Kurbens History articles

Here i will post some articles i have written about different historical periods or subjects that i find interesting. I wrote them in swedish of course but have been translating them to english so i could post them here. Please comment. Hope you'll like them. The first is about ancient Egypt.


Egypt's Pharaohs



Introduction


Egypt is probably the one of the ancient high cultures that we know best. It is also the most long-lasting. Egypt and the Pharaohs span a time frame of about 3100 years. And that is a little bit of the problem when we're talking about ancient Egypt. One gets the impression that this is a period that did not change all that much. But the Pharaohs lived in different times, with different conditions and different goals to strive for. What I will try to describe here is progress through the various dynasties. Some Pharaohs and phenomena I will talk more about as they were important for their time but I won't be a namedropper so I will name some and pass over others. Egypt has a fascinating history. It deserves to be told in a simple way so that non-experts can take part of it. Before we begin the story of dynasties, we must mention some conditions. Egypt was not the first high culture. They had borrowed some stuff from Mesopotamia (present Iran and Iraq) to get started. Irrigation canals that made the fields fertile and was the basis for the country's prosperity was an idea taken from there. Similarly, the crops they sowed. They didn’t grow wild in Egypt but was imported and proved to thrive well in the Nile Valley. Another thing that came early was Scripture. Even today scientists are arguing about which scribture was the first one; Cuneiform or the Egyptian hieroglyphs. Both appeared before the first Pharaoh ruled Egypt. All dates listed are BC. I have chosen to keep the most traditional name forms but sometimes put an option in parentheses. One should keep in mind that the names are usually made more Greekish by the ancient historians. Cheops real name was for example Khufu.


Early Dynastic period 3150-2686


This time is usually divided into two dynasties. Before the first Pharaoh enters the stage there had been kingdoms. Some kept in Lower Egypt (the Nile Delta where the Nile flows into the Mediterranean Sea) and the other in Upper Egypt (Nile Valley). Menes (Narmer) unites Egypt about 3150 BC. Egypt becomes the second high culture and he initiates the first dynasty. Menes came from the Valley, married a princess from the Delta and conquered it later, but he was careful to stress that he did not conquer the Delta but that he united Egypt. He called himself "ruler of the two countries", a title which all subsequent Pharaohs kept. It was also he who chose to put the capital in Memphis. It was a wise investment. Memphis is located just south of the Delta, on the border on the Nile Valley (not far from modern-day Cairo). For a King who united the country that shows that he cared about both parts of the country. Memphis remained the capital throughout the Old Kingdom.


That he succeeded where others failed had much to do with him, besides being a capable commander, also was a talented politician. He did not suppress the gods of Lower Egypt, he made them his and treated them with the same respect as he treated the gods of southern Egypt. He wore neither the crown of Lower Egypt nor the crown of Upper Egypt. Instead he wore a specially designed combination, It was perhaps not the most aesthetic or practical Crown but it proved to everyone that the wearer had equal respect for upper and lower Egypt. The titles he introduced, the ruler of the two lands, King of upper and lower Egypt, Protected by the two ladies, would remain central to all subsequent Pharaohs and their way of thinking. All these titles points out that there are two equal parts that make up Egypt. Later rulers would make up new titles but the foundations were laid for what was to come. We have actually found the graves after some of these early Pharaohs. They are buried in Abydos, a city that was known for its cult of the dead and it was considered that the God of death himself, Osiris, was buried here. When archaeologists dug there they didn’t find Osiris but they found the earliest tombs of a pharaoh known to us. Menes tomb has not been found but his successor, Aha’s, tomb was found in Abydos.


