Lecture 6 - Ancient Egypt c. 3100-1100 BC

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Manetho's 31 dynasties -- periods in which Egypt was unified represented long periods of centralized authority, stability and order, followed by shorter periods of anarchy and decentralized authority (intermediate periods). The ability of the Egyptian civilization to devolve back to a decentralized "nome" system offered it a nearly decomposable political structure.

Old Kingdom - 2700-2200 BC (dynasties 4-6)

(Era of pyramids; godlike Pharaoh)

First Intermediate Period

Middle Kingdom - 2050-1650 (dynasty 12)

Second Intermediate Period (1785-1575)
(Hyksos Invasions - possible era of Hebrews' entrance to Egypt)

New Kingdom (1550-1086) (dynasties 18-20)
Era of Egyptian empire in Near East

Writing - hieroglyphics, hieratic, demotic. The Rosetta Stone was found by Napoleon's cavalry in Egypt c. 1800 AD. It dates to Ptolemaic dynasty, c. 169 BC. It was written in hieroglyphic, demotic, and Greek, and deciphered by the French linguist, Champollion, c. 1820s

The highly religious inhabitants of Egypt were convinced of the unique place of the Valley of the Nile in the universe. The Nile culture remained largely isolated from the outside world by desert, sea, and mountains. The annual flooding of the Nile was regular and predictable, restoring nutrients to the soil within the flood plain. When suitably harnessed, Egypt was a grain surplus exporter; during the Roman empire, for example, its population could produce enough grain to feed itself and significant outside populations such as the city of Rome (1 million). Egypt remained the "Bread Basket of the Mediterranean." Other natural resources included papyrus, stone, precious metals, ebony, ivory from the south.

The importance of Food surpluses was understood by Egyptian officials. They used their hierarchical control to harness the agricultural potential of the Nile Valley. The entire agricultural population was accessible by river navigation and minutely controlled. Authorities employed forced labor, the "corvée" system to enhance production. Hard work was expected in short bursts during peak labor periods. During floods laborers were drafted for non-agricultural tasks, such as monument construction (i.e., the pyramids).

Nomes were small ancestral settlements of disparate cultural elements that had settled in the Nile Valley during the era of desiccation following the Pleistocene era (7000-5000 BC). There were 30-40 nomes in all. Early Pharaohs had to conquer and absorb nomitic populations through a process of consolidation. Attempts at syncretism led to a highly elaborate and complex religious world view. Egyptian cosmology was highly polytheistic, focusing extensively on magical powers, and in many respects it was even contradictory (Seth was Horus' uncle, but also his brother). The Fifth Century BC Greek historian, Herodotus (who visited Egypt), said that the Egyptians were the most religious people in the world.

Amon-Re was the sun god, Osiris the River god. Isis the earth goddess; Anubis the jackal-headed god.

Early pharaohs were credited with constructing Egypt's storage supply system (the organization of harvests and food storage) to eliminate starvation and chaos. They were associated with the magical power of the Nile River; to wit, they were the embodiment of the Osiris cult -- Isis, Horus, Seth. Old Kindgom Pharaohs claimed direct descent from Horus; in other words, they posed as gods walking on the earth. Pharaonic ideology insisted on a need to preserve the Pharaohs' remains after death in order to bind their spirits and hence their divine power to the people of Egypt. The Pharaoh's spirit (khah) periodically returned to earth to visit his remains; it then went off into the heavens to battle forces of evil and to protect the Egyptians from harm. This amounted to a ruler cult, a combined mystery religion and ancestor cult. Attributes of this cult included Mummification and mastabas -- cities dedicated to the preservation of the cult of the deceased pharaoh. These were centered around pyramids, the largest being the Pyramid of Khufru (Cheops), c. 2600 BC. This pyramid was 800 ft. at its base, was 500 ft. tall, and required 2.5 million stone blocks weighing 2.5 tons each to construct. According to Herodotus, it took 100,000 laborers 20 years to construct this pyramid.

