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Kathleen Kuiper - Ancient Egypt - From Prehistory To The Islamic Conquest (The Britannica Guide To Ancient Civilizations) - Rosen Educational Publishing (2010)
Kathleen Kuiper - Ancient Egypt - From Prehistory To The Islamic Conquest (The Britannica Guide To Ancient Civilizations) - Rosen Educational Publishing (2010)
Rosen Educational Services materials copyright © 2011 Rosen Educational Services, LLC.
All rights reserved.
First Edition
Ancient Egypt : from prehistory to the Islamic conquest / edited by Kathleen Kuiper. — 1st ed.
p. cm. — (The Britannica guide to ancient civilizations)
“In association with Britannica Educational Publishing, Rosen Educational Services.”
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-61530-210-9 (eBook)
1. Egypt—Civilization—To 332 B.C. 2. Egypt—Social life and customs—To 332 B.C. 3.
Egypt—Civilization—332 B.C.-638 A.D. 4. Egypt--Social life and customs. I. Kuiper,
Kathleen.
DT61.A612 2010
932—dc22
2010008661
On the cover: A golden image of the “boy king” Tutankhamen, provided by his funerary
mask. Romilly Lockyer/The Image Bank/Getty Images
On pages 15, 31, 42, 59, 84, 102, 114, 133, 149, 178: DEA/C. Sappa/De Agostini/Getty
Images
33
CONTENTS
Introduction 8
King Akhenaton and Queen Nefertiti worship the sun god Aton. Hulton Archive/Getty Images
10 | Ancient Egypt: From Prehistory to the Islamic Conquest
3125 bc. According to legend, Menes with Thutmose III, the young son borne to
founded the nation’s capital at Memphis her husband by another wife, until she
and united Lower Egypt and Upper proclaimed herself king and adopted full
Egypt. Yet the archaeological evidence titles and regalia of a (male) pharaoh.
for this early period is sketchy. Cleopatra came to the throne after her
Excavations have shown that up to two father, then her brother, died. A strong and
dozen rulers may have carried out the ambitious ruler, she alternately sought
unification. One thing is clear: Egypt’s alliances with and waged war against
power, stability, and unity in the ancient leaders of the Roman Empire. Yet despite
world made it the first true nation-state. her adept leadership, Cleopatra is perhaps
Perhaps the most recognizable of the best remembered for love affairs she con-
ancient Egyptian kings is Tutankhamen, ducted with Julius Caesar and the Roman
a relatively minor leader in the overarch- general Mark Antony.
ing history of Egyptian rulers. The “Boy These women were notable excep-
King” ascended to the throne in 1333 bc tions in regnal matters. Egyptian leaders
at a very young age and died when he were overwhelmingly male, and the
was just 19. He was thrust into the lime- throne was traditionally passed down to
light in 1922, when his burial site was male heirs. By tradition, the eldest son of
discovered by British archaeologist the pharaoh’s chief wife usually had the
Howard Carter. The funerary chamber strongest claim to succeed his father.
was a treasure trove. The kings of ancient However, other sons—and other male
Egypt controlled enormous riches, much relatives—could be named pharaoh as
of which was buried with them. The solid well. On occasion, a king might select a
gold inner coffin found in Tutankhamen’s successor based on religious oracles.
tomb would be worth millions of dollars Religion played an important role in
today, for the gold alone. The wealth that ancient Egypt. The polytheistic Egyptians
accompanied longer-lived kings to their worshipped a wide array of gods and god-
tombs must have been staggering. desses. Over the course of 3,000 years,
Unfortunately, this supposition cannot new deities appeared and many old ones
be verified with much certainty because faded in importance. Yet Egyptian reli-
most of the other pharaohs’ tombs were gion remained remarkably stable over
looted in ancient times by grave robbers. that time and pervaded daily life.
Occasionally, women claimed Egypt’s Egypt’s pantheon of gods and god-
throne. The two most important of these desses can seem strange to modern
women were Hatshepsut (1473–1458 bc) sensibilities. For instance, Ptah, the cre-
and Cleopatra (51–30 bc). Hatsheput was ator god, was believed to have made the
the daughter of one king, Thutmose I, world from the thoughts in his head.
and the sister and wife of his successor, The goddess Nut was believed to swallow
Thutmose II. For years she ruled jointly Re, the sun god and the creator god, each
Introduction | 11
evening. Each day, he traveled across the immeasurably with our understanding
sky as the sun and each night he jour- of Egypt’s civilization.
neyed through the underworld. There he Writing was a major factor in central-
battled against chaos and its allies. izing the Egyptian state. There were two
Generally speaking, public religion basic types of writing. Hieroglyphs were
focused on two objects of devotion: the used mostly on monuments and for offi-
king and an array of gods. The king held cial state occasions. It was the formal
unique status between humanity and the writing system. More mundane commu-
gods. He was believed to commune with nications were handled by using hieratic,
the gods, and he constructed huge funer- a cursive form of the language that looks
ary monuments for his afterlife. The main to the casual observer somewhat like
religious task of the king was to retain the modern Arabic.
benevolence of the gods. By doing this, The individuals who were largely
he would stave off the disorder and chaos responsible for keeping the machinery
seen in so many kingdoms outside Egypt. of the state running were a highly edu-
Early kings lived as absolute mon- cated, literate group of scribes, who held
archs surrounded by small groups made a privileged position in society. They
up mostly of family. Over time, the kings were responsible for assessing taxes,
became the centre of a more compli- keeping legal records, and recording
cated government run by a core group royal achievements. Training to become
of a few hundred wealthy elite. These a scribe started at an early age. Scribes
men, in turn, controlled a few thousand went to schools known as Houses of Life.
lesser officials. Together, these two Often scribes inherited their positions
groups made up about 5 percent of early from their fathers, although it was pos-
populations. sible for a literate commoner to rise to
Egyptians believed themselves high office.
to be favoured by the gods. They also Ancient Egypt was also notable for
believed in an afterlife. More important vast building projects. The Egyptians
to history, they believed that a body used two main building materials: mud
must remain intact to travel through brick and stone. Mud brick was used
the afterlife. So Egyptians became primarily for building cities. Many of
experts at the art of preserving dead those cities have been washed away
bodies through mummification. Kings over time by the Nile, though Egypt’s
especially took elaborate steps to make dry climate has preserved the remains
sure that their bodies were preserved of some. On the other hand, most of the
and protected in imposing coffins, sar- stone tombs and temples were built out
cophagi, tombs, and pyramids. These of the Nile’s reach.
instruments of immortality were built Easily the most recognizable
to last. Their survival has helped of Egypt’s great buildings were the
12 | Ancient Egypt: From Prehistory to the Islamic Conquest
pyramids. Why these structures were The Egyptians’ ability to inspire awe
built remains something of a mystery, but has been long-lived. By the time the
their monumental scale was guaranteed ancient Greeks first visited Egypt about
to impress. The Great Pyramid of Khufu 500 bc, the pyramids were already thou-
was 481.4 feet (146.7 metres) high. Built in sands of years old. Egypt’s grand
the 2500s bc, it remained the world’s tall- civilization, however, was in its twilight
est building until the late 19th century. years. The invasion of Alexander the Great
Virtually all Egyptian pyramids were in the 300s bc brought the Ptolemy kings
constructed early in the history of the to power as Egypt’s final leaders. Then
Old Kingdom. Scholars speculate that Rome’s defeat of Cleopatra in 30 bc
the enormous amounts of money and brought the Ptolemy dynasty to an end,
manpower required for their construc- along with Egypt’s independence.
tion were the chief reason that pyramids Knowledge about Egyptian writing and
fell out of favour. Funerary buildings built culture began to fade.
thereafter were much smaller and poorer Yet the influence of ancient Egypt
in construction. was pervasive. Roman emperors built
Like the pyramids, Egypt’s temples Egyptian gardens in their palaces. Cults
justly earned worldwide fame. Perhaps based on Egyptian gods and goddesses
the greatest was the Temple of Luxor, spread throughout the empire. The god-
construction of which was begun by dess Isis, for example, was worshipped
Amenhotep III in the 18th dynasty (in the from England to Afghanistan. Later,
1300s bc). The Temple of Luxor con- medieval popes constructed obelisks that
tained most of the elements found in all mimicked those of the pharaohs.
of Egypt’s great temples. There was an Medieval doctors ground up mummies
approach avenue lined with sphinxes and fed them to patients in the mistaken
that led to a great double-towered pylon. belief that these well-preserved bodies
Within the pylon was a courtyard leading had supernatural healing powers.
to a pillar-filled hall. Deep in the temple Enlightenment philosophers tried to
was a shrine to a deity. Outside the tem- study Egyptian culture with the few
ple was a lake or well to be used for the sources they had.
religious rituals held there. All of this was The doors of Egyptian history swung
enclosed within a massive red brick wall. wide open again when Napoleon invaded
Ramses II (1200s bc)—rightly seen as one Egypt in 1798. One of his soldiers discov-
of Egypt’s greatest builders—is responsi- ered the Rosetta Stone, which contained a
ble for the two temples at Abu Simbel, king’s decree written in both hieroglyphs
featuring four massive statues. They are and ancient Greek. With this key, French
among the most impressive examples of scholar Jean-François Champollion was
rock-cut architecture. able to unlock the secrets of hieroglyphs
Introduction | 13
that had eluded scholars for centuries. mummies and compelling characters
From this discovery has flowed most such as the ever-beguiling Cleopatra
of what we know about the ancient flickered across the silver screen, while
Egyptians. Without it, scholars might still major cities erected corporate buildings
be guessing blindly about the meaning of that borrowed heavily from the clean
Egypt’s temples and tombs. lines of Egyptian design.
In the 19th century, Egyptian influ- Interest in Egypt waned for a time
ence became fashionable in design and and was then revived in 1978, when the
the arts. Jewelry, furniture, and an assort- treasures of Tutankhamen’s tomb went
ment of decorative objects and accent on traveling display around the world.
pieces were adorned with designs and Another traveling exhibition was begun
images that conjured thoughts of life in 2005. King Tut again made news in
along the Nile. Egyptian-themed (or at 2010 when scientists, using DNA analy-
least tinged) operas, plays, and novels sis and radiography, revealed that the
were a hit with the general public. young pharaoh had most likely died from
It seemed that the more that was malaria in combination with degenera-
revealed about ancient Egypt, the tive bone disease, thus solving a mystery
more the appetite for faux relics and that had intrigued the masses for
representations grew in America and decades.
throughout Europe. The discovery Perhaps interest in Egypt will never
of King Tutankhamen’s tomb in the truly be a thing of the past. That would be
early 20th century sparked yet another a fate befitting ancient Egypt’s status as
round of Egyptomania. Films featuring one of the world’s greatest civilizations.
ChAPTER 1
The Study of
Ancient Egypt
only well-defined boundary within a pop- port of Byblos (present-day Jbail). Egypt
ulated area. To the south lay the far less needed few imports to maintain basic
hospitable area of Nubia, in which the standards of living, but good timber was
river flowed through low sandstone hills essential and not available within the
that in most regions left only a very nar- country, so it usually was obtained from
row strip of cultivable land. Nubia was Lebanon. Minerals such as obsidian and
significant for Egypt’s periodic southward lapis lazuli were imported from as far
expansion and for access to products afield as Anatolia and Afghanistan.
from farther south. West of the Nile was Agriculture centred on the cultiva-
the arid Sahara, broken by a chain of tion of cereal crops, chiefly emmer wheat
oases some 125 to 185 miles (200 to 300 (Triticum dicoccum) and barley (Hordeum
kilometres) from the river and lacking in vulgare). The fertility of the land and gen-
all other resources except for a few miner- eral predictability of the inundation
als. The eastern desert, between the Nile ensured very high productivity from a
and the Red Sea, was more important, for single annual crop. This productivity
it supported a small nomadic population made it possible to store large surpluses
and desert game, contained numerous against crop failures and also formed the
mineral deposits, including gold, and was chief basis of Egyptian wealth, which was,
the route to the Red Sea. until the creation of the large empires of
To the northeast was the Isthmus the 1st millennium bc, the greatest of any
of Suez. It offered the principal route state in the ancient Middle East.
for contact with Sinai, from which came Basin irrigation was achieved by sim-
turquoise and possibly copper, and ple means, and multiple cropping was
with southwestern Asia, Egypt’s most not feasible until much later times, except
important area of cultural interaction, perhaps in the lakeside area of Al-Fayyūm.
from which were received stimuli for As the river deposited alluvial silt, raising
technical development and cultivars the level of the floodplain, and land was
for crops. Immigrants and ultimately reclaimed from marsh, the area available
invaders crossed the isthmus into Egypt, for cultivation in the Nile valley and delta
attracted by the country’s stability and increased, while pastoralism declined
prosperity. From the late 2nd millen- slowly. In addition to grain crops, fruit
nium bc onward, numerous attacks were and vegetables were important, the latter
made by land and sea along the eastern being irrigated year-round in small plots;
Mediterranean coast. fish was also vital to the diet. Papyrus,
At first, relatively little cultural con- which grew abundantly in marshes, was
tact came by way of the Mediterranean gathered wild and in later times was culti-
Sea, but from an early date Egypt main- vated. It may have been used as a food
tained trading relations with the Lebanese crop, and it certainly was used to make
The Study of Ancient Egypt | 17
rope, matting, and sandals. Above all, it population increase coming through
provided the characteristic Egyptian natural fertility. In various periods there
writing material, which, with cereals, was were immigrants from Nubia, Libya, and
the country’s chief export in Late period especially the Middle East. They were
Egyptian and then Greco-Roman times. historically significant and also may
Cattle may have been domesticated have contributed to population growth,
in northeastern Africa. The Egyptians but their numbers are unknown. Most
kept many as draft animals and for their people lived in villages and towns in the
various products, showing some of the Nile valley and delta. Dwellings were
interest in breeds and individuals that is normally built of mud brick and have
found to this day in the Sudan and east- long since disappeared beneath the ris-
ern Africa. The donkey, which was the ing water table or beneath modern town
principal transport animal (the camel sites, thereby obliterating evidence for
did not become common until Roman settlement patterns. In antiquity, as now,
times), was probably domesticated in the most favoured location of settle-
the region. The native Egyptian breed of ments was on slightly raised ground
sheep became extinct in the 2nd millen- near the riverbank, where transport and
nium bc and was replaced by an Asiatic water were easily available and flooding
breed. Sheep were primarily a source of was unlikely. Until the 1st millennium
meat; their wool was rarely used. Goats bc, Egypt was not urbanized to the same
were more numerous than sheep. Pigs extent as Mesopotamia. Instead, a few
were also raised and eaten. Ducks and centres, notably Memphis and Thebes,
geese were kept for food, and many of the attracted population and particularly the
vast numbers of wild and migratory birds elite, while the rest of the people were rel-
found in Egypt were hunted and trapped. atively evenly spread over the land. The
Desert game, principally various species size of the population has been estimated
of antelope and ibex, were hunted by as having risen from 1 to 1.5 million in the
the elite; it was a royal privilege to hunt 3rd millennium bc to perhaps twice that
lions and wild cattle. Pets included dogs, number in the late 2nd millennium and
which were also used for hunting, cats 1st millennium bc. (Much higher levels
(domesticated in Egypt), and monkeys. of population were reached in Greco-
In addition, the Egyptians had a great Roman times.)
interest in, and knowledge of, most spe- Nearly all of the people were engaged
cies of mammals, birds, reptiles, and fish in agriculture and were probably tied to
in their environment. the land. In theory all the land belonged
Most Egyptians were probably to the king, although in practice those liv-
descended from settlers who moved to ing on it could not easily be removed, and
the Nile valley in prehistoric times, with some categories of land could be bought
18 | Ancient Egypt: From Prehistory to the Islamic Conquest
and sold. Land was assigned to high offi- Just as the Egyptians optimized agri-
cials to provide them with an income, and cultural production with simple means,
most tracts required payment of substan- their crafts and techniques, many of
tial dues to the state, which had a strong which originally came from Asia, were
interest in keeping the land in agricul- raised to extraordinary levels of perfec-
tural use. Abandoned land was taken tion. The Egyptians’ most striking
back into state ownership and reassigned technical achievement, massive stone
for cultivation. The people who lived on building, also exploited the potential of a
and worked the land were not free to centralized state to mobilize a huge
leave and were obliged to work it, but labour force, which was made available
they were not slaves. Most paid a propor- by efficient agricultural practices. Some
tion of their produce to major officials. of the technical and organizational skills
Free citizens who worked the land on involved were remarkable. The construc-
their own behalf did emerge. Terms tion of the great pyramids of the 4th
applied to them tended originally to refer dynasty (c. 2575–c. 2465 bc) has yet to be
to poor people, but these agriculturalists fully explained and would be a major
were probably not poor. challenge to this day. This expenditure of
Slavery was never common, being skill contrasts with sparse evidence of an
restricted to captives and foreigners or to essentially neolithic way of living for the
people who were forced by poverty or rural population of the time, while the use
debt to sell themselves into service. of flint tools persisted even in urban envi-
Slaves sometimes even married members ronments at least until the late 2nd
of their owners’ families, so that in the millennium bc. Metal was correspond-
long term those belonging to households ingly scarce, much of it being used for
tended to be assimilated into free society. prestige rather than everyday purposes.
In the New Kingdom (from about 1539 to In urban and elite contexts, the
1075 bc), large numbers of captive slaves Egyptian ideal was the nuclear family,
were acquired by major state institutions but, on the land and even within the
or incorporated into the army. Punitive central ruling group, there is evidence
treatment of foreign slaves or of native for extended families. Egyptians were
fugitives from their obligations included monogamous, and the choice of partners
forced labour, exile (in, for example, the in marriage, for which no formal cere-
oases of the western desert), or compul- mony or legal sanction is known, did not
sory enlistment in dangerous mining follow a set pattern. Consanguineous
expeditions. Even nonpunitive employ- marriage was not practiced during the
ment such as quarrying in the desert was Dynastic period, except for the occa-
hazardous. The official record of one sional marriage of a brother and sister
expedition shows a mortality rate of more within the royal family, and that practice
than 10 percent. may have been open only to kings or
The Study of Ancient Egypt | 19
heirs to the throne. Divorce was in the- and humanity (by which was understood
ory easy, but it was costly. Women had a chiefly the Egyptians). Of these groups,
legal status only marginally inferior to only the king was single, and hence he
that of men. They could own and dis- was individually more prominent than
pose of property in their own right, and any of the others. A text that summarizes
they could initiate divorce and other the king’s role states that he “is on earth
legal proceedings. They hardly ever held for ever and ever, judging humankind
administrative office but increasingly and propitiating the gods, and setting
were involved in religious cults as order [ma‘at, a central concept] in place
priestesses or “chantresses.” Married of disorder. He gives offerings to the gods
women held the title “mistress of the and mortuary offerings to the spirits [the
house,” the precise significance of which blessed dead].” The king was imbued
is unknown. Lower down the social scale, with divine essence, but not in any simple
they probably worked on the land as well or unqualified sense. His divinity accrued
as in the house. to him from his office and was reaffirmed
The uneven distribution of wealth, through rituals, but it was vastly inferior
labour, and technology was related to the to that of major gods. He was god rather
only partly urban character of society, than human by virtue of his potential,
especially in the 3rd millennium bc. The which was immeasurably greater than
country’s resources were not fed into that of any human being. To humanity,
numerous provincial towns but instead he manifested the gods on earth, a con-
were concentrated to great effect around ception that was elaborated in a complex
the capital—itself a dispersed string of web of metaphor and doctrine.
settlements rather than a city—and Less directly, he represented human-
focused on the central figure in society, ity to the gods. The text quoted above
the king. In the 3rd and early 2nd millen- also gives great prominence to the dead,
nia, the elite ideal, expressed in the who were the object of a cult for the living
decoration of private tombs, was mano- and who could intervene in human
rial and rural. Not until much later did affairs; in many periods the chief visible
Egyptians develop a more pronouncedly expenditure and focus of display of non-
urban character. royal individuals, as of the king, was on
provision for the tomb and the next world.
The king and ideology: Egyptian kings are commonly called pha-
administration, art, raohs, following the usage of the Hebrew
and writing Bible (Old Testament). The term pha-
raoh, however, is derived from the
In cosmogonical terms, Egyptian soci- Egyptian per ‘aa (“great estate”) and
ety consisted of a descending hierarchy dates to the designation of the royal pal-
of the gods, the king, the blessed dead, ace as an institution. This term for palace
20 | Ancient Egypt: From Prehistory to the Islamic Conquest
was used increasingly from about 1400 the centre of a small ruling group made
bc as a way of referring to the living king; up mostly of his kin to that of the head of
in earlier times it was rare. a bureaucratic state—in which his rule
Rules of succession to the kingship was still absolute—based on officehold-
are poorly understood. The common con- ing and, in theory, on free competition
ception that the heir to the throne had to and merit. By the 5th dynasty, fixed insti-
marry his predecessor’s oldest daughter tutions had been added to the force of
has been disproved; kingship did not tradition and the regulation of personal
pass through the female line. The choice contact as brakes on autocracy, but the
of queen seems to have been free. Often charismatic and superhuman power of
the queen was a close relative of the king, the king remained vital.
but she also might be unrelated to him. In The elite of administrative office-
the New Kingdom, for which evidence is holders received their positions and
abundant, each king had a queen with commissions from the king, whose gen-
distinctive titles, as well as a number of eral role as judge over humanity they put
minor wives. into effect. They commemorated their
Sons of the chief queen seem to own justice and concern for others, espe-
have been the preferred successors cially their inferiors, and recorded their
to the throne, but other sons could also own exploits and ideal conduct of life
become king. In many cases the succes- in inscriptions for others to see. Thus,
sor was the eldest (surviving) son, and the position of the elite was affirmed by
such a pattern of inheritance agrees with reference to the king, to their prestige
more general Egyptian values, but often among their peers, and to their conduct
he was some other relative or was com- toward their subordinates, justifying to
pletely unrelated. New Kingdom texts some extent the fact that they—and still
describe, after the event, how kings were more the king—appropriated much of the
appointed heirs either by their predeces- country’s production.
sors or by divine oracles, and such may These attitudes and their potential
have been the pattern when there was dissemination through society counter-
no clear successor. Dissent and conflict balanced inequality, but how far they
are suppressed from public sources. were accepted cannot be known. The core
From the Late period (664–332 bc), group of wealthy officeholders numbered
when sources are more diverse and pat- at most a few hundred, and the adminis-
terns less rigid, numerous usurpations trative class of minor officials and scribes,
and interruptions to the succession most of whom could not afford to leave
are known. They probably had many memorials or inscriptions, perhaps 5,000.
forerunners. With their dependents, these two groups
The king’s position changed gradu- formed perhaps 5 percent of the early
ally from that of an absolute monarch at population. Monuments and inscriptions
The Study of Ancient Egypt | 21
commemorated no more than one in a early Middle Kingdom (c. 1950 bc) seem
thousand people. to have been lists of important traditional
According to royal ideology, the king information and possibly medical trea-
appointed the elite on the basis of merit, tises. The use and potential of writing
and in ancient conditions of high mortal- were restricted both by the rate of liter-
ity the elite had to be open to recruits acy, which was probably well below 1
from outside. There was, however, also an percent, and by expectations of what writ-
ideal that a son should succeed his father. ing might do.
In periods of weak central control this Hieroglyphic writing was publicly
principle predominated, and in the Late identified with Egypt. Perhaps because of
period the whole society became more this association with a single powerful
rigid and stratified. state, its language, and its culture,
Writing was a major instrument in Egyptian writing was seldom adapted to
the centralization of the Egyptian state write other languages; in this it contrasts
and its self-presentation. The two basic with the cuneiform script of the relatively
types of writing—hieroglyphs, which uncentralized, multilingual Mesopotamia.
were used for monuments and display, Nonetheless, Egyptian hieroglyphs prob-
and the cursive form known as hieratic— ably served in the middle of the 2nd
were invented at much the same time in millennium bc as the model from which
late predynastic Egypt (c. 3000 bc). the alphabet, ultimately the most wide-
Writing was chiefly used for administra- spread of all writing systems, evolved.
tion, and until about 2650 bc no The dominant visible legacy of
continuous texts are preserved; the only ancient Egypt is in works of architecture
extant literary texts written before the and representational art. Until the Middle
Kingdom, most of these were mortuary, and can be seen in most works of Egyptian
namely royal tomb complexes, including art. In content, these are hierarchically
pyramids and mortuary temples, and pri- ordered so that the most important fig-
vate tombs. There were also temples ures, the gods and the king, are shown
dedicated to the cult of the gods through- together, while before the New Kingdom
out the country, but most of these were gods seldom occur in the same context as
modest structures. From the beginning of humanity. The decoration of a nonroyal
the New Kingdom, temples of the gods tomb characteristically shows the tomb’s
became the principal monuments. Royal owner with his subordinates, who admin-
palaces and private houses, which are ister his land and present him with its
very little known, were less important. produce. The tomb owner is also typically
Temples and tombs were ideally depicted hunting in the marshes, a favou-
executed in stone with relief decoration rite pastime of the elite that may
on their walls and were filled with stone additionally symbolize passage into the
and wooden statuary, inscribed and dec- next world. The king and the gods are
orated stelae (freestanding small stone absent in nonroyal tombs, and, until the
monuments), and, in their inner areas, New Kingdom, overtly religious matter is
composite works of art in precious mate- restricted to rare scenes of mortuary ritu-
rials. The design of the monuments and als and journeys and to textual formulas.
their decoration dates in essence to the Temple reliefs, in which king and gods
beginning of the historical period and occur freely, show the king defeating his
presents an ideal, sanctified cosmos. enemies, hunting, and especially offering
Little in it is related to the everyday to the gods, who in turn confer benefits
world, and, except in palaces, works of art upon him. Human beings are present at
may have been rare outside temples and most as minor figures supporting the
tombs. Decoration may record real his- king. On both royal and nonroyal monu-
torical events, rituals, or the official titles ments, an ideal world is represented in
and careers of individuals, but its prime which all are beautiful and everything
significance is the more general assertion goes well; only minor figures may have
of values, and the information presented physical imperfections.
must be evaluated for its plausibility and This artistic presentation of values
compared with other evidence. Some originated at the same time as writing
of the events depicted in relief on royal but before the latter could record contin-
monuments were certainly iconic rather uous texts or complex statements. Some
than historically factual. of the earliest continuous texts of the 4th
The highly distinctive Egyptian and 5th dynasties show an awareness of
method of rendering nature and artistic an ideal past that the present could only
style was also a creation of early times aspire to emulate. A few “biographies” of
The Study of Ancient Egypt | 23
officials allude to strife, but more-nuanced country by the beginning of the Middle
discussion occurs first in literary texts of Kingdom. These precise tasks required
the Middle Kingdom. The texts consist both knowledge of astronomy and highly
of stories, dialogues, lamentations, and ingenious techniques, but they appar-
especially instructions on how to live a ently were achieved with little theoretical
good life, and they supply a rich com- analysis.
mentary on the more one-dimensional Whereas in the earliest periods Egypt
rhetoric of public inscriptions. Literary seems to have been administered almost
works were written in all the main later as the personal estate of the king, by the
phases of the Egyptian language—Middle central Old Kingdom it had been divided
Egyptian; the “classical” form of the into about 35 nomes, or provinces, each
Middle and New kingdoms that contin- with its own officials. Administration
ued in copies and inscriptions into was concentrated at the capital, where
Roman times; Late Egyptian, from the most of the central elite lived and died.
19th dynasty to about 700 bc; and In the nonmonetary Egyptian economy,
the demotic script from the 4th century its essential functions were the col-
bc to the 3rd century ad—but many of the lection, storage, and redistribution of
finest and most complex are among produce; the drafting and organization
the earliest. of manpower for specialized labour,
Literary works also included treatises probably including irrigation and flood
on mathematics, astronomy, medicine, protection works, and major state proj-
and magic, as well as various religious ects; and the supervision of legal matters.
texts and canonical lists that classified Administration and law were not fully
the categories of creation (probably the distinct, and both depended ultimately
earliest genre, dating back to the begin- on the king. The settlement of disputes
ning of the Old Kingdom, c. 2575 bc, or was in part an administrative task, for
even a little earlier). Among these texts, which the chief guiding criterion was
little is truly systematic, a notable excep- precedent, while contractual relations
tion being a medical treatise on wounds. were regulated by the use of standard for-
The absence of systematic inquiry con- mulas. State and temple both partook in
trasts with Egyptian practical expertise redistribution and held massive reserves
in such fields as surveying, which was of grain; temples were economic as well
used both for orienting and planning as religious institutions. In periods of
buildings to remarkably fine tolerances decentralization similar functions were
and for the regular division of fields after exercised by local grandees. Markets had
the annual inundation of the Nile. The only a minor role, and craftsmen were
Egyptians also had surveyed and estab- employees who normally traded only
lished the dimensions of their entire what they produced in their free time.
24 | Ancient Egypt: From Prehistory to the Islamic Conquest
The wealthiest officials escaped this pat- temple were so closely interconnected
tern to some extent by receiving their that there was no real tension between
income in the form of land and maintain- them before the late New Kingdom.
ing large establishments that included
their own specialized workers. Sources, calendars, and
The essential medium of administra- chronology
tion was writing, reinforced by personal
authority over the nonliterate 99 percent of For all but the last century of Egyptian pre-
the population. Texts exhorting the young history, whose neolithic and later phases
to be scribes emphasize that the scribe are normally termed “predynastic,” evi-
commanded while the rest did the work. dence is exclusively archaeological. Later
Most officials (almost all of whom were native sources have only mythical allu-
men) held several offices and accumu- sions to such remote times. The Dynastic
lated more as they progressed up a period of native Egyptian rulers is gener-
complex ranked hierarchy, at the top of ally divided into 30 dynasties, following
which was the vizier, the chief adminis- the Aegyptiaca of the Greco-Egyptian
trator and judge. The vizier reported to writer Manetho of Sebennytos (early
the king, who in theory retained certain 3rd century bc), excerpts of which are
powers, such as authority to invoke the preserved in the works of later writers.
death penalty, absolutely. Manetho apparently organized his dynas-
Before the Middle Kingdom, the civil ties by the capital cities from which they
and the military were not sharply dis- ruled, but several of his divisions also
tinguished. Military forces consisted of reflect political or dynastic changes—that
local militias under their own officials is, changes of the party holding power. He
and included foreigners, and nonmilitary gave the lengths of reign of kings or of
expeditions to extract minerals from the entire dynasties and grouped the dynas-
desert or to transport heavy loads through ties into several periods, but, because of
the country were organized in similar textual corruption and a tendency toward
fashion. Until the New Kingdom there inflation, Manetho’s figures cannot be
was no separate priesthood. Holders of used to reconstruct chronology without
civil office also had priestly titles, and supporting evidence and analysis.
priests had civil titles. Often priesthoods Manetho’s prime sources were earlier
were sinecures: their chief significance Egyptian king lists, the organization of
was the income they brought. The which he imitated. The most significant
same was true of the minor civil titles preserved example of a king list is the
accumulated by high officials. At a lower Turin Papyrus (Turin Canon), a fragmen-
level, minor priesthoods were held on a tary document in the Egyptian Museum
rotating basis by “laymen” who served in Turin, Italy, which originally listed all
every fourth month in temples. State and kings of the 1st through the 17th dynasty,
The Study of Ancient Egypt | 25
schema often dominates the factual con- This wisdom was thought to inhere in the
tent of texts, and it creates a strong bias hieroglyphic script, which was believed
toward recording foreign affairs, because to impart profound symbolic ideas, not—
in official ideology there is no internal as it in fact does—the sounds and words
dissent after the initial turmoil is over. of texts. Between the 15th and 18th cen-
“History” is as much a ritual as a process turies, Egypt had a minor but significant
of events. As a ritual, its protagonists are position in general views of antiquity,
royal and divine. Only in the Late period and its monuments gradually became
did these conventions weaken signifi- better known through the work of schol-
cantly. Even then, they were retained in ars in Europe and travelers in the country
full for temple reliefs, where they kept itself; the finest publications of the lat-
their vitality into Roman times. ter were by Richard Pococke, Frederik
Despite this idealization, the Ludwig Norden, and Carsten Niebuhr,
Egyptians were well aware of history, as all of whose works in the 18th century
is clear from their king lists. They divided helped to stimulate an Egyptian revival
the past into periods comparable to those in European art and architecture. Coptic,
used by Egyptologists and evaluated the the Christian successor of the ancient
rulers not only as the founders of epochs Egyptian language, was studied from
but also in terms of their salient exploits the 17th century, notably by Athanasius
or, especially in folklore, their bad quali- Kircher, for its potential to provide the
ties. The Demotic Chronicle, a text of the key to Egyptian.
Ptolemaic period, purports to foretell Napoleon I’s expedition to and short-
the bad end that would befall numerous lived conquest of Egypt in 1798 was the
Late period kings as divine retribution culmination of 18th-century interest in
for their wicked actions. the East. The expedition was accompa-
nied by a team of scholars who recorded
Egyptology: The recovery the ancient and contemporary coun-
and study of try, issuing in 1809–28 the Description
ancient Egypt de l’Égypte, the most comprehensive
study to be made before the decipher-
After the Arab conquest (ad 641), only the ment of the hieroglyphic script. The
Christian Egyptians, the Copts, kept alive renowned Rosetta Stone, which bears
the ancient language, written in Greek a decree of Ptolemy V Epiphanes in
characters. In Europe the Coptic texts hieroglyphs, demotic script, and Greek
taken from Egypt during the Renaissance alphabetic characters, was discovered
awakened interest in the Egyptian lan- during the expedition. It was ceded to
guage. Up to this time, views of Egypt the British after the French capitula-
were dominated by the classical tradition tion in Egypt and became the property
that it was the land of ancient wisdom. of the British Museum in London. This
28 | Ancient Egypt: From Prehistory to the Islamic Conquest
group’s current project, which began dur- Excavation and survey of great impor-
ing the 1990–91 season, is a record of the tance have continued in many places. For
temple of Amon in Madīnat Habu. example, at S·aqqārah, part of the necrop-
In the first half of the 20th century, olis of the ancient city of Memphis, new
some outstanding archaeological dis- areas of the Sarapeum have been uncov-
coveries were made. Howard Carter ered with rich finds, and a major New
uncovered the tomb of Tutankhamen Kingdom necropolis is being thoroughly
in 1922, Pierre Montet found the tombs explored. The site of ancient Memphis
of 21st–22nd-dynasty kings at Tanis itself has been systematically surveyed;
in 1939–44, and W.B. Emery and L.P. its position in relation to the ancient
Kirwan found tombs of the Ballānah course of the Nile has been established;
culture (the 4th through the 6th century and urban occupation areas have been
ad) in Nubia in 1931–34. The last of these studied in detail for the first time. More
was part of the second survey of Lower recently, archaeologists in 2009–10 dis-
Nubia in 1929–34, which preceded the covered in Alexandria the remains of a
second raising of the Aswān Dam. This temple dedicated to Bastet, a goddess in
was followed in the late 1950s and ’60s the shape of a cat.
by an international campaign to exca- Egyptology, it should be noted, is
vate and record sites in Egyptian and primarily an interpretive subject. There
Sudanese Nubia before the completion have been outstanding contributions—
of the Aswān High Dam in 1970. Lower for example in art, for which Heinrich
Nubia is now one of the most thoroughly Schäfer established the principles of the
explored archaeological regions of the rendering of nature, and in language.
world. Most of its many temples have New light has been cast on texts, the
been moved, either to higher ground majority of which are written in a sim-
nearby, as happened to Abu Simbel ple metre that can serve as the basis
and Philae, or to quite different places, of sophisticated literary works. The
including various foreign museums. The physical environment, social structure,
campaign also had the welcome conse- kingship, and religion are other fields in
quence of introducing a wide range of which great advances have been made,
archaeological expertise to Egypt, so while the reconstruction of the outline
that standards of excavation and record- of history is constantly being improved
ing in the country have risen greatly. in detail.
