2. TOPICS
The River
Language and Scripts
Beliefs, Rituals, Society
Chronology
Narmer and Unification
Old Kingdom and Pyramids
Technology and Medicine
Papyrus Literature
Hyksos and New Kingdom
Amarna Period
Clash with Hittites
The Legacy
3. THE QUIZ
What you associate with
Ancient Egypt?
Name the known names
Where the ancient Egyptians
have gone?
What other Egyptian
architectural features are
prevalent in world cities today?
What famous operas have
immediate Egyptian
connections?
4. HIGHLIGHTS
Over three millennia of advanced
civilization which left wealth of
artifacts
Oldest written history of currently
extant language
Orderly stratified society with
sophisticated culture
Original attempt of monotheistic
religious system
Only surviving of Seven Wonders
of ancient world: pyramids of Giza
‘Km.t’ = The black land
(Egyptian)
Nefertiti
by Thutmose (1345 BCE)
‘Hwt Ka Ptah’
= House of Ptah’s Soul
→ Αἴγυπτος
5. LOWER & UPPER EGYPT
Earliest
Nebti = Two Ladies
(Egyptian)
Wadjet
of Papyrus
color
Nekhbet
White Mother
of Nekheb
6. LANGUAGE
Ancient Egyptian was one
of Afroasiatic languages,
its descendant today is
Coptic
Hieroglyphs and Hieratic
script developed in parallel
ιερός
= sacred
7. DECIPHERING THE SCRIPT
Rosetta Stone
from Memphis (196 BCE)
Papyrus with Hieratic writings
Jean-François
Champollion
(1790 -1832)
8. PYRAMID TEXTS
Funerary texts of Old
Kingdom (5th dynasty, ca.
XXVth cent. BCE)
Recorded earlier oral tradition
Carved on walls of burial
chambers
Intended only for Pharaohs
Not illustrated
Later evolved into Coffin Texts
(Middle Kingdom) and Book of
the Dead (New Kingdom)
Oldest religious texts known
today
9. BELIEFS
Cosmogonies
Ennead (Heliopolis) :
Atum / Shu + Tefnut / Geb + Nut /
Osiris, Isis, Seth, Nepthys
Ogdoad (Hermopolis) :
Nu + Naunet, Amun + Amaunet,
Kuk + Kauket, Huh + Hauhet /
Cosmic Egg or Lotus → Ra
Maat (daughter of Ra) personifies the
cosmic order, and is under threat
Types of sentient beings inhabiting the
cosmos: gods, spirits, humans
Pharaoh is human on whom divine
authority is bestowed, providing the
bridge between people and gods
Nut (Sky) supported by Shu (Air)
with Geb (Earth) reclining beneath
Seth protecting Ra’s boat slays Apep
10. DEITIES
Horus Osiris Isis Ra Amun Maat Thoth
Anubis Nepthys Seth Sobek Bastet Hathor Seshat Sekhmet Ptah Khepri
11. OSIRIS MYTH
God of the afterlife, merciful
judge of the dead, lord of love
As ruler of the land Osiris is
murdered (not described) by Seth
Isis finds/collects (with help of
Nepthys) his remains, performs magic
(with help of Thoth and Anubis)
Isis conceives Horus and hides from
Seth in papyrus thicket Osiris with wheat sprouting
from his body
(from bas-relief at Pilae)
Osiris becomes ruler of Duat
(the underworld, not Hell)
Horus and Seth struggle, then
Horus becomes rightful ruler
Isis nursing Horus
(bronze, ca. 660 BCE)
12. Ba
(personality)
Ka
Ren
(name)
Shwt
(shadow)
AFTERLIFE
Rituals are important for preservation
of an individual in afterlife
Funerary texts ensured the diseased
person was safe after Ka left the body
Negative confessional reflected the
acts perceived by Egyptians as evil
Jb
(heart)
Human body with five souls
Judgment scene from Book of the Dead
Papyrus of Hunefer (steward of Seti I, 13th cent. BCE)
13. RELIGION AND RITUALS
Religion was the unifying agent
It was centered on temples and
was highly centralized
Detailed protocols defined the
rituals, mummification, burial,
burial goods, and ceremonies
Mummification for preservation
was known before 3500 BCE
Opening of the Mouth ceremony
from Papyrus of Hunefer
Episodes 1–9 Preliminary rites
Episodes 10–22 Animation of the statue
Episodes 23–42 Meat offerings aligned with upper Egypt
Episodes 43–46 Meat offerings aligned with lower Egypt
Episodes 47–71 Funerary meal
Episodes 72–75 Closing rites
Anubis attending to the mummy
14. SOCIETY
Centralized and stratified society
King as source of law
All people essentially equal before
the law, anyone (but not slaves)
could appeal to authority for redress
No great inequalities for women
State-run economy, no internal trade
Cattle count every two years
Cities without walls and defenses
Military: partially conscripted,
partially voluntary, and mercenaries
Majority of population worked the
land, also on projects in lieu of taxes
Professional medical care and serious
emphasis on hygiene
The Scribe
16. CHRONOLOGY
Historian Manetho
(3rd cent. BCE) composed
Aegyptiaca from king lists
Some dynasties / highlights
IV: pyramids
XII: classic literature
XVIII: Hatshepsut, Akhenaten
XIX: Ramses II The Great
1st intermediate – Nomes pull
the country apart
2nd – Hyksos invade
3rd – Lybians, Nubians
3000 2500 2000 1500 1000 BCE 1 CE
Early Dynastic Old Kingdom Middle K. New Kingdom Late Ptol.
