1.
Gneiss
–
Gneiss is a common distributed type of rock formed by high-grade regional metamorphic processes from pre-existing formations that were originally either igneous or sedimentary rocks. The foliations are characterized by alternating darker and lighter colored bands, the word gneiss comes from the Middle High German verb gneist. It has occurred in English since at least 1757, gneissic rocks are usually medium- to coarse-foliated, they are largely recrystallized but do not carry large quantities of micas, chlorite or other platy minerals. Gneisses that are metamorphosed igneous rocks or their equivalent are termed granite gneisses, diorite gneisses, gneiss rocks may also be named after a characteristic component such as garnet gneiss, biotite gneiss, albite gneiss, etc. Orthogneiss designates a gneiss derived from a rock, and paragneiss is one from a sedimentary rock. Gneissose rocks have properties similar to gneiss, gneiss appears to be striped in bands, called gneissic banding. The banding is developed under high temperature and pressure conditions, the minerals are arranged into layers that appear as bands in cross section. The appearance of layers, called compositional banding, occurs because the layers, the darker bands have relatively more mafic minerals. The lighter bands contain relatively more felsic and these forces stretch out the rock like a plastic, and the original material is spread out into sheets. Another cause of banding is metamorphic differentiation, which separates different materials into different layers through chemical reactions, not all gneiss rocks have detectable banding. In kyanite gneiss, crystals of kyanite appear as random clumps in what is mainly a plagioclase matrix, henderson gneiss is found in North Carolina and South Carolina, US, east of the Brevard Shear Zone. It has deformed into two sequential forms, the second, more warped, form is associated with the Brevard Fault, and the first deformation results from displacement to the southwest. Most of the Outer Hebrides of Scotland have a formed from Lewisian gneiss. In addition to the Outer Hebrides, they form basement deposits on the Scottish mainland west of the Moine Thrust and on the islands of Coll and Tiree. These rocks are igneous in origin, mixed with metamorphosed marble, quartzite and mica schist with later intrusions of basaltic dikes. Gneisses of Archean and Proterozoic age occur in the Baltic Shield, in antiquity, gneisses were also utilized in architectural construction. They were used to erect the Sphinx of Taharqo in the Nile Valley, list of rock types Blatt, Harvey and Robert J. Tracy. Petrology, Igneous, Sedimentary and Metamorphic, 2nd ed. Freeman, mcKirdy, Alan, Roger Crofts and John Gordon
Gneiss
–
Sample of gneiss exhibiting "gneissic banding".
Gneiss
–
Granitic gneiss from Enfield, New York
Gneiss
–
Orthogneiss from the Czech Republic
Gneiss
–
Henderson augen gneiss
2.
Ptolemaic Kingdom
–
The Ptolemaic Kingdom was a Hellenistic kingdom based in Egypt. Alexandria became the city and a major center of Greek culture. To gain recognition by the native Egyptian populace, they named themselves the successors to the Pharaohs, the later Ptolemies took on Egyptian traditions by marrying their siblings, had themselves portrayed on public monuments in Egyptian style and dress, and participated in Egyptian religious life. The Ptolemies had to fight native rebellions and were involved in foreign and civil wars led to the decline of the kingdom. Hellenistic culture continued to thrive in Egypt throughout the Roman and Byzantine periods until the Muslim conquest. The era of Ptolemaic reign in Egypt is one of the most well documented periods of the Hellenistic Era. In 332 BC, Alexander the Great, King of Macedon invaded the Achaemenid satrapy of Egypt and he visited Memphis, and traveled to the oracle of Amun at the Oasis of Siwa. The oracle declared him to be the son of Amun, the wealth of Egypt could now be harnessed for Alexanders conquest of the rest of the Persian Empire. Early in 331 BC he was ready to depart, and led his forces away to Phoenicia and he left Cleomenes as the ruling nomarch to control Egypt in his absence. Following Alexanders death in Babylon in 323 BC, a crisis erupted among his generals. Perdiccas appointed Ptolemy, one of Alexanders closest companions, to be satrap of Egypt, Ptolemy ruled Egypt from 323 BC, nominally in the name of the joint kings Philip III and Alexander IV. However, as Alexander the Greats empire disintegrated, Ptolemy soon established himself as ruler in his own right, Ptolemy successfully defended Egypt against an invasion by Perdiccas in 321 BC, and consolidated his position in Egypt and the surrounding areas during the Wars of the Diadochi. In 305 BC, Ptolemy took the title of King, as Ptolemy I Soter, he founded the Ptolemaic dynasty that was to rule Egypt for nearly 300 years. All the male rulers of the dynasty took the name Ptolemy, while princesses and queens preferred the names Cleopatra, Arsinoe and Berenice. Because the Ptolemaic kings adopted the Egyptian custom of marrying their sisters, many of the kings ruled jointly with their spouses and this custom made Ptolemaic politics confusingly incestuous, and the later Ptolemies were increasingly feeble. The only Ptolemaic Queens to officially rule on their own were Berenice III, Cleopatra V did co-rule, but it was with another female, Berenice IV. Cleopatra VII officially co-ruled with Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopator, Ptolemy XIV, and Ptolemy XV, upper Egypt, farthest from the centre of government, was less immediately affected, even though Ptolemy I established the Greek colony of Ptolemais Hermiou to be its capital. But within a century Greek influence had spread through the country, nevertheless, the Greeks always remained a privileged minority in Ptolemaic Egypt
Ptolemaic Kingdom
–
Eagle of Zeus
Ptolemaic Kingdom
–
Bust of
Ptolemy I Soter, king of Egypt (305 BC–282 BC) and founder of the Ptolemaic dynasty
Ptolemaic Kingdom
–
A bust depicting King
Ptolemy II Philadelphus 309–246 BCE
3.
British Museum
–
The British Museum is dedicated to human history, art and culture, and is located in the Bloomsbury area of London. The British Museum was established in 1753, largely based on the collections of the physician, the museum first opened to the public on 15 January 1759, in Montagu House, on the site of the current building. Although today principally a museum of art objects and antiquities. Its foundations lie in the will of the Irish-born British physician, on 7 June 1753, King George II gave his formal assent to the Act of Parliament which established the British Museum. They were joined in 1757 by the Old Royal Library, now the Royal manuscripts, together these four foundation collections included many of the most treasured books now in the British Library including the Lindisfarne Gospels and the sole surviving copy of Beowulf. The British Museum was the first of a new kind of museum – national, belonging to neither church nor king, freely open to the public, sloanes collection, while including a vast miscellany of objects, tended to reflect his scientific interests. The addition of the Cotton and Harley manuscripts introduced a literary, the body of trustees decided on a converted 17th-century mansion, Montagu House, as a location for the museum, which it bought from the Montagu family for £20,000. The Trustees rejected Buckingham House, on the now occupied by Buckingham Palace, on the grounds of cost. With the acquisition of Montagu House the first exhibition galleries and reading room for scholars opened on 15 January 1759. During the few years after its foundation the British Museum received several gifts, including the Thomason Collection of Civil War Tracts. A list of donations to the Museum, dated 31 January 1784, in the early 19th century the foundations for the extensive collection of sculpture began to be laid and Greek, Roman and Egyptian artefacts dominated the antiquities displays. Gifts and purchases from Henry Salt, British consul general in Egypt, beginning with the Colossal bust of Ramesses II in 1818, many Greek sculptures followed, notably the first purpose-built exhibition space, the Charles Towneley collection, much of it Roman Sculpture, in 1805. In 1816 these masterpieces of art, were acquired by The British Museum by Act of Parliament. The collections were supplemented by the Bassae frieze from Phigaleia, Greece in 1815, the Ancient Near Eastern collection also had its beginnings in 1825 with the purchase of Assyrian and Babylonian antiquities from the widow of Claudius James Rich. The neoclassical architect, Sir Robert Smirke, was asked to draw up plans for an extension to the Museum. For the reception of the Royal Library, and a Picture Gallery over it, and put forward plans for todays quadrangular building, much of which can be seen today. The dilapidated Old Montagu House was demolished and work on the Kings Library Gallery began in 1823, the extension, the East Wing, was completed by 1831. The Museum became a site as Sir Robert Smirkes grand neo-classical building gradually arose
British Museum
–
British Museum
British Museum
–
The centre of the museum was redeveloped in 2001 to become the
Great Court, surrounding the original
Reading Room.
British Museum
–
Sir
Hans Sloane
British Museum
–
Montagu House, c. 1715
4.
