ANCIENT EGYPT 101

Before I continue sharing tales of adventures, let us travel to Ancient Egypt to review some basic concepts. I will cover the deities and temple and tomb structures in later posts.  

Upper & Lower Egypt

In ancient times, southern Egypt was known as Upper Egypt while northern Egypt was called Lower Egypt. This is in reference to the movement of the Nile which originates in central Africa and flows northward towards the Mediterranean Sea. Thus, Upper Egypt is associated with the beginning of the river and Lower Egypt is associated with the end of the Nile, which includes the section where it branches out into channels creating the Nile Delta.

     Symbols of Upper and Lower Egypt

     Upper Egypt:    Lotus Flower; Sedge; Nekhbet, vulture goddess

     Lower Egypt:   Papyrus; Bee; Wadjet, cobra goddess

From the roof of the hypostyle hall at the Temple of Karnak.
Next to the ankh, symbol of life, is the sedge and bee. 

East vs West

The Ancient Egyptians placed a lot of emphasis on the sun as evidenced in their belief of solar gods and the location and orientation of temples and tombs. They believed the east bank of the Nile to be the ‘Land of the Living’ - the sun rose on the east each morning bringing life - thus, in the New Kingdom, they chose that location for their temples and settlements. The necropolises and funerary temples of Ancient Egypt are found on the west bank of the river since that was the ‘Land of the Dead’, the west being were the sun set every evening.

Nile River

The Nile River enabled and sustained the Ancient Egyptian civilization by providing drinking water, a means of transportation, and an invaluable resource to farmers. Furthermore, during the flood season when the Nile covered farm lands for several months, the river deposited silt which served as a nutrient rich fertilizer.

The river also has a series of six cataracts with the first found in Aswan and the sixth located in Khartoum, Sudan where the White Nile and Blue Nile converge. The first cataract generally served as the demarcation between Ancient Egypt and Nubia. Several fortresses, some now located at the bottom of Lake Nasser, were discovered around the location of the first cataract.

Today, like in ancient times, the Nile provides Egyptians with sustenance.
Picture: 2010, Aswan

Major Cities

Ancient Egypt had several cities located throughout the country all situated near the Nile River and the Nile Delta. Memphis in Lower Egypt served as the capital during the Old Kingdom and then, during the New Kingdom, the capital was relocated to Thebes in Upper Egypt. Short-term capital cities included Tanis and Pi-Ramesses in the delta and Amarna, a city towards the middle of the country.

Pharaohs

The term pharaoh is derived from a Greek word based on the Egyptian phrase for “great house”, a reference to the royal residence. 

The pharaohs of Ancient Egypt had 5 names two of which were inscribed inside a cartouche, an oval outlined by a rope. 

• Son of Ra (Also known as the nomen or birth name, written inside a cartouche) 
• He of the Sedge and the Bee (Also known as the prenomen or throne name, written inside a cartouche) 
• Horus name
• Golden Horus name
• He of the Two Ladies (Wadjet, cobra goddess, and Nekhbet, vulture goddess)

Boulder at Elephantine Island in Aswan.
Three of the five names are visible: 1) Horus name - the god Horus, depicted as a falcon, perched
on the serekh, representation of the palace facade; 2) He of the Sedge and the Bee signifying the
pharaoh ruled a unified Egypt; and 3)  Son of Ra - the duck is the hieroglyph for the word 'son'
and the image of the sun represents the god Ra

When it came to headpieces, the pharaohs had 5 styles of crowns and 1 cloth headdress.

• White crown of Upper Egypt
• Red crown of Lower Egypt 
• Double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt
• Blue crown (worn in battles and ceremonies)
• Atef crown (worn during religious rituals)
• Nemes headdress

Mentuhotep II, first pharaoh of the Middle
Kingdom, wearing the double crown.
Picture: 2018, Egyptian Museum

The kings of Ancient Egypt held many duties which included, but not limited to, intermediary between the gods and the people, head of the army, and High Priest of the Temples. 

Dynasties

A dating system devised by Manetho, a priest and historian from the 3rd century BC, divides the kings into 30 dynasties with changes in dynasties being determined by factors such as a change in the ruling family or political unrest. 

Early Dynastic Period: Dynasty 0 thru 2

Notable names: Narmer became the first king of Ancient Egypt by conquering Lower Egypt and unifying the two lands initiating what will become one of the greatest ancient civilizations.

Old Kingdom: Dynasty 3 thru 6

Notable Names: King Djoser of the 3rd dynasty who constructed the Step Pyramid located in Saqqara and the Pharaohs Khafre, Khufu, and Menkaure who built the pyramids at Giza in the 4th dynasty.

Collage showing Khufu (top-right), his son Khafre (left), and grandson
Menkaure (bottom-right). Khufu built the Great Pyramid but has one
of the smallest statues. Pictures taken in 2018 at the Egyptian Museum. 

First Intermediate Period: Dynasty 7 thru 10

Middle Kingdom: Dynasty 11 thru 12

Notable names: King Mentuhotep II, like Narmer, conquered Lower Egypt to reunite the two lands after a period of political unrest.

Second Intermediate Period: Dynasty 13 thru 17

New Kingdom: Dynasty 18 thru 20

Notable names: The New Kingdom had quite the list of notable kings and queens starting with Thutmosis III of the 18th dynasty. Thutmosis III is known as the Napoleon of Ancient Egypt since he led many campaigns to expand the country’s borders and suppress uprisings from enemies. His step-mother and co-regent, Queen Hatshepsut, is one of the most successful female queens in Ancient Egypt having ruled for over 20 years and completed several major building projects most importantly the Temple at Deir el-Bahri. 

Later in the 18th dynasty, we have the Pharaohs Amenhotep IV, better known as Akhenaten, and Tutankhamun. Akhenaten brought forth major changes to Ancient Egypt mainly trying to implement monotheism with the worship of just the Aten and abandoning Thebes in favor of a new city, Amarna, as the capital. His son, King Tutankhamun, will go on to become famous not for his accomplishments as pharaoh but for the treasure trove discovered in his tomb at the Valley of the Kings. 

The 19th dynasty is where we find the legendary Ramesses II also known as Ramesses the Great. In his 67 years serving as pharaoh, Ramesses led numerous military campaigns the most famous being the Battle at Kadesh against the Hittites. He also led a multitude of building projects including the expansion of the city Pi-Ramesses in the delta. 

 

Post purchased at Abu-Simbel depicting Ramesses at the Battle of Kadesh. 

Third Intermediate Period: Dynasty 21 thru 26

Late Period: Dynasty 27 thru 30

The Late Period marked the end of pharaonic rule in Egypt. Dynasty 30 was followed by the Graeco-Roman era which is when Egypt was ruled by the Ptolemies and Cleopatras, the most famous being Cleopatra VII.