History of Ancient Egypt (1)

Scholars divide the ancient history of Egypt into two major periods; predynastic Egypt, and dynastic Egypt.

Predynastic Egypt:

The prehistory of Egypt spans the period from the earliest human settlement to the beginning of the Early Dynastic Period around 3100 BC, starting with the first Pharaoh, Narmer for some Egyptologists, Hor-Aha for others, with the name Menes also possibly used for one of these kings. This Predynastic era is traditionally equivalent to the final part of the Neolithic period beginning c. 6000 BC and ending in the Naqada III period c. 3000 BC. In this period the fisrt settlements appeared at Marimda Bani Salma, to the south of the Delta, then in Fayoum. While the first settlement in Upper Egypt appeared in Badari, Naqada, and Abydos.In this period Egypt was divided into two kingdoms Upper Egypt and, Lower Egypt. Scholars think there were some tension between the two kingdoms, and that tension ended when Menes invaded Lower Egypt, and unified Egypt for first time in c.3100 BC.

Dynastic period:

This dynastic period has been divided into main periods or Kingdoms and these kingdoms are divided in dynasties as;

The Archaic period (c.3100-2575 BC).

The Old Kingdom (c.2575-2150 BC).

The First Intermediate Period (c.2150-2080 BC).

The Middle Kingdom (c.2080-1756 BC).

The Second Intermediate Period (c.1756-1550 BC).

The New Kingdom (c.1550-1080 BC).

The Third Intermediate Period (c.1080-664 BC).

The Late Period (c.664-322 BC).

The Ptolemaic Period (c.332-30 BC).

The Roman Period (30 BC-639 AD).

The Arab Conquest in 639.

The Archaic Period:

The First Dynasty (c.2925-2775 BC):

The beginning of historical/dynastic period is characterized by the introduction of written records in the form of regnal year names- the records that later were collected in documents such as the Palermo Stone.

The first king of the Egyptian history, Menes, he is known from Egyptian Kings Lists and from classical sources and is credited with irrigation works, and with founding the capital Memphis.

Kings of this dynasty were buried at Abydos, while high officials were buried in Saqqara. During the first dynasty, writing spread gradually, and papyrus was invented by the middle of the first dynasty.

During the first dynasty, three titles were added to the royal Horus name:

1-The Nebty name; or the two ladies representing two protective goddesses of Upper and Lower Egypt.

2-Gold Horus Name. 

3-Dual King of Upper and Lower Egypt.

Some of the popular kings of the dynasty are Menes, Aha, and Narmar. 

The second Dynasty (c.2775-2650 BC):

This dynasty witnessed some of political rival. Some kings built their tombs at Abydos, and some others at Saqqara.

Popular kings of this dynasty are Hetepsekhemwy, Raneb, Pribsen, and Khasekhem. 

The Third Dynasty (c.2650-2575 BC):

There were links of kinship between Khasekhemwy and the 3rd dynasty. Its first king Sanakht is attested in reliefs from Maghara in Sinai. His successor Djoser is famous for his step pyramid in Saqqara, the first stone structure in history.Other popular kings of this dynasty are Sekhemkhet, Kaba, and Huni.

The Old Kingdom:

The Fourth Dynasty (c.2527-2465 BC):

In a long perspective, the 4th dynasty was an isolated phenomenon, a period of centralization and construction of the great pyramids of Egypt.

The first king of the 4th dynasty is Senfru, who built three pyramids for himself, the first at Midoum, then two pyramids at Dahshur (the Bent and, Red pyramids). Senfru's name was the first to be written in cartouche.

Senfru's son and successor, Khufu built the Great Pyramid in Giza. Khufu's successor, Djedefre, built a pyramid at Abu Rawash.

Khafre came back to Giza to build his pyramid, and his famous Sphinx. Khafre's successor, Menkawre, also built his pyramid nearby.

The last known king of the dynasty Shepseskaf built a mastaba at Saqqara. 

Senfru and the builders of the Giza pyramids represented a classical age to later times.

The Fifth Dynasty (c.2465-2325 BC):

The first two kings of the 5th dynasty, Userkaf and Sahure, were sons of Khentkawes, who was a member of the 4th dynasty. The 3rd king, Neferirkare, may also have been her son. Six kings of the 5th dynasty displayed their devotion to the sun god by building personal temples to his cult. Just two temples were identified.

Pyramids have been identified for seven of nine kings of the dynasty, at Saqqara, and Abu Sir. The pyramids are smaller than these of the 4th dynasty.

The last three kings of the dynasty, Menkawhor, Isesi, and Unas, did not have personal names compounded with (Re) the sun god. Isesi and Unas did not build solar temples. That was a shift away from Re, could be linked to the rise of Osiris.

The pyramid of Unas was the first to be decorated with the famous historical and religious scenes of the Pyramid Texts. 

The Sixth Dynasty (c.2325-2150 BC):

Teti, the first king of the dynasty built his pyramid in Saqqara.

Information on the 6th dynasty political and external affairs is more abundant because inscriptions of high officials were longer.

The long reign of king Pepi II (94 years) brought an end to the 6th dynasty and the Old Kingdom.

The First Intermediate Period:

The Seventh Dynasty (c.2150-2143 BC):

The seventh dynasty would mark the beginning of the First Intermediate Period. The only historical account on the 7th dynasty was in Aegyptiaca of Manetho, where the 7th dynasty appears as a metaphor of chaos. No king of this dynasty is known.

