For a long time, peace and stability in ancient Egypt were impossible. One of the influential factors was the Assyrians. They did not invade the territory of the state so often, but these raids were devastating. The largest cities, temples and even tombs were, if not destroyed, then plundered. After this people was forced to leave the country of the pyramids (in the 15th century BC), the stage of the highest flowering of the ancient Egyptian state begins. We will dwell on this issue in more detail later.
Thus, the history of Ancient Egypt began in the 15th century BC. e. This period was marked by the signing of a military-economic alliance between the Egyptians and neighboring states, which helped rid Egypt of another enemy - the Hyksos. These are the tribes that have also been destroying the Egyptian state for decades.
The New Kingdom of Ancient Egypt is the third period in its history. At this time, the country is experiencing its heyday, which has affected all spheres of life: political, economic, social.
The city of Thebes became the capital of the new state. The god Amon was considered the patron of the city, so the inhabitants of himworshiped.
Pharaohs of the New Kingdom
The stage is famous for the pharaohs who did a lot to raise their country to a high level. It was during the era of the New Kingdom in Egypt that the first female pharaoh ruled.
Reign of Hatshepsut
Hatshepsut is the world's first female pharaoh, who ruled the country of the pyramids for 22 years. As befitted the pharaoh, she wore a false beard. Queen Hatshepsut was the daughter of Thutmose I and was the main wife of Thutmose II. She sat on the throne after the imminent death of her husband. Before accession, she had the same name - Hatshepsut ("Before the noble ladies").
The female pharaoh Hatshepsut significantly expanded the boundaries of the Egyptian state, using not only military campaigns for this, but also the skill of a diplomat. Repeatedly she was at the head of the army. Queen Hatshepsut was actively engaged in construction: she built not only temples, but also cities. Restored cultural monuments that destroyed the Hyksos tribes. She came up with the idea of building the two tallest obelisks in Egypt. As assistants, the female pharaoh took only talented people. Independently established domestic and international trade. She led more than one expedition to East Africa. The reign of Hatshepsut remains a mystery to history, since she is not in the official list of the pharaohs of Egypt. The female pharaoh Hatshepsut is little remembered in the annals either. Almost all the inscriptions about her were specially destroyed.
It is also known that the woman had a daughter - Neferura. Hatshepsut probably cooked for herselfsuccessor. Such conclusions can be drawn by studying the images of Nefrura in her youth - with a beard and curls. But the son of her husband Thutmose II and concubine Isis became pharaoh. It will be discussed further.
Ruler after Hatshepsut
Thutmose III is the stepson of Hatshepsut. Ruled for 31 years. Could not take the throne of his father after his death, because he was a minor. One of the famous great Egyptian warriors and pharaohs who came to power after Hatshepsut. From a previously small Egyptian state, he managed to create a real empire that stretched from Syria to the banks of the Nile (the territory increased by almost 3 times). The border of Egypt reached the banks of the Euphrates River, which is in Asia. To achieve such success, he won an absolute victory in 17 wars that took place in the north and south of the state. Gathered the most powerful army in the world at that time. He also managed to oust the states of the Middle East. The states that Thutmose III conquered brought tribute to Egypt in the form of ivory, gold, and silver. In their territories, the pharaoh built military garrisons. Modern historians call him "Napoleon who ruled in ancient Egypt." The power and majesty of the Egyptian state during the reign of Thutmose III was recognized by many foreign states: Babylon, Assyria, the Hittite kingdom.
The reign of Akhenaten
The peak of power Ancient Egypt reached during the reign of Pharaoh Amenhotep III. Upon ascending the throne, he changed his name to Akhenaten, in honor of the beloved sun god Aten. He also became the cause of religious reform. Amenhotep III refused to worship the multitudegods. The only deity for him was Aten. This is the first attempt in the history of mankind to introduce a single religion for the people. The pharaoh paid special attention to diplomatic relations and tried to resolve all emerging problems only peacefully. For which he was nicknamed "Sunny". Established ties with neighboring states. You can learn about the features of diplomatic correspondence from the Amarna archive - clay tablets on which communication was conducted. Art reaches special heights during this period: sculpture and architecture. Changes also took place in construction technology: large blocks for the construction of temples were replaced with smaller blocks. They were called "talatats". It was a kind of breakthrough in construction, which contributed to the acceleration of the construction of temples and houses. Sphinxes of Amenhotep III made of granite are kept in Russia, which testify to the golden era in Egypt during the reign of this pharaoh.
Archaeologists during the excavations found a sculptural portrait of his wife - the beautiful Nefertiti. At heart, her pharaoh husband was a romantic, he wrote poems and songs to his beloved. Over time, residents began to note the lack of a "firm hand" in the state, which led to the fall of strict orders.
Reign of Ramses II
Ramses II is considered one of the builders of the Egyptian state. People called him the Great. Thanks to more than a dozen military campaigns, the pharaoh returned the old territories to the state. He used slaves as warriors, who were driven from the conqueredterritories.
