Ancient Near East

I. Egypt

A. Geography

1. Nile River gives life to Egypt

a) Egypt is the gift of the Nile

b) Rainfall in Cairo is only 2 inches a year

2. Years ago, the Sahara was brisk with vegetation

3. Constant feature is the Sun

a) Belief in Sun-god Reh

b) Became very important

B. Culture has been dead since Muslim takeover

1. Ancient Language died out by 800

a) No one could read hieroglyphs

b) Last piece written around 800 AD

c) People spoke Arabic

2. Some words preserved in Coptic

a) Spoken by early Christians in Egypt

b) Used Egyptian words with Greek letters

3. In 1600, Europeans went to Egypt

a) Excited about culture

b) Went there to pick up antiquities

c) They brought back mummies

d) Imported Pharoah collection in hieroglyphs

e) Kings in France beginning with Louis XVI brought Egyptian collection on display

f) No one could read the hieroglyphic system

(i) Also the more cursive nieratic system

(ii) And the shorthand – dematic system

C. Egypt wrote a lot

1. Temples became like bulletin boards

2. On Tombs

3. Also about generals campaigns

D. Rosetta Stone – 196 BC

1. Decree by Egyptian priests In honor of Ptolomy V praising him

a) He can only read Greek

b) Egyptians could only read Egyptian

c) Written in both languages

(i) Some difficulty – not quite the same in the two languages

2. 1799 Napoleon took expedition to Egypt

a) Planned to build a canal

b) Wanted to keep English from India

c) He also wanted antiquities and took scholars with him

d) Made Egypt modern and a barrier to the English

e) He did not take any canteens with him because he wanted the destination to be a secret

f) Landed near Alexandria and was able to take over temporarily

g) He lost men in Palestine and the English were coming

h) He left him men and fled

i) The English captured his men and the Rosetta Stone

3. 11 Yr old Champollion saw tracing of the stone

a) He vowed to one day read it

b) By age 20 he could read seven languages

c) He could read Coptic

d) Worked at it and figured out the Egyptian system

E. Kings of Egypt

1. Pulled together by Maneth in the third century BC

a) Divided Kings into dynasties in family groups

b) It was written in Greek

c) Depended on sources he had (other king lists)

d) Has been quoted by Josephus and Eucebius

2. Memes

a) Possibly Narmer

3. Sethi I

a) List of Kings on his temple

b) Does not have all in previous list – 76 total

4. Sakara

a) List that has 50 kings

b) Begin 6 kings after Memes

5. Not sure we identify them correctly

a) Kings had different names – some have 5 with religious

b) Signa = Horace, Primon(birth), and Nomon (throne)

