EGYPT HISTORY , TOURISM

Kings and Queens 4

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 9 Feb 2012 10:55:00 +0200

Queen Khentetka ( 4 th Dynasty )

Khentetka was a Queen of Egypt; the wife of King Djedefre during the 4th dynasty.

Khafre ( 4 th Dynasty )

Khafra (Egyptian pharaoh of the Fourth dynasty) his name means (Appearing like Re), his reign between 2558 BC to 2532 BC, 26 years. Khafre was son of King Khufu, his capital at Memphis. We know little about his reign. But his pyramid at Giza the second largest known pyramid in Egypt is enough.

Reign from 2558 to 2532 BC 4th Dynasty
Predecessor (Djedefra)
Successor (Menkaura)
Children (Menkaura, Nebemakhet, Duaenre, Niuserre, Khenterka, Ankhmare, Akhre, Iunmin, Iunre, Sekhemkare, Nikaure, Khamerernebty II, Rekhetre, Shepsetkau, Hemetre)
Father (Pharaoh Khufu)
Mother (Queen Henutsen)
Monuments (Pyramid of Khafra,Great Sphinx of Giza)

King Khafre Egyptian Museum - Cairo

Queen Meresankh III ( 4 th Dynasty )

Queen Meresankh III was the daughter of Hetepheres II and Prince Kawab and a grand-daughter of the Egyptian pharaoh Khufu. She was the wife of King Khafre.

Queen Khamerernebty I ( 4 th Dynasty )

Queen Khamerernebty I was an ancient Egyptian queen of the 4th dynasty. She was probably a wife of King Khafre and the mother of King Menkaure and Queen Khamerernebty II.

Queen Hekenuhedjet ( 4 th Dynasty )

Queen Hekenuhedjet was an ancient Egyptian queen of the 4th dynasty, a wife of Pharaoh Khafra. She is depicted in the tomb of her son the Vizier Sekhemkare.

Queen Persenet ( 4 th Dynasty )
Queen Persenet was an ancient Egyptian queen of the 4th dynasty. She may have been a daughter of King Khufu and a wife of King Khafra.

Menkaure ( 4 th Dynasty )

His name mean (Eternal like the Souls of Re), ruling from 2532 B.C to 2503 B.C,(29 years). He was the son of King Khafre, and he married his sister Khamerernebti 2. His pyramid is the smallest pyramids at Giza.

Reign from 2532 to 2503 BC 4th Dynasty
Predecessor (Khafre)
Successor (Shepseskaf)
Children (Khuenre, Shepseskaf, Khentkaus I)
Father (Khafra)
Mother (Khamerernebty I)
Monuments (Pyramid at Giza)

Menkaure and Queen

Khamerernebty I ( 4 th Dynasty )

Khamerernebty I was an ancient Egyptian queen of the 4th dynasty. She was a wife of King Khafre and the mother of King Menkaure and Queen Khamerernebty II.

Shepseskaf ( 4 th Dynasty )

Shepseskaf was a son of Menkaurethe, his name means (His Soul is Noble). He ruled from 2472 to 2467 B.C. His tomb is in Saqqara. He is the only king of the Fourth Dynasty, who did not build a pyramid, but he built a big mastaba at South Saqqara.

Reign from 2503 to 2498 BC 4th Dynasty
Predecessor (Menkaura)
Successor (Userkaf)
Children (Khamaat)
Father (Menkaura)

Shepseskaf (Museum of Fine Arts-Boston)

Queen Bunefer ( 4 th Dynasty )

Queen Bunefer was an Ancient Egyptian queen from the 4th or 5th dynasty. It is not known which king she was married to may be Shepseskaf.

Kings and Queens 3

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 1 Feb 2012 14:11:00 +0200

Nimaethap ( 3 rd Dynasty )
Nimaethap was the wife of Khasekhemwy and the mother of Djoser, the first Pharaoh of the Third dynasty of Egypt.

Sekhmekhet ( 3 rd Dynasty )
Sekhmekhet was the third king of the third dynasty ruling from 2648 to 2640 B.C. about 8 years. His name is carved on a cliff near (Al-Maghara Valley) in Sinai. The king has an unfinished pyramid at Saqqara.

His unfinished pyramid was discovered at Saqqara, It may have been designed by Imhotep, who was active after Zoser's death.

Reign from 2648 to 2640 BC 3rd Dynasty

Predecessor (Djoser)

Successor (Khaba)

Children (Khaba)

Monuments (Buried Pyramid)

Sekhemkhet

Khaba ( 3 rd Dynasty )

King of Egypt, fourth king of the third dynasty, ruling from 2640 to 2637 B.C. about 4 years. Less is known about him.

Khaba is believed to have built his funerary monument in Zawyet El-Aryan, about 7 km north of Saqqara. It was left unfinished at an early stage of its building. Height about 20m (unfinished), base about 84m.

Reign from 2640 to 2637 BC 3rd Dynasty

Predecessor (Sekhemkhet)

Successor (Huni)

Father (Sekhemkhet )

Monuments (Layer Pyramid)

khaba

Huni ( 3 rd Dynasty )

Huni was the last Egyptian Pharaoh of the third dynasty.

He ruled Egypt from 2599 to 2575 BC. The king established a fortress on the island of Elephantine; also he built a pyramid at Meidum. The Pyramid at Maidum is a big step forward for pyramid builders it is the first to be planned from the beginning with smooth sides. Huni's vizier was a man named Kagemi.

Reign from 2637 to 2613 BC 3rd Dynasty

Predecessor Khaba

Successor Sneferu

Children Hetepheres I, Sneferu

Father Khaba

Monuments Step pyramid, Island fort at Elephantine, Meidum Pyramid

King Huni

Sneferu ( 4 th Dynasty )

Sneferu ruled Egypt of 2613 BC to 2589. He was the founder of the Fourth Dynasty in Egypt. He is the first king of the construction of the pyramid is real. Three famous pyramids associated with the name of King Senefru (Meidum Pyramid, Red Pyramid and Bent pyramids at Dahshur).This pyramids that survive to this day.

Predecessor (Huni)
Successor (Khufu)
Children (Nefermaat, Rahotep, Ranefer, Hetepheres A, Khufu, Kanefer, Ankhhaf, Netjeraperef, Iynefer I, Meritites I, Nefertkau, Nefertnesu, Henutsen)
Mother (Meresankh I)
Monuments (Bent Pyramid, Red Pyramid, Meidum Pyramid)

King Sneferu

Queen Hetepheres I ( 4 th Dynasty )

Spouse (Sneferu)

Father (Huni)

Khufu ( 4 th Dynasty )

Khufu was the second pharaoh of the Fourth Dynasty of Ancient Egypt's (Old Kingdom). He ruled from around 2589 to 2566 B.C. 23 years. Generally Khufu was accepted as being the builder of the Great Pyramid of Giza, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Khufu's full name was (Khnum-Khufu) by the meaning (the god Khnum protects me).The history remembers Khufu, the Great Pyramid of Giza as a testament to his tremendous ability to coordinate hundreds of workers towards one purpose. It is through this fantastic architectural marvel that Khufu will be remembered as one of many famous Egyptian pharaohs.

Reign from 2589 to 2566 BC 4th Dynasty
Predecessor (Sneferu)
Successor (Djedefre)
Children (Kawab, Djedefhor, Hetepheres II, Meritites II, Meresankh II, Baufra, Djedefra, Minkhaf I, Khafre, Khufukhaf I, Babaef I, Horbaef, Nefertiabet, possibly Khamerernebty I, possibly Nefermaat II)
Father (Pharaoh Sneferu)
Mother (Queen Hetepheres I)
Monuments (Great Pyramid of Giza, Khufu ship)

King Khufu Egyptian museum

Queen Meritites I ( 4 th Dynasty )
She was a daughter of King Sneferu and the wife of King Khufu. Her name means (Beloved of her Father).

Queen Henutsen

Henutsen was a daughter of Pharaoh Sneferu and his third wife.

Djedefre ( 4 th Dynasty )

Djedefre was the son and successor of Khufu. He ruled Egypt from 2528 BC, to 2520 BC. (8 years). His name meaning (enduring like Re). He built his pyramid at Abu-Rawash (8 kilometers north of Giza); the pyramid includes a statue of his wife in the form of a sphinx. The solar cult grew in power during his reign. His royal cemetery near of his pyramid and include about 50 mastaba tombs.

Reign from 2566 to 2558 BC 4th Dynasty

Predecessor (Khufu)

Successor (Khafra)

Children (Hernet, Baka, Setka, Nikaudjedefre, Hetepheres, Neferhetepes)

Father (Khufu)

Monuments (Pyramid of Djedefre)

Djedefre - Louvre Museum

Queen Hetepheres II ( 4 th Dynasty )

Queen Hetepheres II she was a daughter of Khufu and was either born during the reign of her grandfather Sneferu

Kings and Queens 2

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 19:05:00 +0200

Qa'a ( 1 st Dynasty )

Qa'a is the last king of the first dynasty, although dates are rather wildly different when it comes to this king. There isn't much information about him.

