1.
2nd millennium BC
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The 2nd millennium BC spans the years 2000 through 1000 BC. It marks the transition from the Middle to the Late Bronze Age and its first half is dominated by the Middle Kingdom of Egypt and Babylonia. Indo-Iranian migration onto the Iranian plateau and onto the Indian subcontinent propagates the use of the chariot, chariot warfare and population movements lead to violent changes at the center of the millennium, a new order emerges with Greek dominance of the Aegean and the rise of the Hittite Empire. The end of the sees the transition to the Iron Age. World population begins to rise steadily, reaching some 50 million towards 1000 BC, the Pharaohs of the Middle Kingdom of Egypt and their contemporary Kings of Babylon, of Amorite origin, brought good governance without much tyranny, and favoured elegant art and architecture. Farther east, the Indus Valley civilization was in a period of decline, possibly as a result of intense, Egypt and Babylonias military tactics were still based on foot soldiers transporting their equipment on donkeys. Combined with an economy and difficulty in maintaining order, this was a fragile situation that crumbled under the pressure of external forces they could not oppose. About a century before the middle of the millennium, bands of Indo-European invaders came from the Central Asian plains and swept through Western Asia and they were riding fast two-wheeled chariots powered by horses, a system of weaponry developed earlier in the context of plains warfare. This tool of war was unknown among the classical civilizations, Egypt and Babylonias foot soldiers were unable to defend against the invaders, in 1630 BC, the Hyksos swept into the Nile Delta, and in 1595 BC, the Hittites swept into Mesopotamia. The peoples in place were quick to adapt to the new tactics, among the great states of the time, only Babylon refrained from taking part in battles, mainly due to its new position as the worlds religious and intellectual capital. Also contributing to the changes were the Sea Peoples, ship-faring raiders of the Mediterranean, the civilizations, kingdoms and dynasties in this section are organized according to the United Nations geoscheme The events in this section are organized according to the United Nations geoscheme. It is difficult to pinpoint the year or even the correct century for many events of the 2nd Millennium BC. c.1700 BC–1300 BC—Palace complex in Knossos. C.1600 BC–1360 BC Egyptian domination over Canaan and Syria, in the history of the Egyptian language, the early 2nd millennium saw a transition from Old Egyptian to Middle Egyptian. As the most used form of the Ancient Egyptian language. The earliest attested Indo-European language, the Hittite language, first appears in cuneiform in the 16th century BC, Hittite is the best known and the most studied language of the extinct Anatolian branch of Indo-European languages. The first Northwest Semitic language, Ugaritic, is attested in the 14th century BC, the first fully phonemic script Proto-Canaanite developed from Egyptian hieroglyphs, becoming the Phoenician alphabet by 1200 BC. Mycenaean Greek, the most ancient attested form of the Greek language, was used on the Greek mainland, Crete, the people in this section are organized according to the United Nations geoscheme The Canadian–American speculative fiction author S. M. Stirling has written a set in Bronze Age era, circa the 1250s BC
2.
12th century BC
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The 12th century BC is the period from 1200 to 1101 BC. The Late Bronze Age collapse in the ancient Near East and eastern Mediterranean is often considered to begin in this century,1200 BC, The first civilization in Central and North America develops in about 1200 BC in the coastal regions of the southern part of the Gulf of Mexico. Known as the Olmec civilization, its site is at San Lorenzo. Read more 1200 BC, The Phoenicians found the port of Lisbon, Portugal 1197 BC, The beginning of first period by Shao Yongs concept of the I Ching,1197 BC, Ramses III of Egypt repels attacks by northern invaders. 