NEW KINGDOM (1550-1070 b.c.e.) To PREDYNASTIC PERIOD

Eighteenth Dynasty (1550-1307 b.c.e.)

some of the most popular pharaohs of Egypt were part of this royal line, and these warriors carved out an empire by warring against other lands and peoples. ‘Ahmose inherited the throne at a very young age, and his mother, Queen ah’hotep (1), stood as regent for almost a decade. Peace was restored on the Nile, but the Thebans were armed and ready. When ‘Ahmose reached his majority, he led an army northward and put Avaris under siege by land and by sea. The Asiatics fled, and ‘Ahmose dealt a smashing blow to the Nubians in the south and then punished the northerners who had collaborated with the Hyksos at Avaris.
His son, amenhotep i, was a warrior also, but Amenhotep I’s successor, tuthmosis i, was the first pharaoh to march on his enemies in the name of Amun and begin the great empire. tuthmosis iii, his grandson, ruled from Khartoum in modern Sudan to the Euphrates River. He is called the “Napoleon of the Nile.” amenhotep ii, his son and heir, loved hand-to-hand combat and expanded the imperial cause.
By the time amenhotep iii came to the throne, he was the most powerful and wealthiest human being in the known world of the time. His son, akhenaten, living in seclusion in ‘amarna and worshiping a deity named aten, brought the empire perilously close to an end. tut’ankhamun, who returned the court to Thebes and the nation’s devotion to the god amun, did not live long enough to distinguish himself. That task would fall to the last pharaoh of the dynasty, horemhab. When Horemhab knew that he was dying without an heir, he passed the fate of the nation into the hands of a trusted military commander: ramesses i.


Nineteenth Dynasty (1307-1196 b.c.e.)

Ruling only one year, Ramesses i could go to his tomb content that he had raised up a family of warriors to defend Egypt and to adorn the holy cities on the Nile. His son and heir was seti i, a military man and an administrator who understood the needs of the people. His campaigns, the monuments at Thebes, karnak, and Abydos, and his concern for idle mines and quarries set the pace for the royal line that would be called the Ramessids.
His son and heir, ramesses ii, the Great, reigned 66 years. His Syrian campaigns, his battle at kadesh, and his treaty with the hittites restored Egypt’s power. His monuments, appearing at abu simbel and in Upper and Lower Egypt, bequeathed a legacy of aristocracy on the Nile.
merenptah, the 13th of his sons, was named the heir. He outlived Ramesses ii and took the throne at an advanced age. He campaigned in Libya and Syria and defeated a contingent of the sea peoples. His son, seti ii, was unable to keep the throne, which was taken by a usurper, amenmesses. In time he secured the throne, but he was weakened.
This royal line ended with the reign of another queen pharaoh, twosret, who ruled a short time before disappearing. Her chancellor, bay, a foreigner and ambitious, made his own plans, but a true Ramessid ended the dynasty.

Twentieth Dynasty (1196-1070 b.c.e.)

sethnakhte, probably a grandson of Ramesses II, rose up and began campaigns to undo the chaos of the closing days of the previous reign and secured the throne against the ambitions of others. His son, ramesses iii, the last truly great pharaoh of Egypt, had to defeat the Libyans and the sea peoples. These wandering nomads had conquered the Hittites. Ramesses iii defeated them when they invaded the Delta. He built medinet habu and other monuments and then received apparently mortal wounds in a harem revolt.
His son, ramesses iv, restored order and punished the guilty. He sent trade expeditions to sinai and Nubia and started monuments, but he only lived a few years. other Ramesses followed, but difficult times and a devastating smallpox epidemic took a tragic toll in the royal family. Tomb robberies and trials took place in the period, and the criminals were prosecuted during the reign of ramesses ix. ramesses xi, a recluse, faced problems in Thebes and left the administration of Egypt to his courtiers. Two of these, smendes (1) and herihor, divided Egypt and set the pattern for the dynasty that followed.

THIRD INTERMEDIATE PERIOD (1070-712 b.c.e.)

Twenty-first Dynasty (1070-945 b.c.e.)