Pharaoh
–
The word pharaoh ultimately derive from the Egyptian compound pr-ˤ3 great house, written with the two biliteral hieroglyphs pr house and ˤ3 column, here meaning great or high. It was used only in larger phrases such as smr pr-ˤ3 Courtier of the High House, with specific reference to the buildings of the court or palace. From the twelfth dynasty onward, the word appears in a wish formula Great House, may it live, prosper, and be in health, but again only with reference to the royal palace and not the person. During the reign of Thutmose III in the New Kingdom, after the rule of the Hyksos during the Second Intermediate Period. During the eighteenth dynasty the title pharaoh was employed as a designation of the ruler. From the nineteenth dynasty onward pr-ˤ3 on its own was used as regularly as hm. f, the term, therefore, evolved from a word specifically referring to a building to a respectful designation for the ruler, particularly by the twenty-second dynasty and twenty-third dynasty. For instance, the first dated appearance of the pharaoh being attached to a rulers name occurs in Year 17 of Siamun on a fragment from the Karnak Priestly Annals. Here, an induction of an individual to the Amun priesthood is dated specifically to the reign of Pharaoh Siamun and this new practice was continued under his successor Psusennes II and the twenty-second dynasty kings. Shoshenq I was the successor of Siamun. Meanwhile, the old custom of referring to the sovereign simply as pr-ˤ3 continued in traditional Egyptian narratives, by this time, the Late Egyptian word is reconstructed to have been pronounced *par-ʕoʔ whence Herodotus derived the name of one of the Egyptian kings, Φερων. In the Bible, the title also occurs as פרעה, from that, Septuagint φαραώ pharaō and then Late Latin pharaō, both -n stem nouns. The Quran likewise spells it فرعون firawn with n, interestingly, the Arabic combines the original pharyngeal ayin sound from Egyptian, along with the -n ending from Greek. English at first spelt it Pharao, but the King James Bible revived Pharaoh with h from the Hebrew, meanwhile in Egypt itself, *par-ʕoʔ evolved into Sahidic Coptic ⲡⲣ̅ⲣⲟ prro and then rro. Scepters and staves were a sign of authority in ancient Egypt. One of the earliest royal scepters was discovered in the tomb of Khasekhemwy in Abydos, kings were also known to carry a staff, and Pharaoh Anedjib is shown on stone vessels carrying a so-called mks-staff. The scepter with the longest history seems to be the heqa-scepter, the earliest examples of this piece of regalia dates to pre-dynastic times. A scepter was found in a tomb at Abydos that dates to the late Naqada period, another scepter associated with the king is the was-scepter. This is a long staff mounted with an animal head, the earliest known depictions of the was-scepter date to the first dynasty
Pharaoh
–
Den
Pharaoh
–
Narmer Palette
Pharaoh
–
Nomen and prenomen of
Ramesses III
Pharaoh
–
Royal titulary
5.
Egyptian chronology
–
The majority of Egyptologists agree on the outline and many details of the chronology of Ancient Egypt. Scholarly consensus on the outline of the conventional chronology current in Egyptology has not fluctuated much over the last 100 years. For the Old Kingdom, consensus fluctuates by as much as a few centuries and this is illustrated by comparing the chronology as given by two Egyptologists, the first writing in 1906, the second in 2000. The disparities between the two sets of result from additional discoveries and refined understanding of the still very incomplete source evidence. For example, Breasted adds a ruler in the Twentieth dynasty that further research showed did not exist, following Manetho, Breasted also believed all the dynasties were sequential, whereas it is now known that several existed at the same time. These revisions have resulted in a lowering of the chronology by up to 400 years at the beginning of Dynasty I. The backbone of Egyptian chronology are the years as recorded in Ancient Egyptian king lists. In addition, some Egyptian dynasties may have overlapped, with different pharaohs ruling in different regions at the same time, not knowing whether monarchies were simultaneous or sequential results in widely differing chronological interpretations. However, further research has shown that these censuses were taken in consecutive years. The sed festival was celebrated on the thirtieth anniversary of the Pharaohs ascension. However, once again, this may not be the practice in all cases. In the early days of Egyptology, the compilation of regnal periods may also have been hampered due to bias on the part of the Egyptologists. This was most pervasive before the mid 19th century, when Manethos figures were recognized as conflicting with biblical chronology based on Old Testament references to Egypt, in the 20th century, such biblical bias has mostly been confined to alternative chronologies outside of scholarly mainstream. A useful way to work around these gaps in knowledge is to find chronological synchronisms, over the past decades, a number of these have been found, although they are of varying degrees of usefulness and reliability. While this does not fix a person or event to a specific year, another example are blocks from the Old Kingdom bearing the names of several kings, which were reused in the construction of Middle Kingdom pyramid-temples at Lisht in the structures of Amenemhat I. The poor documentation of these finds in the Serapeum also compounds the difficulties in using these records. The best known of these is the Sothic cycle, and careful study of this led Richard A. Parker to argue that the dates of the Twelfth dynasty could be fixed with absolute precision. More recent research has eroded this confidence, questioning many of the assumptions used with the Sothic Cycle and this is useful especially for the Early Dynastic period, where Egyptological consensus has only been possible within a range of about three or four centuries
Egyptian chronology
–
Astronomical ceiling from the tomb of
Seti I showing stars and constellations used in calendar calculations
Egyptian chronology
–
'Diagonal star table' from the
11th Dynasty coffin lid; found at
Asyut, Egypt.
Roemer- und Pelizaeus-Museum Hildesheim
6.
Turin King List
–
The Turin King List, also known as the Turin Royal Canon, is an Egyptian hieratic papyrus thought to date from the reign of Pharaoh Ramesses II, now in the Museo Egizio in Turin. The papyrus is the most extensive list available of kings compiled by the Egyptians, the papyrus is believed to date from the reign of Ramesses II, during the middle of the New Kingdom, or the 19th Dynasty. The beginning and ending of the list are now lost, there is no introduction, the composition may thus have occurred at any subsequent time, from the reign of Ramesses II to as late as the 20th Dynasty. The papyrus lists the names of rulers, the lengths of reigns in years, with months, in some cases they are grouped together by family, which corresponds approximately to the dynasties of Manetho’s book. The list includes the names of rulers or those ruling small territories that may be unmentioned in other sources. The list also is believed to contain kings from the 15th Dynasty, the Hyksos who ruled Lower Egypt, the Hyksos rulers do not have cartouches, and a hieroglyphic sign is added to indicate that they were foreigners, although typically on King Lists foreign rulers are not listed. The papyrus was originally a tax roll, but on its back is written a list of rulers of Egypt – including mythical kings such as gods, demi-gods, and spirits, as well as human kings. As such, the papyrus is not supposed to be biased against certain rulers and is believed to all the kings of Egypt up through at least the 19th Dynasty. The papyrus was found by the Italian traveler Bernardino Drovetti in 1820 at Luxor, Egypt and was acquired in 1824 by the Egyptian Museum in Turin, when the box in which it had been transported to Italy was unpacked, the list had disintegrated into small fragments. Jean-Francois Champollion, examining it, could recognize only some of the larger fragments containing royal names, a reconstruction of the list was created to better understand it and to aid in research. Subsequent work on the fragments was done by the Munich Egyptologist Jens Peter Lauth, in 1997, prominent Egyptologist Kim Ryholt published a new and better interpretation of the list in his book, The Political Situation in Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period c. After another study of the papyrus, a version from Ryholt is expected. Despite attempts at reconstruction, approximately 50% of the papyrus remains missing and this papyrus as presently constituted is 1.7 m long and 0.41 m wide, broken into over 160 fragments. In 2009, previously unpublished fragments were discovered in the room of the Egyptian Museum of Turin, in good condition. A new edition of the papyrus is expected, the papyrus is divided into eleven columns, distributed as follows. The names and positions of several kings are still being disputed, List of lists of ancient kings List of pharaohs Palermo stone Alan Gardiner, editor. “Some remarks on Helcks Anmerkungen zum Turiner Konigspapyrus‘. “ Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 81, “The Date of the End of the Old Kingdom of Egypt. ”Journal of Near Eastern Studies 21, no. “A Genealogical Chronology of the Seventeenth Dynasty. ”Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 39, george Adam Smith, Chaldean Account of Genesis p290 Contains a different translation of the Turin Papyrus in a chart about dynasty of gods
Turin King List
–
Drawing of the The Turin King list
7.
