Egyptian culture or Ancient Egyptian culture, It developed in the valley formed by the Nile River, located in the extreme northeast of Africa. The Nile River runs through the territory from south to north, making agriculture, livestock and navigation prosper.
Geographic environment of Ancient Egypt
old map egypt
Egypt is located northeast of the African continent. It limited in the antiquity, by the north with the Mediterranean Sea; to the south with the region of Nubia; to the east with the Red Sea and the Isthmus of Suez and to the west with the Libyan desert.
The habitable territory of Egypt is in the form of a narrow strip crossed from south to north by the Nile River.. Geographically it has two regions: the upper and lower egypt. The first region is to the south. It covers from Aswan to Cairo. This area is mountainous where the Nile River exhibits six waterfalls. The second region is located in the north and stretches from Cairo to the Mediterranean Sea. It forms a very fertile valley, watered by the Nile that flows into the Mediterranean Sea.
Historical evolution: periods of the history of Egypt
The Periods of Ancient Egypt can be divided in two ways:
Due to its location Due to the new chronologies Legendary Period Protodynastic or Pretinite Period of Egypt Tinite Period Archaic or Tinite Period of Egypt Memphitic Period Ancient Kingdom or Memphite of Egypt Theban Period First Intermediate Period of Egypt Apogee Period Middle Kingdom of Egypt Period of Decline Second Intermediate Period of Egypt Empire New Kingdom Third Intermediate Period of Lower Egypt Epoch
Periods by Location of Egyptian Culture
Legendary Period
In this first period of Egyptian culture, the kings, servants of Horus. Men lived grouped in clans, then in larger groups called nomes. Some notable events were the establishment of the calendar, the appearance of hieroglyphic writing and the division of the territory into two well-defined regions: upper and lower egypt.
Tinita period
So called because of the great prosperity that the tinis city in Egyptian culture. At this time the first pharaoh named: Menes, who unifies the kingdoms of Upper and Lower Egypt. were built the first irrigation channels and it was established that women could ascend to the royal throne.
Menphitic Period
Its name is due to the brightness that reached the city of memphis in the Egyptian Culture, founded by Menes, where 10 dynasties reigned. During this period, the pyramids of Cheops, Khafre and Menkaure; Culture was promoted through the establishment of libraries in different parts of the country.
Theban period
Its capital was city of thebes. Here was built the great Maze Buildingwhich had 12 patios, 1500 rooms and the artificial lake of Meris for irrigation.
In this period, civil wars occurred that favored the hyksospastoral peoples of the east.
Heyday of Egyptian culture
During this period, Egypt reached its maximum expansion, thanks to the great conquests undertaken by the pharaohs. Thutmosis, the Great and Ramses II. In the time of Amenhotep IV the monotheism around the god Aten.
Period of decline of Egyptian culture
The dynastic struggles between Upper and Lower Egypt politically weakened the Egyptian Culture and favored the successive conquests of the Persians, commanded by Cambysesfrom the Greeks, with Alexander the great at the head and of the Romans who, led by octaviothey beat the queen Cleopatra in the battle of Actium.
Periods for the New Chronology
Protodynastic or Pretinite Period
In this period began with the Dynasty 0 or Nagada. Egypt was unified with a single king named Narmer or Menes. The remains found are the Paletas and Cabezas de Maza. For more information go to the full article: Protodynastic or Pretinite Period.
Archaic or Tinita Period
It ranged from the I Dynasties to the II Dynasties. Dynasty I developed from the years 3050 BC to 2860 BC being the most important character Narmer. For more information go to the full article: Archaic Period or Tinita.
Old Kingdom or Memphite
The Old Kingdom spanned the Third Dynasties to the Sixth Dynasty. At this stage, the most representative buildings of Egyptian culture were built, which were the pyramids and the sphinx. For more information go to the full article: Old Empire or Memphite.
First Intermediate Period
It developed between the end of the VI Dynasty until the reunification of Egypt by Mentuhotep II. In this period, feudalism or independence of the nomes developed, the nomarchs gathered local troops and there were High Priests of the gods who also administered their goods. For more information go to the complete article: First Intermediate Period.
middle kingdom
It comprises the XI and XII Dynasties. In this period Egypt was reunified. The capital moved to Thebes. For more information go to the full article: Middle Kingdom.
Second Intermediate Period
This period is the darkest time, the most characteristic of this period was the appearance of the Hyksians and the appearance of multiple kingdoms in various places in Egypt. For more information go to the full article: Second Intermediate Period.
new empire
For more information go to the full article: New Empire.
Third Intermediate Period
For more information go to the full article: Third Intermediate Period.
low season
For more information go to the full article: Low Season.
Political organization of Egyptian culture
The Egyptian government was characterized by being monarchical, absolutist and theocratic.
The Pharaoh
The government was in the hands of a person named Pharaohwho lived surrounded by a large court of privileged nobles, officials, priests and warriors.
Pharaoh was the master of all menowner of all the lands and all the waters of the Nile. His will was law.
He Pharaoh he was considered the son of god ra(Sun), who had given him power to govern men. Therefore mortals owed him great reverence and none of them could pronounce his name without adding the following expression:> may life and health flourish in him.
Auxiliary government officials
Many government functions were delegated to people they trusted, who gave them effective collaboration. Among the main officials:
The Royal Scribewho was in charge of carrying the calculation of agricultural income and inspecting industries and commerce. To do this they had to be experts in handling numbers and writing.
the grand vizierin charge of controlling the nomes (provinces), was the intermediary between the authorities and the pharaoh.
The Head of State Sealcurrently compared to the Ministry of Economy, whose function was monitor tax revenues and state spending
The High Priestwho was in charge of religious worship and was concerned with presenting the pharaohs as descendants of the gods.
The social organization of Egyptian culture
Society in Egyptian culture was divided into various social classes, among which there was great inequality. You can find a more extensive article in “political and social organization of Ancient Egypt”. These social classes were the following:
The priests
They belonged to a privileged class, in charge of religious worship. They took care of temples and sacred animals. They acted as intermediaries between the gods and men.
The scribes
They were men of vast culture, they worked as state ministers, managing the country, watching over construction, receiving agricultural products, recruiting soldiers for the army, keeping accounting books and collecting taxes.
The Warriors
They were the defenders of the country and the conquerors of new territories in Egyptian culture. For their exploits they received land and slaves as prizes and in some circumstances, they could have the privilege of having a stone sarcophagus.
The village
They constituted the largest class in Egyptian culture, made up of farmers, artisans, and merchants. Its members were required to pay taxes, to serve as conscripts in wartime, to perform forced labor. Even in periods of bad harvest, they had to comply with the delivery of the tithe.
The slaves
Social organization – Ancient Egypt
It was made up of prisoners of war or men bought in foreign markets. They generally served the privileged classes, working hard, poorly fed and poorly dressed.
Economic organization of Egyptian culture
The Agriculture
This activity consisted of working the land. It was plowed with hoes and plows pulled by oxen. It was cultivated wheat, barley, flax, grapes, vegetables and various legumes.
livestock
It was developed on large tracts of land belonging to the temples. Numerous herds of cattle, sheep and mules were grazed on them.
The industry
It was of great importance in the time of the pharaohs. The linen weaving industries stood out, comparable to silk; the elaboration of metals, with which they made utensils, weapons, jewelry, mirrors and combs; tanning, pottery, furniture, bodywork and the preparation of a kind of paper, based on papyrus.
Trade
This activity was developed both by land and by sea in Egyptian culture. By land, their caravans reached Syria, Palestine and Mesopotamia. By sea, his ships sailed along the coasts of Syria and the islands of the Aegean Sea. Trade was carried out through barter, for which they exchanged fabrics and objects of art and luxury for cattle, wood and metals.
Cultural manifestations of Egyptian culture
The ancient Egyptians came to develop an outstanding culture, whose maximum expression can be found in the sciences, arts, religion and writing. You can find a longer article for each stage:
Science in Egyptian culture
Among the main sciences in which the culture of the ancient Egyptians excelled, are the following:
The math
In this field they laid the foundations of the arithmetic and geometry. They knew the decimal numbering. Taking into account the proportions of the body; they invented the foot, the ulna and the span as a measure; They determined the triangles and rectangles to form squares. These events served them to measure their lands, trace their irrigation channels and monumental architectural works. They also used jugs, scales and weights to measure agricultural products.
The astronomy
They invented the 365-day calendar, divided into 12 months of 30 days each, to which they added a period of 5 holidays. This calendar we know so far from the Romans.
The Egyptians knew three seasons: flood, sowing and harvest; They discovered several planets: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn; they invented the sun and shadow clock and the water clock; They drew celestial maps and determined the four cardinal points.
Senenmut: Egyptian Astronomy
Medicine
It arose because…