This royal line opened the Third intermediate period of Egypt. Smendes ruled in tanis in the Delta, and pinudjem (1) assumed the pharaonic role in Thebes. The Tanis and Theban families intermarried, and eventually Thebes sent psusennes i to Tanis as the ruler.
The monuments and records of the nation in that historical period indicate an era of calm and prosperity, but the Thebans rebelled, being open to many southern influences that Tanis could not control from a distance. The high priests of Amun had to assume military as well as temple roles, defeating rebel groups and exiling the leaders for a time to the western oases.
Psusennes I adorned tanis as a capital, and his mortuary regalia, as well as those of some of his successors, are masterpieces of gold and silver. These rulers, however, could not hold on to power in an era of political and religious change. The Libyans who had settled in the city of bubastis were ready to launch their own dynastic claims.

Twenty-second Dynasty (945-712 b.c.e.)

The Libyan rulers who reigned during this dynasty could trace their ancestry back to osochor, one of the pharaohs of the previous line. shoshenq i, a direct descendant, opened the Libyan period and began military campaigns recorded in the Bible. He also took the precaution of installing his own sons in the highest offices of the priesthood of Amun in Thebes. An increase in trade, lands, and artistic projects demonstrated a revitalization of Egypt during Shoshenq I’s reign.
Some rather obscure successors to Shoshenq I maintained the throne, and Egypt remained a power in the region. The reign of takelot ii of this line, however, witnessed the first signs of decline. harsiese, a prince, assumed pharaonic titles and fostered a Theban rebellion that endangered Upper Egypt for decades. shoshenq iii was another usurper, setting aside the true heir, his brother. The division between Thebes and Tanis widened, and other cities and nomes began to seek ways in which they could gain independence.

Twenty-third Dynasty (c. 828-712 b.c.e.)

A prince named pedubaste i, who controlled leontopo-lis, started this royal line, and another family opened a Tanis royal line, contemporaries and rivals for the allegiance of the people. There were other petty rulers at hermopolis and Herakleopolis as well. Holding such limited areas, these rulers were vulnerable to the powerful Nubians, who had already begun their march into Egypt.
As the Nubians posed a real threat, the rulers of Tanis, Leontopolis, Herakleopolis, and Hermopolis joined a confederation led by tefnakhte of Sais and confronted the Nubian armies. They were swept aside as the Nubians moved northward to restore the old traditions and beliefs.

Twenty-fourth Dynasty (724-712 b.c.e.)

Tefnakhte and bakenrenef are the only rulers of this royal line at Tanis. They were contemporaries of the city-states and faced the Nubian threat. Tefnakhte organized a confederation of self-appointed “kings” to meet the army marching out of Nubia, led by a warrior named piankhi (1).
At Herakleopolis, Tefnakhte’s coalition was routed. His allies surrendered to Piankhi and were allowed to rule their own former domains as vassal governors, and Tefnakhte eventually endured the same humiliation. Bakenenref’s reign was that of a vassal and was very brief. There were too many Nubians in Egypt by then, and they were intent on restoring the old traditions and the faith-based society of the past.

LATE PERIOD (712-332 b.c.e.)

Twenty-fifth Dynasty (Nubia and Thebes 770-750 b.c.e.; All Egypt 712-657 b.c.e.)

The Late Period of Egypt began with this Nubian Dynasty, a royal family that marched northward along the Nile to restore faith and the purity of the god Amun to the people of the Two Kingdoms. coming out of the capital at Napata, the Nubians controlled much of the Theban domain and then, led by Piankhi, moved to capture the ancient capital of Memphis. Tefnakhte, who ruled in Sais, formed a coalition of petty rulers, and they met Piankhi’s army and suffered a severe defeat. Piankhi celebrated his victory with a stela and retired to Nubia.
shabaka, his brother, mounted another campaign and took control of Egypt personally. He was followed on the throne of Egypt by his heir, shebitku, and then by taharqa, all members of the same line. King essarhad-don of Assyria entered Egypt in Taharqa’s reign, taking the abandoned Nubian queen and one of Taharqa’s sons back to Nineveh as slaves. Taharqa fought back, and his successor, tanutamun, tried to maintain power, but the Saite-Arthribis royal line that had served as allies of the Assyrians would be the ones to free the nation from foreign rule.