ChAPTER 2
The Early Period
PREDyNASTIC EGyPT
Naqādah I, named for the major site well as exhibiting increasing differen-
of Naqādah but also called Amratian tiation in wealth and status. Few sites
for Al-‘Āmirah, is a distinct phase that have been identified between Asyūt·and
succeeded the Badarian. It has been Al-Fayyūm, and this region may have
found as far south as Al-Kawm al- been sparsely settled, perhaps support-
Ah·mar (Hierakonpolis; ancient Egyptian ing a pastoral rather than agricultural
Nekhen), near the sandstone barrier of population. Near present-day Cairo—at
Mount Silsilah, which was the cultural Al-‘Umāri, Al-Ma‘ādi, and Wādī Dijlah
boundary of Egypt in predynastic times. and stretching as far south as the latitude
Naqādah I differs from its Badarian pre- of Al-Fayyūm—are sites of a separate,
decessor in its density of settlement contemporary culture. Al-Ma‘ādi was an
and the typology of its material culture extensive settlement that traded with
but hardly at all in the social organiza- the Middle East and probably acted as
tion implied by the archaeological finds. an intermediary for transmitting goods
Burials were in shallow pits in which the
bodies were placed facing to the west,
like those of later Egyptians. Notable
types of material found in graves are fine
pottery decorated with representational
designs in white on red, figurines of men
and women, and hard stone mace-heads
that are the precursors of important late
predynastic objects.
Naqādah II, also known as Gerzean
for Girza (Jirza), is the most important
predynastic culture. The heartland of
its development was the same as that
of Naqādah I, but it spread gradually
throughout the country. South of Mount
Silsilah, sites of the culturally similar
Nubian A Group are found as far as the
Second Cataract of the Nile and beyond;
these have a long span, continuing as late
as the Egyptian Early Dynastic period.
During Naqādah II, large sites devel- Painted clay vessel with flamingos and ibexes,
oped at Al-Kawm al-Ah·mar, Naqādah, Gerzean culture, Egypt, c. 3400–c. 3100 bc; in
and Abydos (Abīdūs), showing by their the Roemer-Pelizaeus Museum, Hildesheim,
size the concentration of settlement, as Ger. Holle Bildarchiv, Baden-Baden
34 | Ancient Egypt: From Prehistory to the Islamic Conquest
intensified settlement in the crucial area of tombs of all levels of wealth have been
between the Nile River valley and the found throughout the country. The rich-
delta, but Memphis did not yet overcome est contained magnificent goods in
the traditional pull of its predecessor. The metal, ivory, and other materials, the most
large tombs at S·aqqārah appear to belong widespread luxury products being
to high officials, while the kings were bur- extraordinarily fine stone vases. The high
ied at Abydos in tombs whose walled point of 1st-dynasty development was the
complexes have long since disappeared. long reign of Den (flourished c. 2850 bc).
Their mortuary cults may have been con- During the 1st dynasty three titles
ducted in designated areas nearer the were added to the royal Horus name:
cultivation. “Two Ladies,” an epithet presenting the
In the late Predynastic period and the king as making manifest an aspect of
first half of the 1st dynasty, Egypt the protective goddesses of the south
extended its influence into southern (Upper Egypt) and the north (Lower
Palestine and probably Sinai and con- Egypt); “Golden Horus,” the precise
ducted a campaign as far as the Second meaning of which is unknown; and
Cataract. The First Cataract area, with its “Dual King,” a ranked pairing of the
centre on Elephantine, an island in the two basic words for king, later associ-
Nile opposite the present-day town of ated with Upper and Lower Egypt. These
Aswān, was permanently incorporated titles were followed by the king’s own
into Egypt, but Lower Nubia was not. birth name, which in later centuries was
Between late predynastic times written in a cartouche.
and the 4th dynasty—and probably early
in the period—the Nubian A Group came The 2nd dynasty
to an end. There is some evidence that (c. 2775–c. 2650 bc)
political centralization was in progress
around Qustul, but this did not lead to From the end of the 1st dynasty, there is
any further development and may indeed evidence of rival claimants to the throne.
have prompted a preemptive strike by One line may have become the 2nd
Egypt. For Nubia, the malign proximity of dynasty, whose first king’s Horus name,
the largest state of the time stifled Hetepsekhemwy, means “peaceful in
advancement. During the 1st dynasty, respect of the two powers” and may
writing spread gradually, but because it allude to the conclusion of strife between
was used chiefly for administration, the two factions or parts of the country, to the
records, which were kept within the flood- antagonistic gods Horus and Seth, or to
plain, have not survived. The artificial both. Hetepsekhemwy and his successor,
writing medium of papyrus was invented Reneb, moved their burial places to
by the middle of the 1st dynasty. There S·aqqārah; the tomb of the third king,
was a surge in prosperity, and thousands Nynetjer, has not been found.
The Early Period | 37
Egyptian law
Egyptian law originated with the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under King Menes (c.
2925 Bc) and grew and developed until the Roman occupation of Egypt (30 Bc). It is older than
that of any other civilization. Even after the Roman occupation, elements of Egyptian law were
retained outside the major urban areas.
No formal Egyptian code of law has been preserved, although several pharaohs, such as
Bocchoris (c. 722–c. 715 Bc), were known as lawgivers. After the 7th century Bc, however, when
the Demotic language (the popular form of the written language) came into use, many legal
transactions required written deeds or contracts instead of the traditional oral agreement; and
these extant documents have been studied for what they reveal of the law of ancient Egypt.
The ultimate authority in the settlement of disputes was the pharaoh, whose decrees were
supreme. Because of the complex nature of legal administration, the pharaoh delegated powers
to provincial governors and other officials. Next to the pharaoh, the most powerful individual
was the vizier, who directed all administrative branches of the government. He sat in judgment
on court cases and appointed magistrates as part of his legal duties.
In a legal proceeding, the plaintiff was required to bring suit. The tribunal then ordered the
defendant to appear in court if a point of law seemed to be involved in the dispute. Scribes
employed in the legal system supplied procedural information; the parties were not represented
by legal advocates. Both parties spoke for themselves and presented any pertinent documen-
tary evidence. Witnesses sometimes were called, but usually the judge ruled on the grounds of
the documents and the testimony of each party. The judgment included recommendations for
preserving the written record of the trial—possibly the main reason why many of these docu-
ments are extant.
Although masculine primogeniture dominated in some periods of Egyptian history, there
are records of property being divided equally among the children, male and female. Even with
masculine primogeniture, the other children and the surviving spouse usually received a share
of the estate. The usual law of succession could be circumvented by a special enregistered doc-
ument: a parent, for example, could favour a daughter by guaranteeing her rights over the
family property. Legal judgments pertaining to the family and rights of succession clearly dem-
onstrate that women as well as men were granted full rights under the laws of ancient Egypt.
Women owned and bequeathed property, filed lawsuits, and bore witness in court proceedings
without the authority of their father or husband. The working class also had some legal rights;
even slaves were allowed to own property under certain circumstances.
Property transfers and contractual agreements were conducted as if they were the same
type of legal transaction. Rental of slaves, for example, was regarded as a sales agreement.
Work was often bartered for various commodities. The individual parties were allowed to deter-
mine restrictions and guarantees in their transaction concerning possible defects in the
property or service as well as defects in the law.
Criminal justice necessitated a hierarchy in the judicial system, depending on the severity
of the charge. The most heinous criminals could be judged only by the pharaoh, often with the
38 | Ancient Egypt: From Prehistory to the Islamic Conquest
vizier conducting the investigation and turning to the pharaoh for final judgment. In some
cases, the pharaoh appointed a special commission with full authority to pass judgment.
Punishment for serious crimes included penal servitude and execution; mutilation and flogging
were often used to punish lesser offenders.
Although punishment for criminal offenders could be severe—and, in the modern viewpoint,
barbaric—Egyptian law nevertheless was admirable in its support of basic human rights. The
pharaoh Bocchoris, for example, promoted individual rights, suppressed imprisonment for
debt, and reformed laws relating to the transferral of property. His legal innovations are one
example of the far-reaching implications of Egyptian law: the Greek lawgiver Solon (6th cen-
tury Bc) visited Egypt and adapted aspects of the legal system to his own ideas for Athens.
Egyptian law continued to influence Greek law during the Hellenistic period, and its effects on
Roman imperial law may still be felt today.
in a much larger enclosure than that of sites) into a six-stepped, almost square
Khasekhemwy at Abydos and contains pyramid. There was a second, symbolic
reproductions in stone of ritual structures tomb with a flat superstructure on the
that had previously been built of per- south side of the enclosure, which prob-
ishable materials. Architectural details ably substituted for the traditional royal
of columns, cornices, and moldings burial place of Abydos. The king and
provided many models for later develop- some of his family were buried deep
ment. The masonry techniques look to under the pyramid, where tens of thou-
brickwork for models and show little con- sands of stone vases were deposited, a
cern for the structural potential of stone. number bearing inscriptions of the first
The pyramid itself evolved through two dynasties. Thus, in perpetuating
numerous stages from a flat mastaba (an earlier forms in stone and burying this
oblong tomb with a burial chamber dug material, Djoser invoked the past in sup-
beneath it, common at earlier nonroyal port of his innovations.
The Step Pyramid of King Djoser at S·aqqārah, Egypt, c. 2650 bc. Katherine Young/EB Inc.
40 | Ancient Egypt: From Prehistory to the Islamic Conquest
Imhotep
Born in Memphis, Egypt, in the 27th century Bc, Imhotep (Greek: Imouthes) was a vizier, a sage,
an architect, an astrologer, and the chief minister to Djoser. He was later worshipped as the god
of medicine in Egypt and in Greece, where he was identified with the Greek god of medicine,
Asclepius.
Although no contemporary account has been found that refers to Imhotep as a practicing
physician, ancient documents illustrating Egyptian society and medicine during the Old
Kingdom (c. 2575– c. 2130 Bc) show that the chief magician of the pharaoh’s court also frequently
served as the nation’s chief physician. Imhotep’s reputation as the reigning genius of the time,
his position in the court, his training as a scribe, and his becoming known as a medical demigod
only 100 years after his death are strong indications that he must have been a physician of
considerable skill.
Not until the Persian conquest of Egypt in 525 Bc was Imhotep elevated to the position of a
full deity, replacing Nefertem in the great triad of Memphis. Imhotep’s cult reached its zenith
during Greco-Roman times, when his temples in Memphis and on the island of Philae (Arabic:
Jazīrat Fīlah) in the Nile River were often crowded with sufferers who prayed and slept there
with the conviction that the god would reveal remedies to them in their dreams. The only
Egyptian mortal besides the 18th-dynasty sage and minister Amenhotep to attain the honour of
total deification, Imhotep is still held in esteem by physicians who, like the eminent 19th-cen-
tury British practitioner Sir William Osler, consider him “the first figure of a physician to stand
out clearly from the mists of antiquity.”
avoided the formation of local centres of the most characteristic Egyptian sym-
influence while encouraging intensive bols. The cartouche itself is older and
exploitation of the land. People who was shown as a gift bestowed by gods
worked on these estates were not free to on the king, signifying long duration on
move, and they paid a high proportion of the throne. It soon acquired associations
their earnings in dues and taxes. The with the sun, so that its first use by the
building enterprises must have relied on builder of the first true pyramid, which
drafting vast numbers of men, probably is probably also a solar symbol, is not
after the harvest had been gathered in coincidental.
the early summer and during part of the Snefru’s successor, Khufu (Cheops),
inundation. built the Great Pyramid at Giza (Al-Jīzah),
The first king of the 4th dynasty, to which were added the slightly smaller
Snefru, probably built the step pyramid second pyramid of one of Khufu’s sons,
of Maydūm and then modified it to form Khafre (more correctly Rekhaef, the
the first true pyramid. Due west of Chephren of Greek sources), and that of
Maydūm was the small step pyramid Menkaure (Mycerinus). Khufu’s succes-
of Saylah, in Al-Fayyūm, at which Snefru sor, his son Redjedef, began a pyramid at
also worked. He built two pyramids at Abū Ruwaysh, and a king of uncertain
Dahshūr; the southern of the two is name began one at Zawyat al-‘Aryan. The
known as the Blunted Pyramid because last known king of the dynasty (there was
its upper part has a shallower angle of probably one more), Shepseskaf, built a
inclination than its lower part. This differ- monumental mastaba at south S·aqqārah
ence may be due to structural problems and was the only Old Kingdom ruler not
or may have been planned from the start, to begin a pyramid. These works, espe-
in which case the resulting profile may cially the Great Pyramid, show a great
reproduce a solar symbol of creation. The mastery of monumental stoneworking:
northern Dahshūr pyramid, the later of individual blocks were large or colossal
the two, has the same angle of inclination and were extremely accurately fitted to
as the upper part of the Blunted Pyramid one another. Surveying and planning
and a base area exceeded only by that also were carried out with remarkable
of the Great Pyramid at Giza. All three of precision.
Snefru’s pyramids had mortuary com- Apart from the colossal conception of
plexes attached to them. Snefru’s building the pyramids themselves, the temple
achievements were thus at least as great complexes attached to them show great
as those of any later king and introduced mastery of architectural forms. Khufu’s
a century of unparalleled construction. temple or approach causeway was deco-
Snefru’s was the first king’s name rated with impressive reliefs, fragments
that was regularly written inside the car- of which were incorporated in the 12th-
touche, an elongated oval that is one of dynasty pyramid of Amenemhet I at
44 | Ancient Egypt: From Prehistory to the Islamic Conquest
The Blunted, Bent, False, or Rhomboidal Pyramid, so named because of its peculiar double
slope, built by King Snefru in the 4th dynasty (c. 2575–c. 2465 bc), Dahshūr, Egypt. © Photos.
com/Jupiterimages
The Old and Middle Kingdoms | 45
Al-Lisht. The best known of all Egyptian No archaeological traces of a settled pop-
sculpture, Khafre’s Great Sphinx at Giza ulation in Lower Nubia have been found
and his extraordinary seated statue of for the Old Kingdom period. The oppres-
Nubian gneiss, date from the middle 4th sive presence of Egypt seems to have
dynasty. robbed the inhabitants of their resources,
The Giza pyramids form a group of as the provinces were exploited in favour
more or less completed monuments sur- of the king and the elite.
rounded by many tombs of the royal Snefru and the builders of the Giza
family and the elite, hierarchically orga- pyramids represented a classic age to
nized and laid out in neat patterns. This later times. Snefru was the prototype of a
arrangement contrasts with that of the good king, whereas Khufu and Khafre
reign of Snefru, when important tombs had tyrannical reputations, perhaps only
were built at Maydūm and S·aqqārah, because of the size of their monuments.
while the king was probably buried at Little direct evidence for political or other
Dahshūr. Of the Giza tombs, only those of attitudes survives from the dynasty, in
the highest-ranking officials were deco- part because writing was only just begin-
rated. Except among the immediate ning to be used for recording continuous
entourage of the kings, the freedom of texts. Many great works of art were, how-
expression of officials was greatly ever, produced for kings and members of
restricted. Most of the highest officials the elite, and these set a pattern for later
were members of the large royal family, work. Kings of the 4th dynasty identified
so that power was concentrated by kin- themselves, at least from the time of
ship as well as by other means. This did Redjedef, as Son of Re (the sun god).
not prevent factional strife: the complex Worship of the sun god reached a peak in
of Redjedef was deliberately and thor- the 5th dynasty.
oughly destroyed, probably at the
instigation of his successor, Khafre. The 5th Dynasty
The Palermo Stone records a cam- (c. 2465–c. 2325 bc)
paign to Lower Nubia in the reign of
Snefru that may be associated with graf- The first two kings of the 5th dynasty,
fiti in the area itself. The Egyptians Userkaf and Sahure, were sons of
founded a settlement at Buhen, at the Khentkaues, who was a member of the
north end of the Second Cataract, which 4th-dynasty royal family. The third king,
endured for 200 years; others may have Neferirkare, may also have been her son.
been founded between there and A story from the Middle Kingdom that
Elephantine. The purposes of this pene- makes them all sons of a priest of Re
tration were probably to establish trade may derive from a tradition that they
farther south and to create a buffer zone. were true worshippers of the sun god
46 | Ancient Egypt: From Prehistory to the Islamic Conquest
The three world-famous 4th-dynasty pyramids of Giza (also spelled Gizeh) were erected on a
rocky plateau on the west bank of the Nile River near Al-Jīzah (Giza) in northern Egypt. In
ancient times they were included among the Seven Wonders of the World.
The Great Sphinx and the pyramid of Khafre, Giza, Egypt. © Goodshoot/Jupiterimages
To the south of the Great Pyramid, near Khafre’s valley temple, lies the Great Sphinx, which
is the best known of all Egyptian sculpture. Carved out of limestone and measuring approxi-
mately 240 feet (73 metres) long and 66 feet (20 metres) high, the Great Sphinx has human
facial features but the body of a recumbent lion. It is the earliest and most famous example of
the mythological creature, which was an important image in Egyptian and Greek art and leg-
end. Known to be a portrait statue of Khafre, the sphinx continued as a royal portrait type
through most of Egyptian history. (Arabs, however, know the Sphinx of Giza by the name of Abu
al-Hawl, or “Father of Terror.”)
and implies, probably falsely, that the similarly to pyramids, probably had a
4th-dynasty kings were not. Six kings mortuary significance for the king as
of the 5th dynasty displayed their devo- well as honouring the god. The kings’
tion to the sun god by building personal pyramids should therefore be seen in
temples to his cult. These temples, of conjunction with the sun temples, some
which the two so far identified are sited of which received lavish endowments
48 | Ancient Egypt: From Prehistory to the Islamic Conquest
and were served by many high-ranking Nubia, graffiti and inscribed seals from
officials. Buhen document Egyptian presence
Pyramids have been identified for until late in the dynasty, when control
seven of the nine kings of the dynasty, was probably abandoned in the face of
at S·aqqārah (Userkaf and Unas, the last immigration from the south and the des-
king), Abū S·īr (Sahure, Neferirkare, erts; later generations of the immigrants
Reneferef, and Neuserre), and south are known as the Nubian C Group. From
S·aqqārah (Djedkare Izezi, the eighth the reign of Sahure on, there are records
king). The pyramids are smaller and less of trade with Punt, a partly legendary
solidly constructed than those of the land probably in the region of present-
4th dynasty, but the reliefs from their day Eritrea, from which the Egyptians
mortuary temples are better preserved obtained incense and myrrh, as well as
and of very fine quality; that of Sahure exotic African products that had been
gives a fair impression of their decora- traded from still farther afield. Thus, the
tive program. The interiors contained reduced level of royal display in Egypt
religious scenes relating to provision for does not imply a less prominent general
Sahure in the next life, while the exteriors role for the country.
presented his “historical” role and rela- High officials of the 5th dynasty were
tions with the gods. Sea expeditions to no longer members of the royal family,
Lebanon to acquire timber are depicted, although a few married princesses. Their
as are aggression against and capture of offices still depended on the king, and in
Libyans. Despite the apparent precision their biographical inscriptions they pre-
with which captives are named and total sented their exploits as relating to him,
figures given, these scenes may not refer but they justified other aspects of their
to specific events, for the same motifs social role in terms of a more general
with the same details were frequently morality. They progressed through their
shown over the next 250 years; Sahure’s careers by acquiring titles in complex
use of them might not have been the ranked sequences that were manipulated
earliest. by kings throughout the 5th and 6th
Foreign connections were far-flung. dynasties. This institutionalization of
Goldwork of the period has been found in officialdom has an archaeological paral-
Anatolia, while stone vases named for lel in the distribution of elite tombs,
Khafre and Pepi I (6th dynasty) have which no longer clustered so closely
been found at Tall Mardīkh in Syria around pyramids. Many are at Giza, but
(Ebla), which was destroyed around 2250 the largest and finest are at S·aqqārah and
bc. The absence of 5th-dynasty evidence Abū S·īr. The repertory of decorated
from the site is probably a matter of scenes in them continually expanded, but
chance. Expeditions to the turquoise there was no fundamental change in their
mines of Sinai continued as before. In subject matter. Toward the end of the 5th
The Old and Middle Kingdoms | 49
S·aqqārah was built a cemetery of large distance west of Al-Khārijah Oasis. Egypt
tombs, including those of several viziers. no longer controlled Lower Nubia, which
Together with tombs near the pyramid of was settled by the C Group and formed
Unas, this is the latest group of private into political units of gradually increas-
monuments of the Old Kingdom in the ing size, possibly as far as Karmah
Memphite area. (Kerma), south of the Third Cataract.
Information on 6th-dynasty politi- Karmah was the southern cultural suc-
cal and external affairs is more abundant cessor of the Nubian A Group and
because inscriptions of high officials became an urban centre in the late 3rd
were longer. Whether the circumstances millennium bc, remaining Egypt’s chief
they describe were also typical of less southern neighbour for seven centuries.
loquacious ages is unknown, but the To the north the Karmah state stretched
very existence of such inscriptions is as far as the Second Cataract and at times
evidence of a tendency to greater inde- farther still. Its southern extent has not
pendence among officials. One, Weni, been determined, but sites of similar
who lived from the reign of Teti through material culture are scattered over vast
those of Pepi I and Merenre, was a special areas of the central Sudan.
judge in the trial of a conspiracy in the The provincializing tendencies of
royal household, mounted several cam- the late 5th dynasty continued in the
paigns against a region east of Egypt or 6th, especially during the extremely
in southern Palestine, and organized two long reign (up to 94 years) of Pepi II.
quarrying expeditions. In the absence of Increasing numbers of officials resided in
a standing army, the Egyptian force was the provinces, amassed local offices, and
levied from the provinces by officials emphasized local concerns, including
from local administrative centres and religious leadership, in their inscriptions.
other settlements. There were also con- At the capital the size and splendour of
tingents from several southern countries the cemeteries decreased, and some
and a tribe of the Eastern Desert. tombs of the end of the dynasty were
Three biographies of officials from decorated only in their subterranean
Elephantine record trading expeditions parts, as if security could not be guaran-
to the south in the reigns of Pepi I and teed aboveground. The pyramid complex
Pepi II. The location of the regions named of Pepi II at southern S·aqqārah, which
in them is debated and may have been as was probably completed in the first 30
far afield as the Butāna, south of the Fifth years of his reign, stands out against
Cataract. Some of the trade routes ran this background as the last major monu-
through the Western Desert, where the ment of the Old Kingdom, comparable
Egyptians established an administrative to its predecessors in artistic achieve-
post at Balāt· in Al-Dākhilah Oasis, some ment. Three of his queens were buried
The Old and Middle Kingdoms | 51
in small pyramids around his own; these political authority. These environmental
are the only known queens’ monuments changes are, however, only approxi-
inscribed with Pyramid Texts. mately dated, and their relationship with
the collapse cannot be proved.
The 7th and 8th Dynasties
(c. 2150–c. 2130 bc) The First Intermediate
period
Pepi II was followed by several ephem-
eral rulers, who were in turn succeeded After the end of the 8th dynasty, the throne
by the short-lived 7th dynasty of passed to kings from Heracleopolis.
Manetho’s history (from which no king’s These kings made Heracleopolis the cap-
name is known) and the 8th, one of whose ital, although Memphis continued to be
kings, Ibi, built a small pyramid at south- important.
ern S·aqqārah. Several 8th-dynasty kings
are known from inscriptions found in The 9th Dynasty
the temple of Min at Qift· (Coptos) in the (c. 2130–2080 bc)
south; this suggests that their rule was
recognized throughout the country. The The 9th-dynasty kings were acknowl-
instability of the throne is, however, a edged throughout the country, but
sign of political decay, and the fiction of inscriptions of nomarchs (chief officials
centralized rule may have been accepted of nomes) in the south show that the
only because there was no alternative kings’ rule was nominal. At Dara, north of
style of government to kingship. Asyūt·, for example, a local ruler called
With the end of the 8th dynasty, Khety styled himself in a regal manner
the Old Kingdom system of control and built a pyramid with a surrounding
collapsed. About that time there were “courtly” cemetery. At Al-Mi‘alla, south of
incidents of famine and local violence. Luxor, Ankhtify, the nomarch of the al-
The country emerged impoverished Jabalayn region, recorded his annexation
and decentralized from this episode, the of the Idfū nome and extensive raiding in
prime cause of which may have been the Theban area. Ankhtify acknowledged
political failure, environmental disas- an unidentifiable king Neferkare but
ter, or, more probably, a combination of campaigned with his own troops. Major
the two. In that period the desiccation themes of inscriptions of the period are
of northeastern Africa reached a peak, the nomarch’s provision of food supplies
producing conditions similar to those of for his people in times of famine and his
contemporary times, and a related suc- success in promoting irrigation works.
cession of low inundations may have Artificial irrigation had probably long
coincided with the decay of central been practiced, but exceptional poverty
52 | Ancient Egypt: From Prehistory to the Islamic Conquest
and crop failure made concern with it on the west bank of the Nile, was the
worth recording. Inscriptions of Nubian centre of the Theban nome. The dynasty
mercenaries employed by local rulers in honoured as its ancestor the God’s Father
the south indicate how entrenched mili- Mentuhotep, probably the father of its
tary action was. first king, Inyotef I (2081–65 bc), whose
successors were Inyotef II and Inyotef
The 10th (c. 2080–c. 1970 bc) III (2065–16 and 2016–08 bc, respec-
and 11th (2081–1938 bc) tively). The fourth king, Mentuhotep II
Dynasties (2008–1957 bc, whose throne name was
Nebhepetre), gradually reunited Egypt
A period of generalized conflict focused and ousted the Heracleopolitans, chang-
on rival dynasties at Thebes and ing his titulary in stages to record his
Heracleopolis. The latter, the 10th, prob- conquests. Around his 20th regnal year
ably continued the line of the 9th. The he assumed the Horus name Divine of
founder of the 9th or 10th dynasty was the White Crown, implicitly claiming
named Khety, and the dynasty as a whole all of Upper Egypt. By his regnal year 42
was termed the House of Khety. Several this had been changed to Uniter of the
Heracleopolitan kings were named Khety; Two Lands, a traditional royal epithet
another important name is Merikare. that he revived with a literal meaning.
There was intermittent conflict, and the In later times Mentuhotep was cele-
boundary between the two realms shifted brated as the founder of the epoch now
around the region of Abydos. As yet, the known as the Middle Kingdom. His
course of events in this period cannot be remarkable mortuary complex at Dayr
reconstructed. al-Bah·rī, which seems to have had no
Several major literary texts purport to pyramid, was the architectural inspira-
describe the upheavals of the First tion for Hatshepsut’s later structure built
Intermediate period—the Instruction for alongside.
Merikare, for example, being ascribed to In the First Intermediate period,
one of the kings of Heracleopolis. These monuments were set up by a slightly
texts led earlier Egyptologists to posit a larger section of the population, and, in
Heracleopolitan literary flowering, but the absence of central control, internal
there is now a tendency to date them to dissent and conflicts of authority became
the Middle Kingdom, so that they would visible in public records. Nonroyal indi-
have been written with enough hindsight viduals took over some of the privileges
to allow a more effective critique of the of royalty, notably identification with
sacred order. Osiris in the hereafter and the use of the
Until the 11th dynasty made Thebes Pyramid Texts; these were incorporated
its capital, Armant (Greek, Hermonthis), into a more extensive corpus inscribed
The Old and Middle Kingdoms | 53
The crown of Lower Egypt (left) and the crown of Upper Egypt (right), both worn by
King Sesostris III, Egypt, 19th century bc; in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo. Hirmer
Fotoarchiv, Munich
at the south end of the Second Cataract, “citizens”—levied by district and offi-
while also mounting at least one cam- cers of several grades and types. It was
paign to Palestine. Sesostris III completed separate from New Kingdom military
an extensive chain of fortresses in the organization and seems not to have
Second Cataract; at Semna he was wor- enjoyed very high status.
shipped as a god in the New Kingdom. The purpose of the occupation of
Frequent campaigns and military Lower Nubia is disputed, because the size
occupation, which lasted another 150 of the fortresses and the level of man-
years, required a standing army. A force power needed to occupy them might
of this type may have been created early seem disproportionate to local threats.
in the 12th dynasty but becomes better An inscription of Sesostris III set up in
attested near the end. It was based on the fortresses emphasizes the weakness
“soldiers”—whose title means literally of the Nubian enemy, while a boundary
56 | Ancient Egypt: From Prehistory to the Islamic Conquest
Asiatic rule brought many tech- crudely worked, remains. Aside from
nical innovations to Egypt, as well as Avaris itself, virtually no information has
cultural innovations such as new musi- come from the north, where the Hyksos
cal instruments and foreign loan words. ruled, and it is impossible to assess their
The changes affected techniques from impact on the economy or on high cul-
bronze working and pottery to weaving, ture. The Second Intermediate period
and new breeds of animals and new crops was the consequence of political frag-
were introduced. In warfare, composite mentation and immigration and was not
bows, new types of daggers and scimi- associated with economic collapse, as in
tars, and above all the horse and chariot the early First Intermediate period.
transformed previous practice, although Toward the end of the 17th dynasty
the chariot may ultimately have been (c. 1545 bc), the Theban king Seqenenre
as important as a prestige vehicle as for challenged Apopis, probably dying in
tactical military advantages it conferred. battle against him. Seqenenre’s succes-
The effect of these changes was to bring sor, Kamose, renewed the challenge,
Egypt, which had been technologically stating in an inscription that it was intol-
backward, onto the level of southwestern erable to share his land with an Asiatic
Asia. Because of these advances and the and a Nubian (the Karmah ruler). By the
perspectives it opened up, Hyksos rule end of his third regnal year, he had made
was decisive for Egypt’s later empire in raids as far south as the Second Cataract
the Middle East. (and possibly much farther) and in the
Whereas the 13th dynasty was fairly north to the neighbourhood of Avaris,
prosperous, the Second Intermediate also intercepting in the Western Desert a
period may have been impoverished. The letter sent from Apopis to a new Karmah
regional centre of the cult of Osiris at ruler on his accession. By campaigning to
Abydos, which has produced the largest the north and to the south, Kamose acted
quantity of Middle Kingdom monu- out his implicit claim to the territory
ments, lost importance, but sites such as ruled by Egypt in the Middle Kingdom.
Thebes, Idfū, and Al-Kawm al-Ah·mar His exploits formed a vital stage in the
have yielded significant, if sometimes long struggle to expel the Hyksos.
ChAPTER 4
The New Kingdom
and the Third
Intermediate Period
T he New Kingdom is generally acknowledged to be the
period of ancient Egypt’s greatest material wealth and
general prosperity. This period saw the rise of the military
and the expansion of the kingdom into Syria and Palestine.
Ahmose
was influential and highly honoured. A Egypt. During the 18th dynasty some
measure of her importance was her post- young bureaucrats were educated in
humous veneration at Thebes, where temple schools, reinforcing the integra-
later pharaohs were depicted offering to tion of civil and priestly sectors. Early in
her as a goddess among the gods. the dynasty many administrative posts
Ahmose’s campaigns to expel the were inherited, but royal appointment of
Hyksos from the Nile River delta and capable officials, often selected from mili-
regain former Egyptian territory to the tary officers who had served the king on
south probably started around his 10th his campaigns, later became the rule. The
regnal year. Destroying the Hyksos trend was thus away from bureaucratic
stronghold at Avaris, in the eastern delta, families and the inheritance of office.
he finally drove them beyond the eastern
frontier and then besieged Sharuh·en (Tell Amenhotep I
el-Fār‘ah) in southern Palestine; the full
extent of his conquests may have been Ahmose’s son and successor, Amenhotep
much greater. His penetration of the I (ruled c. 1514–1493 bc), pushed the
Middle East came at a time when there Egyptian frontier southward to the Third
was no major established power in the Cataract, near the capital of the Karmah
region. This political gap facilitated (Kerma) state, while also gathering trib-
the creation of an Egyptian “empire.” ute from his Asiatic possessions and
Ahmose’s officers and soldiers were perhaps campaigning in Syria. The
rewarded with spoil and captives, who emerging kingdom of Mitanni in north-
became personal slaves. This marked the ern Syria, which is first mentioned on a
creation of an influential military class. stela of one of Amenhotep’s soldiers and
Like Kamose, Ahmose campaigned as far was also known by the name of Nahrin,
south as Buhen. For the administration of may have threatened Egypt’s conquests
the regained territory, he created a new to the north.
office, overseer of southern foreign lands, The New Kingdom was a time of
which ranked second only to the vizier. increased devotion to the state god
Its incumbent was accorded the honorific Amon-Re, whose cult largely benefited as
title of king’s son, indicating that he was Egypt was enriched by the spoils of war.
directly responsible to the king as deputy. Riches were turned over to the god’s trea-
The early New Kingdom bureau- suries, and as a sign of filial piety the king
cracy was modeled on that of the Middle had sacred monuments constructed at
Kingdom. The vizier was the chief Thebes. Under Amenhotep I the pyrami-
administrator and the highest judge dal form of royal tomb was abandoned in
of the realm. By the mid-15th century favour of a rock-cut tomb, and, except for
bc the office had been divided into two, Akhenaton, all subsequent New Kingdom
one vizier for Upper and one for Lower rulers were buried in concealed tombs in
The New Kingdom and the Third Intermediate Period | 61
the famous Valley of the Kings in western Thutmose I (ruled 1493–c. 1482 bc), who
Thebes. Separated from the tombs, royal married his own full sister Ahmose. In
mortuary temples were erected at the the south Thutmose destroyed the
edge of the desert. Perhaps because of Karmah state. He inscribed a rock as a
this innovation, Amenhotep I later boundary marker, later confirmed by
became the patron deity of the workmen Thutmose III, near Kanisa-Kurgus, north
who excavated and decorated the royal of the Fifth Cataract. He then executed a
tombs. The location of his own tomb is brilliant campaign into Syria and across
unknown. the Euphrates River, where he erected a
victory stela near Carchemish.