The Old Kingdom 2686-2181


The Old Kingdom comprises four dynasties. Already at the beginning of the third dynasty (ca. 2670) the architecture takes an enormous step. It went from building things of small brick pieces to building huge structures of large boulders. The first pyramid is not what we today would call a pyramid, it has no smooth sides, and are instead moving in steps up towards its tip. But it is the oldest building dating from antiquity that still stands. It has stood where it was built by the Pharaoh Djoser (2686-2658) and his vizier and Chief Architect Imhotep for almost 4700 years. Earlier the Old Kingdom Pharaohs had been burying themselves in the so-called Mestabas, a kind of huge shoe box thing shape wise. Imhoteps basic idea was to start with a big Mestaba in the bottom and then add smaller on top. It became the Step Pyramid at Saqqara, the first of all the pyramids. Imhoteps vision would become the basis for how a grave would look like for the next 1000 years in Egypt. Unlike the later pyramids this one was solid through and through. The tomb was below the pyramid and was reached by a long passage. Under the next dynasty, the fourth, the building of pyramids reached its peak. The first Pharaoh Snefru (about 2613-2589), the good King Snefru, as he is called in all sources. He was no great conqueror, he spoke as an equal with his people and loved the pyramids. He built at least 6 pyramids. He started with the step pyramids but his architects were not as good as Imhotep. He thought he saw cracks in them. (Doubtful since they have been inside his 2 unfinished pyramids and passageways and chambers works today). Then he built the first true pyramid. His son's name is well known. He was called Cheops (Khufu) (c. 2589-2556) and he built the largest pyramid the world have ever seen and the only one of the ancient 7 Wonders of the world that are still to be seen. In an effort to try to understand how big it is an European can imagine adding up the surface covered by the cathedrals of Florence, Milan, St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, St. Paul's Church in London and Westminster Abbey in London. However, the pyramid cover a larger surface. Chephren (Khafre) (c. 2560-2532) was the younger son of Khufu and built the second largest pyramid and his grandson Mykerinos (Menkaure) (approximately 2532-2503) built the third of the three great pyramids at Giza. The last of the major tourist attractions, the Sphinx, was also built by Khufu who liked size. There are many more Sphinxes in Egypt but his is without a doubt the biggest.


The Old Kingdoms new competence

Architecturally the Old Kingdom was extremely high standing. But now when they mummified the dead bodies, they learned a lot about medicine. Where the Sumerians talked about demons the Egyptians described in detail heart, liver, kidneys, lungs, etc. and described the diseases related to them. They analyzed in detail how blood veins ran and which went where. They described how the wounds should be sutured and discussed the different parts of the skull. Recommended sleep mode if you settled in your head and how to stop the bleeding and infections. They had no modern medicines (antibiotics) but they had a modern view of how the disease could be stopped. That they made such progress was due to the fact that for the mummification to succeed was required, in addition to lubricating it with ointments, etc., that you took out the intestines and the brain.

But why did the Egyptians, as the first culture, start to mummify their dead? Earlier, all had either been burned or they had buried them. it was due to their big fascination with death. The Egyptians had several gods, but of their central myths the myth about how Osiris dies and how his wife Isis miss him so much that she goes down to the Kingdom of the dead and raises him to life again is one of the most important. He becomes King of the underworld. Horus, Isis son of Osiris, becomes King of the living. Every Pharaoh is the incarnation of Horus. When a man dies, his Ka, or life-force goes with him. But it is still hungry and requires the same things that the body called for in life. Hence all grave gifts. In addition, the body includes Ba, a sort of spirit soul. Before it can rejoin Ka and form a whole body again it must be judged. Therefore, the body is preserved so that it can be used again when the Ka and Ba reunites. This perception of death remained common in Egypt although the rituals were changed a bit over time. This stuff is described in one of the most famous Papyri found, known as the Book of the Dead. The time when the fourth dynasty ended was also the time when the great pyramid building era ended. They were still being buried in newly built pyramids but because by now a then still new God had gained great significance in Egypt, the Sun God Re (Ra), they put more effort on the magnificent Sun Temples. They have unfortunately not survived as well.

The art also reached high altitudes. The tomb paintings and sculptures that adorned the graves the grave robbers didn’t bother to take with them. The paintings was extremely stylized. They were always painted in profile and yet the face always painted from the front. They did so because they did not care about how something really looked like, but what it really was. The paintings had strict Rules. Depending on the position, the color of the painting, etc. was shown if the person is alive or dead, or whether it was a man or a God. We who live in a modern world can have a bit of difficulty to enjoy these stylized paintings but the sculptures are not suffering from such requirements but can look extremely vibrant and alive. They're probably very close to what the person really looked like because they had no rules, possibly the sculptor flattered his object slightly but not more. An example of how alive they can be is the excavation of a Grand Vizier and his wife. When the excavation made it into the Tomb the light fell on the statues of the two and the digger dropped the lamp and ran out screaming. He believed they were alive. The art skill of the sculptors from the Old Kingdom has perhaps been surpassed only by the few sculptors, from Greece onwards, which managed to get the material to move around under the onlookers’ eyes. All this had its peak during the fourth dynasty, but continued during the next two dynasties under competent rulers.


