Ancient Egyptians

Table of Contents Thesis dictation 1 Time stream 2 Geography/Location 3 policy-making Characteristics5 Economy. 8 Religious Beliefs. 12 Social twist 15 Achievements/Accomplishments18 Decline of antique Egypt20 own(prenominal) Observations. 22 Bibliography 23 Thesis Statement Ancient Egypt has made incredible achievements at e genuinely last(predicate) fonts of a civilization.Over the socio- frugal strains, Ancient Egypt has had umpteen cultural accomplishments in subterfuge, architecture, and different philosophies which are still cherished today. Egypt is located in the northeast corner of Africa, bordering on the Mediterranean ocean to the north and the Red ocean to the east. Religiously speaking the past Egyptians are polytheistic and recollect in multiple deities or divinity fudges. They everywhereall believe that at that place are matinee idolly forces that rule the Earth and the afterlife. The old-fashioned Egyptians have gone through a long and interesting line of rulers.In our modern judgment of conviction flowing today, we can look back, learn and cherish the antediluvian Egyptians. Time firmness 3100 BC Hieroglyphics developed and King Menes united the Upper and Lower demesnes. 2700 BC Py doss downid building began, withal the beginning of the Old terra firma 2200 BC The collapse of the Sixth Dynasty and the Old Kingdom beginning of the Middle Kingdom 1700 BC Earliest evidence of diagnostic medicine in Egypt and impertinent invaders occupied the delta region the fall of the Middle Kingdom 1550 BC The wind of the New Kingdom 1503 BC Wo gentlemans gentleman ruler exercised all the rights of a pharaoh 1200 BC Ramses became the roughly spotful pharaoh 1100 BC The collapse of the New Kingdom 670 BC The Assyrians attacked Egypt 525 BC The Persians conquered Egypt 330 BC cruddy lovage the Great conquered Egypt 30 BC The Romans conquered Egypt The quaint Egyptians went through many turning points from the Old, M iddle, and New Kingdoms. The close historic events were when the Egyptians were getting invaded and maken oer by many different pot, including the Persians, Alexander the Great and his men, and for the longest period of time, The Romans.During these times ancient Egypt was stripped fine-tune from some of their freedoms and traditions and also some cultural diffusion was forced upon them. 2 Geography/Location As you read in the Thesis Statement, Egypt is located in the northeastern corner of Africa, bordering on the Mediterranean sea to the north and the Red Sea to the east. The Egyptians nearly-nigh important natural re character referencefulness was the Nile River, which flows from the Mediterranean Sea. They believed that they were blessed by the Nile and believed that the river was a gift from the Gods. The ancient Egyptians geographically ivided their soil into two types, the black land and the red land. The black land was considered the fertile land on the banks of th e Nile. Ancient Egyptians utilize this land for growing crops. This was the that land in Egypt that could be farmed because a mold of fatty, black silt was spread on the land e very(prenominal) year after the Nile flooded. The red land was the barren desert that protected Egypt on two sides. These deserts 3 protected ancient Egypt from nearby countries and trespassing(a) armies. They also provided the ancient Egyptians with a source for different kinds of metals and stones.Egypts propinquity to the Nile River enabled the Egyptians the trade, farm, make clothing, and ultimately use the river to its fullest. The ancient Egyptians use to sing a hymn of praise to the Nile for nourishing their land, these are the lyrics If the Nile smiles, the Earth is joyous, Every domiciliate is full of rejoicing, Every spine is happy, Every jawbone crushes its regimen. 4 Political Characteristics The Ancient Egyptian Government was dominated by a single man, the Pharaoh. The Egyptians believed that the ruler was more a man, but that he was a deity.This gave the Pharaoh absolute control over affairs of the pudding stone and its people. Ancient Egypt was also considered as a theocracy, which was controlled by the clergy. The Pharaohs advisors and ministers were almost all priests, who were considered the only ones worthy and able to carry out the god-kings commands. In most of the religious ancient societies, priest has a especial(a) status preceding(prenominal) the rest of the citizens. The governmental officials included the prime minister, the chief treasurer, the tax collector, the minister of public works, and the army commander.These officials were directly responsible to the Pharaoh. The land itself was divided up into provinces called nomes. Each nome had a governor, and was appointed by the Pharaoh, and responsible to the prime minister. Taxes were salaried in