1194 BC, The beginning of the legendary Trojan War,1192 BC, Wu Ding, King of Shang Dynasty, died. 1191 BC, Menestheus, legendary King of Athens, dies during the Trojan War after a reign of 23 years and is succeeded by his nephew Demophon, other accounts place his death a decade later and shortly after the Trojan War. 1186 BC, End of the Nineteenth dynasty of Egypt, start of the Twentieth Dynasty, april 24,1184 BC, Traditional date for the fall of Troy, Asia Minor to the Mycenaeans and their allies. This marks the end of the Trojan War of Greek mythology,1181 BC, Menestheus, legendary King of Athens and veteran of the Trojan War, dies after a reign of 23 years and is succeeded by his nephew Demophon, a son of Theseus. Other accounts place his death a decade earlier and during the Trojan War,1180 BC, The last Kassite King, Anllil-nadin-akhe, is defeated by the Elamites 1180 BC, Collapse of Hittite power in Anatolia with the destruction of their capital Hattusa. April 16,1178 BC, A solar eclipse may mark the return of Odysseus, legendary King of Ithaca and he discovers a number of suitors competing to marry his wife Penelope, whom they believe to be a widow, in order to succeed him on the throne. He organizes their slaying and re-establishes himself on the throne,1160 BC, Death of Pharaoh Ramesses V, from smallpox. 1159 BC, The Hekla 3 eruption triggers an 18-year period of climatic worsening,1154 BC, Death of King Menelaus of Sparta. 1154 BC, Death of exiled Queen Helen of Sparta at Rhodes, C.1150 BC, End of Egyptian rule in Palestine. 1147 BC, Demophon, legendary King of Athens and veteran of the Trojan War,1137 BC, Ramses VII begins his reign as the sixth ruler of the Twentieth dynasty of Egypt. 1135 BC, Oxyntes, legendary King of Athens, dies after a reign of 12 years and is succeeded by his elder son Apheidas,1134 BC, Apheidas, legendary King of Athens, is assassinated and succeeded by his younger brother Thymoetes after a reign of 1 year. 1126 BC, Thymoetes, legendary King of Athens, dies childless after a reign of 8 years and he is succeeded by his designated heir Melanthus of Pylos, a fifth-generation descendant of Neleus who had reportedly assisted him in battle against the Boeotians. 1122 BC, Legendary founding date of the city of Pyongyang, C.1120 BC, destruction of Troy VIIb11115 BC, Tiglath-Pileser I becomes King of Assyria. 1110 BC, Cádiz founded by Phoenicians in southwestern Spain,1100 BC, Tiglath-Pileser I of Assyria conquers the Hittites
3.
11th century BC
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The 11th century BC comprises all years from 1100 BC to 1001 BC. Although many human societies were literate in this period, some of the individuals mentioned below may be rather than historically accurate. 1089 BC, Melanthus, legendary King of Athens, dies after a reign of 37 years and is succeeded by his son Codrus,1069 BC, Ramses XI dies, ending the Twentieth Dynasty. He is succeeded by Smendes I, who founds the Twenty-first Dynasty,1068 BC, Codrus, legendary King of Athens, dies in battle against Dorian invaders after a reign of 21 years. Athenian tradition considers him the last King to have absolute power. Modern historians consider him the last King whose life account is part of Greek mythology and he is succeeded by his son Medon. 1050 BC, Philistines capture the Ark of the Covenant from Israel in battle,1048 BC, Medon, King of Athens, dies after a reign of 20 years and is succeeded by his son Acastus. 1046 BC, King Wu of Zhou overthrows the last Shang Dynasty King Di Xin,1044 BC, On the death of Smendes I, king of Egypt, he is succeeded by two co-regents, Psusennes I and Neferkare Amenemnisu. 1042 BC, King Cheng of Zhou succeeds King Wu as ruler of the Zhou Dynasty in China, C.1040 BC, David, King of Israel, is born. 1039 BC, Neferkare Amenemnisu, king of Egypt, dies, C.1020 BC, Destruction of Troy VIIb2. 1026 BC, Saul the King becomes the first king of the Israelites,1020 BC, King Kang of Zhou succeeds King Cheng as ruler of the Zhou Dynasty in China. 1012 BC, Acastus, King of Athens, dies after a reign of 36 years and is succeeded by his son Archippus,1003 BC, David succeeds Saul the King. 1000s BC, Earliest evidence of farming in the Kenya highlands, C.1000 BC, Latins arrive in Italy. C.1000 BC, Archaeological evidence obtained from inscriptions excavated in 2005 dates the Tamil language, see, List of sovereign states in the 11th century BC
4.
