Ancient Egypt 1

Ancient Egypt

The pyramids of Giza are among the most recognizable symbols of thecivilization of ancient Egypt.

Map of ancient Egypt, showing major cities andsites of the Dynastic period (c. 3150 BC to

30 BC)

Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization ofeastern North Africa, concentrated along thelower reaches of the Nile River in what is nowthe modern country of Egypt.

Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC(according to conventional Egyptianchronology)[1] with the political unification ofUpper and Lower Egypt under the firstpharaoh.[2] The history of ancient Egyptoccurred in a series of stable Kingdoms,separated by periods of relative instabilityknown as Intermediate Periods. The OldKingdom of the Early Bronze Age, the MiddleKingdom of the Middle Bronze Age and theNew Kingdom of the Late Bronze Age. Egyptreached the pinnacle of its power during the NewKingdom, in the Ramesside period, after whichit entered a period of slow decline. Egypt wasconquered by a succession of foreign powers inthis late period. The rule of the pharaohsofficially ended in 31 BC when Egypt fell to theRoman Empire and became a Romanprovince.[3]

The success of ancient Egyptian civilizationcame partly from its ability to adapt to theconditions of the Nile River Valley. Thepredictable flooding and controlled irrigation ofthe fertile valley produced surplus crops, whichfueled social development and culture. Withresources to spare, the administration sponsoredmineral exploitation of the valley andsurrounding desert regions, the earlydevelopment of an independent writing system,the organization of collective construction andagricultural projects, trade with surroundingregions, and a military intended to defeat foreignenemies and assert Egyptian dominance.Motivating and organizing these activities was abureaucracy of elite scribes, religious leaders,and administrators under the control of apharaoh who ensured the cooperation and unity of the Egyptian people in the context of an elaborate system ofreligious beliefs.[4] [5]

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The many achievements of the ancient Egyptians include the quarrying, surveying and construction techniques thatfacilitated the building of monumental pyramids, temples, and obelisks; a system of mathematics, a practical andeffective system of medicine, irrigation systems and agricultural production techniques, the first known ships,[6]

Egyptian faience and glass technology, new forms of literature, and the earliest known peace treaty.[7] Egypt left alasting 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 forantiquities and excavations in the early modern period led to the scientific investigation of Egyptian civilization anda greater appreciation of its cultural legacy, for Egypt and the world.[8]

HistoryBy the late Paleolithic period the arid climate of Northern Africa became increasingly hot and dry, forcing thepopulations of the area to concentrate along the Nile valley, and since nomadic modern human hunter-gatherersbegan living in the region through the end of the Middle Pleistocene some 120 thousand years ago, the Nile has beenthe lifeline of Egypt.[9] The fertile floodplain of the Nile gave humans the opportunity to develop a settledagricultural economy and a more sophisticated, centralized society that became a cornerstone in the history of humancivilization.[10]

Predynastic periodIn Predynastic and Early Dynastic times, the Egyptian climate was much less arid than it is today. Large regions ofEgypt were covered in treed savanna and traversed by herds of grazing ungulates. Foliage and fauna were far moreprolific in all environs and the Nile region supported large populations of waterfowl. Hunting would have beencommon for Egyptians and this is also the period during which many animals would have been first domesticated.[11]

A typical Naqada II jar decoratedwith gazelles. (Predynastic Period)

By about 5500 BC, small tribes living in the Nile valley had developed into aseries of cultures demonstrating firm control of agriculture and animalhusbandry, and identifiable by their pottery and personal items, such as combs,bracelets, and beads. The largest of these early cultures in upper Egypt, theBadari, was known for its high quality ceramics, stone tools, and its use ofcopper.[12]

In Northern Egypt, the Badari was followed by Amratian and Gerzeancultures[13] which showed a number of technological improvements. In Gerziantimes, early evidence exists of contact with Canaan and the Byblos coast.[14]

In southern Egypt, the Naqada culture, similar to the Badari, began to expandalong the Nile by about 4000 BC. As early as the Naqada I Period, predynasticEgyptians imported obsidian from Ethiopia, used to shape blades and otherobjects from flakes.[15] Over a period of about 1,000 years, the Naqada culture

developed from a few small farming communities into a powerful civilization whose leaders were in completecontrol of the people and resources of the Nile valley.[16] Establishing a power center at Hierakonpolis, and later atAbydos, Naqada III leaders expanded their control of Egypt northwards along the Nile.[17] They also traded withNubia to the south, the oases of the western desert to the west, and the cultures of the eastern Mediterranean to theeast.[17]

The Naqada culture manufactured a diverse selection of material goods, reflective of the increasing power and wealth of the elite, which included painted pottery, high quality decorative stone vases, cosmetic palettes, and jewelry made of gold, lapis, and ivory. They also developed a ceramic glaze known as faience which was used well into the Roman Period to decorate cups, amulets, and figurines.[18] During the last predynastic phase, the Naqada culture began using written symbols which would eventually evolve into a full system of hieroglyphs for writing the

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ancient Egyptian language.[19]

Early Dynastic Period

The Narmer Palette depicts the unification of theTwo Lands.[20]

The 3rd century BC Egyptian priest Manetho grouped the long line ofpharaohs from Menes to his own time into 30 dynasties, a system stillin use today.[21] He chose to begin his official history with the kingnamed "Meni" (or Menes in Greek) who was then believed to haveunited the two kingdoms of Upper and Lower Egypt (around 3100BC).[22] The transition to a unified state actually happened moregradually than the ancient Egyptian writers would have us believe, andthere is no contemporary record of Menes. Some scholars now believe,however, that the mythical Menes may have actually been the pharaohNarmer, who is depicted wearing royal regalia on the ceremonialNarmer Palette in a symbolic act of unification.[23]

In the Early Dynastic Period about 3150 BC, the first of the Dynastic pharaohs solidified their control over lowerEgypt by establishing a capital at Memphis, from which they could control the labor force and agriculture of thefertile delta region as well as the lucrative and critical trade routes to the Levant. The increasing power and wealth ofthe pharaohs during the early dynastic period was reflected in their elaborate mastaba tombs and mortuary cultstructures at Abydos, which were used to celebrate the deified pharaoh after his death.[24] The strong institution ofkingship developed by the pharaohs served to legitimize state control over the land, labor, and resources that wereessential to the survival and growth of ancient Egyptian civilization.[25]

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Old Kingdom

Alabaster statue of Menkaura at theBoston Museum of Fine Arts

Stunning advances in architecture, art, and technology were made during the OldKingdom, fueled by the increased agricultural productivity made possible by awell developed central administration.[26] Under the direction of the vizier, stateofficials collected taxes, coordinated irrigation projects to improve crop yield,drafted peasants to work on construction projects, and established a justicesystem to maintain peace and order.[27] With the surplus resources madeavailable by a productive and stable economy, the state was able to sponsorconstruction of colossal monuments and to commission exceptional works of artfrom the royal workshops. The pyramids built by Djoser, Khufu, and theirdescendants are the most memorable symbols of ancient Egyptian civilization,and the power of the pharaohs that controlled it.

Along with the rising importance of a central administration arose a new class ofeducated scribes and officials who were granted estates by the pharaoh inpayment for their services. Pharaohs also made land grants to their mortuarycults and local temples to ensure that these institutions would have the necessaryresources to worship the pharaoh after his death. By the end of the Old Kingdom,five centuries of these feudal practices had slowly eroded the economic power ofthe pharaoh, who could no longer afford to support a large centralizedadministration.[28] As the power of the pharaoh diminished, regional governorscalled nomarchs began to challenge the supremacy of the pharaoh. This, coupledwith severe droughts between 2200 and 2150 BC,[29] ultimately caused thecountry to enter a 140-year period of famine and strife known as the FirstIntermediate Period.[30]

First Intermediate Period

After Egypt's central government collapsed at the end of the Old Kingdom, the administration could no longersupport or stabilize the country's economy. Regional governors could not rely on the king for help in times of crisis,and the ensuing food shortages and political disputes escalated into famines and small-scale civil wars. Yet despitedifficult problems, local leaders, owing no tribute to the pharaoh, used their newfound independence to establish athriving culture in the provinces. Once in control of their own resources, the provinces became economicallyricher—a fact demonstrated by larger and better burials among all social classes.[31] In bursts of creativity, provincialartisans adopted and adapted cultural motifs formerly restricted to the royalty of the Old Kingdom, and scribesdeveloped literary styles that expressed the optimism and originality of the period.[32]

Free from their loyalties to the pharaoh, local rulers began competing with each other for territorial control andpolitical power. By 2160 BC, rulers in Herakleopolis controlled Lower Egypt, while a rival clan based in Thebes, theIntef family, took control of Upper Egypt. As the Intefs grew in power and expanded their control northward, a clashbetween the two rival dynasties became inevitable. Around 2055 BC the Theban forces under NebhepetreMentuhotep II finally defeated the Herakleopolitan rulers, reuniting the Two Lands and inaugurating a period ofeconomic and cultural renaissance known as the Middle Kingdom.[33]

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Middle Kingdom

Amenemhat III, the last great ruler ofthe Middle Kingdom

The pharaohs of the Middle Kingdom restored the country's prosperity andstability, thereby stimulating a resurgence of art, literature, and monumentalbuilding projects.[34] Mentuhotep II and his 11th Dynasty successors ruled fromThebes, but the vizier Amenemhat I, upon assuming kingship at the beginning ofthe 12th Dynasty around 1985 BC, shifted the nation's capital to the city ofItjtawy located in Faiyum.[35] From Itjtawy, the pharaohs of the 12th Dynastyundertook a far-sighted land reclamation and irrigation scheme to increaseagricultural output in the region. Moreover, the military reconquered territory inNubia rich in quarries and gold mines, while laborers built a defensive structurein the Eastern Delta, called the "Walls-of-the-Ruler", to defend against foreignattack.[36]

Having secured military and political security and vast agricultural and mineral wealth, the nation's population, arts,and religion flourished. In contrast to elitist Old Kingdom attitudes towards the gods, the Middle Kingdomexperienced an increase in expressions of personal piety and what could be called a democratization of the afterlife,in which all people possessed a soul and could be welcomed into the company of the gods after death.[37] MiddleKingdom literature featured sophisticated themes and characters written in a confident, eloquent style,[32] and therelief and portrait sculpture of the period captured subtle, individual details that reached new heights of technicalperfection.[38]

