Egyptian Chronology

Geography of Egypt

To understand Egypt is to first realize that it is a civilization built around a river. All life came from the Nile, with seasonal flooding replenishiing the land for agriculture. The Nile provided transportation and enabled trade and communication allowing strong governmental organization.
Egypt stretches for 1300 km (800 mi.) along the Nile River,
which flows South to North. Lower Egypt to the North consists of floodplains of rich arable land, up to 20 km wide. Upper Egypt, in the South, is a river valley much narrower between cliffs, only a few km wide

Earliest history
Until c. 5500 B.C., hunter-gatherers; grinding stones show they used wild grains
c. 5500 B.C., first settled villages develop
Predynastic Period. 3500-3050 B.C.
Lower Egypt Dates Upper Egypt
Merimda (Fayum A) 5500-4000 Badarian
?Omari A 4000-3500 Naqada I (Amratian)
?Omari B 3500-3300 Naqada II-III (Gerzean)
Maadi 3300-3050History
* poorly understood in North (Lower Egypt)
* Merimda (Delta) the earliest sedentary village (18 hectares = 45 acres)
* graves within village, very few grave goods
* pear-shaped maceheads (? Asian protoypes)
* human idol
* in Omari and Maadi periods, evidence of increasing complexity
* herding, flint-knapping, granaries and millstones
* toward end: craft specialization, copper processing
* better understood in South (Upper Egypt)
* Badarian period--semi-sedentary
* cemeteries behind settlements; bodies face West, head toward South
* grave goods: slate cosmetic palettes, ivory and stone cosmetic vases, figurines
* pottery sophisticated; flint working not; metal very rare
* Naqada [Nagada] I period--larger, richer sites
* Hierakonpolis a large settlement (5 hectares = 12.5 acres) and nearby cemetery
palaces, temples, private houses
wall painting from shrine, human figurines
* goods show more foreign influence
* animal cemeteries, animal figurines in graves: animal worship
* Naqada II period--rapid change
* groupins of communities with capital, chieftain, major deity
* Hierakonpolis becomes capital of Upper Egypt
* cemeteries show social stratification
* mastabas (mastaba = 'bench'): built tombs for rulers and nobles
* influence from Southwest Asia
* pottery parallels in Mesopotamia and Palestine
* maceheads come in from Lower Egypt
* sealstones with Mesopotamian motifs--interlacing serpents, master of animals, winged griffin
* craft specialization increases; mass production for wider markets
* very first hieroglyphic writing? under King Scorpion I, c. 3300 B.C.
* copper more common--from Sinae, Eastern desertMonuments
palettes--for cosmetics, dedicated in tombs
Lion Hunt palette--perhaps from Lower [northern] Egypt
Libyan palette--symbolizes capture of townsGebel-el-Arak knife
battle between Egyptian and Mesopotamian type ships
Mesopotamian type god-hero (master of animals) between lionsMacehead of King Scorpion II, c. 3060 B.C. [macehead drawing]
expression of king's power over enemies, agriculture
Early Dynastic (Archaic) Period. Dynasties I-II. 3050 -2663 B.C.
King Narmer (= Menes?) of upper Egypt conquers Lower Egypt to start Dynasty I
Narmer founds Memphis at border of Upper and Lower Egypt; it remains the capital until the end of the Old Kingdom
* palette of Narmer from Hierakonpolis commemorates this event
* king shown with goddess Hathor (cow), god Horus (hawk)
* wears red crown of Lower Egypt on one side, white crown of Upper Egypt on other side
* major developments
* concentration of power in hands of king and a few nobles
* start of writing?
* hieroglyphic ('sacred carving') script includes phonetic and pictographic signs
* purposes: political, rather than economic
* irrigation agriculture becomes widespread, making surpluses possible
* cemeteries at Giza, Saqqara: royal mastabas
Old Kingdom. Dynasty III (2663-2597 B.C.)
* King Zoser (2654-2635)
* Stepped Pyramid of Zoser at Saqqara (near Memphis)
* designed by Imhotep--a doctor, priest, architect--later saint, finally god (!)
* series of 6 mastabas piled on one another--first monumental tomb
* pyramid 61 m. (200 feet) high; base 126 x 105 m. (413 x 344 feet)
* entrance hall with stone half-columns imitating bundles of reeds or palms
* underground corridors with blue faience tiles, stone reliefs of king
* burial chamber underground--of granite quarried from Aswan
* statue of King Zoser in serdab (Arabic for 'cellar')
* faces two window holes, so ka (soul) can come and go, and incense can reach statue; limestone, H. 142 cm.
* temple on north side of pyramid
* Heb-Sed court on south side of pyramid
* festival held every five years for ritual rebirth of king included ritual death, rebirth, race
* dummy buildings (G 3-8,9)
* complex surrounded by wall 544 x 277 m. (about a mile) long, made of mudbrick; imitates Memphis city walls, with offsets, towers, buttresses
* neat web link: on Zoser's pyramid complex at Saqqara
* Mastaba of Hesire (overseer of scribes) at Saqqara
* jar--sealing with Zoser's name found in burial chamber dates tomb to his reign
* laid out with long corridor
* on West side, wooden reliefs in niches
* on East side, paintings of material goods (needed by Hesire after death) OLD KINGDOM (Dyn. IV-VI)
Back to Syllabus.

