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THEANCIENTEGYPTPORTAL Showcased content about Ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt was acradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of theNile River inNortheast Africa. It emerged fromprehistoric Egypt around 3150 BC (according toconventional Egyptian chronology), whenUpper and Lower Egypt were amalgamated byMenes, who is believed by the majority ofEgyptologists to have been the same person asNarmer. Thehistory of ancient Egypt unfolded as a series of stable kingdoms interspersed by the "Intermediate Periods" of relative instability. These stable kingdoms existed in one of three periods: theOld Kingdom of theEarly Bronze Age; theMiddle Kingdom of theMiddle Bronze Age; or theNew Kingdom of theLate Bronze Age. The pinnacle of ancient Egyptian power was achieved during the New Kingdom, which extended its rule to much ofNubia and a considerable portion of theLevant. After this period, Egypt entered an era of slow decline. Over the course of its history, it was invaded or conquered by a number of foreign civilizations, including theHyksos, theKushites, theAssyrians, thePersians, and, most notably, theGreeks and then theRomans. The end of ancient Egypt is variously defined as occurring with the end of theLate Period during theWars of Alexander the Great in 332 BC or with the end of the Greek-ruledPtolemaic Kingdom during theRoman conquest of Egypt in 30 BC. In AD 642, theArab conquest of Egypt brought an end to the region's millennium-longGreco-Roman period. The success of ancient Egyptian civilization came partly from its ability to adapt to the Nile's conditions foragriculture. The predictableflooding of the Nile and controlled irrigation of its fertile valley produced surplus crops, which supported a more dense population, and thereby substantial social and cultural development. With resources to spare, the administration sponsored the mineral exploitation of the valley and its surrounding desert regions, the early development ofan independent writing system, the organization of collective construction and agricultural projects, trade with other civilizations, anda military to assert Egyptian dominance throughout theNear East. Motivating and organizing these activities was a bureaucracy of elite scribes, religious leaders, and administrators under the control of the reigningpharaoh, who ensured the cooperation and unity of theEgyptian people in the context ofan elaborate system of religious beliefs.[1] Among the many achievements of ancient Egypt are: thequarrying, surveying, and construction techniques that supported the building of monumentalpyramids,temples, andobelisks; asystem of mathematics; a practical and effectivesystem of medicine; irrigation systems and agricultural production techniques; the first known planked boats;Egyptian faience andglass technology; new forms ofliterature; and theearliest known peace treaty, which was ratified with theAnatolia-basedHittite Empire. Itsart andarchitecture were widely copied and itsantiquities were carried off to be studied, admired, or coveted in the far corners of the world. Likewise, its monumental ruinsinspired the imaginations of travelers and writers for millennia. A newfound European and Egyptian respect for antiquities and excavations that began in earnest in theearly modern period has led to much scientific investigation of ancient Egypt and its society, as well as a greater appreciation of its cultural legacy. (Full article...) Selected article -show another Egyptian temples were built for the official worship of thegods and in commemoration of thepharaohs inancient Egypt and regions under Egyptian control. Temples were seen as houses for the gods or kings to whom they were dedicated. Within them, the Egyptians performed the centralrituals ofEgyptian religion: givingofferings to the gods, reenacting theirmythology through festivals, and warding off the forces of chaos. These rituals were seen as necessary for the gods to continue to upholdmaat, the divine order of the universe. Caring for the gods was the obligations of pharaohs, who dedicated prodigious resources to temple construction and maintenance. Pharaohs delegated most of their ritual duties to priests, but most of the populace was excluded from direct participation in ceremonies and forbidden to enter a temple's most sacred areas. Nevertheless, a temple was an important religious site for all classes of Egyptians, who went there topray, give offerings, and seekoracular guidance. The most important part of the temple was thesanctuary, which typically contained acult image of its god. The rooms outside the sanctuary grew larger and more elaborate over time, so that temples evolved from small shrines in latePrehistoric Egypt (late fourth millennium BC) to large stone edifices in theNew Kingdom (c. 1550–1070 BC) and later. These edifices are among the largest and most enduring examples ofancient Egyptian architecture, with their elements arranged and decorated according to complexreligious symbolism. Their typical layout comprised a series of enclosed halls, open courts, and entrancepylons aligned along the path used for festival processions. Beyond the temple proper was an outer wall enclosing secondary buildings. (Full article...) Selected picture
In antiquity,Ancient Egypt was divided into two lands:Upper Egypt andLower Egypt. To the south, it was bounded by the land of Kush, and to the East, thelevant. Surrounded by harsh deserts, the riverNile was the lifeline of this ancient civilization. Did you know...
News5th September 2018.Rock-cut Tomb discovered in a 4,000-year-old Elite Cemetery August 2018: in the tomb of the mayor of MemphisPtahmose who dates around 1300 BC was found well preserved cheese, more than 3000 years old.[1] Selected biography -show another Neferirkare Kakai, originally depicted as prince Ranefer, on a relief from the mortuary complex of his father Sahure. His royal title and regalia were added later during his own reign. Neferirkare Kakai (also known asRaneferirka Kakai and inGreek as Nefercherês, Νεφερχέρης; diedc. 2460 BC) was anancient Egyptianpharaoh, the third king of theFifth Dynasty. Neferirkare, the eldest son ofSahure with his consortMeretnebty, was known asRanefer A before he came to the throne. He acceded the day after his father's death and reigned for around 17 years, sometime in the early to mid-25th century BCE. He was himself very likely succeeded by his eldest son, born of his queenKhentkaus II, the prince Ranefer B who would take the throne as kingNeferefre. Neferirkare fathered another pharaoh,Nyuserre Ini, who took the throne after Neferefre's short reign and the brief rule of the poorly knownShepseskare. Neferirkare was acknowledged by his contemporaries as a kind and benevolent ruler, intervening in favour of hiscourtiers after a mishap. His rule witnessed a growth in the number of administration and priesthood officials, who used their expanded wealth to build architecturally more sophisticatedmastabas, where they recorded their biographies for the first time. Neferirkare was the last pharaoh to significantly modify the standardroyal titulary, separating thenomen or birth name, from theprenomen or throne name. From his reign onwards, the former was written in a cartouche preceded by the "Son of Ra" epithet. His rule witnessed continuing trade relations withNubia to the south and possibly withByblos on theLevantine coast to the north. (Full article...) General imagesThe following are images from various ancient Egypt-related articles on Wikipedia.
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