Egypt Essay, Research Paper

Ancient Egypt

Between 3100 and 332 B.C was the rise and climax of one of the richest and oldest

ancient civilizations. It s lifeline was the Nile river in the Nile valley. Here, Egyptian

dynasties ruled from the first cataract of the Nile to the Mediterranean Sea. At the it s

height it ruled an empire that reached from Syria in the east to Nubia in the south.

In this report I will be covering the Archaic Period, the Old Kingdom, the Middle

Kingdom the New Kingdom and The Late Period or 3100-332 B.C.

Archaic Period: 3100 B.C to 2750 B.C

There long history began with there first King who began the first Egyptian dynasty. In

3100 B.C Pharaoh Menes united upper and lower Egypt. Making Egypt s first empire. In

doing so, he made the Egyptian double crown. It was made by putting the red crown of

Lower Egypt on top of the white crown of upper Egypt.

Menes ruled from the ancient city of Thinis near Abydos. Under his reign the first

hieroglyphic writing was made. He is also credited with making his empire

interdependent.

Old Kingdom: 2750 B.C to 2181 B.C / First Intermediate Period: 2182-2260

Little is known about Menes successors until the reign of Zoser at the end of the 3rd

dynasty. His capital was located at Memphis on the Nile s west bank. He built the

world s first pyramid and the first building of that size to be entirely made of stone. Even

though it was a pyramid it wasn t a true pyramid, but a step pyramid.

After the reign of the last king of the Sixth dynasty (the last dynasty in the old kingdom.)

Pepi II in 2181 B.C, there was a period of crisis and social upheaval known as the First

Intermediate Period. The reasons leading up to this dark time, was a series of low floods

and the result was famine during the Sixth dynasty. This undermined the stability of Egypt

and provoked rebellion.

What followed put Egypt in rapid decline. With no central power the provinces became

independent states the were often at war with each other. To make the situation worse

was a penetration of nomadic foreigners into the delta region of the Nile Valley.

Middle Kingdom: 2061-1784 B.C/Second Intermediate Period 1633-1570

B.C

The accession in 2060 B.C. of Mentuhotep II of Thebes the first pharaoh of the Middle

Kingdom, ended 90 years of conflict with a dynasty established a Herakleopolis, south of

Memphis. This strong Eleventh Dynasty ruler restored order in Egypt. He drove the

Asiatics from the delta and campaigned against the Libyans and nomadic tribes in the Sinai

and the eastern desert. Trade also expanded to Nubia, Syria and Palestine under his reign.

Mentuhotep II reigned for 50 years and was buried at Deir el-Bahri. Under the reign of

Sesostris II (1897-1878 B.C) huge irrigation works were built at the oasis at

Faiyum. Sesostris III (1878-1843) expanded Egypt s southern border to the second

cataract.

At such times of powerful rulers, Egypt was governed by an efficient administration.

Taxation provided much of the wealth and was carefully organized. A census of fields and

of all cattle was taken every two years. In addition to tax calculation and collection,

another important official function was the building up reserves of grain stocks to prevent

famine after a bad harvest. The state controlled all foreign trade and owned the mines and

quarries.

After the end of the Thirteenth Dynasty in 1633 B.C Egypt fell into another period of

decline known as the second intermediate period. During this period Egypt was divided

into four areas: the southern area ruled by 17th dynasty Theban rulers, the central area

that owed allegiance to Thebes, the 15th and 16th dynasties or the Hyksos that ruled most

of the delta and the 14th dynasty that ruled a small are in the delta.

The Hyksos identity is not known and there was no evidence that they invaded Egypt.

This suggest that there takeover was peaceful as a result of their increased population in

the delta. During the middle kingdom the Hyksos were employed by the state of Egypt to

mine in the Sinai mines and in Egypt itself. Later their population in the delta was so large

that it was larger than the Egyptian population the delta, so this was the probable cause of

there takeover.

The Hyksos rule over Egypt was very unpopular with the people of Egypt and according

to tradition Hyksos were an anarchy, who were accused of burning temple and cities. But

evidence suggest that the Hyksos respected and even adapted to the Egyptian culture and

religion. And they also made many advances in many things. One of the more important

things were the horse drawn chariots.