c) Unsure which is which

F. Dates

1. Archaic 3100 – 2700

2. Old Kingdom 2700 – 2200

3. First Intermediate 2200 – 2050

4. Middle Kingdom 2050 – 1800

5. Second Intermediate 1800 – 1570

6. New Kingdom (empire) 1570 – 1085

7. Post Empire 1085 –

G. Archaic Period

1. Narmer defeated king from the delta

a) United the kingdom

b) Some claim before 3100 there were 2 kingdoms but this is not clear

(i) Perhaps a lot of city-states

(ii) Mindset of two lands

2. Three Crowns

a) For Special Ceremony

b) “Lord of the Two Lands” is important

c) Little or no writings

3. Abydos

a) Place of Burial for kings

b) Osirus – god of the afterlife

4. Mephis

a) Capital

b) Near Modern Cairo

c) Other important cities – Gaza, Sehara

5. Belief that the king had an afterlife

a) Head of state

b) Head of religion

c) To have afterlife, you must be close to the king

d) Know little about them

e) Had officials

f) King had second in command – Vizier

g) No official texts of what the king did

H. Old Kingdom 3-6 Dynasties (3-8?)

1. Dynasties

2. Egypt Culture

a) Religious texts

(i) See them in 4^th dynasty

b) Building pyramids

c) Master Sculpture

3. Power of Kings rose

a) Ceremony crowns – Hebsel

(i) Run around the wall – inaugeration

(ii) Built white wall around Memphis

(iii) Stop at various stations

(iv) Shows the king must be in shape

(v) Ability to govern

b) Two burials might show ritual killing

(i) People might have been killed to accomplish Pharaoh in afterlife

(ii) Testing skeletons show they died at same time

(iii) No other evidence

(iv) Clearer done in Mesopotamia

4. Shown Activities

a) Pyramids

(i) Short power of the kings

(ii) Steppe pyramid at Saktara

(iii) People buried underneath

(iv) Djosis – Under it

b) At Sudden – there is a whole complex

(i) 2 temples

(ii) Straws of stark of king

(iii) Buried of other officials

(iv) Huge 30 ft wall enclosing burial place

(v) Anhotep was the achiles

c) Know that Djosis was the king

d) Unfinished Pyramid

(i) Secondhand

(ii) Up six step and ended

(iii) Sealed asofachus in it

(iv) Called a press conference

e) Kief built great pyramid at Gisua

f) Triangle shape of real pyramid isa been which was in the early temple

5. Kufu (Cheos) 2500 BC

a) Six small pyramid at Gaza 2 long

b) Built biggest pyramid over 13 acres

c) Far more impressive in person

d) Top is missing

e) Alexander left his name there

f) Testifies to power of him

g) 100,000 more 20 yrs to build according to Herototus

h) King has reign of 23 yrs

i) 2 million stones some 15 tons

j) Got stone from right there

k) Outside white stone came from Cairo

l) Would have been gleaming building

6. Reidjedif

a) Did not build at Gisa

(i) Went nort

b) 6 yrs reign

7. Kafu – brother

a) 2^nd pyramid at Gisa

b) Loo bigger than father but acts in higher

c) Actually smaller

8. Menkara

9. Fifth Dynasty

a) Built complex with Pyramid attack

b) Complex was a sun worship

c) A lot of tomb for official began to appear

10. Sixth Dynasty

a) Governors began to be buried in own territory instead of Memphis

b) Does not need king

c) Does not believe that king has to much power

d) Respect dies out

e) Pepi II

(i) 90 yr reign

(ii) Unusual when people lived usually to 30

(iii) Bad times in Egypt

(a) Flood did not come

(iv) Texts say Nile was empty

(a) Could walk through Nile

(v) Sun would not shine because of Dust Storms

I. Intermediate Period – People have different understanding – Dynasties 7-8

1. Dynasties 7-8 are competing

a) Two different places

b) # of kings cannot be known

c) Not a strong monarch

d) Dispute over suicide

e) Two souls – la la

2. Ipuwar

a) Never saw such bad things

b) People move land more

c) No justice

3. Eloquent Peasant

a) Goes to king

b) Says someone has stolen land

c) King gives him justice

d) Propaganda track

e) 70 Kings in 70 days actually means many

4. 9-10 Dynasty

a) Did not rule over all of Egypt

5. 11 Dynasty

a) In Middle King regains power

J. Middle Kingdom

1. Family line at Thebes gets upper hand

a) One king claimed to rule over all of Egypt

b) Famous Temple

(i) Remains of his pyramid and temple

c) Built forts along Nile