10th century BC
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The 10th century BC started the first day of 1000 BC and ended the last day of 901 BC. This period followed the Bronze Age collapse in the Near East, the Greek Dark Ages which had come about in 1200 BC continued. The Neo-Assyrian Empire is established towards the end of the 10th century BC, in Iron Age India, the Vedic period is ongoing. In China, the Zhou Dynasty is in power, the European Bronze Age continued with Urnfield culture. Japan was inhabited by an evolving hunter-gatherer society during the Jomon period,1000 BC, India—Iron Age of India. Iron Age kingdoms rule India—Panchala, Kuru, Kosala, Videha are Janapada states,993 BC, Amenemope succeeds Psusennes I as king of Egypt. 993 BC, Archippus, Archon of Athens dies after a reign of 19 years and is succeeded by his son Thersippus,984 BC, Osorkon the Elder succeeds Amenemope as king of Egypt. 982 BC, The end of first period by Sau Yungs concept of the I Ching,978 BC, Siamun succeeds Osorkon the Elder as king of Egypt. 967 BC, Solomon becomes king of the Israelites, according to the Books of Kings,967 BC, Tiglath-Pileser II becomes King of Assyria. 965 BC, David, king of the ancient Israelites, died,962 BC, Solomon becomes king of Israel, following the death of his father, King David. 959 BC, Psusennes II succeeds Siamun as king of Egypt,957 BC, Solomon completes the construction of the First Temple in Jerusalem. C.953 BC, Alternative date to the Founding of Rome,952 BC, Thersippus, King of Athens dies after a reign of 41 years and is succeeded by his son Phorbas. 947 BC, Death of King Mo of Zhou, King of the Zhou Dynasty of China,946 BC, King Gong of Zhou becomes King of the Zhou Dynasty of China. 945 BC, Egypt, Psusennes III dies, the last king of the Twenty-first Dynasty, Shoshenq I succeeds him, the founder of the Twenty-second Dynasty. 935 BC, Death of King Gong of Zhou, King of the Zhou Dynasty of China,935 BC, Death of Tiglath-Pileser II king of Assyria. 934 BC, King Yi of Zhou becomes King of the Zhou Dynasty of China,925 BC, Solomon, king of the ancient Israelites, died. C.925 BC, Partition of ancient Israel into the Kingdoms of Judah,924 BC, Osorkon I succeeds his father Shoshenq I as king of Egypt. 922 BC, Phorbas, Archon of Athens, dies after a reign of 30 years and is succeeded by his son Megacles,912 BC, Adad-nirari II succeeds his father Ashur-Dan II as king of Assyria
5.
Kings of Athens
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Before the Athenian democracy, the tyrants, and the Archons, the city-state of Athens was ruled by kings. Most of these are probably mythical or only semi-historical and these three kings were supposed to have ruled before the flood of Deucalion. The early Athenian tradition, followed by the 3rd century BC Parian Chronicle, made Cecrops, a mythical half-man half-serpent, tradition says that King Menestheus took part in the Trojan War. The following list follows that of 1st Century BC Castor of Rhodes, melanthus having been driven from his kingdom in Pylos came to Athens where Thymoestes resigned the crown to him. Codrus, the last king, repelled the Dorian Invasion of Attica, after Codruss death, his sons Medon and Acastus either reigned as kings, or became hereditary archons. In 753 BC the hereditary archonship was replaced by a non-hereditary system
6.
King Wu of Zhou
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King Wu of Zhou was the first king of the Zhou dynasty of ancient China. The chronology of his reign is disputed but is thought to have begun around 1046 BC. King Wus ancestral name was Ji and given name Fa and he was the second son of King Wen of Zhou and Queen Tai Si. Upon his succession, Fa worked with his father-in-law Jiang Ziya to accomplish an unfinished task, in 1048 BC, Fa marched down the Yellow River to the Mengjin ford and met with more than 800 dukes. He constructed an ancestral tablet naming his father Chang King Wen and placed it on a chariot in the middle of the host, considering the timing unpropitious, though, in 1046 BC, King Wu took advantage of Shang disunity to launch an attack along with many neighboring dukes. The Battle of Muye destroyed Shangs forces and King Zhou of Shang set his palace on fire, a burial mound in Zhouling town, Xianyang, Shaanxi was once thought to be King Wus tomb. It was fitted with a headstone bearing Wus name in the Qing dynasty, modern archeology has since concluded that the tomb is not old enough to be from the Zhou dynasty, and is more likely to be that of a Han dynasty royal. The true location of Wus tomb remains unknown, but is likely to be in the Xianyang-Xian area, Wu is considered one of the great heroes of China, together with Yellow Emperor and Yu the Great. Father, King Wen of Zhou Mother, Tai Si Wife, Yi Jiang, daughter of Jiang Ziya Children, King Cheng of Zhou Shu of Yu Shu Yu of Tang Marquis of Ying Marquis of Han
7.