Amenemhat III
–
See Amenemhat, for other individuals with this name. Amenemhat III, also spelled Amenemhet III, was a pharaoh of the Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt. He ruled from c.1860 BC to c.1814 BC and his reign is regarded as the golden age of the Middle Kingdom. He may have had a coregency with his father, Senusret III. His daughter, Sobekneferu, later succeeded Amenemhat IV, as the last ruler of the twelfth dynasty, Amenemhat IIIs throne name, Nimaatre, means Belonging to the Justice of Re. He built his first pyramid at Dahshur, but there were construction problems, around Year 15 of his reign the king decided to build a new pyramid at Hawara, near the Faiyum. The pyramid at Dahshur was used as ground for several royal women. The mortuary temple attached to the Hawara pyramid may have known to Herodotus and Diodorus Siculus as the Labyrinth. Strabo praised it as a wonder of the world, nevertheless, the kings burial was robbed in antiquity. His daughter or sister, Neferuptah, was buried in a separate pyramid 2 km southwest of the kings, the pyramidion of Amenemhet IIIs pyramid tomb was found toppled from the peak of its structure and preserved relatively intact, it is today located in the Cairo Egyptian Museum. There is very little evidence for military expeditions in the reign of the king, there is only one record for a small mission in year nine of the king. The evidence for that was found in an inscription in Nubia. The short text reports that a mission was guided by the mouth of Nekhen Zamonth who reports that he went north with a small troop. Many expeditions to mining areas are recorded under the king, there are two expeditions known to the Wadi el-Hudi at the southern border of Egypt, where Amethyst was collected. One of the dates to year 11, of the king. Two further to year 20 and to year 28, there were further mining expeditions to the Wadi Hammamat. These are dated to year 2,3,19,20 and 33 of the kings reign, the inscriptions of year 19 and 20 might be related to the building start of the pyramid complex at Hawara. They report the breaking of stone for statues, at the Red Sea coast, at Mersa was discovered a stela mentioning an expedition to Punt under Amenemhat III
Amenemhat III
–
Statuette head of Amenemhat III, now in the
Louvre
Amenemhat III
–
Statue from the
Egyptian Collection of the Hermitage Museum
Amenemhat III
–
Pectoral of Amenemhat III, tomb of Mereret.
Amenemhat III
–
Pyramidion or Capstone of Amenemhat III's pyramid.
8.
Sobekneferu
–
Sobekneferu was an Egyptian woman reigning as pharaoh after the death of her brother Amenemhat IV. She was the last ruler of the Twelfth dynasty of Egypt and her name means the beauty of Sobek. She was the daughter of Pharaoh Amenemhat III, manetho states she also was the sister of Amenemhat IV, but this claim is unproven. Sobekneferu had a sister named Nefruptah, who may have been the intended heir. Neferuptahs name was enclosed in a cartouche and she had her own pyramid at Hawara, neferuptah died at an early age, however. Sobekneferu was the first known woman reigning as pharaoh for which there is confirmed proof, there are five women who are believed to have ruled as early as the First Dynasty and Nitocris may have ruled in the Sixth Dynasty. Amenemhat IV most likely died without a heir, consequently, Amenemhat IIIs daughter, Sobekneferu. According to the Turin Canon, she ruled for 3 years,10 months and she died without heirs and the end of her reign concluded Egypts brilliant Twelfth Dynasty and the Golden Age of the Middle Kingdom as it inaugurated the much weaker Thirteenth Dynasty. One statue with a head is known, a bust in the Egyptian Museum of Berlin, lost in World War II, could be identified as belonging to her. Today, the sculpture is only from photographic images and plaster casts. It came in 1899 to the museum, the head fits on top of the lower part of a royal statue discovered at Semna. The latter can be identified for sure as royal because the royal symbol unification of the two countries appears on the side of her throne and it is known that she made additions to the funerary complex of Amenemhat III at Hawara and also built structures at Herakleopolis Magna. A fine cylinder seal bearing her name and royal titulary is located in the British Museum, a Nile graffito, at the Nubian fortress of Kumma records the Nile inundation height of 1.83 meters in Year 3 of her reign. Another inscription discovered in the Eastern Desert records year 4, second month of the peret season, additionally, all Egyptian rulers were given the title king, regardless of gender. Her tomb has not been identified positively, although she may have been interred in a complex in Mazghuna that lacks inscriptions. It is immediately north of a similar complex ascribed to Amenemhat IV, a place called Sekhem-Neferu is mentioned in a papyrus found at Harageh. This might be the name of her pyramid, the Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, Oxford University Press
Sobekneferu
–
Bust of Queen Sobekneferu (Louvre)
Sobekneferu
–
Head of ruling queen Sobekneferu
9.
Ancient Egyptian royal titulary
–
The royal titulary or royal protocol of an Egyptian pharaoh is the standard naming convention taken by the kings of Ancient Egypt. It symbolises worldly power and holy might and also acts as a sort of mission statement for the reign of a monarch. The full titulary, consisting of five names, did not come into standard usage until the Middle Kingdom, the Horus name is the oldest form of the pharaohs name, originating in the Predynastic Period. Many of the oldest-known Egyptian pharaohs were known only by this title, the Horus name was usually written in a serekh, a representation of a palace façade. The name of the pharaoh was written in hieroglyphs inside this representation of a palace, typically an image of the falcon God Horus was perched on top of or beside it. At least one Egyptian ruler, the 2nd dynasty Seth-Peribsen, used an image of the god Seth instead of Horus and he was succeeded by Khasekhemwy, who placed the symbols of both Seth and Horus above his name. Thereafter, the image of Horus always appeared alongside the name of the pharaoh, by the time of the New Kingdom the Horus name was often written without the enclosing serekh. The name is first definitively used by the First Dynasty pharaoh Semerkhet and this particular name was not typically framed by a cartouche or serekh, but always begins with the hieroglyphs of a vulture and cobra resting upon two baskets, the dual noun nebty. Also known as the Golden Horus Name, this form of the name typically featured the image of a Horus falcon perched above or beside the hieroglyph for gold. The meaning of this title has been disputed. One belief is that it represents the triumph of Horus over his uncle Seth, Gold also was strongly associated in the ancient Egyptian mind with eternity, so this may have been intended to convey the pharaohs eternal Horus name. Similar to the Nebty name, this particular name typically was not framed by a cartouche or serekh, the pharaohs throne name, the first of the two names written inside a cartouche, and usually accompanied the title nsw-bity. The term nsw-bity It has been suggested that the Berber term for strong man, the epithet neb tawy, Lord of the Two Lands, referring to valley and delta regions of Egypt, often occurs as well. This was the name given at birth and it was first introduced to the set of royal titles in the Fourth Dynasty and emphasizes the kings role as a representative of the solar god Ra. For women who became pharaoh, the title was interpreted as daughter also. Modern historians typically refer to the ancient kings of Egypt by this name, Middle Egyptian, An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs. The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt, Cairo, London, and New York, The American University in Cairo Press and Thames and Hudson. The Great Name, Ancient Egyptian Royal Titulary, Egyptian Grammar, Being an Introduction to the Study of Hieroglyphs
Ancient Egyptian royal titulary
–
Serekh containing the name of
Djet and an association with
Wadjet, on display at the
Louvre
Ancient Egyptian royal titulary
–
Praenomen of the
Cartouche of
Thutmose II preceded by Sedge and Bee symbols, Temple of
Hatshepsut,
Luxor
Ancient Egyptian royal titulary
–
In the
Middle Kingdom, the full titulary was sometimes written in a single cartouche, as in this example from
Senusret I, from
Beni Hasan.
Ancient Egyptian royal titulary
–
Royal titulary
10.
Amun
–
Amun was a major Ancient Egyptian deity. He was attested since the Old Kingdom together with his wife Amaunet, with the 11th dynasty, he rose to the position of patron deity of Thebes by replacing Monthu. After the rebellion of Thebes against the Hyksos and with the rule of Ahmose I, Amun acquired national importance, expressed in his fusion with the Sun god, Ra, Amun-Ra retained chief importance in the Egyptian pantheon throughout the New Kingdom. Amun-Ra in this period held the position of transcendental, self-created creator deity par excellence, he was the champion of the poor or troubled and his position as King of Gods developed to the point of virtual monotheism where other gods became manifestations of him. With Osiris, Amun-Ra is the most widely recorded of the Egyptian gods, as the chief deity of the Egyptian Empire, Amun-Ra also came to be worshipped outside of Egypt, according to the testimony of ancient Greek historiographers in Libya and Nubia. As Zeus Ammon he came to be identified with Zeus in Greece, Amun and Amaunet are mentioned in the Old Egyptian Pyramid Texts. The name Amun meant something like the one or invisible. Amun rose to the position of tutelary deity of Thebes after the end of the First Intermediate Period, as the patron of Thebes, his spouse was Mut. In Thebes, Amun as father, Mut as mother and the Moon god Khonsu formed a family or Theban Triad. The history of Amun as the god of Thebes begins in the 20th century BC. The city of Thebes does not appear to have been of great significance before the 11th dynasty, major construction work in the Precinct of Amun-Re took place during the 18th dynasty when Thebes became the capital of the unified ancient Egypt. Construction of the Hypostyle Hall may have begun during the 18th dynasty, though most building was undertaken under Seti I. Merenptah commemorated his victories over the Sea Peoples on the walls of the Cachette Court and this Great Inscription shows the kings campaigns and eventual return with booty and prisoners. Next to this inscription is the Victory Stela, which is largely a copy of the more famous Israel Stela found in the complex of Merenptah on the west bank of the Nile in Thebes. Merenptahs son Seti II added 2 small obelisks in front of the Second Pylon, and this was constructed of sandstone, with a chapel to Amun flanked by those of Mut and Khonsu. The last major change to the Precinct of Amun-Res layout was the addition of the first pylon, the local patron deity of Thebes, Amun, therefore became nationally important. The pharaohs of that new dynasty attributed all their enterprises to Amun. The victory accomplished by pharaohs who worshipped Amun against the rulers, brought him to be seen as a champion of the less fortunate
Amun
–
Amon-Ra (l'esprit des quatre elements, lame du monde matérial),N372.2.,
Brooklyn Museum
Amun
–
Bas-relief depicting Amun as
pharaoh
Amun
–
Amun-Min as Amun-Ra ka-Mut-ef from the temple at Deir el Medina.