The last great ruler of the Middle Kingdom, Amenemhat III, allowed Asiatic settlers into the delta region to providea sufficient labor force for his especially active mining and building campaigns. These ambitious building andmining activities, however, combined with inadequate Nile floods later in his reign, strained the economy andprecipitated the slow decline into the Second Intermediate Period during the later 13th and 14th dynasties. Duringthis decline, the foreign Asiatic settlers began to seize control of the delta region, eventually coming to power inEgypt as the Hyksos.[39]

Second Intermediate Period and the HyksosAround 1785 BC, as the power of the Middle Kingdom pharaohs weakened, Asiatic immigrants living in the EasternDelta town of Avaris seized control of the region and forced the central government to retreat to Thebes, where thepharaoh was treated as a vassal and expected to pay tribute.[40] The Hyksos ("foreign rulers") imitated Egyptianmodels of government and portrayed themselves as pharaohs, thus integrating Egyptian elements into their MiddleBronze Age culture.[41]

After their retreat, the Theban kings found themselves trapped between the Hyksos to the north and the Hyksos'Nubian allies, the Kushites, to the south. After years of inaction tenuous, Thebes gathered enough strength tochallenge the Hyksos in a conflict that lasted more than 30 years, until 1555 BC [40] The pharaohs Seqenenre Tao IIand Kamose were ultimately able to defeat the Nubians, but it was Kamose's successor, Ahmose I, who successfullywaged a series of campaigns that permanently eradicated the Hyksos' presence in Egypt. In the New Kingdom thatfollowed, the military became a central priority for the pharaohs seeking to expand Egypt’s borders and secure hercomplete dominance of the Near East.[42]

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The maximum territorial extent ofAncient Egypt (15th century BC)

New Kingdom

The New Kingdom pharaohs established a period of unprecedented prosperity bysecuring their borders and strengthening diplomatic ties with their neighbors.Military campaigns waged under Tuthmosis I and his grandson Tuthmosis IIIextended the influence of the pharaohs to the largest empire Egypt had ever seen.When Tuthmosis III died in 1425 BC, Egypt extended from Niya in north Syriato the fourth waterfall of the Nile in Nubia, cementing loyalties and openingaccess to critical imports such as bronze and wood.[43] The New Kingdompharaohs began a large-scale building campaign to promote the god Amun,whose growing cult was based in Karnak. They also constructed monuments toglorify their own achievements, both real and imagined. The female pharaohHatshepsut used such propaganda to legitimize her claim to the throne.[44] Hersuccessful reign was marked by trading expeditions to Punt, an elegant mortuary temple, a colossal pair of obelisksand a chapel at Karnak. Despite her achievements, Hatshepsut's nephew-stepson Tuthmosis III sought to erase herlegacy near the end of his reign, possibly in retaliation for usurping his throne.[45]

Four colossal statues of Ramesses IIflank the entrance of his temple Abu

Simbel.

Around 1350 BC, the stability of the New Kingdom was threatened whenAmenhotep IV ascended the throne and instituted a series of radical and chaoticreforms. Changing his name to Akhenaten, he touted the previously obscure sungod Aten as the supreme deity, suppressed the worship of other deities, andattacked the power of the priestly establishment.[46] Moving the capital to thenew city of Akhetaten (modern-day Amarna), Akhenaten turned a deaf ear toforeign affairs and absorbed himself in his new religion and artistic style. Afterhis death, the cult of the Aten was quickly abandoned, and the subsequentpharaohs Tutankhamun, Ay, and Horemheb erased all mention of Akhenaten'sheresy, now known as the Amarna Period.[47]

Around 1279 BC, Ramesses II, also known as Ramesses the Great, ascended thethrone, and went on to build more temples, erect more statues and obelisks, andsire more children than any other pharaoh in history.[48] A bold military leader,Ramesses II led his army against the Hittites in the Battle of Kadesh and, afterfighting to a stalemate, finally agreed to the first recorded peace treaty around1258 BC.[49] Egypt's wealth, however, made it a tempting target for invasion,

particularly by the Libyans and the Sea Peoples. Initially, the military was able to repel these invasions, but Egypteventually lost control of Syria and Palestine. The impact of external threats was exacerbated by internal problemssuch as corruption, tomb robbery and civil unrest. The high priests at the temple of Amun in Thebes accumulatedvast tracts of land and wealth, and their growing power splintered the country during the Third IntermediatePeriod.[50]

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Around 730 BC Libyans from thewest fractured the political unity of

the country.

Third Intermediate Period

Following the death of Ramesses XI in 1078 BC, Smendes assumed authorityover the northern part of Egypt, ruling from the city of Tanis. The south waseffectively controlled by the High Priests of Amun at Thebes, who recognizedSmendes in name only.[51] During this time, Libyans had been settling in thewestern delta, and chieftains of these settlers began increasing their autonomy.Libyan princes took control of the delta under Shoshenq I in 945 BC, foundingthe so-called Libyan or Bubastite dynasty that would rule for some 200 years.Shoshenq also gained control of southern Egypt by placing his family membersin important priestly positions. Libyan control began to erode as a rival dynastyin the delta arose in Leontopolis, and Kushites threatened from the south. Around727 BC the Kushite king Piye invaded northward, seizing control of Thebes andeventually the Delta.[52]

Egypt's far-reaching prestige declined considerably towards the end of the ThirdIntermediate Period. Its foreign allies had fallen under the Assyrian sphere ofinfluence, and by 700 BC war between the two states became inevitable.Between 671 and 667 BC the Assyrians began their attack on Egypt. The reignsof both Kushite kings Taharqa and his successor, Tanutamun, were filled withconstant conflict with the Assyrians, against whom the Nubian rulers enjoyedseveral victories.[53] Ultimately, the Assyrians pushed the Kushites back into Nubia, occupied Memphis, and sackedthe temples of Thebes.[54]

Late PeriodWith no permanent plans for conquest, the Assyrians left control of Egypt to a series of vassals who became knownas the Saite kings of the Twenty-Sixth Dynasty. By 653 BC, the Saite king Psamtik I was able to oust the Assyrianswith the help of Greek mercenaries, who were recruited to form Egypt's first navy. Greek influence expanded greatlyas the city of Naukratis became the home of Greeks in the delta. The Saite kings based in the new capital of Saiswitnessed a brief but spirited resurgence in the economy and culture, but in 525 BC, the powerful Persians, led byCambyses II, began their conquest of Egypt, eventually capturing the pharaoh Psamtik III at the battle of Pelusium.Cambyses II then assumed the formal title of pharaoh, but ruled Egypt from his home of Susa, leaving Egypt underthe control of a satrapy. A few successful revolts against the Persians marked the 5th century BC, but Egypt wasnever able to permanently overthrow the Persians.[55]

Following its annexation by Persia, Egypt was joined with Cyprus and Phoenicia in the sixth satrapy of theAchaemenid Persian Empire. This first period of Persian rule over Egypt, also known as the Twenty-Seventhdynasty, ended in 402 BC, and from 380–343 BC the Thirtieth Dynasty ruled as the last native royal house ofdynastic Egypt, which ended with the kingship of Nectanebo II. A brief restoration of Persian rule, sometimesknown as the Thirty-First Dynasty, began in 343 BC, but shortly after, in 332 BC, the Persian ruler Mazaces handedEgypt over to Alexander the Great without a fight.[56]

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Ptolemaic DynastyIn 332 BC, Alexander the Great conquered Egypt with little resistance from the Persians and was welcomed by theEgyptians as a deliverer. The administration established by Alexander's successors, the Ptolemies, was based on anEgyptian model and based in the new capital city of Alexandria. The city was to showcase the power and prestige ofGreek rule, and became a seat of learning and culture, centered at the famous Library of Alexandria.[57] TheLighthouse of Alexandria lit the way for the many ships which kept trade flowing through the city, as the Ptolemiesmade commerce and revenue-generating enterprises, such as papyrus manufacturing, their top priority.[58]

Greek culture did not supplant native Egyptian culture, as the Ptolemies supported time-honored traditions in aneffort to secure the loyalty of the populace. They built new temples in Egyptian style, supported traditional cults, andportrayed themselves as pharaohs. Some traditions merged, as Greek and Egyptian gods were syncretized intocomposite deities, such as Serapis, and classical Greek forms of sculpture influenced traditional Egyptian motifs.Despite their efforts to appease the Egyptians, the Ptolemies were challenged by native rebellion, bitter familyrivalries, and the powerful mob of Alexandria which had formed following the death of Ptolemy IV.[59] In addition,as Rome relied more heavily on imports of grain from Egypt, the Romans took great interest in the political situationin the country. Continued Egyptian revolts, ambitious politicians, and powerful Syrian opponents made this situationunstable, leading Rome to send forces to secure the country as a province of its empire.[60]

Roman domination

The Fayum mummyportraits epitomize

the meeting ofEgyptian and

Roman cultures.

Egypt became a province of the Roman Empire in 30 BC, following the defeat of MarcAntony and Ptolemaic Queen Cleopatra VII by Octavian (later Emperor Augustus) in theBattle of Actium. The Romans relied heavily on grain shipments from Egypt, and the Romanarmy, under the control of a prefect appointed by the Emperor, quelled rebellions, strictlyenforced the collection of heavy taxes, and prevented attacks by bandits, which had become anotorious problem during the period.[61] Alexandria became an increasingly important centeron the trade route with the orient, as exotic luxuries were in high demand in Rome.[62]

Although the Romans had a more hostile attitude than the Greeks towards the Egyptians, sometraditions such as mummification and worship of the traditional gods continued.[63] The art ofmummy portraiture flourished, and some of the Roman emperors had themselves depicted aspharaohs, though not to the extent that the Ptolemies had. The former lived outside Egypt anddid not perform the ceremonial functions of Egyptian kingship. Local administration becameRoman in style and closed to native Egyptians.[63]

From the mid-1st century, Christianity took root in Alexandria as it was seen as another cult that could be accepted.However, it was an uncompromising religion that sought to win converts from paganism and threatened the popularreligious traditions. This led to persecution of converts to Christianity, culminating in the great purges of Diocletianstarting in 303, but eventually Christianity won out.[64] In 391 the Christian Emperor Theodosius introducedlegislation that banned pagan rites and closed temples.[65] Alexandria became the scene of great anti-pagan riots withpublic and private religious imagery destroyed.[66] As a consequence, Egypt's pagan culture was continually indecline. While the native population continued to speak their language, the ability to read hieroglyphic writingslowly disappeared as the role of the Egyptian temple priests and priestesses diminished. The temples themselveswere sometimes converted to churches or abandoned to the desert.[67]

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Government and economy

Administration and commerce

The pharaoh was usually depictedwearing symbols of royalty and

power.