Shang dynasty
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The Shang dynasty or Yin dynasty, according to traditional historiography, ruled in the Yellow River valley in the second millennium BC, succeeding the Xia dynasty and followed by the Zhou dynasty. The classic account of the Shang comes from such as the Book of Documents, Bamboo Annals. The Xia–Shang–Zhou Chronology Project dated them from c.1600 to 1046 BC, the Shang dynasty is the earliest dynasty of traditional Chinese history supported by archaeological evidence. Tens of thousands of bronze, jade, stone, bone, the Anyang site has yielded the earliest known body of Chinese writing, mostly divinations inscribed on oracle bones – turtle shells, ox scapulae, or other bones. More than 20,000 were discovered in the scientific excavations during the 1920s and 1930s. The inscriptions provide critical insight into many topics from the politics, economy, many events concerning the Shang dynasty are mentioned in various Chinese classics, including the Book of Documents, the Mencius and the Zuo Zhuan. Working from all the documents, the Han dynasty historian Sima Qian assembled a sequential account of the Shang dynasty as part of his Records of the Grand Historian. His history describes some events in detail, while in other cases only the name of a king is given, a closely related, but slightly different, account is given by the Bamboo Annals. The Annals were interred in 296 BC, but the text has a complex history, the name Yīn is used by Sima Qian for the dynasty, and in the current text version of the Bamboo Annals for both the dynasty and its final capital. It has been a name for the Shang throughout history. Since the Records of Emperors and Kings by Huangfu Mi, it has often used specifically to describe the later half of the Shang dynasty. In Japan and Korea, the Shang are still referred to almost exclusively as the Yin dynasty, however it seems to have been a Zhou name for the earlier dynasty. The word does not appear in the bones, which refer to the state as Shāng. It also does not appear in securely-dated Western Zhou bronze inscriptions, xie is said to have helped Yu the Great to control the Great Flood and for his service to have been granted a place called Shang as a fief. Sima Qian relates that the dynasty itself was founded 13 generations later, when Xies descendant Tang overthrew the impious and cruel final Xia ruler in the Battle of Mingtiao. The Records recount events from the reigns of Tang, Tai Jia, Tai Wu, Pan Geng, Wu Ding, Wu Yi and the final king Di Xin. According to the Records, the Shang moved their capital five times, Di Xin, the last Shang king, is said to have committed suicide after his army was defeated by Wu of Zhou. Legends say that his army and his equipped slaves betrayed him by joining the Zhou rebels in the decisive Battle of Muye, according to the Yi Zhou Shu and Mencius the battle was very bloody
8.
China
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China, officially the Peoples Republic of China, is a unitary sovereign state in East Asia and the worlds most populous country, with a population of over 1.381 billion. The state is governed by the Communist Party of China and its capital is Beijing, the countrys major urban areas include Shanghai, Guangzhou, Beijing, Chongqing, Shenzhen, Tianjin and Hong Kong. China is a power and a major regional power within Asia. Chinas landscape is vast and diverse, ranging from forest steppes, the Himalaya, Karakoram, Pamir and Tian Shan mountain ranges separate China from much of South and Central Asia. The Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, the third and sixth longest in the world, respectively, Chinas coastline along the Pacific Ocean is 14,500 kilometers long and is bounded by the Bohai, Yellow, East China and South China seas. China emerged as one of the worlds earliest civilizations in the basin of the Yellow River in the North China Plain. For millennia, Chinas political system was based on hereditary monarchies known as dynasties, in 1912, the Republic of China replaced the last dynasty and ruled the Chinese mainland until 1949, when it was defeated by the communist Peoples Liberation Army in the Chinese Civil War. The Communist Party established the Peoples Republic of China in Beijing on 1 October 1949, both the ROC and PRC continue to claim to be the legitimate government of all China, though the latter has more recognition in the world and controls more territory. China had the largest economy in the world for much of the last two years, during which it has seen cycles of prosperity and decline. Since the introduction of reforms in 1978, China has become one of the worlds fastest-growing major economies. As of 2016, it is the worlds second-largest economy by nominal GDP, China is also the worlds largest exporter and second-largest importer of goods. China is a nuclear weapons state and has the worlds largest standing army. The PRC is a member of the United Nations, as it replaced the ROC as a permanent member of the U. N. Security Council in 1971. China is also a member of numerous formal and informal multilateral organizations, including the WTO, APEC, BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the BCIM, the English name China is first attested in Richard Edens 1555 translation of the 1516 journal of the Portuguese explorer Duarte Barbosa. The demonym, that is, the name for the people, Portuguese China is thought to derive from Persian Chīn, and perhaps ultimately from Sanskrit Cīna. Cīna was first used in early Hindu scripture, including the Mahābhārata, there are, however, other suggestions for the derivation of China. The official name of the state is the Peoples Republic of China. The shorter form is China Zhōngguó, from zhōng and guó and it was then applied to the area around Luoyi during the Eastern Zhou and then to Chinas Central Plain before being used as an occasional synonym for the state under the Qing
9.
