History Day-10 (the Time Of Gods)

Ancient Egypt Kingdoms History of Architecture I

Ancient Egypt Kingdoms

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The pharaohs of Egypt ruled an astonishing period of more than 3,000 years.

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During this time a succession of 31 dynasties ruled the land: – It Begins with Menes himself, in 3100 B.C. – It ends with Nectanebo II in 343 B.C.

Three kingdoms • It is customary to break ancient Egyptian history into three so-called "Kingdoms“ – The Old Kingdom – The Middle Kingdom – The New Kingdom. • Each of these periods was followed by an era of crippling instability and war, referred to as the three "Intermediate" periods.

Pharaoh • The term "pharaoh," only came to be used to refer to the king during the New Kingdom. • The word derived from Per Ao, meaning: – "The Great House"

• the name given to the administration complex surrounding the royal court at Memphis.

The Old Kingdom •

It was astonishingly productive period that saw, amongst other achievements: – Construction of the pyramids. – Developments in religion. – Art of writing hieroglyphs.

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From around 2500 B.C. onwards: – the king who was believed to be the son of the sun god Ra was the all-powerful ruler. – He was a direct link between his subjects and the gods.

Egyptian society was highly stratified. •

At the top of the complex social ladder were those who derived their authority from the pharaoh: – starting with the vizier (chief minister), whose job it was • To maintain law and order. • To oversee major architectural projects. – Beneath him were: • numerous high-ranking government officials and • High priests. – Followed by the lesser: • Officials. • Priests. • Bureaucrats and • Landowners. – At the bottom were the mass of: • Laborers and • peasants.

Women in Old Kingdom

• women did not fare too badly in the ancient Egypt kingdoms: – They were entitled to inherit. – Buy, and sell property. – Enjoyed the same rights as men.

First Intermediate Period • Egypt tattered at some point during the sixth dynasty and entered the First Intermediate Period, – lasting approximately 150 years. • the country suffered a number of upheavals: – power struggles amongst powerful governors, – poor harvests, – famine and poverty. – increasing decentralization led to the collapse of the monarchy and to civil war. •

The Middle Kingdom • It was the powerful eleventh dynasty, the Mentuhoteps, based in Luxor, who managed to seize control of the country around 1280 B.C. and bring order back to the land. • The country was initially ruled from Luxur, but the capital was later moved to Itj-Towy, located in the region of Fayyum.

Trade during the Middle Kingdom • Established trading partnership with Lebanon in order to ensure – steady supplies of valuable wood,

• Developed extensive trading links with the people of Nubia, far south, – from whom the ancient Egypt kingdoms obtained granite and gold.

Mentuhotep’s Tomb. Deir el-Bahri, Egypt, 2050 B.C. • • • • •

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An evidance of evolution for funerary architecture. A multi-level platform. An open causeway led up to a large tree-lined forecourt Oriented toward the temple of Amun across the river. Unroofed causeway, lined with statues of the king, which once led to the main group below the bluff. The group consisted of three element: – A large forecourt. – A terrace, cut out of rock, on which the mortuary temple stood. – A narrower unit further west, made up of a court and a hypostyle hall, which was lodged into the cliff.

Mentuhotep’s tomb…cont. • • •

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The temple was a square building faced with colonnades except on the cliff side. It was approached by a massive ramp that cut through a double colonnade. In the center of the outwardlooking temple square was a solid stone a platform that probably supported a pyramid. The king share of this central space was marked only by a cenotaph: – A cenotaph is a tomb or a monument erected in honor of a person or group of persons whose remains are elsewhere.

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His real tomb is lay deep in the cliff.

Second Intermediate Period •

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The challenge came from the Hyksos ("rulers of foreign lands"), – A group of warlike chariot-driving Semitic nomads who stormed into Egypt from the east via Palestine. the Hyksos adopted Egyptian customs – Their leaders assumed the role of pharaohs, – But, they were always considered to be foreigners by the Egyptians.

The New Kingdom • Once again, it was a powerful new Theban dynasty of warrior pharaohs who, rose up against the invaders and expelled them. • The traumatic interlude of the Hyksos had demonstrated the need for a comprehensive military policy to prevent future foreign invasions. • the new warrior kings – marched their armies into neighboring territories to secure their borders from future attack, – established permanent military bases and – forced local powers to recognize their authority and to pay tribute.