Society and belief
* divine kingship
* pharaoh an incarnation of sky/falcon god Horus who is linked to sun god Re; pharaoh is regarded as the son of Re. When he dies, the king becomes identified with Osiris, god of the dead.
* evidence comes from funerary cult, and from contemporary texts (Pyramid Texts inscribed in tombs, and Memphite theology which probably goes back to Old Kingdom or before) and a Middle Kingdom ritual papyrus
* these give mythical reason for two unified parts of Egypt, for Memphis as capital, for supremacy of Horus etc.
* they state mythical and current reality, and stress continuity; they don't give us true history* concept of ma'at (personified as a goddess), clearly linked to piety in men
* refers to "the ideal state of the universe and society" (B. Trigger, Ancient Egypt: A Social History, p. 74)
* sometimes translated 'justice', 'truth'* pharaoh is supreme ruler of unified land, shepherd of the people, responsible for maintenance of ma'at in human society* administration: Old Kingdom capital is Memphis, throughout
* very few administrative documents survive, but we know many official titles
* some are more informative than others; what did the 'mouth of Nekhen' do??
* titles may indicate rank in any case; apparently hierarchy is: literate men with authority from king; their subordinates (e.g. soldiers, quarrymen); illiterate peasants
* chief official is the vizier, with fiscal, judicial and administrative duties* individuals, as well as state and religious foundations, could own land
* individuals owed either taxes or labor (or both) to government; personnel employed received rations--bread, meat, date cakes, vegetables, beer

Dynasty IV. 2597-2471 BC
History
* King Snefru [pyramid x-sections]
* step pyramid at Meidum
* bent pyramid at Dahshur (angle changes part way up)* Kings Khufu (Cheops), Khafre (Chephren), Menkaure (Mykerinus)
* each has a pyramid at Gizeh--the great pyramid [Giza pyramids; building theories]