Monarch
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A monarch is the sovereign head of state in a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority and power in the state, alternatively, an individual may become monarch by conquest, acclamation or a combination of means. A monarch usually reigns for life or until abdication, if a young child is crowned the monarch, a regent is often appointed to govern until the monarch reaches the requisite adult age to rule. A monarch can reign in multiple monarchies simultaneously, for example, the monarchy of Canada and the monarchy of the United Kingdom are separate states, but they share the same monarch through personal union. Monarchs, as such, bear a variety of titles — king or queen, prince or princess, emperor or empress, archduke, duke or grand duke, Prince is sometimes used as a generic term to refer to any monarch regardless of title, especially in older texts. A king can also be a husband and a queen can be a kings wife. If both people in a reign, neither person is generally considered to be a consort. Monarchy is political or sociocultural in nature, and is associated with hereditary rule. Most monarchs, both historically and in the present day, have been born and brought up within a royal family, different systems of succession have been used, such as proximity of blood, primogeniture, agnatic seniority, Salic law, etc. In an elective monarchy, the monarch is elected but otherwise serves as any other monarch, historical examples of elective monarchy include the Holy Roman Emperors and the free election of kings of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. In recent centuries, many states have abolished the monarchy and become republics, advocacy of government by a republic is called republicanism, while advocacy of monarchy is called monarchism. A principal advantage of hereditary monarchy is the continuity of national leadership. In cases where the monarch serves mostly as a ceremonial figure real leadership does not depend on the monarch, a form of government may in fact be hereditary without being considered monarchy, such as a family dictatorship. Monarchies take a variety of forms, such as the two co-princes of Andorra, positions held simultaneously by the Roman Catholic Bishop of Urgel and the elected President of France. Similarly, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia is considered a monarch despite only holding the position for five years at a time, hereditary succession within one patrilineal family has been most common, with preference for children over siblings, sons over daughters. Other European realms practice one form or another of primogeniture, whereunder a lord was succeeded by his eldest son or, if he had none, by his brother, the system of tanistry was semi-elective and gave weight also to ability and merit. The Salic law, practiced in France and in the Italian territories of the House of Savoy, in most fiefs, in the event of the demise of all legitimate male members of the patrilineage, a female of the family could succeed. Spain today continues this model of succession law, in the form of cognatic primogeniture, in more complex medieval cases, the sometimes conflicting principles of proximity and primogeniture battled, and outcomes were often idiosyncratic
10.
King Zhou of Shang
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King Zhou was the pejorative posthumous name given to Di Xin, the last king of the Shang dynasty of ancient China. He is also called Zhou Xin and he may also be referred to by adding Shang in front of any of his names. In Chinese, 紂 also refers to a horse crupper, the part of a saddle or harness that is most likely to be soiled by the horse. In the Records of the Grand Historian, Sima Qian wrote that Di Xin, in the part of his reign, had abilities which surpassed those of the ordinary man. According to legend, he was intelligent enough to win all of his arguments and he was the younger brother of Zi Qi and Zi Yan and father of Wu Geng. His father Di Yi had two brothers, Ji Zi and Bi Gan, Di Xin added to the territory of Shang by battling the tribes surrounding it, including the Dongyi to the east. In his later years, Di Xin gave himself over to drinking, women and abandoned morals, preferring these to the governance of the country. According to Sima Qian, he even hosted festive orgies where many people engaged in immoral things at the time with his concubines and created songs with crude lyrics. In legends, he is depicted as having come under the influence of his wicked wife Daji, in fictionalizations, including the novel Fengshen Yanyi, she was said to be possessed by a malevolent fox spirit. One of the most famous forms of entertainment Zhou enjoyed was the Wine Pool, a large pool, big enough for several canoes, was constructed on the Palace grounds, with inner linings of polished oval shaped stones from the sea shores. This allowed for the pool to be filled with alcohol. A small island was constructed in the middle of the pool, where trees were planted and this allowed Zhou and his friends and concubines to drift on canoes in the pool. When they thirsted, they reached down into the pool with their hands, when they hungered, they reached up with their hands to eat the roasted meat. This was considered one of the most famous examples of decadence, in order to please Daji, he created the Cannon Burning Punishment. Zhou and Daji were known to get highly aroused after watching such torture, victims ranged from ordinary people and prisoners to high government officials, such as Mei Bo. In order to fund Zhous heavy daily expenses, extremely heavy taxes were implemented, the people suffered greatly, and lost all hope for the Shang dynasty. Zhous brother Wei Zi tried to persuade him to change, but was rebuked and his uncle Bi Gan similarly remonstrated with him, but Di Xin had his heart ripped out so he could see what the heart of a sage looked like. When his other uncle Ji Zi heard this, he went to remonstrate with the nephew and
11.