Period Dynasties Dates BCE
Early Dynastic 1-2 3100-2686
Old Kingdom 3-6 2686-2181
1st intermediate 7-11 2181-2055
Middle Kingdom 12-13 2055-1650
2nd intermediate 14-17 1650-1550
New Kingdom 18-20 1550-1069
3rd intermediate 21-25 1069-664
Late/ Achaemenid 26-31 664-332
Ptolemaic 332-30
17. PHARAOH AND FIVE NAMES
“Pharaoh”
(meaning “great house”)
was used since New
Kingdom
Standard naming convention for royal titles
included five names
Example for Thutmose III:
o Horus’ Mighty Bull, Arising in Thebes
o He of the Two Ladies, Enduring in kingship like Ra in heaven
o Horus of Gold - powerful of strength, sacred of appearance
o He of the Sedge and the Bee, Enduring of form is Ra
o Son of Ra, Thutmose, beautiful of forms
18. NARMER AND UNIFICATION
Narmer
(ca. 31st century BCE,
Ist dynasty)
The first king shown in
regalia of both Upper
and Lower Egypt
After Ist dynasty shabtis
are placed in royal
tombs instead of
sacrificed retainers Narmer Palette, 31st Century BCE
19. DJOSER AND IMHOTEP
Djoser
(ca. 2650 BCE, IIIrd dynasty)
Military expeditions into Sinai
Copper and turquoise mining
Stepped Pyramid
(constructed 2667 – 2648 BCE)
Imhotep the first polymath
“Chancellor of the King of Egypt,
Doctor, First in line after the King of
Upper Egypt, Administrator of the Great
Palace, Hereditary nobleman, High
Priest of Heliopolis, Builder, Chief
Carpenter, Chief Sculptor, and Maker of
Vases in Chief”
20. EGYPTIAN MEDICINE
The world’s oldest manual on
Trauma and Surgery is attributed to
Imhotep:
This text is devoid of magical thinking
48 typical cases of trauma in anatomical
order
Each case has details on injury,
examination, diagnosis, prognosis, and
treatment
Level of knowledge surpassing that of
Hippocrates (1000 years later)
Concerns with nutrition and hygiene
Houses of Life, Sick Leaves, Medical
Insurances and Pensions
Ca. 2400 BCE: recorded evidence of
female physicians
Edwin Smith Papyrus:
Manual on Trauma and Surgery
(2nd intermediate period, ca. 1500 BCE)
21. KING KHUFU AND OLDEST TALES
Khufu
(reigned 2589 – 2566 BCE,
IVth dynasty)
Westcar Papyrus
(from 13th dynasty, ca 1800 BCE)
contains five tales of magic:
1. (lost)
2. The Wax Crocodile
3. The Story of Green Jewel
4. Djedi the Magician
5. The Birth of
the Royal Children
22. THE GREAT PYRAMID AND SPINX
Khufu’s pyramid in Giza:
Constructed ca. 2580 – 2570 BCE
World’s tallest structure for 3800 years
Base flat within 15 mm
Side (A): 230.4 m (within 58 mm)
Height: 146.5 m, = 2A/π
Oriented within 4 arcmin
23. EGYPTIAN MATHEMATICS
Numeric system: base 10, additive:
Mathematical papyri were practical
manuals with concrete problems and
solutions:
Multiplications and divisions
Fractions
Algebra
Geometry (areas and volumes)
Simple quadratic equations
Land surveyors used ropes with eleven
equally spaced knots
Problem 14 from Moscow
Mathematical Papyrus:
Volume of truncated pyramid
𝑉 =
1
3
ℎ (𝑎2
+ 𝑎𝑏 + 𝑏2
)
24. THE MIDDLE KINGDOM
Mentuhotep II
(reigned ca. 2061 – 2010 BCE, XIth dynasty)
Origins: nomarchs of Thebes
Re-unification of the country (around
year 39 of his reign of 51 years)
Growing importance of Osiris’ cult
Re-assertion of Egypt’s influence
Funerary temple of Mentuhotep II
(reconstruction, pyramid disputed)
Inroads to Land of Punt
25. EXPANSION AND LITERATURE
Senusreth III
(reigned 1878 – 1839 BCE, XIIth dynasty)
Military raids into Canaan and Ethiopia
Extensive mining
Building of forts and canals
Reform of government
Literature later regarded
as “classic”:
Tale of Shipwrecked Sailor
Story of Sinuhe
Dispute between man and his Ba
The Satire of the Trades
The instructions of Amenemhat
26. THE HYKSOS
“Foreign Rulers”
Appeared ca. 1800 BCE
XIIIth dynasty (18th century BCE):
famine and plague
Invasion or gradual takeover?