Monuments
* pyramids: symbolized pharaoh's divine rule
* Standard elements of a pyramid complex
* Valley Temple
* T-shaped hall; series of entrances
* Khafre's near Sphinx; Khufu's buried under modern town* Causeway leading to:
* Pyramid Temple next to Pyramid
* narrowing entrance hall; long hall; great court; chapels* Pyramid [cartoon]
* shafts; corridors leading nowhere; corridors to burial chamber
* limestone rubble walls cased with granite* careful and sophisticated measurements [nifty pyramid math]* neat web links: Nova on-line adventure site about Pyramid exploration; Giza mapping projectConsider this excerpt from B. Trigger, Ancient Egypt: A Social History (Cambridge 1983):
Whilst it is common to emphasize the mortuary character of pyramids and to see them primarily as tombs with temples ancillary to them, the way in which they were in fact organized and referred to suggests that the emphasis should be reversed, and they be regarded first and foremost as temples for the royal statues with a royal tomb attached to each, which...gave enormous authority to what was, in essence, an ancestor cult and an important factor in the stability of government. (p. 85)Trigger also notes that the massive effort needed to build funeral complexes, and the placing of so much wealth and craft work in them kept the economy strong-- demand continued high for goods and services. Nagle makes the same point, p. 27-28.
* Private tombs are still mastabas
* more massive than before; solid superstructure instead of corridors and rooms
* sculpture, wall-paintings supply owner with food; scenes of hunting, fishing, banquets [stable; granary]
* statues provide a body for owner's ka (soul)
* in the Old Kingdom only the pharaoh, his family and close officials actually thought to achieve immortality after death
* private funerary cults repeat the notion of ancestor cult

* Provincial towns each have a temple to a local god; often containing statues of individuals or pharaoh
* temple a center of economic and administrative activity; men of power were associated with it--in Dyn. VI same man may be chief priest and chief of nome (district)

* Sculpture
* ivory statuette of Khufu: only known image of him
* seated statue of Khafre; diorite, from Valley Temple (height 66")
* sphinx of Khafre by his Valley Temple, face with his likeness
* seated statue of Menkaure; alabaster, from Pyramid Temple (ht. 92.5")
* standing statue of Menkaure and wife; painted slate, from Valley Temple, ht. 57"
* seated statue of Khufu's vizier Hemiunu from Giza western cemetery; limestone, ht. 61.5"
* fat, flabby body but still stiff, serene, sculpted in smooth planes* Rahotep and his wife Nofret; limestone seated statues from tomb at Meidum (ht. 47"); reign of Snefru
* painted limestone bust of prince Ankh-haf, son-in-law of Khufu; 23". c. 2635
* more plastic, modelled* reserve heads: extra statue heads placed in tomb

* Painting and relief
* relief of hippo hunt: limestone relief from tomb of Ti, Saqqara, ht. 48"
* wall painting of geese, Meidum

* Furniture of Queen Hetepheres I (Snefru's wife; Khufu's mother)
* moved to unmarked shaft by Hemiunu after her tomb was robbed
* gold casings and inlay found in position around decayed wood
* bed with canopy; 2 arm-chairs; carrying-chair; leather holder for walking sticks

Dynasty V. 2471-2355 B.C.
Monuments
* sculpture
* seated scribe; painted limestone, ht. 21"
* Ka-aper ('Sheikh el-Beled', Arabic for 'village mayor'): standing wooden statue from Saqqara, ht. 43"
* Ranofer, high priest of Memphis
* two limestone statues from tomb at Saqqara, hts. 73", 71"

Dynasty VI. 2355-2195 B.C.
Monuments
* sculpture
* kneeling statue of king Pepy I
* alabaster statue of king Pepy II seated in mother's lap

MIDDLE KINGDOM

First Intermediate Period. 2195-2066 B.C.
History
* Old Kingdom effectively ends with Pepy II (Dyn. VI); his is the last big pyramid complex social and political upheavals follow; anarchy; poverty
* 18 kings and 1 queen in next 20 years--Dyn. VIII (there is no separate 7th Dyn.!)
* true Intermediate Period follows: Dyn. IX/X
* provincial governors have some power in Upper Egypt; no evidence for Lower Eg.
* coincides with trough in flooding cycle of Nile--famine records report effects of drought* these effects perhaps described in XII Dynasty work, "The Lamentations (or Admonitions) of Ipuwer". Addressed to a king, this work describes a society in chaos where ma'at no longer prevails: god abandons man, there is no justice, no safety against foreigners, social upheaval and natural disasters exist
* the work may be fictional, not a description of real troubles, but it's significant that this and other similar philosophical works belong only to the 1st Intermediate Period and the Middle Kingdom