(i) Military Expedition

(ii) Fortresses

(iii) Called himself unite of two lands

d) Slow process of gaining power

(i) Guard boarder

2. Go to Palestine and Sinai

a) Not an army to build empire

b) Not that aggressive

3. 12^th Dynasty

a) Strong Monarch

(i) Capital at Oasis

(ii) Fortress on Nile

(iii) Expanding South

b) Asiatics are chased out

c) Sesoshios III

(i) Most successful king

(ii) Chases out Asiatics

(iii) Does not like foreigners

(iv) In control of all of Egypt

d) Prosperous time

(i) Lot of art

(ii) Mined copper

(iii) Time of trading

K. Second Intermediate 1800

1. Local Governors assert their authority

a) Paid no attention to the king

2. Cursing jars

a) Write texts on pottery complaining about individual and smashing it

3. Things not going well

4. Hyksos

a) Get in because of the trouble

b) Semitic wandering people that settled in rich fertile delta

c) Military clashes

d) Menato Ment

(i) Blast of sudden invasion

(ii) Hyksos have a lot of weapon Egypt did not

(iii) Wheeled chariots

(iv) Compound bow

e) Able to takeover the government

(i) First time sense before archaeology that they stew outside coming out

(ii) Took over by force

(iii) They rule 15-16 Dynasties

(iv) No great destruction

f) Wrote name in Egyptian

g) Allowed a family from Thebes to call themselves king to rule around Thebes (17^th Dynasty)

h) Capital at Ovarus in delta

i) Sequemer Yap went against Hyksos

(i) Mummy in terrible shape

(ii) Pierced skull

(iii) Decomposes before mummification

(iv) Lost life in battle

j) Hapotia sent letter telling him to shut up his hypottomus

(i) Its keeping him up

(ii) Huge battle Egypt

k) Kamoe marched north and began to push out Hyksos

(i) Ahmonza finished the job

(ii) First king of 18^th dynasty

(iii) Sets up captive at Thebes

(iv) Time when Empire starts 1570

(v) 1^st king interest in Empire

(a) Need success to have empire

(b) Land outside the empire

(vi) Got all the way to the Euphrates River and looked at it

l) Decided to have a buffer (Palestine)

(i) Standing army to go out on command

(ii) Draft system

L. New Kingdom

1. Hatshepsut (18^th dynasty

a) Thutmose I was father

(i) Active campaigner

(ii) Strong king

(iii) Three children

(iv) King could have cocubines

(a) Only great wife could have successor

b) Married to Thutmose II

(i) Weak and sickly

(ii) Wrinkled and face sunk in

(iii) Only thirty years old

(iv) Thutmose III son by harem girl

(a) Takes crown at nine

c) Thought she should be king

(i) She was more powerful

(ii) She becomes Pharaoh

d) Takes over all the titles of the Pharaoh except “mighty bull”

e) She had no problem with her sexuality

(i) She wore a short kilt and strapped down her breasts

f) Temple built at Osir el Bakir on the other side of mountain as the other kings

(i) Tried to have a passageway dug to the Valley of the Kings

(ii) Mortuary temple – funeral service for pharaoh held there

(iii) Herodotus said they were still doing service 2100 yrs after Kufu died

(iv) Endowment – acres left for continued service

(v) Mortuary were near pyramid

(vi) On the northern cliff, workmen building the temple under direct orders of Vizier Senenmut drew graphiti on the walls

(a) She was bending over, headdress on, and a man approaching her from the rear

g) Traded with Punt for Luxury items

(i) Gold, Ivory

h) Obelisk claimed that she threw out the rest of the Hyksos

i) Disappears from rule

(i) People blame stepson, Thutmose III

(ii) Took her name from monuments (some claim)

(a) More like priesthood did it

2. Thutmose III

a) 17 Major expeditions

(i) Expanded the kingdom to the south

(ii) Needed two Viziers from his expansion

(iii) Lot of trade and booty

(iv) Took cattle with him

(v) He counted the dead by cutting off right hand

(vi) General tomb has a list of his accomplishments

b) Megiddo

(i) Egypt army took booty

(ii) Rebels were able to fortify and took additional week

(iii) Went through pass and took them by surprise

(iv) Lots of stories of his accomplishments

c) Egypt control based on garrisons

d) Thutmose III took the sons of the rulers he conquered back to Egypt as hostages and taught them Egyptian customs