Ruled Lower Egypt as XVth dynasty
Expelled ca. 1560 BCE
Ahmose I
ca. 1550 – 1525 BCE
(first of XVIIIth dynasty)
27. HATSHEPSUT
reigned ca. 1479 – 1458 BCE,
XVIIIth dynasty
Queen of Thutmose II
Stepmother and regent for Thutmose III
Great revival of trade
Expeditions to Land of Punt
Height of architecture and monuments
Royal architects: Ineni, Senenmut
28. THUTMOSE III
reigned ca. 1479 – 1425 BCE,
XVIIIth dynasty
First 22 years under regency
16 military campaigns in 20 years
Conquests in Canaan, Syria, Nubia:
Egypt at its maximal territorial extent
Construction of more than 50 temples
Amduat scene from the tomb
29. AKHENATEN
reigned ca. 1353 – 1336 BCE,
XVIIIth dynasty
Amenhotep IV, son of Amenhotep III
On 5th year of the reign changed name to
“Effective for The Aten”
Great Royal Wife: Nefertiti
Six daughters and two sons/successors
New capital: Akhetaten (Amarna)
Cult of Aten (The Sun), new temples
On 9th year of the reign declared
Aten to be not merely supreme god,
but the only God
Great Hymn to the Aten
30. THE AMARNA PERIOD
Amarna letters
Clay tablets in Akkadian, 30 years’ span
Record of decline of Egypt’s influence
Religious Revolution
Amarna Art
Thutmose
the Sculptor
Plague
pandemic claiming members of king’s family,
Hittite King Suppiluliuma I (ca.1322 BCE), etc.
1345 BCE
31. THE SUCCESSORS
Smenkhare /
Neferneferuaten
Tutankhamun
(ruled ca. 1332– 1323 BCE)
Grand Vizier: Ay
Army Chief: Horemheb
Intact tomb found in 1922
Ay
Related to king’s family,
claim to power unclear
Army Chief: Horemheb
Horemheb
(ruled ca. 1306 – 1292 BCE)
Grand Vizier: Paramess
"My husband has died and I have no
son. They say about you that you have
many sons. You might give me one of
your sons to become my husband.
I would not wish to take one of my
subjects as a husband... I am afraid."
Ankhesenamun to
Suppiluliuma I, ca. 1323 BCE
Tutankhaten with Ankhesepaten
33. RAMSES THE GREAT
Ramses II
Became Prince Regent at
14, king in teens, reigned
66 years, died in nineties
Re-asserted Egyptian
influence
Capital: Pi-Ramses
Erasing Amarna period
Ozymandias in later
Greek sources
XIXth dynasty
34. RAMSES’ MONUMENTS
Abu Simbel Temple Great Wife’s Tomb
Nefertari playing SenetSolar light penetrated
the sanctuary on
February 22 and
October 22
35. CLASH OF SUPERPOWERS
Hittite Empire
Battle of Kadesh
May 1274 BCE (year 5
of Ramses’ reign)
First battle in history
for which tactical
details are known
Egyptians: 20000 men,
2000 chariots
Hittites: 50000 men,
3700 chariots
Indecisive outcome,
strategic defeat for Egypt
Peace Agreement
Year 21 of Ramses'’ reign
36. END OF THE NEW KINGDOM
XXth Dynasty
Conflicts between sons of Ramses III
Third Intermediary Period
Draughts, famines, plagues
Internecine strife, civil unrest, corruption of officials
Sea Peoples, Libyans, Nubians
37. SUMMARY
from Stargate (1994)
Egyptian civilization of more
than 3 millennia: progress in
food production and in
preservation of knowledge
sustained development of
advanced society
Unifying role of culture
Concepts: afterlife,
resurrection, monotheism
Achievements: medicine,
construction, etc.
38. IN THE NEXT CHAPTER
Sargon the Great and
Akkadian Empire
Ur-Nammu and
Sumerian Renaissance
Elamites and Amorites
Babylonian Kingdom
Hammurabi and his
Code of Laws
Mittani and Hatti