His tomb in Abydos and burials in nearby Saqqara from the same time period. A seal impressions listing all the kings of First Dynasty.

Four large tombs in Saqqara date from his reign, two stelae were discovered for officials in his government, Merka and Sabef, with complex inscriptions.

A number of artifacts were found in the tomb during its many excavations, the lower part of two wooden statues was found in one of these tombs in a set of rooms on the north side.

Qa'a is the last king to be buried with subsidiary burials of attendants and servants.

Predecessor (Semerkhet)

Successor (Hotepsekhemwy)

Monuments (Tomb in Umm el-Qa'ab)

Qa'a Tomp

Hotepsekhemwy ( 2 nd Dynasty )

Hotepsekhemwy was the first king of the Second dynasty of Egypt. His name means (Pleasing in Powers.) Little is known about his reign. Hotepsekhemwy may have become king through marriage to a princess, may even have carried through the late king's funeral. There are several sealing bearing his name outside Qa'a's tomb at Abydos. The king seems to have been buried at Saqqara, deviating from the Abydos custom with former rulers.

Predecessor (Qa`a)
Successor (Raneb)

Hotepsekhemwy

Raneb ( 2 nd Dynasty )

There is little information about Raneb, Manetho recorded that Raneb (Ra is Lord) reigned for 39 years, his reign is important because of its chronological position during the Egyptian empire's formative years. Raneb was Hotepsekhemwy's son, or perhaps his brother.

Also many modern scholars believe that his reign was much shorter, lasting between ten and nineteen years years. In fact, some scholars seem to believe that Raneb's reign and that of his predecessor, Hotepsekhemwy, should together be 38 or 39 years, with both therefore having shorter reigns then provided by Manetho.

He is one of the first kings to incorporate the sun god's name, Re, into his own name, a tradition that will be followed by most of the pharaohs in Egypt. he started a number of cults to different gods, including worship of Mendes, Menvis, and a cult to the sacred goat in the delta.

Predecessor (Hotepsekhemwy)
Successor (Nynetjer)

Raneb Stela Metropolitan Museum

Nynetjer ( 2 nd Dynasty )

Nynetjer was the third king of the second dynasty, the capital (Memphis). He ruled ancient Egypt for almost 40 years and he was famous for his festivals and marvelous temples.

Traces of Nynetjer are found with mud sealing at Saqqara. It is suggested that an underground gallery here was his tomb.

The end of his reign seems to have been marked by poor harvests, internal tension, and possibly even civil war. His name has been found on inscriptions from a number of mastaba tombs in Saqqara, Giza, Helwan and Abydos.

Predecessor (Raneb)
Successor (Senedj)

Nynetjer

Senedj ( 2 nd Dynasty )

Senedj was a king during the Second Dynasty of Egypt who ruled for 20 years.

When pharaoh Senedj was in power Egypt was probably divided once again into its southern and northern parts, with him as the king in Lower Egypt from the capital Memphis.

Manetho gives him a reign of 41 years and calls him Sethenes. If that name has something to do with the god Seth we don't know, but Egyptian records refer to him as Senedj. His tomb has not as yet been identified.

Predecessor (Nynetjer)
Successor (Seth-Peribsen)

Seth - Peribsen ( 2 nd Dynasty )

Seth-Peribsen was a king during the Second dynasty of Egypt who ruled for seventeen years, he was buried in Umm el-Qa'ab in Abydos.

His burial stelae (in the British Museum) show a Seth-creature rather than the more common Horus, and this might reveal that the king did not rule over the whole area of Egypt.

Predecessor (Senedj)
Successor (Sekhemib-Perenmaat)

Seth-Peribsen

Sekhemi - Perenmaat ( 2 nd Dynasty )

Sekhemib-Perenmaat pharaoh of the Egyptian second dynasty,was a separate king who ruled Lower Egypt at the same time that Peribsen ruled Upper Egypt.

Predecessor ( Seth-Peribsen )

Successor (Khasekhemwy)

Sekhemib-Perenmaat

Khasekhemwy ( 2 nd Dynasty )

Khasekhemwy (his name means "The Two Powerful Ones Appear") was the fifth and final king of the Second dynasty of Egypt. Little is known of Khasekhemwy, other than that he led several significant military campaigns and built several monuments.

Predecessor (Sekhemib-Perenmaat)
Successor (Sanakhte)
Children (Djoser,Hetephernebti,Sanakhte)

Khasekhemwy statue cairo museum

Sanakhte ( 3 rd Dynasty )
Sanakhte also known as (Nebka) was the first king of the third dynasty, his name meaning (Strong protection), ruling from 2686 to 2667 B.C., about 19 years. Sanakhte became king by marrying a daughter of Khasekhemwy. There is a mastaba at Abydos in which fragments with his name have been found. This is also possibly his grave.

Reign from 2686 to 2667 BC 3rd Dynasty
Predecessor (Khasekhemwy)
Successor (Djoser)

Sanakhte

Djoser

Djoser pharaoh the second king of the Third dynasty of Egypt. Djoser ruled Egypt for twenty nine years. Djoser was also known as Netjerikhet, meaning (body of the gods). Statue of Djoser, now in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, is the oldest known statue. Djoser is known as the king who commissioned the building of the Step Pyramid at Saqqara and the temple complex surrounding it. This is the first building made of stone. Architect who planned and constructed the first stone buildings in the world (Imhotep).

The Pyramid of Djoser, or step pyramid in the Saqqara necropolis. It was built for the burial of Pharaoh Djoser by his vizier Imhotep.

The step pyramid consisted of six mastabas. 62 meters tall. The base about 109 meters X 125 meters.

Predecessor (Sanakhte)

Successor (Sekhmekhet)
Father (Khasekhemwy)

Mother (Nimaethap)

Monuments (Pyramid of Djoser)

King Djoser. Egyptian museum. Cairo

King Djoser. Egyptian museum. Cairo

Pyramids 1

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 18:09:00 +0200

Step Pyramid (Djoser)

§ Djoser who commissioned the building of the Step Pyramid at Saqqara and the temple complex

surrounding it.

§ This is the first building made of stone.

§ Architect who planned and constructed the first stone buildings in the world (Imhotep).

§ The Pyramid of Djoser built for the burial of Pharaoh Djoser.

§ The step pyramid consisted of six mastabas. 62 meters tall. The base about 109 meters X 125 meters.

Step Pyramid Djoser

Step Pyramid Djoser Google Earth

Sekhmekhet unfinished pyramid

§ Sekhmekhet unfinished pyramid at Saqqara.

§ It may have been designed by Imhotep, who was active after Zoser's death.

Sekhmekhet unfinished pyramid

Layer pyramid

§ Layer Pyramid (King Khaba) in Zawyet El-Aryan.

§ It was left unfinished at an early stage

§ Height 20m (unfinished), base 84m.

Layer Pyramid

Layer Pyramid Google Earth

Maidum pyramid

§ King Huni built a pyramid at Meidum.

§ The Maidum Pyramid is a big step forward for pyramid builders.

Maidum Pyramid

Maidum Pyramid Google Earth

Red pyramid

§ Red Pyramid at Dahshur (King Sneferu).

§ Red Pyramid takes this name from the red limestone.

§ Pyramid height 104m, base 220 m.

Red Pyramid

Red Pyramid Google Earth

Bent pyramid

§ Bent Pyramid at Dahshur (King Sneferu).

§ Pyramid height 101m, base 188 m.

Bent Pyramid

Bent Pyramid Google Earth

Great pyramid

§ Great Pyramid is the oldest and largest of the three pyramids in the Giza.

§ It is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

§ Khufu Pyramid is the only one still intact.

§ Great Pyramid was the tallest structure in the world for over 3,800 years.

§ Height 146m, long on each side 240m.

§ Pyramid consists of 2,300,000 blocks of stone, each averaging 2 1/2 tons in weight.

Great Pyramid

Great Pyramid (Google Earth)

Djedefre pyramid

§ Djedefre Pyramid. 8km north of Giza near of Abu Rawash.

§ The pyramid itself has a massive 49m channel cut into the bedrock to a 20m deep shaft.

Djedefre Pyrarmid

Djedefre Pyrarmid (Google Earth)

Khafre pyramid

§ The Pyramid of Khafre is beside the Great Pyramid of Khufu.

§ Height 136 meters, base 215 meters.

§ Weight of stones about 4,880,000 tons.

Khafre's Pyramid

Khafre's Pyramid (Google Earth)

Menkaure pyramid

§ Menkaure's Pyramid is the smallest Pyramids of Giza.