Amun
–
The
sarcophagus of a priestess of Amon-Ra, c. 1000 BC –
Smithsonian 's
National Museum of Natural History
11.
Sekhemre Khutawy Sobekhotep
–
Sekhemre Khutawy Sobekhotep was an Egyptian pharaoh of the 13th Dynasty during the Second Intermediate Period, who reigned for at least three years c.1800 BC. His tomb was believed to have discovered in Abydos in 2013. Sekhemre Khutawy Sobekhotep is well attested by contemporary sources, first, he is mentioned on the Kahun Papyrus IV, now in the Petrie Museum. This establishes that Sekhemre Khutawy Sobekhotep reigned close in time to Amenemhat III, smaller artifacts mentioning Sekhemre Khutawy Sobekhotep comprise a cylinder seal from Gebelein, an adze-blade, a statuette from Kerma and a faience bead, now in the Petrie Museum. During a 2013 excavation in Abydos, a team of archaeologists led by Josef W. Wegner of the University of Pennsylvania discovered the tomb of a king with the name Sobekhotep. While Sobekhotep I was named as owner of the tomb on several press reports since January 2014, there is some dispute in Egyptology over the position of this king in the 13th Dynasty. The throne name Sekhemre Khutawyre appears in the Turin King List as the 19th king of the 13th Dynasty, however, the Nile level records and his appearance on a papyrus found at Lahun indicate that he might date to the early 13th Dynasty. In both monument types only kings of the late 12th and early 13th Dynasty are mentioned, based on his name Amenemhat Sobekhotep, it has been suggested that Sobekhotep was a son of the penultimate pharaoh of the 12th Dynasty, king Amenemhat IV. Amenemhat Sobekhotep can be read as Amenemhats son Sobekhotep, therefore, Sobekhotep may have been a brother of Sekhemkare Sonbef, the second ruler of the 13th Dynasty. Other Egyptologists read Amenemhat Sobekhotep as a name, these being common in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Dynasty. Ryholt, The Political Situation in Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period, c. 1800–1550 BC,336, File 13/1
Sekhemre Khutawy Sobekhotep
–
Head of a statue, thought to represent Sekhemre Khutawy Sobekhotep, although other attributions have been proposed
12.
Sonbef
–
Mehibtawy Sekhemkare Amenemhat Sonbef was an Egyptian pharaoh of the 13th Dynasty during the Second Intermediate Period. According to egyptologists Kim Ryholt, Jürgen von Beckerath and Darrell Baker, he was the 2nd king of the dynasty, there is a debate between egyptologists as whether or not Sekhemkare Sonbef is the same king as Sekhemkare Amenemhat V, 4th ruler of the 13th dynasty. Thus, they see Sonbef and Amenemhat V as two different rulers, an opinion shared by Jürgen von Beckerath. At the opposite Detlef Franke and Stephen Quirke believe that Amenemhat V and Sonbef are one, Franke and others regard Amenemhat Sonbef as a double name. Indeed, double naming was common in Egypt and especially in the late 12th and 13th Dynasty, Sonbef is attested on column 7, line 6 of the Turin canon, where he appears as Sekhemkare f. Although, as a king of the early 13th dynasty, Sonbef certainly reigned from Itjtawy in the Faiyum, the only contemporary attestations of him are from south of Thebes. Two Nile records are also attributable to him, one from Askut and dated to his year 3, a further, much damaged record from Semna and dated to a year 5 may also belong to him. The ownership of these Nile records is still in doubt however, as they bear the prenomen Sekhemkare. The egyptologist and archaeologist Stuart Tyson Smith who studied the records initially attributed them to Sonbef, but later changed his opinion and attributed them to Amenemhat V
Sonbef
–
Cylinder seal bearing the royal titulary of Sonbef, drawing by
Flinders Petrie.
13.
Southern Mazghuna pyramid
–
The Southern Mazghuna Pyramid is an ancient Egyptian royal tomb which was built during the 12th or the 13th Dynasty in Mazghuna,5 km south of Dahshur, Egypt. The building was never finished, and is unknown which pharaoh was the owner. The pyramid was rediscovered in 1910 by Ernest Mackay and excavated in the year by Flinders Petrie. The building shares some similarities to the Hawara pyramid of Amenemhat III. In parallel, the near northern Mazghuna pyramid is considered to be the tomb of his sister Sobekneferu, the last ruler of the 12th Dynasty. However, some such as William C. Hayes believed that the southern pyramid was built during the 13th Dynasty. The pyramid has a length of 52.5 m. The core masonry consists of mudbricks and only reaches a height of one to two layers, casing stones were not found, therefore, it is impossible to determine informations about the planned inclination angle and total height. The entrance of the pyramid is located in the middle of the south side, a staircase leads down to a short horizontal passage. Here is a niche, from where a blocking stone had been pushed into the passage. Another staircase leads to a block, which, however, is still in its niche. Finally a U-shaped chamber system leads to the chamber, which is topped by a gable roof. There was an empty – but used – quartzite sarcophagus and some few grave goods were found in it, the central chamber was attached in its southwestern corner with a sacrificial hall with a vaulted roof. Mark Lehner, Das Geheimnis der Pyramiden in Ägypten, orbis Verlag, München 1999, pp. 184–185, ISBN 3-572-01039-X. Mainz 1997, pp. 250–251, ISBN 3-8053-1142-7 Miroslav Verner, rowohlt Verlag, Reinbek 1998, pp. 472–474, ISBN 3-499-60890-1
Southern Mazghuna pyramid
–
The remains of the Southern Mazghuna pyramid in 1911.
Southern Mazghuna pyramid
–
Plan of the Southern Mazghuna pyramid.
Southern Mazghuna pyramid
–
Plan of the hypogeum.
14.
Middle Kingdom of Egypt
–
Some scholars also include the Thirteenth Dynasty of Egypt wholly into this period as well, in which case the Middle Kingdom would finish c. 1650, while others only include it until Merneferre Ay c.1700 BC, during the Middle Kingdom period, Osiris became the most important deity in popular religion. The period comprises two phases, the 11th Dynasty, which ruled from Thebes and the 12th Dynasty onwards which was centered on el-Lisht, after the collapse of the Old Kingdom, Egypt entered a period of weak Pharaonic power and decentralization called the First Intermediate Period. Towards the end of period, two rival dynasties, known in Egyptology as the Tenth and Eleventh, fought for power over the entire country. The Theban 11th Dynasty only ruled southern Egypt from the first cataract to the Tenth Nome of Upper Egypt, to the north, Lower Egypt was ruled by the rival 10th Dynasty from Herakleopolis. The struggle was to be concluded by Mentuhotep II, who ascended the Theban throne in 2055 B. C, during Mentuhotep IIs fourteenth regnal year, he took advantage of a revolt in the Thinite Nome to launch an attack on Herakleopolis, which met little resistance. After toppling the last rulers of the 10th Dynasty, Mentuhotep began consolidating his power over all Egypt, for this reason, Mentuhotep II is regarded as the founder of the Middle Kingdom. Mentuhotep II commanded military campaigns south as far as the Second Cataract in Nubia and he also restored Egyptian hegemony over the Sinai region, which had been lost to Egypt since the end of the Old Kingdom. He also sent the first expedition to Punt during the Middle Kingdom, by means of ships constructed at the end of Wadi Hammamat, Mentuhotep III was succeeded by Mentuhotep IV, whose name significantly is omitted from all ancient Egyptian king lists. The Turin Papyrus claims that after Mentuhotep III came seven kingless years, despite this absence, his reign is attested from a few inscriptions in Wadi Hammamat that record expeditions to the Red Sea coast and to quarry stone for the royal monuments. The leader of expedition was his vizier Amenemhat, who is widely assumed to be the future pharaoh Amenemhet I. Mentuhotep IVs absence from the king lists has prompted the theory that Amenemhet I usurped his throne, while there are no contemporary accounts of this struggle, certain circumstantial evidence may point to the existence of a civil war at the end of the 11th dynasty. Inscriptions left by one Nehry, the Haty-a of Hermopolis, suggest that he was attacked at a place called Shedyet-sha by the forces of the reigning king, but his forces prevailed. Khnumhotep I, an official under Amenemhet I, claims to have participated in a flotilla of 20 ships to pacify Upper Egypt, donald Redford has suggested these events should be interpreted as evidence of open war between two dynastic claimants. What is certain is that, however he came to power, from the 12th dynasty onwards, pharaohs often kept well-trained standing armies, which included Nubian contingents. These formed the basis of larger forces which were raised for defence against invasion, however, the Middle Kingdom was basically defensive in its military strategy, with fortifications built at the First Cataract of the Nile, in the Delta and across the Sinai Isthmus. Early in his reign, Amenemhet I was compelled to campaign in the Delta region, in addition, he strengthened defenses between Egypt and Asia, building the Walls of the Ruler in the East Delta region. Perhaps in response to this perpetual unrest, Amenemhat I built a new capital for Egypt in the north, known as Amenemhet Itj Tawy, or Amenemhet, the location of this capital is unknown, but is presumably near the citys necropolis, the present-day el-Lisht
Middle Kingdom of Egypt
–
An
Osiride statue of the first pharaoh of the Middle Kingdom, Mentuhotep II
Middle Kingdom of Egypt
–
The head of a statue of Senusret I.