The consolidated Egyptian empire of the Old Kingdom pharaohs employed an elaborate bureaucratic hierarchy, including a vizier (or prime minister, e.g., Imhotep, vizier to the Pharaoh Djozer and the most famous architect of the Old Kingdom), and a highly regimented scribal class. To maintain this extensive bureaucracy, Egyptian authorities developed an elaborate administrative hierarchy and a cognitive system of rewards and privileges to stimulate the proper attitude and behavior. The pharaonic system imposed a moral order, an ethos developed and promulgated by the central authority that emphasized the sanctity of pharaoh's rule. From this emerged an extreme elaboration of administrative structure. There were five separate hierarchies, each engaged in volumes of record keeping. As an example, a laborer working at tomb construction at Luxor had to sign numerous forms (forms "in triplicate") to obtain seven candles to do his work. Old Kingdom Egypt was very much a scribal culture.

At the local level stood the nomarchs or the hereditary rulers of the nomes.

For an example of Egyptian temple wealth, one turns to the evidence contained in the Harris papyrus, which dates to the New Kingdom. According to this document the Temple of Amon Re at Luxor possessed the resources of 169 towns, 500 gardens, vineyards, and orchards, 88 ships, 500,000 head of cattle and approximately 1/5 the available population and 1/3 the arable land of all Egypt. This furnishes an exaggerated example of manner in which Old Kingdom Temples played a crucial role in land development by expanding the base of arable land awarded to it by the Pharaoh's bureaucracy.

The Egyptian population remained relatively small:

• Before 3100 BC, less than 1/2 million
• 3000 - 1 million
• 2500 - 1.5 million
• New Kingdom - 3 million
• 100 AD - 7.5 million
• 1882 AD - 7 million
• Today - over 90 million

Its main capitals were relatively small cities, Thebes in highland south, Memphis in delta north.

After 500 years of stability, the Old Kingdom regime exhausted the available resources of Nile valley. This was possibly due to continuous dedication of sustainable regions to mastaba complexes; however, it is interesting to note that the collapse of the Akkadian Empire occurred at approximately the same time. There is mounting evidence of a brief fluctuation in regional climate at this time, that possibly provoked expanded aridness and famine. The long reign of  the last pharaoh, Pepys II, led to collapse, anarchy, and instability along the length of the Nile. Power devolved back to the local level of the nomarchs. Egyptian sources allude to the overturning of the social hierarchy; peasants sat on the throne while nobles labored in the fields.

Order was finally restored by the pharaohs of Middle Kingdom (2050-1650 BC),

During the Middle Kingdom the Pharaohs presented themselves as paternalistic, weary administrators who must bear the burden of rule for the benefit of Egypt. The pharaoh was no longer viewed as a divine entity walking on the earth. No Pyramids were constructed. The Middle Kingdom is often described as the classic age of the Egyptian scribal culture. Scribes imposed minute control over every aspect of agricultural life. Handbooks existed to instruct Egyptian bureaucrats with their work. One such instruction recommends that when meeting with the peasants, the scribal bureaucrat should try to listen earnestly and display sympathy and understanding. This eliminated the need of actually having to do anything about their complaints. "Scribes exist to drive the ignorant man like a pack animal."

Afterlife became accessible to anyone who could afford the expense of mummification. It was no longer exclusive to the pharaoh, in other words. The Osiris cult assumed greater moral significance. The Book of the Dead espoused the belief that the dead would be judged by Osiris in the underworld to determine whether or not they would attain after life. One's heart must be so free of sin that it weighed less than a feather.

The Middle Kingdom collapsed (ca. 1650 BC) due to outside incursions, namely, the Hyksos invasions. The migration of the Hebrews into Egypt probably occurred at this time (First Intermediate period). Hyksos populations seized Lower Egypt (the Delta region) and established their own dynasties (15-16th dynasties). Hyksos Kings bore names such a Jacob-El, Anath-han, and Khan. These invaders brought new technologies -- bronze metal (previously unknown to the Egyptians), horse chariots, scale armor, compound bows, upright looms, lyres.