Thutmose I and Thutmose II Thus, in the reign of Thutmose
I, Egyptian conquests in the Middle
Lacking a surviving heir, Amenhotep I East and Africa reached their greatest
was succeeded by one of his generals, extent, but they may not yet have been
62 | Ancient Egypt: From Prehistory to the Islamic Conquest
noteworthy that Mitanni itself was not returned home to serve as loyal vas-
directly involved. sals, though some remained in Egypt at
Thutmose III proceeded to Gaza with court. In order to ensure the loyalty of
his army and then to Yehem, subjugating Asian city-states, Egypt maintained gar-
rebellious Palestinian towns along the risons that could quell insurrection and
way. His annals relate how, at a consulta- supervise the delivery of tribute. There
tion concerning the best route over the never was an elaborate Egyptian imperial
Mount Carmel ridge, the king overruled administration in Asia.
his officers and selected a shorter but Thutmose III conducted numerous
more dangerous route through the subsequent campaigns in Asia. The sub-
‘Arūnah Pass and then led the troops mission of Kadesh was finally achieved,
himself. The march went smoothly, and, but Thutmose III’s ultimate aim was the
when the Egyptians attacked at dawn, defeat of Mitanni. He used the navy to
they prevailed over the enemy troops and transport troops to Asian coastal towns,
besieged Megiddo. avoiding arduous overland marches
Thutmose III meanwhile coordi- from Egypt. His great eighth campaign
nated the landing of other army divisions led him across the Euphrates; although
on the Syro-Palestinian littoral, whence the countryside around Carchemish
they proceeded inland, so that the strat- was ravaged, the city was not taken, and
egy resembled a pincer technique. The the Mitannian prince was able to flee. The
siege ended in a treaty by which Syrian psychological gain of this campaign was
princes swore an oath of submission to perhaps greater than its military success,
the king. As was normal in ancient diplo- for Babylonia, Assyria, and the Hittites
macy and in Egyptian practice, the oath all sent tribute in recognition of Egyptian
was binding only upon those who swore dominance. Although Thutmose III never
it, not upon future generations. subjugated Mitanni, he placed Egypt’s
By the end of the first campaign, conquests on a firm footing by constant
Egyptian domination extended north- campaigning that contrasts with the for-
ward to a line linking Byblos and ays of his predecessors. Thutmose III’s
Damascus. Although the prince of Kadesh annals inscribed in the temple of Karnak
remained to be vanquished, Assyria sent are remarkably succinct and accurate,
lapis lazuli as tribute; Asian princes sur- but his other texts, particularly one set
rendered their weapons, including a in his newly founded Nubian capital of
large number of horses and chariots. Napata, are more conventional in their
Thutmose III took only a limited number rhetoric. He seems to have married three
of captives. He appointed Asian princes Syrian wives, which may represent diplo-
to govern the towns and took their broth- matic unions, marking Egypt’s entry into
ers and sons to Egypt, where they were the realm of international affairs of the
educated at the court. Most eventually ancient Middle East.
64 | Ancient Egypt: From Prehistory to the Islamic Conquest
cession of some Syrian city-states to the Cushite rebels, but the viceroy of Cush,
Mitannian sphere of influence. the southern portion of Nubia, probably
actually led the troops. The campaign
Amenhotep III may have led into the Butāna, west of the
‘At·barah River, farther south than any
Thutmose IV’s son Amenhotep III (ruled previous Egyptian military expedition
1390–53 bc) acceded to the throne at had gone. Several temples erected under
about age 12. He soon wed Tiy, who Amenhotep III in Upper Nubia between
became his queen. Earlier in the dynasty the Second and Third cataracts attest
military men had served as royal tutors, to the importance of the region.
but Tiy’s father was a commander of the Peaceful relations prevailed with
chariotry, and through this link the royal Asia, where control of Egypt’s vassals
line became even more directly influ- was successfully maintained. A com-
enced by the military. In his fifth year memorative scarab from the king’s 10th
Amenhotep III claimed a victory over year announced the arrival in Egypt of
The Colossi of Memnon, stone statues of Amenhotep III, near Thebes, Egypt, 14th century bc.
Katherine Young/EB Inc.
The New Kingdom and the Third Intermediate Period | 67
the Mitannian princess Gilukhepa, along reputation as a sage survived into the
with 317 women; thus, another diplo- Ptolemaic period.
matic marriage helped maintain friendly Amenhotep III sponsored building
relations between Egypt and its former on a colossal scale, especially in the
foe. Another Mitannian princess was Theban area. At Karnak he erected
later received into Amenhotep III’s the huge third pylon, and at Luxor he
harem, and during his final illness the dedicated a magnificent new temple to
Hurrian goddess Ishtar of Nineveh was Amon. The king’s own mortuary temple
sent to his aid. At the expense of older in western Thebes was unrivaled in its
bureaucratic families and the principle size. Little remains of it today, but its
of inheritance of office, military men famous Colossi of Memnon testify to
acquired high posts in the civil adminis- its proportions. He also built a huge har-
tration. Most influential was the aged bour and palace complex nearby. Some
scribe and commander of the elite colossal statues served as objects of pub-
troops, Amenhotep, son of Hapu, whose lic veneration, before which men could
Papyrus-cluster columns of the peristyle forecourt of the Temple of Luxor (seen from the
southwest) in Thebes, Egypt. The 18th– to 19th-dynasty structure was built by Amenhotep III
about 1390 bc and is sometimes called the Great Temple of Amon, though that name is nor-
mally reserved for the larger temple complex at nearby Karnak. Hirmer Fotoarchiv, München
68 | Ancient Egypt: From Prehistory to the Islamic Conquest
Thus, Akhenaton did not create a new religion, the king transferred the capital
god but rather singled out this aspect of to a virgin site at Amarna (Tell el-Ama-
the sun god from among others. He also rna; Al-‘Amārinah) in Middle Egypt.
carried further radical tendencies that There he constructed a well-planned
had recently developed in solar religion, city—Akhetaton (“the Horizon of Aton”)—
in which the sun god was freed from his comprising temples to the Aton, palaces,
traditional mythological context and pre- official buildings, villas for the high rank-
sented as the sole beneficent provider for ing, and extensive residential quarters. In
the entire world. The king’s own divinity the Eastern Desert cliffs surrounding the
was emphasized. The Aton was said to be city, tombs were excavated for the court-
his father, of whom he alone had knowl- iers, and deep within a secluded wadi
edge, and they shared the status of king the royal sepulchre was prepared. Reliefs
and celebrated jubilees together. in these tombs have been invaluable
In his first five regnal years, for reconstructing life at Amarna. The
Akhenaton built many temples to the tomb reliefs and stelae portray the life of
Aton, of which the most important were the royal family with an unprecedented
in the precinct of the temple of Amon-Re degree of intimacy.
at Karnak. In these open-air structures In Akhenaton’s ninth year a more
was developed a new, highly stylized monotheistic didactic name was given
form of relief and sculpture in the round. to the Aton, and an intense persecution
The Aton was depicted not in anthropo- of the older gods, especially Amon, was
morphic form but as a solar disk from undertaken. Amon’s name was excised
which radiating arms extend the hiero- from many older monuments throughout
glyph for “life” to the noses of the king the land, and occasionally the word gods
and his family. During the construction was expunged.
of these temples, the cult of Amon and Akhenaton’s religious and cultural
other gods was suspended, and the wor- revolution was highly personal in that he
ship of the Aton in an open-air sanctuary seems to have had a direct hand in devis-
superseded that of Amon, who had dwelt ing the precepts of the Aton religion and
in a dark shrine of the Karnak temple. the conventions of Amarna art. In reli-
The king’s wife Nefertiti, whom he had gion the accent was upon the sun’s
married before his accession, was promi- life-sustaining power, and naturalistic
nent in the reliefs and had a complete scenes adorned the walls and even the
shrine dedicated to her that included no floors of Amarna buildings. The king’s
images of the king. Her prestige contin- role in determining the composition of
ued to grow for much of the reign. the court is expressed in epithets given to
At about the time that he altered officials he selected from the lesser ranks
his name to conform with the new of society, including the military. Few
70 | Ancient Egypt: From Prehistory to the Islamic Conquest
officials had any connection with the old the reign of Akhenaton and the end
ruling elite, and some courtiers who had of the 18th dynasty, Egypt lost control of
been accepted at the beginning of the much territory in Syria.
reign were purged. Even at Amarna
the new religion was not widely accepted The Aftermath of Amarna
below the level of the elite; numerous
small objects relating to traditional Akhenaton had six daughters by Nefertiti
beliefs have been found at the site. and possibly a son, perhaps by a second-
Akhenaton’s revolutionary intent is ary wife Kiya. Either Nefertiti or the widow
visible in all of his actions. In represen- of Tutankhamen called on the Hittite
tational art, many existing conventions king Suppiluliumas to supply a consort
were revised to emphasize the break because she could find none in Egypt. A
with the past. Such a procedure is com- prince was sent, but he was murdered as
prehensible because traditional values he reached Egypt. Thus, Egypt never had
were consistently incorporated in cul- a diplomatic marriage in which a foreign
tural expression as a whole; in order man was received into the country.
to change one part, it was necessary to After the brief rule of Smenkhkare
change the whole. (1335–32 bc), possibly a son of Akhenaton,
A vital innovation was the introduc- Tutankhaten, a nine-year-old child, suc-
tion of vernacular forms into the written ceeded and was married to the much
language. This led in later decades to the older Ankhesenpaaten, Akhenaton’s
appearance of current verbal forms in third daughter. Around his third regnal
monumental inscriptions. The vernacu- year, the king moved his capital to
lar form of the New Kingdom, which is Memphis, abandoned the Aton cult, and
now known as Late Egyptian, appears changed his and the queen’s names to
fully developed in letters of the later 19th Tutankhamen and Ankhesenamen. In an
and 20th dynasties. inscription recording Tutankhamen’s
Akhenaton’s foreign policy and use actions for the gods, the Amarna period
of force abroad are less well understood. is described as one of misery and of the
He mounted one minor campaign in withdrawal of the gods from Egypt. This
Nubia. In the Middle East, Egypt’s hold change, made in the name of the young
on its possessions was not as secure as king, was probably the work of high offi-
earlier, but the cuneiform tablets found at cials. The most influential were Ay,
Amarna recording his diplomacy are dif- known by the title God’s Father, who
ficult to interpret because the vassals served as vizier and regent (his title indi-
who requested aid from him exaggerated cates a close relationship to the royal
their plight. One reason for unrest in the family), and the general Horemheb, who
region was the decline of Mitanni and functioned as royal deputy and whose
the resurgence of the Hittites. Between tomb at S·aqqārah contains remarkable
The New Kingdom and the Third Intermediate Period | 71
Gold funerary mask of King Tutankhamen, Thebes, Egypt, 14th century bc; in the Egyptian
Museum, Cairo. © Lee Boltin
72 | Ancient Egypt: From Prehistory to the Islamic Conquest
Tutankhamen’s Tomb
Tutankhamen unexpect-
edly died in his 19th year
without designating an
heir and was succeeded by
Ay. He was buried in a small
tomb hastily converted
for his use in the Valley
of the Kings (his intended
sepulchre was probably
taken over by Ay). Like
other rulers associated
with the Amarna period—
Akhenaton, Smenkhkare,
and Ay—he was to suffer
the posthumous fate of
Tutankhamen’s tomb (lower left) in the Valley of the Kings, Thebes, having his name stricken
Egypt, 14th century bc. © Robert Holmes from later king lists and
his monuments usurped,
primarily by his former
general, Horemheb, who subsequently became king. Although Tutankhamen’s tomb shows
evidence of having been entered and briefly plundered, the location of his burial was clearly
forgotten by the time of the 20th dynasty (1190–1075 Bc), when craftsmen assigned to work on
the nearby tomb of Ramses VI built temporary stone shelters directly over its entrance. The
tomb was preserved until a systematic search of the Valley of the Kings by the English archae-
ologist Howard Carter revealed its location in 1922.
Inside his small tomb, the king’s mummy lay within a nest of three coffins, the innermost of
solid gold, the two outer ones of gold hammered over wooden frames. On the king’s head was a
magnificent golden portrait mask, and numerous pieces of jewelry and amulets lay upon the
mummy and in its wrappings. The coffins and stone sarcophagus were surrounded by four text-
covered shrines of hammered gold over wood, which practically filled the burial chamber. The
other rooms were crammed with furniture, statuary, clothes, chariots, weapons, staffs, and
numerous other objects.
But for his tomb, Tutankhamen has little claim to fame. As it is, he is perhaps better known
than any of his longer-lived and better-documented predecessors and successors. His renown
was secured after the highly popular “Treasures of Tutankhamun” exhibit traveled the world in
the 1960s and ’70s. The treasures, housed at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, were the subject of
another multiyear tour in Canada and the United States beginning in 2009.
74 | Ancient Egypt: From Prehistory to the Islamic Conquest
The Valley of the Queens is a gorge in the hills along the western bank of the Nile River in Upper
Egypt. It was part of ancient Thebes and served as the burial site of the queens and some royal
children of the 19th and 20th dynasties (1292–1075 Bc). The queens’ necropolis is located about
1.5 miles (2.4 km) west of the mortuary temple of Ramses III (1187–56 Bc) at Madīnat Habu.
There are more than 90 known tombs, usually consisting of an entrance passage, a few short
halls, and a sarcophagus chamber. The earliest may be that of Sitre, wife of Ramses I. The most
notable are those of Nefertari, the favourite queen of Ramses II; of Princes Khaemwese and
Amonhirkhopsef; and of a Ramesside queen called Titi. In 1979 UNESCO added the Valley of
the Queens, the Valley of the Kings, Karnak, Luxor, and other sites of Thebes to the World
Heritage List.
decade of stalemate, a treaty in his 21st For the first time in more than a
year was concluded with Hattusilis III, millennium, princes were prominently
the Hittite king. represented on the monuments. Ramses
The rise of Assyria and unrest in II’s fourth surviving son, Khaemwese, was
western Anatolia encouraged the Hittites famous as high priest of Ptah at Memphis.
to accept this treaty, while Ramses II may He restored many monuments in the
have feared a new Libyan threat to the Memphite area, including pyramids and
western delta. Egyptian and Hittite ver- pyramid temples of the Old Kingdom,
sions of the treaty survive. It contained and had buildings constructed near the
a renunciation of further hostilities, a Sarapeum at S·aqqārah. He was celebrated
mutual alliance against outside attack into Roman times as a sage and magician
and internal rebellion, and the extradition and became the hero of a cycle of stories.
of fugitives. The gods of both lands were
invoked as witnesses. The treaty was fur- Merneptah and the Last
ther cemented 13 years later by Ramses Years of the 19th Dynasty
II’s marriage to a Hittite princess.
The king had an immense family by Ramses II’s 13th son, Merneptah (ruled
his numerous wives, among whom he 1213–04 bc), was his successor. Several of
especially honoured Nefertari. He dedi- Merneptah’s inscriptions, of unusual lit-
cated a temple to her at Abū Simbel, in erary style, treat an invasion of the
Nubia, and built a magnificent tomb for western delta in his fifth year by Libyans,
her in the Valley of the Queens. supported by groups of Sea Peoples who
76 | Ancient Egypt: From Prehistory to the Islamic Conquest
had traveled from Anatolia to Libya in harsh taxation and treated the gods as
search of new homes. The Egyptians mortals with no offerings in their temples.
defeated this confederation and settled
captives in military camps to serve as The Early 20th Dynasty:
Egyptian mercenaries. Setnakht and Ramses III
One of the inscriptions concludes with
a poem of victory (written about another Order was restored by a man of obscure
battle), famous for its words “Israel is deso- origin, Setnakht (ruled 1190–87 bc), the
lated and has no seed.” This is the earliest founder of the 20th dynasty, who appro-
documented mention of Israel. It is gener- priated Tausert’s tomb in the Valley of
ally assumed that the exodus of the Jews the Kings. An inscription of Setnakht
from Egypt took place under Ramses II. recounts his struggle to pacify the land,
Merneptah was able to hold most of which ended in the second of his three
Egypt’s possessions, although early in his regnal years.
reign he had to reassert Egyptian suzer- Setnakht’s son Ramses III (ruled
ainty in Palestine, destroying Gezer in 1187–56 bc) was the last great king of the
the process. Peaceful relations with the New Kingdom. There are problems in
Hittites and respect for the treaty of evaluating his achievements because he
Ramses II are indicated by Merneptah’s emulated Ramses II and copied numer-
dispatch of grain to them during a fam- ous scenes and texts of Ramses II in his
ine and by Egyptian military aid in the mortuary temple at Madīnat Habu, one of
protection of Hittite possessions in Syria. the best-preserved temples of the empire
Upon the death of Merneptah, period. Thus, the historicity of certain
competing factions within the royal Nubian and Syrian wars depicted as his
family contended for the succession. accomplishments is subject to doubt. He
Merneptah’s son Seti II (ruled 1204–1198 did, however, fight battles that were more
bc) had to face a usurper, Amenmeses, decisive than any fought by Ramses II. In
who rebelled in Nubia and was accepted his fifth year Ramses III defeated a large-
in Upper Egypt. His successor, Siptah, scale Libyan invasion of the delta in a
was installed on the throne by a Syrian battle in which thousands of the enemy
royal butler, Bay, who had become chan- perished.
cellor of Egypt. Siptah was succeeded by A greater menace lay to the north,
Seti II’s widow Tausert, who ruled as king where a confederation of Sea Peoples
from 1193 to 1190 bc, counting her reg- was progressing by land and sea toward
nal years from the death of Seti II, whose Egypt. This alliance of obscure tribes
name she restored over that of Siptah. A traveled south in the aftermath of the
description in a later papyrus of the end destruction of the Hittite empire. In his
of the dynasty alludes to a Syrian usurper, eighth regnal year Ramses III engaged
probably Bay, who subjected the land to them successfully on two frontiers—a
The New Kingdom and the Third Intermediate Period | 77
which each king added his own gifts. Of Under Ramses V (ruled 1150–45 bc),
the annual income to temples, 86 per- Ramessesnakht’s son not only served as
cent of the silver and 62 percent of the steward of Amon, but also held the post
grain was awarded to Amon. The docu- of administrator of royal lands and chief
ment demonstrates the economic power taxing master. Thus, this family acquired
of the Theban temples, for the tremen- extensive authority over the wealth of
dous landholdings of Amon’s estate Amon and over state finances, but to what
throughout Egypt involved the labour of extent this threatened royal authority is
a considerable portion of the population; uncertain. Part of the problem in evalu-
but the ratio of temple to state income is ating the evidence is that Ramesside
not known, and the two were not admin- history is viewed from a Theban bias,
istratively separate. In addition, the because Thebes is the major source
temple of Amon, which figures promi- of information. Evidence from Lower
nently in the papyrus, included within its Egypt, where the king normally resided,
estates the king’s own mortuary temple, is meagre because conditions there were
for Ramses III was himself deified as a unfavourable for preserving monuments
form of Amon-Re, known as Imbued with or papyri.
Eternity. A long papyrus from the reign of
Ramses V contains valuable information
The Later Ramesside Kings on the ownership of land and taxation. In
Ramesside Egypt most of the land
The Ramesside period saw a tendency belonged to the state and the temples,
toward the formation of high-priestly while most peasants served as tenant
families, which kings sometimes tried to farmers. Some scholars interpret this
counter by appointing outside men to the document as indicating that the state
high priesthood. One such family had retained its right to tax temple property,
developed at Thebes in the second half of at an estimated one-tenth of the crop.
the 19th dynasty, and Ramses IV tried to Ramses VI (ruled 1145–37 bc), proba-
control it by installing Ramessesnakht, bly a son of Ramses III, usurped much of
the son of a royal steward, as Theban his two predecessors’ work, including the
high priest. Ramessesnakht participated tomb of Ramses V; a papyrus refers to a
in administrative as well as priestly possible civil war at Thebes. Following
affairs. He personally led an expedition the death of Ramses III and the disrupted
to the Wadi H·ammāmāt (present-day migrations of the late Bronze Age, the
Wādī Rawd· ‘Ā’id) quarries in the Eastern Asian empire had rapidly withered away,
Desert, and at Thebes he supervised the and Ramses VI is the last king whose
distribution of rations to the workmen name appears at the Sinai turquoise
decorating the royal tomb. mines. The next two Ramses (ruled
The New Kingdom and the Third Intermediate Period | 79
1137–26 bc) were obscure rulers, whose their valuable furnishings. Nubian troops,
sequence has been questioned. During called in to restore order at Thebes, them-
the reigns of Ramses IX (ruled 1126–08 selves contributed to the depredation of
bc) and Ramses X (1108–04 bc), there are monuments. This pillaging brought fresh
frequent references in the papyri to the gold and silver into the economy, and the
disruptions of marauding Libyans near price of copper rose. The price of grain,
the Theban necropolis. which had become inflated, dropped.
By the time of Ramses IX the Theban The Ramesside growth of priestly
high priest had attained great local influ- power was matched by increasingly overt
ence, though he was still outranked by the religiosity. Private tombs, the decoration
king. By Ramses XI’s 19th regnal year the of which had been mostly secular until
new high priest of Amon, Herihor—who then, came to include only religious
seems to have had a military background scenes; oracles were invoked in many
and also claimed the vizierate and the kinds of decisions; and private letters
office of viceroy of Cush—controlled contain frequent references to prayer and
the Theban area. In reliefs at the temple to regular visits to small temples to per-
of Khons at Karnak, Herihor was repre- form rituals or consult oracles. The
sented as high priest of Amon in scenes common expression used in letters, “I am
adjoining those of Ramses XI. This in all right today; tomorrow is in the hands
itself was unusual, but subsequently he of god,” reflects the ethos of the age. This
took an even bolder step in having him- fatalism, which emphasizes that the god
self depicted as king to the exclusion of may be capricious and that his wishes
the still-reigning Ramses XI. Herihor’s cannot be known, is also typical of late
limited kingship was restricted only to New Kingdom Instruction Texts, which
Thebes, where those years were referred show a marked change from their Middle
to as a “repeating of [royal] manifesta- Kingdom forerunners by moving toward
tions,” which lasted a decade. a passivity and quietism that suits a less
With the shrinkage of the empire, the expensive age.
supply of silver and copper was cut off, Some of the religious material of the
and the amount of gold entering the Ramesside period exhibits changes in
economy was reduced considerably. conventions of display, and some catego-
During the reign of Ramses IX the inhab- ries have no parallel in the less abundant
itants of western Thebes were found to earlier record, but the shift is real as well
have pillaged the tombs of kings and as apparent. In its later periods, Egyptian
nobles (already a common practice in the society, the values of which had previ-
latter case); the despoiling continued ously tended to be centralized, secular,
into the reign of Ramses XI, and even the and political, became more locally based
royal mortuary temples were stripped of and more thoroughly pervaded by
80 | Ancient Egypt: From Prehistory to the Islamic Conquest
religion, looking to the temple as the which had been settled mainly in the
chief institution. north by Ramses III, penetrated the rul-
While Ramses XI was still king, ing group, although it did not become
Herihor died and was succeeded as high dominant until the 22nd dynasty.
priest by Piankh, a man of similar mili-
tary background. A series of letters from The 21st Dynasty
Thebes tell of Piankh’s military venture
in Nubia against the former viceroy of Beginning with Herihor and continuing
Cush while Egypt was on the verge of los- through the 21st dynasty, the high priests’
ing control of the south. With the death activities included the pious rewrapping
of Ramses XI, the governor of Tanis, and reburial of New Kingdom royal mum-
Smendes, became king, founding the 21st mies. The systematic removal of such
dynasty (known as the Tanite). goods from the royal tombs by royal order
during the 20th dynasty necessitated the
The Third Intermediate transfer of the royal remains in stages to
period two caches—the tomb of Amenhotep II
and a cliff tomb at Dayr al-Bah·rī—where
At the end of the New Kingdom, Egypt they remained undisturbed until modern
was divided. The north was inherited by times. Dockets pertaining to the reburial
the Tanite 21st dynasty (1075–c. 950 bc), of these mummies contain important
and although much of the southern Nile chronological data from the 21st dynasty.
River valley came under the control of The burials of King Psusennes I
the Theban priests (the northern frontier (ruled c. 1045–c. 997 bc) and his successor,
of their domain was the fortress town of Amenemope (ruled c. 998–c. 989 bc), were
Al-Hība), there is no indication of conflict discovered at Tanis, but little is known
between the priests and the Tanite kings. of their reigns. This was a period when
Indeed, the dating of documents, even at statuary was usurped and the material
Thebes, was in terms of the Tanite reigns, of earlier periods was reused. At Karnak,
and apparently there were close family Pinudjem I, who decorated the facade
ties between the kings and the Thebans. of the Khons temple, usurped a colossal
Piankh’s son, Pinudjem I, who relin- statue of Ramses II, and Psusennes I’s
quished the office of high priest and splendid sarcophagus from Tanis had
assumed the kingship at Thebes, was originally been carved for Merneptah at
probably the father of the Tanite king Thebes. Much of the remains from Tanis
Psusennes I. Some members of both the consists of material transported from
Theban priestly and the Tanite royal lines other sites, notably from Pi Ramesse.
had Libyan names. With the coming of After the demise of Egypt’s Asian
the new dynasty, and possibly a little ear- empire, the kingdom of Israel eventually
lier, the Meshwesh Libyan military elite, developed under the kings David and
The New Kingdom and the Third Intermediate Period | 81
Documents found with New Kingdom royal mummies, which had been reburied in the tomb of
18th-century ruler Amenhotep II (pictured), provided several clues to Egyptian life in the 21st
dynasty. Kenneth Garrett/National Geographic/Getty Images
82 | Ancient Egypt: From Prehistory to the Islamic Conquest
group identity, names, and perhaps a to civil war at Thebes. The king’s son
military ethos. Toward the end of the 21st Osorkon was appointed high priest, and
dynasty the Libyan leader of Bubastis, he achieved some semblance of order
the great Meshwesh chief Sheshonk I (the during his visits to Thebes, but he was
biblical Shishak), secured special privi- driven from the post several times.
leges from King Psusennes II (ruled c. The initially successful 22nd dynasty
964–c. 950 bc) and the oracle of Amon for revived Egyptian influence in Palestine.
the mortuary cult of his father at Abydos. After Solomon’s death (c. 936), Sheshonk
The oracle proffered good wishes not I entered Palestine and plundered
only for Sheshonk and his family but, sig- Jerusalem. Prestige from this exploit
nificantly, also for his army. With a strong may have lasted through the reign of
military backing, Sheshonk eventually Osorkon II (ruled c. 929–c. 914 bc). In the
took the throne. His reign (c. 950–929 bc) reign of Osorkon III (ruled c. 888–c. 860
marks the founding of the 22nd dynasty bc), Peywed Libyans posed a threat to the
(c. 950–c. 730 bc). western delta, perhaps necessitating a
Military controls were established, withdrawal from Palestine.
with garrisons under Libyan comman- The latter part of the dynasty was
dants serving to quell local insurrections, marked by fragmentation of the land:
so that the structure of the state became Libyan great chiefs ruled numerous local
more feudalistic. The dynasty tried to areas, and there were as many as six local
cement relations with Thebes through rulers in the land at a time. Increased
political marriages with priestly families. urbanization accompanied this fragmen-
King Sheshonk’s son Osorkon married tation, which was most intense in the
Psusennes II’s daughter, and their son delta. Meanwhile, in Thebes, a separate
eventually became high priest at Karnak. 23rd dynasty was recognized.
By installing their sons as high priests From the 9th century bc a local
and promoting such marriages, kings Cushite state, which looked to Egyptian
strove to overcome the administrative traditions from the colonial period of the
division of the country. But frequent con- New Kingdom, arose in the Sudan and
flicts arose over the direct appointment developed around the old regional capi-
of the Theban high priest from among tal of Napata. The earliest ruler of the
the sons of Libyan kings and over the state known by name was Alara, whose
inheritance of the post by men of mixed piety toward Amon is mentioned in sev-
Theban and Libyan descent. This tension eral inscriptions. His successor, Kashta,
took place against a background of proceeded into Upper Egypt, forcing
Theban resentment of the northern Osorkon IV (ruled c. 777–c. 750 bc) to
dynasty. During the reign of Takelot II, retire to the delta. Kashta assumed the
strife concerning the high priestship led title of king and compelled Osorkon IV’s
The New Kingdom and the Third Intermediate Period | 83
daughter Shepenwepe I, the God’s Wife his rule (c. 719–703 bc). He had Bocchoris
of Amon at Thebes, to adopt his own burned alive and removed all other claim-
daughter Amonirdis I as her successor. ants to the kingship.
The Cushites stressed the role of the In this period Egypt’s internal poli-
God’s Wife of Amon, who was virtually tics were affected by the growth of the
the consecrated partner of Amon, and Assyrian Empire. In Palestine and Syria
sought to bypass the high priests. frequent revolts against Assyria were
aided by Egyptian forces. Against the
The 24th and 25th Dynasties power of Assyria, the Egyptian and
Nubian forces met with little success,
Meanwhile, the eastern capital in the Nile partly because of their own fragmented
River delta, Tanis, lost its importance to politics and divided loyalties.
Sais in the western delta. A Libyan prince Although the earlier years of King
of Sais, Tefnakhte, attempting to gain Taharqa (ruled 690–664 bc), who as
control over all Egypt, proceeded south- second son of Shabaka had succeeded
ward to Heracleopolis after acquiring his brother Shebitku (ruled 703–690
Memphis. This advance was met by the bc), were prosperous, the confrontation
Cushite ruler Piye (now the accepted with Assyria became acute. In 671 bc the
reading of “Piankhi,” ruled c. 750–c. 719 Assyrian king Esarhaddon entered Egypt
bc), who executed a raid as far north as and drove Taharqa into Upper Egypt. Two
Memphis and received the submission of years later Taharqa regained a battered
the northern rulers (in about 730 bc). In Memphis, but in 667 bc Esarhaddon’s
his victory stela, Piye is portrayed as con- successor, Ashurbanipal, forced Taharqa
forming strictly to Egyptian norms and to Thebes, where the Cushites held
reasserting traditional values against ground. Taharqa’s successor, Tanutamon,
contemporary decay. defeated at Memphis a coalition of delta
After Piye returned to Cush, princes who supported Assyria, but
Tefnakhte reasserted his authority in Ashurbanipal’s reaction to this was to
the north, where, according to Manetho, humiliate Thebes, which the Assyrians
he was eventually succeeded by his son plundered. By 656 the Cushites had with-
Bocchoris as the sole king of the 24th drawn from the Egyptian political scene,
dynasty (c. 722–c. 715 bc). Piye’s brother although Cushite culture survived in the
Shabaka meanwhile founded the rival Sudanese Napatan and Meroitic king-
25th dynasty and brought all Egypt under dom for another millennium.
ChAPTER 5
The Late Period
and Beyond
A ssyria, unable to maintain a large force in Egypt, sup-
ported several delta vassal princes, including the
powerful Psamtik I of Sais. But the Assyrians faced serious
problems closer to home, and Psamtik (or Psammetichus I,
ruled 664–610 bc) was able to assert his independence and
extend his authority as king over all Egypt without extensive
use of arms, inaugurating the Saite 26th dynasty.
Trade developed between Egypt and temple in Jerusalem in 586 bc. In the
Greece, and more Greeks settled in Egypt. aftermath of his conquest, many Jews
The Saite dynasty generally pursued fled to Egypt, where some were enlisted
a foreign policy that avoided territorial as soldiers in the Persian army of occupa-
expansion and tried to preserve the sta- tion. Apries’ army was then defeated in
tus quo. Assyria’s power was waning. In Libya when it attacked the Greek colony
655 bc Psamtik I marched into Philistia in at Cyrene, some 620 miles (1,000 km)
pursuit of the Assyrians, and in 620 bc he west of the Nile delta; this led to an army
apparently repulsed Scythians from the mutiny and to civil war in the delta. A new
Egyptian frontier. During the reign of his Saite king, Amasis (or Ahmose II; ruled
son Necho II (610–595 bc), Egypt sup- 570–526 bc), usurped the throne and
ported Assyria as a buffer against the drove Apries into exile. Two years later
potential threat of the Medes and Apries invaded Egypt with Babylonian
the Babylonians. Necho was successful in support, but he was defeated and killed
Palestine and Syria until 605 bc, when the by Amasis, who nonetheless buried him
Babylonian Nebuchadrezzar inflicted a with full honours. Amasis returned to
severe defeat on Egyptian forces at a more conservative foreign policy in a
Carchemish. After withdrawing his troops long, prosperous reign. To reduce fric-
from Asia, Necho concentrated on devel- tion between Greeks and Egyptians,
oping Egyptian commerce; the grain that especially in the army, Amasis withdrew
was delivered to Greece was paid for in the Greeks from the military colonies
silver. He also built up the navy and and transferred them to Memphis, where
began a canal linking the Nile with the they formed a sort of royal bodyguard.
Red Sea. Under Psamtik II (ruled 595–589 He limited Greek trade in Egypt to
bc) there was a campaign through the Sais, Memphis, and Naukratis, the lat-
Napatan kingdom involving the use of ter becoming the only port to which
Greek and Carian mercenaries who left Greek wares could be taken, so that
their inscriptions at Abu Simbel; at the taxes on imports and on business could
same time, the names of the long-dead be enforced. Naukratis prospered, and
Cushite rulers were erased from their Amasis was seen by the Greeks as a bene-
monuments in Egypt. Psamtik II also factor. In foreign policy he supported a
made an expedition to Phoenicia accom- waning Babylonia, now threatened by
panied by priests; whether it was a Persia; but six months after his death in
military or a goodwill mission is unknown. 526 bc the Persian Cambyses II (ruled as
The next king, Apries (ruled 589– pharaoh 525–522 bc) penetrated Egypt,
570 bc), tried unsuccessfully to end reaching Nubia in 525.
