The Old Kingdom in Kemetic History - Essay Example

0 The Old Kingdom in Kemetic (Egyptian) History 1 Introduction Egypt is a nation located in the Northern part of Africa along the Mediterranean Sea and historically one of the most ancient civilizations in the world. The word Egypt originates from the Greek word aegytos which originally was the Greek pronunciation of the word Hwtkaptah in the Egyptian language. To the Egyptians the word Hwtkaptah means the spiritual house of Ptah who was an ancient God for the Egyptians. In the ancient kingdom of Egypt, kemet, which means black land, was the name used to refer to Egypt. The name came as result of the nature of the land which comprised of dark soil found alongside the river Nile where the earliest settlements began. Afterwards, the name Misri replaced the name Kemet and the name continues to be in use by the Egyptians until today. The word Misri simply means a country. From then, Egypt prospered for many years as an autonomous country with a culture that is very famous for the great cultural developments in each and every section of human acquaintance right from arts, science, technology and even religion. The great monuments that still Egyptians celebrate influenced numerous early civilizations with a good example being both Greece and Rome (Mark 1). The Sahara desert, which is found in the Northern part of Africa nearly dividing the continent into two, is a good proof of overgrazing of cattle in the area. The Sahara desert, together with the discovery of many artifacts is a good evidence of the ancient agricultural civilization in the area at the time. Well organized agricultural activities both animal keeping and crop growing began in the area around 5000 BCE and the Badari community began to advance along the river Nile. The Amratian, Gerzean and Naqada communities later on joined the Badar and all together contributed to the development of the Egypt early civilization. At some time between 5000 BCE and 3200 BCE the written background of the land began with the development of Hieroglyphic characters by the culture of Naqada. The practice of mummifying the dead body was in place in the city of Hierakonpolis by 3500 BCE. Just like in all other cultures in the history of the world, the diminutive agrarian societies in ancient Egypt advanced into big urban areas (Mark 1). 1.2 Early history of Egypt The unification of the Northern and the Southern kingdoms by Pharaoh Manes is the common event that took place between 3150 and 2686 BCE. Menes, who originated from the North successfully conquered south and joined it to the North to make one larger kingdom. This account came from Manetho who either lived in the third century of BCE or second century of BC and his account was later disputed by many historians. However, it is only Manetho’s work that gives an account of Manes as well as the conquest which is currently agreed that Manes was the pharaoh referred to as Narmer who managed to unite the Upper and the Lower parts of Egypt in to one rule peacefully. The geographical description of Egypt obeyed the direction of flow of the river Nile and hence the Upper Egypt was the southern area and the Lower Egypt was the Northern area which was nearer to the Mediterranean Sea. Narmer used Heirakonopolis city as his headquarters but later on he transferred to Abydos. Under the rulers of the ancient dynasty, there was significant expansion in trade and the mastaba tomb, pyramids, advanced ritual practices as well as improved techniques of mummifying their dead bodies (Mark 2). The period between 2686 to 2181 BCE, the period of ancient kingdom of Egypt, saw great advancement in architecture at a very high rate with the most common monuments being the pyramids and the large sphinx at the Giza. Pharaoh Djoser who ruled between 2691 and 2625 BCE, constructed the first step pyramid at the town of Saqqara in 2630 BCE whose design came from his principal architect and doctor Imhotep who also wrote a medical text explaining the cure of more than two hundred diseases. The famous pyramid of Khufu, Cheops pyramid, saw its construction in 2528 BCE with the Khafre and the Menkaure pyramids following at around 2494 BCE and 2474 BCE respectively. The sumptuousness of the pyramids at the plateau of Giza, as they would have appeared originally, sheathering in glinting limestone, is a good evidence of both the power and wealth of the ancient rulers of Egypt. There are many theories that tend to explain the method of construction of these famous monuments and tombs but modern scholars and architects are yet to agree on any of the theories. For example, considering the current technology, some experts argue that the famous pyramid of Giza should not be in existence. Others argue that the existence of such monuments signify the loss of very useful technology that could be used in the world in the various construction works. Some are opposed to the idea that slave labor is that which contributed to the existence of the pyramids and the other famous monuments. However, very recent excavations by archeologists in Giza provide good support for the idea and that the construction of the monuments during the ancient time was part of public works created by the state and a combination of both skilled and unskilled workers provided the necessary labor force for the erection of the features. However, many historians agree that the workers received payment for their services (Mark 2). 