The pharaoh was the absolute monarch of the country and, at least in theory,wielded complete control of the land and its resources. The king was the suprememilitary commander and head of the government, who relied on a bureaucracy ofofficials to manage his affairs. In charge of the administration was his second incommand, the vizier, who acted as the king's representative and coordinated landsurveys, the treasury, building projects, the legal system, and the archives.[68] Ata regional level, the country was divided into as many as 42 administrativeregions called nomes each governed by a nomarch, who was accountable to thevizier for his jurisdiction. The temples formed the backbone of the economy. Notonly were they houses of worship, but were also responsible for collecting andstoring the nation's wealth in a system of granaries and treasuries administeredby overseers, who redistributed grain and goods.[69]

Much of the economy was centrally organized and strictly controlled. Althoughthe ancient Egyptians did not use coinage until the Late period, they did use atype of money-barter system,[70] with standard sacks of grain and the deben, aweight of roughly 91 grams (3 oz) of copper or silver, forming a commondenominator.[71] Workers were paid in grain; a simple laborer might earn5½ sacks (200 kg or 400 lb) of grain per month, while a foreman might earn7½ sacks (250 kg or 550 lb). Prices were fixed across the country and recorded inlists to facilitate trading; for example a shirt cost five copper deben, while a cow cost 140 deben.[71] Grain could betraded for other goods, according to the fixed price list.[71] During the 5th century BC coined money was introducedinto Egypt from abroad. At first the coins were used as standardized pieces of precious metal rather than true money,but in the following centuries international traders came to rely on coinage.[72]

Social statusEgyptian society was highly stratified, and social status was expressly displayed. Farmers made up the bulk of thepopulation, but agricultural produce was owned directly by the state, temple, or noble family that owned the land.[73]

Farmers were also subject to a labor tax and were required to work on irrigation or construction projects in a corvéesystem.[74] Artists and craftsmen were of higher status than farmers, but they were also under state control, workingin the shops attached to the temples and paid directly from the state treasury. Scribes and officials formed the upperclass in ancient Egypt, the so-called "white kilt class" in reference to the bleached linen garments that served as amark of their rank.[75] The upper class prominently displayed their social status in art and literature. Below thenobility were the priests, physicians, and engineers with specialized training in their field. Slavery was known inancient Egypt, but the extent and prevalence of its practice are unclear.[76]

The ancient Egyptians viewed men and women, including people from all social classes except slaves, as essentially equal under the law, and even the lowliest peasant was entitled to petition the vizier and his court for redress.[77]

Both men and women had the right to own and sell property, make contracts, marry and divorce, receive inheritance, and pursue legal disputes in court. Married couples could own property jointly and protect themselves from divorce by agreeing to marriage contracts, which stipulated the financial obligations of the husband to his wife and children should the marriage end. Compared with their counterparts in ancient Greece, Rome, and even more modern places around the world, ancient Egyptian women had a greater range of personal choices and opportunities for achievement. Women such as Hatshepsut and Cleopatra even became pharaohs, while others wielded power as

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Divine Wives of Amun. Despite these freedoms, ancient Egyptian women did not often take part in official roles inthe administration, served only secondary roles in the temples, and were not as likely to be as educated as men.[77]

Also see a BBC History article online for more information on gender equality in ancient Egypt.[78]

Scribes were elite and well educated.They assessed taxes, kept records,

and were responsible foradministration.

Legal system

The head of the legal system was officially the pharaoh, who was responsible forenacting laws, delivering justice, and maintaining law and order, a concept theancient Egyptians referred to as Ma'at.[68] Although no legal codes from ancientEgypt survive, court documents show that Egyptian law was based on acommon-sense view of right and wrong that emphasized reaching agreementsand resolving conflicts rather than strictly adhering to a complicated set ofstatutes.[77] Local councils of elders, known as Kenbet in the New Kingdom,were responsible for ruling in court cases involving small claims and minordisputes.[68] More serious cases involving murder, major land transactions, andtomb robbery were referred to the Great Kenbet, over which the vizier orpharaoh presided. Plaintiffs and defendants were expected to representthemselves and were required to swear an oath that they had told the truth. Insome cases, the state took on both the role of prosecutor and judge, and it couldtorture the accused with beatings to obtain a confession and the names of any

co-conspirators. Whether the charges were trivial or serious, court scribes documented the complaint, testimony, andverdict of the case for future reference.[79]

Punishment for minor crimes involved either imposition of fines, beatings, facial mutilation, or exile, depending onthe severity of the offense. Serious crimes such as murder and tomb robbery were punished by execution, carried outby decapitation, drowning, or impaling the criminal on a stake. Punishment could also be extended to the criminal'sfamily.[68] Beginning in the New Kingdom, oracles played a major role in the legal system, dispensing justice inboth civil and criminal cases. The procedure was to ask the god a "yes" or "no" question concerning the right orwrong of an issue. The god, carried by a number of priests, rendered judgment by choosing one or the other, movingforward or backward, or pointing to one of the answers written on a piece of papyrus or an ostracon.[80]

Agriculture

A tomb relief depicts workersplowing the fields, harvesting the

crops, and threshing the grain underthe direction of an overseer.

A combination of favorable geographical features contributed to the success ofancient Egyptian culture, the most important of which was the rich fertile soilresulting from annual inundations of the Nile River. The ancient Egyptians werethus able to produce an abundance of food, allowing the population to devotemore time and resources to cultural, technological, and artistic pursuits. Landmanagement was crucial in ancient Egypt because taxes were assessed based onthe amount of land a person owned.[81]

Farming in Egypt was dependent on the cycle of the Nile River. The Egyptiansrecognized three seasons: Akhet (flooding), Peret (planting), and Shemu(harvesting). The flooding season lasted from June to September, depositing onthe river's banks a layer of mineral-rich silt ideal for growing crops. After thefloodwaters had receded, the growing season lasted from October to February.Farmers plowed and planted seeds in the fields, which were irrigated with ditches

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and canals. Egypt received little rainfall, so farmers relied on the Nile to water their crops.[82] From March to May,farmers used sickles to harvest their crops, which were then threshed with a flail to separate the straw from the grain.Winnowing removed the chaff from the grain, and the grain was then ground into flour, brewed to make beer, orstored for later use.[83]

The ancient Egyptians cultivated emmer and barley, and several other cereal grains, all of which were used to makethe two main food staples of bread and beer.[84] Flax plants, uprooted before they started flowering, were grown forthe fibers of their stems. These fibers were split along their length and spun into thread, which was used to weavesheets of linen and to make clothing. Papyrus growing on the banks of the Nile River was used to make paper.Vegetables and fruits were grown in garden plots, close to habitations and on higher ground, and had to be wateredby hand. Vegetables included leeks, garlic, melons, squashes, pulses, lettuce, and other crops, in addition to grapesthat were made into wine.[85]

Sennedjem plows his fields with a pair of oxen,used as beasts of burden and a source of food.

Animals

The Egyptians believed that a balanced relationship between peopleand animals was an essential element of the cosmic order; thushumans, animals and plants were believed to be members of a singlewhole.[86] Animals, both domesticated and wild, were therefore acritical source of spirituality, companionship, and sustenance to theancient Egyptians. Cattle were the most important livestock; theadministration collected taxes on livestock in regular censuses, and thesize of a herd reflected the prestige and importance of the estate ortemple that owned them. In addition to cattle, the ancient Egyptians

kept sheep, goats, and pigs. Poultry such as ducks, geese, and pigeons were captured in nets and bred on farms,where they were force-fed with dough to fatten them.[87] The Nile provided a plentiful source of fish. Bees were alsodomesticated from at least the Old Kingdom, and they provided both honey and wax.[88]

The ancient Egyptians used donkeys and oxen as beasts of burden, and they were responsible for plowing the fieldsand trampling seed into the soil. The slaughter of a fattened ox was also a central part of an offering ritual.[87] Horseswere introduced by the Hyksos in the Second Intermediate Period, and the camel, although known from the NewKingdom, was not used as a beast of burden until the Late Period. There is also evidence to suggest that elephantswere briefly utilized in the Late Period, but largely abandoned due to lack of grazing land.[87] Dogs, cats andmonkeys were common family pets, while more exotic pets imported from the heart of Africa, such as lions, werereserved for royalty. Herodotus observed that the Egyptians were the only people to keep their animals with them intheir houses.[86] During the Predynastic and Late periods, the worship of the gods in their animal form was extremelypopular, such as the cat goddess Bastet and the ibis god Thoth, and these animals were bred in large numbers onfarms for the purpose of ritual sacrifice.[89]

Natural resourcesEgypt is rich in building and decorative stone, copper and lead ores, gold, and semiprecious stones. These natural resources allowed the ancient Egyptians to build monuments, sculpt statues, make tools, and fashion jewelry.[90] Embalmers used salts from the Wadi Natrun for mummification, which also provided the gypsum needed to make plaster.[91] Ore-bearing rock formations were found in distant, inhospitable wadis in the eastern desert and the Sinai, requiring large, state-controlled expeditions to obtain natural resources found there. There were extensive gold mines in Nubia, and one of the first maps known is of a gold mine in this region. The Wadi Hammamat was a notable source of granite, greywacke, and gold. Flint was the first mineral collected and used to make tools, and flint handaxes are the earliest pieces of evidence of habitation in the Nile valley. Nodules of the mineral were carefully flaked to make blades and arrowheads of moderate hardness and durability even after copper was adopted for this

Ancient Egypt 12

purpose.[92] Ancient Egyptians were among the first to use minerals such as sulfur as cosmetic substances.[93]

The Egyptians worked deposits of the lead ore galena at Gebel Rosas to make net sinkers, plumb bobs, and smallfigurines. Copper was the most important metal for toolmaking in ancient Egypt and was smelted in furnaces frommalachite ore mined in the Sinai.[94] Workers collected gold by washing the nuggets out of sediment in alluvialdeposits, or by the more labor-intensive process of grinding and washing gold-bearing quartzite. Iron deposits foundin upper Egypt were utilized in the Late Period.[95] High-quality building stones were abundant in Egypt; the ancientEgyptians quarried limestone all along the Nile valley, granite from Aswan, and basalt and sandstone from the wadisof the eastern desert. Deposits of decorative stones such as porphyry, greywacke, alabaster, and carnelian dotted theeastern desert and were collected even before the First Dynasty. In the Ptolemaic and Roman Periods, miners workeddeposits of emeralds in Wadi Sikait and amethyst in Wadi el-Hudi.[96]

