Ancient Egypt

Ranofer (fl. c. 24th century b.c.e.) To Sabni (fl. 22nd century b.c.e.)

Priestly official of the Fifth Dynasty He served several pharaohs as a prophet of the gods ptah and sokar. His famous statues are in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Life-sized and fashioned out of painted limestone, the statues were found in his saqqara tomb and vividly display the artistic skills of the era. Raphia This […]

Ptahshepses (1) (fl. 25th century b.c.e.) To pyramid workers

Official of the Fourth Dynasty He served shepseskhaf (r. 2472-2467 b.c.e.) in varying court roles. Ptahshepses was raised in the royal palace and married khama’at, the daughter of Shepseskhaf. He was buried in saqqara, and the false door of his mastaba gives an account of his career. Ptahshepses (2) (fl. 25th century b.c.e.) Official of […]

Pythagoras (d. c. 500 b.c.e.) To queens

Famous Greek mathematician who visited Egypt He was on the Nile in the reign of amasis (570-526 b.c.e.). Pythagoras went to Memphis, heliopolis, and then to thebes. He remained in the region for more than two decades, earning the respect of the local priests and eventually being allowed to take part in sacrifices to the […]

PREDYNASTIC PERIOD To Montuhotep II's army

Internal warfare led to the provisional unification of Egypt in 3000 b.c.e. and continued during the eras before the dynastic age. scorpion, narmer, and their military predecessors conducted campaigns in Lower Egypt in order to establish a unity of independent regions and provincial clans. The palettes and maceheads that document the events of this period […]

Pharnabazus (fl. fourth century b.c.e.) To Ptah-hotep (2) (Tehefi) (fl. 24th century b.c.e.)

Persian satrap who commanded the Persian invasion of Egypt in 373 b.c.e. This invasion took place in the reign of nectanebo i (380-362 B.c.E.). Pharnabazus’s troops caused terrible damage to the Egyptian defenses but were repulsed. He also quarreled with the commander of the Greek mercenary army in his train. The Greeks, battle wise, tried […]

Pebatma (fl. eighth century b.c.e.) To pharaoh

Royal Nubian woman of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty She was the consort of kashta (r. 770-750 b.c.e.) and the mother of piankhi (1), shabaka, abar, and, possibly,amenirdis I, a Divine Adoratrice of Amun. Pebatma was queen of meroe, in Kush, or nubia (modern Sudan), and she apparently did not accompany her husband or sons to Egypt. […]

Osiris festivals To Peak of the West

These were the religious celebrations held throughout Egypt to honor the deity Osiris, especially in the cult center of abydos. The seasonal cycles of life were mirrored in these feasts, as nature was personified in the death and resurrection of the god. The annual mysteries of osiris and isis, a form of passion play, was […]

Nubian Desert To Osiris

An arid stretch in northern Sudan, called also nubia or Kush by the Egyptians, the Arabic names are As-sahura or An-nubiya. South of Egypt, the desert stretches from the Nile to the Red Sea. It is a rugged region, with dunes, rocky areas, and uplands. The Nubian Desert was formed into a sandstone plateau with […]

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 […]

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

The New Kingdom is recognized as a period of great artistic horizon, with art and architecture evolving in three separate and quite distinct eras; the Tuthmossid Period, from the start of the New Kingdom (1550 b.c.e.) to the end of the reign of amenhotep iii (1353 b.c.e.), the ‘amarna Period (1353-1335 b.c.e.), and the Ramessid […]