§ It was built to be the tomb of the Pharaoh Menkaure.

§ Height is 67 meters. Length is 61 meters. Base is 108 meters.

Menkaure Pyramid

Menkaure Pyramid (Google Earth)

Kings and Queens 1

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 15:36:00 +0200

Narmer ( 1 st Dynasty )

King Narmer is thought to have reigned 3150 BC as first king of the 1st dynasty

The first king starts in securing the country's borders. Trade between Egypt and Sudan was developed, and then embarked on a glorious period of its history, known as the pyramid builder's age, where the first pyramid of Saqqara was built.

With the flourishing of agriculture, industry and trade, the first river fleet was introduced by the Egyptians.

Successor (Hor-Aha)

Mother (Queen Shesh)

Narmer

Menes ( 1 st Dynasty )

Menes is one of the Egyptian kings. Some sources say he was the son of Narmer while others say he was Narmer. There is no tangible proof either way. And was considered to be the first king to unify Upper and Lower Egypt into one kingdom. Whether unification was achieved by military or peaceful means is uncertain.

Menes founded the city of Memphis. He chose as its location an island in the Nile, so that it would be easy to defend. During his time, the Egyptian army performed raids against the Nubians in the south and expanded his sphere of influence as far as the First Cataract. He sent ambassadors to Canaan and Byblos in Phoenicia to establish peaceful commercial trade links.

According to Manetho, Menes was killed by a hippopotamus or by crocodiles after a 62 year reign. His was buried at Saqqara, the necropolis of Memphis.

Menes

Hor-Aha ( 1 st Dynasty )

First king of the 1st Dynasty at Memphis 2920 B.C he is the founder of the city of Memphis, built a dike to reroute a branch of the Nile so that a flat plain could be formed. Memphis was just one of the important political centers of Egypt at the time, but Aha made it his capital. During his reign.

He was buried at Saqqara, the necropolis off Memphis, but he built a second mortuary complex near Abydos. He is supposed to have ruled until his death at the age of 63.

Predecessor (Narmer / Menes)

Successor (Djer)

Mother (Neithhotep)

Monuments (Temple to Neith at Sais )

Children (Djer)

Hor-Aha

Neithhotep ( 1 st Dynasty )

Was the first queen of ancient Egypt, and is the earliest woman in history The name Neithhotep means (The Goddess Neith is satisfied).

Djer ( 1 st Dynasty )

His name was found in an inscription on the Wadi Halfa (south of the first Cataract)

on Ivory and wood labels from Abydos and Saqqara say he reigned for 57 years.

According to Manetho, he reigned 57 years, but according to modern research (Von Beckerath's Chronologie des pharaonischen Agypten) his reign lasted only two years (3000 BC-2999 BC).

He probably fought several battles against the Libyans in the Nile delta.

Djer's wife was Queen Herneith.

He was buried in the holy place Abydos.

The evidence for Djer's existence:

A tomb in Umm el-Qa'ab, Abydos.

Seal prints from graves in Saqqara.

Inscriptions in graves in Saqqara.

Predecessor (Hor-Aha)

Successor (Djet)

Monuments (Tomb in Umm el-Qa'ab)

Children (Djet)

Djer

Djet ( 1 st Dynasty )

Wadji-Djet is (Horus-Snake) (cobra).

Little is known about his reign, but he has become famous because of the survival, in well-preserved form, of one of his artistically refined tomb steles. His reign would have lasted 11 years, around 3040 B.C.

His limestone stela was found near Abydos where he was buried.

Predecessor (Djer)

Successor (Den)

Children (Den)

Djet

Merneith ( 1 st Dynasty )

Merneith’s name means (Beloved by Neith)

Merneith her rule occurred the thirtieth century B.C., for an undetermined period of time. Merneith’s name means Beloved by Neith and her stela contains symbols of that deity. She was Djet's senior royal wife and the mother of Den.

Queen Merneith she is the first woman in the history of ancient Egypt recorded as regent.

After the death of Djet, whose rule seems to have been short, it is believed that Merneith reigned for a period while her son Den was too young.

Two large funerary stelae with the name of Merneith.

At Abydos a tomb belonging to Merneith was found in an area associated with other rulers of the First Dynasty. A stela made of stone identifying the tomb as hers was found at the site.

At Saqqara a funerary monument dedicated to her was found along with those of five other rulers from the same period. Inside her monument archeologists discovered a solar boat that would allow her to travel with the sun god in the afterlife.

Merneith

Den ( 1 st Dynasty )

King Den since the king revived power in Egypt as an baby, Queen Merenith was constituted as his political consultant, which basically meant that she reined Egypt till he was able doing so himself. Den reigned Egypt for about 50 years

King Den had a prosperous time on the throne and art and economy seem to have flourished. Many innovations saw the daylight during his reign and he adopted the double crown to underline his dual kingship over the two countries.

King Den's tomb at the royal burial site at Abydos an average square memorial, but had a new feature in cast of a very long broad stairs leading instantly to the tomb chamber. This new architectural designing was rapidly adoptive in the private tomb sphere as well as the coming kings.

Around thirty great mastabas from his reign period were established by officials from Saqqara and upward north to Abu Roash. This was far more on the rules of his predecessors who just had a few constructed on their time on the throne.

King Den’s Tomb at abydos applies a lot granite, 136 accessory burials. It is bordered by a brick wall. Firstly a stairwell was amplified the burial chamber, which is 23.77 meter heights. There are two parts of stairway were apart by a wooden door. Likewise there are jar seailings and twenty ebony and ivory catchers commemorating the Den’s reign.

Predecessor (Djet)

Successor (Anedjib)

Den

Anedjib ( 1 st Dynasty )

Anedjib name means (Safe Is His Heart)

He kept Memphis as his capitol city throughout his approximate 14 years of rule, as the exact number of years remains unknown.

Anedjib's crown carried the symbols of both Upper and Lower Egypt, a representation of the unification of the country under his power.

His wife, Queen Betrest, was the mother of King Semerkhet

Order broke down during his reign when conflicting factions caused changes that would end this great dynasty.

Anedjib wore the double-crown of Egypt (the white crown of Upper Egypt and the red crown of Lower Egypt) as a representation of his power over both regions. There is some doubt, however, that he really controlled the north, since there is evidence of constant rebellion. Anedjib, in an attempt to legitimize his rule,

Anedjib built a tomb at Abydos, but it is one of the worst built and smallest of the Abydos royal tombs, the burial chamber was constructed entirely of wood, and there were 64 graves of retainers within the area, also of low grade construction.

Another tomb which was apparently built during the reign of Anedjib is that of an official named Nebitka at Saqqara. This tomb is interesting in that it contained a mud brick stepped structure inside the Mastaba like structure that some Egyptologists see as a forerunner of Djoser's Step Pyramid.

Predecessor (Den)

Successor (Semerkhet)

Anedjib

Semerkhet ( 1 st Dynasty )

Semerkhet name means (thoughtful friend). We know very little about his reign. The Palermo stone only records some religious ceremonies and that his mother was named Batirytes.

According to Manetho Semerkhet had a very difficult reign, that he reigned for eighteen years, while the Palermo stone only records an eight year reign Either way, he had time to build a much bigger tomb than his predecessor Anedjib. He was interred in Tomb U of the royal necropolis at Umm el-Qa'ab, near Abydos.

Predecessor (Anedjib)

Successor (Qa'a)

Semerkhet

Ancient Egypt - Dynasty 4

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 14:48:00 +0200

The Fourth Dynasty of Ancient Egypt is called (the golden age).from 2613 to 2494 BC, 115 years. The capital at fourth dynasty time was Memphis. Fourth Dynasty is the height of Egyptian civilization ever, the family which has built the Pyramids of Giza, the most famous buildings in world history forever. Egypt was able to accomplish the ambitious feat of the Giza pyramids because there had been a long period of peace and no threats of invasion.

Giza Pyramids

The kings of fourth dynasty:

Sneferu
Khufu
Djedefre
Khafre
Menkaure
Shepseskaf

Palermo Stone Petrie Museum

Sneferu

King Sneferu

Meidum Pyramid (this pyramid was possibly started by his predecessor Huni).

Meidum Pyramid

Meidum Pyramid (Google Earth)

Red Pyramid takes this name from the red limestone. Pyramid height 104m, base 220 m.

Red Pyramid

Red Pyramid (Google Earth)

The Bent Pyramid this pyramid built by Sneferu, height 101 m, base 188 m.

Bent Pyramid

Bent Pyramid (Google Earth)

Khufu

King Khufu Egyptian museum

Great Pyramid is the oldest and largest of the three pyramids in the Giza. It is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and the only one still intact. Height 146m, long on each side 240m, and consists of 2,300,000 blocks of stone, each averaging 2 1/2 tons in weight. Great Pyramid was the tallest structure in the world for over 3,800 years.