TradeThe ancient Egyptians engaged in trade with their foreign neighbors to obtain rare, exotic goods not found in Egypt.In the Predynastic Period, they established trade with Nubia to obtain gold and incense. They also established tradewith Palestine, as evidenced by Palestinian-style oil jugs found in the burials of the First Dynasty pharaohs.[97] AnEgyptian colony stationed in southern Canaan dates to slightly before the First Dynasty.[98] Narmer had Egyptianpottery produced in Canaan and exported back to Egypt.[99]

By the Second Dynasty at latest, ancient Egyptian trade with Byblos yielded a critical source of quality timber notfound in Egypt. By the Fifth Dynasty, trade with Punt provided gold, aromatic resins, ebony, ivory, and wild animalssuch as monkeys and baboons.[100] Egypt relied on trade with Anatolia for essential quantities of tin as well assupplementary supplies of copper, both metals being necessary for the manufacture of bronze. The ancient Egyptiansprized the blue stone lapis lazuli, which had to be imported from far-away Afghanistan. Egypt's Mediterranean tradepartners also included Greece and Crete, which provided, among other goods, supplies of olive oil.[101] In exchangefor its luxury imports and raw materials, Egypt mainly exported grain, gold, linen, and papyrus, in addition to otherfinished goods including glass and stone objects.[102]

Language

Historical development

r n kmt'Egyptianlanguage'

in hieroglyphs

The Egyptian language is a northern Afro-Asiatic language closely related to the Berber and Semitic languages.[103]

It has the second longest history of any language (after Sumerian), having been written from c. 3200 BC to theMiddle Ages and remaining as a spoken language for longer. The phases of Ancient Egyptian are Old Egyptian,Middle Egyptian (Classical Egyptian), Late Egyptian, Demotic and Coptic.[104] Egyptian writings do not showdialect differences before Coptic, but it was probably spoken in regional dialects around Memphis and laterThebes.[105]

Ancient Egyptian was a synthetic language, but it became more analytic later on. Late Egyptian develops prefixaldefinite and indefinite articles, which replace the older inflectional suffixes. There is a change from the older VerbSubject Object word order to Subject Verb Object.[106] The Egyptian hieroglyphic, hieratic, and demotic scripts wereeventually replaced by the more phonetic Coptic alphabet. Coptic is still used in the liturgy of the Egyptian OrthodoxChurch, and traces of it are found in modern Egyptian Arabic.[107]

Ancient Egypt 13

Sounds and grammarAncient Egyptian has 25 consonants similar to those of other Afro-Asiatic languages. These include pharyngeal andemphatic consonants, voiced and voiceless stops, voiceless fricatives and voiced and voiceless affricates. It has threelong and three short vowels, which expanded in Later Egyptian to about nine.[108] The basic word in Egyptian,similar to Semitic and Berber, is a triliteral or biliteral root of consonants and semiconsonants. Suffixes are added toform words. The verb conjugation corresponds to the person. For example, the triconsonantal skeleton S-Ḏ-M is thesemantic core of the word 'hear'; its basic conjugation is {{{2}}} 'he hears'. If the subject is a noun, suffixes are notadded to the verb:[109] sḏm ḥmt 'the woman hears'.Adjectives are derived from nouns through a process that Egyptologists call nisbation because of its similarity withArabic.[110] The word order is PREDICATE-SUBJECT in verbal and adjectival sentences, and SUBJECT-PREDICATE innominal and adverbial sentences.[111] The subject can be moved to the beginning of sentences if it is long and isfollowed by a resumptive pronoun.[112] Verbs and nouns are negated by the particle n, but nn is used for adverbialand adjectival sentences. Stress falls on the ultimate or penultimate syllable, which can be open (CV) or closed(CVC).[113]

Writing

The Rosetta stone (ca 196 BC)enabled linguists to begin the process

of hieroglyph decipherment.[114]

Hieroglyphic writing dates to c. 3200 BC, and is composed of some 500symbols. A hieroglyph can represent a word, a sound, or a silent determinative;and the same symbol can serve different purposes in different contexts.Hieroglyphs were a formal script, used on stone monuments and in tombs, thatcould be as detailed as individual works of art. In day-to-day writing, scribesused a cursive form of writing, called hieratic, which was quicker and easier.While formal hieroglyphs may be read in rows or columns in either direction(though typically written from right to left), hieratic was always written fromright to left, usually in horizontal rows. A new form of writing, Demotic, becamethe prevalent writing style, and it is this form of writing—along with formalhieroglyphs—that accompany the Greek text on the Rosetta Stone.

Around the 1st century AD, the Coptic alphabet started to be used alongside theDemotic script. Coptic is a modified Greek alphabet with the addition of someDemotic signs.[115] Although formal hieroglyphs were used in a ceremonial roleuntil the 4th century, towards the end only a small handful of priests could still read them. As the traditional religiousestablishments were disbanded, knowledge of hieroglyphic writing was mostly lost. Attempts to decipher them dateto the Byzantine[116] and Islamic periods in Egypt,[117] but only in 1822, after the discovery of the Rosetta stone andyears of research by Thomas Young and Jean-François Champollion, were hieroglyphs almost fully deciphered.[118]

Ancient Egypt 14

Literature

The Edwin Smith surgical papyrus(ca 16th century BC) describes

anatomy and medical treatments andis written in hieratic.

Writing first appeared in association with kingship on labels and tags for itemsfound in royal tombs. It was primarily an occupation of the scribes, who workedout of the Per Ankh institution or the House of Life. The latter comprised offices,libraries (called House of Books), laboratories and observatories.[119] Some ofthe best-known pieces of ancient Egyptian literature, such as the Pyramid andCoffin Texts, were written in Classical Egyptian, which continued to be thelanguage of writing until about 1300 BC. Later Egyptian was spoken from theNew Kingdom onward and is represented in Ramesside administrativedocuments, love poetry and tales, as well as in Demotic and Coptic texts. Duringthis period, the tradition of writing had evolved into the tomb autobiography,such as those of Harkhuf and Weni. The genre known as Sebayt (Instructions)was developed to communicate teachings and guidance from famous nobles; the Ipuwer papyrus, a poem oflamentations describing natural disasters and social upheaval, is a famous example.

The Story of Sinuhe, written in Middle Egyptian, might be the classic of Egyptian literature.[120] Also written at thistime was the Westcar Papyrus, a set of stories told to Khufu by his sons relating the marvels performed bypriests.[121] The Instruction of Amenemope is considered a masterpiece of near-eastern literature.[122] Towards theend of the New Kingdom, the vernacular language was more often employed to write popular pieces like the Story ofWenamun and the Instruction of Any. The former tells the story of a noble who is robbed on his way to buy cedarfrom Lebanon and of his struggle to return to Egypt. From about 700 BC, narrative stories and instructions, such asthe popular Instructions of Onchsheshonqy, as well as personal and business documents were written in the demoticscript and phase of Egyptian. Many stories written in demotic during the Graeco-Roman period were set in previoushistorical eras, when Egypt was an independent nation ruled by great pharaohs such as Ramesses II.[123]

Culture

Daily life

Statues depicting lower-class Ancient Egyptianoccupations.

Most ancient Egyptians were farmers tied to the land. Their dwellingswere restricted to immediate family members, and were constructed ofmud-brick designed to remain cool in the heat of the day. Each homehad a kitchen with an open roof, which contained a grindstone formilling flour and a small oven for baking bread.[124] Walls werepainted white and could be covered with dyed linen wall hangings.Floors were covered with reed mats, while wooden stools, beds raisedfrom the floor and individual tables comprised the furniture.[125]

The ancient Egyptians placed a great value on hygiene and appearance. Most bathed in the Nile and used a pastysoap made from animal fat and chalk. Men shaved their entire bodies for cleanliness, and aromatic perfumes andointments covered bad odors and soothed skin.[126] Clothing was made from simple linen sheets that were bleachedwhite, and both men and women of the upper classes wore wigs, jewelry, and cosmetics. Children went withoutclothing until maturity, at about age 12, and at this age males were circumcised and had their heads shaved. Motherswere responsible for taking care of the children, while the father provided the family's income.[127]

Ancient Egypt 15

The ancient Egyptians maintained a rich culturalheritage complete with feasts and festivals

accompanied by music and dance.

Music and dance were popular entertainments for those who couldafford them. Early instruments included flutes and harps, whileinstruments similar to trumpets, oboes, and pipes developed later andbecame popular. In the New Kingdom, the Egyptians played on bells,cymbals, tambourines, and drums and imported lutes and lyres fromAsia.[128] The sistrum was a rattle-like musical instrument that wasespecially important in religious ceremonies.

The ancient Egyptians enjoyed a variety of leisure activities, including games and music. Senet, a board game wherepieces moved according to random chance, was particularly popular from the earliest times; another similar gamewas mehen, which had a circular gaming board. Juggling and ball games were popular with children, and wrestling isalso documented in a tomb at Beni Hasan.[129] The wealthy members of ancient Egyptian society enjoyed huntingand boating as well.The excavation of the workers village of Deir el-Madinah has resulted in one of the most thoroughly documentedaccounts of community life in the ancient world that spans almost four hundred years. There is no comparable site inwhich the organisation, social interactions, working and living conditions of a community can be studied in suchdetail.[130]

CuisineEgyptian cuisine remained remarkably stable over time; indeed, the cuisine of modern Egypt retains some strikingsimilarities to the cuisine of the ancients. The staple diet consisted of bread and beer, supplemented with vegetablessuch as onions and garlic, and fruit such as dates and figs. Wine and meat were enjoyed by all on feast days while theupper classes indulged on a more regular basis. Fish, meat, and fowl could be salted or dried, and could be cooked instews or roasted on a grill.[131]

Karnak temple's hypostyle halls areconstructed with rows of thick

columns supporting the roof beams.

Ancient Egypt 16

Architecture

The well preserved Temple of Horus at Edfu is anexemplar of Egyptian architecture.

The architecture of ancient Egypt includes some of the most famousstructures in the world: the Great Pyramids of Giza and the temples atThebes. Building projects were organized and funded by the state forreligious and commemorative purposes, but also to reinforce the powerof the pharaoh. The ancient Egyptians were skilled builders; usingsimple but effective tools and sighting instruments, architects couldbuild large stone structures with accuracy and precision.[132]

The domestic dwellings of elite and ordinary Egyptians alike wereconstructed from perishable materials such as mud bricks and wood,and have not survived. Peasants lived in simple homes, while thepalaces of the elite were more elaborate structures. A few surviving New Kingdom palaces, such as those in Malkataand Amarna, show richly decorated walls and floors with scenes of people, birds, water pools, deities and geometricdesigns.[133] Important structures such as temples and tombs that were intended to last forever were constructed ofstone instead of bricks. The architectural elements used in the world's first large-scale stone building, Djoser'smortuary complex, include post and lintel supports in the papyrus and lotus motif.