Middle Kingdom. 2066-1650 B.C.
Dynasty XI. 2066-1994
History
* King Mentuhotep II reunifies Egypt; moves capital to Thebes
* local god Amen elevated, merged with sun-god ReMonuments
* pyramid complex of Mentuhotep at Deir el-Bahari
* chamber cut into rock; dwarfed by cliffs behind and by later monument of Hatshepsut* Sculpture
* painted statue of seated king; black skin, white Heb-Sed costume

Dynasty XII. 1994-1781
History
* King Amenemhet I moves capital to a site near Lisht in Lower Egypt
* political institutions as in Old Kingdom, though names and practices of offices change
* establishes practice of co-regencies: son rules with father for a time
* nevertheless, killed in a plot--one text preserves a warning to his son:

"Fill not thy heart with a brother...keep away from subordinates...no-one is valiant at night"* Foreign relations
* Egypt has heavy presence in Nubia to South
* contact with Palestine through Sinai--source of copper, turquoise, lapis lazuli, etc.
* references to military attacks and fortified towns show not all contact was peaceful
* significant numbers of Egyptian objects found in Eastern Mediterranean from Middle Kingdom on; special relationship with Byblos (source of timber)
* trade with Crete (Keftiu)

Monuments
* court sculpture begins again, for the first time since Old Kingdom
* King Sesostris I: many statues; pyramid at Lisht
* King Sesostris III: statues and sphinxes with his likeness
* pain, emotion in face reflect uncertain times* King Amenemhet III: statues and sphinxes with his likeness
* more serene than Sesostris III, but still brooding

* other sculpture
* seated figures retreat into block of stone
* ladies with very heavy wigs--Queen Sennuwy* Rock-cut tombs at Beni-Hasan
* simple tombs near Tell el-Amarna* paintings, most from tomb of Khnumhotep
* men feeding oryxes, foreigners in procession, men gathering figs
* painting from tomb of Amenemhet I shows strip of men wrestling

Dynasty XIII. 1781-1650&emdash;don't worry about!
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NEW KINGDOM (Dyn. XVIII Early)

Second Intermediate Period. 1800-1550 B.C.
History and society
* several simultaneous regional dynasties
* Hyksos (="rulers of foreign lands") are most important--dyn. XV
* they are Palestinian, but take on trappings of pharaohs--names with Re
* site of Avaris (Tell ed-'Daba) in Eastern delta is the Hyksos stronghold, now being excavated
* strong Minoan connections in wall paintings

* Theban revolt finished the Hyksos early in New Kingdom (c. 1550)

Dynasty XVIII. 1550-1298 BC
History
* King Ahmose reunifies Egypt yet again, drives out Hyksos c. 1540
* Queen Hatshepsut, 1479-1457
* regent for her son Tuthmosis III, but acted and portrayed herself as pharaoh* King Tuthmosis III, 1479-1424
* obliterated as many traces of Hatshepsut and Senmut as possible
* conquered lands to north, claiming sovereignty over Syria and Palestine, and east as far as the Euphrates River* Amenhotep III, 1388-1348
* long-ruling, powerful pharaoh, much in contact with foreigners
* statue base with foreign place names, including Knossos, Mycenae
* faience plaques with his name found at Mycenae
* art shares some design features with Minoan/Mycenaean

Monuments
* funerary complex of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari, next to Mentuhotep's
* series of terraces with colonnades; includes temple to Amen
* decorated with reliefs, including expedition to Punt [Punt queen]
* architect: Senmut, her favorite courtier* Thebes
* East Bank: temples of Amen at Luxor, Karnak
* West Bank: mortuary temples and tombs
* Valley of the Kings holds tombs of most pharaohs
* complex of Hatshepsut (see above)
* tombs of the nobles at Thebes
* several, including Senmut's, contain paintings of Minoans from Crete, and other foreigners
* tomb of Nakht--painting of blind musician, feasting
* tomb of Nebamun--fowling scene, musicians and dancers* workers' village at Deir el-Medina [carpenter painting]

NEW KINGDOM (Dyn. XVIII Later)
Back to Syllabus.