Babylonian domination of Palestine and As was common in the Middle East
Syria. With the withdrawal of Egyptian in that period, the Saite kings used
forces, Nebuchadrezzar destroyed the foreigners as mercenaries to prevent
86 | Ancient Egypt: From Prehistory to the Islamic Conquest
foreign invasions. An element within There was, however, also significant inno-
Egyptian culture, however, resisted any vation. In writing, the demotic script, the
influence of the resident foreigners and new cursive form, was introduced from
gave rise to a nationalism that provided the north and spread gradually through
psychological security in times of politi- the country. Demotic was used to write
cal uncertainty. A cultural revival was a contemporary form of the language,
initiated in the 25th dynasty and contin- and administrative Late Egyptian disap-
ued throughout the 26th. Temples and peared. Hieratic was, however, retained
the priesthood were overtly dominant. In for literary and religious texts, among
their inscriptions the elite displayed their which very ancient material, such as the
priestly titles but did not mention the Pyramid Texts, was revived and inscribed
administrative roles that they probably in tombs and on coffins and sarcophagi.
also performed. Throughout the country, The Late period was the time of the
people of substance dedicated land to greatest development of animal worship
temple endowments that supplemented in Egypt. This feature of religion, which
royal donations. The god Seth, who had was the subject of much interest and
been an antithetic element in Egyptian scorn among classical writers, had always
religion, came gradually to be proscribed existed but had been of minor impor-
as the god of foreign lands. tance. In the Late and Ptolemaic periods,
The revival of this period was both it became one of the principal forms of
economic and cultural, but there is less popular religion in an intensely religious
archaeological evidence preserved than society. Many species of animals were
for earlier times because the economic mummified and buried, and towns sprang
centre of the country was now the delta, up in the necropolises to cater for the
where conditions for the preservation needs of dead animals and their worship-
of ancient sites were unfavourable. ers. At S·aqqārah the Apis bull, which had
Prosperity increased throughout the been worshipped since the 1st dynasty,
26th dynasty, reaching a high point in was buried in a huge granite sarcopha-
the reign of Amasis. Temples throughout gus in ceremonies in which royalty might
the land were enhanced and expanded, take part. At least 10 species—from ibises,
often in hard stones carved with great buried by the million, to dogs—were
skill. The chief memorials of pri- interred by the heterogeneous popula-
vate individuals were often temple tion of Memphis, Egypt’s largest city.
statues, of which many fine examples were
dedicated, again mostly in hard stones. Egypt under
In temple and tomb decoration and in Achaemenid rule
statuary, the Late period rejected its
immediate predecessors and looked to According to the Greek historian
the great periods of the past for models. Herodotus, who visited Egypt in about 450
The Late Period and Beyond | 87
most of the delta. In the later 5th century yet Egypt had no coinage in general cir-
bc, under the rule of Artaxerxes I (ruled culation; the foreign coins may have been
465–425 bc) and Darius II Ochus (ruled acquired in exchange for exports of grain,
423–404 bc), conditions in Egypt were papyrus, and linen. Some Egyptian coins
very unsettled, and scarcely any monu- were minted in the 4th century, but they
ments of the period have been identified. do not seem to have gained widespread
acceptance.
The 28th, 29th, and Aided by the Greek commander
30th Dynasties Chabrias of Athens and his elite troops,
Achoris prevented a Persian invasion;
The death of Darius II in 404 bc prompted but after Achoris’s death in 380 bc
a successful rebellion in the Nile delta, his son Nepherites II lasted only four
and the Egyptian Amyrtaeus formed a months before a general, Nectanebo
Saite 28th dynasty, of which he was the I (Nekhtnebef; ruled 380–362 bc) of
sole king (404–399 bc). His rule was rec- Sebennytos, usurped the throne, found-
ognized in Upper Egypt by 401 bc, at a ing the 30th dynasty (380–343 bc). In
time when Persia’s troubles elsewhere 373 bc the Persians attacked Egypt, and,
forestalled an attempt to regain Egypt. although Egyptian losses were heavy,
Despite growing prosperity and disagreement between the Persian satrap
success in retaining independence, 4th- Pharnabazus and his Greek commander
century Egypt was characterized by over strategy, combined with a timely
continual internal struggle for the throne. inundation of the delta, saved the day
After a long period of fighting in the delta, for Egypt. With the latent dissolution
a 29th dynasty (399–380 bc) emerged at of the Persian Empire under the weak
Mendes. Achoris (ruled 393–380 bc), its Artaxerxes II, Egypt was relatively safe
third and final ruler, was especially vig- from further invasion; it remained pros-
orous, and the prosperity of his reign is perous throughout the dynasty.
indicated by many monuments in Upper Egypt had a more aggressive foreign
and Lower Egypt. Once again Egypt was policy under Nectanebo’s son Tachos
active in international politics, forming (ruled c. 365–360 bc). Possessing a strong
alliances with the opponents of Persia army and navy composed of Egyptian
and building up its army and navy. The Machimoi and Greek mercenaries and
Egyptian army included Greeks both supported by Chabrias and the Spartan
as mercenaries and as commanders; the king Agesilaus, Tachos (in Egyptian
mercenaries were not permanent resi- called Djeho) invaded Palestine. But fric-
dents of military camps in Egypt but tion between Tachos and Agesilaus and
native Greeks seeking payment for their the cost of financing the venture proved
services in gold. Payment was normally to be Tachos’s undoing. In an attempt to
made in non-Egyptian coins, because as raise funds quickly, he had imposed taxes
The Late Period and Beyond | 89
and seized temple property. Egyptians, Artaxerxes dealt harshly with Egypt,
especially the priests, resented this bur- razing city walls, rifling temple treasur-
den and supported Tachos’s nephew ies, and removing sacred books. Persia
Nectanebo II (Nekhtharehbe; ruled 360– acquired rich booty in its determination
343 bc) in his usurpation of the throne. to prevent Egypt from further rebel-
The cost of retaining the allegiance of ling. After the murder of Artaxerxes
mercenaries proved too high for a non- III, in 338 bc, there was a brief obscure
monetary economy. period during which a Nubian prince,
Agesilaus supported Nectanebo Khabbash, seems to have gained con-
in his defensive foreign policy, and the trol over Egypt, but Persian domination
priests sanctioned the new king’s build- was reestablished in 335 bc under
ing activities. Meanwhile, Persia enjoyed a Darius III Codommanus. It was to last
resurgence under Artaxerxes III (Ochus), only three years.
but a Persian attack on Egypt in 350 bc
was repulsed. In 343 bc the Persians The Macedonian conquest
once again marched against Egypt. The
first battle was fought at Pelusium and In the autumn of 332 bc Alexander the
proved the superiority of Persia’s strat- Great invaded Egypt with his mixed army
egy. Eventually the whole delta, and then of Macedonians and Greeks and found the
the rest of Egypt, fell to Artaxerxes III, Egyptians ready to throw off the oppres-
and Nectanebo fled to Nubia. sive control of the Persians. Alexander
The 4th century bc was the last flour- was welcomed by the Egyptians as a
ishing period of an independent Egypt liberator and took the country without
and was a time of notable artistic and lit- a battle. He journeyed to Siwa Oasis in
erary achievements. The 26th dynasty the Western Desert to visit the Oracle of
artistic revival evolved further toward Amon, renowned in the Greek world; it
more-complex forms that culminated disclosed the information that Alexander
briefly in a Greco-Egyptian stylistic was the son of Amon. There may also
fusion, as seen in the tomb of Petosiris at have been a coronation at the Egyptian
Tūnah al-Jabal from the turn of the 3rd capital, Memphis, which, if it occurred,
century bc. In literature works continued would have placed him firmly in the tra-
to be transmitted, and possibly com- dition of the kings (pharaohs); the same
posed, in hieratic, but that tradition was purpose may be seen in the later dissemi-
to develop no further. Demotic literary nation of the romantic myth that gave
works began to appear, including stories him an Egyptian parentage by linking
set in the distant past, mythological tales, his mother, Olympias, with the last king,
and an acrostic text apparently designed Nectanebo II.
to teach an order of sounds in the Alexander left Egypt in the spring of
Egyptian language. 331 bc, dividing the military command
90 | Ancient Egypt: From Prehistory to the Islamic Conquest
between Balacrus, son of Amyntas, and of Pe and Dep, the territory of Patanut,
Peucestas, son of Makartatos. The earli- from this day forth for ever, with all its vil-
est known Greek documentary papyrus, lages, all its towns, all its inhabitants, all
found at S·aqqārah in 1973, reveals the its fields.” The inscription emphasizes
sensitivity of the latter to Egyptian reli- Ptolemy’s own role in wresting the land
gious institutions in a notice that reads: from the Persians (though the epithet of
“Order of Peucestas. No one is to pass. Soter, meaning “Saviour,” resulted not
The chamber is that of a priest.” The from his actions in Egypt but from the
civil administration was headed by an gratitude of the people of Rhodes for his
official with the Persian title of satrap, having relieved them from a siege in 315
one Cleomenes of Naukratis. When bc) and links him with Khabbash, who
Alexander died in 323 bc and his gen- had laid claim to the kingship during the
erals divided his empire, the position of last Persian occupation in about 338 bc.
satrap was claimed by Ptolemy, son of a Egypt was ruled by Ptolemy’s descen-
Macedonian nobleman named Lagus. dants until the death of Cleopatra VII on
The senior general Perdiccas, the holder Aug. 12, 30 bc. The kingdom was one of
of Alexander’s royal seal and prospec- several that emerged in the aftermath
tive regent for Alexander’s posthumous of Alexander’s death and the struggles of
son, might well have regretted his failure his successors. It was the wealthiest, how-
to take Egypt. He gathered an army and ever, and for much of the next 300 years
marched from Asia Minor to wrest Egypt
from Ptolemy in 321 bc; but Ptolemy had
Alexander’s corpse, Perdiccas’s army was
not wholehearted in support, and the Nile
crocodiles made a good meal from the
flesh of the invaders.
the most powerful politically and cultur- deal of new land, especially in Al-Fayyūm,
ally, and it was the last to fall directly where many of the immigrant Greeks
under Roman dominion. In many were settled.
respects, the character of the Ptolemaic The Macedonian-Greek character of
monarchy in Egypt set a style for other the monarchy was vigorously preserved.
Hellenistic kingdoms; this style emerged There is no more emphatic sign of this
from the Greeks’ and Macedonians’ than the growth and importance of the
awareness of the need to dominate Egypt, city of Alexandria. It had been founded,
its resources, and its people and at the on a date traditionally given as April 7,
same time to turn the power of Egypt 331 bc (but often cited as 332 bc), by
firmly toward the context of a Alexander the Great on the site of the
Mediterranean world that was becoming insignificant Egyptian village of Rakotis
steadily more Hellenized. in the northwestern Nile River delta, and
it ranked as the most important city in
The Ptolemies the eastern Mediterranean until the foun-
(305–145 bc) dation of Constantinople in the 4th
century ad. The importance of the new
The first 160 years of the Ptolemaic Greek city was soon emphasized by con-
dynasty are conventionally seen as its trast to its Egyptian surroundings when
most prosperous era. Little is known of the the royal capital was transferred, within a
foundations laid in the reign of Ptolemy few years of Alexander’s death, from
I Soter (304–282 bc), but the increasing Memphis to Alexandria. The Ptolemaic
amount of documentary, inscriptional, court cultivated extravagant luxury in the
and archaeological evidence from the Greek style in its magnificent and steadily
reign of his son and successor, Ptolemy II expanding palace complex, which occu-
Philadelphus (285–246 bc), shows that the pied as much as a third of the city by the
kingdom’s administration and economy early Roman period. Its grandeur was
underwent a thorough reorganization. A emphasized in the reign of Ptolemy II
remarkable demotic text of the year 258 Philadelphus by the foundation of a qua-
bc refers to orders for a complete census drennial festival, the Ptolemaieia, which
of the kingdom that was to record the was intended to enjoy a status equal to
sources of water; the position, quality, that of the Olympic Games. The festival
and irrigation potential of the land; the was marked by a procession of amazingly
state of cultivation; the crops grown; and elaborate and ingeniously constructed
the extent of priestly and royal landhold- floats, with scenarios illustrating Greek
ings. There were important agricultural religious cults.
innovations in this period. New crops Ptolemy II gave the dynasty another
were introduced, and massive irrigation distinctive feature when he married his
works brought under cultivation a great full sister, Arsinoe II, one of the most
92 | Ancient Egypt: From Prehistory to the Islamic Conquest
was during Euergetes’ reign, for instance, the ruling house at home and abroad, the
that the rebuilding of the great Temple administration adopted a series of gran-
of Horus at Idfū (Apollinopolis Magna) diloquent honorific titles for its officers.
was begun. To conciliate Egyptian feelings, a reli-
Euergetes was succeeded by his son gious synod that met in 196 bc to crown
Ptolemy IV Philopator (221–205 bc), whom Epiphanes at Memphis (the first occasion
the Greek historians portray as a weak on which a Ptolemy is certainly known
and corrupt ruler, dominated by a power- to have been crowned at the traditional
ful circle of Alexandrian Greek courtiers. capital) decreed extensive privileges for
The reign was notable for another serious the Egyptian temples, as recorded on the
conflict with the Seleucids, which ended Rosetta Stone.
in 217 bc in a great Ptolemaic victory at The reign of Ptolemy VI Philometor
Raphia in southern Palestine. The battle (180–145 bc), a man of pious and magnan-
is notable for the fact that large num- imous character, was marked by renewed
bers of native Egyptian soldiers fought conflict with the Seleucids after the death
alongside the Macedonian and Greek of his mother, Cleopatra I, in 176 bc. In
contingents. Events surrounding the 170/169 bc Antiochus IV of Syria invaded
death of Philopator and the succession of Egypt and established a protectorate; in
the youthful Ptolemy V Epiphanes (205– 168 bc he returned, accepted coronation
180 bc) are obscured by court intrigue. at Memphis, and installed a Seleucid gov-
Before Epiphanes had completed his ernor. But he had failed to reckon with the
first decade of rule, serious difficulties more powerful interests of Rome. In the
arose. Native revolts in the south, which summer of 168 bc a Roman ambassador,
had been sporadic in the second half of Popillius Laenas, arrived at Antiochus’s
the 3rd century bc, became serious and headquarters near Pelusium in the Delta
weakened the hold of the monarch on a and staged an awesome display of Roman
vital part of the kingdom. These revolts, power. He ordered Antiochus to with-
which produced native claimants to the draw from Egypt. Antiochus asked for
kingship, are generally attributed to time to consult his advisers. Laenas drew
the native Egyptians’ realization, after a circle around the king with his stick and
their contribution to the victory at told him to answer before he stepped out
Raphia, of their potential power. Trouble of the circle. Only one answer was possi-
continued to break out for several more ble, and by the end of July Antiochus had
decades. By about 196 bc a great por- left Egypt. Philometor’s reign was further
tion of the Ptolemaic overseas empire troubled by rivalry with his brother, later
had been permanently lost (though there Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II Physcon. The
may have been a brief revival in the solution, devised under Roman advice,
Aegean islands in about 165–145 bc). To was to remove Physcon to Cyrene, where
shore up and advertise the strength of he remained until Philometor died in 145
94 | Ancient Egypt: From Prehistory to the Islamic Conquest
bc; but it is noteworthy that in 155 bc his Roman creditors, to Egypt with him to
Physcon took the step of bequeathing the manage his financial affairs.
kingdom of Cyrene to the Romans in In 52 bc, the year before his death,
the event of his untimely death. Auletes associated with himself on the
throne his daughter Cleopatra VII and
Dynastic strife and his elder son Ptolemy XIII (who died
decline (145–30 bc) in 47 bc). The reign of Cleopatra was
that of a vigorous and exceptionally
Physcon was able to rule in Egypt until able queen who was ambitious, among
116 bc with his sister Cleopatra II (except other things, to revive the prestige of the
for a period in 131–130 bc when she was in dynasty by cultivating influence with
revolt) and her daughter Cleopatra III. powerful Roman commanders and using
His reign was marked by generous bene- their capacity to aggrandize Roman cli-
factions to the Egyptian temples, but he ents and allies. Julius Caesar pursued
was detested as a tyrant by the Greeks, Pompey to Egypt in 48 bc. After learn-
and the historical accounts of the reign ing of Pompey’s murder at the hands of
emphasize his stormy relations with the Egyptian courtiers, Caesar stayed long
Alexandrian populace. enough to enjoy a sightseeing tour up
During the last century of Ptolemaic the Nile in the queen’s company in the
rule, Egypt’s independence was exercised summer of 47 bc. When he left for Rome,
under Rome’s protection and at Rome’s Cleopatra was pregnant with a child she
discretion. For much of the period Rome claimed was Caesar’s. The child, a son,
was content to support a dynasty that had was named Caesarion (“Little Caesar”).
no overseas possession except Cyprus Cleopatra and Caesarion later followed
after 96 bc (the year in which Cyrene was Caesar back to Rome, but, after his assas-
bequeathed to Rome by Ptolemy Apion) sination in 44 bc, they returned hurriedly
and no ambitions threatening Roman to Egypt. Cleopatra tried for a while
interests or security. After a series of brief to play a neutral role in the struggles
and unstable reigns, Ptolemy XII Auletes between the Roman generals and their
acceded to the throne in 80 bc. He main- factions.
tained his hold for 30 years, despite Her long liaison with Mark Antony
the attractions that Egypt’s legendary began when she visited him at Tarsus
wealth held for avaricious Roman politi- in 41 bc and he returned to Egypt with
cians. In fact, Auletes had to flee Egypt her. Between 36 and 30 bc the famous
in 58 bc and was restored by Pompey’s romance between the Roman general
friend Gabinius in 55 bc, no doubt after and the eastern queen was exploited to
spending so much in bribes that he had great effect by Antony’s political rival
to bring back Rabirius Postumus, one of Octavian (the future emperor Augustus).
The Late Period and Beyond | 95
The visage of Cleopatra, on display in London in 2001. Cleopatra’s reign marked the end of
Ptolemic leadership in Egypt. Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images
By 34 bc Caesarion was officially co- and Antony were portrayed to the Roman
ruler with Cleopatra, but his rule clearly public as posing for artists in the guise of
was an attempt to exploit the popular- Dionysus and Isis, or whiling away their
ity of Caesar’s memory. In the autumn evenings in rowdy and decadent ban-
Cleopatra and Antony staged an quets that kept the citizens of Alexandria
extravagant display in which they made awake all night.
grandiose dispositions of territory in the This propaganda war was merely
east to their children, Alexander Helios, the prelude to armed conflict, and the
Ptolemy, and Cleopatra Selene. Cleopatra issue was decided in September 31 bc
96 | Ancient Egypt: From Prehistory to the Islamic Conquest
in a naval battle at Actium in western Particularly during the 2nd and 3rd cen-
Greece. When the battle was at its height turies many settlers were attracted from
Cleopatra and her squadron withdrew, cities in Anatolia (Asia Minor) and the
and Antony eventually followed suit. Greek islands, and large numbers of Jews
They fled to Alexandria but could do little came from Palestine. The flow may have
more than await the arrival of the victori- decreased later in the Ptolemaic period,
ous Octavian 10 months later. Alexandria and it is often suggested, on slender evi-
was captured and Antony and Cleopatra dence, that there was a serious decline in
committed suicide—he by falling on his prosperity in the 1st century bc. If so,
sword, she probably by the bite of an there may have been some reversal of
asp—in August of 30 bc. It is reported this trend under Cleopatra VII.
that when Octavian reached the city he
visited and touched the preserved corpse Administration
of Alexander the Great, causing a piece
of the nose to fall off. He refused to gaze The foundation of the prosperity was
upon the remains of the Ptolemies, say- the governmental system devised to
ing “I wished to see a king, not corpses.” exploit the country’s economic resources.
Directly below the monarch were a hand-
Government and ful of powerful officials whose authority
conditions under the extended over the entire land: a chief
Ptolemies finance minister, a chief accountant,
and a chancery of ministers in charge
The changes brought to Egypt by the of records, letters, and decrees. A level
Ptolemies were momentous. The land’s below them lay the broadening base of
resources were harnessed with unparal- a pyramid of subordinate officials with
leled efficiency with the result that Egypt authority in limited areas, which extended
became the wealthiest of the Hellenistic down to the chief administrator of each
kingdoms. Land under cultivation was individual village (kōmarchēs). Between
increased, new crops were introduced the chief ministers and the village
(especially important was the introduc- officials stood those such as the nome-
tion of naked tetraploid wheat, Triticum steward (oikonomos) and the stratēgoi,
durum, to replace the traditional husked whose jurisdiction extended over one of
emmer, Triticum dicoccum). The popula- the more than 30 nomes of Egypt, the
tion, estimated at perhaps three to four long-established geographic divisions.
million in the late Dynastic period, may In theory this bureaucracy could regu-
have more than doubled by the early late and control the economic activities
Roman period to a level not reached of every subject in the land, its smooth
again until the late 19th century. Some of operation guaranteed by the multiplic-
the increase was due to immigration. ity of officials capable of checking each
The Late Period and Beyond | 97
upon the other. In practice, it is difficult A considerable portion was kept under
to see a rigid civil-service mentality at the control of temples, and the remainder
work, involving clear demarcation of was leased out on a theoretically revoca-
departments. Specific functions might ble basis to tenant-farmers. A portion
well have been performed by different also was available to be granted as gifts
officials according to local need and the to leading courtiers. One of these was
availability of a person competent to take Apollonius, the finance minister of
appropriate action. Ptolemy II Philadelphus, who had an
By the same token, rigid lines of sep- estate of 10,000 arourae (about 6,500
aration between military, civil, legal, and acres [2,630 hectares]) at Philadelphia in
administrative matters are difficult to Al-Fayyūm. Tenants and beneficiaries
perceive. The same official might per- were able to behave very much as if these
form duties in one or all of these areas. leases and grants were private property.
The military was inevitably integrated The revenues in cash and kind were enor-
into civilian life because its soldiers were mous, and royal control extended to the
also farmers who enjoyed royal grants of manufacture and marketing of almost all
land, either as Greek cleruchs (holders important products, including papyrus,
of allotments) with higher status and oil, linen, and beer. An extraordinarily
generous grants, or as native Egypt detailed set of revenue laws, promulgated
machimoi with small plots. Interlocking under Ptolemy II Philadelphus, laid down
judiciary institutions, in the form of
Greek and Egyptian courts (chrēmatistai
and laokritai), provided the means for
Greeks and Egyptians to regulate their
legal relationships according to the lan-
guage in which they conducted their
business. The bureaucratic power was
heavily weighted in favour of the Greek
speakers, the dominant elite. Egyptians
were nevertheless able to obtain official
posts in the bureaucracy, gradually infil-
trating to the highest levels, but in order
to do so they had to Hellenize.
Economy
Bowl of pressed mosaic glass, believed to be
The basis of Egypt’s legendary wealth from Alexandria, Egypt, 1st century ad; in the
was the highly productive land, which Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
technically remained in royal ownership. Courtesy of Victoria and Albert Museum
98 | Ancient Egypt: From Prehistory to the Islamic Conquest
rules for the way in which officials were to also the major production centre for high-
monitor the production of such commod- quality mosaic work.
ities. In fact, the Ptolemaic economy was
very much a mixture of direct royal own- Religion
ership and exploitation by private
enterprise under regulated conditions. The Ptolemies were powerful support-
One fundamental and far-reaching ers of the native Egyptian religious
Ptolemaic innovation was the system- foundations, the economic and political
atic monetarization of the economy. The power of which was, however, carefully
monarchy also controlled this from top controlled. A great deal of the late build-
to bottom by operating a closed mon- ing and restoration work in many of the
etary system, which permitted only the most important Egyptian temples is
royal coinage to circulate within Egypt. Ptolemaic, particularly from the period
A sophisticated banking system under- of about 150–50 bc, and the monarchs
pinned this practice, operating again appear on temple reliefs in the tradi-
with a mixture of direct royal control and tional forms of the Egyptian kings. The
private enterprise and handling both pri- native traditions persisted in village
vate financial transactions and those that temples and local cults, many having
directed money into and out of the royal particular associations with species of
coffers. One important concomitant of sacred animals or birds. At the same
this change was an enormous increase time, the Greeks created their own
in the volume of trade, both within Egypt identifications of Egyptian deities, iden-
and abroad, which eventually reached its tifying Amon with Zeus, Horus with
climax under the peaceful conditions of Apollo, Ptah with Hephaestus, and so on.
Roman rule. There the position and role They also gave some deities, such as Isis,
of Alexandria as the major port and trad- a more universal significance that
ing entrepôt was crucial. The city handled ultimately resulted in the spread of
a great volume of Egypt’s domestic pro- her mystery cult throughout the
duce, as well as the import and export of Mediterranean world. The impact of
luxury goods to and from the East and the Greeks is most obvious in two phe-
the cities of the eastern Mediterranean. It nomena. One is the formalized royal cult
developed its own importance as an artistic of Alexander and the Ptolemies, which
centre, the products of which found ready evidently served both a political and a
markets throughout the Mediterranean. religious purpose. The other is the cre-
Alexandrian glassware and jewelry were ation of the cult of Sarapis, which at first
particularly fine, Greek-style sculpture of was confined to Alexandria but soon
the late Ptolemaic period shows especial became universal. The god was repre-
excellence, and it is likely that the city was sented as a Hellenized deity and the form
The Late Period and Beyond | 99
Alexandrian Museum
The Alexandrian Museum, or Museum of Alexandria, in Egypt was an ancient centre of classi-
cal learning. Especially noted as a research facility containing much scientific and literary
scholarship, the Alexandrian Museum was built near the royal palace about 280 Bc by Ptolemy
I Soter (reigned 323–285/283 Bc). The best surviving description of the museum is by the Greek
geographer and historian Strabo, who mentions that it was a large complex of buildings and
gardens with richly decorated lecture and banquet halls linked by porticos, or colonnaded
walks. It was organized in faculties with a president-priest at the head. The salaries of the
scholars on the staff were paid by the Egyptian king and later by the Roman emperor.
The renowned Library of Alexandria formed a part of the museum.
The Alexandrian library and museum were maintained by the long succession of Ptolemies
in Egypt. The library’s initial organization was the work of Demetrius of Phaleron, who was
familiar with the achievements of the library at Athens. A subsidiary “daughter library”
was established about 235 Bc by Ptolemy III (Euergetes) in the Temple of Serapis, the main
museum and library being located in the palace precincts, in the district known as the
Brucheium. It is not known how far the ideal of an international library—incorporating not only
all Greek literature but also translations into Greek from the other languages of the
Mediterranean, the Middle East, and India—was realized. It is certain that the library was in
the main Greek. The only translation recorded was the Septuagint, the earliest extant Greek
translation of the Hebrew Bible from the original Hebrew.
The library’s editorial program included the establishment of the Alexandrian canon of
Greek poets, the division of works into “books” as they are now known (probably to suit the stan-
dard length of rolls), and the gradual introduction of systems of punctuation and accentuation.
The compilation of a national bibliography was entrusted to Callimachus. Though now lost, it
survived into the Byzantine period as a standard reference work of Greek literature. The
museum and library survived for many centuries but were destroyed in the civil war that
occurred under the Roman emperor Aurelian in the late 3rd century AD. The daughter library
was destroyed by Christians in AD 391. In 2002 the Egyptian government inaugurated a new
library, the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, near the site of the ancient institution.
social context. The written sources offer which Egyptians could better their status
little direct evidence of ethnic discrimi- and Hellenize. Many native Egyptians
nation by Greeks against Egyptians, but learned to speak Greek, some to write it
Greek and Egyptian consciousness of as well; some even went so far as to adopt
the Greeks’ social and economic supe- Greek names in an attempt to assimilate
riority comes through strongly from themselves to the elite group.
time to time. Intermarriage was one Alexandria occupied a unique
means, though not the only one, by place in the history of literature, ideas,
The Late Period and Beyond | 101
scholarship, and science for almost notable was the cultural influence of
a millennium after the death of its Alexandria’s Jewish community, which is
founder. Under the royal patronage of inferred from the fact that the Pentateuch
the Ptolemies and in an environment was first translated into Greek at
almost oblivious to its Egyptian sur- Alexandria during the Ptolemaic period.
roundings, Greek culture was preserved One by-product of this kind of activity
and developed. Early in the Ptolemaic was that Alexandria became the centre
period, probably in the reign of Ptolemy of the book trade, and the works of the
I Soter, the Alexandrian Museum (Greek: classical authors were copied there and
Mouseion, “Seat of the Muses”) was diffused among a literate Greek reader-
established within the palace complex. ship scattered in the towns and villages
The geographer and historian Strabo, of the Nile valley.
who saw it early in the Roman period, The Alexandrian achievement in sci-
described it as having a covered walk, entific fields was also enormous. Great
an arcade with recesses and seats, and a advances were made in pure mathemat-
large house containing the dining hall of ics, mechanics, physics, geography, and
the members of the Museum, who lived medicine. Euclid worked in Alexandria
a communal existence. The Library of in about 300 bc and achieved the sys-
Alexandria (together with its offshoot in tematization of the whole existing corpus
the Sarapeum) was indispensable to the of mathematical knowledge and the
functioning of the scholarly community development of the method of proof by
in the Museum. Books were collected deduction from axioms. Archimedes was
voraciously under the Ptolemies, and at there in the 3rd century bc and is said to
its height the library’s collection prob- have invented the Archimedean screw
ably numbered 500,000 or more papyrus when he was in Egypt. Eratosthenes cal-
rolls, most of them containing more than culated the Earth’s circumference and
one work. was the first to attempt a map of the world
The major poets of the Hellenistic based on a system of lines of latitude
period, Theocritus, Callimachus, and and longitude. And the school of medi-
Apollonius of Rhodes, all took up resi- cine founded in the Ptolemaic period
dence and wrote there. Scholarship retained its leading reputation into the
flourished, preserving and ordering Byzantine era. Late in the Ptolemaic
the manuscript traditions of much of the period Alexandria began to develop as a
classical literature from Homer onward. great centre of Greek philosophical stud-
Librarian-scholars such as Aristophanes ies as well. In fact, there was no field of
of Byzantium and his pupil Aristarchus literary, intellectual, or scientific activity
made critical editions and wrote com- to which Ptolemaic Alexandria failed to
mentaries and works on grammar. Also make an important contribution.
ChAPTER 6
Roman and
Byzantine Egypt
I
“ added Egypt to the Empire of the Roman people.” With
these words the emperor Augustus (as Octavian was known
from 27 bc) summarized the subjection of Cleopatra’s king-
dom in the great inscription that records his achievements.
treachery of the Nabataean Syllaeus, who famous sights, receive the acclamations
led the Roman fleet astray in uncharted of the Alexandrian populace, attempt to
waters. Arabia was to remain an indepen- ensure the loyalty of their volatile sub-
dent though friendly client of Rome until jects, or initiate administrative reform.
ad 106, when the emperor Trajan (ruled Occasionally its potential as a power base
ad 98–117) annexed it, making it possible was realized. Vespasian, the most success-
to reopen Ptolemy II’s canal from the ful of the imperial aspirants in the “Year of
Nile to the head of the Gulf of Suez. To the Four Emperors,” was first proclaimed
the south the Meroitic people beyond the emperor at Alexandria on July 1, ad 69,
First Cataract had taken advantage of in a maneuver contrived by the prefect of
Gallus’s preoccupation with Arabia and Egypt, Tiberius Julius Alexander.
mounted an attack on the Thebaid. Others were less successful. Gaius
The next Roman prefect, Petronius, Avidius Cassius, the son of a former pre-
led two expeditions into the Meroitic king- fect of Egypt, revolted against Marcus
dom (c. 24–22 bc), captured several towns, Aurelius in ad 175, stimulated by false
forced the submission of the formidable rumours of Marcus’s death, but his
queen, who was characterized by Roman attempted usurpation lasted only three
writers as “the one-eyed Queen Candace,” months. For several months in ad 297/298
and left a Roman garrison at Primis (Qas·r Egypt was under the dominion of a mys-
Ibrīm). But thoughts of maintaining a per- terious usurper named Lucius Domitius
manent presence in Lower Nubia were Domitianus. The emperor Diocletian
soon abandoned, and within a year or two was present at the final capitulation of
the limits of Roman occupation had been Alexandria after an eight-month siege
set at Hiera Sykaminos, some 50 miles (80 and swore to take revenge by slaughter-
km) south of the First Cataract. The mixed ing the populace until the river of blood
character of the region is indicated, how- reached his horse’s knees. The threat was
ever, by the continuing popularity of the mitigated when his mount stumbled as he
goddess Isis among the people of Meroe rode into the city. In gratitude, the citizens
and by the Roman emperor Augustus’s of Alexandria erected a statue of the horse.
foundation of a temple at Kalabsha dedi- The only extended period during the
cated to the local god Mandulis. turbulent 3rd century ad in which Egypt
Egypt achieved its greatest prosper- was lost to the central imperial authority
ity under the shadow of the Roman peace, was 270–272, when it fell into the hands
which, in effect, depoliticized it. Roman of the ruling dynasty of the Syrian city of
emperors or members of their families Palmyra. Fortunately for Rome, the mili-
visited Egypt—Tiberius’s nephew and tary strength of Palmyra proved to be
adopted son, Germanicus; Vespasian the major obstacle to the overrunning of
and his elder son, Titus; Hadrian; the Eastern Empire by the powerful
Septimius Severus; Diocletian—to see the Sāsānian monarchy of Persia.
104 | Ancient Egypt: From Prehistory to the Islamic Conquest
Internal threats to security were not officials in the nomes (stratēgoi and royal
uncommon but normally were dissipated scribes) and finally the authorities in the
without major damage to imperial con- towns and villages.
trol. These included rioting between Jews It was in these growing towns that
and Greeks in Alexandria in the reign of the Romans made the most far-reach-
Caligula (Gaius Caesar Germanicus; ing changes in administration. They
ruled ad 37–41), a serious Jewish revolt introduced colleges of magistrates and
under Trajan (ruled ad 98–117), a revolt in officials who were to be responsible for
the Nile delta in ad 172 that was quelled running the internal affairs of their own
by Avidius Cassius, and a revolt centred communities on a theoretically autono-
on the town of Coptos (Qift·) in ad mous basis and, at the same time, were
293/294 that was put down by Galerius, to guarantee the collection and payment
Diocletian’s imperial colleague. of tax quotas to the central government.
