http://www.crystalinks.com/Egyptart.html Ancient Egypt: 2nd Intermediate Period, British Museums. Accessed October 24,2012. http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/article_index/a/Ancient_Egypt_2nd_ intermediat.aspx

Ancient Egyptian Religion, Sptimes, Accessed October 26, 2012. http://www2.sptimes.com/Egypt/EgyptCredit.4.3.html Egypts Golden Empire, Religion, Accessed November 1, 2012. http://www.pbs.org/empires/Egypt/NewKingdom/religion.html Egyptian Pyramids, King Tut. Accessed October 26, 2012.http://www.king-tut.org.uk/AncientEgypt/Egyptian-Pyramids.htm Morkot, Robert.The Egyptians: An Introduction. London: Routledge, 2005. Old Kingdom, The Ancient Egypt Site.Accessed October 21, 2012.http://www.AncientEgypt.org/index.html Stanly, Daniel-Jean. The End of the OldKingdom.Last modified 18, 2012. http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/Egypt/the_end_of_the_Old_Kingdom.htm Speilvogel, Jackson J. Western Civilization. United Kingdom: Cengage learning, 2011.

The Location of Egypt, Egypt Travel Hub.Accessed October 20, 2012 .http://www.Egypttravelhub.com/location-of-Egypt.html.