Middle Kingdom of Egypt
–
Statue head of Senusret III
15.
Turquoise
–
Turquoise is an opaque, blue-to-green mineral that is a hydrated phosphate of copper and aluminium, with the chemical formula CuAl648·4H2O. It is rare and valuable in finer grades and has been prized as a gemstone, in recent times, turquoise has been devalued, like most other opaque gems, by the introduction onto the market of treatments, imitations, and synthetics. Pliny the Elder referred to the mineral as callais and the Aztecs knew it as chalchihuitl, the finest of turquoise reaches a maximum Mohs hardness of just under 6, or slightly more than window glass. Characteristically a cryptocrystalline mineral, turquoise almost never forms single crystals and its crystal system is proven to be triclinic via X-ray diffraction testing. With lower hardness comes lower specific gravity and greater porosity, These properties are dependent on grain size, the lustre of turquoise is typically waxy to subvitreous, and transparency is usually opaque, but may be semitranslucent in thin sections. Colour is as variable as the other properties, ranging from white to a powder blue to a sky blue. The blue is attributed to idiochromatic copper while the green may be the result of either iron impurities or dehydration, a reading of 1. 61–1.65 has been taken from rare single crystals. An absorption spectrum may also be obtained with a spectroscope, revealing a line at 432 nm. Under longwave ultraviolet light, turquoise may occasionally fluoresce green, yellow or bright blue, it is inert under shortwave ultraviolet, Turquoise is insoluble in all but heated hydrochloric acid. Its streak is a bluish white and its fracture is conchoidal. Despite its low relative to other gems, turquoise takes a good polish. Turquoise may also be peppered with flecks of pyrite or interspersed with dark, as a secondary mineral, turquoise apparently forms by the action of percolating acidic aqueous solutions during the weathering and oxidation of preexisting minerals. In the Southwestern United States turquoise is almost invariably associated with the products of copper sulfide deposits in or around potassium-feldspar-bearing porphyritic intrusives. In some occurrences alunite, potassium sulfate, is a prominent secondary mineral. Turquoise is nearly always cryptocrystalline and massive and assumes no definite external shape, crystals, even at the microscopic scale, are exceedingly rare. Typically the form is vein or fracture filling, nodular, or botryoidal in habit, Turquoise may also pseudomorphously replace feldspar, apatite, other minerals, or even fossils. Odontolite is fossil bone or ivory that has been thought to have been altered by turquoise or similar phosphate minerals such as the iron phosphate vivianite. Intergrowth with other copper minerals such as chrysocolla is also common
Turquoise
–
Turquoise,
tumble finished, one inch (25 mm) long.
Turquoise
–
"Big Blue," a large turquoise specimen from the copper mine at
Cananea, Mexico
Turquoise
–
Massive Kingman Blue turquoise in matrix with
quartz from Mineral Park,
Arizona
Turquoise
–
Cutting and grinding turquoise in
Nishapur, Iran, 1973
16.
Amethyst
–
Amethyst is a violet variety of quartz often used in jewelry. The name comes from the ancient Greek ἀ a- and μέθυστος méthystos, the ancient Greeks wore amethyst and made drinking vessels decorated with it in the belief that it would prevent intoxication. It is one of forms of quartz. Amethyst is a stone and is the traditional birthstone for February. Amethyst is a variety of quartz and owes its violet color to irradiation, iron impurities, and the presence of trace elements. The hardness of the mineral is the same as quartz, thus it is suitable for use in jewelry, Amethyst occurs in primary hues from a light pinkish violet to a deep purple. Amethyst may exhibit one or both secondary hues, red and blue, the best varieties of amethyst can be found in Siberia, Sri Lanka, Brazil and the far East. The ideal grade is called Deep Siberian and has a purple hue of around 75–80%, with 15–20% blue. Green quartz is sometimes called green amethyst, which is a misnomer and not an appropriate name for the material. Other names for green quartz are vermarine or lime citrine, of very variable intensity, the color of amethyst is often laid out in stripes parallel to the final faces of the crystal. One aspect in the art of lapidary involves correctly cutting the stone to place the color in a way makes the tone of the finished gem homogeneous. Often, the fact that only a thin surface layer of violet color is present in the stone or that the color is not homogeneous makes for a difficult cutting. When partially heated, amethyst can result in ametrine, Amethyst can fade in tone if overexposed to light sources and can be artificially darkened with adequate irradiation. Amethyst was used as a gemstone by the ancient Egyptians and was employed in antiquity for intaglio engraved gems. Beads of amethyst were found in Anglo-Saxon graves in England, anglican bishops wear an episcopal ring often set with an amethyst, an allusion to the description of the Apostles as not drunk at Pentecost in Acts 2,15. A large geode, or amethyst-grotto, from near Santa Cruz in southern Brazil was presented at a 1902 exhibition in Düsseldorf, in the 19th century, the color of amethyst was attributed to the presence of manganese. However, since it can be altered and even discharged by heat. Ferric thiocyanate has been suggested, and sulfur was said to have detected in the mineral
Amethyst
–
Amethyst cluster from
Magaliesburg, South Africa.
Amethyst
–
Faceted amethyst
Amethyst
–
Emerald cut amethyst
Amethyst
–
Roman
intaglio engraved gem of
Caracalla in amethyst, once in the Treasury of
Sainte-Chapelle.
17.
Land of Punt
–
The Land of Punt, also called Pwenet, or Pwene by the ancient Egyptians, was an ancient kingdom. A trading partner of Egypt, it was known for producing and exporting gold, aromatic resins, blackwood, ebony, ivory, the region is known from ancient Egyptian records of trade expeditions to it. Some biblical scholars have identified it with the land of Put. At times Punt is referred to as Ta netjer, the Land of the God, the exact location of Punt is still debated by historians. Most scholars today believe Punt was situated to the southeast of Egypt, most likely in the region of modern Djibouti, Eritrea, northeast Ethiopia, Somalia. However, some scholars point instead to a range of ancient inscriptions that locate Punt in the Arabian Peninsula and it is also possible that the territory covered both the Horn of Africa and Southern Arabia. Puntland, the Somali administrative region situated at the extremity of the Horn of Africa, is named in reference to the Land of Punt, the earliest recorded ancient Egyptian expedition to Punt was organized by Pharaoh Sahure of the Fifth Dynasty. However, gold from Punt is recorded as having been in Egypt as early as the time of Pharaoh Khufu of the Fourth Dynasty, subsequently, there were more expeditions to Punt in the Sixth, Eleventh, Twelfth and Eighteenth dynasties of Egypt. In the Twelfth Dynasty, trade with Punt was celebrated in literature in the Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor. In the reign of Mentuhotep III, an officer named Hannu organized one or more voyages to Punt, trading missions of the 12th dynasty pharaohs Senusret I, Amenemhat II and Amenemhat IV had also successfully navigated their way to and from the mysterious land of Punt. Hatshepsut personally made the most famous ancient Egyptian expedition that sailed to Punt, a report of that five-ship voyage survives on reliefs in Hatshepsuts mortuary temple at Deir el-Bahri. In reality, Nehsis expedition was a trading mission to a land, Punt. Moreover, Nehsis visit to Punt was not inordinately brave since he was accompanied by at least five shiploads of marines and greeted warmly by the chief of Punt and his immediate family. The Puntites traded not only in their own produce of incense, ebony and short-horned cattle and they will load their ships to the satisfaction of their hearts with trees of green incense, and all the good things of the land. Hatshepsuts 18th dynasty successors, such as Thutmose III and Amenhotep III also continued the Egyptian tradition of trading with Punt, the trade with Punt continued into the start of the 20th dynasty before terminating prior to the end of Egypts New Kingdom. They were loaded, in travelling overland, upon asses and upon men and they were sent forward downstream, arriving in festivity, bringing tribute into the royal presence. After the end of the New Kingdom period, Punt became an unreal and fabulous land of myths, at times, the ancient Egyptians called Punt Ta netjer, meaning Gods Land. This referred to the fact that it was among the regions of the Sun God, that is and these eastern regions resources included products used in temples, notably incense
Land of Punt
–
Queen Ati, wife of King Perahu of Punt, depicted on Pharaoh
Hatshepsut 's temple at
Deir el-Bahri.