This was backed up by the development
Administration and Economy of a range of “liturgies,” compulsory
Under Rome public services that were imposed on indi-
viduals according to rank and property to
The Romans introduced important ensure the financing and upkeep of local
changes in the administrative system, facilities. These institutions were the
aimed at achieving a high level of effi- Egyptian counterpart of the councils and
ciency and maximizing revenue. The magistrates that oversaw the Greek cit-
duties of the prefect of Egypt combined ies in the eastern Roman provinces. They
responsibility for military security had been ubiquitous in other Hellenistic
through command of the legions and kingdoms, but in Ptolemaic Egypt they
cohorts, for the organization of finance had existed only in the so-called Greek
and taxation, and for the administration cities (Alexandria, Ptolemais in Upper
of justice. This involved a vast mass of Egypt, Naukratis, and later Antinoöpolis,
detailed paperwork: one document from founded by Hadrian in ad 130). Alexandria
ad 211 notes that in a period of three days lost the right to have a council, probably
1,804 petitions were handed into the pre- in the Ptolemaic period. When it recov-
fect’s office. But the prefect was assisted ered its right in ad 200, the privilege
by a hierarchy of subordinate equestrian was diluted by being extended to the
officials with expertise in particular areas. nome capitals (mētropoleis) as well. This
There were three or four epistratēgoi in extension of privilege represented an
charge of regional subdivisions. Special attempt to shift more of the burden and
officers were in charge of the emperors’ expense of administration onto the local
private account, the administration of propertied classes, but it was eventually
justice, religious institutions, and so on. to prove too heavy. The consequences
Subordinate to them were the local were the impoverishment of many of the
Roman and Byzantine Egypt | 105
councillors and their families and serious in the towns and the larger villages, a
problems in administration that led to an high level of industrial and commercial
increasing degree of central government activity developed in close conjunction
interference and, eventually, more direct with the exploitation of the predominant
control. agricultural base. The volume of trade,
The economic resources that this both internal and external, reached its
administration existed to exploit had not peak in the 1st and 2nd centuries ad.
changed since the Ptolemaic period, but However, by the end of the 3rd century
the development of a much more com- ad, major problems were evident. A
plex and sophisticated taxation system series of debasements of the imperial cur-
was a hallmark of Roman rule. Taxes in rency had undermined confidence in the
both cash and kind were assessed on coinage, and even the government itself
land, and a bewildering variety of small was contributing to this by demanding
taxes in cash, as well as customs dues and increasing amounts of irregular tax pay-
the like, was collected by appointed offi- ments in kind, which it channeled directly
cials. A massive amount of Egypt’s grain to the main consumers—army person-
was shipped downriver both to feed the nel. Local administration by the councils
population of Alexandria and for export was careless, recalcitrant, and inefficient.
to Rome. Despite frequent complaints of The evident need for firm and purpose-
oppression and extortion from the tax- ful reform had to be squarely faced in the
payers, it is not obvious that official tax reigns of Diocletian and Constantine.
rates were all that high. In fact the Roman
government had actively encouraged the Society, Religion, and Culture
privatization of land and the increase
of private enterprise in manufacture, One of the more noticeable effects of
commerce, and trade, and low tax rates Roman rule was the clearer tendency
favoured private owners and entrepre- toward classification and social control
neurs. The poorer people gained their of the populace. Thus, despite many
livelihood as tenants of state-owned land years of intermarriage between Greeks
or property belonging to the emperor or and Egyptians, lists drawn up in ad 4/5
to wealthy private landlords, and they established the right of certain families
were relatively much more heavily bur- to class themselves as Greek by descent
dened by rentals, which tended to remain and to claim privileges attaching to their
at a fairly high level. status as members of an urban aris-
Overall, the degree of monetarization tocracy, known as the gymnasial class.
and complexity in the economy, even at Members of this group were entitled to
the village level, was intense. Goods were lower rates of poll tax, subsidized or free
moved around and exchanged through distributions of food, and maintenance at
the medium of coin on a large scale and, the public expense when they grew old. If
106 | Ancient Egypt: From Prehistory to the Islamic Conquest
they or their descendants were upwardly Greek oratory and priests in Egyptian
mobile, they might gain Alexandrian cult tradition. The towns and villages of
citizenship, Roman citizenship, or even the Nile valley have preserved thousands
equestrian status, with correspondingly of papyri that show what the literate
greater prestige and privileges. The pres- Greeks were reading (e.g., the poems of
ervation of such distinctions was implicit Homer and the lyric poets, works of the
in the spread of Roman law and was rein- classical Greek tragedians, and come-
forced by elaborate codes of social and dies of Menander). The pervasiveness of
fiscal regulations such as the Rule-Book the Greek literary tradition is strikingly
of the Emperors’ Special Account. The demonstrated by evidence left by an
Rule-Book prescribed conditions under obscure and anonymous clerk at
which people of different status might Al-Fayyūm village of Karanis in the 2nd
marry, for instance, or bequeath prop- century ad. In copying out a long list of
erty and fixed fines, confiscations, and taxpayers, the clerk translated an
other penalties for transgression. When Egyptian name in the list by an extremely
an edict of the emperor Caracalla con- rare Greek word that he could only have
ferred Roman citizenship on practically known from having read the Alexandrian
all of the subjects of the empire in ad Hellenistic poet Callimachus. He must
212, the distinction between citizens and have understood the etymology of the
noncitizens became meaningless. But Egyptian name as well.
it was gradually replaced by an equally Alexandria continued to develop as a
important distinction between honestio- spectacularly beautiful city and to foster
res and humiliores (meaning, roughly, Greek culture and intellectual pursuits,
“upper classes” and “lower classes,” though the great days of Ptolemaic court
respectively), groups that, among other patronage of literary figures had passed.
distinctions, were subjected to different But the flourishing interest in philoso-
penalties in law. phy, particularly Platonic philosophy,
Naturally, it was the Greek-speaking had important effects. The great Jewish
elite that continued to dictate the visibly philosopher and theologian of the 1st
dominant cultural pattern, though century, Philo of Alexandria (Philo
Egyptian culture was not moribund or Judaeus), brought a training in Greek
insignificant. One proof of its continued philosophy to bear on his commentaries
survival can be seen in its reemergent on the Old Testament. This anticipates
importance in the context of Coptic by a hundred years the period after the
Christianity in the Byzantine period. An virtual annihilation of the great Jewish
important reminder of the mixing of the community of Alexandria in the revolt
traditions comes from a family of of ad 115–117, when the city was the intel-
Panopolis in the 4th century, whose lectual crucible in which Christianity
members included both teachers of developed a theology that took it away
Roman and Byzantine Egypt | 107
from the influence of the Jewish exeget- in the towns and villages; but the temples
ical tradition and toward that of Greek were reduced to financial dependence
philosophical ideas. There the founda- on a state subvention (syntaxis), and
tions were laid for teaching the heads they became subject to stringent control
of the Christian catechetical school, by secular bureaucrats. Nevertheless,
such as Clement of Alexandria. And in like the Ptolemies before them, Roman
the 3rd century there was the vital tex- emperors appear in the traditional form
tual and theological work of Origen, the as Egyptian kings on temple reliefs until
greatest of the Christian Neoplatonists, the mid-3rd century. Five professional
without which there would hardly have hieroglyph cutters were still employed
been a coherent New Testament tradi- at the town of Oxyrhynchus in the 2nd
tion at all. century. The animal cults continued
Outside the Greek ambience of to flourish, despite Augustus’s famous
Alexandria, traditional Egyptian reli- sneer that he was accustomed to wor-
gious institutions continued to flourish ship gods, not cattle. As late as the reign
of Diocletian (285–305), religious stelae
preserved the fiction that in the cults of
sacred bulls (best known at Memphis and
at Hermonthis [Armant]) the successor
of a dead bull was “installed” by the mon-
arch. Differences between cults of the
Greek type and the native Egyptian cults
were still highly marked, in the temple
architecture as in the status of the priests.
Priests of Egyptian cults formed, in effect,
a caste distinguished by their special
clothing, whereas priestly offices in Greek
cults were much more like magistracies
and tended to be held by local magnates.
Cults of Roman emperors, living and
dead, became universal after 30 bc, but
their impact is most clearly to be seen
in the foundations of Caesarea (Temples
of Caesar) and in religious institutions of
Greek type, where divine emperors were
associated with the resident deities.
One development that did have an
Philo Judaeus. Library of Congress Prints important effect on this religious amal-
and Photographs Division gam, though it was not decisive until the
108 | Ancient Egypt: From Prehistory to the Islamic Conquest
4th century, was the arrival of Christianity. persecution had such far-reaching effects
The tradition of the foundation of the that from this point on it is necessary to
church of Alexandria by St. Mark can- think of the history of Egypt in a very dif-
not be substantiated, but a fragment of a ferent framework. No single point can
text of the Gospel According to John pro- be identified as the watershed between
vides concrete evidence of Christianity the Roman and Byzantine period, as the
in the Nile valley in the second quar- divide between a brighter era of peace,
ter of the 2nd century ad. Inasmuch as culture, and prosperity and a darker
Christianity remained illegal and subject age, supposedly characterized by more-
to persecution until the early 4th century, oppressive state machinery in the throes
Christians were reluctant to advertise of decline and fall. The crucial changes
themselves as such, and it is therefore dif- occurred in the last decade of the 3rd cen-
ficult to know how numerous they were, tury and the first three decades of the 4th.
especially because later pro-Christian With the end of persecution of Christians
sources may often be suspected of exag- came the restoration of the property
gerating the zeal and the numbers of of the church. In 313 a new system of
the early Christian martyrs. But several calculating and collecting taxes was
papyri survive of the libelli—certificates introduced, with 15-year tax cycles, called
in which people swore that they had per- indictions, inaugurated retrospectively
formed sacrifices to Greek, Egyptian, or from the year 312. Many other impor-
Roman divinities in order to prove that tant administrative changes had already
they were not Christians—submitted in taken place. In 296 the separation of the
the first official state-sponsored perse- Egyptian coinage from that of the rest of
cution of Christians, under the emperor the empire had come to an end when the
Decius (ruled 249–251). By the 290s, a Alexandrian mint stopped producing its
decade or so before the great persecution tetradrachms, which had been the basis
under Diocletian, a list of buildings in the of the closed-currency system.
sizeable town of Oxyrhynchus, some 125 One other event that had an enor-
miles (200 km) south of the apex of the mous effect on the political history of
delta, included two Christian churches, Egypt was the founding of Constantinople
probably of the house-chapel type. (now Istanbul) on May 11, 330. First,
Constantinople was established as an
Egypt’s role in the imperial capital and an eastern counter-
Byzantine Empire part to Rome itself, thus undermining
Alexandria’s traditional position as the
Diocletian was the last reigning Roman first city of the Greek-speaking East.
emperor to visit Egypt, in ad 302. Within Second, it diverted the resources of Egypt
about 10 years of his visit, the persecu- away from Rome and the West.
tion of Christians ceased. The end of Henceforth, part of the surplus of the
Roman and Byzantine Egypt | 109
Egyptian grain supply, which was put at 8 The turbulent history of Egypt in the
million artabs (about 300 million litres) Byzantine period can largely be under-
of wheat (one artab was roughly equiva- stood in terms of the struggles of the
lent to one bushel) in an edict of the successive (or, after 570, coexisting) patri-
emperor Justinian of about 537 or 538, archs of Alexandria to maintain their
went to feed the growing population of position both within their patriarchy and
Constantinople. This created an impor- outside it in relation to Constantinople.
tant political and economic link. The What linked Egypt and the rest of the
cumulative effect of these changes was to Eastern Empire was the way in which
knit Egypt more uniformly into the struc- the imperial authorities, when strong (as,
ture of the empire and to give it, once for instance, in the reign of Justinian),
again, a central role in the political his- tried to control the Egyptian Church from
tory of the Mediterranean world. Constantinople, while at the same time
The key to understanding the impor- assuring the capital’s food supply and, as
tance of Egypt in that period lies in often as not, waging wars to keep their
seeing how the Christian church came empire intact. Conversely, when weak,
rapidly to dominate secular as well as they failed to control the church. For the
religious institutions, and to acquire a patriarchs of Alexandria, it proved impos-
powerful interest and role in every politi- sible to secure the approval of the
cal issue. The corollary of this was that imperial authorities in Constantinople
the head of the Egyptian Church, the and at the same time maintain the sup-
patriarch of Alexandria, became the most port of their power base in Egypt. The
influential figure within Egypt, as well as two made quite different demands, and
the person who could give the Egyptian the ultimate result was a social, political,
clergy a powerful voice in the councils of and cultural gulf between Alexandria and
the Eastern Church. During the course the rest of Egypt and between Hellenism
of the 4th century, Egypt was divided for and native Egyptian culture, which found
administrative purposes into a number of a powerful new means of expression in
smaller units but the patriarchy was not, Coptic Christianity. The gulf was made
and its power thus far outweighed that of more emphatic after the Council of
any local administrative official. Only the Chalcedon in 451 established the official
governors of groups of provinces (vicarii doctrine that Christ was to be seen as
of dioceses) were equivalent and the existing in two natures, inseparably
praetorian prefects and emperors were united. The council’s decision in effect
superior. When a patriarch of Alexandria sent the Egyptian Coptic (now Coptic
was given civil authority as well, as hap- Orthodox) Church off on its own path of
pened in the case of Cyrus, the last Monophysitism, which centred around a
patriarch under Byzantine rule, the com- firm insistence on the singularity of the
bination was very powerful indeed. nature of Christ.
110 | Ancient Egypt: From Prehistory to the Islamic Conquest
Despite the debilitating effect of changes for Egypt. These were triggered
internal quarrels between rival church- by the flight of the Prophet Muh·ammad
men, and despite the threats posed by the from Mecca to Medina and by his dec-
hostile tribes of Blemmyes and Nubade laration in ad 632 of a holy Islamic war
in the south (until their conversion to against Byzantium. A decade later, by
Christianity in the mid-6th century), Sept. 29, 642, the Arab general ‘Amr ibn
emperors of Byzantium still could be al-‘Ās· was able to march into Alexandria,
threatened by the strength of Egypt if it and the Arab conquest of Egypt, which
were properly harnessed. The last strik- had begun with an invasion three years
ing example is the case of the emperor earlier, ended in peaceful capitulation.
Phocas, a tyrant who was brought down The invasion itself had been preceded
in 609 or 610. Nicetas, the general of the by several years of vicious persecu-
future emperor Heraclius, made for tion of Coptic Christians by Cyrus, the
Alexandria from Cyrene, intending to use Chalcedonian patriarch of Alexandria,
Egypt as his power base and cut off and it was he who is said to have betrayed
Constantinople’s grain supply. By the Egypt to the forces of Islam.
spring of 610 Nicetas’s struggle with The Islamic conquest was not blood-
Bonosus, the general of Phocas, was won, less. There was desultory fighting at first
and the fall of the tyrant duly followed. in the eastern delta, then Al-Fayyūm was
The difficulty of defending Egypt lost in battle in 640. A great battle took
from a power base in Constantinople place at Heliopolis (now a suburb of
was forcefully illustrated during the last Cairo) in July 640 in which 15,000 Arabs
three decades of Byzantine rule. First, the engaged 20,000 Egyptian defenders.
old enemy, the Persians, advanced to the The storming and capture of Trajan’s old
Nile delta and captured Alexandria. Their fortress at Babylon (on the site of the pres-
occupation was completed early in 619 ent-day quarter called Old Cairo) on April
and continued until 628, when Persia and 6, 641, was crucial. By Sept. 14, Cyrus, who
Byzantium agreed to a peace treaty and the had been recalled from Egypt 10 months
Persians withdrew. This had been a decade earlier by the emperor Heraclius, was
of violent hostility to the Egyptian Coptic back with authority to conclude a peace.
Christians. Among other oppressive mea- Byzantium signed Egypt away on Nov. 8,
sures, the Persians are said to have refused 641, with provision for an 11-month armi-
to allow the normal ordination of bishops stice to allow ratification of the treaty of
and to have massacred hundreds of monks surrender by the emperor and the caliph.
in their cave monasteries. The Persian In December 641 heavily laden ships
withdrawal hardly heralded the return of were dispatched to carry Egypt’s wealth
peace to Egypt. to its new masters. Nine months later the
In Arabia events were taking place last remnants of Byzantine forces had left
that would soon bring momentous Egypt in ships bound for Cyprus, Rhodes,
Roman and Byzantine Egypt | 111
and Constantinople, and ‘Amr ibn al-‘Ās· landowners probably enjoyed increased
had taken Alexandria in the name of prosperity, especially as a result of the
the caliph. The new domination by the opportunity to buy now state-owned land
theocratic Islamic caliphate was strik- that had once been sold into private own-
ingly different from anything that had ership in the early 4th century. The great
happened in Egypt since the arrival of landlords were powerful enough to offer
Alexander the Great almost a thousand their peasant tenants a significant degree
years earlier. of collective fiscal protection against the
agents of the state, the rapacious tax
Byzantine Government collector, the officious bureaucrat, or
of Egypt the brutal soldier. But, if the life of the
average peasant did not change much,
The reforms of the early 4th century had nevertheless the rich probably became
established the basis for another 250 richer, and the poor became poorer and
years of comparative prosperity in Egypt, more numerous as the moderate land-
at a cost of perhaps greater rigidity and holders were increasingly squeezed out
more-oppressive state control. Egypt was of the picture.
subdivided for administrative purposes
into a number of smaller provinces, and The advance of Christianity
separate civil and military officials were
established (the praeses and the dux, The advance of Christianity had just as
respectively). By the middle of the 6th profound an effect on the social and cul-
century the emperor Justinian was even- tural fabric of Byzantine Egypt as on the
tually forced to recognize the failure of political power structure. It brought to
this policy and to combine civil and mili- the surface the identity of the native
tary power in the hands of the dux with a Egyptians in the Coptic Church, which
civil deputy (the praeses) as a counter- found a medium of expression in the
weight to the power of the church development of the Coptic language—
authorities. basically Egyptian written in Greek
All pretense of local autonomy had letters with the addition of a few charac-
by then vanished. The presence of the sol- ters. Coptic Christianity also developed
diery was more noticeable, its power and its own distinctive art, much of it per-
influence more pervasive in the routine of vaded by the long-familiar motifs of
town and village life. Taxes were perhaps Greek mythology. These motifs coexisted
not heavier than they had been earlier, with representations of the Virgin and
but they were collected ruthlessly, and Child and with Christian parables
strong measures were sanctioned against and were expressed in decorative styles
those who tried to escape from their fis- that owed a great deal to both Greek and
cal or legal obligations. The wealthier Egyptian precedents.
112 | Ancient Egypt: From Prehistory to the Islamic Conquest
A Coptic monk against the backdrop of religious artwork on the walls of Egypt’s ancient St.
Anthony’s monastery. Kenneth Garrett/National Geographic/Getty Images
Roman and Byzantine Egypt | 113
society magical practices remained ubiq- workshops, stables, and cemeteries and
uitous and were simply transferred to a the ownership and cultivation of land
Christian context. in the vicinity made these communities
By the mid-5th century Egypt’s self-sufficient to a high degree, offer-
landscape was dominated by the great ing their residents peace and protection
churches, such as the magnificent against the oppression of the tax collec-
Church of St. Menas (Abū Mīna), south of tor and the brutality of the soldier. But it
Alexandria, and by the monasteries. The does not follow that they were divorced
latter were Egypt’s distinctive contribu- from contact with nearby towns and vil-
tion to the development of Christianity lages. Indeed, many monastics were
and were particularly important as important local figures, and many mon-
strongholds of native loyalty to the astery churches were probably open to
Monophysite Church. The origins of the local public for worship.
Antonian communities, named for the The economic and social power of the
founding father of monasticism, St. Christian church in the Nile River valley
Anthony of Egypt (c. 251–356), lay in the and delta is the outstanding development
desire of individuals to congregate about of the 5th and 6th centuries. By the time
the person of a celebrated ascetic in a of the Arab invasion, in the mid-7th cen-
desert location, building their own cells, tury, the uncomplicated message of Islam
adding a church and a refectory, and rais- might have seemed attractive and drawn
ing towers and walls to enclose the unit. attention to the political and religious
Other monasteries, called Pachomian— rifts that successive and rival patriarchs
for Pachomius, the founder of cenobitic of the Christian church had so violently
monasticism—were planned from the created and exploited. But the advent of
start as walled complexes with com- Arab rule did not suppress Christianity
munal facilities. The provision of water in Egypt. Some areas remained heavily
cisterns, kitchens, bakeries, oil presses, Christian for several more centuries.
ChAPTER 7
Egyptian Religion
O ver the centuries Egyptian religion contained polythe-
ism, henotheism, pluriform monotheism, trinitary
speculations, and even a kind of monotheism. Especially in
the time of the New Kingdom (16th–11th century bc) and
later, there arose theological speculations about many gods
and the one god, involving concepts that belong to the realm
of pluriform monotheism. These ideas are especially interest-
ing when related to trinitarian conceptions, as they sometimes
are. In a New Kingdom hymn to Amon are the words: “Three
are all gods: Amon, Re and Ptah . . . he who hides himself for
them [mankind] as Amon, he is Re to be seen, his body is
Ptah.” As Amon he is the “hidden god” (deus absconditus). In
Re, the god of the sun, he becomes visible. As Ptah, one of the
gods of the earth, he is immanent (indwelling, an activating
spirit) in this world.
cohered as a system. Nevertheless, reli- 1st millennium bc, when solar worship
gion must be seen against a background was in relative decline.
of potentially nonreligious human activi- The Egyptians conceived of the cos-
ties and values. During its more than mos as including the gods and the present
3,000 years of development, Egyptian world—whose centre was, of course,
religion underwent significant changes Egypt—and as being surrounded by the
of emphasis and practice, but in all peri- realm of disorder, from which order had
ods religion had a clear consistency in arisen and to which it would finally revert.
character and style. Disorder had to be kept at bay. The task of
It is inappropriate to define reli- the king as the protagonist of human
gion narrowly, as consisting only in the society was to retain the benevolence of
cult of the gods and in human piety. the gods in maintaining order against
Religious behaviour encompassed con- disorder. This ultimately pessimistic view
tact with the dead, practices such as of the cosmos was associated principally
divination and oracles, and magic, which with the sun god and the solar cycle. It
mostly exploited divine instruments and formed a powerful legitimation of king
associations. and elite in their task of preserving order.
There were two essential foci of Despite this pessimism, the official
public religion: the king and the gods. presentation of the cosmos on the monu-
Both are among the most characteristic ments was positive and optimistic,
features of Egyptian civilization. The showing the king and the gods in perpet-
king had a unique status between ual reciprocity and harmony. This implied
humanity and the gods, partook in the contrast reaffirmed the fragile order. The
world of the gods, and constructed restricted character of the monuments
great, religiously motivated funerary was also fundamental to a system of
monuments for his afterlife. Egyptian decorum that defined what could be
gods are renowned for their wide variety shown, in what way it could be shown,
of forms, including animal forms and and in what context. Decorum and the
mixed forms with an animal head on a affirmation of order reinforced each other.
human body. The most important dei- These beliefs are known from monu-
ties were the sun god, who had several ments and documents created by and for
names and aspects and was associated the king and the small elite. The beliefs
with many supernatural beings in a and practices of the rest of the people are
solar cycle modeled on the alternation poorly known. While there is no reason to
of night and day, and Osiris, the god of believe that there was a radical opposi-
the dead and ruler of the underworld. tion between the beliefs of the elite and
With his consort, Isis, Osiris became those of others, this possibility cannot be
dominant in many contexts during the ruled out.
116 | Ancient Egypt: From Prehistory to the Islamic Conquest
restricted royal divinity was. The divin- burials, the person’s heart occupies one
ized king coexisted with his mortal self, side of the scales and a representation of
and as many nonroyal individuals as maat the other. The meaning of this
kings became deified after death. image is deepened in the accompanying
The gods, the king, humanity, and text, which asserts that the deceased
the dead existed together in the cosmos, behaved correctly on earth and did not
which the creator god had brought into overstep the boundaries of order, declar-
being from the preexistent chaos. All ing that he or she did not “know that
living beings, except perhaps the cre- which is not”—that is, things that were
ator, would die at the end of time. The outside the created and ordered world.
sun god became aged and needed to This role of maat in human life cre-
be rejuvenated and reborn daily. The ated a continuity between religion,
ordered cosmos was surrounded by and political action, and elite morality. Over
shot through with disorder, which had to the centuries, private religion and moral-
be kept at bay. Disorder menaced most ity drew apart from state concerns,
strongly at such times of transition as the paralleling a gradual separation of king
passage from one year to the next or the and temple. It cannot be known whether
death of a king. Thus, the king’s role in religion and morality were as closely
maintaining order was cosmic and not integrated for the people as they were for
merely social. His exaction of service the elite, or even how fully the elite sub-
from people was necessary to the cosmos. scribed to these beliefs. Nonetheless, the
The concept of maat (“order”) was integration of cosmos, king, and maat
fundamental in Egyptian thought. The remained fundamental.
king’s role was to set maat in place of
isfet (“disorder”). Maat was crucial in The gods
human life and embraced notions of reci-
procity, justice, truth, and moderation. Egyptian religion was polytheistic. The
Maat was personified as a goddess and gods who inhabited the bounded and
the creator’s daughter and received a cult ultimately perishable cosmos varied in
of her own. In the cult of other deities, the nature and capacity. The word netjer
king’s offering of maat to a deity encap- (“god”) described a much wider range of
sulated the relationship between beings than the deities of monotheistic
humanity, the king, and the gods. As the religions, including what might be
representative of humanity, he returned termed demons. As is almost necessary
to the gods the order that came from in polytheism, gods were neither all-pow-
them and of which they were themselves erful nor all-knowing. Their power was
part. Maat extended into the world of the immeasurably greater than that of human
dead: in the weighing of the heart after beings, and they had the ability to live
death, shown on papyri deposited in almost indefinitely, to survive fatal
120 | Ancient Egypt: From Prehistory to the Islamic Conquest
was Memphis, and Amon’s was Thebes. His cult is not attested there before the
These were not necessarily their original New Kingdom, however, even though he
cult places. The principal cult of Khnum, was important from the 1st dynasty (c.
the creator god who formed people from 2925–2775 bc). The main earlier sanctuary
clay like a potter, was Elephantine, and he there belonged to the goddess Satet, who
was the lord of the nearby First Cataract. became Khnum’s companion. Similarly,
Mut, the partner of Amon at Thebes,
seems to have originated elsewhere.
Deities had principal manifestations,
and most were associated with one or
more species of animal. For gods the
most important forms were the falcon
and bull, and for goddesses the cow,
cobra, vulture, and lioness. Rams were
widespread, while some manifestations
were as modest as the millipede of the
god Sepa. Some gods were very strongly
linked to particular animals, as Sebek was
with the crocodile and Khepri with the
scarab beetle. Thoth had two animals,
the ibis and the baboon. Some animal
cults were only partly integrated with
specific gods, notably the Ram of Mendes
in the Delta and the Apis and Mnevis
bulls at Memphis and Heliopolis, respec-
tively. Animals could express aspects of a
deity’s nature: some goddesses were lion-
esses in their fiercer aspect but were cats
when mild.
These variable forms relate to
aspects of the person that were common
to gods and people. The most significant
of these were the ka, which was the vital
essence of a person that was transmitted
Thoth, represented in human form with ibis from one generation to the next, the ba,
head, detail from the Greenfield Papyrus, which granted freedom of movement
c. 950 bc; in the British Museum, London. and the ability to take on different forms,
Copyright British Museum principally in the next world, and the akh,
122 | Ancient Egypt: From Prehistory to the Islamic Conquest
the transfigured spirit of a person in the and a crocodile. Among demons, the
next world. most important figure was Apopis, shown
The chief form in which gods were as a colossal snake, who was the enemy
represented was human, and many dei- of the sun god in his daily cycle through
ties had only human form. Among these the cosmos. Apopis existed outside the
deities were very ancient figures such ordered realm. He had to be defeated
as the fertility god Min and the creator daily, but, since he did not belong to the
and craftsman Ptah. The cosmic gods sphere of existence, he could not be
Shu, of the air and sky, and Geb, of the destroyed.
earth, had human form, as did Osiris, Isis,
and Nephthys, deities who provided a Groupings of Deities
model of human society. In temple reliefs
the gods were depicted in human form, The number of deities was large and was
which was central to decorum. Gods hav- not fixed. New ones appeared, and some
ing animal manifestations were therefore ceased to be worshipped. Deities were
shown with a human body and the head grouped in various ways. The most
of their animal. The opposite convention, ancient known grouping is the ennead,
a human head and an animal body, was which is probably attested from the 3rd
used for the king, who was shown as a dynasty (c. 2650–2575 bc). Enneads were
sphinx with a lion’s body. Sphinxes could groups of nine deities, nine being the
receive other heads, notably those of rams “plural” of three (in Egypt the number
and falcons, associating the form with three symbolized plurality in general);
Amon and Re-Harakhty. Demons were not all enneads consisted of nine gods.
represented in more extravagant forms The principal ennead was the Great
and combinations. These became com- Ennead of Heliopolis. This was headed
mon in the 1st millennium bc. Together by the sun god and creator Re or
with the cult of animals, they were Re-Atum, followed by Shu and Tefnut,
mocked by Greek and Roman writers. deities of air and moisture; Geb and Nut,
Apart from major deities—gods who who represented earth and sky; and
received a cult or had a significant cos- Osiris, Isis, Seth, and Nephthys. This
mic role—there were important minor ordering incorporated a myth of cre-
figures. Several of these marginal beings ation, to which was joined the myth of
had grotesque forms and variable names. Osiris, whose deeds and attributes
The most prominent were Bes, a helpful ranged from the founding of civilization
figure with dwarf form and a masklike to kinship, kingship, and succession to
face, associated especially with women office. The ennead excluded the succes-
and children, and Taurt, a goddess with sor figure, Horus, son of Osiris, who is
similar associations whose physical form essential to the meaning of the myth.
combined features of a hippopotamus Thus, the ennead has the appearance of
Egyptian Religion | 123
a grouping that brought together exist- of names are known although eight dei-
ing religious conceptions but was rather ties are listed in any occurrence. The
arbitrary and inflexible, perhaps because major god Amon, whose name can mean
of the significance of the number nine. “He who is hidden,” was often one of the
Other numerical ordering schemas ogdoad with his female counterpart,
included the Ogdoad (group of eight Amaunet.
gods) of Hermopolis, which embodied The most common grouping, prin-
the inchoate world before creation and cipally in the New Kingdom and later,
consisted of four pairs of male and female was the triad. The archetypal triad of
deities with abstract names such as Osiris, Isis, and Horus exhibits the nor-
Darkness, Absence, and Endlessness. mal pattern of a god and a goddess with
Here too the number was significant in a youthful deity, usually male. Most local
itself, because at least six different pairs centres came to have triads, the second
King Seti I offering a figure of maat to Osiris, Isis, and Horus; relief in the temple of King Seti
I, Abydos, early 13th century bc. Courtesy of the Egypt Exploration Society; photograph, The
Oriental Institute, Chicago
124 | Ancient Egypt: From Prehistory to the Islamic Conquest
tales of the childhood of Horus in the and fed. There were several further ser-
delta marshes, and stories with themes vices, and the image was finally returned
similar to the Osiris myth but with differ- to its shrine for the night. Apart from
ently named protagonists. The rule of the this activity, which took place within the
sun god was followed by his withdrawal temple and was performed by a small
into the sky, leaving people on earth. The group of priests, there were numerous
withdrawal was motivated by his age and festivals at which the shrine and image
by the lack of tranquility in the world. were taken out from the sanctuary on a
One narrative recounts how Isis obtained portable barque, becoming visible to the
a magical substance from Re’s senile people and often visiting other temples.
dribbling and fashioned from it a snake Thus, the daily cult was a state concern,
that bit him. To make her still the agony whose function was to maintain reciproc-
of the snakebite, he finally revealed to ity between the human and the divine,
her the secret of his “true” name. A myth largely in isolation from the people. This
with varied realizations recounts how Re reciprocity was fundamental because
grew weary of humanity’s recalcitrance deities and humanity together sustained
and dispatched his daughter or “Eye” the cosmos. If the gods were not satis-
to destroy them. Regretting his action fied, they might cease to inhabit their
later, he arranged to have the blood- images and retreat to their other abode,
thirsty goddess tricked into drunkenness the sky. Temples were constructed as
by spreading beer tinted the colour of microcosms whose purity and wholeness
blood over the land. This myth provides symbolized the proper order of the larger
an explanation for the world’s imperfec- world outside.
tion and the inaccessibility of the gods. The priesthood became increasingly
In Greco-Roman times it was widespread important. In early periods there seem to
in Lower Nubia, where it seems to have have been no full-time professional
been related to the winter retreat of the priests. People could hold part-time high
sun to the Southern Hemisphere and its priestly offices, or they could have hum-
return in the spring. bler positions on a rotating basis,
performing duties for one month in four.
The cult The chief officiant may have been a pro-
fessional. While performing their duties,
Most cults centred on the daily tending priests submitted to rules of purity and
and worship of an image of a deity and abstinence. One result of this system was
were analogous to the pattern of human that more people were involved in the
life. The shrine containing the image was cult and had access to the temple than
opened at dawn, and then the deity was would have been the case if there had
purified, greeted and praised, clothed, been a permanent staff. Although most
126 | Ancient Egypt: From Prehistory to the Islamic Conquest
among which can also be counted non- One is proper names of all periods,
royal dedications of small parcels of land the majority of which are meaningful
to temples. These donations are recorded utterances with religious content. For
on stelae from the New Kingdom onward. example, names state that deities “show
They parallel the massive royal endow- favour” to or “love” a child or its parents.
ments to temples of land and other From the end of the New Kingdom (c.
resources, which resulted in their becom- 1100 bc), names commonly refer to con-
ing very powerful economic and political sultation of oracles during pregnancy,
institutions. alluding to a different mode of human-
Apart from the donation of offerings divine relations. The second source is a
to conventional cult temples, there was group of late New Kingdom inscriptions
a vast Late period expansion in animal recounting episodes of affliction that
cults. These might be more or less closely led to people’s perceiving that they had
related to major deities. They involved a wronged a god. These texts, which pro-
variety of practices centring on the mum- vide evidence of direct pious relations,
mification and burial of animals. The are often thought to show a transforma-
principal bull cults, which gave important tion of religious attitudes in that period,
oracles, focused on a single animal kept but allusions to similar relations in
in a special shrine. The burial of an Apis Middle Kingdom texts suggest that the
bull was a major occasion involving vast change was as much in what was written
expenditure. Some animals, such as the down as in basic attitudes.
sacred ibis (connected with Thoth), were Piety was one of many modes of reli-
kept, and buried, in millions. The dedica- gious action and relations. Much of
tion of a burial seems to have counted religion concerned attempts to compre-
as a pious act. The best-known area for hend and respond to the unpredictable
these cults and associated practices is the and the unfortunate. The activities
necropolis of northern S·aqqārah, which involved often took place away from tem-
served the city of Memphis. Numerous ples and are little known. In later periods,
species were buried there, and people there was an increasing concentration of
visited the area to consult oracles and religious practice around temples; for
to spend the night in a temple area earlier times evidence is sparse. The
and receive healing dreams. A few peo- essential questions people asked, as in
ple resided permanently in the animal many religious traditions, were why
necropolis in a state akin to monastic something had happened and why it had
seclusion. happened to them, what would be an
There are two further important appropriate response, what agency they
groups of evidence for pious and recip- should turn to, and what might happen in
rocal relations between people and gods. the future. To obtain answers to these
128 | Ancient Egypt: From Prehistory to the Islamic Conquest
The ancient Egyptian collection of mortuary texts made up of spells or magic formulas is known
as the Book of the Dead. It was placed in tombs and believed to protect and aid the deceased in
the hereafter. Probably compiled and reedited during the 16th century Bc, the collection included
Coffin Texts dating from c. 2000 Bc, Pyramid Texts dating from c. 2400 Bc, and other writings.