Twenty-sixth Dynasty (664-525 b.c.e.)

While the Nubians fled from the Assyrians and then regrouped to oust the Assyrians, necho i and psam-metichus i adapted and secured their holdings. Necho I was slain by the Nubians, but his son, Psammetichus I, united Egypt and amassed a mercenary and native army. He ousted the Assyrians and began his royal line. All that Piankhi had hoped for Egypt’s rebirth was realized by this dynasty. old traditions of faith and the skills and vision of the past flourished on the Nile. necho ii, the son of Psammetichus, followed in his stead, and the land flourished. Necho II even connected the Nile and the Red Sea with a canal.
apries came to the throne and introduced a program of intervention in Palestine, increasing trade and the use of Greek mercenaries. His involvement in Libya, however, led to a mutiny in the Egyptian army and the rise of amasis, his general. Apries died in an attempt to regain his throne. Amasis was Hellenic in his outlook and was recorded as aiding Delphi in returning the oracle and the temple of Apollo. The city of naukratis, ceded to the Greeks in the Delta, was started in this historical period.
psammetichus iii, the last ruler of this dynasty, faced cambyses and the invading Persian army. Psammetichus was taken prisoner and sent to Susa, the Persian capital.

Twenty-seventh Dynasty—

The First Persian Period (525-404 b.c.e.) This was not a dynasty of native Egyptians but a period of foreign occupation, also recorded as the First persian period. Egypt survived under foreign rule, prospering under some of the satraps and persian kings, as the achaemenians had problems in their own land. A court eunuch murdered some of the rulers, along with their sons, and the survivors had to endure political complications.
The Egyptians categorized cambyses as a criminal lunatic, but he treated the nation with a certain discretion in most instances. A large unit of the persian army, sent by Cambyses to loot the Oasis of siwa in the Western Desert, disappeared to a man. darius i, xerxes i, artax-erxes i, and darius ii followed Cambyses, but they faced rebellions and political intrigues at home as well as rebellions on the Nile. Darius II reigned over the Nile Valley from persia and was viewed as tolerable as far as the Egyptians were concerned.

Twenty-eighth Dynasty (404-393 b.c.e.)

amyrtaios (2) was a rebel in the Delta, holding the rank of prince in sais. Egyptians felt loyal to him, and he exerted influence even as far south as aswan. His dynasty was doomed, however, because he was judged a violator of the laws of Egypt and was not allowed to name his son as heir to the throne. nephrites i, the founder of the Twenty-ninth Dynasty, captured and killed him.

Twenty-ninth Dynasty (393-380 b.c.e.)

nephrites i founded this line of rulers at mendes and began to rebuild in many areas of Egypt. He maintained the apis cult and regulated trade and government in the land. Nephrites I was followed by psammuthis, whose brief reign was cut short by the usurper hakoris, who expanded the dynasty’s building programs. nephrites ii, Hakoris’s son and heir, did not succeed him, as nectanebo i took the throne.

Thirtieth Dynasty (380-343 b.c.e.)

This royal line was founded from sebennytos, and Nectanebo i faced a persian army, using Greek mercenaries. The persians bypassed a strategic fortress at pelu-sium, and Nectanebo i launched a counterattack and defeated the invaders. He had a stable, prosperous reign in which he restored temples and sites and built at phi-lae. His son and heir, teos, began wars to regain lost imperial lands but took temple treasures to pay for his military campaigns. He was ousted from the throne by his own royal family after only two years and fled to susa.
nectanebo ii, chosen to replace Teos, faced the Persian artaxerxes iii, who came with a vast army and reoccu-pied the Nile Valley.

Thirty-first Dynasty— The Second Persian Period (343-332 b.c.e.)