1.3 The first intermediate period and the Hyksos The period between 2181 to 2055 BCE is the first intermediate period in which there was a reduction in power because of the fall of the government. There were then independent states all through Egypt which led to the emergence of two common centers which were the Hierakonpolis in the Southern region and the Thebes in the Northern Region. These centers ruled independently while fighting each other for dominance until in the 2055 BCE when the Theban ruler defeated the Hierakonpolis ruler and united Egypt under his rule (Mark 3). The stability that then prevailed under the Theban ruler paved the way for the establishment of the middle kingdom that lasted between 2055 to 1650 BCE. This was the most classic age of the history of Egypt that saw a lot of advancement in art as well as culture that made the Thebe center to grow to the most significant and wealthy city in Egypt. Experts on the history of Egypt, such as Oakes and Gahlin say that the kings of the twelfth dynasty were strong enough throughout Egypt and extended to Nubia where there was a construction of various fortresses to safeguard the country’s trade interests. However, luxurious expenditures, expensive construction projects and frequent unmanned floods from the Nile River weakened the Thebe government and finally lacked the capability of resisting the pressure from Hykos people of the delta of river Nile (Mark 3). By 1720 BCE, the Hykos had taken control of the whole of Egypt and established their rule. The period between 1650 to 1550 BCE, the second intermediate period, saw the Hykos introducing many significant improvements in the culture and agriculture despite the serious hatred from the indigenous people of Egypt. The kingdom of Kush also rose up from the Southern region of Thebes around Nubia in the 1700 BCE and joined hands with the Hykos against the original people of Egypt. All attempts by the Egyptians to overthrow the Hykos rule failed until in the 1555 when Ahmose I, who had war experience for serving in the former Theban army successfully ended the Hykos rule and took control of the leadership of Egypt (Mark 3). 1.4 The new kingdom and the Amarna period Upon taking the control of Egypt, Ahmose I started the new kingdom which lasted between 1550 and 1069 BCE and saw great advancements under a very strong centralized system of government. Majority of the best rulers, who are most common in the history of Egypt, ruled during this period. In addition, most of the famous structures such as the ramesseum, the Abu Simbel, temples of Karnak as well as Luxor also saw their construction during this period. In the period between 1504 to 1492 BCE, the Tuthmosis I strengthened his power and widened the country’s borders to include the Euphrates River, Syria, Palestine and Nubia. Pharaoh Hatshepsut then succeeded him in 1479 BCE who also expanded the trade links with other nations with most common being the Punt land. Peace and prosperity were the major characteristics of her twenty two years rule in Egypt (Mark 4). Pharaoh Tuthmosis III succeeded her and further strengthened the government until his death in 1425 BCE. During his time there was great advancement in many areas including the development of new methods of brewing, advancement in medicine and bathing that led to improved hygiene in the people of Egypt. There was great advancement in surgery as well as dentistry which became more accepted by the people because they were performed more skillfully with beer being most significant in the establishment of most of the medical problems faced by the people (Mark 4). Pharaoh Amenhotep, upon acquiring power in 1353 BCE changed his name to Akhenaten to match his belief in one god known as Aten. However, originally the people of Egypt believed in many gods with each god shaping a given aspect of their life. For example, the Amun sect grew very wealthy to the extent that their priests were highly respected almost equally to the pharaoh. However, Akhenaten and his queen Nefertiti rejected the traditional religions in place and campaigned for one religion recognizing the existence of one god only. This enabled him to effectively remove the power of Amun priests which strengthened his control over the people. To further move his rule away from his predecessors he transferred his headquarters from Thebes to Amarna. Therefore the period between 1353 to 1336 BCE saw its name as the Amarna period in which Amarna became the capital of Egypt where there was only one