Whatever the nature of the Hyksos rule they where still very unpopular. However one of

the consequences of the Hyksos rule was the dramatic change in Egypt s attitudes toward

war and foreign conquest. And after a hundred years of rule, the Theban prince Seqenere

began the struggle against the Hyksos, dying in battle of fatal head wounds. His son

Kamose drove the Hyksos from Middle Egypt and took Avaris. In 1570 B.C he was

succeeded by his younger brother Ahmosis, who drove the Hyksos out of Egypt persued

them into Palestine and eliminated them in a series of campaigns.

The New Kingdom 1570-1045

After a decade of fighting Egypt was restored and Ahmosis formed the most illustrious

18th dynasty of The New Kingdom or The Empire. And once again Egypt. The founder

of this Illustrious family died in 1546 B.C.

Under a series of rulers once again controlled Syria, Palestine and Nubia. And under the

reign of Amenophis II Egypt expanded it s empire beyond the Fourth Cataract. One of

the many new lands that were conquered was Kush. And soon Egypt was depending on

Kush s mines for gold. And the capital moved to Thebes.

Egypt s power and prosperity were largely the result of the exploits of a few kings.

Thuthmosis I campaigned as far as the Euphrates and first brought Syria and Palestine

under Egyptian rule. Following the reign of Hatshepsut the widow of Tuthmosis II, her

nephew and stepson Tuthmosis III reasserted Egyptian authority over kingdoms in Asia

and came in conflict with Mitanni. Under Tuthmosis IV, a peace treaty was concluded

between these powers and sealed by dynastic marriage. Toward the end of Amenophis III

reign, the Hittites sacked Mitanni s capital and began to dominate Egypt s land in Syria.

Egyptian influence in the area collapsed.

After the reign of Horemheb (1348-1320 B.C) the 18th dynasty was over and the 19th

dynasty began. The first ruler of the new dynasty was Ramesses I. His reign of 2 years

was succeeded by his son, Seti I who did much to restore Egypt s prestige. There was

one campaign against the Libyans and he also campaigned in the east and restored

Egyptian control over Palestine. Egypt came into conflict with the Hittites in Syria, but by

the end of Seti I s reign, the two powers seemed to come to an understanding.

Seti s son Ramesses II resumed hostilities and attacked the Hittites under King Muwatallis

at Qadesh. The details of this encounter for the control of Syria are know because

Ramesses had it recorded as a great victory on several temples. In fact the result was

indecisive, and both armies suffered heavy losses.

The rest of Ramesses II s reign was fairly peaceful and prosperous. Nubia was still under

his control, although there seemed to be difficulty in the production of gold. He also

moved his capital north to Pi-Ramesse. Under his successors, Egypt fell into a period of

decline. Merneptah fought and defeated invading Libyans, who were allied with the Sea

People. In the reign of the Twentieth Dynasty pharoah Ramesses III, Egypt was once

again attaked Libyans and the Sea People. Three campaigns were fought in the Delta

before the invaders were beaten.

Although most of Ramesses III reign was prosperous and the king made many gifts to the

temples, toward the end there were problems. First there was a strike because monthly

food rations were overdue. More serious was the discovery that several of his wives and

officials in his harem were in a plot to kill him. As punishment, some of the plotters were

allowed to kill themselves, while others lived, but got there noses and ears off.

The next eight pharohs were all called Ramesses, and under them Egypt lost the what was

left of it s empire and became increasingly unstable.

The Late Period: 1045-332 B.C

This was the downfall of Egypt and was the last intermediate period. After the end of the

20th Dynasty Egypt was divided between the High Preist at Thebes and the Vizier of

lower egypt, Smendes who ruled from Tanis. And as usual, at times when Egypt was in

turmoil conquerors came. In this case the Libyans once again attacked and settled in the

delta. In 747 B.C the Nubians came to power, but it was shortlived fore the Assyrians

overran the Nubians in 667 B.C. Between the years of 663-525 B.C the Egyptians

became independent under th 26th dynasty. Then in 605 B.C The Babylonians conquered

Egypt, then in 539 B.C the Persians defeated the Babylonians and conquered Egypt. Then

finally in 332 B.C Alexander the Great of Macedonia Conquered Egypt and built his city

of Alexandria.

Conclusion

In conclusion I think Egypt is by far the least warlike civilization of it s time. I think this

because it only fighted invaders and not until the New Kingdom did it conquer foreign

lands on the large scale.