The New Kingdom •

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It marked the beginning of a sustained period of military expansion that brought an end to political isolation and turned Egypt into a true empire. the new Egyptian empire, with its capital at Luxor, extended into territories including – Nubia and – Syria. At this time, Thebes produced some of the best architecture since the construction of the pyramids in the Old Kingdom. Examples: – The vast and wonderful Karnak temple complex,

Luxur • The new kingdom capital Luxor had raised itself to being the center of government and the national religion. • The residential area may have been primarily in the west between the river and the row of funerary temples. • Houses were in various size and splendor.

Houses of Luxor •

Modest residentail streets held row houses whose main features were: – a court, – a main living space. – rear kitchen. – An independent stair case that led to seond-storey bedrooms and terrace.

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Richer houses might have: – Basement for weaving looms. – Facades were brightly painted and topped by pools of palms. It was an outgoing street not like Mesopotamian cities.

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On the edges of town and the surrounding countryside, Villas set on large independent plots had their own gardens and outbuildings use as granaries and chariot houses.

Queen Hatshepsut Tomb • Hatshepsut (15031482) B.C. – the first woman to wrest the male throne of Egypt. – She held on to it for 20 years.

• Independent of its older neighbor. Mentuhotep’s Tomb. • Architect was Senmut.

Comparision between Deir El-Bahri and Saqqara and Giza

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The regulating line of Egyptian sequences, often laid out in the flat land, was now made to rise toward the bounding cliff-screen.

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The Egyptian stone masses grandly set in vast open spaces at Saqqara and Giza stone built structures played against the land, were here welded to the rock space as if nature were an extension of Senmuts’s design.

Akhenaten • •

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The New Kingdom also coincided with the rule of Akhenaten, the pharaoh rebelled against the religious traditions of the day. – He insisted on the worship of Aten, a sun god, to the exclusion of all other gods. Relations between him and Priesthood was deteriorated to the point where the pharaoh abandoned the city and founded his own capital Akenaten: – meaning "the Horizon of Aten."

Akhenaten •

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Akhenaten, staged also an artistic revelotion. – The Egyptian artistic convention of presenting pharaohs as perfectly proportioned god-like images was turned on its head. Instead, Akhenaten and his wife Nefertiti were portrayed in a grossly distorted way, with bloated stomachs and ill proportioned members. – It seems that the pharaoh positively reveled in being portrayed with mortal imperfections.

Tutankhamun • Born around 1370 B.C., • after Tutankhamun succeeded Akhenaten: – The relationship between the ruling family and the priesthood was healed. – The worship of AmunRa as the national god was once again restored, and the capital reverted to Luxor. • Tutankhamun died while still in his late teens.

Tomb of Tutankhamun, Luxor,1922. • • •

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Astonishing treasures. Its contents left intact thousands of precious artifacts. – Furniture. – Toys. – Vases. – Amulets. – golden statues. – Jewelry. Tutankhamun's body was placed in three coffins, The innermost, coffin, the one that actually contained the king's mummified body was made of solid gold and weighed 296 pounds.

Two temple compounds Karnak and Luxor • • • • • •

The most impressive site in Egypt. The largest temple complex ever built by man. Had their own mud-brick enclosure wall. They were linked with one another by an avenue of ramheaded sphinxes. Between the two enclosures stood the palaces and administrative buildings. It represents the combined achievement of many generations of ancient builders. – It was built and enlarged over 1300 year period.

Two temple compounds Karnak and Luxor •

It consist of: – 3 main temples, – smaller enclosed temples, – and several outer temples located about 3 kilometers north of Luxor.

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The three main temples of Mut, Montu and Amun are enclosed by enormous brick walls. The main complex, The Temple of Amun, is situated in the center of the entire complex. It is the mother of all religious buildings, the largest ever made and a place of pilgrimage for nearly 4,000 years.

Two temple compounds Karnak and Luxor •

Sheltered thousands of: – – – – –

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workmen, cattle, orchards, boats and workshops.

The great temple at the heart of Karnak is so big, – St Peter's, Milan and Notre Dame Cathedrals could be lost within its walls.

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The Hypostyle hall at 54,000 square feet with its 134 columns is still the largest room of any religious building in the world.