Great Pyramid

Great Pyramid (Google Earth)

From the book Guide to the Pyramids of Egypt, by Alberto Siliotti, with preface by Zahi Hawass
The American University in Cairo Press
113 Kasr el Aini Street
Cairo Egypt
ISBN 977-424-446-X

Khufu's Solar Boat, it was built to carry a Pharaoh across the Nile. Now it rests in a solar boat museum beside Khufu pyramid. The boat measured 43.6m long by 5.9m wide; and it is around 45 tons.

Solar Boat

Solar Boat in Stamp

Solar Boat (Google Earth)

Solar Boat Museum

Solar Boat Museum (Google Earth)

Djedefre

Djedefre was the son and successor of Khufu. He ruled Egypt from 2528 BC, to 2520 BC. (8 years). His name meaning (enduring like Re). He built his pyramid at Abu-Rawash (8 kilometers north of Giza); the pyramid includes a statue of his wife in the form of a sphinx. The solar cult grew in power during his reign. His royal cemetery near of his pyramid and include about 50 mastaba tombs.

Reign from 2566 to 2558 BC 4th Dynasty

Predecessor (Khufu)

Successor (Khafra)

Children (Hernet, Baka, Setka, Nikaudjedefre, Hetepheres, Neferhetepes)

Father (Khufu)

Monuments (Pyramid of Djedefre)

Djedefre - Louvre Museum

The pyramid of Djedefre
Djedefre, built his pyramid here 8km north of Giza near of Abu Rawash. The pyramid itself has a massive 49m channel cut into the bedrock to a 20m deep shaft.

Djedefre Pyramid

Djedefre Pyramid (Google Earth)

Khafre

King Khafre Egyptian Museum - Cairo

The Pyramid of Khafre is beside the Great Pyramid of Khufu. Height 136 meters, base 215 meters and the weight of stones about 4,880,000 tons.

Khafre's Pyramid

Khafre's Pyramid (Google Earth)

The Great Sphinx of Giza is the largest statue in the world and the oldest known statue in the world (mythical creature with a lion's body and a human head). Length is 74 meters; width is 6 meters, height is 21 meters, built by King Khafre.

Great Sphinx

Great Sphinx (Google Earth)

Menkaure

Menkaure and Queen

Menkaure's Pyramid at Giza is the smallest Pyramids of Giza. It was built to be the tomb of the Pharaoh Menkaure. Height is 67 meters. Length is 61 meters. Base is 108 meters.

Menkaure Pyramid

Menkaure Pyramid (Google Earth)

Queens Pyramids (three small pyramids near Menkaure's pyramid) (Queen Hetepheres,Queen Meritites and Queen Henutsen).

Queens Pyramids

Queens Pyramids (Google Earth)

Shepseskaf

Reign from 2503 to 2498 BC 4th Dynasty
Predecessor (Menkaura)
Successor (Userkaf)
Children (Khamaat)
Father (Menkaura)

Shepseskaf (Museum of Fine Arts-Boston)

Shepseskaf’s Mastaba, (100 meters longest side and 75 meters in width).

Shepseskaf Mastaba

Shepseskaf Mastaba (Google Earth)

Ancient Egypt - Dynasty 3

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 08:03:00 +0200

The Third Dynasty of ancient Egypt is the first dynasty the period of the Old Kingdom. The capital in The Third Dynasty was at Memphis. The Third Dynasty appears to have been one of strong kingship, concentration of power and improved administration. The pharaohs of Third Dynasty ruled for about 75 years.

The kings of third dynasty:

Sanakhte

Djoser

Sekhemkhet

Khaba

Huni

Sanakhte

Sanakhte also known as (Nebka) was the first king of the third dynasty, his name meaning (Strong protection), ruling from 2686 to 2667 B.C., about 19 years. Sanakhte became king by marrying a daughter of Khasekhemwy. There is a mastaba at Abydos in which fragments with his name have been found. This is also possibly his grave.

Reign from 2686 to 2667 BC 3rd Dynasty
Predecessor (Khasekhemwy)
Successor (Djoser)

Sanakhte

Djoser

Djoser pharaoh the second king of the Third dynasty of Egypt. Djoser ruled Egypt for twenty nine years. Djoser was also known as Netjerikhet, meaning (body of the gods). Statue of Djoser, now in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, is the oldest known statue. Djoser is known as the king who commissioned the building of the Step Pyramid at Saqqara and the temple complex surrounding it. This is the first building made of stone. Architect who planned and constructed the first stone buildings in the world (Imhotep).

The Pyramid of Djoser, or step pyramid in the Saqqara necropolis. It was built for the burial of Pharaoh Djoser by his vizier Imhotep.

The step pyramid consisted of six mastabas. 62 meters tall. The base about 109 meters X 125 meters.

Predecessor (Sanakhte)

Successor (Sekhmekhet)

Father (Khasekhemwy)

Mother (Nimaethap)

Monuments (Pyramid of Djoser)

King Djoser. Egyptian museum. Cairo

King Djoser. Egyptian museum. Cairo

Step Pyramid Djoser

Step Pyramid Djoser

Step Pyramid Djoser

Step Pyramid Djoser

Step Pyramid Djoser ( Google Earth )

Imhotep in Louvre

Sekhemkhet

Sekhmekhet was the third king of the third dynasty ruling from 2648 to 2640 B.C. about 8 years. His name is carved on a cliff near (Al-Maghara Valley) in Sinai. The king has an unfinished pyramid at Saqqara.

His unfinished pyramid was discovered at Saqqara, It may have been designed by Imhotep, who was active after Zoser's death.

Reign from 2648 to 2640 BC 3rd Dynasty

Predecessor (Djoser)

Successor (Khaba)

Children (Khaba)

Monuments (Buried Pyramid)

Sekhemkhet

Sekhemkhet

Sekhemkhet

The Pyramid of Sekhemkhet (Google Earth)

Khaba

King of Egypt, fourth king of the third dynasty, ruling from 2640 to 2637 B.C. about 4 years. Less is known about him.

Khaba is believed to have built his funerary monument in Zawyet El-Aryan, about 7 km north of Saqqara. It was left unfinished at an early stage of its building. Height about 20m (unfinished), base about 84m.

Reign from 2640 to 2637 BC 3rd Dynasty

Predecessor (Sekhemkhet)

Successor (Huni)

Father (Sekhemkhet )

Monuments (Layer Pyramid)

khaba

Layer Pyramid

Layer Pyramid

Layer Pyramid

Layer Pyramid (Google Earth)

Huni

Huni was the last Egyptian Pharaoh of the third dynasty.

He ruled Egypt from 2599 to 2575 BC. The king established a fortress on the island of Elephantine; also he built a pyramid at Meidum. The Pyramid at Maidum is a big step forward for pyramid builders it is the first to be planned from the beginning with smooth sides. Huni's vizier was a man named Kagemi.

Reign from 2637 to 2613 BC 3rd Dynasty

Predecessor Khaba

Successor Sneferu

Children Hetepheres I, Sneferu

Father Khaba

Monuments Step pyramid, Island fort at Elephantine, Meidum Pyramid

King Huni

King Huni

Pyramid Meidum

Pyramid Meidum

Pyramid Meidum

Pyramid Meidum

Pyramid Meidum (Google Earth)

Ancient Egypt - Dynasty 2

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 9 Oct 2010 23:01:00 +0200

The second dynasty of ancient Egypt is combined with the first dynasty under the group title Early Dynastic Period. (From 2890 to 2686 BC). About 204 years consisting of 7 kings, the capital at that time was Thinis. Manetho defined this dynasty to duration of 302 years, spanning 9 kings. While the number of kings is disputed, the duration seems to be 204 years with all sources.

The second dynasty is marked by political schisms; Egypt may have been divided between kings, along traditional borders between Upper and Lower Egypt.

The kings of second dynasty:

Hotepsekhemwy

Raneb

Nynetjer

Senedj

Seth - Peribsen

Sekhemi - Perenmaat

Khasekhemwy

Second dynasty of Egypt

Hotepsekhemwy

Predecessor (Qa`a)
Successor (Raneb)

Hotepsekhemwy

Raneb

Predecessor (Hotepsekhemwy)
Successor (Nynetjer)

Raneb Stela Metropolitan Museum

Nynetjer

Nynetjer was the third king of the second dynasty, the capital (Memphis). He ruled ancient Egypt for almost 40 years and he was famous for his festivals and marvelous temples.

Traces of Nynetjer are found with mud sealing at Saqqara. It is suggested that an underground gallery here was his tomb.