The Division into provinces

Under the 6.th dynasty, the last of the Old Kingdom, Egypt had grown, stabilized and become accustomed to power. But Egypt was large now. The result was that provinces began to take shape and they were ruled by princes. It resembled a feudal rule in the Middle Ages where the Dukes could do exactly what they wanted in his Duchy but was tied to the King/Pharaoh with many bands. It is a system which, as Western Europe showed many examples of, works well under a strong ruler but easily lead to division under a weak. One of the more interesting provinces of Egypt's was situated at Egypt’s southern border with Nubia. That was Elephantine. It was roughly where modern Aswan is located today. There was a magnificent granite quarry which today is a tourist attraction but then supplied Egypt with building materials to its many monuments. This was also the first cataract of the Nile, which means waterfalls. There was a lot of trade and exploration that started from this spot. There are many famous stories of explorers from this time. Harkhuf, Sebni and Enechmet was that eras Christopher Columbus or Captain Cook. They explored Nubia, Sudan, Punt and Yam. Scientists have never really agreed on where the latter two was situated. They became countries that would give much wealth to Egypt. The whole dynasty was dominated by two competent and long-lived rulers who was father and son, Pepi I (2332-2283), and Pepi II (c. 2278-2184). Pepi II is said to have been 100 years before he finally died. He became Pharaoh as 6-year-old. For Egypt's part perhaps it would have been a good thing if he had died a little earlier. During his last 20-25 years in power he was, with the right of old age, not as powerful as before. After his death the Old Kingdom began rather quickly to fall apart.


First intermediate period 2181-2040


The Central Government collapsed and the country was ruled by several dynasties during this time, but no one had control over all of Egypt. The time is usually divided into 4 dynasties; 7-10. The central government in Memphis collapsed and the local Princes got greater power. There are laments from this time that recalls the laments of the prophets from the Old Testament to its tone despite the fact that they are written about 1500 years earlier. "I will show you the son as an opponent, his brother as an enemy and a man who kills his own father. Wild beasts of the desert are drinking the water of the Nile and is fearless. Men seize weapons and there is chaos". So wrote Neferti, who lived at that time, about Egypt during this period. Just like the old testament prophets he complained before the Pharaoh. They were unfortunately weak and pretty powerless during this time. A result we see is that doubts starts to be expressed about life after death, about the gods, on the meaning of life. A concept that was important in Egypt was Maat. That means approximately the divine order and is reflected by the fact that it goes well for Egypt and is reasonably quiet and stable. The lack of Maat is expressed in many poems, and more from this period. There were still fine tombs but the texts in the tombs had changed character. One text said: I saved my house from the Terror of the Royal House ". That was totally unthinkable during the Old Kingdom. But there is also something that was missing in the Old Kingdom, an assessment of morality more than material prosperity. "I gave bread to the hungry, water to the thirsty, clothing to the naked. I buried the old and was a father to the orphan and a spouse for the widows ". This was subjects that was discussed for the first time during this period, and although they did not reach any answers the Egyptians was the first people who asked these kind of questions in writing. But this thinking on the Interior led to some high-quality poetic outburst. There is one about how unbearable it is to live where the pros and cons of suicide are examined that is poetry at high level. There is another about how the gods and the famous men are gone and that their sites no longer exist. Therefore, you cannot take things with you. The Person who leaves will never return. Lots of new ideas would emerge as a result of the internal crisis and hostilities. Issues that was totally alien to the Old Kingdom, questions that a little later would become important in the Middle Kingdom. Where the Old Kingdom had envisioned and boasted about material progress and career successes the sovereigns now bragged about good deeds and that they stood up against the Royal House.

Around 2160 the dust begins to settle after the collapse of the Old Kingdom, and we can discern people again. It is now that a series of rulers, which is centered around Fayum, South of the Delta, rises up. They form the ninth and tenth dynasty. Their capital was Herakleopolis and everything seemed prepared for that they would lead to reunify Egypt. But those who succeeded with the reunification came from the South, from Thebes (modern Luxor). They were named alternately as Mentuhotep and Intef and the person who started the war was Intef II (2117-2069) but he who eventually won the war and reunited Egypt was Mentuhotep II (2060-2010).


Middle Kingdom 2040-1782


The Middle Kingdom is counting its starting date from the year in which the war was won. That’s why the eleventh dynasty is divided between two periods. To commemorate the victory Mentuhotep II built a temple at Deir-el-Bahari. There are small remnants remaining but the most intriguing about it is a mass grave at the temple where 60 common soldiers who died during the final victory are placed, a ceremonial commemoration that it is unusual for a Pharaoh to give to the people. The New capital became, of course, Thebes. From the South, they had also brought a new God, Amon, which merged with the Sun God Re and became Amon-Re, the rest of the Eleventh dynasty was peaceful. the war was over, and when the last Mentuhotep died his army Chief of staff took over and declared himself Pharaoh. He was named Amenemhat (1991-1962) and initiates the twelfth dynasty. Amenemhat had understood one thing that previous rulers forgotten. It is difficult to govern Egypt from a capital city in the South. Consequently, he moved the capital to Ittawi more in the middle of Egypt. He subdued the Princes and restored order to Egypt in earnest. The Middle Kingdom's heyday had begun.


