For a long time, peace and stability in ancient Egypt were impossible. One of the influential factors was the Assyrians. They did not often invade the territory of the state, but these raids were destructive. 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 prosperity of the ancient Egyptian state begins. We will dwell on this issue in more detail below.
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 for decades also destroyed the Egyptian state.
The new kingdom of Ancient Egypt is the third period in its history. At this time, the country was experiencing its heyday, which affected all spheres of life: political, economic, social.
The capital of the new state was the city of Thebes. The god Amon was considered the patron of the city , so the inhabitants worshiped him.
Pharaohs of the New Kingdom
The stage is famous for the pharaohs who have done a lot to raise their country to a high level. It was in the era of the New Kingdom in Egypt that the first female pharaoh ruled.
Hatshepsut Board
Hatshepsut is the first female pharaoh in the world to rule the land of the pyramids for 22 years. As expected of 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, it bore the same name - Hatshepsut (“Ahead of the noble ladies”).
The female pharaoh Hatshepsut significantly expanded the borders of the Egyptian state, using not only military campaigns for this, but also the skill of a diplomat. Repeatedly she herself 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 owns the idea of ​​building the two highest Egyptian obelisks. The female pharaoh took only talented people as assistants. Independently established domestic and international trade. Headed more than one expedition to the territory of East Africa. The reign of Hatshepsut remains a mystery to history, since it is not on the official list of the pharaohs of Egypt. The female pharaoh Hatshepsut is little recalled in the annals. Almost all the inscriptions about it are specially destroyed.
It is also known that the woman had a daughter - Nefrura. Hatshepsut was probably preparing a successor for herself. Such conclusions can be made by studying images of Nefrurah in his youth - with a beard and curls. But the son of her husband Thutmose II and the concubine of Isis became the pharaoh. It will be discussed further.
Ruler after hatshepsut
Thutmose III - stepson Hatshepsut. Rules 31 years. I could not take the throne of my 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 almost 3 times). The border of Egypt reached the banks of the Euphrates River 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 squeeze the states of the Middle East. The states that Thutmose III conquered brought tribute to Egypt in the form of ivory, gold, silver. On their territories the pharaoh built military garrisons. Modern historians call it "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.
Board of Akhenaten
Ancient Egypt reached the peak of power during the reign of Pharaoh Amenhotep III. Having ascended the throne, he changed his name to Akhenaten, in honor of the beloved sun god Aton. He also became the cause of religious reform. Amenhotep III refused to worship many gods. The only deity for him was Aton. This is the first attempt in the history of mankind to introduce a single religion for the people. Pharaoh paid special attention to diplomatic relations and tried to solve all arising problems only peacefully. For which he was nicknamed "Solar." 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 reached special heights in this period: sculpture and architecture. Changes in construction technology have also taken place: the large blocks that were cut out for the construction of churches were replaced with smaller blocks. They were called "talents." This was a kind of breakthrough in construction, which contributed to the acceleration of the construction of temples and houses. The sphinxes of Amenhotep III of granite are stored in Russia, which testify to the golden era in Egypt during the reign of this pharaoh.
Archaeologists during excavations found a sculptural portrait of his wife - the beautiful Nefertiti. At heart, her pharaoh husband was a romantic, wrote poetry and songs to his beloved. Over time, residents began to note the absence of a “firm hand” in the state, which led to a fall in strict orders.
Reign of Ramses II
Ramses II is considered one of the builders of the Egyptian state. The people called him Great. Thanks to more than a dozen military campaigns, the pharaoh returned the old territories to the state. As warriors he used slaves who were driven from the conquered territories.
During his reign, new temples were erected, which astonished for many centuries with their grandeur and size. If you believe the historians and photographs that have come down to our time, then Pharaoh Ramses II had a height of about 2 meters. 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 falls. Enemy tribes increasingly attacked a weakened state. In the period from XIII to XII Art. BC e. frequent raids were made by new tribes of the Mediterranean. Fully weakened Egypt in the 6th century BC e. conquered 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 became simply legends.