Predecessor (Raneb)
Successor (Senedj)

Nynetjer

Senedj

Senedj was a king during the Second Dynasty of Egypt who ruled for 20 years.

When pharaoh Senedj was in power Egypt was probably divided once again into its southern and northern parts, with him as the king in Lower Egypt from the capital Memphis.

Predecessor (Nynetjer)
Successor (Seth-Peribsen)

Seth - Peribsen

Seth-Peribsen was a king during the Second dynasty of Egypt who ruled for seventeen years, he was buried in Umm el-Qa'ab in Abydos.

His burial stelae (in the British Museum) show a Seth-creature rather than the more common Horus, and this might reveal that the king did not rule over the whole area of Egypt.

Predecessor (Senedj)
Successor (Sekhemib-Perenmaat)

Seth-Peribsen

Sekhemi - Perenmaat

Sekhemib-Perenmaat pharaoh of the Egyptian second dynasty,was a separate king who ruled Lower Egypt at the same time that Peribsen ruled Upper Egypt.

Predecessor ( Seth-Peribsen )

Successor (Khasekhemwy)

Sekhemib-Perenmaat

Khasekhemwy

Predecessor (Sekhemib-Perenmaat)
Successor (Sanakhte)
Children (Djoser,Hetephernebti,Sanakhte)

Khasekhemwy statue cairo museum

Ancient Egypt - Dynasty 1

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 7 Oct 2010 15:15:00 +0200

The First and second Dynasties of Ancient Egypt (The Early Dynastic). The capital at that time was Thinis.

Large tombs for their Pharaohs or kings at Abydos, Neqada and Saqqara in also at Helwan near Memphis.

During this time papyrus was invented and as a consequence writing was used as an administrative tool of government, the magnificent artifacts that have been found from this period.

The kings of first dynasty:

Narmer

Menes

Hor-Aha

Djer

Djet

Merneith

Den

Anedjib

Semerkhet

Qa'a

Narmer

King Narmer is thought to have reigned 3150 BC as first king of the 1st dynasty

With the flourishing of agriculture, industry and trade, the first river fleet was introduced by the Egyptians.

Narmer

The Narmer Palette dating from about the 31st century BC, containing some of the earliest hieroglyphic. On one side the king is depicted with the White crown of Upper Egypt and the other side depicts the king wearing the Red Crown of Lower Egypt. The Egyptologist Bob Brier has referred to the Narmer Palette as "the first historical document in the world".

The Narmer Palette is part of the permanent collection of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

Successor (Hor-Aha)
Mother (Queen Shesh)

Narmer Palette

Menes

According to Manetho, Menes was killed by a hippopotamus or by crocodiles after a 62 year reign. His was buried at Saqqara, the necropolis of Memphis.

Menes

Hor-Aha

He was buried at Saqqara, the necropolis off Memphis, but he built a second mortuary complex near Abydos. He is supposed to have ruled until his death at the age of 63.

Predecessor (Narmer / Menes)
Successor (Djer)
Mother (Neithhotep)
Monuments (Temple to Neith at Sais )
Children (Djer)

Hor-Aha

Djer

His name was found in an inscription on the Wadi Halfa (south of the first Cataract)

on Ivory and wood labels from Abydos and Saqqara say he reigned for 57 years.

According to Manetho, he reigned 57 years, but according to modern research (Von Beckerath's Chronologie des pharaonischen Agypten) his reign lasted only two years (3000 BC-2999 BC).

He probably fought several battles against the Libyans in the Nile delta.

Djer's wife was Queen Herneith.

He was buried in the holy place Abydos.

The evidence for Djer's existence:

A tomb in Umm el-Qa'ab, Abydos.

Seal prints from graves in Saqqara.

Inscriptions in graves in Saqqara.

Predecessor (Hor-Aha)
Successor (Djet)
Monuments (Tomb in Umm el-Qa'ab)
Children (Djet)

Djer

Djet

Wadji-Djet is (Horus-Snake) (cobra).

His limestone stela was found near Abydos where he was buried.

Predecessor (Djer)
Successor (Den)
Children (Den)

Djet

Merneith

Merneith’s name means (Beloved by Neith)

Queen Merneith she is the first woman in the history of ancient Egypt recorded as regent.

After the death of Djet, whose rule seems to have been short, it is believed that Merneith reigned for a period while her son Den was too young.

Two large funerary stelae with the name of Merneith.

At Abydos a tomb belonging to Merneith was found in an area associated with other rulers of the First Dynasty. A stela made of stone identifying the tomb as hers was found at the site.

Merneith

Den

Predecessor (Djet)
Successor (Anedjib)

Den

Den Tomp

Anedjib

Anedjib name means (Safe Is His Heart)

He kept Memphis as his capitol city throughout his approximate 14 years of rule, as the exact number of years remains unknown.

Anedjib's crown carried the symbols of both Upper and Lower Egypt, a representation of the unification of the country under his power.

His wife, Queen Betrest, was the mother of King Semerkhet

Order broke down during his reign when conflicting factions caused changes that would end this great dynasty.

Predecessor (Den)
Successor (Semerkhet)

Anedjib

Anedjib Tomp

Semerkhet

Semerkhet name means (thoughtful friend). We know very little about his reign. The Palermo stone only records some religious ceremonies and that his mother was named Batirytes.

Predecessor (Anedjib)
Successor (Qa'a)

Semerkhet

Qa'a

Qa'a is the last king of the first dynasty, although dates are rather wildly different when it comes to this king. There isn't much information about him.

His tomb in Abydos and burials in nearby Saqqara from the same time period. A seal impressions listing all the kings of First Dynasty.

Four large tombs in Saqqara date from his reign, two stelae were discovered for officials in his government, Merka and Sabef, with complex inscriptions.

A number of artifacts were found in the tomb during its many excavations, the lower part of two wooden statues was found in one of these tombs in a set of rooms on the north side.

Qa'a is the last king to be buried with subsidiary burials of attendants and servants.

Predecessor (Semerkhet)
Successor (Hotepsekhemwy)
Monuments (Tomb in Umm el-Qa'ab)

Qa'a Tomp

New Kingdom

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 6 Oct 2010 12:50:00 +0200

The New Kingdom was a time period that lasted from around 1570 BC-1080 BC established a period of unprecedented prosperity by securing their borders and strengthening diplomatic ties with their neighbors. Military campaigns waged under Tuthmosis I and his grandson Tuthmosis III extended the influence of the pharaohs into Syria and Nubia, cementing loyalties and opening access to critical imports such as bronze and wood. The New Kingdom started out as a great time for Ancient Egypt, but it ended very differently. In the New Kingdom, Ancient Egypt was one of the world’s greatest powers. Egypt conquered many countries around Nubia, supplying Egypt with many treasures. Soon Egypt developed a great empire that reached its highest point in 1400 BC. The New Kingdom capital was moved to Thebes. Later the pharaoh Amenhotep devoted himself to the god Aton, who replaced all the gods in the New Kingdom except for Ra, the sun god. At the end of the New Kingdom, Ancient Egyptians Moving the capital to the new city of Akhenaton ( tall el Amarna), Akhenaton turned a deaf ear to foreign affairs and absorbed himself in his new religion and artistic style. After his death, the cult of the Aton was quickly abandoned, and the subsequent pharaohs Tutankhamun, Ay, and Horemheb erased all mention of Akhenaton’s heresy, now known as the Amarna Period. Soon there was another power struggle among the government officials. This caused Ancient Egypt to break into smaller states, making it weak. Invaders gladly took advantage of their weakness.

New Kingdom

Third Intermediate Period

At the death of Ramses’ XI, the throne passed to Smendes. Smendes' reign (from 1070 to 1044 B.C.)

About 350 years of politically divided rule (known as the Third Intermediate Period). The Third Intermediate Period laid the foundation for many changes that are observable in art and culture throughout the first millennium. This period of Egyptian history can be divided into three general stages.

The 21st Dynasty ruled Lower Egypt in Tanis. The 22nd Dynasty was split between Upper and lower Egypt. Rulers of the 23rd Dynasty held Thebes early on, but later ruled from Herakleopolis, Tanis, Hermopolis, and Leontopolis. Splitting of the central rule of Egypt into competing centers of power weakened the government considerably, and probably led to the Kushite attack that took control with the 25th Dynasty and the Late Kingdom.

Third Intermediate Period

Late Period

The Late Period (the time from the end of the Third Intermediate Period to the beginning of Greek rule). During the Late Period, Egypt alternated between native rule and domination by Persia. The Twenty-sixth Dynasty used Greek mercenaries to seize power in the vacuum left by the withdrawal of both Assyria and the Kushite kings from Egypt. With no permanent plans for conquest, the Assyrians left control of Egypt to a series of vassals who became known as the Saite kings of the Twenty-Sixth Dynasty. Throughout the Late Period, Egypt made a largely successful effort to maintain an effectively centralized state, which, except for the two periods of Persian occupation (Twenty-seventh and Thirty-first dynasties), was based on earlier indigenous models. Late Period Egypt, however, displayed certain destabilizing features, such as the emergence of regionally based power centers. These contributed to the revolts against the Persian occupation but also to the recurrent internal crises of the Twenty-eighth, Twenty-ninth, and Thirtieth dynasties.