The earliest preserved ancient Egyptian temples, such as those at Giza, consist of single, enclosed halls with roofslabs supported by columns. In the New Kingdom, architects added the pylon, the open courtyard, and the enclosedhypostyle hall to the front of the temple's sanctuary, a style that was standard until the Graeco-Roman period.[134]

The earliest and most popular tomb architecture in the Old Kingdom was the mastaba, a flat-roofed rectangularstructure of mudbrick or stone built over an underground burial chamber. The step pyramid of Djoser is a series ofstone mastabas stacked on top of each other. Pyramids were built during the Old and Middle Kingdoms, but laterrulers abandoned them in favor of less conspicuous rock-cut tombs.[135]

Art

The Bust of Nefertiti, by the sculptorThutmose, is one of the most famousmasterpieces of ancient Egyptian art.

The ancient Egyptians produced art to serve functional purposes. For over3500 years, artists adhered to artistic forms and iconography that were developedduring the Old Kingdom, following a strict set of principles that resisted foreigninfluence and internal change.[136] These artistic standards—simple lines, shapes,and flat areas of color combined with the characteristic flat projection of figureswith no indication of spatial depth—created a sense of order and balance within acomposition. Images and text were intimately interwoven on tomb and templewalls, coffins, stelae, and even statues. The Narmer Palette, for example, displaysfigures which may also be read as hieroglyphs.[137] Because of the rigid rulesthat governed its highly stylized and symbolic appearance, ancient Egyptian artserved its political and religious purposes with precision and clarity.[138]

Ancient Egyptian artisans used stone to carve statues and fine reliefs, but usedwood as a cheap and easily carved substitute. Paints were obtained from mineralssuch as iron ores (red and yellow ochres), copper ores (blue and green), soot orcharcoal (black), and limestone (white). Paints could be mixed with gum arabicas a binder and pressed into cakes, which could be moistened with water whenneeded.[139] Pharaohs used reliefs to record victories in battle, royal decrees, and religious scenes. Common citizenshad access to pieces of funerary art, such as shabti statues and books of the dead, which they believed would protect

them in the afterlife.[140] During the Middle Kingdom, wooden or clay models depicting scenes from everyday life became popular additions to the tomb. In an attempt to duplicate the activities of the living in the afterlife, these

Ancient Egypt 17

models show laborers, houses, boats, and even military formations that are scale representations of the ideal ancientEgyptian afterlife.[141]

Despite the homogeneity of ancient Egyptian art, the styles of particular times and places sometimes reflectedchanging cultural or political attitudes. After the invasion of the Hyksos in the Second Intermediate Period,Minoan-style frescoes were found in Avaris.[142] The most striking example of a politically driven change in artisticforms comes from the Amarna period, where figures were radically altered to conform to Akhenaten's revolutionaryreligious ideas.[143] This style, known as Amarna art, was quickly and thoroughly erased after Akhenaten's death andreplaced by the traditional forms.[144]

Religious beliefs

The Book of the Dead was a guide to the deceased's journey in the afterlife.

Beliefs in the divine and in the afterlife wereingrained in ancient Egyptian civilizationfrom its inception; pharaonic rule was basedon the divine right of kings. The Egyptianpantheon was populated by gods who hadsupernatural powers and were called on forhelp or protection. However, the gods werenot always viewed as benevolent, andEgyptians believed they had to be appeasedwith offerings and prayers. The structure ofthis pantheon changed continually as new deities were promoted in the hierarchy, but priests made no effort toorganize the diverse and sometimes conflicting creation myths and stories into a coherent system.[145] These variousconceptions of divinity were not considered contradictory but rather layers in the multiple facets of reality.[146]

The Ka statue provided a physicalplace for the Ka to manifest.

Gods were worshiped in cult temples administered by priests acting on the king'sbehalf. At the center of the temple was the cult statue in a shrine. Temples werenot places of public worship or congregation, and only on select feast days andcelebrations was a shrine carrying the statue of the god brought out for publicworship. Normally, the god's domain was sealed off from the outside world andwas only accessible to temple officials. Common citizens could worship privatestatues in their homes, and amulets offered protection against the forces ofchaos.[147] After the New Kingdom, the pharaoh's role as a spiritual intermediarywas de-emphasized as religious customs shifted to direct worship of the gods. Asa result, priests developed a system of oracles to communicate the will of thegods directly to the people.[148]

The Egyptians believed that every human being was composed of physical andspiritual 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.[149] 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 physicalremains (or a substitute, such as a statue) as a permanent home. The ultimate goal of the deceased was to rejoin hiska 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". Ifdeemed worthy, the deceased could continue their existence on earth in spiritual form.[150]

Ancient Egypt 18

Pharaohs' tombs were provided withvast quantities of wealth, such as this

golden mask from the mummy ofTutankhamun.

Burial customs

The ancient Egyptians maintained an elaborate set of burial customs that theybelieved were necessary to ensure immortality after death. These customsinvolved preserving the body by mummification, performing burial ceremonies,and interring, along with the body, goods to be used by the deceased in theafterlife.[140] Before the Old Kingdom, bodies buried in desert pits were naturallypreserved by desiccation. The arid, desert conditions continued to be a boonthroughout the history of ancient Egypt for the burials of the poor, who could notafford the elaborate burial preparations available to the elite. Wealthier Egyptiansbegan to bury their dead in stone tombs and, as a result, they made use ofartificial mummification, which involved removing the internal organs, wrappingthe body in linen, and burying it in a rectangular stone sarcophagus or woodencoffin. Beginning in the Fourth Dynasty, some parts were preserved separately incanopic jars.[151]

Anubis was the ancient Egyptian god associatedwith mummification and burial rituals; here, he

attends to a mummy.

By the New Kingdom, the ancient Egyptians had perfected the art ofmummification; the best technique took 70 days and involvedremoving the internal organs, removing the brain through the nose, anddesiccating the body in a mixture of salts called natron. The body wasthen wrapped in linen with protective amulets inserted between layersand placed in a decorated anthropoid coffin. Mummies of the LatePeriod were also placed in painted cartonnage mummy cases. Actualpreservation practices declined during the Ptolemaic and Roman eras,while greater emphasis was placed on the outer appearance of themummy, which was decorated.[152]

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 statuesthat were believed to perform manual labor for them in the afterlife.[153] Rituals in which the deceased was magicallyre-animated accompanied burials. After burial, living relatives were expected to occasionally bring food to the tomband recite prayers on behalf of the deceased.[154]

Military

An Egyptian chariot.

The ancient Egyptian military was responsible for defending Egyptagainst foreign invasion, and for maintaining Egypt's domination in theancient Near East. The military protected mining expeditions to theSinai during the Old Kingdom and fought civil wars during the Firstand Second Intermediate Periods. The military was responsible formaintaining fortifications along important trade routes, such as thosefound at the city of Buhen on the way to Nubia. Forts also wereconstructed to serve as military bases, such as the fortress at Sile,which was a base of operations for expeditions to the Levant. In theNew Kingdom, a series of pharaohs used the standing Egyptian armyto attack and conquer Kush and parts of the Levant.[155]

Ancient Egypt 19

Typical military equipment included bows and arrows, spears, and round-topped shields made by stretching animalskin over a wooden frame. In the New Kingdom, the military began using chariots that had earlier been introducedby the Hyksos invaders. Weapons and armor continued to improve after the adoption of bronze: shields were nowmade from solid wood with a bronze buckle, spears were tipped with a bronze point, and the Khopesh was adoptedfrom Asiatic soldiers.[156] The pharaoh was usually depicted in art and literature riding at the head of the army, andthere is evidence that at least a few pharaohs, such as Seqenenre Tao II and his sons, did do so.[157] Soldiers wererecruited from the general population, but during, and especially after, the New Kingdom, mercenaries from Nubia,Kush, and Libya were hired to fight for Egypt.[158]

Technology, medicine, and mathematics

TechnologyIn technology, medicine and mathematics, ancient Egypt achieved a relatively high standard of productivity andsophistication. Traditional empiricism, as evidenced by the Edwin Smith and Ebers papyri (c. 1600 BC), is firstcredited to Egypt, and the roots of the scientific method can also be traced back to the ancient Egyptians. TheEgyptians created their own alphabet and decimal system.

Glassmaking was a highly developedart.

Faience and glass

Even before the Old Kingdom, the ancient Egyptians had developed a glassymaterial known as faience, which they treated as a type of artificialsemi-precious stone. Faience is a non-clay ceramic made of silica, small amountsof lime and soda, and a colorant, typically copper.[159] The material was used tomake beads, tiles, figurines, and small wares. Several methods can be used tocreate faience, but typically production involved application of the powderedmaterials in the form of a paste over a clay core, which was then fired. By arelated technique, the ancient Egyptians produced a pigment known as EgyptianBlue, also called blue frit, which is produced by fusing (or sintering) silica,copper, lime, and an alkali such as natron. The product can be ground up andused as a pigment.[160]

The ancient Egyptians could fabricate a wide variety of objects from glass with great skill, but it is not clear whetherthey developed the process independently.[161] It is also unclear whether they made their own raw glass or merelyimported pre-made ingots, which they melted and finished. However, they did have technical expertise in makingobjects, as well as adding trace elements to control the color of the finished glass. A range of colors could beproduced, including yellow, red, green, blue, purple, and white, and the glass could be made either transparent oropaque.[162]

Ancient Egypt 20

Medicine

Ancient Egyptian medicalinstruments depicted in a Ptolemaicperiod inscription on the temple at

Kom Ombo.