Zhou dynasty
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The Zhou dynasty was a Chinese dynasty that followed the Shang dynasty and preceded the Qin dynasty. This period of Chinese history produced what many consider the zenith of Chinese bronze-ware making, the dynasty also spans the period in which the written script evolved into its almost-modern form with the use of an archaic clerical script that emerged during the late Warring States period. He even received sacrifice as a harvest god, the term Hòujì was probably an hereditary title attached to a lineage. Jus son Liu, however, led his people to prosperity by restoring agriculture and settling them at a place called Bin, tai later led the clan from Bin to Zhou, an area in the Wei River valley of modern-day Qishan County. Taibo and Zhongyong had supposedly fled to the Yangtze delta. Jilis son Wen bribed his way out of imprisonment and moved the Zhou capital to Feng, the Zhou enfeoffed a member of the defeated Shang royal family as the Duke of Song, which was held by descendants of the Shang royal family until its end. This practice was referred to as Two Kings, Three Reverences, according to Nicholas Bodman, the Zhou appear to have spoken a language not basically different in vocabulary and syntax from that of the Shang. A recent study by David McCraw, using lexical statistics, reached the same conclusion, the Zhou emulated extensively Shang cultural practices, perhaps to legitimize their own rule, and became the successors to Shang culture. At the same time, the Zhou may also have connected to the Xirong, a broadly defined cultural group to the west of the Shang. According to the historian Li Feng, the term Rong during the Western Zhou period was used to designate political and military adversaries rather than cultural. The proto-Zhou were first located in the Shaanxi-Shanxi highland, where they absorbed elements from the Guangshe culture, King Liu moved his people to the lower Fen Valley and to the western bank of the Yellow River, where they resumed agriculture. His son Qing Jie, led the Zhou to the valley of the Jing River. They stayed there until Dan Fu moved again to the Wei Valley in order to avoid incursion by the Rongdi nomads. During this period, the Zhou mingled with the Qiang people, in all these stages, the advanced Shang bronze culture constantly imparted its influence on the Zhou. The Qi area was the region in all these influences would come to fruition. The contact among the proto-Zhou, the native Shaanxi Longshan, the Qiang, King Wu maintained the old capital for ceremonial purposes but constructed a new one for his palace and administration nearby at Hao. Although Wus early death left a young and inexperienced heir, the Duke of Zhou assisted his nephew King Cheng in consolidating royal power. Wary of the Duke of Zhous increasing power, the Three Guards, Zhou princes stationed on the eastern plain, to maintain Zhou authority over its greatly expanded territory and prevent other revolts, he set up the fengjian system
12.