Religion and beliefs of the Egyptians during the New Kingdom
The people of Egypt believed in and worshiped the gods. They believed that only the gods control all the processes of life and the phenomena of nature. This is evidenced by the 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 heaven the goddess Nut. They considered her the patroness of the sun, stars and the moon. God Ra is the ruler of the sun. People believed that he rolls the sunshine daily to the sky and also rolls it back. It was Ra who was most respected. After all, he gives life to all life on Earth. The symbol of this deity was the scarabs. Beetles made of gold and jewelry were discovered by archaeologists 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 the head of an animal:
- Sekhmet is the goddess of war with the head of a lion.
- Tota - the god of wisdom, had a human body and the head of a bird similar to a stork.
- Hathor - 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 the crop from destruction.
- Sobek (Sebek) - a god in the form of a crocodile who lived in the Nile. These animals were given special attention. Some crocodiles were tamed. Individual individuals were dressed up in gold jewelry (there could be gold earrings or bracelets on their paws).
- Osiris is the god who revived nature and revived the vegetation in the Sahara desert that the Egyptians were so afraid of. He saves from the god Set, who brings hot unbearable winds, takes away forces from nature.
The inhabitants of Egypt never killed animals, because they considered them sacred. Even if a crocodile ate a person, it was believed that he was somehow guilty of the gods. If animals considered sacred died, they were mummified and buried with all honors. A striking example is the Apis bull - whole burials of sacred bulls were discovered in Egypt .
Worship of the nile
The main waterway for several centuries has been an object of worship for the Egyptians. The main reason for this state of affairs was the fact that every year he “presented” the fields with useful sludge, which contributed to large yields. Even the pharaohs specially invented hymns and prayers to the Nile. Some of them were scratched on stone slabs on the banks of the river.
Temples, pyramids and tombs of Egypt
The ancient Egyptians respected their ruler, and during his lifetime considered him a god. People believed that the pharaoh was endowed with supernatural abilities, since he could solve public affairs, win wars. All rulers were buried in tombs, which they built during their lifetime. The construction began immediately after the pharaoh ascended the throne. The larger the tomb was, the more power and greatness the ruler possessed.
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 up to now they have been preserved almost in its original form. Only some of them were destroyed or covered with sand.
The largest are the pyramids of Cheops, Mycerin, Chephren. They were built more than 5 thousand years ago. The largest sculpture is considered a 20-meter statue of the Sphinx - a mythical creature with the face of a pharaoh and the body of a lion. The size of the pyramids amazes even those researchers and scientists who have seen a lot in their lifetime, and who have read and studied even more. So, the Cheops pyramid in height is slightly less than 140 m. Those who want to get around this attraction must go more than a kilometer. The construction process itself is also striking: according to official historical sources, the Cheops pyramid was erected for 20 years, another 10 years the road to it was built. The entire structure consists of stone blocks (about 2.2 million per pyramid). Given that one such unit weighed more than 2 tons, it is still unclear how the poor slaves managed to put them on top of each other, and even drive 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 7 miracles 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 laden with various traps for possible robbers. However, not only the pharaohs were revered as an expensive burial, but also the famous, wealthy people. For them, tombs were built in the form of rooms underground. On the banks of the Nile there is even the City of the Dead. Poor people just buried in the sand.
Worshiping hundreds of gods, the Egyptians built temples for them. In the center of the temple stood stone statues of the gods with special altars, on which they placed gifts. Ordinary people carried fruits, vegetables, and homemade meat. The pharaohs were bombarded with gold and jewelry. Most of the temples of the New Kingdom of Ancient Egypt were constructed in the shape of a rectangle. Near the entrance are small towers. To get to the altar, you need to go through several dozen statues of sphinxes, which are exhibited in one row. Temples were painted by artists, and the most talented sculptors were invited to erect them.