Artaxerxes iii lasted only about five years and was poisoned in his own court by the eunuch bagoas. arses, his heir, reigned only two years before meeting the same fate. darius iii, wise to the machinations of Bagoas, made him drink the cup that he was offering to the king, and Bagoas died as a result. Darius III faced Alexander iii the great, however, and he was defeated in three separate battles and then slain by one of his own associates. Alexander the Great now ruled Egypt.

GRECO-ROMAN PERIOD (332 b.c.e.-395 c.e.)

Thirty-second Dynasty—

Ptolemaic Period (304-30 b.c.e.) The brief period of Macedonian rule (332-304 b.c.e.) was ended by ptolemy i soter, the Macedonian general of Alexander the Great, who stole the body of Alexander and declared himself and his heirs the rulers of Egypt. The ptolemies modernized and Hellenized much of Egypt’s agricultural and governmental agencies but also instituted a dual system in the land.
They did not relate to the native Egyptians, did not intermarry with nome heiresses, and imported their consorts from other Greek city-states. The ptolemaic rulers also did not speak the ancient language and seldom traveled out of Alexandria. They were warrior kings in the Greek world, but at home they maintained the traditions of the god-kings of the Nile. Greek citizens were treated according to Greek laws, while the traditional courts of Egypt served the natives.
The land prospered under their rule, particularly the agricultural bases, and the Egyptians were allowed to exist in peace, despite the rivalries within the ptolemaic family and the alliances made with other Greek states. The ptolemies were not remarkable for their reigns, and queens were politically powerful and at times murdered. such activities, however, did not impact on the daily lives of the Egyptians beyond Alexandria.
The dynasty was fatally wounded in the reign of cleopatra vii, who killed herself to escape the inevitable humiliation at the hands of Octavian (Emperor Augustus) in 30 b.c.e. Her son was slain as well to halt the ptolemaic influence. Egypt became a special territory of Rome, closely guarded by the emperor as a province with unique assets and unique needs.
Ebers Papyrus one of the longest papyri from ancient Egypt, dating to the reign of amenhotep i (r. 1525-1504 b.c.e.) of the Eighteenth Dynasty, discovered by George Ebers, a German Egyptologist in 1873, the papyrus is a medical text measuring 65 feet with 108 separate pages. The document is one of the modern world’s major sources for information concerning the medical knowledge and techniques of Egypt’s priest-physicians. These medical practitioners gained a considerable reputation throughout the ancient world. Sections on digestive diseases, worm infestations, eye ailments, skin problems, burns, fractures, rheumatism, and anatomy are included in the texts, as well as discussions of the treatment of tumors and abscesses. More than 900 diagnoses and prescriptions are listed in this papyrus. They indicate the fact that the priest-physicians understood pain and recognized the pulse and the problems related to the main artery. These priests also displayed a remarkable awareness of the circulation of the blood in the human body. The Ebers Papyrus is now in Berlin. See also medicine.

Edfu (Behdet)