Amarna Period (reign of Akhenaten)
History
* King Akhenaten, 1360-1343
* son of Amenhotep III, but broke with his traditions (to justify this, claimed to 'live upon' ma'at)
* replaced worship of Amen-Re with worship of sun god Aten (sun disk), personified as the creator of all things [creation with sun disk]
* key point: monotheistic religion; openness valued--worship takes place outside
* moved capital from Thebes to Amarna in 6th year of his reign
* changed his name from Amenhotep IV to Akhenaten ('life in Aten')* let his father's vast foreign holdings slip away
* evidence in Amarna letters--377 cuneiform tablets covering last years of Amenhotep III and reign of Akhenaten; written in Akkadian
* correspondence from governors of foreign outposts, complaining of rebellion and begging the king (in vain) to send troops

Monuments
* Amarna--ancient name Akhetaten ('horizon of the Aten')
* only well preserved city of the New Kingdom
* palace--separate women's quarters; courts, kitchens, stables
* temples--series of unroofed courts
* 1-storey houses in three parts: reception hall, central hall with hearth, private rooms* Sculpture
* apparent harsh realism in depictions of royal family
* statues and reliefs of king show pear-shaped body, long head, fleshy lips
* head of Nefertiti in Berlin Museum shows same features
* extends to ebony head of his mother, Queen Tiy, who lives into Amarna period
* deformity due to disease or not? Unclear, but Akhenaten might have had an endocrine disorder called Marfan's syndrome* reliefs of king and family worshipping sun god, whose rays end in hands
* general focus on king, wife, daughters, in informal settings

* Other
* honesty, informality in royal art matched by use of slang, foreign phrases in official documents

Return to old ways with King Tutankhamen
History
* King Tutankhamen, 1343-1333
* succeeds Akhenaten at age 9; not clear whose son he is; claims Amenhotep III is his father
* restores old ways
* moves capital from Amarna to Memphis, with secondary center at Thebes
* restores worship of Amen; changes name from Tutankhaten to Tutankhamen
* erects a restoration stele, apologizing for past sins, outlining steps being taken to correct neglect of gods
* restores buildings started by Amenhotep III* rebuts Akhenaten's claim to ma'at with statement "ma'at is established, she causes falsehood to be the abomination of the land, as in (the land's) first time"
* dies at age 19; buried in Valley of the Kings, Thebes
* Tutankhamen's widow (Ankhesenamen) asks Hittite king Suppiluliumas III to send her a son to marry; but he is ambushed and killed by Egyptian cavalry leader Ay, who then marries her himself!

Monuments
* wealth buried with Tut impressive to us, but he was a rather minor pharaoh--tombs of greater ones looted or not yet found
* mummy casings
* furniture and utilitarian items
* jewelry
* alabaster vessels
* boxes and chests

NEW KINGDOM (Dyn. XIX-XX)
Back to Syllabus.