7 facts from everyday life of ordinary Egyptians
- The houses were built of brick. Usually they had several rooms, which were decorated with wall patterns and drawings. Near the house were buildings designed to store grain, livestock. If this is the house of the rich, then there was also a small room for servants near it. In almost every garden, dates, grapes, and figs grew.
- Clothing due to the hot climate was very light. Women wore sundress dresses sewn from fine fabric, and men wore skirts to the knees. The clothes of the poor and rich were distinguished by fabric. The poor wore things from a rough, thick cloth. Mostly walked without shoes. The Egyptians did not have pillows, like a modern person. They replaced them with small wooden coasters.
- The Egyptians loved to visually lengthen their eyes. They did this with the help of natural and black shades of green.
- Due to the hot climate, the beard did not grow in men. But she was an indispensable attribute of an adult Egyptian, especially a rich man and a pharaoh. Therefore, every self-respecting man had an artificial beard, which was easily tied. As for women, most Egyptians were shaved bald. They wore black wigs with thinly braided braids.
- The Egyptians believed not only in the gods, but also in the evil spirits from which the amulets were worn. They were in the shape of a cross, eye or scarab beetle.
- The food was simple. Vegetables and fruits hardly went through heat treatment. Simple pastries made from wheat or barley, cereals, fish of various preparations, the simplest vegetables - onions, garlic, salad, cucumbers were served on the table. Men’s favorite drink is barley beer. This is the food of ordinary people. The rich also had fish, meat, pies with different fillings in the diet. Drinks were also more varied among them: 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. In modern Egypt, residents speak Arabic, but many monuments, statues and temples that store ancient Egyptian letters - hieroglyphs - have been preserved. Only at the beginning of the 19th century did a French scientist study them. This has helped uncover many Egyptian secrets. People wrote on papyrus - Egyptian reeds. From it they managed to build light boats too. Making leaflets for writing was a lengthy process. Papyri twisted into a scroll. The longest scroll recorded by historians reached 40.5 m. It listed a list of gifts received by different temples from Pharaoh Ramses III.
In Egyptian schools, boys studied, very rarely - girls. They learned to write on clay shards, only after that they switched to writing on papyrus. In schools, papyrus was reused. Learning to write and read was very difficult, because you had to memorize thousands of complex hieroglyphs. Pointed sticks made of reeds and red or black paint were used as pens.
Egyptian scientific knowledge
They had a special calendar, according to which they planted garden crops. We also used knowledge of the movement of celestial bodies and the periods of the Nile flood. It was the ancient Egyptians who came up with the constellations in the form of animals. In order to observe the stars, the first hours were invented: first solar, and then water.
Doctors of Ancient Egypt were famous all over the world. Each of them specialized in treating a specific 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. In this they were helped embalming the dead.
Doctors, like ordinary people, believed that the main cause of disease is the evil spirits and sins of man. 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.
Developed and mathematics. It was necessary to make complex calculations in the construction and manufacture of objects, to conduct land counting. Thanks to Egyptian architects and sculptors, it was precisely on the banks of the Nile that the science of geometry first appeared.
Art and Architecture of Ancient Egypt of the New Kingdom Period
The works of ancient Egyptian architects are called eternal structures. This is especially true of temples and tombs, which are either carved in the rocks or built of stone. Even then, the Egyptians were familiar with the concept of paintings and sculptures. Basically, the art of Egypt served only religious purposes. The most vivid images were on the tombs. They reflected the essence of the other world and the deceased, who passes into another world.
Murals were also on the houses of noble people, palaces. Sculptors made not only large statues, but also small statuettes (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 of the New Kingdom
The Amarna art of the New Kingdom in Egypt was born during the reign of Pharaoh Akhenaten. He was 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 the pharaohs in the form of gods. The favorite topic was family life and the activities of the ruler. Amarna art did not last long - only 20 years. After Akhenaten’s death, 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 creation are created.