The Eighth Dynasty (c.2143-2130 BC):

The 8th dynasty is a poorly known and short-lived of pharaohs. About that time there were incidents of famine and local violence.

Some of its rulers are Netjerkare Siptah, Neferkare II and Ibi who built a pyramid at south Saqqara

The Ninth Dynasty (c. 2130-2080 BC):

The 9th-dynasty kings were acknowledged throughout the country, but inscriptions of nomarchs in the southshow that the kings' rule was nominal. Artificial irrigation had probably long been practiced, but exceptional poverty and crop failure made concern with it worth recording.

The Tenth Dynasty (c.2080-1970 BC):

The 10th dynasty probably continued the line of the 9th. The founder of the 9th or the 10th dynasty was named Khety, and the whole dynasty was termed the House of Khety. Several Heracleopolitan kings were named Khety; another important name is Merikare.

The Middle Kingdom:

The Eleventh Dynasty (c.2081-1938 BC):

Until the 11th dynasty made Thebes its capital, Armant on the west bank of the Nile, was the center of the Theban nome. The dynasty honored as its ancestor the God's Father Mentuhotep, the father of its first king, Inotef I (2016-2008 BC), whose successors were Inotef II, and Inotef III. The fourth king Mentuhotep II (2008-1957 BC), gradually reunited Egypt. In later times Mentuhotep was celebrated as the founder of the Middle Kingdom. His remarkable mortuary complex at Deir El Bahari, which seems to have had no pyramid, was the architectural inspiration for Hatshepsut's temple.

His mortuary complex contained some of the earliest known depictions of Amun-Re, the dynastic god of the Middle Kingdom, and the New Kingdom.

Mentuhotep II's successors, Mentuhotep III (1957-1945 BC), and Mentuhotep IV (1945-1938 BC), also ruled from Thebes.

The Twelfth Dynasty (1938-1756 BC):

Amenemhat I, (1938-1908 BC), founded Ithet-Tawy (she who controls the Two Lands), as his residence and capital of Egypt. Ithet-Tawy was probably situated between Memphis and modern Al Lisht.

In his 20th regnal year, Amenemhat I took his son Senowsert I (1908-1875 BC) as his coregent, to ensure a smooth transition to the next reign. This practice was followed in the next two reigns and recurred sporadically in later times.

Amenemhat I apparently was murdered during Senowsert's absence on a campaign to Libya, but Senowsert was able to maintain his hold on the throne without major disorder.

Little is known of the reigns of Amenemhat II (1876-1842 BC) and Senowsert II (1844-1837 BC). These kings built their pyramids in the entrance to Al Fayoum while also beginning an intensive exploitation of its agricultural potential that reached a peak in the reign of Amenemhat III (1818-1770 BC). The king of the 12th dynasty with the most enduring reputation was Senowsert III (1836-1818 BC), who extended Egyptian conquest to Semna, at the south end of the second cataract, who also completed a chain of fortresses there, and was worshipped as a god in the New Kingdom.

The reigns of Amenemhat III and Amenemhat IV (1770-1760 BC) and of Sobeknefru (1760-1756 BC), the first female monarch, were apparently peaceful, but the accession of a woman marked the end of the dynasty.

The Second Intermediate Period (1756-1550 BC):

The Thirteenth Dynasty (c.1756-1630 BC):

In little than a century about 70 kings occupied the throne. Many can have reigned only for months, and there were probably rival claimants to the throne, but in principle the royal residence remained at Ithet-Tawy and the kings ruled the whole country.

Immigration from Asia is known in the late 12th dynasty and became more widespread in the 13th. From the late 18th century BC the northeastern Delta was settled by successive waves of peoples from Palestine, who retained their own material culture

The Fourteenth Dynasty:

This dynasty lasted for about 75 years. The capital of the dynasty was probably Avaris, and existed concurrently with the 13th dynasty.

The Hyksos Invasion (1630-1550 BC):

The word Hyksos dates to an Egyptian phrase meaning "ruler of foreign lands". The main line of Hyksos was acknowledged throughout Egypt. The 15th dynasty consisted of six kings, the best known being the fifth, Apophis, who reigned for up to 40 years.

Asiatic rule brought many technical innovations to Egypt, as well as cultural innovations such as new musical instruments and foreign loan words. In warfare, composite bows, new types of daggers and scimitars, and above all the horse and chariot transformed previous practice, although the chariot may ultimately have been as important as a prestige vehicle as for tactical military advantages it conferred.

Aside from Avaris itself, virtually no information has come from the north, where the Hyksos ruled, and it is impossible to assess their impact on the economy or on high culture.

 To the end of the 17th dynasty, the Theban king Seqenenre challenged Apophis, probably dying in battle against him. Seqenenre's successor, Kamose, renewed the challenge, stating in an inscription that it was intolerable to share his land with an Asiatic and a Nubian (the Karmah ruler). By the end of his third regnal year, he had made raids as far south as the Second Cataract and in the north to the neighborhood of Avaris, also intercepting in the Western Desert a letter sent from Apophis to a new Karmah ruler on his accession. By campaigning to the north and to the south, Kamose acted out his implicit claim to the territory ruled by Egypt in Middle Kingdom. His exploits formed a vital stage in the long struggle to expel the Hyksos