Ancient Egyptian History Lecture Notes PDF

# Ancient Egyptian History ## Pre Dynastic Period - **Prehistory:** Before writing, era before 3000 BC - **Ancient History:** Writing era after 3000 BC - This period starts with the Egyptian language (Hieroglyphic), then (Coptic language) **4 Major Periods:** 1. **Paleolithic:** (Old Stone Age)...

# Ancient Egyptian History ## Pre Dynastic Period - **Prehistory:** Before writing, era before 3000 BC - **Ancient History:** Writing era after 3000 BC - This period starts with the Egyptian language (Hieroglyphic), then (Coptic language) **4 Major Periods:** 1. **Paleolithic:** (Old Stone Age) From Eve and Adam came from the sky to 10000 BC. 2. **Mesolithic:** (Middle Stone Age) 10000 BC - 6000 BC, the era of planting 3. **Neolithic:** (New Stone Age) 6000 BC - 4500 BC 4. **Chalcoolithic:** (Copper Age) 4500 BC - 3000 BC This era is divided into: * **Pre Dynastic Period:** includes the **Early Dynastic Period** and **Late Dynastic Period**. * **Late Old Kingdom** #### Pre Dynastic Period - Cultural Features * Each period has special cultural aspects and its own economy. * Special sites include: Fayoum, Maadi, Badari, Gerza (Naqada) #### Read and Black Pottery - Due to the lack of mastery of ancient Egyptians, the upper part of the pottery is burnt so that its color would change. #### Mother God - Ancient Egyptians used to enlarge and highlight the chest and thighs of the mother god because they are a symbol of fertility and renewal of life. #### Late Pre Dynastic Period - It started around 6000 BC because before 6000 BC, people used to live in swamps, but the climate changed and the swamps became desert. - As a result, people tried to find a permanent source of water, leading them to the Nile. - Created farms, villages, and nomes (مقاطعات). - *Nom* = the districts of North Egypt and Nomes of South Egypt (local Necropolis and houses) #### The Unification and Narmer Palette - The first Egypt was two kingdoms, each kingdom had its own crown. - **Narmer** unified them and mixed the crowns in one crown. **Symbols and Meanings:** * **Hedjet and Horus:** Upper Egypt * **Swt plant:** Upper Egypt * **Bee:** Lower Egypt * **Bee and Swt plant (ni-sur-pily):** Unification of the two lands * **The Palette:** In a symbolic way the Palette represents Narmer as King of Upper Egypt, controlling Lower Egypt and uniting a native man from delta. - Horus is presenting to him the land and its people. - On the other face, he is wearing the white crown, representing the unification of Upper Egypt. - The other face of the Palette features Narmer wearing the red crown, signifying his conquest of Lower Egypt (Delta). - **Narmer** defeated their foes. - **The Narmer Palette** is considered one of the first forms of *sun worship* or to grind the wheat. - **The God Hathor**: محضور ## Ancient History ### Early Dynastic Period (1st - 2nd Dynasty) * 3000 BC * **Cold kingdom** ### Middle Kingdoms * 2000 BC ### New Kingdom * 1550 BC - Empire period around 1550 BC **30 Ruling Dynasties** ### Early Dynastic Period (1- 11 Dynasty) * 162 Kings * **Narmer:** نظرمر * **Djer:** ديجر * **Den:** Den * **Horcaha:** جود عجا (udemo) **Key Features:** * **Unification of Egypt:** One ruler, one valley * **Invention of Writing** * **Administration** * **The War of Wing Den:** The war against easterners by him. * **The Name of Den in Facade and Horus above his name.** This means the king's palace is under *protection* of the god Horus (Heb). #### The God Horus (Heb) - The goddess of war and its same was weave (optwar). This means the god Horus opened the way for the wing. - The figure of Horus is displayed in the image with the wing open, symbolizing him leading the way for the wing. #### The First Form of Ware - It is regarded as one of the first forms of ware with the *everything east of the delta.* - This is a symbol of the King's *protection* of the country. #### Wing Djer - The campaign of Djer against the Nubian lands. - The image shows Djer with a stylized rope tied representing the shape of Nubia in hieroglyphics. - The city which is protected by the god Horus (Heb) - The war happened near the Nile. - The ship, with the Nubian prisoner tied up, emphasizes the victory over Nubia. - The war against Libyan. - The Egyptian king is smiling at the Libyan person, demonstrating his victory over the Libyan country. - The Libyan person is depicted with feathers on his head. - This scene represents the Egyptian king's protection of his country and victory over the Libyan people. #### Tombs from the Period - In this period, the kings and high officials built amazing tombs. - The common one in this period is the *Mastaba.