intelligents and ride. Citizens were drafted into the army and forced labor for periods of time to p ay the labor tax. Slaves, mercenaries, and draftees were often used in the army. It is believed, 5 however, that Egyptian slaves were non used to construct sacred monuments, much(prenominal) as the Pyramids.Egyptologist were led to this conclusion by recent finding of worker burial grounds near such monuments. The workers trustworthy proper Egyptian burials, where as slaves did not. The studyity of Egyptian people were idylls who worked he land on the fertile Nile flood basin. These people had no voice in the government, and accepted the fact because it was backed by their godliness. This aspect of the Egyptians religion sponsored keep Egypt so powerful and alter during its high points. One of the most powerful rulers of ancient Egypt was the mighty Ramses II.Ramses was very ambitious and looked to expand the Egyptian empire northward as far as Syria. He constructed many temples and monuments and boasted of his conquest. In a battle against the Hittites, Ramses had great bravery and prevented himself from a crushing defeat. Ramses was considerably view and went in taradiddle for his achievements. His tomb is located in the Valley of the Kings, and his mummy is thought to be one of the most best-preserved mummies ever found. 6 Another greatly respected pharaoh of Egypt was King Menes.Menes was actually known as the beginning true draw of Egypt. He accomplished much, including the unification of the Upper and Lower Kingdoms of early Egypt. afterwards Menes united the Kingdoms the Egyptian monarchy lasted in a recognizable form for over three k years. 7 Economy There were many aspects to the Ancient Egyptian economy. The Egyptians traded, educated, and farmed. The Egyptians had a large range of resources at their disposal alter from food and cloth, to metals and gems. Some of Egypts agricultural products were element, vegetables, fruit, fish, attle, goats, pigs and fowl which were the primary food resources and flax was also grown to be spun in to linen. A large proportion of grain was used for beer production. In ancient Egypt there was a good material body of metals, but only a small number were used including copper, bronze, and iron. Gems for the hurrying elucidatees and the pharaoh and much stone were used for the construction of temples and of course the pyramids. The majority of the universe more than nine tenths lived on the land in mostly colony 8 communities.The land they worked in belonged in theory to the gods and in particularly the gods Osiris and Horus and his earthly incarnation or avatar, the pharaoh. The ancient Egyptian economic governance was called a command economy. Administrators, priests, traders, and craftsmen lived mostly in the cities along the Nile. Some of the most commercial cities or capitals of ancient Egypt were Zawiyet el-Mayitin, Abydos, Naqada, el-Kula, Edfu, Seila and the island of Elephantine in the Nile River at modern Aswan. These provincial capitals were popular religious and economic centers component the surrounding countryside.In ancient Egypt, a major part of the taxes oblige on the 9 people were used to keep the society hurry smoothly. Grain was one of the most taxed resources as it could be stored relatively short and was very vital in years of bad harvests. Three thousand years of development pointed out just how effective this economy was. With the help from transportation by the Nile River, the Egyptians sold their products sold on the market. The Egyptians set up trade routes to reach distant countries.They often visited the countries along the Mediterranean Sea and the near the Upper Nile River because they were immediately adjacent to Egypt and contained materials that the Egyptians desired. These visited countries included Cyprus, Crete, Greece, Syro-Palestine, Punt, and Nubia. Some of the items that the Egyptians would nonplus back to Egypt would be leopard skins, giraffe tails, monkeys, cattle, ivory, ostrich feathers/eggs, and gold. When the Egyptians visited Punt, there a major source for incense, also Syro-Palestine provided ceder, oils, unguents, and horses.Horses were originally used in 10 ancient Egypt, and hence the domesticated camel was introduced at around 500 BC. The economy in ancient Egypt was overall mainly very stable and structured over the years. 