During his reign, new temples were erected, which amazed many more centuries with their grandeur and size. According to historians and photographs that have survived to this day, Pharaoh Ramses II was about 2 meters tall. He was a long-liver - he lived for about 90 years, of which 66 were in power. According to historical data, had about 200 children.
After the government of Ramses II, the power of Egypt is falling. The weakened state was increasingly attacked by enemy tribes. In the period from XIII to XII Art. BC e. frequent raids were made by new tribes of the Mediterranean. Completely weakened Egypt in the 6th c. BC e. conquered by the Persians and annexed to their empire. They managed to turn the territory into the richest and most majestic region. A century later, the memories of the pharaohs have become just legends.
Religion and beliefs of the Egyptians during the New Kingdom
The inhabitants of Egypt believed in the gods and worshiped them. They believed that only the gods controlled all the processes of life and natural phenomena. This is evidenced by a large number of myths that they created. The Egyptians not only composed myths, but also depicted their plots on the walls of temples, tombs, and created sculptures of gods. So, they called the sky the goddess Nut. She was also considered the patroness of the sun, stars and moon. The god Ra is the ruler of the sun. People believed that he daily rolls out the luminary into the sky and also rolls it back. It was Ra who was held in the highest esteem. After all, he gives life to all life on Earth. Scarabs were the symbol of this deity. Beetles made of gold and jewels have been discoveredarchaeologists during excavations.
There were hundreds of gods in Egypt. They were associated with all life on Earth.
Animal gods have always been depicted with a human body and an animal head:
- Sekhmet - the goddess of war with the head of a lion.
- Thoth - the god of wisdom, had a human body and the head of a bird similar to a stork.
- Hator - the goddess of beauty and love, had the head of a cow.
- Bastet is a cat goddess who was highly respected for catching mice and thus protecting crops from destruction.
- Sobek (Sebek) is a god in the form of a crocodile who lived in the Nile. These animals received special attention. Some crocodiles have been tamed. Individual individuals were dressed in gold jewelry (there could be gold earrings or bracelets on their paws).
- Osiris is the god who revived nature and revived vegetation in the Sahara desert, which the Egyptians were so afraid of. He saves from the god Set, who brings hot unbearable winds, takes strength from nature.
The people of Egypt never killed animals because they considered them sacred. Even if a crocodile ate a person, it was believed that he was guilty of something before the gods. If animals that were considered sacred died, they were mummified and buried with full honors. A striking example is the Apis bull - in Egypt, whole burials of sacred bulls were discovered.
Worship the Nile
The main waterway was an object of worship for the Egyptians for several centuries. Homethe reason for this state of affairs was that he annually "gave" useful silt to the fields, which contributed to large harvests. Even the pharaohs specially invented hymns and prayers to the Nile. Some of them were carved into the stone slabs on the river bank.
Temples, pyramids and tombs of Egypt
The ancient Egyptians respected their ruler and even during his lifetime considered him a god. People believed that the pharaoh was endowed with supernatural powers, because he could decide state affairs and win wars. All rulers were buried in the tombs that they built during their lifetime. The construction began immediately after the pharaoh ascended the throne. The larger the tomb, the more power and majesty the ruler had.
Today, the stone tombs of the pharaohs are located on the left bank of the Nile, in the Sahara desert - these are the well-known Egyptian pyramids. Their construction remains a mystery, since to our times they have been preserved almost in their original form. Only a few of them were destroyed or covered with sand.
The largest are the pyramids of Cheops, Menkaure, Khafre. They were built over 5 thousand years ago. The largest sculpture is the 20-meter statue of the Sphinx - a mythical creature with the face of a pharaoh and the body of a lion. The dimensions of the pyramids amaze even those researchers and scientists who have seen a lot in their lifetime, and read and studied even more. So, the pyramid of Cheops is a little less than 140 m high. Those who want to get around this attraction shouldwalk more than a mile. The construction process itself is also striking: according to official historical sources, the pyramid of Cheops was built for 20 years, and the road to it was built for another 10 years. The entire structure consists of stone blocks (about 2.2 million per pyramid). Considering that one such block weighed more than 2 tons, it is still not clear how the poor slaves managed to hoist them on top of each other, and even drive them so accurately. So there are doubts among adherents of alternative history that the Egyptian pyramids are the creations of human hands. Be that as it may, but to this day the pyramids remain not only the 7th wonder of the world, but also a stone mathematical mystery.
Interestingly, the outer surface is so well polished that even blades cannot be inserted between the blocks. For thousands of years, no one has disturbed the peace of the pharaoh, since the road to the tomb is very long and lined with various traps for possible robbers. However, not only the pharaohs were revered with an expensive burial, but also famous, rich people. For them, tombs were built in the form of rooms underground. There is even a City of the Dead on the banks of the Nile. The poor people were simply buried in the sand.
Worshiping hundreds of gods, the Egyptians built temples for them. In the center of the temple stood stone statues of gods with special altars, on which gifts were placed. Ordinary people carried fruits, vegetables, homemade meat. The pharaohs gave away gold and jewels. Most of the temples of the NewThe kingdoms of ancient Egypt were built in the shape of a rectangle. Near the entrance there are small towers. To get to the altar, you need to go through several dozen statues of sphinxes, which are displayed in one row. Temples were painted by artists, and the most talented sculptors were invited to build them.