Land of Punt
–
Egyptian soldiers from Hatshepsut's expedition to the Land of Punt as depicted from her temple at
Deir el-Bahri.
Land of Punt
–
This relief depicts incense and myrrh trees obtained by Hatshepsut's expedition to Punt
Land of Punt
–
A tree in front of
Hatshepsut's temple, claimed to have been brought from Punt by Hatshepsut's Expedition which is depicted on the Temple walls
18.
Byblos
–
Byblos, in Arabic Jubayl, is a Mediterranean city in the Mount Lebanon Governorate, Lebanon. It is one of the cities suggested as the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world and it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Gubal was a Canaanite city during the Bronze Age, at time it also appears as Gubla in the Amarna letters. During the Iron Age the city is called Gebal in Phoenician and it was much later referred to as Gibelet, during the Crusades. The citys Canaanite/Phoenician name can be derived from gb, meaning well or origin, and El, the present-day city is known by the Arabic name Jubayl or Jbeil, a direct descendant of the Canaanite name. However, the Arabic name is most likely derived from the Phoenician word GBL meaning boundary, district or mountain peak, in the Ugaritic GBL can mean mountain, the Greek Βύβλος, whence we get our Byblos, was the interpretation of Phoenician
Byblos
–
Byblos Port
Byblos
–
The old souk in Byblos,
Lebanon
Byblos
–
Old City of Byblos
Byblos
19.
Nubia
–
Nubia is a region along the Nile river located in what is today northern Sudan and southern Egypt. It was the seat of one of the earliest civilizations of ancient Africa, with a history that can be traced from at least 2000 B. C. onward, and was home to one of the African empires. Nubia was again united within Ottoman Egypt in the 19th century, the name Nubia is derived from that of the Noba people, nomads who settled the area in the 4th century following the collapse of the kingdom of Meroë. The Noba spoke a Nilo-Saharan language, ancestral to Old Nubian, Old Nubian was mostly used in religious texts dating from the 8th and 15th centuries AD. Before the 4th century, and throughout classical antiquity, Nubia was known as Kush, or, in Classical Greek usage, until at least 1970, the Birgid language was spoken north of Nyala in Darfur, but is now extinct. Nubia was divided into two regions, Upper and Lower Nubia, so called because of their location in the Nile river valley. Early settlements sprouted in both Upper and Lower Nubia, Egyptians referred to Nubia as Ta-Seti, or The Land of the Bow, since the Nubians were known to be expert archers. Modern scholars typically refer to the people from this area as the “A-Group” culture, fertile farmland just south of the Third Cataract is known as the “pre-Kerma” culture in Upper Nubia, as they are the ancestors. The Neolithic people in the Nile Valley likely came from Sudan, as well as the Sahara, by the 5th millennium BC, the people who inhabited what is now called Nubia participated in the Neolithic revolution. Saharan rock reliefs depict scenes that have been thought to be suggestive of a cult, typical of those seen throughout parts of Eastern Africa. Megaliths discovered at Nabta Playa are early examples of what seems to be one of the worlds first astronomical devices, around 3500 BC, the second Nubian culture, termed the A-Group, arose. It was a contemporary of, and ethnically and culturally similar to. The A-Group people were engaged in trade with the Egyptians and this trade is testified archaeologically by large amounts of Egyptian commodities deposited in the graves of the A-Group people. The imports consisted of gold objects, copper tools, faience amulets and beads, seals, slate palettes, stone vessels, and a variety of pots. Around 3300 BC, there is evidence of a kingdom, as shown by the finds at Qustul. The Nubian culture may have contributed to the unification of the Nile Valley. The earliest known depiction of the crown is on a ceremonial incense burner from Cemetery at Qustul in Lower Nubia. New evidence from Abydos, however, particularly the excavation of Cemetery U, around the turn of the protodynastic period, Naqada, in its bid to conquer and unify the whole Nile Valley, seems to have conquered Ta-Seti and harmonized it with the Egyptian state
Nubia
–
Nubians in worship
Nubia
–
Nubian woman circa 1900
Nubia
–
Head of a Nubian Ruler
Nubia
–
Ramesses II in his war chariot charging into battle against the Nubians
20.
Hathor
–
Hathor is an Ancient Egyptian goddess who personified the principles of joy, feminine love, and motherhood. She was one of the most important and popular throughout the history of Ancient Egypt. Hathor was worshipped by royalty and common people alike, in tomb paintings, she is often depicted as Mistress of the West, welcoming the dead into the next life. In other roles, she was a goddess of music, dance, foreign lands and she was believed to assist women in childbirth. She was also believed to be the goddess of miners. Hathor is commonly depicted as a cow goddess with horns in which is set a sun disk with Uraeus, twin feathers are also sometimes shown in later periods as well as a menat necklace. The Ancient Egyptians viewed reality as multi-layered in which deities who merge for various reasons, while retaining divergent attributes and myths, were not seen as contradictory but complementary. In a complicated relationship Hathor is at times the mother, daughter and wife of Ra and, like Isis, is at times described as the mother of Horus, the cult of Osiris promised eternal life to those deemed morally worthy. Originally the justified dead, male or female, became an Osiris but by early Roman times females became identified with Hathor, the Ancient Greeks sometimes identified Hathor with the goddess Aphrodite. Hathor is ambiguously depicted until the fourth dynasty, in the historical era Hathor is shown using the imagery of a cow deity. At times they are regarded as one and the goddess, though likely having separate origins. The evidence pointing to the deity being Hathor in particular is based on a passage from the Pyramid texts which states that the Kings apron comes from Hathor, from the Old Kingdom she was also called Lady of the Sycamore in her capacity as a tree deity. Hathor had a relationship with Ra. At times she is the eye of Ra and considered his daughter and she absorbed this role from another cow goddess Mehet-Weret who was the mother of Ra in a creation myth and carried him between her horns. As a mother she gave birth to Ra each morning on the eastern horizon, the Milky Way was seen as a waterway in the heavens, sailed upon by both the sun deity and the moon, leading the ancient Egyptians to describe it as The Nile in the Sky. Hathor also was favoured as a protector in desert regions, as Serabit el-Khadim was where turquoise was mined, Hathors titles included Lady of Turquoise, Mistress of Turquoise, and Lady of Turquoise Country. Hathors identity as a cow, perhaps depicted as such on the Narmer Palette, meant that she identified with another ancient cow-goddess of fertility. The assimilation of Bat, who was associated with the sistrum, in this later form, Hathors cult became centred in Dendera in Upper Egypt and it was led by priestesses and priests who also were dancers, singers and other entertainers
Hathor
–
Cow deities appear on the Kings belt and the top of the
Narmer Palette
Hathor
–
Hathor as a cow, wearing her necklace and showing her sacred eye –
Papyrus of Ani.
Hathor
–
The Milky Way seen as it may have appeared to Ancient Egyptians
Hathor
–
Sculpture of Hathor as a cow, with all of her symbols, the sun disk, the cobra, as well as her necklace and crown.
21.
Serabit el-Khadim
–
Archaeological excavation, initially by Sir Flinders Petrie, revealed ancient mining camps and a long-lived Temple of Hathor, the Egyptian goddess who was favoured as a protector in desert regions. Thirty incised graffiti in a Proto-Sinaitic script shed light on the history of the alphabet, the mines were worked by prisoners of war from southwest Asia who presumably spoke a Northwest Semitic language, such as the Canaanite that was ancestral to Phoenician and Hebrew. The script has graphic similarities with the Egyptian hieratic script, the less elaborate form of the hieroglyphs, in the 1950s and 60s it was common to show the derivation of the Canaanite alphabet from hieratic, using William Albrights interpretations of Proto-Sinaitic as the key. The word baʿlat lends credence to the identification of the language as Semitic, however, the lack of further progress in decipherment casts doubt over the other suppositions, and the identification of the hieratic prototypes remains speculative. His article The Serabit Inscriptions, II, at that time, #355 was still in situ at Serabit but had not been photographed by the previous Harvard Mission. In the course of study, I perceived that some signs doubtful in the inscriptions already published were made clear by the new slabs. Both articles provide an analysis of the Proto-Sinaitic inscriptions during earlier expeditions to the site, in her book A History of Sinai, Lina Eckenstein theorized that Serabit el-Khadim was the historical site of Mt. Sinai where Moses received the 10 commandments. This theory comes in no part to the site containing a temple of Hathor which is believed to be the Golden Calf idol constructed by the Hebrews while Moses was on the mountain top. The Early Alphabetic Inscriptions from Sinai and Their Decipherment, oakland, Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research. The Decipherment and Significance of the Inscriptions, Harvard Theological Review, Vol.21, “The Protosinaitic Inscriptions, Harvard Theological Review, Vol.25, No. W. M. Flinders Petrie, Researches in Sinai, London,1906, R. Giveon, The Stones of Sinai speak, Tokyo,1978. Eckenstein, Lina, A History of Sinai, London, Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge,1921. The Rediscovery of the Inscriptions, Harvard Theological Review, Vol.21, No
Serabit el-Khadim
–
Remains of Temple of Hathor, Serabit el-Khadim
Serabit el-Khadim
–
Illustration prepared by a 19th-century Prussian expedition
22.