11 Religious Beliefs Religion was very important to the Ancient Egyptians. Their religion was strongly influenced by tradition, which caused them to resist change. Egyptians did not question the beliefs which had been handed complicate to them they did not desire change in their society.Their main aim end-to-end their history was to emulate the conditions which they believed had existed at the dawn of creation. The Egyptians were polytheistic people that believed in multiple gods/deities. The god symboliseed various forces of nature, thought patterns and power, and expressed by the means of complex and varied archetypes. These deities were worshippe d with offerings and prayers in local domicile shrines, as well as in formal temples managed by priests. diverse gods were prominent at different periods of Egyptian history, and the myths associated with them hanged over time, so Egypt never had a coherent 12 hierarchy of deities or a integrated mythology. The religion of the Egyptians, however, contained many overarching beliefs. Among these were the divinity of the pharaoh, which helped to politically unify the country, and the complex beliefs around an afterlife, which gave the Egyptians elaborate burial customs concluding the process of mummification. Ancient Egyptians had many deities, here are some examples of the most important and famous ones.. Amun The Egyptians believed that this god created himself in the beginning of time.They also believed him to be the father of the pharaohs. This god looks alike(p) a man with a beard, feathered crown, and shown as a ram or a ram-headed man. His name means the hidden one. Geb G eb was a whiskered god with a goose on his head. He was known as the healer and provider of crops. The Egyptians believed that when that Geb laughed thats what caused the earthquakes. Egyptians had feared he might imprison the dead. 13 Mut Mut is Egyptian goddess, also known as the mother of all lifetime things. Her hieroglyphic symbol is the predator. She is a woman wearing a vulture headdress sometimes.She also sometimes wears a double crown to represent lower and upper Egypt. Osiris Orsiris was a strong element in Egyptian mythology. He was one of the five children born from the god of earth and the goddess of skies. He was inherirted to the throne of Egypt. Ra The God Ra is the Egyptian god of the sun, light, heat, and the positive judge. Also he was known as Re- Horakhty, which means Horus of the Horizon. A god with a sun disk around his head, he is worshipped all along Egypt. Egyptians believed he created the world, and the emanation sun is the symbol of creation. The sun rising and setting meant renewal.He is ultimately known as the master of life. 14 Social Structure In the ancient times of Egypt the top of the societal importance was the pharaoh, then the government officials such as the nobles priests, next were the soldiers, then scribes, merchants, artisans, farmers, and lastly slaves/ servants. The pyramid has been used as a visual metaphor to describe the companionable structures of ancient Egypt. The position of an individual in the social pyramid was determined by birth circumstances such as class, gender, race, and the relationship among social groups were determined by their occupations.Ancient Egypt was ruled by a very small rich upper class who enjoyed power and wealth while the large masses of Egyptian workers and peasants pushs to subsist. The ruling class depending on a social system of administrators, who organized the work force, managed resourced and taxed the overabundance production. For their services, these government officials received favors and could rise to the highest ranks in the administration. 15 The upper class of Egypt despised the lower classes as inferiors, and many instances of abuse were committed, but peasant and farmers were not slaves.They had property rights and servants could inherit their masters possessions when is they died without children. Other members of the working(a) class, artisans, were their own masters. They owned property and land, and could freely buy and sell their products in the market. Education in ancient Egypt was not very advanced. At a young age children were mainly taught by their parents. Most parents would try to contribute in their kids various educational principles, moral attitudes, and views of life from a hearty age. For girls, they would always stay with their mothers.Very few life storys were open to most women. composition most woman trained for motherhood and how to be a good wife, some girls could train to be dancers, entertainers, weav ers, or bakers. Only the daughters of wealthy nobles received an education in reading or writing. The boys were mainly raised by their fathers. Son usually followed the same trade that their fathers practices. Some of the boys at this time be a general village school while others attended a school 16 designed for a specific career such as a priest or a noble.Schools taught writing, reading, math, and sports as well as morals and manors. At the age of fourteen, the sons of farmers or craftsmen linked their dads in their profession. Those children whose parents had higher status careers continued their education at special school usually attached to temples or government centers. The educational experiences in ancient Egypt had both similarities and differences compared to the present education in the U. S. A. It was similar because most parents like in ancient Egypt teach their kids moral values and educational principles. Unlike Egypt, inAmerica it is a law that all American child ren must go to school and get an education. The selective school in Egypt taught similar subjects to the children, but it America present time , there is a lot more variety and opportunities for the future. 