Late Period

Ptolemaic Dynasty

The Ptolemaic dynasty flourished in Egypt (from 323 until 31 BC). Ptolemy I Soter began with the satrapy of Egypt. The Ptolemaic kingdom survived until Ptolemy’s grandson Ptolemaios XV Caesar was executed by Octavian in 31 BC. Ptolemy's family ruled Egypt until the Roman conquest of 30 BC. The dynastic history of Ptolemaic Egypt is very confusing, because all the male rulers of the dynasty took the name Ptolemy, and because many of them married their sisters, who were often called Cleopatra. The most famous member of the line was the last Ptolemaic queen, Cleopatra VII. This period is confusing due to all of the co-regencies. Scholars are not always in agreement on the order of reigns and, in some case, the reigns themselves, from Ptolemy VI through Ptolemy XI. In any event, Egypt's authority and wealth was intact until the death of Cleopatra, at which time, Egypt was overpowered by Rome.

Ptolemaic dynasty

Roman domination

Egypt became a province of the Roman Empire in 30 BC, following the defeat of Marc Antony and Ptolemaic Queen Cleopatra VII by Octavian in the Battle of Actium. The Romans relied heavily on grain shipments from Egypt.

Alexandria became an increasingly important center on the trade route with the orient.

Roman domination

Middle Kingdom

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 6 Oct 2010 12:25:00 +0200

The Middle Kingdom is the period in the history of ancient Egypt stretching from the establishment of the Eleventh Dynasty to the end of the Fourteenth Dynasty, roughly between 2030 BC and 1640 BC.

The once proud land of Egypt splintered into dozens of independent states. It seemed as if the Two Lands and the king of the Two Lands would never appear again; but two kings, Intef and Mentuhotep, in the region of Luxor re-established order and reinstituted the institution of the Egyptian king.
The dynasty they began, the Eleventh Dynasty, marks the beginning of the Middle Kingdom. Under these kings, trade with foreign countries began again, irrigation projects were repaired, and the writing of texts started up from scratch.
The period comprises two phases, the 11th Dynasty, which ruled from Thebes and the 12th Dynasty onwards which was centered on el-Lisht. These two dynasties were originally considered to be the full extent of this unified kingdom, but historians now consider the 13th Dynasty to at least partially belong to the Middle Kingdom.
Mentuhotep II's mortuary monument was at Deir-el-Bahri in western Thebes. It was not the saff-tomb type of previous Theban rulers or the reversion to Old Kingdom types of 12th Dynasty rulers. It had terraces and verandahs with groves of trees. It may have had a square mastaba tomb. His wives' tombs were in the complex. Amenemhat II built a pyramid on a platform -- the White Pyramid at Dahshur. Senusret III's was a 60-m high mud-brick pyramid at Dahshur.
Mentuhotep II made military campaigns in Nubia, which Egypt had lost by the 1st Intermediate Period. So did Senusret I under whom Buhen became Egypt's southern border. Mentuhotep III was the first Middle Kingdom ruler to send an expedition to Punt for incense. He also built fortifications at Egypt's northeastern border. Senusret instituted the practice of building of monuments at every cult site and paid attention to the cult of Osiris.
Mentuhotep IV was the final pharaoh of this dynasty, and despite being absent from various lists of pharaohs, his reign is attested from a few inscriptions in Wadi Hammamat that record expeditions to the Red Sea coast and to quarry stone for the royal monuments. The leader of this expedition was his vizier Amenemhat, who is widely assumed to be the future pharaoh Amenemhet I, the first king of the 12th Dynasty. Amenemhet is widely assumed by some Egyptologists to have either usurped the throne or assumed power after Mentuhotep IV died childless.

The pharaohs of the Middle Kingdom restored the country's prosperity and stability, thereby stimulating a resurgence of art, literature, and monumental building projects. Mentuhotep II and his 11th Dynasty successors ruled from Thebes, but the vizier Amenemhat I, upon assuming kingship at the beginning of the 12th Dynasty around 1985 BC, shifted the nation's capital to the city of Itjtawy located in Faiyum. From Itjtawy, the pharaohs of the 12th Dynasty undertook a far-sighted land reclamation and irrigation scheme to increase agricultural output in the region. Moreover, the military reconquered territory in Nubia rich in quarries and gold mines, while laborers built a defensive structure in the Eastern Delta, called the "Walls-of-the-Ruler", to defend against foreign attack. Having secured military and political security and vast agricultural and mineral wealth, the nation's population, arts, and religion flourished. In contrast to elitist Old Kingdom attitudes towards the gods, the Middle Kingdom experienced an increase in expressions of personal piety and what could be called a democratization of the afterlife, in which all people possessed a soul and could be welcomed into the company of the gods after death. Middle Kingdom literature featured sophisticated themes and characters written in a confident, eloquent style, and the relief and portrait sculpture of the period captured subtle, individual details that reached new heights of technical perfection. The last great ruler of the Middle Kingdom, Amenemhat III, allowed Asiatic settlers into the delta region to provide a sufficient labor force for his especially active mining and building campaigns. These ambitious building and mining activities, however, combined with inadequate Nile floods later in his reign, strained the economy and precipitated the slow decline into the Second Intermediate Period during the later 13th and 14th dynasties. During this decline, the foreign Asiatic settlers began to seize control of the delta region, eventually coming to power in Egypt as the Hyksos.

Middle Kingdom

Middle Kingdom

Middle Kingdom

Second Intermediate Period
Around 1650 BC, as the power of the Middle Kingdom pharaohs weakened, Asiatic immigrants living in the Eastern Delta town of Avaris seized control of the region and forced the central government to retreat to Thebes, where the pharaoh was treated as a vassal and expected to pay tribute.The Hyksos (foreign rulers) imitated Egyptian models of government and portrayed themselves as pharaohs, thus integrating Egyptian elements into their Middle Bronze Age culture.
After their retreat, the Theban kings found themselves trapped between the Hyksos to the north and the Hyksos' Nubian allies, the Kushites, to the south. Nearly 100 years of tenuous inaction followed, and it was not until 1555 BC that the Theban forces gathered enough strength to challenge the Hyksos in a conflict that would last more than 30 years. The pharaohs Seqenenre Tao II and Kamose were ultimately able to defeat the Nubians, but it was Kamose's successor, Ahmose I, who successfully waged a series of campaigns that permanently eradicated the Hyksos' presence in Egypt. In the New Kingdom that followed, the military became a central priority for the pharaohs seeking to expand Egypt's borders and secure her complete dominance of the Near East.

Second Intermediate Period

Old Kingdom

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 6 Oct 2010 12:04:00 +0200

The Old Kingdom is most commonly regarded as the period of time when Egypt was ruled by the Third Dynasty through the Sixth Dynasty (2686 BC – 2181 BC). Many Egyptologists also include the Memphite Seventh and Eighth Dynasties in the Old Kingdom as a continuation of the administration centralized at Memphis. While the Old Kingdom was a period of internal security and prosperity, it was followed by a period of disunity and relative cultural decline referred to by Egyptologists as the First Intermediate Period.

During the Old Kingdom, the king of Egypt (not called the Pharaoh until the New Kingdom) became a living god, who ruled absolutely and could demand the services and wealth of his subjects.

Under King Djoser, the second king of the Third Dynasty of the Old Kingdom, the royal capital of Egypt was moved to Memphis, where Djoser established his court. A new era of building was initiated at Saqqara under his reign. King Djoser's architect, Imhotep is credited with the development of building with stone and with the conception of the new architectural form the Step Pyramid.

The Old Kingdom is perhaps best known for the large number of pyramids constructed at this time as pharaonic burial places. For this reason, the Old Kingdom is frequently referred to as "the Age of the Pyramids."

Architects and masons mastered the techniques necessary to build monumental structures in stone. Sculptors created the earliest portraits of individuals and the first life size statues in wood, copper, and stone. They perfected the art of carving intricate relief decoration and, through keen observation of the natural world, produced detailed images of animals, plants, and even landscapes, recording the essential elements of their world for eternity in scenes painted and carved on the walls of temples and tombs. The royal capital of Egypt during the Old Kingdom was located at Memphis, where Djoser established his court.