Renenutet
–
Renenūtet was a goddess of nourishment and the harvest in ancient Egyptian religion. The importance of the harvest caused people to many offerings to Renenutet during harvest time. Initially, her cult was centered in Terenuthis, Renenutet was envisioned, particularly in art, as a cobra, or as a woman with the head of a cobra. Sometimes, as the goddess of nourishment, Renenutet was seen as having a husband and he was represented as the Nile River, the annual flooding of which deposited the fertile silt that enabled abundant harvests. More usually, Renenutet was seen as the mother of Nehebkau, when considered the mother of Nehebkau, Renenutet was seen as having a husband, Geb, who represented the Earth. Later, as a snake-goddess worshiped over the whole of Lower Egypt, Renenutet was increasingly associated with Wadjet, Lower Egypts powerful protector, eventually Renenutet was identified as an alternate form of Wadjet, whose gaze was said to slaughter enemies. Wadjet was the cobra shown on the crown of the pharaohs, the Hymn of Renenutet says, I will make the Nile swell for you, without there being a year of lack and exhaustion in the whole land, so the plants will flourish, bending under their fruit. The land of Egypt is beginning to stir again, the shores are shining wonderfully, and wealth and well-being dwell with them, as it had been before
Renenutet
–
Star pattern; Nepit, Renenutet and Hu as cobras.
Renenutet
Renenutet
–
v
23.
Medinet Madi
–
It was later expanded and embellished during the Greco-Roman period. In the Middle Kingdom the town was called Dja, in the Ptolemaic, in the Middle Kingdom the town was called Dja, but not much is known about the town in this period apart from the well preserved temple. The temple still functioned in the New Kingdom, king Merenptah placed a statue of himself into the temple. After the New Kingdom the place was abandoned, people settled here again in Ptolemaic times. The Ptolemaic town was out on a grid pattern and is about 1000 ×600 m big. The main temples are in the Western part of the town, there is a long processional way going north to South. However under emperor Diocletian there was built a north east of the town. The fortress is square with the entrance in the South. At each corner there was a tower, here was stationed the Cohors IV Numidarum. In Byzantine Times the population moved to the part of the town. The town was occupied after the Arab conquest of Egypt. The dark sandstone inner part of the consists of a small papyrus-columned hall leading to a sanctuary comprising three chapels, each containing statues of deities. One column bears the name of Amenemhat III, the other with the name of Amenemhat IV, the central chapel incorporated a large statue of Renenutet, with Amenemhat III and Amenemhat IV standing on either side of her. In the inscriptions, the temple is simply called temple of Renenutet, Renenutet is called The living Renenutet of Dja. The reliefs in the first hall are not well preserved, but they include a scene showing a king, behind the entrance room there follows another one, that is also all around decorated with reliefs. On the South side there is a scene showing Amenemhat III in front of Renenutet, the latter is depicted as standing women with a snake head. Between both is shown in a smaller scale the kings daughter Neferuptah. At the back of room, on the North side
Medinet Madi
–
The ruins of Medinet Maadi temple
24.
Second Intermediate Period
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The Second Intermediate Period marks a period when Ancient Egypt fell into disarray for a second time, between the end of the Middle Kingdom and the start of the New Kingdom. It is best known as the period when the Hyksos made their appearance in Egypt, the Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt came to an end at the end of the 19th century BC with the death of Queen Sobekneferu. Apparently she had no heirs, causing the twelfth dynasty to come to an end, and, with it. Retaining the seat of the dynasty, the thirteenth dynasty ruled from Itjtawy near Memphis and Lisht. The Thirteenth Dynasty is notable for the accession of the first formally recognised Semitic-speaking king, the Fifteenth Dynasty dates approximately from 1650 to 1550 BC. Known rulers of the Fifteenth Dynasty are as follows, Salitis Sakir-Har Khyan Apophis, 1550–1540 BC The Fifteenth Dynasty of Egypt was the first Hyksos dynasty, ruled from Avaris, without control of the entire land. The Hyksos preferred to stay in northern Egypt since they infiltrated from the north-east, the names and order of kings is uncertain. The Turin King list indicates that there were six Hyksos kings, the surviving traces on the X figure appears to give the figure 8 which suggests that the summation should be read as 6 kings ruling 108 years. Some scholars argue there were two Apophis kings named Apepi I and Apepi II, but this is due to the fact there are two known prenomens for this king, Awoserre and Aqenenre. However, the Danish Egyptologist Kim Ryholt maintains in his study of the Second Intermediate Period that these prenomens all refer to one man, Apepi and this is also supported by the fact that this king employed a third prenomen during his reign, Nebkhepeshre. Apepi likely employed several different prenomens throughout various periods of his reign and this scenario is not unprecedented, as later kings, including the famous Ramesses II and Seti II, are known to have used two different prenomens in their own reigns. The Sixteenth Dynasty ruled the Theban region in Upper Egypt for 70 years, of the two chief versions of Manethos Aegyptiaca, Dynasty XVI is described by the more reliable Africanus as shepherd kings, but by Eusebius as Theban. For this reason other scholars do not follow Ryholt and see only insufficient evidence for the interpretation of the Sixteenth Dynasty as Theban, the continuing war against Dynasty XV dominated the short-lived 16th dynasty. The armies of the 15th dynasty, winning town after town from their enemies, continually encroached on the 16th dynasty territory, eventually threatening. Famine, which had plagued Upper Egypt during the late 13th dynasty, from Ryholts reconstruction of the Turin canon,15 kings of the dynasty can now be named, five of whom appear in contemporary sources. While most likely based in Thebes itself, some may have been local rulers from other important Upper Egyptian towns, including Abydos, El Kab. By the reign of Nebiriau I, the controlled by the 16th dynasty extended at least as far north as Hu. Not listed in the Turin canon is Wepwawetemsaf, who left a stele at Abydos and was likely a local kinglet of the Abydos Dynasty, Ryholt gives the list of kings of the 16th dynasty as shown in the table below
Second Intermediate Period
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The political situation in the Second Intermediate Period of Egypt (circa 1650 B.C.E. — circa 1550 B.C.E.) Thebes was briefly conquered by the
Hyksos circa 1580 B.C.E.
Second Intermediate Period
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Thebes (
Luxor Temple pictured) was the capital of many of the Dynasty XVI pharaohs.
25.
Sobekhotep I
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Sekhemre Khutawy Sobekhotep was an Egyptian pharaoh of the 13th Dynasty during the Second Intermediate Period, who reigned for at least three years c.1800 BC. His tomb was believed to have discovered in Abydos in 2013. Sekhemre Khutawy Sobekhotep is well attested by contemporary sources, first, he is mentioned on the Kahun Papyrus IV, now in the Petrie Museum. This establishes that Sekhemre Khutawy Sobekhotep reigned close in time to Amenemhat III, smaller artifacts mentioning Sekhemre Khutawy Sobekhotep comprise a cylinder seal from Gebelein, an adze-blade, a statuette from Kerma and a faience bead, now in the Petrie Museum. During a 2013 excavation in Abydos, a team of archaeologists led by Josef W. Wegner of the University of Pennsylvania discovered the tomb of a king with the name Sobekhotep. While Sobekhotep I was named as owner of the tomb on several press reports since January 2014, there is some dispute in Egyptology over the position of this king in the 13th Dynasty. The throne name Sekhemre Khutawyre appears in the Turin King List as the 19th king of the 13th Dynasty, however, the Nile level records and his appearance on a papyrus found at Lahun indicate that he might date to the early 13th Dynasty. In both monument types only kings of the late 12th and early 13th Dynasty are mentioned, based on his name Amenemhat Sobekhotep, it has been suggested that Sobekhotep was a son of the penultimate pharaoh of the 12th Dynasty, king Amenemhat IV. Amenemhat Sobekhotep can be read as Amenemhats son Sobekhotep, therefore, Sobekhotep may have been a brother of Sekhemkare Sonbef, the second ruler of the 13th Dynasty. Other Egyptologists read Amenemhat Sobekhotep as a name, these being common in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Dynasty. Ryholt, The Political Situation in Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period, c. 1800–1550 BC,336, File 13/1
Sobekhotep I
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Head of a statue, thought to represent Sekhemre Khutawy Sobekhotep, although other attributions have been proposed
26.