Tomb models and pyramids


This was also the time of Tomb models. That means that if one was a man of the high nobility they took small models of all the houses they owned with them. The models are small but extremely detailed and give a good picture of what their houses looked like, same thing with his subjects. A selection of them was also in miniature. In addition there were many different types of boats. These Tomb models have taught researchers much what life was like during that time. We, in the present day, maybe think about these things as a magnificent Dollhouse but for the nobleman it was a necessary thing for him so he could get a happy life on the other side of death. In the Old Kingdom they had taken their favorite pets and animals with them in the grave. Now, in a little more humane Middle Kingdom they instead did models of them. That is why the details just like the features was very important. It had to be a good likeness of the living image. That can also be seen in how the statues looked. While the Old Kingdom statuary was solemn, almost godlike, the Middle Kingdom's statues were serious but often sad with wrinkled foreheads. The king was now not only a God's descendant, but also, perhaps more important, a responsible leader of the people. It was only proper to show some concern.

Middle Kingdom reused extensively the Old Kingdom's inventions. But some knowledge was clearly on the decline. Pyramids from this time are considerably less well constructed than during the Old Kingdom. In addition, they often took the material from the Old Kingdom temples and reused. Amenemhats pyramid is today more or less a heap of ruins. Researchers have even talked about tearing it down. The reason is the knowledge they think they can get about the old Kingdom temples and faith by the inscriptions and paintings that are still in the pyramid. During the Middle Kingdom very finely wrought jewels has been found. The art of processing the gemstones were at a high level during this period, in contrast to pyramid building.


Apogee and fall


Old Amenemhat lived long and was assassinated by daggers while he was sleeping. His son, Sesostris, who was in the field rushed back to the city and managed to crush the conspiracy. The most prominent of the pharaohs during this time was Sesostris III (Senusert) (1876-1860). He extended the Kingdom to the south of Egypt, and fought several successful wars in Nubia. During his time fortifications were built throughout Nubia. Nubia had long before been under Egyptian guidance but was now totally a part of Egypt and it is now that the Kingdom of Kush begin to emerge south of the Egyptian border (that is, south of Nubia). They would eventually get their own Pharaohs. Sesostris III also made sure that a channel was built in at the first cataract of the Nile, which meant that one could go by boat all the way. Today the Aswan High Dam has caused that much of the area in which Sesostris did his campaigns are under water. Lake Nasser is located there today. His son competently carried on what he had begun and died in 1815. But his grandson died young and without descendants. The last Pharaoh during the Middle Kingdom was a woman, Sobekneferu (ca 1807-1802). She was the last of his line for if there had been any potential male candidate he would have been elected. She didn’t rule long, maybe 5, not more than 10 years, and her tomb has never been found. It is believed that she was the sister of the last Pharaoh (and thus the granddaughter of Sesostris III) but it is not certain. If we knew more about her, you would also know more about why the Middle Kingdom fell apart. There are many theories but they are really more guesswork because there are no facts. After the lonesome Queen's death the Middle Kingdom fell apart into sections.



The Second intermediate period 1802-1570


The period consists of five dynasties, the thirteenth to the seventeenth. The thirteenth and the fourteenth had its seat in the Delta and further south. and was partially concurrent. This weakness and lack of powerful monarchs would have consequences. About 1720, probably, Egypt was attacked and conquered by a foreign people. They are usually called Hyksos but it is actually a kind of generic term for several different groups. What is fair to agree on is that these Hyksos (the name means "ruler of foreign lands") came from the East but wherefrom is not clear. The Egyptians themselves called them Aamu meaning Asians which did not say very much. Just like all those who come to power in Egypt from abroad they were rapidly egyptified. They form the fifteenth dynasty. They used hieroglyphics and clung to old traditions. They moved the capital to Aravis, modern-day Tell el Daba. If you want to put any credence to the story in the Bible about Joseph, Abraham's grandson, sold by his wicked brothers to Egypt and there become a man of importance, it was probably during this time. Hyksos, just as Joseph's people, spoke a Semitic language. They had common roots, and one can understand that the Hyksos chose one from roughly the same area as they themselves in front of an Egyptian.



