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Ancient Egypt was an
ancient civilization of eastern North Africa, concentrated along the lower
reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. It was
part of a larger complex of civilizations, the Nile Valley Civilizations, of
which regions south of Egypt (in today's Sudan, Eritrea, Somalia, and Ethiopia)
are a part. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the
political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh, and it
developed over the next three millennia. Its history occurred in a series of
stable Kingdoms, separated by
periods of relative instability known as Intermediate Periods.
The
success of ancient Egyptian civilization stemmed partly from its ability to
adapt to the conditions of the Nile River Valley. The predictable flooding and
controlled irrigation of the fertile valley produced surplus crops, which
fueled social development and culture. With resources to spare, the
administration sponsored mineral exploitation of the valley and surrounding
desert regions, the early development of an independent writing system, the
organization of collective construction and agricultural projects, trade with
surrounding regions, and a military intended to defeat foreign enemies and
assert Egyptian dominance. Motivating and organizing these activities was a
bureaucracy of elite scribes, religious leaders, and administrators under the
control of a pharaoh who ensured the cooperation and unity of the Egyptian
people in the context of an elaborate system of religious beliefs.
The
many achievements of the ancient Egyptians include the quarrying, surveying and
construction techniques that facilitated the building of monumental pyramids,
temples, and obelisks; a system of mathematics, a practical and effective
system of medicine, irrigation systems and agricultural production techniques,
the first known ships, Egyptian faience and glass technology, new forms of
literature, and the earliest known peace treaty. Egypt left a lasting legacy.
Its art and architecture were widely copied, and its antiquities carried off to
far corners of the world. Its monumental ruins have inspired the imaginations
of travellers and writers for centuries. A newfound respect for antiquities and
excavations in the early modern period led to the scientific investigation of
Egyptian civilization and a greater appreciation of its cultural legacy, for
Egypt and the world.
The History of Ancient Egypt
spans the period from the early predynastic settlements of the northern Nile
Valley to the Roman conquest in 30 BC. The Pharaonic Period is dated from around 3150 BC, when Lower and Upper Egypt became a unified state, until the country fell under Greek rule in 332 BC.
Egypt's history is split into several different periods according to the
dynasty of the ruling of each pharaoh. The dating of events is still a subject of research. The conservative
dates are not supported by any reliable absolute date for a span of about three
millennia. The following is the list according to conventional Egyptian chronology.
- Predynastic Period (Prior to 3100 BC)
- Protodynastic Period (Approximately 3100 - 3000 BC)
- Early Dynastic Period (1st–2nd Dynasties)
- Old Kingdom (3rd–6th Dynasties)
- First Intermediate Period (7th–11th Dynasties)
- Middle Kingdom (12th–13th Dynasties)
- Second Intermediate Period (14th–17th Dynasties)
- New Kingdom (18th–20th Dynasties)
- Third Intermediate Period (21st–25th Dynasties) (also known as the Libyan Period)
- Late Period (26th–31st Dynasties)
Religious
beliefs
Beliefs in the divine and in
the afterlife were ingrained in ancient Egyptian civilization from its
inception; pharaonic rule was based on the divine right of kings. The Egyptian
pantheon was populated by gods who had supernatural powers and were called on
for help or protection. However, the gods were not always viewed as benevolent,
and Egyptians believed they had to be appeased with offerings and prayers. The
structure of this pantheon changed continually as new deities were promoted in
the hierarchy, but priests made no effort to organize the diverse and sometimes
conflicting creation myths and stories into a coherent system. These various
conceptions of divinity were not considered contradictory but rather layers in
the multiple facets of reality.
Gods
were worshiped in cult temples administered by priests acting on the king's
behalf. At the center of the temple was the cult statue in a shrine. Temples
were not places of public worship or congregation, and only on select feast
days and celebrations was a shrine carrying the statue of the god brought out
for public worship. Normally, the god's domain was sealed off from the outside
world and was only accessible to temple officials. Common citizens could
worship private statues in their homes, and amulets offered protection against
the forces of chaos. After the New Kingdom, the pharaoh's role as a spiritual
intermediary was de-emphasized as religious customs shifted to direct worship
of the gods. As a result, priests developed a system of oracles to communicate
the will of the gods directly to the people.
The
Egyptians believed that every human being was composed of physical and
spiritual parts or aspects. In
addition to the body, each person had a šwt
(shadow), a ba (personality or
soul), a ka (life-force), and a
name. The heart, rather than
the brain, was considered the seat of thoughts and emotions. After death, the
spiritual aspects were released from the body and could move at will, but they
required the physical remains (or a substitute, such as a statue) as a
permanent home. The ultimate goal of the deceased was to rejoin his ka and ba and become one of the "blessed dead", living on as
an akh, or "effective
one". In order for this to happen, the deceased had to be judged worthy in
a trial, in which the heart was weighed against a "feather of truth".
If deemed worthy, the deceased could continue their existence on earth in
spiritual form.
Burial customs
The ancient Egyptians maintained an elaborate set of burial customs that
they believed were necessary to ensure immortality after death. These customs
involved preserving the body by mummification, performing burial ceremonies, and interring, along with the body, goods
to be used by the deceased in the afterlife. Before the Old Kingdom, bodies
buried in desert pits were naturally preserved by desiccation. The arid, desert conditions continued to be a boon throughout the history
of ancient Egypt for the burials of the poor, who could not afford the
elaborate burial preparations available to the elite. Wealthier Egyptians began
to bury their dead in stone tombs and, as a result, they made use of artificial
mummification, which involved removing the internal
organs, wrapping the body in linen,
and burying it in a rectangular stone sarcophagus or wooden coffin. Beginning
in the Fourth Dynasty, some parts were preserved separately in canopic
jars.
By the New
Kingdom, the ancient Egyptians had perfected the art of mummification; the best
technique took 70 days and involved removing the internal organs, removing
the brain through the nose, and desiccating the body in a mixture of salts
called natron. The body was then wrapped in linen with protective amulets inserted
between layers and placed in a decorated anthropoid coffin. Mummies of the Late
Period were also placed in painted cartonnage mummy cases. Actual preservation practices declined during the Ptolemaic
and Roman eras, while greater emphasis was placed on the outer appearance of
the mummy, which was decorated.
Wealthy Egyptians were buried with larger quantities of luxury items, but
all burials, regardless of social status, included goods for the deceased.
Beginning in the New Kingdom, books of the dead were included in the grave,
along with shabti statues that were believed to perform manual labor for them in the
afterlife. Rituals in which the deceased was magically re-animated accompanied
burials. After burial, living relatives were expected to occasionally bring
food to the tomb and recite prayers on behalf of the deceased.
By Anastasia Grishchenko
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