Smendes I
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Hedjkheperre Setepenre Smendes was the founder of the Twenty-first dynasty of Egypt and succeeded to the throne after burying Ramesses XI in Lower Egypt – territory which he controlled. While Smendes precise origins remain a mystery, he is thought to have been a governor in Lower Egypt during the Renaissance era of Ramesses XI. Nesibanebdjedet may have been a son of a lady named Hrere, Hrere was a Chief of the Harem of Amun-Re and likely the wife of a high priest of Amun. If Hrere was the mother of Nesibanebdjedet, then he was a brother of Nodjmet and through her brother-in-law of the High Priests Herihor, Nesibanebdjedet was married to Tentamun B, likely a daughter of Ramesses IX. They may have been the parents of his successor Amenemnisu, Smendes features prominently in the Report of Wenamun. This story is set in an anonymous Year 5, generally taken to be year 5 of the so-called Renaissance of Pharaoh Ramesses XI, however, since Karl Jansen-Winkeln has proposed to reverse the order of the High Priests of Amun Herihor and Piankh, this ascription has become disputed. Following Jansen-Winkeln, Arno Egberts therefore argues that the story is set in the regnal year of Smendes. Wenamun first visits Smendes at Tanis and personally presented his letters of accreditation to Smendes in order to receive the permission to travel north to modern Lebanon. Smendes responds by dispatching a ship for Wenamuns travels to Syria, Smendes appears as a person of the highest importance in Tanis. The quarry stela describes how Smendes while residing in Memphis, heard of danger to the temple of Luxor from flooding, gave orders for repairs, Smendes is assigned a reign of 26 Years by Manetho in his Epitome and was the husband of Tentamun. Menkheperre then exiled the leaders of the rebellion to the Western Desert Oases and these individuals were pardoned several years later during the reign of Smendes successor, Amenemnisu. His prenomen or throne name Hedjkheperre Setepenre/Setepenamun—which means Bright is the Manifestation of Rê, Chosen of Rê/Amun—became very popular in the following 22nd Dynasty and 23rd Dynasty. In all, five kings, Shoshenq I, Shoshenq IV, Takelot I, Takelot II, on the death of Smendes in 1052 BC, he was succeeded by Neferkare Amenemnisu, who may have been this kings son. Nicolas Grimal, A History of Ancient Egypt, Blackwell Books
13.
History of Egypt
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The history of Egypt has been long and rich, due to the flow of the Nile river, with its fertile banks and delta. Its rich history also comes from its inhabitants and outside influence. Much of Egypts ancient history was a mystery until the secrets of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs were deciphered with the discovery, the Great Pyramid of Giza is the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World still standing. The Lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the other Seven Wonders, is gone, the Library of Alexandria was the only one of its kind for centuries. Human settlement in Egypt dates back to at least 40,000 BC with Aterian tool manufacturing, Ancient Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh of the First Dynasty, Narmer. Predominately native Egyptian rule lasted until the conquest by the Achaemenid Empire in the sixth century BC, the Ptolemies had to fight native rebellions and were involved in foreign and civil wars that led to the decline of the kingdom and its final annexation by Rome. The death of Cleopatra ended the independence of Egypt resulting in Egypt becoming one of the provinces of the Roman Empire. Roman rule in Egypt lasted from 30 BC to 641 AD, in 1517, Ottoman sultan Selim I captured Cairo, absorbing Egypt into the Ottoman Empire. Egypt remained entirely Ottoman until 1867, except during French occupation from 1798 to 1801, starting in 1867, Egypt became a nominally autonomous tributary state called the Khedivate of Egypt. However, Khedivate Egypt fell under British control in 1882 following the Anglo-Egyptian War, after the end of World War I and following the Egyptian revolution of 1919, the Kingdom of Egypt was established. While a de facto independent state, the United Kingdom retained control over affairs, defense. British occupation lasted until 1954, with the Anglo-Egyptian agreement of 1954, President Gamal Abdel Nasser introduced many reforms and created the short-lived United Arab Republic. His terms also saw the Six-Day War and the creation of the international Non-Aligned Movement and he led Egypt in the Yom Kippur War of 1973 to regain Egypts Sinai Peninsula, which Israel had occupied since the Six-Day War of 1967. This later led to the Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty, recent Egyptian history has been dominated by events following nearly thirty years of rule by former president Hosni Mubarak. The Egyptian revolution of 2011 deposed Mubarak and resulted in the first democratically elected president in Egyptian history, unrest after the 2011 revolution and related disputes led to the 2013 Egyptian coup détat. There is evidence of petroglyphs along the Nile terraces and in desert oases, in the 10th millennium BC, a culture of hunter-gatherers and fishermen was replaced by a grain-grinding culture. Climate changes and/or overgrazing around 6000 BC began to desiccate the pastoral lands of Egypt, early tribal peoples migrated to the Nile River, where they developed a settled agricultural economy and more centralized society. By about 6000 BC, a Neolithic culture rooted in the Nile Valley, during the Neolithic era, several predynastic cultures developed independently in Upper and Lower Egypt
14.