It was probably the Hyksos who brought the horse and tank to Egypt whose armies had mainly been foot soldiers in the past. In addition, they had a new type of bow that revolutionized warfare with the tank. For Egyptians, this was a trauma and they wouldn't forget it; they had lost battles in the past and they had fought each other but to be conquered! But the trauma would also become the basis for the successful unification later on. After the Hyksos conquered the capital cities and crushed dynasties 13.14 and 16 the Princes of Thebes launches the seventeenth dynasty ca. 1650. The Egyptians are beginning to rebel against the now somewhat weaker Hyksos kings. A successful leader in many battlefields, Sekenenre, revolts but his skull is beaten to bits on the battlefield about 1610. His son Kamose continues and is besieging the capital. He did not take it. That honor would his younger brother, Ahmose (1570-1541), get. Thus was the Hyksos grip broken. Ahmose liberated Egypt and founded the Eighteenth dynasty. Thus the New Kingdom had begun.


The New Kingdom, 1570-1070


Ahmose was the first Pharaoh during the New Kingdom. His role was the Liberator but he didn't manage to retake the entire Egypt again. The work was completed by his son, Amenhotep I (1541-1520). He became the Reconquerer. He made the Egyptian Empire as large as it had been before. From the fifth cataract of the Nile in the South to the Euphrates in the East. His successor was Totmes I (Tuthmosis I) (1520-1492) and he is remembered for an unusual insight. Pyramids were very nice but they were also very obvious. Looters had easy to find them. Therefore he chose a remote Valley in the vicinity of Thebes, and started secretly to build a tomb chamber there that would not to be visible from outside. Thus, he founded the Valley of the Kings which would be for the New Kingdom what the pyramid had been for the Old and Middle Kingdoms . With the New Kingdom the pyramid was out as a place of burial. They were too obvious and easy to loot. Totmes's intentions were good but if he hoped that the secret would be preserved, he was wrong. Almost all of the tombs in the Valley of Kings were looted but it was a good idea. He is also remembered for being the father of Hatshepsut, perhaps the most successful female Queen throughout ancient history, regardless of the Kingdom, of which we are aware.


The Mighty Queen


Hatshepsut (1479-1458) is the first woman history knows of that took power with the intention of taking the reins and control a large Empire and she also controlled it well. Her husband (Totmes II) died young and she just had a daughter with him, therefore not a likely candidate for the throne. Her dead husband had a son by a mistress, a baby who could not yet govern (the future Totmes III). What is so unique about her is that she was declared no regent or Queen, which would have been possible, but King. She also took all the titles that belonged to the King, as well as the attributes that belong to kingship, among other things. the fake beard and male costume. In depictions of her she are sometimes dressed in Royal (male) clothes and sometimes as a Queen in a dress. Same thing in death. It was built one tomb for the Queen and one for the King. But she must have had a very powerful personality because she was in power for over 20 years and ruled well. When you consider that what she did was basically a coup but there was never shown any signs of anxiety during her time. Her successor (Totmes III), who actually had the right to the throne, was satisfied to be Army Commander-in-Chief and kept quiet.

Even today, it is difficult to understand how she managed it. She understood the value of good propaganda. She brought two allegations forward that were completely untrue but which made her look very good. She said that her father taught her to be a pharaoh, and she said she was the God Amon-Res daughter. She is also responsible for the most magnificent of all Egypt's temple, at Deir el Bahari in the Valley of the Kings. Without doubt one of the ancient worlds more fantastic monuments. It is usually compared to the Parthenon and in both can be seen that total harmony that is so rare in a building. She built many more temples, among others. at Karnak where her large obelisk still stands up. She led the successful trading expeditions and appointed successful generals for her military campaigns in Nubia and Syria. These trade routes were important. If earlier Pharaohs during the new Kingdom were those that United the country again and made it strong so was Hatshepsut the one who opened the trade seriously again. Wealth flowed into Egypt during her time. It was during her time as Egypt became, not only impressive and mighty, but rich and prosperous as well. They have analyzed what they believe is her mummy, and the result was that she died of bone cancer.