The Old Kingdom and its royal power reached their zenith under the Fourth Dynasty. Sneferu, the dynasty's founder, is believed to have commissioned at least three pyramids; while his son and successor Khufu erected the Great Pyramid of Giza, Sneferu had more stone and brick moved than any other pharaoh. Khufu, his son Khafra , and his grandson Menkaura , all achieved lasting fame in the construction of their pyramids. To organize and feed the manpower needed to create these pyramids required a centralized government with extensive powers.

Egyptologists believe the Old Kingdom at this time demonstrated this level of sophistication. Recent excavations near the pyramids have uncovered a large city which seems to have housed, fed and supplied the pyramid workers. Although it was once believed that slaves built these monuments, a theory based on the biblical Exodus story, study of the tombs of the workmen, who oversaw construction on the pyramids.

Old Kingdom

The First Intermediate Period,often described as a dark period in ancient Egyptian history, spanned approximately one hundred years after the end of the Old Kingdom from 2181 to 2055 BC. It included the seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, and part of the eleventh dynasties.

The First Intermediate Period was a dynamic time in history where rule of Egypt was roughly divided between two competing power bases. One of those bases resided at Heracleopolis in Lower Egypt, a city just south of the Faiyum region. The other resided at Thebes in Upper Egypt. It is believed that during this time, the temples were pillaged and violated, their existing artwork was vandalized, and the statues of kings were broken or destroyed as a result of this alleged political chaos.

These two kingdoms would eventually come into conflict, with the Theban kings conquering the north, resulting in reunification of Egypt under a single ruler during the second part of the eleventh dynasty.

After Egypt's central government collapsed at the end of the Old Kingdom, the administration could no longer support or stabilize the country's economy. Regional governors could not rely on the king for help in times of crisis, and the ensuing food shortages and political disputes escalated into famines and small-scale civil wars. Yet despite difficult problems, local leaders, owing no tribute to the pharaoh, used their newfound independence to establish a thriving culture in the provinces.

Once in control of their own resources, the provinces became economically richer a fact demonstrated by larger and better burials among all social classes. In bursts of creativity, provincial artisans adopted and adapted cultural motifs formerly restricted to the royalty of the Old Kingdom, and scribes developed literary styles that expressed the optimism and originality of the period. Free from their loyalties to the pharaoh, local rulers began competing with each other for territorial control and political power. By 2160 BC, rulers in Herakleopolis controlled Lower Egypt, while a rival clan based in Thebes, the Intef family, took control of Upper Egypt. As the Intefs grew in power and expanded their control northward, a clash between the two rival dynasties became inevitable. Around 2055 BC the Theban forces under Nebhepetre Mentuhotep II finally defeated the Herakleopolitan rulers, reuniting the Two Lands and inaugurating a period of economic and cultural renaissance known as the Middle Kingdom.

The First Intermediate Period

Ancient Egypt

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 6 Oct 2010 11:47:00 +0200

The History of Ancient Egypt spans the period from the early predynastic settlements of the northern Nile Valley to the Roman conquest in 30 BC. The Pharaonic Period is dated from around 3150 BC, when Lower and Upper Egypt became a unified state, until the country fell under Greek rule in 332 BC.

The civilization of Ancient Egypt lasted longer than the entire span of what we have come to accept a recorded history.

Over three thousand years. During these years the Egyptians developed a multitude of gods and goddesses, Egypt was the source of the first true religion, under the pharaoh Akhenaton. This rich tradition was mostly unknown until the early nineteenth century, when the Egyptian language was finally deciphered.

Egypt's history is split into several different periods according to the dynasty of the ruling of each pharaoh.

The success of ancient Egyptian civilization stemmed partly from its ability to adapt to the conditions of the Nile River Valley. The predictable flooding and controlled irrigation of the fertile valley produced surplus crops, which fueled social development and culture. With resources to spare, the administration sponsored mineral exploitation of the valley and surrounding desert regions, the early development of an independent writing system, the organization of collective construction and agricultural projects, trade with surrounding regions, and a military intended to defeat foreign enemies and assert Egyptian dominance.

Motivating and organizing these activities was a bureaucracy of elite scribes, religious leaders, and administrators under the control of a pharaoh who ensured the cooperation and unity of the Egyptian people in the context of an elaborate system of religious beliefs. The many achievements of the ancient Egyptians include the quarrying, surveying and construction techniques that facilitated the building of monumental pyramids, temples, and obelisks; a system of mathematics, a practical and effective system of medicine, irrigation systems and agricultural production techniques, the first known ships, Egyptian faience and glass technology, new forms of literature, and the earliest known peace treaty. Egypt left a lasting legacy. Its art and architecture were widely copied, and its antiquities carried off to far corners of the world as the numerous collections in the world's museums testify. Its monumental ruins have inspired the imaginations of travelers and writers for centuries.

Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt

( Predynastic Period ) before 3100 BC.

In Predynastic and Early Dynastic times, the Egyptian climate was much less arid than it is today. Large regions of Egypt were covered in treed savanna and traversed by herds of grazing ungulates. Foliage and fauna were far more prolific in all environs and the Nile region supported large populations of waterfowl. Hunting would have been common for Egyptians and this is also the period during which many animals would have been first domesticated.

By about 5500 BC, small tribes living in the Nile valley had developed into a series of cultures demonstrating firm control of agriculture and animal husbandry, and identifiable by their pottery and personal items, such as combs, bracelets, and beads. The largest of these early cultures in upper Egypt.

Predynastic Period

Predynastic Period

( Protodynastic Period ) from 3100 to 3000 BC.

The Protodynastic Period of Egypt refers the period of time at the very end of the Predynastic Period. It is equivalent to the archaeological phase known as Naqada III, and is generally dated to circa 3100–3000 BC. It is sometimes known as Dynasty 0 or the Late Predynastic Period.

The Protodynastic Period is characterised as being the time when ancient Egypt was undergoing the process of political unification, leading to a unified state during the Early Dynastic Period. Furthermore, it is during this time when the Egyptian language was first being recorded in hieroglyphs.

Protodynastic Period

Protodynastic Period

( Early Dynastic Period ) 1st and 2nd Dynasties.

Ancient Egypt was divided into two kingdoms about 3100 BC: Upper and Lower Egypt which were unified into a single kingdom by Menes about 3000 BC.
Ancient Egypt during the Early Dynastic Period was divided into 42 administrative regions.
Egyptian pharaohs had an absolute power and were both secular and religious rulers. They were considered reincarnations of god Horus in life, viewed as divine and worshiped like gods.
The Early Dynastic Period was also marked by the development of hieroglyphic writing. The Early Dynastic Period is often considered a prelude to the great era of the Old Kingdom not only because of the centralized state organization, established tax collection system, taking census, official year numbering.
Early Dynastic Period The third century BC Egyptian priest Manetho grouped the long line of pharaohs from Menes to his own time into 30 dynasties, a system still in use today. He chose to begin his official history with the king named Menes who was then believed to have united the two kingdoms of Upper and Lower Egypt.

The transition to a unified state actually happened more gradually than the ancient Egyptian writers would have us believe, and there is no contemporary record of Menes. Some scholars now believe, however, that the mythical Menes may have actually been the pharaoh Narmer, who is depicted wearing royal regalia on the ceremonial Narmer Palette in a symbolic act of unification. In the Early Dynastic Period , the first of the Dynastic pharaohs solidified their control over lower Egypt by establishing a capital at Memphis, from which they could control the labor force and agriculture of the fertile delta region as well as the lucrative and critical trade routes to the Levant. The increasing power and wealth of the pharaohs during the early dynastic period was reflected in their elaborate mastaba tombs and mortuary cult structures at Abydos, which were used to celebrate the deified pharaoh after his death. The strong institution of kingship developed by the pharaohs served to legitimize state control over the land, labor, and resources that were essential to the survival and growth of ancient Egyptian civilization.

Early Dynastic Period

Early Dynastic Period

( Egypt ) the history of pre-history

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Egypt Map

Egypt, commonly known as “The Motherland of the World”, “Land of Civilizations” and “The Greatest Power in Human History”,

Amongst all civilizations and nations, Egypt has always maintained a unique position. Historically, Egypt is universally acknowledged as the world’s most ancient state with a unified societal entity within its current geographical borders.

Egypt has been referred to as the "Gift of the Nile" due to the river that has nourished the desert land and sustained one of the most ancient and ever-lasting civilizations in the world.

The country has long captured the world’s imagination as the magic land of the Pharaohs and their awe-inspiring Pyramids of Giza, the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World to survive.

Egypt in World Map

Egypt in Africa Map

Egypt, a country located in the far north -east of Africa, bordered to the north, south-east coast of the Mediterranean Sea and east coast of north-west of the Red Sea and an area of 1,002,450 square kilometers.

Egypt is a state most of the territories in Africa, but part of its territory, and the Sinai Peninsula, is located in the continent of Asia.