(i) Builds a strong empire

e) Only mistake was to give a great sum to the priesthood of Amon at Thebes

(i) City-god

3. Amenhoptep II 1400

a) Tried to be like his father

(i) Very tall

(ii) Could shoot arrows through tulic

b) Bashes in the head of seven sons of another King at Kadesh

(i) Message was do not revolt against Egyptian king

(ii) New aggressive attitude

4. Thutmose IV

a) Had relatively secure empire

b) Uncovered the Sphix – Had been buried under sand

(i) Set up memorial stellae

(ii) Amon had spoken to him about uncovering Sphix

5. Amenhoptep III

a) Enjoyed good life

(i) Money is pouring in

(ii) Private Lakes dug for his wife

b) Has control of Mesopotamia

(i) Not Babylon

(ii) Sends wives to him

(iii) Babylon Empire asked for a wife from him and he said no

c) Had a boat to send up and down Nile

(i) Named ship Atem

d) Announced marriage to commoner – Tije

(i) Not from royal family or noble

(ii) Made her great wife – only one eligible for succession

(iii) Very strong - bust shows her very dominant

(iv) Cared a great deal

e) A Lot of Art from his period

f) Had two children

(i) First died young

(ii) Second son inherited

g) No statues from before king

(i) A lot of other sons

6. Amenhoptep IV

a) Strange looking

(i) Often said he suffered from disease

(ii) Had thick lips, huge hips and flabby breasts

b) Beautiful wife – Nefertite

c) Capital initially at Thebes

d) Built six small temples behind Karnak

(i) Mentions other gods

(ii) Changes mind and claims there is only one god Aton – sun disk

e) Changes name to Akhenaton

(i) He builds new city for the god

(ii) Built Amarna

(iii) Built beautiful temple

(a) A lot destroyed by opponents

(b) Interior is open to the sun

f) Campaigns

(i) Great military presence at Amarna

(ii) Made five campaigns

g) More and more interested in religion less in empire

(i) Closed down other priesthood

(ii) Only god is the Aton

(iii) Wife and he would do the worship

(iv) He is the only priest

h) Amarna Letters

(i) In clay tablets

(ii) Written from the empire

(a) Asking for help against the Hapiru

(b) King ignores them

(iii) Some addressed to Tao- his mother

(a) They think she may be able to influence him

(iv) King more interested in religion

(a) Goes further and further into his religon

(b) Wrote beautiful hymn to Aton

(c) Seems to be sincere in his religion

(d) Took away people’s regular religion and gave them nothing

i) Hittites wanted to take away some of Egypt’s empire

j) Art from his Kingdom is impressive

(i) Old and Middle liked to be shown dignified

(ii) Beck exaggerated his features in statue

(iii) Painting at Amarna huge head of daughter

(iv) Natural position – holding children, sitting or laying

(v) Portrayed as he looked

k) Six Daughters and No sons

(i) He had married his oldest daughter to have a son

(ii) Has son by a minor wife – Kia

(iii) She appears and her name is chiseled out

l) Not sure who followed

(i) Maybe Sufar

(ii) Others argue for Neferdia changed name to Neferini

(a) She was powerful

(b) Shown in ways only pharaoh shown

(c) Un of Texas raised a boat shipped from Egypt

(d) Among items was her cartis – only Pharoah had them

7. Tutemhopten

a) Had lock of hair with mummy

(i) Some have claimed it was his mother’s

b) Priests got him to move back to traditional religion

(i) Stelle of restoration

(ii) Old religion was restored

(iii) Restored Thebes and abandoned Amarna

c) Tomb has been found

(i) Died at about age 18

(ii) No texts relating to him

(iii) He did nothing significant that we know of

(iv) Tomb found by Howard Carver

(a) Financed by Carmanorm

(v) Buried in Valley of the Kings

(vi) Not all made for him

(a) About 80% made for him

(b) Other items show the name was changed

(vii) Curse came with dealing with Egyptian government

(a) Made up story

(b) Other tombs threatened curse on people who destroy

(c) On-going sacrifice

(d) Some tombs said to bring bread and beer

(e) Legacy goes on and on

(1) The head of Cour Moses packed up item for display in US and died

(2) Workers moved and 2 died one from trying to repair tv and other died in traffic