Egypt's Napoleon

Hatshepsut was a unique figure in Egypt's history but the New Kingdom was richly equipped with colorful personalities as Pharaohs. Totmes III (Tothmosis)(1458-1425), Hatshepsut's stepson, is called Egypt's Napoleon and is, here everyone agrees, Egypt's greatest Conqueror and commander of all time. He fought among other things. successful wars against the Hittite Empire and Phoenicia. It is now that Egypt reaches its biggest expansion ever. In addition, he received tributes from Assyria, then a young Kingdom that was not yet the force it would become. He spread the borders of Egypt all the way to what is now Syria. He took many foreign princesses as secondary wifes and often showed mercy toward those he defeated. During his time, you see a transformation of the army. They are now a standing army, constantly prepared to fight. Earlier it had in principle been enlisted together for each war.

He was satisfied with standing in the background during Hatshepsut's regime even though he was legally the legitimate Pharaoh which says quite a lot of her charisma and power. He is accused of trying to wipe out his stepmother, Hatshepsut, from history by destroying every painting of her in for example. Deir-El-Bahari. This was, probably, at the end of his time on the throne. If he did it, it would have been more sensible that he did so shortly after Hatshepsut's death but that he would wait for 25 years and then make it seem a little strange. But he must have known about it even if he was not the initiator of the multitudinous destruction of paintings and statues that was the result.

His successor was competent but had a lot to live up to. His son was a forceful man but far more ruthless than his father had been. After beating down some uprisings, he spent a lot of time to have fun but he was known as an excellent Archer. Being athletic apparently went in the family for the same is said about his grandson, Amenhotep III. He is called the magnificent, not so much because he was a great military man but because he lived in an Egypt that harvested the fruits of Hatshepsut's and Totmes III's efforts. Wealth flowed into the country and Egypt was at its peak. Foreign rulers wrote beggar's letter to Egypt and asked for money. There are more statues and images of him than any other Pharaoh, around 250.


The Religious revolution


The next great personality is Amonhotep the Magnificents son. His name was Amenhotep IV but he speedily changed the name to Echnaton (Ahkenaton)(1352-1334). He introduced drastic changes in religion, society and art. Religiously, he is the first person who tries to make a monotheistic religion, The Atonism, the State religion. He wanted to simply replace Re and Osiris and Amon and all others against Aton. Aton was a kind of Sun God, his symbol was the sun disc. Echnaton moved the capital to Amarna, present Tell El-Daba, So that Aton would get a town where there were no traces of ancient gods. He had not invented Aton. Aton had existed previously and had slowly grown in importance under his father and grandfather but he was still a minor divinity among Egypt's many deities. The priests who had played an important role in society in the past was now almost inconsequential. Echnaton went very far in order to establish that Aton was the only God. He deleted other gods name, among others. Amon and erased out the -s in the word gods. All in order to conclude that there was one God.

The new art that followed in the footsteps of the revolution is called the Amarna art, and meant that the characters are portrayed differently. The art got brand new rules. Often more lively, less rigid, family scenes can show feelings which were not done previously. A famous example is a painting by Echnaton with Nefertiti, his queen, sitting in his lap. That was extremely inappropriate before he changed all the traditions. The portraits had rules. For some reason, usually heads are extended, necks are narrow, the shoulders are sloping and the hips are wide. His Queen was called Nefertiti and was thought to have been very beautiful. She shared her husband's faith, one of the few things we know about her, she was not of Royal lineage which was unusual. One of Egypt's most famous works of art, The Amarna bust of Nefertiti, comes from this time and is considered to represent the Amarna art at its peak.The art also contains much more images of the beauty of nature than before. 

Unfortunately for Echnaton the priests did not like the change. Exactly how he died, we do not know but there are suspicions of murder. His line didn’t survived him for long. After a bit of confusion took his son-in-law, Tutanchamon, (1333-1324), over the throne. He was an extremely insignificant Pharaoh who died young before he could do anything permanent. Under the auspices of the priests he reintroduced the old religion. The only important thing about him is that his tomb is the only one of all the pharaohs tombs that Tomb robbers didn’t find. It was extremely rich with coffins of solid gold and a magnificently sculpted Golden mask. It gives us a vague idea how wealthy some of the more prominent Pharaohs tombs must have been and how prosperous Egypt during the new Kingdom were. The few Pharaohs that remains of the Eighteenth dynasty wanted to forget that the Amarna period had ever been. The dynasty ends when Horemheb, who started his career as a general under Tutanchamon. He dies in 1292.