Later compilations included hymns to Re, the sun god. Numerous authors, compilers, and
sources contributed to the work. Scribes copied the texts on rolls of papyrus, often colourfully
illustrated, and sold them to individuals for burial use. Many copies of the book have been
found in Egyptian tombs, but none contains all of the approximately 200 known chapters. The
collection, literally titled “The Chapters of Coming-Forth-by-Day,” received its present name
from Karl Richard Lepsius, the German Egyptologist who published the first collection of the
texts in 1842.
questions, people turned to oracles and telling the deceased of their problems
to other forms of divination, such as con- and asking for assistance. A few of these
sulting seers or calendars of lucky and letters are complaints to the deceased
unlucky days. From the New Kingdom person, alleging that he or she is afflict-
and later, questions to oracles are pre- ing the writer. This written communication
served, often on such mundane matters with the dead was confined to the very
as whether someone should cultivate a few literate members of the population,
particular field in a given year. These can- but it was probably part of a more wide-
not have been presented only at festivals, spread oral practice. Some tombs of
and priests must have addressed oracular prominent people acquired minor cults
questions to gods within their sanctuar- that may have originated in frequent suc-
ies. Oracles of gods also played an cessful recourse to them for assistance.
important part in dispute settlement and Offerings to the dead generally did
litigation in some communities. not continue long after burial, and most
A vital focus of questioning was the tombs were robbed within a generation
world of the dead. The recently deceased or so. Thus, relations with dead kin prob-
might exert influence on the living for ably focused on the recently deceased.
good or for bad. Offerings to the dead, Nonetheless, the dead were respected
which were required by custom, were and feared more widely. The attitudes
intended, among other purposes, to make attested are almost uniformly negative.
them well disposed. People occasionally The dead were held accountable for much
deposited with their offerings a letter misfortune, both on a local and domestic
Egyptian Religion | 129
level and in the broader context of the written texts. Most of the vast corpus of
state. People were also concerned that, funerary texts was magical in character.
when they died, those in the next world
would oppose their entry to it as newcom- The world of the dead
ers who might oust the less recently dead.
These attitudes show that, among many The majority of evidence from ancient
possible modes of existence after death, Egypt comes from funerary monuments
an important conception was one in and burials of royalty, of the elite, and,
which the dead remained near the living for the Late period, of animals. Relatively
and could return and disturb them. Such little is known of the mortuary practices
beliefs are rare in the official mortuary of the mass of the population. Reasons
literature. for this dominance of the tomb include
A prominent aspect of practical reli- both the desert location of burials and
gion was magic. There is no meaningful the use of mortuary structures for dis-
distinction between Egyptian religion play among the living. Alongside the
and magic. Magic was a force present in fear of the dead, there was a moral com-
the world from the beginning of creation munity between the living and the dead,
and was personified as the god Heka, so that the dead were an essential part of
who received a cult in some regions. society, especially in the 3rd and 2nd
Magic could be invoked by using appro- millennia bc.
priate means and was generally positive, The basic purpose of mortuary prep-
being valuable for counteracting misfor- aration was to ensure a safe and successful
tune and in seeking to achieve ends for passage into the hereafter. Belief in an
which unseen help was necessary. Magic afterlife and a passage to it is evident in
also formed part of the official cult. It predynastic burials, which are oriented to
could, however, be used for antisocial the west, the domain of the dead, and
purposes as well as benign ones. There is which include pottery grave goods as
a vast range of evidence for magical prac- well as personal possessions of the
tice, from amulets to elaborate texts. deceased. The most striking develop-
Much magic from the Greco-Roman ment of later mortuary practice was
period mixed Egyptian and foreign mate- mummification, which was related to a
rials and invoked new and exotic beings. belief that the body must continue intact
Preserved magical texts record elite for the deceased to live in the next world.
magic rather than general practice. Mummification evolved gradually from
Prominent among magical practitioners, the Old Kingdom to the early 1st millen-
both in folklore and, probably, in real life, nium bc, after which it declined. It was
were “lector priests,” the officiants in tem- too elaborate and costly ever to be avail-
ple cults who had privileged access to able to the majority.
130 | Ancient Egypt: From Prehistory to the Islamic Conquest
Mummy and mummy case of a Tanite princess, 21st dynasty (1075–c. 950 bc); in the British
Museum, London. © Photos.com/Jupiterimages
Egyptian Religion | 131
This decline of mortuary practice was the ordered cosmos. In the demotic story
part of the more general shift in the focus of Setna (3rd century bc), this notion of
of religious life toward the temples and moral retribution acquired overtones
toward more communal forms. It has been similar to those of the Christian judg-
suggested tentatively that belief in the ment after death.
afterlife became less strong in the 1st mil-
lennium bc. Whether or not this is true, it Influence on other
is clear that in various periods some peo- religions
ple voiced skepticism about the existence
of a blessed afterlife and the necessity Egyptian culture, of which religion was
for mortuary provision, but the provision an integral part, was influential in Nubia
nevertheless continued to the end. as early as predynastic times and in Syria
It was thought that the next world in the 3rd millennium bc. During the
might be located in the area around the New Kingdom, Egypt was very receptive
tomb (and consequently near the living); to cults from the Middle East, while
on the “perfect ways of the West,” as it is Egyptian medical and magical expertise
expressed in Old Kingdom invocations; was highly regarded among the Hittites,
among the stars or in the celestial regions Assyrians, and Babylonians. The chief
with the sun god; or in the underworld, periods of Egyptian influence were, how-
the domain of Osiris. One prominent ever, the 1st millennium bc and the
notion was that of the “Elysian Fields,” Roman period. Egypt was an important
where the deceased could enjoy an ideal centre of the Jewish diaspora starting in
agricultural existence in a marshy land the 6th century bc, and Egyptian litera-
of plenty. The journey to the next world ture influenced the Hebrew Bible. With
was fraught with obstacles. It could be Greek rule there was significant cultural
imagined as a passage by ferry past a interchange between Egyptians and
succession of portals, or through an Greeks. Notable among Egyptian cults
“Island of Fire.” One crucial test was that spread abroad were those of Isis,
the judgment after death, a subject which reached much of the Roman world
often depicted from the New Kingdom as a mystery religion, and of Serapis, a
onward. The date of origin of this belief god whose name probably derives from
is uncertain, but it was probably no later Osiris-Apis, who was worshipped widely
than the late Old Kingdom. The related in a non-Egyptian iconography and cul-
text, Chapter 125 of the Book of the tural milieu. With Isis went Osiris and
Dead, responded magically to the dan- Horus the child, but Isis was the domi-
gers of the judgment, which assessed the nant figure. Many Egyptian monuments
deceased’s conformity with maat. Those were imported to Rome to provide a set-
who failed the judgment would “die a ting for the principal Isis temple in the 1st
second time” and would be cast outside century ad.
132 | Ancient Egypt: From Prehistory to the Islamic Conquest
Mummification
The process of mummification varied from age to age in Egypt, but it always involved removing
the internal organs (though in a late period they were replaced after treatment), treating the
body with resin, and wrapping it in linen bandages. Among the many other peoples who prac-
ticed mummification were the people living along the Torres Strait, between Papua New Guinea
and Australia, and the Incas of South America.
There was a widespread belief that Egyptian mummies were prepared with bitumen (the
word comes from the Arabic mūmiyah, “bitumen”), which was supposed to have medicinal
value. Throughout the Middle Ages, a substance called “mummy,” made by pounding mummi-
fied bodies, was a standard product of apothecary shops. In course of time it was forgotten that
the virtue of mummy lay in the bitumen, and spurious mummy was made from the bodies of
felons and suicides. The traffic in mummy continued in Europe until the 18th century.
The cult of Isis was probably influ- developments of late antiquity such as
ential on another level. The myth of Gnosticism, Manichaeism, Hermetism,
Osiris shows some analogies with and Neoplatonism, some of which show
the Gospel story and, in the figure of traces of traditional Egyptian beliefs.
Isis, with the role of the Virgin Mary. Some of these religions became impor-
The iconography of the Virgin and tant in the intellectual culture of the
Child has evident affinities with that Renaissance. Finally, Christian monasti-
of Isis and the infant Horus. Thus, cism seems to have originated in Egypt
one aspect of Egyptian religion may and could look back to a range of native
have contributed to the background of practices, among which were seclusion
early Christianity, probably through in temple precincts and the celibacy of
the cultural centre of Alexandria. certain priestesses. Within Egypt, there
Egypt also was an influential setting are many survivals from earlier times in
for other religious and philosophical popular Christianity and Islam.
ChAPTER 8
Egyptian Language
and Writing
E gyptian is an extinct language of the Nile valley. It consti-
tutes a branch of the Afro-Asiatic language phylum. The
Semitic, Cushitic, Chadic, Omotic, and Amazigh (Berber)
language groups constitute the remaining members of Afro-
Asiatic languages. The writing system was both logographic
and phonetic.
EGyPTIAN LANGuAGE
and combines with the patterns -a-e and regard for their original meaning. Thus,
-o-e to create verbs of a particular tense. because the logograph for ‘house’ also
In ancient Egyptian texts, roots were signifies the sound pr, it is used to write
predominantly composed of three conso- the word prn ‘to go out.’ Because vowels
nants, and vowels were omitted. are not represented in writing, the logo-
Of the original Afro-Asiatic verb sys- graph for prn is differentiated from that
tem, only the stative (that is, those verbs for pr ‘house’ by the addition of the sign
that express a state or condition) sur- ‘walking legs.’ This type of addition is
vived. The new conjugations consisted known as a “semantic determinative”
of nominal forms with a suffix pronoun because it indicates the part of speech
or a noun (bound genitive) as subject. (and thus the meaning) of the word in
Suffixes indicated tense and voice. Later question.
these conjugations were replaced by
adverbial predicates (e.g., preposition Hieroglyphic Writing
plus infinitive).
Stem modifications were limited. Hieroglyphic writing employs characters
An s- causative stem corresponds to the in the form of pictures. These individual
Semitic causatives, but it was no lon- signs, called hieroglyphs, may be read
ger productive by Late Egyptian. The either as pictures, as symbols for pictures,
pronouns are close to those of Semitic. or as symbols for sounds.
Some nouns of place or instrument were The name hieroglyphic (from the
formed with the prefix m-. The masculine Greek word for “sacred carving”) is first
singular noun had no ending or was *-aw, encountered in the writings of Diodorus
feminine singular *-at, masculine plural Siculus (1st century bc). Earlier, other
*-āw, and feminine plural *-āwāt. Greeks had spoken of sacred signs when
Syntax was governed by a rigid word referring to Egyptian writing. Among the
order, with modifiers occurring in second Egyptian scripts, the Greeks labeled as
position. Genitival constructions are of hieroglyphic the script that they found on
two types in all phases of Egyptian: noun temple walls and public monuments, in
with reduced stress bound to the pos- which the characters were pictures
sessor or noun plus the genitival adjective sculpted in stone. It was the Greeks who
n(y) ‘of’ followed by the possessor. distinguished this script from hieratic,
which was still employed during the time
Egyptian writing of the ancient Greeks for religious texts,
and the demotic, the cursive script used
Logographic signs represent words, and for ordinary documents.
phonetic signs represent one to three Hieroglyphic, in the strict meaning
consonants (vowels not being of con- of the word, designates only the writing
cern). Phonetic signs are used without on Egyptian monuments. The word has,
Egyptian Language and Writing | 135
Coptic Language
The Coptic language, which was spoken in Egypt from about the 2nd century AD, represents the
final stage of the ancient Egyptian language. In contrast to earlier stages of Egyptian, which
used hieroglyphic writing, hieratic script, or demotic script, Coptic was written in the Greek
alphabet, supplemented by seven letters borrowed from demotic writing. Coptic also replaced
the religious terms and expressions of earlier Egyptian with words borrowed from Greek.
Coptic is usually divided by scholars into six dialects, four of which were spoken in Upper
Egypt and two in Lower Egypt. These differ from one another chiefly in their sound systems. The
Fayyūmic dialect of Upper Egypt, spoken along the Nile River valley chiefly on the west bank,
survived until the 8th century. Asyūt·ic, or Sub-Akhmīmic, spoken around Asyūt·, flourished in
the 4th century. In it are preserved a text of the Gospel According to John and of the Acts of the
Apostles, as well as a number of Gnostic documents. Akhmīmic was spoken in and around the
Upper Egyptian city of Akhmīm. Sahidic (from Arabic, as·-S·a‘īd [Upper Egypt]) was originally
the dialect spoken around Thebes. After the 5th century it was the standard Coptic of all of
Upper Egypt. It is one of the best-documented and well-known dialects.
The dialects of Lower Egypt were Bashmūric, about which little is known (only a few glosses
in the dialect are extant), and Bohairic (from Arabic, al-Buh·ayrah), originally spoken in the
western part of Lower Egypt including the cities of Alexandria and Memphis. Bohairic has been
used for religious purposes since the 11th century by all Coptic Christians. The latest Coptic
texts date from the 14th century.
however, been applied since the late 19th convenient scripts. Among living writ-
century to the writing of other peoples, ing systems, hieroglyphic scripts are no
insofar as it consists of picture signs used longer used.
as writing characters. For example, the
name hieroglyphics is always used to des- Development of Egyptian
ignate the monumental inscriptions of hieroglyphic Writing
the Indus civilization and of the Hittites,
who also possessed other scripts, in addi- The most ancient hieroglyphs date from
tion to the Mayan, the Incan, and Easter the end of the 4th millennium bc and
Island writing forms and also the signs comprise annotations incised onto pot-
on the Phaistos Disk on Crete. tery jars and ivory plaques deposited in
Because of their pictorial form, tombs, presumably for the purpose of
hieroglyphs were difficult to write and identification of the dead. Although by
were used only for monument inscrip- no means can all of these earliest signs
tions. They were usually supplemented be read today, it is nonetheless probable
in the writing of a people by other, more that these forms are based on the same
136 | Ancient Egypt: From Prehistory to the Islamic Conquest
system as the later classical hieroglyphs. unique event, such as a hunt or a particu-
In individual cases, it can be said with lar battle, led to the application of
certainty that it is not the copied object hieroglyphic writing to a monumental
that is designated but rather another context. Hieroglyphs added to a scene
word phonetically similar to it. This cir- signified that this illustration represented
cumstance means that hieroglyphs were a particular war rather than an unspeci-
from the very beginning phonetic sym- fied one or war in general. The writing
bols. An earlier stage consisting reflected a new attitude toward time and
exclusively of picture writing using a view of history as unique events in time.
actual illustrations of the intended words Beginning in the 1st dynasty (c. 2925–c.
cannot be shown to have existed in Egypt. 2775 bc), images of nonroyal persons
Indeed, such a stage can with great prob- were also annotated with their names or
ability be ruled out. No development titles, a further step toward expressing
from pictures to letters took place. individuality and uniqueness. The so-
Hieroglyphic writing was never solely a called annalistic ivory tablets of the first
system of picture writing. It can also be two dynasties were pictorial representa-
said with certainty that the jar marks tions of the events of a year with
(signs on the bottom of clay vessels) that specifically designated personal names,
occur at roughly the same period do not places, and incidents. For example,
represent a primitive form of the script. accompanying a scene of the pharaoh’s
Rather, these designs developed in paral- triumph over his enemies is the annota-
lel fashion to hieroglyphic writing and tion “the first occasion of the defeat of the
were influenced by it. Libyans.” Simultaneously, the writing of
It is not possible to prove the connec- the Egyptians began to appear unaccom-
tion of hieroglyphs to the cuneiform panied by pictorial representations,
characters used by the Sumerians in especially on cylinder seals. These roller-
southern Mesopotamia. Such a relation- shaped incised stones were rolled over
ship is improbable because the two the moist clay of jar stoppers. Their
scripts are based on entirely different inscription prevented the sealed jar from
systems. What is conceivable is a general being covertly opened and at the same
tendency toward words being fixed by time described its contents and desig-
the use of signs, without transmission of nated the official responsible for it. In the
particular systems. case of wine, its origin from a specific
vineyard and often also the destination of
Invention and Uses of the shipment were designated, and, as a
Hieroglyphic Writing rule, so was the name of the reigning king.
From the stone inscriptions of the 1st
The need to identify a pictorial represen- dynasty, only individual names are
tation with a royal individual or a specific, known, these being mainly the names of
138 | Ancient Egypt: From Prehistory to the Islamic Conquest
kings. In the 2nd dynasty, titles and pictures. Deviations from the fine arts
names of offerings appear, and, at the end occurred when the writing, which was
of this dynasty, sentences occur for the more closely bound to convention,
first time. The discovery of a blank papy- retained patterns that the fine arts had
rus scroll in the grave of a high official, eliminated. The face in front view is an
however, shows that longer texts could example of this. This representation,
have been written much earlier—i.e., since apart from very special instances, was
the early part of the 1st dynasty. eventually rejected as an artistic form,
the human face being shown only in pro-
Relationship of Writing and Art file. The front view of the face was,
however, retained as a hieroglyph from
The form of these hieroglyphs of the the Archaic period to the end of the use
Archaic period (the 1st to 2nd dynasty) of hieroglyphic writing. Similar cases
corresponds exactly to the art style of involve the depiction of various tools and
this age. Although definite traditions or implements. Although some of the
conventions were quickly formed with objects themselves fell out of use in
respect to the choice of perspective—e.g., the course of history—e.g., the general use
a hand was depicted only as a palm, an of clubs as weapons—their representa-
eye or a mouth inscribed only in front tions, mainly misunderstood, were
view—the proportions remained flexible. preserved in the hieroglyphic script. The
The prerequisite of every writing system hieroglyphs corresponding to objects
is a basic standardization, but such a stan- that had disappeared from daily life were
dardization is not equivalent to a canon therefore no longer well known and
(an established body of rules and princi- were occasionally distorted beyond rec-
ples) in the degree of stylistic conformity ognition. But the style of representation
that it requires. A recognized canon in the hieroglyphs still remained closely
of Egyptian hieroglyphic writing arose bound to the art of the respective epoch.
in the 3rd dynasty and was maintained Thus, there appeared taut, slender hiero-
until the end of the use of the script. glyphic forms or sensuous, fleshy ones or
In that hieroglyphic signs repre- even completely bloated characters,
sented pictures of living beings or according to the art style of the period.
inanimate objects, they retained a close
connection to the fine arts. The same Media for Hieroglyphic Writing
models formed the basis of both writing
and art, and the style of the writing sym- In historical times (2800 bc–ad 300),
bols usually changed with the art style. hieroglyphic writing was used for inscrib-
This correspondence occurred above all ing stone monuments and appears in
because the same craftsmen painted or Egyptian relief techniques, both high
incised both the writing symbols and the relief and bas-relief; in painted form; on
Egyptian Language and Writing | 139
metal, sometimes in cast form and some- all periods and for all uses of the writing,
times incised; and on wood. In addition, symbols to which a positive religious sig-
hieroglyphs appear in the most varied nificance was attached were regularly
kinds of metal and wood inlay work. All placed in front of other signs, even if they
these applications correspond exactly were to be read after them. Among these
with the techniques used in fine art. were hieroglyphs for God or individual
Hieroglyphic texts are found primar- gods as well as those for the king or the
ily on the walls of temples and tombs, palace. Thus, for example, the two signs,
but they also appear on memorials and
gravestones, on statues, on coffins, and
on all sorts of vessels and implements. ,
Hieroglyphic writing was used as much
for secular texts—historical inscrip- denoting the word combination “servant
tions, songs, legal documents, scientific of God” (priest), are written so that the
documents—as for religious subject mat- symbol for God,
ter—cult rituals, myths, hymns, grave
inscriptions of all kinds, and prayers. ,
These inscriptions were, of course, only
a decorative monumental writing, unsuit- stands in front of that for servant,
able for everyday purposes. For popular
use, hieratic script was developed, an
abbreviated form of the picture symbols ,
such as would naturally develop in writ-
ing with brush and ink on smooth surfaces although the former is to be read last.
such as papyrus, wood, and limestone. Moreover, theology traced the invention
of hieroglyphic writing back to the god
Writing and Religion Thoth, although this myth of its divine
origin did not have an effect on the devel-
The influence of religious concepts upon opment of the script. In the late period,
hieroglyphic writing is attested in at least Egyptian texts referred to hieroglyphic
two common usages. First, in the 3rd mil- inscriptions as “writing of God’s words.”
lennium, certain signs were avoided or Earlier, in contrast, they were simply
were used in garbled form in grave called “pictures.”
inscriptions for fear that the living beings
represented by these signs could harm Literacy and Knowledge of
the deceased who lay helpless in the hieroglyphic Writing
grave. Among these taboo symbols were
human figures and dangerous animals, At all periods only a limited circle under-
such as scorpions and snakes. Second, in stood the hieroglyphic script. Only those
140 | Ancient Egypt: From Prehistory to the Islamic Conquest
Ankh
who needed the knowledge in their pro- with the simpler and more convenient
fessions acquired the arts of writing and Greek script. Such experiments, however,
reading. These people were, for example, remained ineffective precisely because of
officials and priests (insofar as they had the emotional value that the old writing
to be able to read rituals and other sacred system had when the country was under
texts), as well as craftsmen whose work the foreign domination of the Macedonian
included the making of inscriptions. Greeks and the Romans.
Under Greek and especially under Roman
rule, the knowledge declined and was Christianity and the Greek Alphabet
entirely confined to temples where
priests instructed their pupils in the The situation was altered with the con-
study of hieroglyphic writing. From the version of Egypt to Christianity in the
time of the rule of the Ptolemies (305 to 2nd and 3rd centuries ad. The new
30 bc), national consciousness became religion fought against the Egyptian
more and more narrowly bound up with polytheism and traditions, and with
religion, and the tradition-filled hiero- its victory the Greek script triumphed.
glyphic writing was an outward sign of From the beginning, Egyptian Christians
pharaonic civilization—in the fullest used the Greek alphabet for writing their
sense, a symbol. There was no lack of spoken Egyptian language. This practice
attempts to replace the hieroglyphic involved enlarging the Greek alphabet
writing, cumbersome and ever more with seven supplementary letters for
divergent from the spoken language, Egyptian sounds not present in Greek. As
Egyptian Language and Writing | 141
proliferation occurred because scholars with the figures to which they pertain.
began to invent new forms or signs. The That is, the identifying name, epithet,
additional hieroglyphs were, however, and utterance of an individual are ori-
always in accordance with the principles ented in the same direction in which the
that had governed Egyptian writing from figure itself faces. And as one might
its beginnings. The hieroglyphic system expect for a distinctly pictorial script, the
remained flexible throughout all periods, preferential right-to-left orientation of
always open to innovation, even though, the Egyptian writing system had an effect
as with every writing system, convention on the development of three-dimensional
played a preponderant role. art as well. For example, the striding male
stance used for statuary requires that the
Direction of Writing left foot be placed forward, a visual pose
that derives from the prescribed stance of
Hieroglyphic inscriptions were preferen- the human hieroglyphic figure in pre-
tially written from right to left, with the ferred right-oriented inscriptions.
direction of reading indicated by the ori-
entation of the signs, which normally Cryptographic Hieroglyphic Writing
face toward the beginning of the text. The
right-to-left orientation in writing was That knowledge of the hieroglyphic sys-
scrupulously observed in the cursive tem and the principles upon which it was
form of the script, called hieratic. devised had not become diluted with
Reversals of orientation in the writing of time is attested by two phenomena: cryp-
individual signs are relatively rare and tography and the development of the
were incorporated for either religious or hieroglyphic writing during the last mil-
decorative purposes. lennium of its existence. From the middle
Because Egyptian monuments were of the 3rd millennium but more fre-
decorated according to strict conven- quently in the New Kingdom (from c.
tions of symmetry, temples and tombs 1539 to c. 1075 bc), hieroglyphic texts are
are usually adorned with hieroglyphic encountered that have a very strange
texts that face in both directions, to pro- appearance. The absence of familiar word
vide a visual sense of axial balance. groups and the presence of many signs
Inscriptions could be written either in not found in the canon characterize these
horizontal rows or in vertical columns, a texts at first glance as cryptographic, or
feature that was ideally suited for the dec- encoded, writing. This kind of hiero-
oration of monumental walls, doorways, glyphic writing was probably intended as
and lintels. In two-dimensional scenes an eye-catcher, to entice people to seek
containing human or divine figures, the pleasure of deciphering it. Composed
hieroglyphic texts are closely associated according to the original principles of the
Egyptian Language and Writing | 143
Papyrus
Both the writing material of ancient Egypt and the plant from which it was derived are called
papyrus. The papyrus plant (Cyperus papyrus, sometimes called the paper plant) was long-
cultivated in the Nile delta region in Egypt and was collected for its stalk or stem, whose central
pith was cut into thin strips, pressed together, and dried to form a smooth, thin writing surface.
Papyrus is a grasslike aquatic plant that has woody, bluntly triangular stems and grows up
to about 15 feet (4.6 m) high in quietly flowing water up to 3 feet (90 cm) deep. The triangular
stem can grow to a width of as much as 6 cm (2.3 inches). The papyrus plant is now often used as a
pool ornamental in warm areas or in conservatories. The dwarf papyrus (C. isocladus, also given
as C. papyrus ‘Nanus’), up to 60 cm (23.6 inches) tall, is sometimes potted and grown indoors.
The ancient Egyptians used the stem of the papyrus plant to make sails, cloth, mats, cords,
and, above all, paper. Paper made from papyrus was the chief writing material in ancient Egypt,
was adopted by the Greeks, and was used extensively in the Roman Empire. It was used not only
for the production of books (in roll or scroll form) but also for correspondence and legal docu-
ments. Pliny the Elder gave an account of the manufacture of paper from papyrus. The fibrous
layers within the stem of the plant were removed, and a number of these longitudinal strips
were placed side by side and then crossed at right angles with another set of strips. The two lay-
ers formed a sheet, which was then dampened and pressed. Upon drying, the gluelike sap of the
plant acted as an adhesive and cemented the layers together. The sheet was finally hammered
and dried in the sun. The paper thus formed was pure white in colour and, if well-made, was free
of spots, stains, or other defects. A number of these sheets were then joined together with paste
to form a roll, with usually not more than 20 sheets to a roll.
Papyrus was cultivated and used for writing material by the Arabs of Egypt down to the
time when the growing manufacture of paper from other plant fibres in the 8th and 9th centu-
ries AD rendered papyrus unnecessary. By the 3rd century AD, papyrus had already begun to be
replaced in Europe by the less-expensive vellum, or parchment, but the use of papyrus for books
and documents persisted sporadically until about the 12th century.
end and chewed to separate the fibres left. In earlier times the lines
into a brushlike tip, functioned as writ- were arranged vertically and
ing implements. The split calamus reed later, about 2000 bc, hori-
used as a writing implement was intro- zontally. Subsequently the
duced into Egypt by the Greeks in the papyrus scrolls were written in
3rd century bc. columns of changing widths.
2. There were ligatures in hier-
Hieratic Script atic so that two or more signs
could be written in one stroke.
The Egyptian cursive script, called hier- 3. As a consequence of its
atic writing, received its name from the decreased legibility, the
Greek hieratikos (“priestly”) at a time spelling of the hieratic script
during the late period when the script tended to be more rigid and
was used only for sacred texts, whereas more complete than that
everyday secular documents were written of hieroglyphic writing.
in another style, the demotic script (from Variations from uniformity
Greek dēmotikos, “for the people” or “in at a given time were minor;
common use”). Hieratic, the cursive form but, during the course of the
of Egyptian hieroglyphs, was in fact various historical periods,
employed throughout the pharaonic the spelling developed and
period for administrative and literary changed. As a result, hier-
purposes, as a faster and more conve- atic texts do not correspond
nient method of writing; thus, its Greek exactly to contemporary
designation is a misnomer. hieroglyphic texts, either in
The structure of the hieratic script the placing of signs or in the
corresponds with that of hieroglyphic spelling of words.
writing. Changes occurred in the charac- 4. Hieratic used diacritical addi-
ters of hieratic simply because they could tions to distinguish between
be written rapidly with brush or rush and two signs that had grown
ink on papyrus. Often the original picto- similar to one another
rial form is not, or not easily, recognizable. because of cursive writing.
Because their models were well known For example, the cow’s leg
and in current use throughout Egyptian received a supplementary
history, the hieratic symbols never distinguishing cross, because
strayed too far from them. Nevertheless, in hieratic it had come to
the system differs from the hieroglyphic resemble the sign for a
script in some important respects: human leg. Certain hieratic
1. Hieratic was written in one signs were taken into the
direction only, from right to hieroglyphic script.
146 | Ancient Egypt: From Prehistory to the Islamic Conquest
previously expressed. He also established that the hieroglyphic text of the Rosetta Stone was a
translation from the Greek, not, as had been thought, the reverse. The inscriptions, apparently
composed by the priests of Memphis, summarize benefactions conferred by Ptolemy V
Epiphanes (205–180 Bc) and were written in the ninth year of his reign in commemoration of
his accession to the throne.
Starting, as had his predecessors, from the names Ptolemy and Cleopatra (both of which
were enclosed in cartouches, or rings, used to set off royal names) and adding the hieroglyphic
spelling of Ramses’s name, Champollion determined, essentially correctly, the phonetic values
of the signs. Research undertaken since that time has confirmed and refined Champollion’s
approach and most of his results.
use—that is, for documents in which the The demotic system corresponds to
language was extensively formalized and the hieratic and hence ultimately to the
thus well suited for the use of a standard- hieroglyphic system. Alongside the tra-
ized cursive script. Only some time after its ditional spelling, however, there was
introduction was demotic used for literary another spelling that took account of
texts in addition to documents and letters; the markedly altered phonetic form
much later it was employed for religious of the words by appropriate respelling.
texts as well. The latest dated demotic text, This characteristic applied especially to
from Dec. 2, 425, consists of a rock inscrip- a large number of words that did not
tion at Philae. In contrast to hieratic, which occur in the older language and for
is almost without exception written in ink which no written form had consequently
on papyrus or other flat surfaces, demotic been passed down. The nontraditional
inscriptions are not infrequently found spelling could also be used for old,
engraved in stone or carved in wood. familiar words.
ChAPTER 9
Egyptian Art and
Architecture
T he course of art in Egypt paralleled to a large extent
the country’s political history, but it depended as well
on the entrenched belief in the permanence of the natural,
divinely ordained order. Artistic achievement in both archi-
tecture and representational art aimed at the preservation of
forms and conventions that were held to reflect the perfec-
tion of the world at the primordial moment of creation and
to embody the correct relationship between humankind, the
king, and the pantheon of the gods. For this reason, Egyptian
art appears outwardly resistant to development and the exer-
cise of individual artistic judgment, but Egyptian artisans of
every historical period found different solutions for the con-
ceptual challenges posed to them.
Geographical factors were predominant in forming the
particular character of Egyptian art. By providing Egypt
with the most predictable agricultural system in the ancient
world, the Nile afforded a stability of life in which arts and
crafts readily flourished. Equally, the deserts and the sea,
which protected Egypt on all sides, contributed to this stabil-
ity by discouraging serious invasion for almost 2,000 years.
The desert hills were rich in minerals and fine stones, ready
to be exploited by artists and craftsmen. Only good wood was
lacking, and the need for it led the Egyptians to undertake
foreign expeditions to Lebanon, to Somalia, and, through
intermediaries, to tropical Africa. In general, the search for
useful and precious materials determined the direction of
150 | Ancient Egypt: From Prehistory to the Islamic Conquest
foreign policy and the establishment of red pigment with scenes of ships, figures,
trade routes and led ultimately to the and a wide variety of symbols.
enrichment of Egyptian material culture. The working of hard stones also
began in earnest in the later Predynastic
Predynastic period period. At first craftsmen were devoted
to the fashioning of fine vessels based
In the 6th millennium bc there began to on existing pottery forms and to the
emerge patterns of civilization that dis- making of jewelry incorporating semi-
played characteristics deserving to be precious stones.
called Egyptian. The accepted sequence Sculpture found its best beginnings
of predynastic cultures is based on the not so much in representations of the
excavations of British archaeologist Sir human form (although figurines, mostly
Flinders Petrie at Naqādah, at Al-‘Āmirah female, were made from Badarian times)
(El-‘Âmra), and at Al-Jīzah (El-Giza). as in the carving of small animal figures
Another earlier stage of predynastic cul- and the making of schist (slate) palettes
ture has been identified at Al-Badārī in (intended originally for the preparation
Upper Egypt. of eye paint) and ivory knife handles.
From graves at Al-Badārī, Dayr Tasa, The Hunters and Battlefield palettes
and Al-Mustaqiddah evidence of a rela- show sophisticated two-dimensional
tively rich and developed artistic and representation.
industrial culture has been retrieved. The basic techniques of two-dimen-
Pottery of a fine red polished ware with sional art—drawing and painting—are
blackened tops already shows distinctive exemplified in Upper Egyptian rock
Egyptian shapes. Copper was worked drawings and in the painted tomb at
into small ornaments, and beads of ste- Hierakonpolis, now lost. Scenes of ani-
atite (soapstone) show traces of primitive mals, boats, and hunting (the common
glazing. Subsequently, in the Naqādah subjects of rock drawings) were more
I and Naqādah II stages predynastic finely executed in paint in the tomb, and
civilization developed steadily. Pottery additional themes, probably of conquest,
remains the distinctive product, show- presaged those found in dynastic art.
ing refinement of technique and the
development of adventurous decoration. Dynastic Egypt
Shapes already found in Badarian graves
were produced in Naqādah I with supe- Evidence suggests that the unifica-
rior skill and decorated with geometric tion of Upper and Lower Egypt drew
designs of white-filled lines and even together the various threads of what was
simple representations of animals. Later, to become the rich tapestry of Egyptian
new clays were exploited, and fine buff- culture and started the intricate weave
coloured wares were decorated in dark on the loom of time. Many of the new
Egyptian Art and Architecture | 151
artistic developments undoubtedly can importance: the ruler dwarfed the gener-
be traced back to the Naqādah II period; ally high official, while the tomb owner
but the abundant evidence from the great dwarfed his wife and, still more so, his
tombs of the 1st dynasty at Abydos and children.