A site 72 miles south of thebes, on the Nile, Edfu was the capital of the second nome of Upper Egypt and the horus cultic site from early times. The city was called “the Exaltation of Horus” in some eras. Tombs dating to the Sixth Dynasty (2323-2150 b.c.e.) and erected by the local nomarchs were discovered in the city’s necropolis, as well as a step pyramid dating to the Third Dynasty (2649-2575 b.c.e.). mastabas and reliefs were also discovered there. In the Ptolemaic Period (304-30 b.c.e.) a great temple was erected on the site. The city was always considered militarily strategic for the defense of the nation and was fortified against assaults by the Nubians (the modern Sudanese). During the Second Intermediate Period (1640-1550 b.c.e.) when the Asiatics (hyksos) ruled the northern Delta territories, Edfu was fortified by the Theban dynasties.
The great temple of Horus, located at Edfu, was started by ptolemy iii euergetes i (r. 246-221 b.c.e.), and was probably erected on an earlier established foundation. More than 451 feet long, the temple honored Horus of the Winged Disk, called Behdet by the Egyptians and revered as the consort of hathor of dendereh. Hathor’s effigy was brought to the temple on a boat annually for a ceremonial visit. Fronted by a pylon, the temple opened onto a court with columns and elaborate wall reliefs. Granite falcons were built as well to serve as divine patrons of this area. The dedication ceremony took place there in 142 b.c.e., and the temple was completed in 57 b.c.e.
A processional way, a mammisi (a birthing room), and a colonnade continue the architectural splendor of Edfu’s temple, with columns and northern and southern wings. Horus statues adorn the courts, and a relief of the “Feast of the Beautiful Meeting,” the annual reunion of Horus and Hathor, depicts the joy of that religious event. Other chambers honor “the Triumph of Horus,” an annual celebration. Two hypostyle halls open onto an eastern library and robing rooms and lead to a sanctuary that contains a pedestal for the sacred bark of Horus and reliefs depicting ptolemy iv philopator (r. 221-205 b.c.e.) offering devotion to Horus and Hathor. A relief in the New Year Chapel shows the goddess nut.
The sanctuary is a monolithic shrine with an altar and is illuminated by an aperture in the roof. A staircase leads to the roof, as at Dendereh, and the granite naos, a part of the design, was installed by nectanebo ii (r. 360-343 b.c.e.). Other sections of the temple include the chamber of linens, and the throne of the god. A double chapel of khons (1) and Hathor is located alongside the chapel of the throne of re and the chapel of “the Spread Wings,” a Horus cultic sign. Another chamber also honors the god min.
The temple of Horus at Edfu holds the cosmological records of “the Adoration of the Sanctified Deity Who Came into Being at the First Occasion.” ptah was worshiped there also as the scarab, the “Divine Beetle.” Other reliefs show “the Stretching of the Cord over the Temple,” “the Foundation of the Great Seat,” a procession of the Builder Gods, and seated figures representing the ogdoad. Another relief depicts 30 deities in “the Adoration of the Great Seat.” Temple services recorded in the topic were supposedly dictated by the god thoth to the sages of mehweret, the ancient scholars and devotees. Building texts displayed include “the Sacred topic of the Primeval Age of the Gods” and the “Coming of Re into his Mansion of Ms-nht.”

Edwin Smith Papyrus

A text called “the Secret topic of Physicians,” dating to the Third Dynasty (2649-2575 b.c.e.) and containing 38 sections. Each of these separate elements was presented with five headings: title, symptoms, diagnosis, opinion, and treatment. “The opinion” phase of medical care is related to the physician’s ability to state: “This is an infection with which I shall or shall not attempt treatment.”
Also called “the Surgical Papyrus,” the present form was a copy made in the period of the New Kingdom (1550-1070 b.c.e.). It opens with a section on the heart and pulse, but the main sections concern general trauma and orthopedic surgical procedures. There are specific detailed references to organs, with anatomical awareness evident. There are even references to depressed skull injuries and fractures of the vertebrae, dislocation of the jaw, and traumatic paraplegia. These sections establish clear relationships between symptoms and trauma. The priests early on in Egypt understood relationships between injuries and movements and encouraged observations and patient care. The use of hemayet (Arabic hel-bah oil) was prescribed for the preservation of the skin of geriatric patients.

Egypt

The nation called “the gift of the Nile” and evolving in isolation on the northeastern section of the African continent. The name Egypt is the modern version of Aigyptos, the Greek word derived from the Egyptian for the city of Memphis, Hiku Ptah, the “Mansion of the Soul, or ka, of ptah.” Egyptians call their land Msr today, and in Pharaonic times it was designated Khem or Khemet.

GEOGRAPHICAL DESIGNATIONS

Egypt has always been a narrow, fertile strip of land along the Nile River surrounded by deserts, called the Red Lands, or Deshret. The northern border was the Mediterranean Sea, called the uat-ur or Wadj-ur, the “Great Green.” The southern border was the first cataract at aswan until the Middle Kingdom (2040-1640 b.c.e.), although the armies of the Early Dynastic Period (2920-2575 b.c.e.) and Old Kingdom (2575-2134 b.c.e.) conducted trading and punitive expeditions and even erected fortified settlements and centers south of Aswan. During the Middle Kingdom the southern border was extended some 250 miles, and in the New Kingdom (1550-1070 b.c.e.) the southern outpost was some 600 miles south of Aswan.
Egypt was composed of the Nile Valley, the Delta, the faiyum, and the eastern (Arabian or Red Sea) desert. The libyan desert served as the border on the west. Traditionally there has been another geographic duality in Egypt: the Upper and Lower Kingdoms, now called Upper and Lower Egypt.
Lower Egypt, located in the north and called Ta-Meht, is believed to have encompassed the land from the Mediterranean Sea to itj-tawy (Lisht) or possibly to assiut. There is evidence that Lower Egypt was not actually a kingdom when the armies of the south came to dominate the region and to bring about a unified nation (c. 3000 b.c.e.). A depiction of a ruler can be seen on a major historical source from the period, but no events or details are provided. The only rulers listed by name from the late Predynastic age (before 3000 b.c.e.) are from the south. The concept of Lower Egypt starting as a kingdom with its own geographical and social uniqueness quite probably was a fabrication with religious and political overtones. The Egyptians grasped a great sense of symmetry, and the idea of two parallel geographical units united to form one great nation would have appealed to them.
It is not certain that there was any sort of provincial designation in the northern lands in the Predynastic Period either. The nomes, or provinces, date to the first dynasties, and it is possible that Lower Egypt was not one unified region at all. Whether a confederation of small groups or a people under the command of a single king, Lower Egypt called the city of buto its capital (Pe in Egyptian), then sais.
Lower Egypt was always dominated by the Delta, originally formed by perennial swamps and lakes. It turned into seasonally flooded basins as the climate stabilized and inhabitants left an impact on the region. originally as many as seven river branches wound through this area, and the annual inundation of the Nile deposited layers of effluvium and silt. There was continued moisture, gentle winds, and a vastness that encouraged agriculture.
tmpC11_thumb[1]
upper Egypt, the territory south of itj-tawy to the first cataract of the Nile at Aswan, was called Ta-resu. it is possible that the southern border of Egypt was originally north of Aswan, as the rulers of the First Dynasty added territory to the nation. it is also possible that upper Egypt included some lands south of Aswan in predynastic times.
The Nile Valley dominated upper Egypt, which had sandstone cliffs and massive outcroppings of granite. These cliffs marched alongside the Nile, sometimes set back from the shore and sometimes coming close to the river’s edge. There were river terraces, however, and areas of continued moisture, as the remains of trees and vegetation indicate that the region was once less arid. The original settlers of the region started their sites on the edges of the desert to secure themselves from the floods.
There were probably rudimentary forms of provincial government in upper Egypt as well, specific multifamily groups that had consolidated their holdings. Totems of some of these groups or provincial units are evident in the unification documentation. The nomes, or provinces, were established originally by the rulers of the first dynasties or perhaps were in existence in earlier eras. it is probable that upper Egypt was advanced in that regard.

HISTORICAL PERIODS

Because of its geographical position on the African continent, and because of its relative isolation, Egypt developed in a unique fashion. The natural defenses of the cataracts of the Nile and the eastern and western deserts kept the land comparatively free of foreign domination in the early stages of growth and confederation. The Nile was the primary factor in this development, as the region offered no other rivers and little rainfall. The annual inundation provided a bountiful agricultural economy and also prompted a remarkable sense of cooperation among the Egyptians. This spirit illuminated much of their religious and political thinking and left an imprint on their lives and on their future.