The medical problems of the ancient Egyptians stemmed directly from theirenvironment. Living and working close to the Nile brought hazards from malariaand debilitating schistosomiasis parasites, which caused liver and intestinaldamage. Dangerous wildlife such as crocodiles and hippos were also a commonthreat. The life-long labors of farming and building put stress on the spine andjoints, and traumatic injuries from construction and warfare all took a significanttoll on the body. The grit and sand from stone-ground flour abraded teeth,leaving them susceptible to abscesses (though caries were rare).[163]

The diets of the wealthy were rich in sugars, which promoted periodontaldisease.[164] Despite the flattering physiques portrayed on tomb walls, theoverweight mummies of many of the upper class show the effects of a life ofoverindulgence.[165] Adult life expectancy was about 35 for men and 30 forwomen, but reaching adulthood was difficult as about one-third of the populationdied in infancy.[166]

Ancient Egyptian physicians were renowned in the ancient Near East for theirhealing skills, and some, like Imhotep, remained famous long after theirdeaths.[167] Herodotus remarked that there was a high degree of specializationamong Egyptian physicians, with some treating only the head or the stomach,while others were eye-doctors and dentists.[168] Training of physicians took placeat the Per Ankh or "House of Life" institution, most notably those headquartered in Per-Bastet during the NewKingdom and at Abydos and Saïs in the Late period. Medical papyri show empirical knowledge of anatomy, injuries,and practical treatments.[169]

Wounds were treated by bandaging with raw meat, white linen, sutures, nets, pads and swabs soaked with honey toprevent infection,[170] while opium was used to relieve pain. Garlic and onions were used regularly to promote goodhealth and were thought to relieve asthma symptoms. Ancient Egyptian surgeons stitched wounds, set broken bones,and amputated diseased limbs, but they recognized that some injuries were so serious that they could only make thepatient comfortable until he died.[171]

ShipbuildingEarly Egyptians knew how to assemble planks of wood into a ship hull as early as 3000 BC. The ArchaeologicalInstitute of America reports[6] that some of the oldest ships yet unearthed are known as the Abydos boats. These area group of 14 discovered ships in Abydos that were constructed of wooden planks which were "sewn" together.Discovered by Egyptologist David O'Connor of New York University,[172] woven straps were found to have beenused to lash the planks together,[6] and reeds or grass stuffed between the planks helped to seal the seams.[6] Becausethe ships are all buried together and near a mortuary belonging to Pharaoh Khasekhemwy,[172] originally they wereall thought to have belonged to him, but one of the 14 ships dates to 3000 BC,[172] and the associated pottery jarsburied with the vessels also suggest earlier dating.[172] The ship dating to 3000 BC was 75 feet (23 m) long[172] andis now thought to perhaps have belonged to an earlier pharaoh.[172] According to professor O'Connor, the5,000-year-old ship may have even belonged to Pharaoh Aha.[172]

Early Egyptians also knew how to assemble planks of wood with treenails to fasten them together, using pitch for caulking the seams. The "Khufu ship", a 43.6-meter vessel sealed into a pit in the Giza pyramid complex at the foot of the Great Pyramid of Giza in the Fourth Dynasty around 2500 BC, is a full-size surviving example which may have fulfilled the symbolic function of a solar barque. Early Egyptians also knew how to fasten the planks of this ship together with mortise and tenon joints.[6] Despite the ancient Egyptian's ability to construct very large boats to

Ancient Egypt 21

sail along the easily navigable Nile, they were not known as good sailors and did not engage in widespread sailing orshipping in the Mediterranean or Red Seas.

MathematicsThe earliest attested examples of mathematical calculations date to the predynastic Naqada period, and show a fullydeveloped numeral system.[173] The importance of mathematics to an educated Egyptian is suggested by a NewKingdom fictional letter in which the writer proposes a scholarly competition between himself and another scriberegarding everyday calculation tasks such as accounting of land, labor and grain.[174] Texts such as the RhindMathematical Papyrus and the Moscow Mathematical Papyrus show that the ancient Egyptians could perform thefour basic mathematical operations—addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division—use fractions, compute thevolumes of boxes and pyramids, and calculate the surface areas of rectangles, triangles, circles and even spheres.They understood basic concepts of algebra and geometry, and could solve simple sets of simultaneous equations.[175]

2⁄3

in hieroglyphs

Mathematical notation was decimal, and based on hieroglyphic signs for each power of ten up to one million. Eachof these could be written as many times as necessary to add up to the desired number; so to write the number eightyor eight hundred, the symbol for ten or one hundred was written eight times respectively.[176] Because their methodsof calculation could not handle most fractions with a numerator greater than one, ancient Egyptian fractions had tobe written as the sum of several fractions. For example, the fraction two-fifths was resolved into the sum of one-third+ one-fifteenth; this was facilitated by standard tables of values.[177] Some common fractions, however, were writtenwith a special glyph; the equivalent of the modern two-thirds is shown on the right.[178]

Ancient Egyptian mathematicians had a grasp of the principles underlying the Pythagorean theorem, knowing, forexample, that a triangle had a right angle opposite the hypotenuse when its sides were in a 3–4–5 ratio.[179] Theywere able to estimate the area of a circle by subtracting one-ninth from its diameter and squaring the result:

Area ≈ [(8⁄9)D]2 = (256⁄81)r 2 ≈ 3.16r 2,a reasonable approximation of the formula πr 2.[179] [180]

The golden ratio seems to be reflected in many Egyptian constructions, including the pyramids, but its use may havebeen an unintended consequence of the ancient Egyptian practice of combining the use of knotted ropes with anintuitive sense of proportion and harmony.[181]

Ancient Egypt 22

Legacy

Tourists riding a bactrian camel in front of Pyramid of Khafre. GizaPyramids are one of Egypt's most popular tourist draws.

The culture and monuments of ancient Egypt have lefta lasting legacy on the world. The cult of the goddessIsis, for example, became popular in the RomanEmpire, as obelisks and other relics were transportedback to Rome.[182] The Romans also imported buildingmaterials from Egypt to erect structures in Egyptianstyle. Early historians such as Herodotus, Strabo andDiodorus Siculus studied and wrote about the landwhich became viewed as a place of mystery.[183]

During the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, Egyptianpagan culture was in decline after the rise ofChristianity and later Islam, but interest in Egyptianantiquity continued in the writings of medieval scholarssuch as Dhul-Nun al-Misri and al-Maqrizi.[184] In the 17th and 18th centuries, European travelers and touristsbrought back antiquities and wrote stories of their journeys, leading to a wave of Egyptomania across Europe. Thisrenewed interest sent collectors to Egypt, who took, purchased, or were given many important antiquities.[185]

Although the European colonial occupation of Egypt destroyed a significant portion of the country's historicallegacy, some foreigners had more positive results. Napoleon, for example, arranged the first studies in Egyptologywhen he brought some 150 scientists and artists to study and document Egypt's natural history, which was publishedin the Description de l'Ėgypte.[186]

In the 20th century, the Egyptian Government and archaeologists alike recognized the importance of cultural respectand integrity in excavations. The Supreme Council of Antiquities now approves and oversees all excavations, whichare aimed at finding information rather than treasure. The council also supervises museums and monumentreconstruction programs designed to preserve the historical legacy of Egypt.

Notes[1] "Chronology" (http:/ / www. digitalegypt. ucl. ac. uk/ chronology/ index. html). Digital Egypt for Universities, University College London. .

Retrieved 25 March 2008.[2] Dodson (2004) p. 46[3] Clayton (1994) p. 217[4] James (2005) p. 8[5] Manuelian (1998) pp. 6–7[6] Ward, Cheryl. " World's Oldest Planked Boats (http:/ / www. archaeology. org/ 0105/ abstracts/ abydos3. html)", in Archaeology (Volume 54,

Number 3, May/June 2001). Archaeological Institute of America.[7] Clayton (1994) p. 153[8] James (2005) p. 84[9] Shaw (2002) p. 17[10] Shaw (2002) pp. 17, 67–69[11] Ikram, Salima (1992). Choice Cuts: Meat Production in Ancient Egypt (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=1Am88Yc8gRkC&

printsec=frontcover#PPA5,M1). University of Cambridge. p. 5. ISBN 978-90-6831-745-9. OCLC 60255819. . Retrieved 22 July 2009.LCCN 1997-140867

[12] Hayes (1964) p. 220[13] Childe, V. Gordon (1953), "New light on the most ancient Near East" (Praeger Publications)[14] Patai, Raphael (1998), "Children of Noah: Jewish Seafaring in Ancient Times" (Princeton Uni Press)[15] Barbara G. Aston, James A. Harrell, Ian Shaw (2000). Paul T. Nicholson and Ian Shaw editors. "Stone," in Ancient Egyptian Materials and

Technology, Cambridge, 5–77, pp. 46–47. Also note: Barbara G. Aston (1994). "Ancient Egyptian Stone Vessels," Studien zur Archäologieund Geschichte Altägyptens 5, Heidelberg, pp. 23–26. (See on-line posts: (http:/ / www. digitalegypt. ucl. ac. uk/ stone/ obsidian. html) and(http:/ / www. digitalegypt. ucl. ac. uk/ foreignrelations/ obsidian. html).)

Ancient Egypt 23

[16] "Chronology of the Naqada Period" (http:/ / www. digitalegypt. ucl. ac. uk/ naqadan/ chronology. html#naqadaI). Digital Egypt forUniversities, University College London. . Retrieved 9 March 2008.