religion accepted by the government. Akhenaten was the first pharaoh to announce statuary as well as a temple to honor his queen apart from just honoring himself only and the god. He also spent most of the money for doing public works for the benefit of the whole society. He achieved his aim of reducing the power of the priests and strengthened that of his own. The major weakness in Akhenaten rule is that he was most apprehensive with spiritual reforms rather than expanding trade or the territory (Mark 4). Tutankhamun, a son to Akhenaten, succeeded in 1336 BCE and enjoys being the most popular of all Egypt leaders who ruled in the ancient times. He was first named as Tutankhaten to directly reflect the religious belief of his father but he changed the name to Tutankhamun with the aim of honoring the old god of Amun. He went against almost all activities of his father by removing the belief in one god as well as moving back the capital to Thebes. His reign lasted for a short time because of his death but today he is the most popular ruler with greater recognition in the modern world (Mark 5). Ramesses II, was the most dominant ruler of the new kingdom who constructed the most intricate structures in Egypt. Despite the fact that many people regard the battle of Kadesh in 1274 as a draw, Ramesses II regarded it as a great victory for Egypt and honored himself as a great winner of his people and finally claimed to be god. Historically, it is during Ramesses II rule that the first peace treaty saw its assignation in the world. The signing of the treaty in the 1258 BCE made Egypt to enjoy an extraordinary affluence. The later generations came to recognize him as their great ancestor and his rule continued for a long time. This made the subjects to know him as the only ruler and upon his death most of them thought that the world was going to end (Mark 5). 1.5 The decline of Egypt and the coming of Alexander the Great Upon the death of Ramesses II, Ramesses III took over but by this time, the great wealth of Egypt had interested many other people who began to conduct habitual incursions alongside the coast. The people of the sea such as the Hykos had their origin from the south part of Aegean. Despite the fact that Ramesses II defeated them during his time they continued to pose a great challenge to the security of the Egyptians. The Hykos thus strengthened their efforts and soon after they seized Kadesh which was under the control of Egypt. Ramesses III therefore continued to fight them and finally defeated them in 1178 BCE at the battle of Xois. After the death of Ramesses III, his successor tried to continue implementing his policies but encountered a lot of resistance from the people of Egypt especially the priests. The priests who had gathered a lot of wealth during the rule of Ramesses II became a threat to his rule and continued to disunite the people of Egypt. By the end of the 20th dynasty under Ramesses XI the government was very weak due to wide spread corruption that finally led to the disintegration of the central government in 653 BCE (Mark 6). Egypt was then reunited under the rule of Piye that lasted between 752 and 722 BCE which saw great advancement in culture. However, in 671 BCE the Assyrians who were led by Esarhaddon began invading Egypt and finally successfully conquered it in 667 BCE. The Assyrians did not make long term plans for the country and soon abandoned it and Cambyses II of Persian origin took over the control of Egypt. The country therefore remained under the control of the Persians until the coming of Alexander the Great in 332 BCE (Mark 6). Alexander conquered Egypt peacefully and established the famous Alexandria city but later progressed and conquered the other parts of Persia. After his death Ptolemy established the Ptolemaic dynasty that lasted to 30 BCE. The last ruler of Ptolemies was Cleopatra VII who committed suicide in 30 BCE after he was defeated by the Romans. Egypt remained under the control of the Romans until 476 CE when the Byzantines seized power from the Romans. In 646 CE it was conquered by the Muslim Arabs under the leadership of Caliph Omar and fall under the Islamic rule (Mark 6). 1.6 Conclusion History repeats itself, meaning that the past will give a clear understanding of the present and gives a picture of the future. From the old history of Egypt it is clear that the country is very important to the current developments that we see in the world. Egypt laid down the foundation of all kinds of developments in the modern world including politics, arts, religion, science, medicine, agriculture as well as building and construction. The transformation in the leadership from period to period provides an understanding of how power transfers due to the various factors that determine the system of succession in a country based on their ideologies and economic status. Work sCited Mark, Joshua, J. Ancient Egypt. Ancient History Encyclopedia, 2 September 2009. Web. 21 October 2014. Read More