PREDYNASTIC PERIOD

This was the era in which hunters and gatherers abandoned the heights and plateaus to enter the lush Valley of the Nile, discovering safety there and a certain abundance that induced them to begin settlements. These first settlements were not uniform throughout Egypt, and a list of predynastic cultural sequences has been developed to trace the development of cultural achievements in upper and Lower Egypt.
Evolution and development took place in the Nile Valley as early as c. 120,000 b.c.e. The Achulean culture appeared in the region, extending their range until c. 90,000 b.c.e. Homo erectus gave way to Homo sapiens c. 100,000 b.c.e., and the Mousterian culture was evident by c. 50,000 b.c.e. The last periods of the Achulean culture in Egypt were marked by the development of technological advances, including the use of flake tools.
The Asterian culture, associated with the Mousterian, used bows and arrows and was widespread in Maghreb and in the southern Sahara. The Khormoussan culture, named for the Khor Musa, near wadi halfa, appeared c. 45,000 b.c.e. The Khormoussans were encamped in river valleys, following wild herds and abandoning the deserts.
From c. 15,000 to 10,000 b.c.e., the Qadan phase moved to the Neolithic stage of development at elkab, Wadi Halfa, and in the faiyum. Other settlements started at Deir el-BADARi, Deir Tasa, merimda beni salama, and el-OMARi near halwan. These settlements had improved weapons and used agricultural plots alongside the usual hunting and fishing routines. pottery and baskets appear, as well as the use of necropolises, or burial sites, and funerary practices.
The Naqada iii, or Gerzean B, cultures were in place in the Nile Valley alongside the Ma’adi, or so-called “Dynasty O,” cultures by 3500 b.c.e. Regional kingdoms had been established, and slate palettes were in use. The sites from this evolutionary phase are at Kom Tennis, El-Beda, Manshiya Abu omari, Tell el-Dab, Khufu, Nigm, Beni Anir, heliopolis, El-Qabta, abu rowash, giza,
ZAWIYET EL-ARYAN, SAQQARA, ABUSIR, TUREH, MEMPHIS,halwan, El-Ragagna, beit khallaf, dendereh, el-tarif, Nag el-Mamariya, wadi abbad, elephantine Island, Tell el-Ginn, Tell el-Samara, Kom el-Kanatero, Tell el-Farain, Dimai, kom medinet ghurob, and damanhur.
The Neolithic cultures of the Badarian, Tassan, and Faiyum A and B, 5540 b.c.e., were at Badari, Hemania, Merimda Beni salami, and in the Faiyum. These were followed by the Faiyum A and B cultures, the Naqada i, or Amratian, including the omari A or Halwan, and the Fas-san cultures appeared at Naqada, with a phase at el-’Amra. A dual ceramic development took place, with the use of theriomorphic vessels. copper was being used along with mined gold and tin, discovered in the Eastern Desert. quarries were started, and the flint was common. The first historical architectural forms appear in this age, and towns were planned and erected.
The main settlements of Naqada I (c. 3600 b.c.e.), also called the Amratian cultural evolution, were at aby-dos, erment, elkab, Kom el-Amra, gebelein, Khizan, naqada, qus, koptos, Nag el-Goziriya, el-Mahaina, Naga el-Deir, Meraid, and Qaw Elkabir. In the same era settlements were also in the Faiyum, and at el-Saff, heliopolis (now a suburb of modern Cairo), Dimai, Tureh, Wadi Digla, Giza, ma’adi, and Kom Medinet Ghurob.
The Naqada ii, or Gerzean, period began c. 4000 b.c.e., along with the Omari B culture. Settlements at el-gerze and elsewhere display ceramic changes in this development, with style, motifs, and the use of natural images emerging. Boats were in use, and standards were adopted as clan or regional totems. palettes were fashioned out of schist, and funerary items were produced. Small slates were rising in the Nile Valley, and large and elaborate grave sites were developing. The hier-akonpolis necropolis heralded future royal burials.
The Naqada II, or Gerzean A, Period signals a turning point in Predynastic Egypt. One of the aspects of this cultural event was contact with other nations beyond Egypt’s borders. Trade was conducted with the sinai region and with southern Palestine. cultural aspects also included the rise of the nome families, the use of stone figures, and the centralization of power.
Naqada II or Gerzean sites have been discovered at Hierakonpolis, Naga el-Deir, el-Ahaiwah, thinis, Naqada, karnak (in Luxor), Qift, deir el-gabrawi, koptos, zawiyet el-amwat, Sawada, Naziet el-Sheikh, Maiyama, gebel el-sidmant, Kom Medinet Ghurob, abusir, and gerze.

Next post:

Previous post: