About modern Egypt
The State of Egypt is officially called the Arab Republic of Egypt, and it is an Arab Islamic country governed by a democratic republican system, located in the northeastern part of the African continent, bordered by the Red Sea to the east, Libya to the west and the Sinai Peninsula to the south, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west.
The continent of Asia, with an area of 1,002,450 km², of which the population lives in 78,990 km² or 7.8% of its total area.
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| ancient egypt civilization |
The beginning of the ancient Egyptian civilization
t is home to the oldest civilizations on Earth, as its name is derived from the Greek word Aegyptus, and in 5500 BC there were two major kingdoms spanning the Nile, which Egyptian historians called Upper Egypt, Philip in the year 3, and Moses. The two kingdoms were brought together under one rule, and the only ruler responsible for their affairs was King Narmer named Mina, and this marked the beginning of the civilization of ancient Egypt.
King Menes founded the ancient capital of Egypt known as Memphis, and its location was in the north near the summit of the Nile Delta, and then it developed to become the major city controlling Egyptian society during that period.
Timeline of the development of ancient Egypt
The civilization of ancient Egypt is one of the longest and oldest civilizations, and despite its decline at times, it was regaining its strength to come back stronger than before, which led to its continuation for several centuries, and the following timeline shows their periods and periods of evolution.
- 5000 BC: The beginning of agriculture in the Nile Valley.
- 3500-3000 BC: The unification of Egypt.
- 2650 BC: Here is the beginning of the Old Kingdom.
- 2575 AD: Building the pyramids in Giza.
- 2150 BC: Here is the beginning of the first intermediate period.
- 2074 BC: The beginning of the era of the Middle Kingdom and the return of the union and power to Egypt again.
- 1759 BC: Here is the beginning of the second middle period and the Hyksos occupation of northern Egypt.
- 1539 BC: Here is the beginning of the new kingdom by expelling the Hyksos and restoring the unity of Egypt.
- 1344-1328 BC: Here is the pharaoh Akhenaten made several religious reforms.
- 1336-1327 BC: Tutankhamun's rule.
- 1279-1213 BC: Here egypt reached the peak of its power during the reign of Ramses II.
- 1150 BC: Here is the beginning of the decline of the New Kingdom.
- 728 BC: Here was the conquest of Egypt by the Nubian kings.
- 656 BC: Here is the assyrian occupation of Egypt.
- 639 BC: Here is the revival of Egypt after the expulsion of the Assyrians.
- 525 BC: Here is the persian invasion of Egypt.
- 332 BC: Here was the conquest of Egypt by Alexander the Great.
- 305 BC: Here is the dissemination of the Greek language.
- 30 BC: Here is the death of Queen Cleopatra and the annexation of Egypt to the Roman Empire.
history of Egypt
The history of ancient Egypt is divided into 6 periods:
The old Kingdom in the period 2613-2181 BC
Architecture emerged and developed significantly, as the most famous landmarks in Egypt were built, such as the pyramids and the Sphinx, and during the reign of King Djoser, the Saqqara pyramid was built in 2670 BC, as were the three pyramids. The sons of Khufu, Kamal, and Khara'a. In that period.
The first intermediate period in the period 2181-2040 BC. M
There was a decline in the power and wealth of Egypt, and two central forces appeared: Hierakonpolis in Lower Egypt and Thebes in Upper Egypt, and the two forces fought to reach the supreme power until 2040 BC.
The Middle Kingdom in the period 2040-1782 B.C.
The prosperity that resulted from the rule of Thebes led to the emergence of the Middle Kingdom, and that era was called the Classical Era when Thebes reached the height of its strength and wealth, and forts were built to protect Egyptian commercial interests, and some of the problems were established. It allowed the Hyksos people to invade it, and its power grew until it controlled a part of Lower Egypt.
The Second Intermediate Period, 1782-1570 B.C.
It began with the control of the Hyksos over Egypt, and although they were invaders of Egypt and its people, they added many improvements to the Egyptian culture, such as the cart and the horse, and working in bronze and ceramics. Prince Ahmose, I succeeded in recovering it and uniting it again under the rule of Thebes.
The New Kingdom in the period 1570-1069 BC.
It began after the unification of Egypt under the rule of Thebes again, where prosperity returned, and in this period the term Pharaoh appeared, where the ruler in the past was known as a king, and in the period 1504-1492 BC. The borders of Egypt were expanded to include Syria and Palestine in the west, the Euphrates River in the north, And Nubia in the south, and during the reign of Queen Hatshepsut, trade with other countries expanded.
Then she was succeeded by King Thutmose III, who followed her path despite his attempts to eliminate any memory of her. At that time, male kings were the most worthy to rule and there was no value for women to rule. Egypt flourished during his reign, and his health improved.
Medicine and many types of alcohol were fermented, which were prescribed to treat more than 200 types of diseases, surgery was developed, attention to women's health increased, and bathrooms were established for the purpose of cleanliness and bathing, and to spend leisure time and enjoyment.
In 1353 BC, the pharaoh Amenhotep IV came to the throne and changed his name to Akhenaten, and there were many deities such as Amun, Isis, and Osiris, but the cult of Amun was the most popular, but Akhenaten and Nefertiti based on those beliefs abandoned those beliefs and they established a new religious deity.
Only one, and in the period 1353-1336 BC, the capital moved to Amarna, then his son Tutankhamun was succeeded in power, who returned the capital to Thebes, and Ramses II ruled after him, and during his reign, the Battle of Kadesh took place in 1274 BC. However, Ramses considered it a victory and celebrated himself as a hero and a god, and during his reign, the first peace treaty was signed, the Treaty of Kadesh in 1258 BC.
The Third Intermediate Period 1069-525 B.C.
Ramses III ruled in the period 1186-1155 BC and followed the policy of Ramses II in his rule, and the wealth of Egypt at that time was coveted by many peoples living on the coast, which led to its conquest several times, the last of which was the battle of 1178.
Ramses III, and after his death his successors tried to maintain his policy, but they faced resistance from the peoples of the occupied lands, and with the passage of time the priests of the god Amun seized a large part of the Egyptian lands and collected enough wealth to threaten the security of the central government, and by the time of Ramses XI the central government collapsed and the period began The third intermediate.
Egypt has united again during the reign of the King of Kush in the period 752-722 BC, but it collapsed when the Assyrians invaded it in 671 BC. AD, but they did not succeed in controlling it, so they withdrew and left it destroyed in the hands of the local rulers, and it was rebuilt in 525 BC. AD, then invaded The Persians and remained under the Persian occupation until the advent of Alexander the Great in 332 BC. M. He took control of Egypt without any combat campaigns, established the city of Alexandria, then moved to conquer the Persian Empire, and after his death in 323 BC. M Ptolemy, I transferred his body to Alexandria and established the Ptolemaic dynasty in the period 323-30 BC.
The last Ptolemaic dynasty was Queen Cleopatra, who killed herself in 30 BC after defeating her forces at the hands of the Romans, and Egypt remained under the control of the Romans in the period 30 BC-476 AD, then the Byzantine Empire controlled it in the period 527-646 AD, led by its Muslim caliphs. Omar, may God be pleased with him, became part of the Islamic caliphate.
The achievements of the civilizations of ancient Egypt
The achievements of the ancient Egyptian civilization appear in their innovation of hieroglyphic and demotic writing, mathematics and architecture, and the invention of modern methods of agriculture and irrigation, and this is an explanation of some of their achievements in various fields:
The Nile River
The life of ancient Egypt revolved around the Nile River, so farmers developed irrigation methods to control the flow of water, allowing crops to grow, whether in dry or rainy seasons. As for the floods that occurred in the river, the Egyptians exploited them to irrigate crops and neighboring lands.
the government
The united kingdom of Egypt included thousands of square miles inhabited by millions of people, and the pharaoh was the high priest of each temple and was responsible for the army so that he was participating in wars. The pharaoh resided in his palace surrounded by senior officials and rulers and was served by the prime minister.
Religion
The ancient Egyptians had many deities, there was the sun god Ra, Osiris, the god of the dead, and others, and these gods were gradually changing with the change of ages, and they were placed in a closed place and did not appear to people except on certain occasions, and for worship in homes, the Egyptians used miniature statues of the gods, and The Egyptians embalmed the afterlife to preserve the body after death.
Economy
Egypt's economy was based on agriculture, due to the fertility of the land in the Nile Valley, and its agricultural production was so great that the money that was earned from agriculture was used to build temples and pyramids. The cost of transporting commercial goods across the river was less than the cost of transporting by land, and trade developed in the Bronze Age, so the Nile became the connecting point through which goods moved from Africa to the Mediterranean Sea. As for the commercial campaigns between the south and the Red Sea, it was to search for valuable commodities that give Great value to Egypt's influence, like ivory, gold, and black slaves.
Writing
Hieroglyphs appeared in 3100 BC, and they represent engraved and sacred symbols that carry the sayings of the gods and express the spoken meaning and the symbols and sounds in the drawing. In the fourth century AD, with changes in some of its terms according to the development of time, its use was stopped when Emperor Theodos closed the temples and prohibited idolatry.
the art
The ancient Egyptians were famous for the art of tombs and murals, as they believed that life continues after death, and they mastered the tombs so that the dead could enjoy well-being after death, according to their belief.
astronomy
Stone circles began to be discovered, dating back to the fifth millennium BC, and they were used to predict the occurrence of floods in the Nile Valley. The Egyptians also developed a system of horoscopes and developed their own calendar system.
The most important monuments of the ancient civilization of Egypt
Pyramids
The pyramids were built to bury the pharaohs in, and they were limestone tombs with a square base. The Egyptians built the pyramids, and they put treasures and adornments in them that the pharaoh needed to survive and enjoy comfort in the afterlife, according to their belief. The ancients said that it was used for the ascension of the pharaoh to the sun god, and the Egyptians built about 138 pyramids of varying sizes, the largest of which is the pyramid of Khufu in Giza.
temples
Temples were built to be homes for the Egyptian gods, and there were two types of them: the Cultus temple, in which certain gods lived, and the funerary temple for the worship of the dead pharaohs, and with the passage of time the size of the temples increased to become complexes. to the god who dwells in it.
Rosetta Stone
The Rosetta Stone was discovered in 1799 AD. Without it, archaeologists would not be able to read the records of the ancient Egyptians, and the Egyptian civilization would remain unknown. The stone contained one text, but with three different lines arranged from top to bottom as follows: hieroglyphic, demotic, and the French archaeologist. Franco Champollion on a copy of the stone, and studied the texts written in it, and with the face of many hypotheses and challenges, he announced in 1822 AD that he was able to decipher the ancient Egyptian language, and lay the foundations for the ancient Egyptian language, which was completed after him by hundreds of researchers in the world.