S·aqqārah far outweighs what was found Conservatism in artistic matters was
in the modest burials of earlier times. The nurtured by a relative coherence of cul-
impression is certainly one of an extraor- ture, strengthened by a vigorous tradition
dinary efflorescence of civilization. The of scribal training and tempered by a
motif of conquest is dramatically char- canon of proportion for the representa-
acterized in the scenes shown on the tion of the human figure. In the Old
Narmer Palette, where Narmer (better Kingdom, walls prepared for decoration
known as Menes), probably the last ruler were marked out with red horizontal
of predynastic Egypt, is depicted as the guidelines; in later times vertical lines
triumphant ruler. were added. During much of the Dynastic
The Narmer representations display period a grid of 18 rows of squares was
much of what is typical of Egyptian art of used to contain the standing figure of a
the Dynastic period. Here is the charac- man; from the 26th dynasty, 21 rows of
teristic image of the king smiting his squares were used for the same purpose.
enemy, depicted with the conventions At different periods, variations in the
that distinguish Egyptian two-dimen- placing of specific bodily features pro-
sional art. The head is shown in profile, duced interesting and subtle nuances.
but the eye in full; the shoulders are fron- During the so-called Amarna period a
tally represented, while the torso is at distinctive reappraisal of the canon took
three-quarters view; the legs again are in place. The full range of changes and the
profile. To render each part of the human many variants still remain to be studied,
form from its most characteristic view- but it is clear that the basic canon lay
point was the principal intention of the deeply rooted in the training of the
artist—to show what he knew was there, Egyptian artist.
not simply what he could see from one
perspective. Architecture
Further conventions, well established
by the 4th dynasty, included the show- The two principal building materials used
ing of both hands and feet, right and left, in ancient Egypt were unbaked mud brick
without distinction. Scenes were set on and stone. From the Old Kingdom onward
baselines, and the events were placed in stone was generally used for tombs—the
sequence, usually from right to left. Unity eternal dwellings of the dead—and for
in a scene was provided by the focal figure temples—the eternal houses of the gods.
of the most important person, the king Mud brick remained the domestic mate-
or tomb owner. Relative size established rial, used even for royal palaces; it was
152 | Ancient Egypt: From Prehistory to the Islamic Conquest
also used for fortresses, the great walls of a mortuary temple, which beginning
temple precincts and towns, and for sub- in the New Kingdom was usually built
sidiary buildings in temple complexes. separately and at some distance from
Most ancient Egyptian towns have the tomb. In the following discussion,
been lost because they were situated in funerary temples built separately will be
the cultivated and flooded area of the discussed with temples in general and
Nile Valley; many temples and tombs not as part of the funerary complex.
have survived because they were built on
ground unaffected by the Nile flood. Any Royal Tombs
survey of Egyptian architecture will in
consequence be weighted in favour of In the earliest dynasties the tombs of
funerary and religious buildings. Yet the kings and high officials were made of mud
dry, hot climate of Egypt has allowed brick and of such similar size that it is dif-
some mud brick structures to survive ficult to distinguish between them. The
where they have escaped the destructive tombs at Abydos are royal, whereas those
effects of water or humans. at S·aqqārah are noble. The latter, better
preserved than the former, reveal rectan-
Tomb Architecture gular superstructures, called mastabas,
with sides constructed in the form of pan-
Mortuary architecture in Egypt was eled niches painted white and decorated
highly developed and often grandiose. with elaborate “matting” designs.
The tomb was a place in which a corpse These great superstructures were
might be protected from desecration and constructed over many storage chambers
be provided with material objects to stocked with food and equipment for the
ensure continued existence after death. deceased, who lay in a rectangular burial
Part of the tomb might be decorated with chamber below ground. Also within the
scenes that would enable the individual superstructure, but not always clearly evi-
to pursue magically an afterlife suitable dent, was a low mound of earth, possibly
and similar to his worldly existence. For a representing the primitive grave of ear-
king the expectations were quite differ- lier times.
ent; for him the tomb became the vehicle The Step Pyramid of Djoser, sec-
whereby he might achieve his exclusive ond king of the 3rd dynasty, was built
destiny with the gods in a celestial within a vast enclosure on a command-
afterlife. ing site at S·aqqārah, overlooking the
Most tombs comprised two princi- city of Memphis. A high royal official,
pal parts, the burial chamber (the tomb Imhotep, has traditionally been credited
proper) and the chapel, in which offerings with the design and with the decision
for the deceased could be made. In royal to use quarried stone. This first essay in
burials the chapel rapidly developed into stone is remarkable for its design of six
Egyptian Art and Architecture | 153
superposed stages of diminishing size, metres); and its area at the base is just
and also for its huge enclosure (1,784 by over 13 acres (5.3 hectares). Other fea-
909 feet [544 by 277 metres]) surrounded tures in its construction contribute
by a paneled wall faced with fine lime- substantially to its remarkable charac-
stone and containing a series of “mock” ter: the lofty, corbeled Grand Gallery and
buildings that probably represent struc- the granite-built King’s Chamber with
tures associated with the heraldic shrines five relieving compartments (empty
of Upper and Lower Egypt. There the rooms for reducing pressure) above.
Egyptian stonemasons made their earli- Khufu’s pyramid is perhaps the most
est architectural innovations, using stone colossal single building ever erected on
to reproduce the forms of primitive wood the planet. Its sides rise at an angle of
and brick buildings. Fine reliefs of the 51°52’ and are accurately oriented to the
king and elaborate wall panels in glazed four cardinal points of the compass. The
tiles in parts of the subterranean com- Great Pyramid’s core is made of yellow-
plexes are among the innovations found ish limestone blocks, the outer casing
in this remarkable monument. (now almost completely gone) and the
inner passages are of finer light-coloured
Pyramid of Khufu limestone, and the interior burial cham-
ber is built of huge blocks of granite.
For the Old Kingdom the most char- Approximately 2.3 million blocks of stone
acteristic form of tomb building was were cut, transported, and assembled to
the true pyramid, the finest example create the 5.75-million-ton structure. The
of which is the Great Pyramid of King Great Pyramid is a masterpiece of techni-
Khufu (Cheops) of the 4th dynasty, at cal skill and engineering ability. The
Al-Jīzah (Giza). The form itself reached internal walls, as well as those few outer-
its maturity in the reign of Snefru, casing stones that still remain in place,
father of Khufu. Subsequently only the show finer joints than any other masonry
pyramid of Khafre (Chephren), Khufu’s constructed in ancient Egypt.
successor, approached the size and per- The question of how the pyramid was
fection of the Great Pyramid. The simple built has not received a wholly satisfac-
measurements of the Great Pyramid tory answer. The most plausible one is
indicate very adequately its scale, mon- that the Egyptians employed a sloping
umentality, and precision: its sides are and encircling embankment of brick,
755.43 feet (230.26 metres; north), 756.08 earth, and sand, which was increased in
feet (230.45 metres; south), 755.88 feet height and in length as the pyramid rose;
(230.39 metres; east), 755.77 feet (230.36 stone blocks were hauled up the ramp by
metres; west); its orientation on the car- means of sledges, rollers, and levers.
dinal points is almost exact; its height According to the ancient Greek historian
upon completion was 481.4 feet (146.7 Herodotus, the Great Pyramid took 20
154 | Ancient Egypt: From Prehistory to the Islamic Conquest
of the milieu in which the dead owner The most famous rock-cut private
might expect to spend his afterlife. In tombs are those of the New Kingdom
the mastaba of Mereruka, a vizier of Teti, at Thebes, their fame resting, above all,
first king of the 6th dynasty, there were on their mural decoration. As elsewhere
21 rooms for his own funerary purposes, the excavated chambers are the tomb-
with six for his wife and five for his son. chapels, mostly taking a simple T-form,
Contemporaneously, the provin- in which the crossbar of the T represents
cial colleagues of the Memphite nobles the entrance hall, and the upright stroke
developed quite different tombs in of the T is the chapel proper. Some of
Middle and Upper Egypt. Tomb chapels the more important tombs (Rekhmire,
were excavated into the rock of the cliffs Ramose) have open courts before their
overlooking the Nile. Rock-cut tombs unelaborate facades and some striking
subsequently were to become a more internal features, but most are small in
common kind of private tomb, although comparison with those of earlier times. A
mastabas were built in the royal cemeter- number of Theban tombs were adorned
ies of the 12th dynasty. with mud brick pyramids placed above
Most rock-cut tombs were fairly sim- the main entrance.
ple single chambers serving all the A separate tradition of private
functions of the multiplicity of rooms in a tomb design was developed for impor-
mastaba. Some, however, were excavated tant officials at S·aqqārah in the New
with considerable architectural preten- Kingdom. Open courts, constructed
sions. At Aswān huge halls, often offering chapels, and elaborate subter-
connecting to form labyrinthine com- ranean suites of rooms characterize
plexes, were partly formal, with columns these Memphite tombs. The tomb for
carefully cut from the rock, and partly Horemheb, a military commander who
rough-hewn. Chapels with false doors became the last king of the 18th dynasty,
were carved out within the halls. In some has remarkable relief decoration. The
cases the facades were monumental, with tomb of Tia (a sister of the 19th-dynasty
porticoes and inscriptions. king Ramses II) has a small pyramid
At Beni Hasan the local nobles dur- behind the chapel.
ing the Middle Kingdom cut large and
precise tomb chambers in the limestone Temple Architecture
cliffs. Architectural features—columns,
barrel roofs, and porticoes, all carved Two principal kinds of temple can be dis-
from the rock—provided fine settings for tinguished—cult temples and funerary or
painted mural decorations. The tombs of mortuary temples. The former accommo-
Khnumhotep and Amenemhet are out- dated the images of deities, the recipients
standing examples of fine design of the daily cult; the latter were the shrines
impeccably executed. for the funerary cults of dead kings.
Egyptian Art and Architecture | 157
Ancient Egyptian obelisk and statuary in the Temple of Luxor, Thebes, Egypt. © Goodshoot/
Jupiterimages
158 | Ancient Egypt: From Prehistory to the Islamic Conquest
Entrance to the Nubian cliff temple of Ramses II at Abu Simbel, Egypt, c. 1250 bc, New
Kingdom, 19th dynasty. H. Roger-Viollet
Of the structures on the main Karnak supposed that even on the brightest day
axis, the most remarkable are the hypo- most of the hall was in deep gloom.
style hall and the so-called Festival Hall The Festival Hall is better described
of Thutmose III. The former contained as a memorial hall. Its principal room is
134 mighty papyrus columns, 12 of which distinguished by a series of unusual col-
formed the higher central aisle (76 feet umns with bell-shaped capitals, inspired
[23 metres] high). Grill windows allowed by the wooden tent poles used in primi-
some light to enter, but it must be tive buildings. Their lightness contrasts
160 | Ancient Egypt: From Prehistory to the Islamic Conquest
strikingly with the massive supports of and a dozen obelisks, was appropriated
the hypostyle hall. from other sanctuaries in Egypt, making
Near Karnak Temple, King this a remarkable assemblage of earlier
Akhenaton and his wife, Nefertiti, built work. It was not only a cult temple but the
a number of temples, later dismantled, funerary temple for the kings who were
to the sun god Aton. The vast number of buried within the precinct.
blocks found in modern times indicates
that these constructions were essentially Funerary Temples
open places for worship like the earlier
sun temples. So, too, was the great Aton Most of the New Kingdom funerary tem-
temple at Tell el-Amarna, built later in ples were built along the desert edge in
Akhenaton’s reign. western Thebes. An exception, and by far
The most interesting and unusual the most original and beautiful, was
cult temple of the New Kingdom was Queen Hatshepsut’s temple, designed
built at Abydos by Seti I of the 19th and built by her steward Senenmut near
dynasty. Principally dedicated to Osiris, the tomb of Mentuhotep II at Dayr
it contained seven chapels dedicated to al-Bah·rī. Three terraces lead up to the
different deities, including the deified recess in the cliffs where the shrine was
Seti himself. These chapels have well-pre- cut into the rock. Each terrace is fronted
served barrel ceilings and are decorated by colonnades of square pillars protect-
with low-relief scenes that retain much of ing reliefs of unusual subjects, including
their original colour. an expedition to Punt and the divine
The most remarkable monument of birth of Hatshepsut. Ramps lead from ter-
Ramses II, the great builder, is undoubt- race to terrace, and the uppermost level
edly the temple of Abu Simbel. Although opens into a large court with colonnades.
excavated from the living rock, it follows Chapels of Hathor (the principal deity of
generally the plan of the usual Egyptian the temple) and Anubis occupy the south
temple: colossal seated statues emerging and north ends of the colonnade of the
from the facade, which is the cliff face; a second terrace.
pillared hall followed by a second leading The largest conventionally planned
to a vestibule; and a shrine with four stat- funerary temple complex was probably
ues of divinities, including one of Ramses that of Amenhotep III, now to be judged
himself. principally from the two huge quartzite
Mention should also be made of the statues, the Colossi of Memnon. These
immense temple dedicated to the god and other royal sculptures found in the
Amon-Re at Tanis in the delta by the ruins of the temple’s courts and halls tes-
kings of the 21st and 22nd dynasties. tify to the magnificence now lost. Its
Much of the stone for the so-called north- design, as well as much of its stone, was
ern Karnak, along with colossal statues used by Ramses II for his own funerary
Egyptian Art and Architecture | 161
The Temple of Queen Hatshepsut at Dayr al-Bah·rī, Thebes, Egypt, 15th century bc. Katherine
Young/EB Inc.
temple, the Ramesseum. The huge enclo- ample evidence of the use of the vault in
sure of the latter included not only the the late 2nd millennium bc.
temple but also a royal palace (only traces Ramses III’s funerary temple at
of which can now be seen). The temple Madīnat Habu contains the best-pre-
itself contained two huge open courts, served of Theban mortuary chapels and
entered through towering pylons, which shrines, as well as the main temple com-
led to a lofty hypostyle hall and a smaller ponents. The most private parts of the
hall with astronomical carvings on the temple, to which few had access apart
ceiling. Statues of vast size stood before from the king and his priestly represen-
the second pylon, one of which, now top- tatives, begin at the sides of the first
pled and ruined, has been estimated to hypostyle hall, with the temple treasury
weigh more than 1,000 tons. Mud brick and a room for the processional boat of
storerooms in the enclosure preserve Ramses II (a much-honoured ancestor)
162 | Ancient Egypt: From Prehistory to the Islamic Conquest
on the south and shrines for various dei- The best-preserved private houses
ties, including Ramses III, on the north. are those of modest size in the workmen’s
A second pillared hall is flanked by a village of Dayr al-Madīnah. Exceptional
solar chapel and a small Osiris complex, in that they were built of stone, they typi-
where the king took on the personae of cally had three or four rooms, comprising
Re, the sun god, and of Osiris, god of the a master bedroom, a reception room, a cel-
underworld, a transfiguration considered lar for storage, and a kitchen open to the
necessary for his divine afterlife. Beyond sky; accommodation on the roof, reached
the Osiris complex, along the temple by a stair, completed the plan. Similar
axis, is a third small hall and the main domestic arrangements are known from
shrine for the Theban god Amon; two lat- the workmen’s village at Kabun.
eral shrines were reserved for Amon’s Villas for important officials in
consort Mut and their divine child Khons. Akhenaton’s city of Tell el-Amarna were
As with most New Kingdom temples, large and finely decorated with brightly
the mural decorations on the outer walls painted murals. The house of the vizier
of funerary temples, including that at Nakht had at least 30 rooms, including
Madīnat Habu, dealt mainly with the mili- separate apartments for the master, his
tary campaigns of the king, while the inner family, and his guests. Such houses had
scenes were mostly of ritual significance. bathrooms and lavatories. The ceilings of
Within the temple precinct lived and large rooms were supported by painted
worked a whole community of priests wooden pillars, and there may have been
and state officials. A small palace lay to further rooms above. Where space was
the south of the main building, and a fur- restricted (as in Thebes), houses of sev-
ther suite of rooms for the king was eral stories were built. Tomb scenes that
installed in the castellated gate building show such houses also demonstrate
on the east side of the precinct. The reliefs that windows were placed high to reduce
in this “high gate” suggest that the suite sunlight and that hooded vents on roofs
was used for recreational purposes by the were used to catch the breeze.
king together with his women. Palaces, as far as can be judged from
remains at Thebes and Tell el-Amarna,
Domestic Architecture were vast, rambling magnified versions of
Nakht’s villa, with broad halls, harem suites,
Mud brick and wood were the standard kitchen areas, and wide courts. At Tell el-
materials for houses and palaces through- Amarna some monumental formality was
out the Dynastic period; stone was used introduced in the form of porticoes, colon-
occasionally for such architectural ele- nades, and statuary. Lavish use was made
ments as doorjambs, lintels, column of mural and floor decoration in which flo-
bases, and windows. ral and animal themes predominated.
Egyptian Art and Architecture | 163
Sculpture
Refinements of the
Middle Kingdom
image of the king as protector. The great of Thutmose III, in the perfection of its
red granite sphinx of Amenemhet II from execution and subtlety of its realization,
Tanis expresses the idea most potently. epitomizes regality.
In private sculpture during the The placing of votive statues in tem-
Middle Kingdom the subject is in most ples led to a proliferation of private
cases portrayed seated or squatting, sculptures during the New Kingdom. The
occasionally standing, and wearing an sculptures of Senenmut, steward of
all-enveloping cloak. The body was Hatshepsut, exemplify the development.
mostly concealed, but its contours were At least 23 votive statues (some fragmen-
often subtly suggested in the carving, as tary) of this royal favourite are known,
in the figure of Khertyhotep. Of female exhibiting many different forms.
subjects, none is more impressive than Colossal sculpture, which reached its
that of Sennu, a wonderful example of a apogee in the reign of Ramses II, was
figure in repose. used to splendid, and perhaps less bom-
The simplification of the human fig- bastic, effect by Amenhotep III. The great
ure was carried to its ultimate in the block sculptures of his funerary temple, includ-
statue, a uniquely Egyptian type that rep- ing the immense Colossi of Memnon,
resents the subject squatting on the were part of the noble designs of his mas-
ground with knees drawn up close to his ter of works, also called Amenhotep (son
body. The arms and legs may be wholly of Hapu). Most unusually, this distin-
contained within the cubic form, hands guished commoner was allowed a
and feet alone discretely protruding. The funerary temple for himself and larger-
12th-dynasty block statue of Sihathor is than-life votive sculptures that show him
the earliest dated example. in contrasting attitudes, as stern-faced
authoritarian and as submissive scribe.
Innovation, Decline, and Revival The stylistic trends that can be noted
from the New Kingdom to the in certain sculptures of Amenhotep
Late Period III hint of an artistic change that was
developed in the subsequent reign of
Excellence of craftsmanship is the hall- Akhenaton. The distinctive style of this
mark of 18th-dynasty sculpture, in a period has come to be called Amarna, after
revival of the best traditions of the Middle the location of Akhenaton’s new capital in
Kingdom. Wonderfully sensitive statues Middle Egypt. Colossal sculptures of the
of Hatshepsut and Thutmose III confirm king from the dismantled Karnak temples
the return of conditions in which great emphasize his bodily peculiarities—elon-
work could be achieved. A seated lime- gated facial features, almost feminine
stone statue of Hatshepsut shows the breasts, and swelling hips. Sculptures of
queen as king, but with an expression of Nefertiti, his queen, are often executed
consummate grace. A schist statue in the most remarkably sensual manner
166 | Ancient Egypt: From Prehistory to the Islamic Conquest
Egyptian dancing, detail from a tomb painting from Shaykh ‘Abd al-Qurnah, Egypt, c. 1400
bc; in the British Museum, London. Courtesy of the trustees of the British Museum
the 4th dynasty, in the scene of geese The tradition of fine painting was
from the tomb of Nefermaat and Atet at continued in the Middle Kingdom. At
Maydum. But the glory of Old Kingdom Beni Hasan the funerary chambers are
mural decoration is the low-relief work in crowded with paintings exhibiting fine
the royal funerary monuments of the 5th draftsmanship and use of colour. The best
dynasty and in the private tombs of the relief work of the period, reviving the
5th and 6th dynasties in the Memphite Memphite tradition, is found at Thebes in
necropolis. Outstanding are the reliefs the tomb of Mentuhotep II at Dayr al-Bah·rī
from the sun temple of King Neuserre at and in the little shrine of Sesostris I at
Abu Jīrab and the scenes of daily life in Karnak, where the fine carving is greatly
the tombs of Ptahhotep and Ti at enhanced by a masterly use of space in
S·aqqārah. the disposition of figures and text.
Egyptian Art and Architecture | 169
In the early 18th dynasty the relief Simbel), or the more genuine successes
tradition was revived at Thebes and can of Ramses III against the Libyans and the
best be observed in the carvings in Sea Peoples (Madīnat Habu). The size
Hatshepsut’s temple at Dayr al-Bah·rī. and vitality of these ostentatious scenes
Later royal reliefs of Amenhotep III and are stupendous, even if their execution
of the post-Amarna kings show a stylistic tends to be slapdash.
refinement that was carried to its best in The artistic renaissance of the
the reign of Seti I at Karnak, at Abydos, 25th and 26th dynasties is evident in
and in his tomb at Thebes. painting and relief as well as in sculpture.
The 18th dynasty also saw Egyptian Although the fine work in the tomb of
painting reach its highest achievement Montemhat at Thebes is distinctly
in the tombs of the nobles at Thebes. The archaizing, it is, nevertheless, exceptional
medium of decoration and an increased in quality. The skills of the Egyptian
range of motifs felt appropriate for draftsman, nurtured by centuries of exer-
tomb decoration led to the introduc- cise at large and small scale, remained
tion of small, often entertaining details highly professional. This skill is seen at
into standard scenes. The tiny tombs of its most consistent level in the illumina-
Menna and Nakht are full of such playful tion of papyruses. The practice of
vignettes. The paintings in great tombs, including drawings, often painted, in reli-
such as that of Rekhmire, are more formal gious papyruses flourished from the time
but still crammed with unusual detail. of the 18th dynasty and reached a high
Fragments of mural and floor paint- point about 1300 bc. The peak of achieve-
ings from palaces and houses at Thebes ment is probably represented by the
and Tell el-Amarna provide tantalizing Book of the Dead of the scribe Ani, in the
glimpses of the marsh and garden set- vignettes of which both technique and
tings of everyday upper-class life. the use of colour are outstanding.
The fine royal reliefs of the late 18th Subsequently, and especially in the Late
dynasty were matched by those in private period, pure line drawing was increas-
tombs at Thebes (Ramose and Kheruef) ingly employed.
and S·aqqārah (Horemheb); these are
breathtaking in execution and, in the Plastic Arts
case of Horemheb, both moving and orig-
inal. Mastery of large-scale relief In Egypt pottery provided the basic mate-
compositions subsequently passed to the rial for vessels of all kinds. Fine wares
work in the temples of the 19th and 20th and many other small objects were made
dynasties. The most dramatic subject was from faience. Glass arrived late on the
war, whether the so-called triumph of scene and was used somewhat irregularly
Ramses II at Kadesh (Thebes and Abu from the New Kingdom onward.
Egyptian Art and Architecture | 171
Decorative Arts
Jewelry
Gold funerary mask of the pharaoh
Tutankhamen inlaid with lapis lazuli and Gold provided Egyptian jewelry with its
coloured glass, New Kingdom, 18th dynasty richness; it was used for settings, cloi-
(c. 1323 bc); in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo. sonné work, chains, and beads, both solid
Height 53.3 cm. Courtesy of the Egyptian and hollow. Soldering, granulation, and
Museum, Cairo. Photograph, Eliot Elisofon, wire making were practiced. Precious
Life, c. 1948, Time, Inc. stones were not used, but a wide range of
semiprecious stones was exploited: car-
nelian, amethyst, garnet, red and yellow
for small amulets, beads, inlays, and jasper, lapis lazuli, feldspar, turquoise,
especially for small vessels. The material and agate. Additional colours and tex-
was opaque, blue being the predominant tures were provided by faience and glass.
colour, although other bright colours were Ancient Egyptian jewelers had a fine
also achieved. The vessels, made around eye for colour and an excellent sense of
sand cores, were mostly drinking cups or design. From the earliest dynasties come
flasks for precious liquids and were often bracelets from the tomb of King Djer at
decorated with trailed patterns applied Abydos; from the 4th dynasty, the armlets
as glass threads. Glass was certainly a of Queen Hetepheres, of silver inlaid with
material of luxury, a fact confirmed by the carnelian, turquoise, and lapis lazuli.
presence of two glass goblets with gold There are examples of splendid and deli-
rims among a treasure of precious ves- cate jewelry dating from the Middle
sels from the reign of Thutmose III. Kingdom; in particular, pieces were found
Egyptian Art and Architecture | 173
Gold pectoral with semiprecious stones belonging to Sesostris III, Middle Kingdom, 12th
dynasty (1991–1786 bc). Hirmer Fotoarchiv, Munchen
The gold-plated, gold-inlaid furniture small pieces of ivory and ebony. Fine fur-
of Queen Hetepheres of 4th-dynasty date niture was being produced in very early
reveals how early Egyptian craftsmen times, as is confirmed by the skillfully
mastered the working of gold. Gold ves- restored furniture from the secondary
sels have rarely survived, but those from burial of Hetepheres.
the royal burials of Tanis preserve styles Among the most charming and deli-
and techniques that go back to the tradi- cate products of the Egyptian woodworker
tions of the New Kingdom and earlier. are the many toilet spoons and contain-
Gold statuettes also are rare, but again, ers in the form of graceful swimming
surviving examples, such as the magnifi- girls, lute players in the marshes, and
cent falcon head of a cult statue of fishes and animals. At the other extreme,
6th-dynasty date from Hierakonpolis and nothing is more remarkable than the
the divine triad of Osiris, Isis, and Horus great boat, more than 140 feet (43 metres)
of the 22nd dynasty, show the achieve- long, found in a trench by the side of the
ments of early and late times. Great Pyramid.
In a hoard of precious vessels found
at Bubastis and dated to the 19th dynasty, Ivory and Bone
there were three silver pieces of excep-
tional interest, in particular a jug whose Of the few small ivory figurines to have
handle is of gold and in the shape of a survived from pharaonic times, two
goat. Greater availability of silver in later royal representations found in the Early
times is demonstrated by two massive sil- Dynastic temple at Abydos are outstand-
ver coffins and a number of vessels in the ing. There can be little doubt, in spite of
royal burials at Tanis. the paucity of survivals, that fine deco-
rative objects of ivory were made at all
Wood periods. A gazelle and a grasshopper of
the 18th dynasty may truly be described
The wooden sculpture of the Old as objets de vertu. Many fine exam-
Kingdom shows the carver of wood at his ples of the use of ivory were found in
most skillful and sensitive. But it is in the Tutankhamen’s tomb, from simple geo-
field of cabinetmaking that the ancient metric marquetry patterns to box panels
woodworker excelled. Best known are the carved with exquisitely informal scenes
many chairs, tables, stools, beds, and of the king with his queen.
chests found in Tutankhamen’s tomb.
Many of the designs are exceptionally Greco-Roman Egypt
practical and elegant. Techniques of
inlay, veneering, and marquetry are com- After the conquest of Egypt by Alexander
pletely mastered. One chest is veneered the Great, the independent rule of pha-
with strips of ivory and inlaid with 33,000 raohs in the strict sense came to an end.
176 | Ancient Egypt: From Prehistory to the Islamic Conquest
Egyptian Hall, owned by British antiquities collector and promoter William Bullock. The hall,
completed in 1812, was designed to capture the fancy of a public fascinated by all things
Egyptian. Hulton Archive/Getty Images
the 20th century, and Giuseppe Verdi’s Agatha Christie. The Mummy (1932)
Aida, created for the opening of the Cairo and its successors preserved the idea
Opera House (1871), was neither the first of mysterious Egypt, while Claudette
nor the only Egyptian-based opera. Yet, Colbert’s Cleopatra (1932) saw history as
even as Egypt became better understood, an excuse for spectacle, a tradition con-
allowing stage designers, for instance, tinued by Elizabeth Taylor’s Cleopatra
to aspire to archaeological accuracy and (1963). Architects used Egypt’s pure
painters to render Egyptian monuments lines and forms (now seen as modern),
faithfully (if often at reduced or enlarged sometimes combining them with elabo-
scale), older sources and ideas of mys- rate Egyptianizing decoration as in New
terious Egypt remained popular. Sarah York’s Chrysler Building (1930). Domestic
Bernhardt played Cleopatra (1890) as the Egyptianizing architecture, however, was
traditional seductress, while Arthur Conan rare except in California, where it was per-
Doyle’s story Lot No. 249 (1892) helped haps inspired by the sunny climate and
popularize the evil reanimated mummy. Hollywood’s fantasy-based film industry.
In the early 20th century, mass pro- After World War II, Egyptomania
duction made Egyptianizing items more virtually disappeared, although the
widely available. The fledgling movie 1954 discovery of the Giza solar boat
industry eagerly exploited Egypt with inspired Howard Hawks’s The Land of the
movies like La Roman de la momie Pharaohs (1955), and mummies remained
(1910–11, based on Gauthier’s 1857 novel), popular in movies and pulp fiction. The
Theda Bara’s Cleopatra (1917), and bib- 1978 world tour of Tutankhamen arti-
lical epics (The Ten Commandments, facts sparked new interest that continues
1922–23). Bullock’s Egyptian Hall showed into the 21st century, as the proliferation
movies from 1896 until it was demolished of documentaries and books about
in 1904, and the first Egyptianizing movie Egypt demonstrates. Yet earlier traditions
palaces appeared in the early 1920s. persist. Egypt’s reputation for wisdom
Throughout the century, greater educa- and durability promotes today’s new
tion, new discoveries, and, above all, the technologies. In Tennessee, the Memphis
growth of mass media fostered a broader Zoo’s pylon entrance (1990–91) recalls
appreciation of ancient Egypt and a 19th-century educational buildings, while
democratization of Egyptomania. Las Vegas’s Luxor Casino (1993) is a suc-
The 1922 discovery of Tutankhamen’s cessor to Bullock’s Egyptian Hall. Evil
tomb unleashed a wave of Egyptomania mummies continued into the 21st century
that endured until World War II, influenc- to make appearances in movies, and old
ing the whole Art Deco movement and ideas about “mystic Egypt” thrive. Eternal
inspiring writers from Thomas Mann to Egypt remains eternally fascinating.
Appendix: Selected Sites
Abū Jirāb on the west bank of the Nile River. It is
part of a UNESCO World Heritage site—
Lying about 1 mile (1.6 km) north of Abū along with Dahshūr, S·aqqārah, Abū S·īr,
S·īr, between S·aqqārah and Al-Jīzah, Abū Memphis, and the Pyramids of Giza—that
Jirāb (Abu Gurab, Abu Gurob) is known as was designated in 1979. Of the pyramid
the location of two 5th-dynasty (c. 2465–c. superstructure very little remains, and
2325 bc) sun temples. The first part of the it was probably never finished—a theory
5th dynasty is recognized as a period of reinforced by evidence that the walls of
unusually strong emphasis on the wor- the mortuary temple next to the pyramid
ship of the sun god Re. Contemporary were hastily made of mud brick instead of
inscriptions record that six sun temples the usual cut stone. The mortuary cult of
were built in that period. Only those of the king was certainly celebrated at Abū
King Userkaf and King Neuserre, how- Ruwaysh, as indicated by the presence of
ever, have been found and excavated, the large-scale statue fragments of Redjedef.
latter one being better preserved because Nothing remains of the pyramid’s valley
it was constructed entirely of stone. The temple, but the causeway from it to the
temple of King Neuserre consisted of a mortuary temple can still be traced.
large courtyard built on the edge of the An Early Dynastic (c. 2925–c. 2575 bc)
desert and surrounded by storerooms, private cemetery has also been found at
cult chambers, and an altar. On the Abū Ruwaysh.
western side a squat obelisk rested on a
rectangular podium. A long covered pas- Abū S·īr
sage approached the platform from the
Nile River valley and was decorated with Abū S·īr (also spelled Abusir) is situ-
some of the most beautifully sculpted ated between Al-Jīzah (Giza) and
and painted scenes remaining from the S·aqqārah, northern Egypt, where three
Old Kingdom (c. 2575–c. 2130 bc). 5th-dynasty (c. 2465–c. 2325 bc) kings
(Sahure, Neferirkare, and Neuserre)
Abū Ruwaysh built their pyramids. The pyramids were
poorly constructed (in comparison with
Abū Ruwaysh (Abu Roash) is the site of a Egyptian monuments of similar types)
4th-dynasty (c. 2575–c. 2465 bc) pyramid and are now in a state of disrepair. The
built by Redjedef, usually considered the adjoining mortuary temples are notable
third of the seven kings of that dynasty. for their elaborate sculptured wall reliefs
The site is about 5 miles (8 km) north- and columns in the forms of palm, lotus,
west of the Pyramids of Giza (Al-Jīzah) and papyrus plants. Near their pyramids
Appendix: Selected Sites | 183
a number of the kings, including Userkaf The pyramid, built by King Sesostris
and Neuserre, built sanctuaries with II (reigned 1844–37 bc), fourth of the eight
obelisks dedicated to Re, the sun god. kings of the 12th dynasty (1938–c. 1756),
In 1979 Abū S·īr and other sites in the was unusual in that the entrance to the
area—Dahshūr, S·aqqārah, Abū Ruwaysh, burial chamber was not in the north side
Memphis, and the Pyramids of Giza— of the pyramid but was found instead to
were collectively designated a UNESCO the south of the structure. Although the
World Heritage site. pyramid itself was robbed in antiquity, a
Two significant groups of papyri treasure of jewelry was discovered in the
have been discovered at Abū S·īr, one hav- tombs of the princesses, located within
ing been recovered in 1893 and another the pyramid enclosure. In technical per-
having come to light during excavations fection and artistic mastery this collection
in 1982. The Abū S·īr papyri are the easily rivals all other Middle Kingdom
archives of the temple priesthood of objects of its type.
the mortuary cult of Neferirkare and pro- Excavation of the village, which was
vide important information on the also inhabited during the Second
economic function of an Old Kingdom (c. Intermediate period (c. 1630–1540 bc),
2575–c. 2130 bc) funerary endowment. revealed a remarkable degree of town
Although numerous excavations in planning. Innumerable pieces of furni-
the area have usually yielded disturbed ture and other household items were
remains, in 1998 a team of archaeologists found, as well as a mass of papyri dealing
from Charles University in Prague uncov- with various topics, including letters, pri-
ered the intact sarcophagus of Iufaa, a vate wills, royal hymns, medical texts,
priest and palace administrator who lived and the temple archives of the pyramid
about 525 bc. cult. In 2009 excavations at Al-Lāhūn
yielded a number of significant finds,
Al-Lāhūn including the body of a man identified by
archaeologists as a senior government
The site of Al-Lāhūn (El Lahun, or Illahun) official. On the basis of engravings
is located southwest of Al-Fayyūm near inscribed on its wooden coffin, the body
the southward turn of the Bah·r Yūsuf canal was dated to the 2nd dynasty (c. 2775–c.
in Al-Fayyūm muh·āfaz·ah (governorate). 2650 bc), indicating that the site had
Al-Lāhūn was the location of a Middle been significant far earlier than previ-
Kingdom (1938–c. 1630 bc) pyramid and ously thought.
of a workmen’s village of approximately
the same date, and findings in the early Al-Ma‘ādī
21st century revealed that it was a signifi-
cant site in the Early Dynastic period (c. Al-Ma‘ādī is a predynastic Egyptian site
2925–c. 2575 bc) as well. located just south of present-day Cairo in
184 | Ancient Egypt: From Prehistory to the Islamic Conquest
Lower Egypt. The settlement at Al-Ma‘ādī one mile (1.6 km) south in an ancient
was approximately contemporary with quarry, with a smaller shrine of Alexander
the Amratian and Gerzean cultures of II nearby.
Upper Egypt. Al-Ma‘ādī was apparently a
village with a separate cemetery; the set- Dahshūr
tlement was characterized by oval huts,
ring-base vases, globular, rimmed-neck The ancient pyramid site of Dahshūr lies
vessels, and large storage jars similar to just south of S·aqqārah, northern Egypt,
those found at Gerzean sites. Copper was on the west bank of the Nile River.
occasionally used, and Upper Egyptian Dahshūr and other ruins in the area of
stone vase types have been found. In ancient Memphis—Abū S·īr, S·aqqārah,
addition to Al-Ma‘ādī’s connections with Abū Ruwaysh, and the Pyramids of Giza—
the culture of Upper Egypt, its position were collectively designated a UNESCO
on the southern leg of the Syro-Egyptian World Heritage site in 1979.
trade route also brought it under the cul- Two of its five extant pyramids date
tural influence of Palestine. from the 4th dynasty (c. 2575–c. 2465 bc)
and were built by King Snefru (reigned
Beni Hasan 2575–51). The earlier one, because of its
peculiar double slope, is variously called
Beni Hasan (or Banī H·asan) is a Middle the Blunted, Bent, False, or Rhomboidal
Kingdom archaeological site (1938–c. Pyramid. It represents an early attempt
1630 bc), lying on the eastern bank of the to build a true pyramid, but the initial
Nile roughly 155 miles (245 km) south of angle of slope (52°) was found to be too
Cairo. The site is noted for its rock-cut steep; the top portion of the pyramid
tombs of 11th- and 12th-dynasty officials was thereupon reduced to 43.5°. The
of the 16th Upper Egyptian (Oryx) nome, best-preserved of the five, it is the only
or province. Some of the 39 tombs are Old Kingdom (c. 2575–c. 2130 bc) pyra-
painted with scenes of daily life and mid with two entrances. The second of
important biographical texts. The gover- Snefru’s pyramids at Dahshūr, the North
nors of the nome, whose capital was Pyramid (Red Pyramid), was built at the
Menat Khufu, administered the eastern lower slope angle of 43° and is therefore
desert. The tomb of one, Khnumhotep II, shorter. It is the first true pyramid suc-
contains a scene showing Semitic cessfully completed.
Bedouin merchants in richly coloured The three remaining extant pyra-
garments entering Egypt. Speos mids belong to the 12th dynasty (1938–c.
Artemidos, a rock-cut shrine originally 1756 bc) and are not well preserved, their
dedicated to the local lion-headed god- inner cores having been built largely of
dess Pakhet, built by Queen Hatshepsut mud brick. The tombs of the royal fami-
and Thutmose III of the 18th dynasty, lies lies built near the 12th-dynasty pyramids
Appendix: Selected Sites | 185
Kingdom (c. 1539–1075 bc) village, pri- architect was commemorated by statues
vate tombs from the 19th and 20th in the Temple of Mut.
dynasties, and three temples erected for Between these two precincts lay the
the workers’ use. largest temple complex in Egypt, and
one of the largest in the world, the great
Karnak metropolitan temple of the state god,
Amon-Re. The complex was added to
The village of Karnak (Al-Karnak) is and altered at many periods and, in con-
located in Qinā muh·āfaz·ah (governor- sequence, lacks a systematic plan. It has
ate), Upper Egypt, which has given its been called a great historical document
name to the northern half of the ruins in stone: in it are reflected the fluctuat-
of Thebes on the east bank of the Nile ing fortunes of the Egyptian empire.
River, including the ruins of the Great There are no fewer than 10 pylons, sepa-
Temple of Amon. Karnak and other areas rated by courts and halls and nowadays
of ancient Thebes—including Luxor, the numbered for convenience, number one
Valley of the Kings, and the Valley of the being the latest addition. Pylons one
Queens—were collectively designated a through six form the main east-west
UNESCO World Heritage site in 1979. axis leading toward the Nile. The sev-
Excavations in the 20th century enth and eighth pylons were erected in
pushed the history of the site back to the the 15th century bc by Thutmose III and
Gerzean period (c. 3400–c. 3100 bc), when Queen Hatshepsut, respectively, and
a small settlement was founded on the the ninth and tenth during Horemheb’s
wide eastern bank of the Nile floodplain. reign (1319–1292). These pylons formed
Karnak contains the northern group of a series of processional gateways at
the Theban city temples, called in ancient right angles to the main axis, link-
times Ipet-Isut, “Chosen of Places.” The ing the temple with that of Mut to the
ruins cover a considerable area and are south and, farther, by way of the avenue
still impressive, though nothing remains of sphinxes, with the temple at Luxor 2
of the houses, palaces, and gardens that miles (3 km) away.
must have surrounded the temple pre- There are few extant traces of the
cinct in ancient times. The most northerly original Middle Kingdom (1938–c. 1630
temple is the Temple of Mont, the war bc) temple save a small jubilee shrine
god, of which little now remains but the of Sesostris I (reigned 1908–1875), now
foundations. The southern temple, which reconstructed from fragments found
has a horseshoe-shaped sacred lake, was inside the third pylon. At the begin-
devoted to the goddess Mut, wife of ning of the New Kingdom (c. 1539–1075
Amon; this also is much ruined. Both bc), Thutmose I (reigned 1493–c. 1482)
temples were built during the reign of enclosed this 12th-dynasty (1938–c. 1756
Amenhotep III (1390–53 bc), whose bc) temple with a stone wall and fronted
Appendix: Selected Sites | 187
it with two pylons (the fourth and fifth), The most striking feature of the
erecting two obelisks in front of the temple at Karnak is the hypostyle hall,
new temple facade. His son, Thutmose which occupies the space between the
II (reigned 1482–79), added a broad third and second pylons. The area of this
festival court in front of the enlarged vast hall, one of the wonders of antiq-
temple as well as another pair of obelisks. uity, is about 54,000 square feet (5,000
Hatshepsut then inserted a quartzite bark square metres). It was decorated by
shrine dedicated to Amon in the centre of Seti I (reigned 1290–79) and Ramses II
the temple, as well as two additional pairs (reigned 1279–13), to whom much of the
of obelisks, one of which still stands. In construction must be due. Twelve enor-
the reign of Thutmose III (1479–26) the mous columns, nearly 80 feet (24 metres)
temple was greatly enlarged; not only did high, supported the roofing slabs of the
he add to the existing structures and add central nave above the level of the rest so
a pylon (the sixth) and pillared courts that light and air could enter through a
containing halls in which he inscribed clerestory. Seven lateral aisles on either
the annals of his campaigns, but he also side brought the number of pillars to
built to the east of the Middle Kingdom 134. Historical reliefs on the outer walls
area a transverse temple in the form of show the victories of Seti in Palestine
a jubilee pavilion. On the walls of one and Ramses II defeating the Hittites at
of the rear rooms of this temple is carved the Battle of Kadesh.
a kind of pictorial catalog of the exotic Ramses III (reigned 1187–56) built
animals and plants he had brought home a small temple to Amon outside the
from Asia in the 25th year of his reign. Ramesside pylon across from a tri-
Other additions were made by his succes- ple shrine erected by Seti II (reigned
sors. Amenhotep III decided to demolish 1204–1198). The Bubastite Gate at the
the festival court, building in its stead the southeast corner of this court commem-
colossal third pylon, filled largely with orates the victories won by Sheshonk I
blocks from the dismantled structures. (reigned 945–924), the biblical Shishak,
His son, Akhenaton (reigned 1353–36), in Palestine. The Kushite (Nubian) pha-
built several large open-air temples raoh Taharqa (reigned 690–664) erected
around the periphery of Karnak in hon- a tall colonnade, of which one pillar still
our of his favoured deity, the Aton, all of stands. The smaller monuments were
which were later torn down following the subsequently enclosed by the addition
restoration of the cult of Amon; talatat of a vast court, probably begun during
(small sandstone blocks that had been the Late Period (664–332 bc), fronted
used in the construction of the Aton tem- by the massive first pylon, an ambi-
ples) were used as construction fill for the tious project that was never completed.
second, ninth, and tenth pylons, erected Beyond it an avenue of sphinxes—set
by Horemheb. in place largely by Amenhotep III and
188 | Ancient Egypt: From Prehistory to the Islamic Conquest
high, was added. This colonnade, which preparations for the procession of sacred
also has papyrus-umbel capitals, may barks during the festival.
have been intended for the central nave Luxor, together with other Theban
of a hypostyle hall similar to that at sites—Karnak, the Valley of the Queens,
Karnak, but the side aisles were not built; and the Valley of the Kings—was des-
instead, enclosing walls were built down ignated a UNESCO World Heritage
either side. Ramses II added an outer site in 1979. Excavations and preserva-
court, decorated with colossal statues of tion efforts have been ongoing. In 1988
himself between the pillars of a double the Egyptian Antiquities Organization
colonnade, and a lofty pylon on which he uncovered numerous 18th-dynasty stat-
depicted festival scenes and episodes ues at the court of Amenhotep III, and in
from his wars in Syria. In front of the 1995 work was initiated to preserve the
pylon were colossal statues of the pha- columns and foundations of the court.
raoh (some of which remain) and a pair of
obelisks, one of which still stands; the Maydūm
other was removed in 1831 and reerected
in the Place de la Concorde in Paris. The ancient site of Maydūm (Medum) is
When Thebes declined politically, located near Memphis on the west bank
Luxor remained the populated part of of the Nile River in Banī Suwayf
the town, which huddled around the muh·āfaz·ah (governorate). It contains the
Ramesside pylon. A Roman legion had earliest-known pyramid complex with all
its headquarters inside the 18th-dynasty the parts of a normal Old Kingdom (c.
temple, and Coptic churches were built 2575–c. 2130 bc) funerary monument.
around the temple and in the Ramesside These parts included the pyramid itself, a
court. In the Fāt·imid period (909–1171), a mortuary temple, and a sloping causeway
mosque was built over the foundations of leading to a valley temple built near the
the church in the court; the mosque was Nile. The Maydūm pyramid was origi-
dedicated to Sheikh Yūsuf al-H · aggāg, a nally a seven-stepped pyramid to which
local saint who is reputed to have intro- another step was added. Finally, the steps
duced Islam to Luxor. His feast is were filled in, and the entire structure was
celebrated with a boat procession resem- overlaid with fine Tura limestone, giving
bling an ancient rite, the festival of Opet, it the appearance of a true pyramid. Most
during which, on the 19th day of the sec- scholars agree that the pyramid was
ond month, Amon was said to come from probably begun by Huni, the last king of
Karnak on his state barge to visit his the 3rd dynasty (c. 2650–c. 2575), but was
other temple at Luxor, escorted by the apparently completed by his successor,
people of Thebes in holiday attire. Reliefs Snefru, the first king of the 4th dynasty (c.
on the walls of the great colonnade depict 2575–c. 2465). Late in its reconstruction
190 | Ancient Egypt: From Prehistory to the Islamic Conquest
under Snefru, the outer casing and fill of Aigyptos in Greek, was later applied to
the pyramid began to collapse. The work the country as a whole.
was abandoned, and the mortuary chapel Ptah, the local god of Memphis, was a
remained uninscribed. The collapse pro- patron of craftsmen and artisans and, in
duced the present appearance of the some contexts, a creator god as well. The
pyramid. great temple of Ptah was one of the city’s
most prominent structures. According to
Memphis an Egyptian document known as the
“Memphite Theology,” Ptah created
Memphis was the capital of ancient humans through the power of his heart
Egypt and an important centre during and speech; the concept, having been
much of Egyptian history. It is located shaped in the heart of the creator, was
south of the Nile River delta, on the west brought into existence through the divine
bank of the river, and about 15 miles (24 utterance itself. In its freedom from the
km) south of modern Cairo. Closely asso- conventional physical analogies of the
ciated with the ancient city’s site are the creative act and in its degree of abstrac-
cemeteries, or necropolises, of Memphis, tion, this text is virtually unique in Egypt,
where the famous pyramids of Egypt are and it testifies to the philosophical
located. From north to south the main sophistication of the priests of Memphis.
pyramid fields are: Abū Ruwaysh, Giza, The prominence of Memphis dur-
Zāwiyat al-‘Aryān, Abū S·īr, S·aqqārah, and ing the earliest periods is indicated by
Dahshūr. The Memphis archaeological the extensive cemeteries of the Early
zone was designated a UNESCO World Dynastic period (c. 2925–c. 2575 bc) and
Heritage site in 1979. Old Kingdom (c. 2575–c. 2130 bc) that
According to a commonly accepted cluster along the desert bluffs to the west.
tradition, Memphis was founded about Large elaborately niched tombs of the
2925 bc by Menes, who supposedly 1st and 2nd dynasties (c. 2925–c. 2650
united the two prehistoric kingdoms of bc) found at S·aqqārah, once argued to be
Upper and Lower Egypt. The original royal monuments, were later accepted as
name of the city was the White Walls, and private tombs of powerful courtiers.
the term may have referred originally to Memphis reached preeminence by
the king’s palace, which would have been the 3rd dynasty. The 3rd-century-bc his-
built of whitewashed brick. The modern torian Manetho calls the 3rd and 4th
name of Memphis is a Greek version of dynasties (c. 2650–c. 2465 bc) Memphite,
the Egyptian Men-nefer, the name of the and the huge royal pyramid tombs of this
nearby pyramid of the 6th-dynasty (c. period, in the necropolises of Memphis,
2325–c. 2150 bc) king Pepi I. Another geo- confirm this. Djoser, the second king of
graphic term for Memphis, Hut-ka-Ptah the 3rd dynasty, was the builder of the
(“mansion of the ka of Ptah”), rendered Step Pyramid of S·aqqārah, the earliest
Appendix: Selected Sites | 191
royal foundation at Memphis and the first Though the queen’s body was unaccount-
important stone building in Egypt. ably missing from her sarcophagus, her
Imhotep, the king’s architect and adviser, funerary equipment and furniture sur-
is credited with this architectural feat; his vived. The exquisite craftsmanship of
reputation as a wise man and physician these objects testify, as do the splendid
led in later times to his deification and low reliefs of the tombs, to the high devel-
his identification with the Greek god opment of the arts and crafts of the
Asclepius. period. Indeed, it is believed by some
The remains of several unfin- scholars that the Old Kingdom, influ-
ished or badly ruined pyramids near enced by the craftsmen of the Memphite
Memphis have been attributed to other court and the philosopher-theologians of
3rd-dynasty kings. The first king of the Ptah, reached a peak of “classic” culture
4th dynasty, Snefru, built two pyramid that was never surpassed in Egypt.
tombs at Dahshūr. The three great pyra- The kings of the 5th dynasty (c. 2465–
mids of Giza belong to Khufu, Khafre, c. 2325 bc) moved south of Giza to build
and Menkaure, later 4th-dynasty mon- their funerary monuments; their pyra-
archs. The Great Sphinx at Giza dates mids, at Abū S·īr, are much smaller than
from the time of Khafre. The last known those of the 4th dynasty, but the pyramid
king of this dynasty, Shepseskaf, built temples and causeways were decorated
his tomb at South S·aqqārah. It was not a with fine reliefs. This dynasty was proba-
pyramid but a distinctive oblong struc- bly marked by a decline of Memphite
ture with sloping sides, now called the influence paralleling the rise of a sun cult
Mas·t·abat Fir‘awn. centred at Heliopolis. The major monu-
The royal pyramids are surrounded ments of the period are not the pyramids
by large cemeteries where the courtiers but the sun temples, which were, how-
and officials who had served the king dur- ever, also part of the so-called Memphite
ing his lifetime were buried. The beautiful pyramid area, not far from Abū S·īr.
reliefs in certain of these tombs include During the 6th dynasty, which
scenes of daily life and thus give some Manetho also designates as Memphite,
idea of the crafts, costumes, and occupa- the funerary monuments in the pyramid
tions of the royal court of Memphis. Since field of S·aqqārah continued to decline in
little has survived of domestic architec- size and workmanship. At that time the
ture and household furnishings, these influence of the centralized government
reliefs are a valuable source of informa- at Memphis began to wane, as is indi-
tion on such subjects. A notable exception cated by the increased prominence of
to the general rule of loss and destruction provincial cities and the number of fine
is the hidden tomb of Queen Hetepheres, tombs located away from the Memphis
the mother of Khufu, which was discov- area. This process of decentralization
ered near the Great Pyramid of Giza. ended in the First Intermediate Period, a
192 | Ancient Egypt: From Prehistory to the Islamic Conquest
time of internal breakdown. Manetho’s in the Nile delta. Records left by Kamose,
7th and 8th dynasties (c. 2150–c. 2130 bc) the 17th-dynasty (c. 1630–1540 bc) king
are both called Memphite, but it is who initiated the reconquest of Egypt
believed that both dynasties together from the Hyksos, describe his holdings as
comprised a very short period and that extending from Elephantine to
the old Memphite house lost its control Hermopolis Magna but note that he
over the provincial princes soon after the “could not pass by (the invader) as far as
end of the 6th dynasty. Memphis.”
Memphite influence continued dur- With the final expulsion of the
ing the Middle Kingdom (1938–c. 1630 Hyksos and the restoration of a united
bc), when Egypt was once more reunited, kingdom under the 18th dynasty (c.
with the official residence of the 12th 1539–1292 bc), based at Thebes in Upper
dynasty (1938–c. 1756) at nearby Itj-tawy Egypt, Memphis entered a new period
(near modern Al-Lisht), near the entrance of prosperity. Some scholars claim that
to Al-Fayyūm. Several 12th-dynasty mon- Memphis never lost its political preemi-
archs erected pyramids at Dahshūr, the nence and that during the New Kingdom
southernmost of the Memphite pyra- (c. 1539–1075 bc), as in earlier times, the
mid fields, but the majority of Middle city was the actual political capital of
Kingdom monuments were located Egypt, with Thebes merely the religious
nearer to Al-Lisht. Yet the predominant centre. Such a hypothesis is impossible
artistic and administrative influences to prove, and it may well be that such
during this period seem to be Memphite, distinctions, with their rigidity and exclu-
and virtually every 12th-dynasty ruler siveness, are meaningless in terms of
added to the great temple of Ptah. Egyptian culture.
Another period of political and social The importance of Memphis was
chaos followed the 13th dynasty. This based to a considerable extent on its
Second Intermediate Period (c. 1630–1540 venerable religious role. Certain of the
bc) is characterized by the presence in coronation ceremonies were traditionally
Egypt of the Asian Hyksos peoples. enacted in Memphis, as was the Heb-Sed
According to the 1st-century-ad historian festival, a jubilee celebrated by the king
Josephus, the Hyksos king, whom he after 30 years of rule and repeated every
calls Salitis, made his capital at Memphis three years thereafter, perhaps a ritual
and from there ruled both Upper and reenactment of the unification of Egypt.
Lower Egypt. Inscriptional and archaeo- During the New Kingdom, Memphis
logical evidence, though it is scanty, probably functioned as the second, or
tends to confirm the assumption that the northern, capital of Egypt. At one time it
Hyksos controlled northern Egypt, but seems to have been the principal resi-
their capital is generally supposed to dence of the crown prince. Several
have been located at Avaris, near Tanis, 18th-dynasty inscriptions mention royal
Appendix: Selected Sites | 193
hunting parties in the desert near the pillaged the monuments of their pre-
Sphinx. Amenhotep II (reigned c. 1426– decessors for building materials, and
00 bc) was born at Memphis and held the some of the reused blocks come not
office of high priest there. Both he and his only from structures in the city but also
son, Thutmose IV (reigned 1400–1390 from temples and pyramid complexes
bc), left inscriptions at Giza. in the Memphite necropolises. Ramses
Despite the rise of the god Amon of II (reigned 1279–13 bc) erected several
Thebes, Ptah remained one of the prin- colossi in the temple. The Serapeum,
cipal gods of the pantheon. The great dedicated to the cult of Apis, the bull-
temple of Ptah was added to or rebuilt by god, and built in the form of a labyrinth,
virtually every king of the 18th dynasty. was begun under the son of Ramses II,
Chapels were constructed by Thutmose Khaemwese, high priest of Ptah.
I, Thutmose IV, and Amenhotep III. By the end of the 20th dynasty (1190–
Amenhotep III’s son, the religious 1075 bc) the united kingdom had begun
reformer Akhenaton, built a temple to to break down once again. The official
his god, Aton, in Memphis. A number capitals were Tanis and Thebes, but the
of handsome private tombs dating from royal palace at Memphis also continued
this period in the Memphite necropolis to be mentioned. The growing popularity
testify to the existence of a sizable court. of the Apis cult led to further enlargement
During the New Kingdom the city of the Serapeum. In the 8th century bc the
shared the increasingly cosmopolitan Nubian king Piye conquered Egypt and
character of the nation, as trade, foreign restored its unity. Nubia (Kush), to the
conquest, and travel developed. Though south of Egypt, had been under Egyptian
Memphis was not on the Nile, it was con- political and cultural influence for cen-
nected with it by a canal, and it was turies. An inscription describing Piye’s
probably important as a commercial cen- campaign has survived, and it mentions
tre. Specific quarters of the city were a siege of Memphis. The city had fortified
named for the foreign colonies—slaves, walls and was surrounded by water, pre-
prisoners of war, or merchants—who sumably from its encircling canals. Piye
resided there. A section called the “Field took the city, but it was left to his brother
of the Hittites” is known, as are, in later and successor, Shabaka, to claim the royal
periods, sections inhabited by Carians title. There are some indications that this
and Phoenicians. king made Memphis his capital. But the
Under the 19th dynasty (1292–1190 Kushite dynasty was overthrown shortly
bc) a new royal residence was built thereafter, when the Assyrians invaded
farther north at Per Ramessu in the Egypt. Records left by the Assyrian king
delta, but Memphis continued to be Esarhaddon (680–669 bc) refer to the siege
important. The great temple of Ptah and destruction of Memphis, the royal
was rebuilt. The kings of that period residence of one Tarku (Taharqa), king
194 | Ancient Egypt: From Prehistory to the Islamic Conquest
of Egypt, who became pharaoh in 690 bc. of Egypt in ad 640. A garrison and fort
After the death of Esarhaddon, Taharqa called Babylon occupied the eastern end
regained Memphis, but he was driven of the bridge that crossed the Nile from
out of the city again by Ashurbanipal of Memphis, and after a long siege the for-
Assyria, in 667/668 bc. tress was taken by the Arab general ‘Amr
The collapse of Assyria (612 bc) led ibn al-‘Ās·. Memphis was abandoned, and
to brief Egyptian independence under later the few remaining structures were
the 26th dynasty (664–525 bc), but it was dismantled so that the stone might be
not long before new invaders appeared. reused in the neighbouring villages and
The Persian Cambyses II took Memphis in Cairo, after that city’s founding in the
by siege in 525 bc. After years of Persian 10th century.
rule, Egypt was ready to welcome The ancient city of Memphis lies near
Alexander the Great in 332 bc. The con- the modern village of Mīt Ruhaynah. At
queror used Memphis as his headquarters the beginning of the 20th century some
while making plans for his new city of ruined walls were still to be seen, but
Alexandria. After his death at Babylon, these have since disappeared, and the
his body was brought to Egypt and was only monument above ground is a colos-
laid to rest temporarily in Memphis sal statue of Ramses II, which once
before being buried at Alexandria. adorned the great temple of Ptah.
Under the Hellenistic Ptolemaic The first archaeologist to work at the
dynasty (332–30 bc), Memphis retained city site for any prolonged period was
its cosmopolitan character and had a Flinders (later Sir Flinders) Petrie, who
sizable Greek population. Some of the excavated between 1908 and 1913, uncov-
diversified racial types to be found in ering sections of the great temple of
the city during Greco-Roman times are Ptah. These remains, left exposed, soon
depicted in a series of striking terra-cotta disappeared under the depredations
heads dating from this period. of the nearby villagers. A University of
At the beginning of the Roman Pennsylvania expedition worked at the
period (1st century bc), Memphis was site in 1917, finding foundations of a pal-
still considered an important provincial ace of Merneptah (1213–04 bc), east of the
capital. The serious decay of the ancient temple of that king. The university spon-
city began after the rise of Christianity, sored further digging in 1955 and 1956,
when zealots of that faith defaced and excavating parts of the great temple and
destroyed the remaining pagan temples. a small temple of Ramses II.
In the 5th century ad the Christian mon- Since about the mid-19th century
astery of Apa Jeremias rose among the there has been hardly a season when
venerable tombs of S·aqqārah. The capital archaeological activity was not proceed-
continued to deteriorate, receiving its ing at one or another of the pyramid sites.
death blow during the Muslim conquest Almost all of the pyramids and a majority
Appendix: Selected Sites | 195
of the large private tombs were entered Memphis, 15 miles (24 km) southwest of
by treasure hunters before the beginning Cairo and west of the modern Arab vil-
of scholarly excavation. One of the earli- lage of S·aqqārah. The site extends along
est scholars to work in the Memphite the edge of the desert plateau for about 5
area was Auguste Mariette, who discov- miles (8 km), bordering Abū S·īr to the
ered the Serapeum in 1850. Among the north and Dahshūr to the south. In 1979
most important of Mariette’s successors the ancient ruins of the Memphis area,
were George Andrew Reisner and including S·aqqārah, Abū S·īr, Dahshūr,
Hermann Junker, who excavated at Giza; Abū Ruwaysh, and the Pyramids of Giza,
Ludwig Borchardt, who excavated the were collectively designated a UNESCO
sun temples and the 5th-dynasty pyra- World Heritage site.
mids at Abū S·īr; Ahmed Fakhry, who The earliest remains at S·aqqārah are
worked in the pyramids of Snefru at those in the early dynastic cemetery at the
Dahshūr; and Zakaria Goneim, who dis- northernmost end of the site, where large
covered a previously unknown pyramid, mud-brick tombs, or mastabas, have been
probably of the 3rd dynasty, to the south- found that date to the very beginning of
west of the Step Pyramid at S·aqqārah. Egyptian history. Although storage jars
Also noteworthy are the excavations of found in the mastabas bore the names
J.P. Lauer in the Step Pyramid complex. of the kings of the 1st dynasty (c. 2925–c.
In the 1930s Walter Bryan Emery began 2775 bc), it seems that these tombs were
the excavations that uncovered the great those of high officials of the period.
1st-dynasty tombs. His work in the South of the Early Dynastic cemetery
archaic cemetery disclosed another huge lies the Step Pyramid complex of Djoser,
labyrinth, resembling that of the second king of the 3rd dynasty (c. 2650–c.
Serapeum, the precise function of which 2575 bc). Djoser’s architect Imhotep
is as yet undetermined. Beginning in the designed a new form of burial structure
1980s, the Egypt Exploration Society for the king in the shape of a pyramid in
sponsored a long-range survey of the six stages. Around the pyramid lies a
Memphite area to determine its extent huge complex of halls and courts in
and development from different histori- which the prototype structures of mud
cal periods. Large sculptural and brick, wood, and reed were for the first
architectural elements recovered from time translated into fine limestone.
various excavations are displayed at an Shepseskaf of the 4th dynasty (c. 2575–c.
outdoor museum at Mīt Ruhaynah. 2465 bc) built Mas·t·abat Fir‘awn, a coffin-
shaped tomb, and several kings of the 5th
S·aqqārah dynasty (c. 2465–c. 2325 bc) also con-
structed their pyramids at S·aqqārah.
S·aqqārah (Sakkara) is part of the necrop- Unas, the last king of the 5th dynasty, was
olis of the ancient Egyptian city of the first to inscribe on the walls of his
196 | Ancient Egypt: From Prehistory to the Islamic Conquest
pyramid chambers the Pyramid Texts, to in the S·aqqārah necropolis. In the New
which were designed to protect the dead Kingdom (c. 1539–1075 bc), however,
king and to ensure him life and suste- Memphis became a principal administra-
nance in the hereafter. Succeeding kings tive and military centre, and a number of
of the 6th dynasty (c. 2325–c. 2150 bc) tombs from that period have been found,
continued the practice of inscribing including the finely decorated tomb of
Pyramid Texts in the underground cham- the general, later king, Horemheb, redis-
bers. With the exception of Teti, the covered in 1975. Also, in that era and later
6th-dynasty kings built their pyramids to the sacred Apis bulls were buried at
the south of Unas’s pyramid, and the S·aqqārah in large subterranean galleries,
most southerly is that of a 13th-dynasty the most famous of which is the Serapeum.
(c. 1756–c. 1630 bc) king. The last imposing tombs to be built in
Around the pyramids of their sover- S·aqqārah were those of several great offi-
eigns, the Old Kingdom (c. 2575–c. 2130 cials of the Saite and Persian periods. In
bc) nobles were buried in mastabas. The the northeastern part of the necropolis,
wall carvings within their tombs depict beneath a field of mastabas of the 3rd and
scenes of daily life. 4th dynasties, another complex of under-
During the Middle Kingdom (1938–c. ground passages contains thousands of
1630 bc) relatively few tombs were added ibis mummies of the Ptolemaic period.
Glossary
bitumen Any of various solid or semi- faience A glazed composition of
solid mixtures of hydrocarbons that ground quartz.
occur in nature or that are obtained funerary temple A highly decorated
as residues from the distillation of building or complex created as
petroleum or coal. a shrine to honour a dead king
caliph A religious and civil leader of a or queen.
Muslim state; literally “successor.” gnostic Any of a number of
cataract A spot in a river where large philosophical and religious move-
volumes of water fall over a cliff; a ments prominent in the Greco-
waterfall. Roman world in the early
cartouche An oval or oblong frame Christian era.
enclosing a sovereign’s name. It is hieroglyphics A system of writing
one of the most characteristic that utilizes drawn characters or
Egyptian symbols. symbols to represent a word or its
consanguineous marriage A union phonetic sound.
between two blood relatives who, Hittites An ancient Indo-European peo-
because of the nature of their rela- ple who by 1340 bc had become one
tionships, traditionally are of the dominant powers of the
prohibited from intermarrying. Middle East.
Coptic language The Afro-Asian lan- Hyksos Mixed Semitic-Asiatics who set-
guage—written using the Greek tled Egypt’s delta region during the
alphabet—that succeeded hiero- 18th century bc.
glyphics and hieratic and demotic isthmus A narrow strip of land that
script in ancient Egypt. connects two larger land masses
cryptography Practice of the encipher- that otherwise would be separated
ing and deciphering of messages in by the sea.
secret code in order to render them logogram Written letter, pictorial sym-
unintelligible to all but the intended bol, or sign intended to represent a
receiver. whole word.
cuneiform System of writing with mastaba An oblong tomb with a burial
wedge-shaped characters that was chamber dug beneath it, common at
used in the ancient Middle East. earlier nonroyal sites.
ennead The oldest of all numeric god necropolis The section of an ancient
groupings in ancient Egypt, consist- city dedicated to burial; literally “city
ing of nine deities. of the dead.”
198 | Ancient Egypt: From Prehistory to the Islamic Conquest
Menkaure, 43, 46, 163 Osiris, 49, 52, 58, 99, 115, 116, 122, 123, 124, 125,
Mentuhotep II, 52, 53, 154, 160, 168 126, 131, 132, 160, 162, 167, 175
Merneptah, 75–76 Osorkon I, 81
metalwork, 36, 139, 172, 173–174 Osorkon II, 82
Middle Kingdom, 21–22, 23, 24, 26, 42, 45, 52, Osorkon III, 82
53–57, 58, 60, 62, 77, 79, 117, 127, 154, 156,
165, 167, 168, 171, 172, 174
Montet, Pierre, 30
P
mummification, process of, 132 painting, 150, 167–170
Palermo Stone, 25, 34, 35, 45
Palestine, 36, 50, 54, 55, 56, 57, 59, 60, 76, 77, 82,
N 83, 85, 88, 92, 93, 96
Napoleon I, 27, 147, 179 papyrus, cultivation and use of, 16–17, 144
Naqādah I, 33, 150 Pepi I, 48, 50, 174
Naqādah II, 33–34, 150, 151, 167 Pepi II, 50, 51, 53
Nebuchadrezzar, 85 Petrie, Flinders, 28, 150
Necho II, 85 Petronius, 103
Nectanebo I, 88 Philo of Alexandria, 106
Nectanebo II, 89 Phocas, 110
Nefertiti, 69, 70, 160, 165, 166 Piankh, 80
Neoplatonism, 132 Piye, 83
New Kingdom, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 30, 53, 54, 55, Pompey, 94
56, 57, 59–72, 76, 79, 80, 81, 82, 114, 121, 123, pottery, 32, 33, 34, 57, 58, 129, 135, 150, 170, 171
124, 126, 127, 128, 131, 142, 152, 154, 156, 160, predynastic Egypt, 21, 24, 31–35, 36, 117, 129,
162, 165, 170, 171, 174, 175 131, 150, 151, 171
Nicetas, 110 priesthood, 24, 49, 78, 86, 125–126
Nile River, 15–16, 23, 25, 30, 40, 46, 52, 61, 75, primogeniture, 37
103, 149, 152, 154, 156, 178 Psamtik I, 84, 85
Nubia, 16, 17, 30, 32, 36, 40, 45, 48, 50, 52, 53, 54, Psamtik II, 85
55–56, 57, 59, 62, 64, 66, 70, 74, 75, 76, 79, 80, Ptah, 72, 75, 98, 114, 120–121, 122
85, 89, 103, 125, 131, 179 Ptolemaic dynasty, 90–101, 104, 105, 126, 140,
176, 177
Ptolemaieia, 91
O Ptolemy I Soter, 90–91, 100, 101
Octavian (Augustus), 94, 96, 102, 103, 107 Ptolemy II Philadelphus, 91–92, 97, 103
Ogdoad of Hermopolis, 123 Ptolemy III Euergetes, 92–93, 100
Old Kingdom, 23, 40, 41, 42–51, 53, 54, 56, 68, 75, Ptolemy IV Philopator, 93
126, 129, 131, 151, 153, 154, 155, 158, 164, Ptolemy V Epiphanes, 93, 148
167–168, 175 Ptolemy VI Philometor, 93
oracles, 20, 62, 79, 82, 89, 115, 126, 127, 128 Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II Physcon, 93–94
Origen, 107 Ptolemy XII Auletes, 94
Index | 205
U X
Unas, 48, 49, 50, 154 Xerxes, 87
V
Vespasian, 103
Y
viziers, 24, 37, 38, 40, 50, 56, 60 Young, Thomas, 147