[17] Shaw (2002) p. 61[18] "Faience in different Periods" (http:/ / www. digitalegypt. ucl. ac. uk/ faience/ periods. html). Digital Egypt for Universities, University

College London. . Retrieved 9 March 2008.[19] Allen (2000) p. 1[20] Robins (1997) p. 32[21] Clayton (1994) p. 6[22] Shaw (2002) pp. 78–80[23] Clayton (1994) pp. 12–13[24] Shaw (2002) p. 70[25] "Early Dynastic Egypt" (http:/ / www. digitalegypt. ucl. ac. uk/ archaicegypt/ info. html). Digital Egypt for Universities, University College

London. . Retrieved 9 March 2008.[26] James (2005) p. 40[27] Shaw (2002) p. 102[28] Shaw (2002) pp. 116–7[29] Fekri Hassan. "The Fall of the Old Kingdom" (http:/ / www. bbc. co. uk/ history/ ancient/ egyptians/ apocalypse_egypt_04. shtml). British

Broadcasting Corporation. . Retrieved 10 March 2008.[30] Clayton (1994) p. 69[31] Shaw (2002) p. 120[32] Shaw (2002) p. 146[33] Clayton (1994) p. 29[34] Shaw (2002) p. 148[35] Clayton (1994) p. 79[36] Shaw (2002) p. 158[37] Shaw (2002) pp. 179–82[38] Robins (1997) p. 90[39] Shaw (2002) p. 188[40] Ryholt (1997) p. 310[41] Shaw (2002) p. 189[42] Shaw (2002) p. 224[43] James (2005) p. 48[44] "Hatshepsut" (http:/ / www. digitalegypt. ucl. ac. uk/ chronology/ hatshepsut. html). Digital Egypt for Universities, University College

London. . Retrieved 9 December 2007.[45] Clayton (1994) p. 108[46] Aldred (1988) p. 259[47] Cline (2001) p. 273[48] From his two principal wives and large harem, Ramesses II sired more than 100 children. Clayton (1994) p. 146[49] Tyldesley (2001) pp. 76–7[50] James (2005) p. 54[51] Cerny (1975) p. 645[52] Shaw (2002) p. 345[53] "The Kushite Conquest of Egypt", Ancient~Sudan: Nubia. (http:/ / www. ancientsudan. org/ history_07_assyro. htm)[54] Shaw (2002) p. 358[55] Shaw (2002) p. 383[56] Shaw (2002) p. 385[57] Shaw (2002) p. 405[58] Shaw (2002) p. 411[59] Shaw (2002) p. 418[60] James (2005) p. 62[61] James (2005) p. 63[62] Shaw (2002) p. 426[63] Shaw (2002) p. 422[64] Shaw (2003) p. 431[65] "The Church in Ancient Society", Henry Chadwick, p. 373, Oxford University Press US, 2001, ISBN 0-19-924695-5[66] "Christianizing the Roman Empire A.D 100–400", Ramsay MacMullen, p. 63, Yale University Press, 1984, ISBN 0-300-03216-1[67] Shaw (2002) p. 445[68] Manuelian (1998) p. 358[69] Manuelian (1998) p. 363

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[70] Meskell (2004) p. 23[71] Manuelian (1998) p. 372[72] Walbank (1984) p. 125[73] Manuelian (1998) p. 383[74] James (2005) p. 136[75] Billard (1978) p. 109[76] "Social classes in ancient Egypt" (http:/ / www. digitalegypt. ucl. ac. uk/ social/ index. html). Digital Egypt for Universities, University

College London. . Retrieved 11 December 2007.[77] Janet H. Johnson. "Women's Legal Rights in Ancient Egypt" (http:/ / fathom. lib. uchicago. edu/ 1/ 777777190170/ ). University of Chicago,

2004. . Retrieved 31 August 2010.[78] A maintained BBC History article by Dr. Joann Fletcher (last updated 5Nov2009). (http:/ / www. bbc. co. uk/ history/ ancient/ egyptians/

women_01. shtml)[79] Oakes (2003) p. 472[80] McDowell (1999) p. 168[81] Manuelian (1998) p. 361[82] Nicholson (2000) p. 514[83] Nicholson (2000) p. 506[84] Nicholson (2000) p. 510[85] Nicholson (2000) pp. 577 and 630[86] Strouhal (1989) p. 117[87] Manuelian (1998) p. 381[88] Nicholson (2000) p. 409[89] Oakes (2003) p. 229[90] Greaves (1929) p. 123[91] Lucas (1962) p. 413[92] Nicholson (2000) p. 28[93] C.Michael Hogan. 2011. Sulfur. Encyclopedia of Earth, eds. A.Jorgensen and C.J.Cleveland, National Council for Science and the

environment, Washington DC (http:/ / www. eoearth. org/ article/ Sulfur?topic=49557)[94] Scheel (1989) p. 14[95] Nicholson (2000) p. 166[96] Nicholson (2000) p. 51[97] Shaw (2002) p. 72[98] Naomi Porat and Edwin van den Brink (editor), "An Egyptian Colony in Southern Palestine During the Late Predynastic to Early Dynastic,"

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[100] Shaw (2002) p. 322[101] Manuelian (1998) p. 145[102] Harris (1990) p. 13[103] Loprieno (1995b) p. 2137[104] Loprieno (2004) p. 161[105] Loprieno (2004) p. 162[106] Loprieno (1995b) p. 2137-38[107] Vittman (1991) pp. 197–227[108] Loprieno (1995a) p. 46[109] Loprieno (1995a) p. 74[110] Loprieno (2004) p. 175[111] Allen (2000) pp. 67, 70, 109[112] Loprieno (2005) p. 2147[113] Loprieno (2004) p. 173[114] Allen (2000) p. 13[115] Allen (2000) p. 7[116] Loprieno (2004) p. 166[117] El-Daly (2005) p. 164[118] Allen (2000) p. 8[119] Strouhal (1989) p. 235[120] Lichtheim (1975) p. 11[121] Lichtheim (1975) p. 215

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[122] "Wisdom in Ancient Israel", John Day,/John Adney Emerton,/Robert P. Gordon/ Hugh Godfrey/Maturin Williamson, p23, CambridgeUniversity Press, 1997, ISBN 0-521-62489-4

[123] Lichtheim (1980) p. 159[124] Manuelian (1998) p. 401[125] Manuelian (1998) p. 403[126] Manuelian (1998) p. 405[127] Manuelian (1998) pp. 406–7[128] "Music in Ancient Egypt" (http:/ / www. digitalegypt. ucl. ac. uk/ furniture/ music. html). Digital Egypt for Universities, University

College London. . Retrieved 9 March 2008.[129] Manuelian (1998) p. 126[130] “The Cambridge Ancient History: II Part I , The Middle East and the Aegean Region, c.1800-13380 B.C”, Edited I.E.S

Edwards–C.JGadd–N.G.L Hammond-E.Sollberger, Cambridge at the University Press, p. 380, 1973, ISBN 0-521-08230-7[131] Manuelian (1998) pp. 399–400[132] Clarke (1990) pp. 94–7[133] Badawy (1968) p. 50[134] "Types of temples in ancient Egypt" (http:/ / www. digitalegypt. ucl. ac. uk/ temple/ typestime. html). Digital Egypt for Universities,

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Ancient Egypt 26

[173] Understanding of Egyptian mathematics is incomplete due to paucity of available material and lack of exhaustive study of the texts thathave been uncovered. Imhausen et al. (2007) p. 13

[174] Imhausen et al. (2007) p. 11[175] Clarke (1990) p. 222[176] Clarke (1990) p. 217[177] Clarke (1990) p. 218[178] Gardiner (1957) p. 197[179] Strouhal (1989) p. 241[180] Imhausen et al. (2007) p. 31[181] Kemp (1989) p. 138[182] Siliotti (1998) p. 8[183] Siliotti (1998) p. 10[184] El-Daly (2005) p. 112[185] Siliotti (1998) p. 13[186] Siliotti (1998) p. 100

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Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-77483-7.• Badawy, Alexander (1968). A History of Egyptian Architecture. Vol III. Berkeley, California: University of

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• El-Daly, Okasha (2005). Egyptology: The Missing Millennium. London, England: UCL Press.ISBN 1-84472-062-4.

• Filer, Joyce (1996). Disease. Austin, Texas: University of Texas Press. ISBN 0-292-72498-5.• Gardiner, Sir Alan (1957). Egyptian Grammar: Being an Introduction to the Study of Hieroglyphs. Oxford,

England: Griffith Institute. ISBN 0-900416-35-1.• Hayes, W. C. (October 1964). "Most Ancient Egypt: Chapter III. The Neolithic and Chalcolithic Communities of

Northern Egypt". JNES 23: 217–272.• Imhausen, Annette; Eleanor Robson, Joseph W. Dauben, Kim Plofker, J. Lennart Berggren, Victor J. Katz (2007).

The Mathematics of Egypt, Mesopotamia, China, India, and Islam: A Sourcebook. Princeton: PrincetonUniversity Press. ISBN 0-691-11485-4.

• James, T.G.H. (2005). The British Museum Concise Introduction to Ancient Egypt. Ann Arbor, Michigan:University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0-472-03137-6.

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• Kemp, Barry (1991). Ancient Egypt: Anatomy of a Civilization. London, England: Routledge.ISBN 0-415-06346-9.

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• Loprieno, Antonio (1995a). Ancient Egyptian: A linguistic introduction. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge UniversityPress. ISBN 0-521-44849-2.

• Loprieno, Antonio (1995b). "Ancient Egyptian and other Afroasiatic Languages". In Sasson, J. M.. Civilizationsof the Ancient Near East. 4. New York, New York: Charles Scribner. pp. 2137–2150. ISBN 1-56563-607-4.

• Loprieno, Antonio (2004). "Ancient Egyptian and Coptic". In Woodward, Roger D.. The CambridgeEncyclopedia of the World's Ancient Languages. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. pp. 160–192.ISBN 0-521-56256-2.

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• Mallory-Greenough, Leanne M. (2002). "The Geographical, Spatial, and Temporal Distribution of Predynasticand First Dynasty Basalt Vessels" (http:/ / jstor. org/ stable/ 3822337). The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology(London, England: Egypt Exploration Society) 88: 67–93. doi:10.2307/3822337.

• Manuelian, Peter Der (1998). Egypt: The World of the Pharaohs. Bonner Straße, Cologne Germany: KönemannVerlagsgesellschaft mbH. ISBN 3-89508-913-3.

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• Nicholson, Paul T. et al. (2000). Ancient Egyptian Materials and Technology. Cambridge, UK: CambridgeUniversity Press. ISBN 0-521-45257-0.

• Oakes, Lorna (2003). Ancient Egypt: An Illustrated Reference to the Myths, Religions, Pyramids and Temples ofthe Land of the Pharaohs. New York, New York: Barnes & Noble. ISBN 0-7607-4943-4.

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• Shaw, Ian (2003). The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.ISBN 0-500-05074-0.

• Siliotti, Alberto (1998). The Discovery of Ancient Egypt. Edison, New Jersey: Book Sales, Inc.ISBN 0-7858-1360-8.

• Strouhal, Eugen (1989). Life in Ancient Egypt. Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press.ISBN 0-8061-2475-X.

• Tyldesley, Joyce A. (2001). Ramesses: Egypt's greatest pharaoh. Harmondsworth, England: Penguin. pp. 76–77.ISBN 0-14-028097-9.

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Ancient Egypt 28

• Walbank, Frank William (1984). The Cambridge ancient history. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.ISBN 0-521-23445-X.

• Wasserman, James; Faulkner, Raymond Oliver; Goelet, Ogden; Von Dassow, Eva (1994). The Egyptian Book ofthe dead, the Book of going forth by day: being the Papyrus of Ani. San Francisco, California: Chronicle Books.ISBN 0-8118-0767-3.

• Wilkinson, R. H. (2000). The Complete Temples of Ancient Egypt. London, England: Thames and Hudson.ISBN 0-500-05100-3.