Scaraboid seal
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Scarabs were popular amulets and impression seals in Ancient Egypt. They survive in numbers and, through their inscriptions and typology, they are an important source of information for archaeologists. They also represent a significant body of ancient art, during that long period the function of scarabs repeatedly changed. Primarily amulets, they were inscribed for use as personal or administrative seals or were incorporated into jewelry. Some scarabs were apparently created for political or diplomatic purposes to commemorate or advertise royal achievements, by the early New Kingdom, heart scarabs had become part of the battery of amulets protecting mummies. From the middle Bronze Age, other ancient peoples of the Mediterranean, Scarabs were produced in vast numbers for many centuries and many thousands have survived. They were generally intended to be worn or carried by the living and they were typically carved or moulded in the form of a scarab beetle with varying degrees of naturalism but usually at least indicating the head, wing case and legs but with a flat base. The base was inscribed with designs and/or hieroglyphs to form an impression seal. Scarabs were usually drilled from end to end to them to be strung on a thread or incorporated into a swivel ring. The most common of sizes for scarabs is from 6mm to 4 cm, larger scarabs were made from time to time for particular purposes. Heart scarabs were made for a funerary purpose and should be considered separately. Scarabs were generally carved from stone or moulded from Egyptian faience. Once carved, they would typically be glazed blue or green and then fired, the most common stone used for scarabs was a form of steatite, a soft stone which becomes hard when fired. Hardstone scarabs were made and the stones most commonly used were green jasper, amethyst. In ancient Egyptian religion, the sun god Ra is seen to roll across the sky each day, transforming bodies and souls. Beetles of the Scarabaeidae family roll dung into a ball as food and as a chamber in which to lay eggs, this way. For these reasons the scarab was seen as a symbol of this heavenly cycle, the Egyptian god Khepri, Ra as the rising sun, was often depicted as a scarab beetle or as a scarab beetle-headed man. The ancient Egyptians believed that Khepri renewed the sun every day before rolling it above the horizon, then carried it through the world after sunset, only to renew it, again
Scaraboid seal
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Scaraboid seals.
27.
Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt
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The Nineteenth Dynasty of ancient Egypt was one of the periods of the Egyptian New Kingdom. Founded by Vizier Ramesses I, whom Pharaoh Horemheb chose as his successor to the throne, the warrior kings of the early 18th Dynasty had encountered only little resistance from neighbouring kingdoms, allowing them to expand their realm of influence easily. The situation had changed radically towards the end of the 18th Dynasty, the Hittites gradually extended their influence into Syria and Canaan to become a major power in international politics, a power that both Seti I and his son Ramesses II would need to deal with. The Pharaohs of the 19th dynasty ruled for one hundred and ten years. Seti Is reign is considered to be 11 years and not 15 years by both J. von Beckerath and Peter Brand, who wrote a biography on this pharaohs reign. Consequently, it will be amended to 11 years or 1290-1279 BC, therefore, Setis father and predecessor would have ruled Egypt between 1292-1290 BC. Many of the pharaohs were buried in the Valley of the Kings in Thebes, more information can be found on the Theban Mapping Project website. New Kingdom Egypt reached the zenith of its power under Seti I and Ramesses II, who campaigned vigorously against the Libyans and the Hittites. The city of Kadesh was first captured by Seti I, who decided to concede it to Muwatalli of Hatti in a peace treaty between Egypt and Hatti. He ultimately accepted that a campaign against the Hittites was a drain on Egypts treasury and military. In his 21st regnal year, Ramesses signed the first recorded peace treaty with Urhi-Teshubs successor, Hattusili III, Ramesses II even married two Hittite princesses, the first after his second Sed Festival. At least as early as Josephus, it was believed that Moses lived during the reign of Ramesses II and this dynasty declined as internal fighting between the heirs of Merneptah for the throne increased. Amenmesse apparently usurped the throne from Merneptahs son and successor, Seti II, after his death, Seti regained power and destroyed most of Amenmesses monuments. Both Bay and Setis chief wife Twosret had a reputation in Ancient Egyptian folklore. After Siptahs death, Twosret ruled Egypt for two years, but she proved unable to maintain her hold on power amid the conspiracies. She was likely ousted in a revolt led by Setnakhte, founder of the Twentieth Dynasty, Nineteenth dynasty of Egypt Family Tree
Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt
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Seti I
Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt
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Egyptian and Hittite Empires, around the time of the
Battle of Kadesh (1274 BC).
Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt
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Ramesses II
Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt
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Seti II
28.
Saqqara Tablet
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The Saqqara Tablet, now in the Egyptian Museum, is an ancient stone engraving which features a list of Egyptian pharaohs surviving from the Ramesside Period. It was found during 1861 in Egypt in Saqqara, in the tomb of Tjenry, the inscription lists 58 kings, from Anedjib and Qaa to Ramesses II, in reverse chronological order, omitting rulers from the Second Intermediate Period, the Hyksos, and those rulers. Who had been close to the heretic Akhenaten, the names, of which only 47 survive, are badly damaged. Inaccuracies abound, e. g. the tablet mentions only four kings of Dynasty 3, the chronology is correct only for the kings of Dynasty 12. The only known photograph of the king list was published in 1865, the names are listed in reverse chronological order from the upper right to the bottom left, as they were meant to be read. 143-145 Auguste Mariette, Monuments divers recueillis en Égypte et en Nubie, Paris 1872, Vol. II, Pl.58 Eduard Meyer, Ägyptische Chronologie, Pl
Saqqara Tablet
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Drawing of the Saqqara King List based on photographs and drawings from 1864-65.
29.
New Kingdom of Egypt
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Radiocarbon dating places the exact beginning of the New Kingdom between 1570–1544 BC. The New Kingdom followed the Second Intermediate Period and was succeeded by the Third Intermediate Period and it was Egypt’s most prosperous time and marked the peak of its power. The later part of period, under the Nineteenth and Twentieth Dynasties is also known as the Ramesside period. It is named after the pharaohs that took the name of Ramesses I. Egyptian armies fought Hittite armies for control of modern-day Syria, the Eighteenth Dynasty contained some of Egypts most famous Pharaohs, including Ahmose I, Hatshepsut, Thutmose III, Amenhotep III, Akhenaten and Tutankhamun. Queen Hatshepsut concentrated on expanding Egypts external trade by sending an expedition to the land of Punt. Thutmose III expanded Egypts army and wielded it with success to consolidate the empire created by his predecessors. This resulted in a peak in Egypts power and wealth during the reign of Amenhotep III, during the reign of Thutmose III, Pharaoh, originally referring to the kings palace, became a form of address for the person who was king. Akhenatens religious fervor is cited as the reason why he was written out of Egyptian history. Under his reign, in the 14th century BC, Egyptian art flourished and attained a level of realism. Towards the end of the 18th Dynasty, the situation had changed radically, Ramesses II sought to recover territories in the Levant that had been held by the 18th Dynasty. His campaigns of reconquest culminated in the Battle of Kadesh, where he led Egyptian armies against those of the Hittite king Muwatalli II. Ramesses was caught in historys first recorded military ambush, although he was able to rally his troops, the outcome of the battle was undecided with both sides claiming victory at their home front, ultimately resulting in a peace treaty between the two nations. The last great pharaoh from the New Kingdom is widely considered to be Ramesses III, in the eighth year of his reign the Sea Peoples invaded Egypt by land and sea. Ramesses III defeated them in two great land and sea battles and he incorporated them as subject peoples and settled them in Southern Canaan although there is evidence that they forced their way into Canaan. Their presence in Canaan may have contributed to the formation of new states, such as Philistia and he was also compelled to fight invading Libyan tribesmen in two major campaigns in Egypts Western Delta in his sixth year and eleventh year respectively. The heavy cost of this warfare slowly drained Egypts treasury and contributed to the decline of the Egyptian Empire in Asia. Something in the air prevented much sunlight from reaching the ground, one proposed cause is the Hekla 3 eruption of the Hekla volcano in Iceland but the dating of this remains disputed
New Kingdom of Egypt
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New Kingdom at its maximum territorial extent in the 15th century BC.
New Kingdom of Egypt
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Relief of a Nobleman, ca. 1295-1070 B.C.E.
Brooklyn Museum
New Kingdom of Egypt
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Queen Ahmose-Nefertari
![Small gneiss sphinx inscribed with the name of Amenemhat IV and reworked in Ptolemaic times on display at the British Museum.[1]](/wiki/File:AmmenemesIV(Front)-BritishMuseum-August19-08.jpg)
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