17 Achievements/Accomplishments There were many achievements of the ancient Egyptians including the quarrying, surveying and constructional techniques that facilitated the building of monumental pyramids, temple, and obelisks. They also established a system of mathematics, a practical and effective system of medicine, irrigation systems and agricultural production techniques.They had the first known ships, Egyptian faience and glass technology, new forms of literature, and the earliest known stop treaty. Egypt truly left a lasting legacy. Their art and architecture were widely copied, and sent around the world today. Egypts monumental ruins have exalt the imaginations of travelers and writers for centuries. In the mathematical area, Egyptians used a numbering system establish on ten. They used vertical tally marks to represent the numbers game one through nine, then they used symbols for larger numbers.For example, a frank stood for 10, a crook was 100, a flower was 1000, a finger was a 10,000, and a tadpole represented 100,000. 18 In the science department, the Egyptians believed that Thoth, in the form of an ibis, was the inventor of astrology and mathematics, he was known as the god of wisdom and magic. The Egyptians had many outstanding cultural achievements concluding mainly art and architecture. The Egyptian art was highly symbolic and a painting or sculpture was not meant to be a record of as the result of subtle changes, not as altered conception of arts or its role in society.The pyramids of Egypt are the most famous and mind-blowing structures reinforced by the Egyptians. The Egyptian also had some literature mostly indite on papyrus, also contains elements of art. The writings included hymns to the gods, mythological and magical texts, and dead room texts. 19 Decline Egypt was once one of the most powerful civilizations on the planet. The decline of Egypt started at around 1000 BC when there was struggle for power by priests and nobles and the country started to spilt up. Rich people wanted to take over Egypt and hired men to conquer certain areas of Egypt.As there was a struggle for power, enemies from other countries invaded Egypt. The Cushites ruled Egypt from about(predicate) 767 BC until they were foiled by the Assyrians in 671 BC and then Egypt took back their country in 525 BC. In 343 BC, the Persians took over Egypt as a part of their conquest. Later, a man named Alexander the Great conquered most of Europe and Africa including Egypt. Alexander became the Pharaoh of the Egyptian Empire and he was loved by the Egyptian people. He was committed to the well being of people so he chose not to change their ways. afterward Alexander died, his generals each ruled areas he conquered, this period of Alexander lasted for 20 300 years until the Romans took it over. The Romans ruled Egypt for seven centuries, Egypt was a great source of wealth to the Romans. The Romans brought Christianity to Egypt. The Roman period of Egypt was peaceful even though the ancient religion of Egypt was taken over by the fast spread of Christianity. The period of ancient Egypt lasted from 3000 BC 639 AD, was at the end when Arabs brought the religion of Islam to Egypt.The fall of this rich civilization is probably one of the most interesting parts, in not just Egyptian history, but ancient history in general, since Egypt was the most powerful civilization in the world at the time. 21 Personal Observations I truly think Egypt is one of the most amazing ancient civilizations of all time. I choose Egypt for my enquiry paper because I believe that they have so much unique culture and mind-blowing accomplishments. From this research paper I have learned many new things about ancient Egypt that I never knew before.I thou ght that all the monuments and pyramids were very impressive. Also the architectural design of the Egyptians is truly creative and inspiring. I fancy that people in our modern time can learn how to appreciate the integrity of the Egyptians, and hopefully by reading this research paper it well help. 22 Bibliography Books The school textbook of world history, Egyptian art by Cryril Aldred, Egypt by DK Publishing Websites www. wsu. edu, www. ancientegypt. co. uk, www. kingtutone. com, www. reshafim, www. ancient-egypt. org 23