The Slow decline


The remainder of the new Kingdom aimed to achieve greatness like under Hatshepsut and Totmes III without ever succeeding. The Nineteenth and Twentieth dynasty, which completes the New Kingdom are dominated by a large number of Pharaohs named Ramesses. Ramesses II (1279-1213, called the great) was not a great personality but he was ambitious. He also wanted to defeat the other great powers just like Totmes had done. His ambition was to destroy the Hittites just like Totmes but he reached a draw as best and he had to go on and sign an unsatisfactory peace deal. The peace agreement at Kadesh 1258 is the first peace agreement known to history. For Egypt, it was a failure and Egypt's power over its neighbors began to be diminished. Ramesses, however, lived a long life and built numerous temples, so one cannot help but be reminded of him. The most famous are those in Karnak and Abu Simbel with its four giant statues of Ramses at the entrance. They are still impressive creations although they can't really be compared with the best of the old and the new empire in quality though they can in quantity. He died at the age of 90, leaving about 75 sons so the succession was never a problem. Ramesses even married some of his daughters but when you have 75 of them it is entirely possible that he forgot that he was the father. Yet the nineteenth dynasty would end up with a female, Tausret (1191-1190) who probably was the wife of the last Pharaoh.

Ramesses II's experience with his foreign policy made his followers strive to defend the borders, not to extend them, which was a novelty in Egyptian politics. But the first threat came not from the East and the Hittites but from the West and South where the Libyans and Nubians started moving. Ramses III (1186-1155) fought many times against these enemies, and managed to hold the borders (he was a much better general than Ramesses II) and believed that he had averted the threat for good when he was laid to rest with his fathers. He is considered the last great Pharaoh. What neither he nor any other Egyptian did really understand was that they did not represent any State but more of a migration wave. It was not the armies he met but the first wave of a flood of people who wandered around and was looking for a home. Egypt was in the way. The similarity with the migrations that eventually caused the fall of the Roman Empire are clear. For every Pharaoh Egypt's influence was reduced and corruption grew. The last Pharaoh of the new Kingdom became Ramesses XI and when he died in 1070 BC. the New Kingdom died with him and the third intermediate period begins.


Third intermediate period 1070-672


During this period, it was messy in Egypt. The last Ramesses had left the country in a state of civil war and many claimed the throne. Overseas small kingdoms began to emerge in the vacuum left by Egypt. Babylon, Assyria, and Persia later became major powers. One of these small kingdoms was Israel, which got its first King (Saul) during this period (ca. 1050). The Kingdom's development is closely linked with the fact that the two major powers in the region, Egypt and the Hittites, collapses at this time and left a power vacuum that, among others, Israel filled. Many different foreign interests became Pharaohs in Egypt during this time. 21,st dynasty was, however, Egyptian although it was rather weak and never reigned supreme throughout Egypt. It died out about 950 and was succeeded by a Lybian dynasty. The founder was a Shishonk and he was a capable man. He is mentioned with horror in the Bible where he is called Shishak because he sacked Jerusalem during Rehoboams time on The Throne. Rulers was called variously Shishonk, Osorkon and Takelot, but none had the power that the first Shishonk had had. The Dynasty didn't end until 728 but was contemporary with the 22,nd dynasty who was also lybian.

The Lack of forcefulness of the various dynasties are now becoming increasingly apparent. 23,rd and the 24,th dynasty are so short that they are barely noticeable. The 25,th Dynasti on the other hand, had power and mettle behind it. It came from the South from Nubia and conquered Egypt around 730. For about 50 years they ruled but then came the Assyrian superpower. In 671 they crushed the Egyptian army. They didn’t bother to put a new Pharaoh in place. Instead they left Egypt and went home. The Egyptians were pretending that nothing had really happened. This action was not approved by Assurbanipal, King of the Assyrians, who got annoyed and let the army crush Egypt a second time. This time the looting was very thorough. Thebes was devastated. The survivors of the 25th dynasty, crawled home to Nubia again where the Assyrians didn’t bother to follow. When the Assyrians headed back home they left a person named Necho as their representative to rule Egypt. He had to sign oaths, and promising to govern in Assyrias interest. Necho quickly broke his promise and it is he who initiates the 26,th dynasty. His son Psamtik somehow manages to unify the nobles and thereby unify Egypt after the Assyrians, Nubians and Lybians left the country.