Further reading• Baines, John and Jaromir Malek (2000). The Cultural Atlas of Ancient Egypt (revised ed.). Facts on File.

ISBN 0-8160-4036-2.• Bard, KA (1999). Encyclopedia of the Archaeology of Ancient Egypt. NY, NY: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-18589-0.• Grimal, Nicolas (1992). A History of Ancient Egypt. Blackwell Books. ISBN 0-631-19396-0.• Lehner, Mark (1997). The Complete Pyramids. London: Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0-500-05084-8.• Redford, Donald B., ed (2001). The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt. Oxford University Press.

ISBN 0-19-510234-7.• Wilkinson, R.H. (2003). The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt. London: Thames and Hudson.

ISBN 0-500-05120-8.

External links• BBC History: Egyptians (http:/ / www. bbc. co. uk/ history/ ancient/ egyptians/ )—provides a reliable general

overview and further links• Ancient History Encyclopedia (http:/ / www. ancient. eu. com/ egypt/ ) on Egypt• Ancient Egyptian Science: A Source Book Door Marshall Clagett, 1989 (http:/ / books. google. com/

books?vid=ISBN& id=9ToLAAAAIAAJ& dq=PtahHotep& as_brr=1)• Ancient Egyptian Metallurgy (http:/ / www. aldokkan. com/ science/ metallurgy. htm) A site that shows the

history of Egyptian metalworking• Napoleon on the Nile: Soldiers, Artists, and the Rediscovery of Egypt, Art History (http:/ / arthistory. about. com/

od/ from_exhibitions/ ig/ Napoleon-on-the-Nile/ Joseph--1874. htm).• Ancient Egypt (http:/ / www. ancientegypt. co. uk/ )—maintained by the British Museum, this site provides a

useful introduction to Ancient Egypt for older children and young adolescents• Digital Egypt for Universities. (http:/ / www. digitalegypt. ucl. ac. uk/ ) Outstanding scholarly treatment with

broad coverage and cross references (internal and external). Artifacts used extensively to illustrate topics.• Priests of Ancient Egypt (http:/ / www. ancient-egypt-priests. com/ ) In-depth-information about Ancient Egypt's

priests, religious services and temples. Much picture material and bibliography. In English and German.• Ancient Egypt (http:/ / www. history. com/ topics/ ancient-egypt)

Article Sources and Contributors 29

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Wang, Andy Marchbanks, Angr, Animum, Anna512, Anomalocaris, Antandrus, Anthonydapropo, Apparition11, April Is Really Fooled, Aquatics, Arcadie, Archanamiya, Aremith, ArielGold,Aristophanes68, Ariyonna11, Arjun01, Arsonal, Art LaPella, Arthena, As286, Ashleyzilla, AssegaiAli, Astatine-210, AuburnPiIot, Avicennasis, B-mcadbr, BD2412, BKalesti, Baa, Bachrach44,Badagnani, BanyanTree, Barrydawsonisthecougar, Barryob, Bart133, Bballover, Bbernet13, Bcshell, Beepsie, Beginning, BehnamFarid, Bejnar, Ben Standeven, Benjaminlobato, Bergsten,Beyond silence, Bfigura's puppy, Bhadani, Bibi Saint-Pol, Bibliomaniac15, Big Adamsky, Bigbluefish, Bill (who is cool!), BionicWilliam, Biŋhai, Blank357, Blueboy96, Bluetooth954, Bluezy,Bobandjo520, Bobblewik, Bobianite, Bobo192, Boccobrock, Bongwarrior, Bookcat, Brian0918, Brina700, Bruske, Bryan Derksen, Bucoli, Bunchofgrapes, Buster+dom, Butros, Bwb11,CBDunkerson, CDA, CDThieme, CKarnstein, CRGreathouse, CWii, Cacophony, Cactus.man, Cacycle, Caid, Caknuck, Caltas, Calvin 1998, CambridgeBayWeather, Can't sleep, clown will eatme, CanadianCaesar, CanadianLinuxUser, Canderson7, CandiMiami2014, Canis Lupus, CapitalR, Capolinho, Captmondo, Car wizz, Carcharoth, Carlosguitar, Casius, Caster23, Casull,Catmoongirl, Cdc, Centrx, Ceoil, Ceyockey, Chach456, Chairboy, Chaleyer61, Chameleon, Charles Matthews, CharlotteWebb, Chenzw, Chopme, ChosenSeeker, Chris 73, Chris Capoccia, ChrisG, Chris Roy, Chrishmt0423, Chrislk02, Christopher Parham, Chriswiki, Chuunen Baka, Cimbom-fan, Civil Engineer III, Clarionk, Clarkbhm, Closedmouth, Cnyborg, Cobaltbluetony, Code E,Codex Sinaiticus, Coldbringer, Commander Keane, CommonsDelinker, Computerjoe, Conversion script, Cool Blue, CoolingGibbon, Copenhagen4, Cornflake pirate, Corvus cornix, CosmicLatte, Cpl Syx, Crappyhead121, CrazyChemGuy, Crazycomputers, Crazytales, CredoFromStart, Cremepuff222, Ctbolt, Ctjf83, Cyborg Ninja, D-Rock, D. 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Image Sources, Licenses and ContributorsFile:All Gizah Pyramids.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:All_Gizah_Pyramids.jpg  License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 2.0  Contributors: RicardoLiberatoFile:Ancient Egypt map-en.svg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Ancient_Egypt_map-en.svg  License: GNU Free Documentation License  Contributors: User:Jeff DahlFile:Egypte louvre 316.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Egypte_louvre_316.jpg  License: unknown  Contributors: Aoineko, Bibi Saint-Pol, Borislav, EDUCA33E,JMCC1, Miniwark, Mmcannis, Paddy, Thuresson, 2 anonymous editsFile:NarmerPalette ROM-gamma.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:NarmerPalette_ROM-gamma.jpg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: User:Captmondo

Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors 30

File:Menkaura-ColossalStatue MuseumOfFineArtsBoston.png  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Menkaura-ColossalStatue_MuseumOfFineArtsBoston.png  License:Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 2.5  Contributors: Keith Schengili-RobertsFile:Egypte louvre 231 visage.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Egypte_louvre_231_visage.jpg  License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 2.0  Contributors:Alno, Aoineko, Clio20, JLCA, JMCC1, Neithsabes, Rama, 1 anonymous editsFile:Egypt NK edit.svg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Egypt_NK_edit.svg  License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0  Contributors: User:Jeff DahlFile:SFEC EGYPT ABUSIMBEL 2006-003.JPG  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:SFEC_EGYPT_ABUSIMBEL_2006-003.JPG  License: Creative CommonsAttribution-Sharealike 3.0  Contributors: User:Merlin-UKFile:Third Intermediate Period map.svg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Third_Intermediate_Period_map.svg  License: GNU Free Documentation License Contributors: User:Jeff DahlFile:Fayum-22.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Fayum-22.jpg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: User:EloquenceFile:Pharaoh.svg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Pharaoh.svg  License: GNU Free Documentation License  Contributors: User:Jeff DahlFile:Louvre-antiquites-egyptiennes-p1020372 Cropped and bg reduced.png  Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Louvre-antiquites-egyptiennes-p1020372_Cropped_and_bg_reduced.png  License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0  Contributors:User:Jeff Dahl, User:RamaFile:Tomb of Nakht (2).jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Tomb_of_Nakht_(2).jpg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: Norman de Garis Davies, Nina Davies(2-dimensional 1 to 1 Copy of an 15th century BC Picture)File:Maler der Grabkammer des Sennudem 001.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Maler_der_Grabkammer_des_Sennudem_001.jpg  License: Public Domain Contributors: AndreasPraefcke, BBhounder, JMCC1, Jeff Dahl, Mdd, Mmcannis, Neithsabes, RobertLechner, XenophonFile:Rosetta Stone BW.jpeg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Rosetta_Stone_BW.jpeg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: Captmondo, JMCC1, Jeff Dahl, Lycaon,Neithsabes, Ssolbergj, 1 anonymous editsFile:Edwin Smith Papyrus v2.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Edwin_Smith_Papyrus_v2.jpg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: User:Jeff DahlFile:LowClassAncientEgyptianStatuettes.png  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:LowClassAncientEgyptianStatuettes.png  License: Public Domain  Contributors: Wells,H. G.File:Ägyptischer Maler um 1400 v. Chr. 001.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Ägyptischer_Maler_um_1400_v._Chr._001.jpg  License: Public Domain  Contributors:AndreasPraefcke, Aoineko, EDUCA33E, Ephraim33, G.dallorto, H-stt, Ies, Infrogmation, JMCC1, Jastrow, Javierme, Jeff Dahl, Kramer Associates, Marcus Cyron, Martin H., Mmcannis,Tkarcher (usurped), TwoWings, Wst, Zolo, 2 anonymous editsFile:Hypostyle hall, Karnak temple.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Hypostyle_hall,_Karnak_temple.jpg  License: unknown  Contributors: Jon BodsworthFile:S F-E-CAMERON EGYPT 2006 FEB 00289.JPG  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:S_F-E-CAMERON_EGYPT_2006_FEB_00289.JPG  License: CreativeCommons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0  Contributors: User:Merlin-UKFile:Nefertiti 30-01-2006.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Nefertiti_30-01-2006.jpg  License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 2.5  Contributors: ArkadiyEtumyanFile:BD Hunefer.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:BD_Hunefer.jpg  License: unknown  Contributors: G.dallorto, J.delanoy, JMCC1, Jeff Dahl, Mmcannis, Neithsabes,NuclearWarfare, Sbharris, 3 anonymous editsFile:Ka Statue of horawibra.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Ka_Statue_of_horawibra.jpg  License: unknown  Contributors: Jon BodsworthFile:tutmask.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Tutmask.jpg  License: unknown  Contributors: Jon BodsworthFile:Anubis attending the mummy of Sennedjem.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Anubis_attending_the_mummy_of_Sennedjem.jpg  License: Public Domain Contributors: selfFile:Egyptian-Chariot.png  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Egyptian-Chariot.png  License: Public Domain  Contributors: Joseph BonomiFile:Egyptian glass jar.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Egyptian_glass_jar.jpg  License: unknown  Contributors: Jon BodsworthFile:Ancient Egyptian medical instruments.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Ancient_Egyptian_medical_instruments.jpg  License: Creative CommonsAttribution-Sharealike 3.0  Contributors: User:Jeff DahlFile:Camel and the pyramids.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Camel_and_the_pyramids.jpg  License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0  Contributors:User:Kallerna

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