(f) Carter lived on into the 60s

(g) Carnaion died in spring of temple opened

(1) He has been of poor health

(2) Carter had waited to contact him until they found steppes and sealed doors

(h) Carter opened up the passageway and waited for Egyptian antiquity people

(i) Claims to have not gone into the room of the actual burial

(j) He invited journalist and broke through to find the burial

(k) There is evidence that they broke through on the first day and then closed it back up to prepare for show

(l) Carnaion had gone back to England and told King George that he though they would find intact

(m) Notes from people also seem to indicate that they went in

(n) Lot of controversy

(1) Journalist mad at them

(2) Carnaion mad at him

(3) Antiquities Dept mad at him

(o) Egypt took over

(1) British consolate was murdered

(2) Egypt wanted to get on better side

(3) Allowed Carter back in

8. Ai

a) Short reign

b) Vizier of Tut wanted to take over

c) Vizier was able to take over

9. Horemkan

a) Succession of Vizier

b) Felt he must restore Egypt – get rid of heresy

c) Not related to 18^th Dynasty – he was a general

d) Hacked out their names and destroyed temples

e) Made campaign in Palestine

(i) Re-establish control – restore law and order

(ii) Anything steals from peasants, he will be treated most harshly

(iii) Cutting off nose – famous Egyptian punishment

f) Starts rebuilding

10. Ramses I

a) Begin 19^th Dynasty

b) Keeps on with re-establishing Egyptian empire

11. Seti I

a) Great military campaigns

b) Great temple at Aberdos

c) Body in Egypt thought she was Seti I hung out at Temple

12. Ramses II

a) Interested in restoring Empire

b) Faces the Hittites

(i) Moved into Egypt territory to Kadesh

(ii) He went to fight them with four divisions

(iii) He headed div of Reh

(iv) He got a head of troops

(v) At Kadesh he was attacked by Hittites

(vi) He called his troops

(vii) Fought off Hittites

(viii) Able to hold his ground

(ix) Hittite are exceptional people

(a) 1^st people to write objectively

c) Treaty with Hittites

(i) Egypt and Hittites agree not to cross into others land

(ii) Hittite claim it was a draw

(iii) Ramses claimed great victory

(iv) Wrote on wall of temple on account of the battle

d) Images of battle pg 148-149

(i) See carving on wall showing winning great battle

(ii) Set up statues all though Egypt – some over 60 feet tall

e) He moved campital from Thebes to Delta area

(i) Kairamsi – Pothole

(ii) Afraid of Hittites so better be in north

(iii) Chariots in case of trouble

f) 60 yr reign

g) Possibly Pharaoh of Exodus

(i) Actually crossing sea of Reeves

h) Building cities fast

i) A lot of Children

(i) Over 100 that we know of

(ii) 13^th son succeeds him

(iii) Many sons died before him

j) Ken Wrton used radar on the Valley of the Kings

(i) He found Ramses tomb

(ii) Discovered that mummies had been moved to two different locations

13. Mernapton

a) Took over after Ramses II

b) Left Stelle saying he utterly destroyed the people Israel

(i) Could mean he killed a few

c) Has trouble with sea peoples

(i) Not sure where they came from

(ii) Igean perhaps

(iii) Philistines settled in Palestine

(iv) Another group destroyed Arthlif

(v) He was able to keep them out of Egypt

(vi) Fights all over the place

d) He had new way to count the dead – cut off the penis

e) Last name of Pharaoh mentioned in Palestine at Bisham

f) Rapid decline into 20^th Dynasty

14. Ramses III

a) Had difficult time

(i) Harem plotted against him

(ii) Gradually power slips from Egypt

b) New Kingdom is over by 1085

(i) Lost control of Empire

(ii) Kingdom did not fall

(iii) Did not hold firm outside Egypt

c) Culture change with outside influence

15. 700 – Libya kings took over

a) South came in

b) Kings are not native Egyptian

M. Egyptian Culture

1. Religion pre-eminate everything else

a) Art preparation for afterlife