Eventually, the Pharaohs of Upper Egypt (Thebes) reconsolidated power and subdued the Hyksos elements. The Kings of Thebes forged New Kingdom Egypt (1550-1086; dynasties 18 through 20). They also claimed to have expelled the foreigners, but the evidence suggests that they subdued the Hyksos and converted them into mercenaries.

New Kingdom Egypt was characterized by an Egyptian overseas empire. New Kingdom Pharaohs lead mercenary armies (20,000 men) into Canaan and drove as far as the Euphrates R. in Syria. New Kingdom Egypt eventually became the military rival of the Hittites in Anatolia. The Egyptian pharaohs and their mercenary generals established an overseas empire and received tribute from subjected Canaanite cities. Booty brought back to Egypt was used to embellish the imperial sanctuaries of Luxor and Karnak. The New Kingdom saw the emergence of religious and military hierarchies that gradually became hereditary, gradually reducing the authority of the pharaohs. All sectors of the Egyptian hierarchy benefited from the proceeds of imperial control and became dependent on them. Egypt extended its diplomatic ties as far as the Hittite Kingdom in Anatolia and the Mycenaean Palaces of the Aegean.
 

FLOW CHART OF NEW KINGDOM EGYPT

 
Some Important rulers include:

Queen Hatshepsut, c. 1480, who assumed kingship on the demise of her husband and ruled in place of her son. She portrayed herself as a man. Hatshepsut's cenotaph is preserved at Dier el Bahri

Her son, Tutmosis III, (1479-1425), who conducted 17 external military campaigns during a 20-year reign. He offered the classic example of the New Kingdon pharaoh, portraying himself as a great warrior king -- always active in battle and hunting. He was not a god, in other words, but a superhuman warrior.

Akhnaton (Amonhotep IV), c. 1360. Akhnaton provoked a short-lived religious revolution based on the Aton cult. In his iconography he presented himself as a non-militaristic, paternalistic, compassionate pharaoh who refocused religious attention on the family, peace, and the fecundity of nature. Akhnaton led no military campaigns and refused to support the imperial sanctuaries of Luxor and Karnak. He built a new city, in essence an "anti-capital", at Akhetaton (Tel el Amarna), and appointed commoners to high offices.

Tutunkhamon (King Tut), c. 1340, his nephew, succeeded Akhnaton (his tomb treasure was found in the Valley of the Kings). He was put on throne at 14, but died at 16. His widow then attempted to secure a marriage with a son (any son) of King Suppiluliumas of the Hittites. However, the Hittite prince never made it to Egypt; the princess was deposed, and Egyptian generals seized power in Egypt (Horemhob -- 19th Dynasty).

Ramses II, of the 20th dynasty was celebrated for the Treaty of Kadesh, c. 1258, for his temple at Abu Simbel, and quite likely because he was the Pharaoh of the Exodus. The Treaty of Kadesh brought to a close to the era of military rivalry with the Hittites. The Ramseion, a massive fortress complex in the Sinai desert was constructed by Ramses seemingly behind imperial lines. This serves as one of several indications that Egyptian control over its external subject states was slipping. Perhaps the costs of maintaining mercenary military establishment proved too high. Ramses, therefore, pulled in his defenses.

Rising chaos engulfed the eastern Mediterranean basin at the close of the 1200s BC. Examples such as the Fall of Troy (c. 1250-1220 BC), the destruction of Mycenaean palaces (1100 BC) in Greece, the collapse of the Hittite Empire, the movements of the Sea Peoples, and the destruction of coastal cities in Syria and Canaan all characterize the collapse of Bronze Age civilization.

Ramses III repelled the first assault of the Sea Peoples on the Nile Delta in 1191 BC. A second assault was repelled 1086. Egypt survived as an isolated population, eventually subdued by Libyan Bedouins of the neighboring desert (c. 1000 BC). The land was later conquered by the Assyrians (c. 900 BC), by the Persians (c. 525 BC), and by Alexander the Great (331 BC). It was ruled by the Ptolemies (descendents of one of Alexander's generals) until the Roman Era. The last Ptolemy, Cleopatra, perished in 30 BC.