7 facts from everyday life of ordinary Egyptians
- Houses were built of bricks. Usually they had several rooms, which were decorated with wall patterns and drawings. Near the house there were buildings intended for the storage of grain, the maintenance of livestock. If this is the house of the rich, then there was also a small closet for servants near it. Almost every garden grew dates, grapes, figs.
- The clothes were very light due to the hot climate. Women wore sundress dresses made of thin fabric, and men wore knee-length skirts. The clothes of the poor and the rich differed in fabric. The poor wore things made of coarse, thick linen. Mostly went without shoes. The Egyptians did not have pillows like modern man. They replaced them with small wooden stands.
- Egyptians loved to visually lengthen their eyes. We did it with natural-based black and green eyeshadows.
- Due to the hot climate, men's beards did not grow. But she was an obligatory attribute of an adult Egyptian, especially a rich man and a pharaoh. Therefore, every self-respecting man had an artificial beard that was easily tied up. As for women, most of the Egyptians were shaved bald. They wore black wigs with thin braids.
- The Egyptians did not believeonly in gods, but also in evil spirits, from which they wore amulets. They were in the shape of a cross, an eye, or a scarab beetle.
- The food was simple. Vegetables and fruits practically did not undergo heat treatment. The table was served with simple pastries made from wheat or barley, cereals, fish of various preparations, the simplest vegetables - onions, garlic, lettuce, cucumbers. Men's favorite drink is barley beer. This is the food of ordinary people. The rich also had fish, meat, pies with various fillings in their diet. Their drinks were also more varied: wine, milk, honey drink.
- On the territory of Ancient Egypt there were several large cities that played a significant role in the development of trade and politics: Mendes, Atribi, Buto, Tanis, Sais.
Education during the New Kingdom
The language spoken by the ancient Egyptians disappeared several thousand years ago. On the territory of modern Egypt, the inhabitants speak Arabic, but many monuments, statues and temples have been preserved that store ancient Egyptian writings - hieroglyphs. Only at the beginning of the 19th century did a French scientist study them. This helped uncover many Egyptian mysteries. People wrote on papyrus - Egyptian reeds. From it they managed to build light boats. Making leaflets for writing was a lengthy procedure. The papyri were rolled into a scroll. The longest scroll recorded by historians reached 40.5 m. It listed a list of gifts that various temples received from Pharaoh Ramses III.
There were boys in Egyptian schools, very rarely -girls. They learned to write on clay shards, only after that they switched to writing on papyrus. Papyrus was reused in schools. Learning to write and read was very difficult, because I had to memorize thousands of complex hieroglyphs. Pointed reed sticks and red or black paint were used as a pen.
Egyptian scientific knowledge
They had a special calendar, according to which they planted garden crops. For this, they also used knowledge about the movement of heavenly bodies and the periods of the flood of the Nile. It was the ancient Egyptians who invented the constellations in the form of animals. In order to observe the stars, the first clock was invented: first solar, and then water.
Doctors of Ancient Egypt were famous all over the world. Each of them specialized in the treatment of a particular organ or part of the body. Archaeologists have found many medical instruments and papyri, which described the main diseases of ancient Egypt. It was the Egyptians who almost thoroughly knew the structure of the human body. The embalming of dead people helped them in this.
Doctors, like ordinary people, believed that the main cause of disease is evil spirits and human sins. Therefore, the treatment was carried out not only with drugs, but also with spells or prayers. Medicines were made only from natural materials: animals, plants, minerals. Even then, the beneficial properties of onions and garlic were noticed.
Mathematics also developed. It was necessary to make complex calculations in the construction and manufacture of objects,count the land. Thanks to Egyptian architects and sculptors, it was on the banks of the Nile that the science of geometry first appeared.
Art and architecture of Ancient Egypt during the New Kingdom period
The works of ancient Egyptian architects are called eternal structures. This is especially true for temples and tombs, which were either carved into the rocks or built from stone. Even then, the Egyptians were familiar with the concept of paintings and sculpture. Basically, the art of Egypt served only religious purposes. The brightest images were on the tombs. They displayed the essence of the other world and the deceased, who passes into another world.
The paintings were also on the houses of noble people, palaces. Sculptors made not only large statues, but also small figurines (servants, cooks), which were placed in the tombs of the pharaohs. For their manufacture, soft and hard stone (often granite) was used. Stone blocks were suitable for creating large or voluminous sculptures.
Amarna art from the New Kingdom period
The Amarna art of the New Kingdom was born in Egypt during the reign of Pharaoh Akhenaten. He worried not only about political or religious reforms, but also about changing the old canons of art. The artistic style of this period is characterized by naturalness and realism. Artists depicted not only flora and fauna, but also pharaohs in the form of gods. The favorite topic was considered to be family life and the activities of the ruler. Amarna art did not last long - only20 years. After the death of Akhenaten, it was practically not supported. This period is also famous for the appearance of the New Egyptian language, in which the first masterpieces of literary creativity are created.