The late period, 672-30 BC


It is customary to call the 26,th dynasty for a Renaissance in Egypt. It was not that they invented some new things but they looked back and imitated their own heyday. They wrote contemplative wisdom writings where patience received a completely different value than in the past. The Assyrians stayed away and eventually fell to the Babylonians who in turn fell to the Persians. But Egypt was a juicy booty to be left alone. Cyrus the great, the Persian great King, had been so successful so that the Persians ruled over the whole known world except Egypt. Cambyses, son of Cyrus the great, made so that Persia ruled over the whole of the known world, and at the battle of Pelusium in 525, he broke the back of the Egyptian independence. They did not make the mistake that the Assyrians had made but let a Persian dynasty take over. The 27,th dynasty initiated by Cambyses himself. He was admittedly only there for 4 years before he handed over the task to someone else, but the Persians remained. 404 the Persians left Egypt after urging them to rule in Persia's interest. But Persia and Egypt were very far apart, so after a while the Egyptians dared to revolt again. Persia was the superpower. In 343 they stroke down, in the same absentminded way that we might hit a fly, the Pharaoh who had seized power in Egypt. He was named Nectanebo and was the last Egyptian Pharaoh who sat on the throne. Over the 60 years that the Persians had been absent three dynasties had gone by.. Therefore, the number of the dynasty that Artaxerxes III, initiated is 31. It was short. In 332 Alexander the great came and crushed the Persians on battlefield after battlefield. He put a Macedonian Pharaoh in place and went on. Finally a disease managed to overcome Alexander. He never lost a battle. He died in 323

His trusted men then decided to split up this gigantic empire between themselves. Ptolemeus got Egypt on his lot. He became Ptolemy I (305-285). Alexander did, however, have time with the founding of Alexandria which would become the Ptolemeic capital. They considered themselves as quite superior to Egyptians, an attitude they took with themselves; for example, they did not bother to learn the language. In the beginning they were quite powerful but more and more they became dependent on the major powers ' approval to remain in Office. And soon it became clear that the power to be friendly with was Rome. There was just one of those Pharaohs that cared about learning the language, she was also the last of them and is also one of the most famous Pharaohs, Cleopatra (51-30). She was Cleopatra VII, but the whole history ignores the number so I do that too. She had a younger brother who she was married to (Ptolemeus XIII) but wanted to be the sole ruler. The brother was ruled by a faction in the Palace who disliked her. She fled Alexandria, was told that Ceasar was going there to make up with Pompey in the Roman civil war's final phase. Her brother had welcomed Pompey and then chopped the head of him to give as a gift for Caesar. Cleopatra was much more intelligent than her brother and realized that such a gesture would earn his disgust rather than gratitude. She let herself be smuggled into his house and got him to fight on her side. She became sole Pharaoh, with the support of the people and the best general of the time at her side. Caesar got assurances that Egypt would keep quiet and deliver bread to Rome at a steady pace. In addition, she let her siblings go in Caesar's triumph in Rome and where they subsequently was killed. She sat safely. Egypt was at peace for the first time in a long time. Everything looked good. Then Caesar died. Soon a new civil war between Caesar's adopted son, Octavian, and Mark Antony started. As soon as they had killed Caesar's murderers, they were at loggerheads. She choose to support Antony. She had to choose one of them . She choosed wrong. At the battle of Actium in 31 BC Cleopatra and Antony's forces were defeated by Octavian. Both committed suicide that evening. They didn't want to go in a triumph. That was the end of Egypt's last Pharaoh.

Afterword and sources

This was slightly more than 3000 years of history summarized in a personal way. A lot has been skipped. There are interesting disputes within the scientific community about the problems and Conundrums but they are for the most part also being skipped. For anyone who knows that he or she wants to learn more, see the sources. The ones I thought to mention are the ones I mostly used. One consequence of this is that books with lots of pictures, and relatively little text is not included.

Mertz, Barbara: Temples, Tombs and Hieroglyphs (2007 revised edition)

Gardiner, Sir Alan: Egypt of the Pharaohs (2006, revised edition)

Shaw, Ian: The Oxford history of Ancient Egypt (2000)

Romer, John: A History of Ancient Egypt - From the first farmers to the great Pyramid (2012)

Romer, John: A History of Ancient Egypt - From the great pyramid to the fall of the middle kingdom (2016)

Clayton, Peter A.: Chronicle of the Pharaohs (1994)

All of these can be recommended. Mertz is the most readable and popularized book and she's also the best Narrator of them. the others are a bit heavier but well structured and for those who already know some of egypts interesting history maybe some of them would be preferred. Romers books are the first two parts of a planned trilogy. The third part has not yet been published. In addition to these, which treats the entire Egypt's history, there are numerous books that deal with a particular epoch or episode in detail, such as. Echnaton. These I won't mention. What I tried to give here is an overview, not a detailed sketch. The works I mentioned are also overviews but a bit more detailed. What they have spent about 300-600 pages for I have tried to squeeze in at 14. If you are interested you should think of this article as an appetizer.