Egypt shares borders to the west with Libya, and South with the Sudan, and overlooking the Red Sea from the eastern side. Pass through its territory the Suez Canal that separates the Asian part of the section of Africa.

The focus of most of Egypt's population in the valley of the Nile, particularly in Greater Cairo, which nearly a quarter of the population, and Alexandria; also live most of the remaining population in the Delta and on both coasts of the Mediterranean and the Red Sea and the cities of the Suez Canal, and running these places are a 40 thousand square kilometers. While a majority of the desert area of the Republic and is not built. Most of the population in Egypt is now urban, a quarter in Cairo.

Egypt Map

Name of Egypt

The ancient Egyptian name of the country is Kemet, which means "black land", referring to the fertile black soils of the Nile flood plains,

The name is realized as (kīmi) and (kīmə) in the Coptic stage of the Egyptian language, and appeared in early Greek as (Khēmía).

While the Hebrew name Mizraim. To be the son of Ham son of Noah, a grandfather who hails from the Egyptian people.

The name Egypt is an English rendering of the Greek name Aiguptos, which in turn is a transliteration of the Egyptian Hwt-Ptah, which means Temple of Ptah. The Egyptians themselves named their country Keme, which means the Black Land.

Egypt

History of Egypt

The Egyptian civilization was one of the great civilizations that had deep-rooted values and persistent traditions. Despite the succession of different political rules, the Egyptian people kept their customs and traditions, most of which are still prevalent in daily life and social behaviors.

Since Egyptians believed in an afterlife, they believed that people enjoyed many of the same activities after death as they did in their current life. They prepared for their afterlife by filling their tombs with small and large statutes of friends and family, and with other items they might need to keep them company and to help them have a good time in the afterlife.

The ancient Egyptians enjoyed their life to the fullest. They worked very hard, but saved time to enjoy family, friends, music, parties, swimming, fishing, hunting, sailing, and especially their children, all of which were very important to them.

History of Egypt

Egyptian history can be divided to the following periods:

Predynastic Period

The Predynastic Period extends over a very long span of time marking the first evidence of human civilization beginning to appear in Egypt.

It is the period that preceded the invention of writing and recording, a period that witnessed the first man recording his ideas and achievement and expressing himself using written language on papyrus.

Discovered monuments contributed in clearing the vision over the prehistoric man through adding information about his origin, culture, religious beliefs, houses, tools and tombs.

Predynastic Period

Prehistoric period is divided into three important phases, Paleolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic Age in Egypt, the Neolithic Age witnessed man's efforts in creating stable life either from the social, economic or religious aspects. Emerging from the surrounding environment and relying on nature imitation, his thoughts carried the meaning of creation and hard work.

Predynastic Period

Neolithic period

The Nile has been the lifeline for Egyptian culture since nomadic hunter-gatherers began living along the Nile during the Pleistocene. Traces of these early people appear in the form of artifacts and rock carvings along the terraces of the Nile and in the oases.

Along the Nile, in the 11th millennium BC, a grain-grinding culture using the earliest type of sickle blades had been replaced by another culture of hunters, fishers, and gathering people using stone tools. Evidence also indicates human habitation and cattle herding in the southwestern corner of Egypt, near the Sudan border, before 8000 BC.

Geological evidence and computer climate modeling studies suggest that natural climate changes around 8000 BC began to desiccate the extensive pastoral lands of northern Africa, eventually forming the Sahara.

Continued desiccation forced the early ancestors of the Egyptians to settle around the Nile more permanently and forced them to adopt a more sedentary lifestyle. However, the period from 9,000 to 6,000 BC has left very little in the way of archaeological evidence.

The Neolithic Age Culture is distinguished by general features, most importantly are:

1- Raising animals and livestock (like sheep, goats, oxen, pigs, and dogs) of which man availed in houses and farms

2- Learning cultivation and establishing a stable settled life.

3- Smoothing stones to create tools and producing various kinds of them.

4- Making pottery, baskets, mats, and ropes, weaving flax, and producing leather.

This age is divided into two phases:

The first phrase is the one in which tools were made of stone rather than metal. This stage is called Neolithic.

The second stage began with man using metals, particularly copper. Thus, it is called Chalcolithic Age.

The main centers of the first phase for the Neolithic Age, discovered up till now in Egypt are:

Wadi Halfa

Some of the oldest known buildings were discovered in Egypt, along the southern border near Wadi Halfa.

Wadi Halfa

Faiyum

The period between 9,000 and 6,000 BC has left very little in the way of archaeological evidence. Around 6,000 BC Neolithic settlements appear all over Egypt.

Weaving is evidenced for the first time during the Faiyum A Period, functioned for trade and protection of livestock, for protection from the flood on high ground. Also their dead were buried very close to and sometimes, inside their own settlements.

Faiyum Desert

Marmadat Bany Salama

Marmadat Bany Salama is a village and an archeological site in Giza. It is a city of a great history that dates back to the Predynastic Period.

The remains of Marmadat Bani Salama proves that the inhabitants of this city discovered the ways of agriculture, storing agricultural products, pottery making and burying their dead people next to their houses or in the left side of the house.

Marmadat Bany Salama culture

El Omari

El-Omari was located in Lower Egypt, El-Omari has not been extensively excavated that the sites were occupied from 4000 BC and continued to be inhabited until the Archaic Period.

The pottery is made with the local clay. The stone tool repertoire consists of small flakes, axes, sickles and point.

The dead were buried in abandoned storage pits near houses. The body was placed on the left side with the head to the south and facing west. Many burials contained a small pot place in front of the body

Many of the dead were buried with a very simple ornament. This was done to show some sort of authority.

El Omari

Maadi

Maadi is the most important Lower Egyptian prehistoric culture.

Copper was known, and some copper adzes have been found. The pottery is simple and undecorated.

People lived in small huts, partly dug into the ground. The dead were buried in cemeteries, but there were only a few burial goods.

Maadi culture

Deir Tasa

Tasian is a site on the east bank of the Nile between Asyut and Akhmim. , The Tasian people knew cultivation and planted different cereals. Women interested in cosmetics, knew green and red colors and used them in their make-up and wore ornaments.

Pottery of Deir Tasa was distinguished with red and black edges. There was also a kind of pottery smoothed and decorated with white paintings. People in Deir Tasa produced other kinds, such as the brown and gray potteries.

Tombs of Deir Tasa took the shape of small oval holes with a small hole in its western wall designed in order to preserve the objects of the dead person. These objects were important for man in the Ancient Egypt, because of his belief in the Afterlife. The dead person was buried in fetus position and directed to the south. He was wrapped in mat, leather or linen.

Deir Tasa

El-Badari City, Asyut.

The Badarian Culture that is distinguished by discovering copper and other metals. The Badarian people were keen in developing the industry of pottery, seeking to render it smoother and more decorated. They produced red black-edged pottery and decorated their pots with drawings of plants and figures.

This culture was distinguished by its small female statues made of pottery, ivory or clay.

Women were interested in decoration, ornament, and cosmetics and used the blue and red colors in their make-up. They wore linen and leather clothes. They also used spoons, which is a behavior quite similar to what happens nowadays.

Tombs of the Badarian people were oval holes. Their tombs were covered with mat. The dead person was buried in fetus position and directed to the south. He was buried on something like a sofa, wrapped in leather and covered with linen.

El-Badari

Niqada I

Niqada I is a city located in Qena where a huge number of potteries were found in more than 900 tombs. More than 1500 tombs had been discovered up till now.

The culture of Niqada I is distinguished with smooth red pottery, black-edged red pottery and a third kind of pottery with white paintings. Pottery at this phase had various shapes. People used it in making bowls, pots, plates and cups.

Tombs of Niqada I resembled oval holes, where the dead person was to be buried in fetus position and directed to the south. Dead people's corpses were wrapped with goatskin or mat and there were mass graves as well.

These tombs suggest that either they were family graves or that the servants of the dead were killed and buried to serve their masters in the Second Life. Also discovered are tombs for animals and humans buried together.

Niqada I

Niqada II

Niqada II culture is extends to Lower Nubia area on the south; there are not discoveries of Niqada II's ancient monuments in Delta.

The Ancient Egyptians used diorite, basalt and Alolpastr for making stony vessels. Also, they used green slate for making bird-like, fish-like and turtle-like vases. In addition, they made rectangle vases with their edges decorated shapes of birds and animal heads.

The cemetery in Niqada II is like a square or a rectangle. The Egyptians tried to outline the interior boundaries of cemetery by using mud then by ditch reeds or boards. The dead person was buried in fetus position and shrouded in flax.

Niqada II

Niqada III

Niqada III is the last phase of period of ancient Egyptian prehistory, from 3200 to 3000 BC.

It is the period during which the process of state formation, which had begun to take place in Naqada II, Naqada III extends all over Egypt.

Niqada III