Dynasty XIX. 1298-1187 B.C.
History and society
* Ramses II, 1279-1212 B.C.
* Battle of Kadesh, in Palestine, c. 1275 B.C.
* battle against the Hittites of Anatolia (modern Turkey) under king Muwatalli
* Egyptians fail in siege, but Ramses' personal bravery and persistence prevent a total Hittite victory
* both sides claim victory in inscriptions
* illustrated on temples: Ramesseum, Medinet Habu, Abu Simbel* 15 years later, treaty between Ramses and Hittite king Hattusilis III, and marriage between Ramses and Hittite princess

Monuments
* Temples: components&emdash;added by different pharaohs over time
* processional way
* pylon façade and entrance
* courtyard
* hypostyle hall (pillar hall)
* enclosed shrine
increasingly restricted access as you go toward center* Temples: examples
* temple of Amen-Re at Karnak, Dyn. XVIII-XX
* same elements as before
* 61 papyrus-bud columns on each side of taller open-papyrus columns
* central aisle 79 feet high* Abu Simbel has two temples, one to Ramses II
* unique façade: 4 seated statues of the king, 65 feet high
* moved from shore of Nile when Aswan dam constructed

Dynasty XX. 1187-1064 B.C.
History and society
* Ramses III, 1185-1153 B.C.
* fought a mysterious group called the Peoples of the Sea&emdash;a coalition of mercenaries, who curtailed trade in Aegean, defeated Hittites, weakened Egyptian empire and perhaps ended Mycenaean power in Greece

Test your knowledge
Places
You should know what is important about the major sites we have covered--what happened there; what monuments are there:
Amarna

Giza

Luxor
Abu Simbel

Hierakonpolis

Memphis
Beni Hasan

Kadesh

Saqqara
Deir el-Bahari

Karnak

ThebesPeople
The handouts will tell you who's important. Mostly pharaohs and a few gods: Horus, Re, Osiris, Amen, Aten
Predynastic-Early Dynastic Periods
Hierankonpolis the capital
transition from predynastic period to Dynasty I
contact with foreigners
Hierakonpolis wall painting, Scorpion macehead--what is the symbolism?
Dynasty I
Narmer--what did he do? (where's the capital?)
Narmer's palette--what does it show? what does it celebrate?
Old Kingdom
Dynasty III
Zoser, Imhotep (who was he? what did he do?)
step pyramid complex at Saqqara--what are its component parts?
seated statue of Zoser--where found? how is it typical?
relief panel of Hesire
Dynasty IV
Khufu, Khafre, Menkaure
pyramid complexes at Giza--what are the component parts? compare to Zoser's
statues of pharaohs, including sphinx
Dynasties IV-VI
statues of non-royal people--compare to statues of pharaohs
what sorts of things are found in tombs? how are they decorated?
review information about king and society (where's the capital?)
First Intermediate Period
what happened? what was the impact and effect?
Middle Kingdom
Dynasty XI
Mentuhotep reunifies Egypt (where's the capital?)
funeral complex at Deir el-Bahari
Dynasty XII
Amenemhet usurps throne to start dynasty (where's the capital?)
Sesostris III, Amenemhet III
statues reflect somber mood of time
Beni Hasan tombs of nobles; wall paintings
political control in Egypt? foreign contacts?
Second Intermediate Period
Hyksos intervene; capital at Avaris in delta
what new things did they introduce into Egypt?
several competing power groups (dynasties)
New Kingdom
Dynasty XVIII
Ahmose throws out the Hyksos
Hatshepsut--who was she? why did she rule? pharaoh, not just regent
funeral complex at Deir el-Bahari--foreign campaigns part of decoration
vizier Senmut
Tuthmosis III--what was his attitude toward Hatshepsut? How do we know?
campaigns into Syria-Palestine
tomb of Nakht and other nobles at Thebes
what sorts of things do paintings depict?
Amenhotep III--long, powerful reign; foreign contacts; stability
Queen Tiy--commoner, became Great Royal Wife
Akhenaten--why did he change his name from Amenhotep IV?
nature of Aten religious cult
moved capital to Amarna
distinctive art--what is it like, compared to traditional art?
what other changes did he make?
Tutankhamen--young, short reign
reversion to traditional religion (where's the capital?)
fabulous tomb finds--Howard Carter
Dynasty XIX
temples--what are typical features?
what are typical examples? what is unusual about Abu Simbel?
Ramses II--battle of Kadesh