* ### Old Kingdom - Pyramids Period ### Third Dynasty - It is impossible to mention the name of pharaoh, except for the New Kingdom 1550 BC. ### The Kings - In this era, the kings started to control over foreign lands (Egypt became from Euphrates river to the far cataract over the Nile). - The kings took control of the aspects of life: - Borders: Providing security. - Food and drink ### Third Dynasty - The Change - **Djoser:** - Changed the type of *Mastaba* into a *step pyramid* in his complex in Saqqara. - He protected mining activity in Sinai. - Used minerals like copper and turquoise (semi-precious stones: حجر نصف گریز). - He protected this activity by sending a military campaign against Sinai bedouin. ### Fourth Dynasty - **Sneferu:** - One of the great rulers of the 4th Dynasty. - He had mining activity in star Sinai and his pictorial sources showed him defeating the bedouin. - He fought the Nubians and imprisoned 1000 of their people and 200 *cattle*. - However, this event is probably a fabricated event because there weren't 1000 people and 200 cattle in that time. - **Commercial expedition to Lebanon:** - Consisting of 40 ships to get wood from there. - The remains of that wood are still present in his **bent pyramid.** - **War against Libya:** - He got 11,000 people and 131,000 of its cattle - **Special Pyramids:** - He built a **Bent Pyramid**, then a **Complete Pyramid**. - It was built this way because, if it was built as designed, it would collapse. ### *Khufu* - His name is mentioned in the Greek books as Cheops. - One of the most famous kings of Ancient Egypt. - His pyramid is located in Giza. - The statue (only one) statue of him is also in Giza. - He had mining acts at Sinai. - **Westecar Papyrus (if the first propaganda in the history)**: In his papyrus, the king wanted to know the future from the priest. He said, ”There are 3 boys will born (sixth dynasty) from Ra not from the royal dynasty.” - But, we think this papyrus is not true. - His pyramid is the most famous pyramid ever. - He had a *funerary ship* next to the pyramid, which was used to transport the body of the king from east to the west or for a sun ship (the ship which the king can the god take in their trip). - Some believe that the Sphinx is Khufu, although this is not certain. - Although **Westecar Papyrus** is not true, the priest justified their taking of the reign ### Fifth Dynasty: The Sons of Ra Priests - **Sahura:** Not certain. - **Commercial expedition and the first *diplomatic* marriage:** In this scene, we find that the king had a date with an Asian wise. ### The Sixth Dynasty - The Sixth Dynasty had instances of wars against Asia as manifested in the text of Weni. - Weni's army consisted of Egyptian soldiers as well as soldiers from different ethnic groups. - Another pictorial evidence from the tomb of *Kaemheset* attested that warlike act against Asia. ### The Nubian Relation - During the Sixth Dynasty, there was a possible political unity of Nubia for the first time. - *Mrernre I* travelled south to Elephantine to receive Nubian leaders. - *Pepi-Nekht* was sent by the king to control over Nubia and they even brought its leader to the Egyptian court to show respect. #### Geographical Trips - The geographical trips of *Harkhuf*, Governor of Elephantine, Into Africa: He managed to get a dwarf, incense and marvels of the land there. ### The Late Old Kingdom Period - It witnessed a gradual collapse of its central government and authority over the whole land. - Several factors led to this collapse of the first great period of ancient Egyptian history. - The beginning of F.I.p (First Intermediate Period) will be discussed in the next lecture. ## Notes * The image on page 2 depicts a standing mother god, with a long neck and a long skirt. It is possible the image is from a time after 6000 BC as the style is more elaborate. * The image of the King on page 3 shows a more elaborate crown and royal attire than Narmer, more consistent with a later period of history than the pre-dynastic era. * The images on pages 4 and 5 show a more developed art style than the earlier images, also consistent with a later time period. * The image on page 7 represents a step pyramid, which is consistent with the time period of Djoser, the third dynasty. * The image on page 10 appears to be of a pharaoh with a large crown, possibly a later period than the pre-dynastic era. * The image on page 12 appears to be a tomb entrance, consistent with the era of Unas, the Sixth Dynasty. ## Summary The first part of the document summarizes the pre-dynastic period in Egyptian history. It explains the four main periods and the special sites of the pre-dynastic period. The second part of the document outlines the history of Ancient Egypt from the establishment of the first dynasty to the beginning of the Late Old Kingdom. The document includes explanations of the significant events, figures, and cultural aspects of each period, including the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt, the invention of writing, and the development of art and architecture. The document also includes detailed information about the gods, goddesses, and religious practices of Ancient Egypt. The document concludes with a discussion of the collapse of the Late Old Kingdom period and the factors behind its decline. The document is rich in information about the history of ancient Egypt, providing insights into the origins of this remarkable civilization, its achievements, and its eventual decline. Note: this is a summary of the document, not a verbatim transcription. It can be used as a starting point for further research on Ancient Egyptian history.