b) Wisdom literature, proverbs, love poetry

c) Writing is religion

2. Book of Dead

a) Put together from several different

b) Explanation of the afterlife

3. Church and stated united in the person of pharaoh

a) Organized religion

b) Pharaoh was the head

c) Pharaoh was a god and chief priest

(i) Appointed priests

4. Rituals

a) Pharaoh made declaration of appointment

b) He or a representation was there for cornerstone laying

c) Temple built out of state funds

d) Government spent a lot of money

5. Priests would conduct survey for the government

a) To determine the amount of taxes

b) Taxes based on the level that the Nile Rose

(i) Priests would check height of the flood

(ii) Good water equaled good crops

6. Pharaoh took throne name based on god he was honoring

a) Ignoten could change capital

7. Polytheism

a) Byron had discussions on the brutish gods of Egypt

b) Most societies with polytheism there is a lack of persecution

(i) For 1000 yrs there is no persecution

(ii) There was a mixture with a variety of beliefs

c) Religion went back for a thousand years

(i) Rearranged several times

d) They had contradictions

(i) Amon – city god of Thebes

(ii) Amon Re – favorite god of 4^th dynasty

(iii) Prestige was the prestige of Thebes

(iv) Anib Ra, Re, and Amon

(a) Three gods or one

e) All kinds of gods

(i) Cosmic gods

(ii) Gods of heaven

(iii) Special function gods

(iv) Osiris – god of death and afterlife

(a) When you die, you become Osiris so and so

(v) Gods did not fit reality

f) Thoth – god of moon

(i) God of Thutmose

(ii) Mose – son of

g) Ibis bird – Thought to be very smart and used to illustrate wisdom

h) Avarus – sun god

(i) Portrayed as a hawk also considered smart

(ii) Animals represent characteristics of the gods

i) Religion disintegrated as line went toward the end of New Kingdom

(i) Worshipped bull

(ii) They even mummified bulls

(iii) Interested in magic

j) Bast – cat goddess

(i) God represented by features of cat

(ii) 600-800 BC – began to worship

(iii) Herodotus reported on incident of running over a cat and they tore the person apart

k) Lot of Myths

(i) Stories about the gods which explain some phenomena that could not be explained any other way

(ii) We have afterlife because Osiris was killed by step-brother and cut up. Wife and children put him back together to live again

(iii) Many creation stories

(a) 8 gods created

(b) Great Goose

(c) Atum – called him to create

(1) Rose up over primeval waters and created other gods by spitting them up and masturbation

(2) He does not need a goddess

(3) He is the most important god

(d) Ptah

(1) Came out of water and stood on cliff

(2) Just spoke and created the world

(3) See It in the Hebrew Genesis 1

(iv) There is always a primeval water

(v) Did not have philosophy and science

(vi) Through developed doctrine of afterlife

(a) Sumer did not have afterlife

(1) Believed that spirit wandered and disappeared

(b) Hebrews did not talk of afterlife

(1) Except for Eccles searching for meaning

(a) Claimed we go to dust

8. Ethics

a) Ethical Religion

b) Afterlife related to ethics

c) Many ancient people did not care about ethics

d) Egypt never had law code

(i) Behaved because gods demanded it

e) Maat

(i) Everything good and righteous

(ii) Pharaoh had to live by maat

(a) Could not steal from people

(b) Could not put them to death for no reason

(iii) Have to live by maat or no afterlife

(iv) Have to live a good life to pass judgment

f) Two souls – ba and ka

(i) Ka is the conscience

(ii) Ba is the spirit that inhabits us

(iii) Egypt says body goes to mummified while ba goes to hall of judgment where heart is weighed

(a) Judges there

(b) Monster diety waiting

(c) Have to say negative confession – I never did…

(d) If you pass, you are led to Osiris to blissful afterlife

(e) If you don’t pass, monster deity gets you for complete and utter destruction

Historical Discovery