Psusennes I
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Psusennes I was the third pharaoh of the 21st Dynasty who ruled from Tanis between 1047 –1001 BC. He was the son of Pinedjem I and Henuttawy, Ramesses XIs daughter by Tentamun, professor Pierre Montet discovered pharaoh Psusennes Is intact tomb in Tanis in 1940. However, the kings magnificent funerary mask was recovered intact, it proved to be made of gold and lapis lazuli and held inlays of black and white glass for the eyes and eyebrows of the object. Psusennes Is mask is considered to be one of the masterpieces of the treasure of Tanis and is housed in Room 2 of the Cairo Museum. It has a width and height of 38 cm and 48 cm respectively. The pharaohs fingers and toes had been encased in gold stalls, the finger stalls are the most elaborate ever found, with sculpted fingernails. Each finger wore a ring of gold and lapis lazuli or some other semiprecious stone. A cartouche on the red outer sarcophagus shows that it had originally made for Pharaoh Merenptah. Psusennes I, himself, was interred in a silver coffin which was inlaid with gold. Since silver was considerably rarer in Egypt than gold, Psusennes Is silver coffin represents a sumptuous burial of great wealth during Egypts declining years. Dr. Douglass Derry, who worked as the head of Cairo Universitys Anatomy Department, examined the remains in 1940. Psusennes Is precise reign length is unknown because different copies of Manethos records credit him with a reign of either 41 or 46 years. Some Egyptologists have proposed raising the 41 year figure by a decade to 51 years to closely match certain anonymous Year 48. Jansen-Winkeln notes that in the first half of Dyn, hence, two separate Year 49 dates from Thebes and Kom Ombo could be attributed to the ruling High Priest Menkheperre in Thebes instead of Psusennes I but this remains uncertain. Psusennes Is reign has been estimated at 46 years by the editors of the Handbook to Ancient Egyptian Chronology. During his long reign, Psusennes built the walls and the central part of the Great Temple at Tanis which was dedicated to the triad of Amun, Mut. Bob Brier, Egyptian Mummies, Unraveling the Secrets of an Ancient Art, William Morrow & Co, ad Thijs, The Burial of Psusennes I and “The Bad Times” of P. Brooklyn 16.205, ZÄS96, 209–223 Jean Yoyotte, Secrets of the Dead episode, The Silver Pharaoh
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David
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David was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the second king of the United Kingdom of Israel and Judah, reigning in c. He is described as a man after Gods own heart in 1 Samuel 13,14 and Acts 13,22. The Hebrew prophets regarded him as the ancestor of the future messiah, the New Testament says he was an ancestor of Jesus. God is angered when Saul, Israels king, unlawfully offers a sacrifice and later disobeys a divine instruction to not only all of the Amalekites. Consequently, he sends the prophet Samuel to anoint David, the youngest son of Jesse of Bethlehem, God sends an evil spirit to torment Saul. Sauls courtiers recommend that he send for David, a man skillful on the lyre, wise in speech, and brave in battle. So David enters Sauls service as one of the royal armour-bearers, and plays the lyre to soothe the king, war comes between Israel and the Philistines, and the giant Goliath challenges the Israelites to send out a champion to face him in single combat. David, sent by his father to bring provisions to his brothers serving in Sauls army, refusing the kings offer of the royal armour, he kills Goliath with his sling. Saul inquires the name of the heros father. Saul sets David over his army, all Israel loves David, but his popularity causes Saul to fear him. Saul plots his death, but Sauls son Jonathan, one of those who loves David, warns him of his fathers schemes and David flees. He becomes a vassal of the Philistine king Achish of Gath, but Achishs nobles question his loyalty, Jonathan and Saul are killed, and David is anointed king over Judah. In the north, Sauls son Ish-Bosheth is anointed king of Israel, with the death of Sauls son, the elders of Israel come to Hebron and David is anointed king over all Israel. He conquers Jerusalem, previously a Jebusite stronghold, and makes it his capital. He brings the Ark of the Covenant to the city, intending to build a temple for God, Nathan also prophesies that God has made a covenant with the house of David, Your throne shall be established forever. David wins more victories over the Philistines, while the Moabites, Edomites, Amalekites, Ammonites, during a battle to conquer the Ammonite capital of Rabbah, David seduces Bathsheba and causes the death of her husband Uriah the Hittite. In response, Nathan prophesies the punishment that shall fall upon him, in fulfillment of these words Davids son Absalom rebels. The rebellion ends at the battle of the Wood of Ephraim, Absaloms forces are routed, and Absalom is caught by his long hair in the branches of a tree, and killed by Joab, contrary to Davids order. Joab was the commander of Davids army, David laments the death of his favourite son, O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom
