1.
Sahrawi people
–
As with most Saharan peoples living in the Sahara, the Sahrawi culture is mixed. Sahrawis are composed of tribes and are largely speakers of the Hassaniya dialect of Arabic. The Arabic word Ṣaḥrāwī صحراوي literally means Inhabitant of the Desert, the word Sahrawi is derived from the Arabic word Ṣaḥrā, meaning desert. The men are called a Sahrawi, and the women are called a Sahrawiya, the new faith was spread by Berbers themselves, and Arab immigration in the first centuries of Islamic expansion was minimal. It is not known when the camel was introduced to the region and this was the case with the Berber Almoravid dynasty of Morocco and Andalusia, and several emirates in Mauritania. In the 11th century, the Arab bedouin tribes of the Beni Hilal, in the early 13th century, the Yemeni Maqil tribes migrated westwards across the entirety of Arabia and northern Africa, to finally settle around present-day Morocco. They were badly received by the Zenata Berber descendants of the Merinid dynasty and this tribe entered the domains of the Sanhaja, and over the following centuries imposed itself upon them, intermixing with the population in the process. The modern ethnic group is thus mainly Berber with Arabs as an ethnicity whose cultural volume is bigger than its genetic one. The people inhabits the westernmost Sahara desert, in the area of modern Mauritania, Morocco, Western Sahara, as with most Saharan peoples, the tribes reflect a highly mixed heritage, combining Berber, Arab, and other influences, including black African ethnic and cultural characteristics. The latter were primarily acquired through mixing with Wolouf, Soninke and other populations of the southern Sahel, an important divider is whether the tribal confederations fell under French or Spanish colonial rule. France conquered most of North and West Africa largely during the late 19th century and this included Algeria and Mauritania, and, from 1912, Morocco. But Western Sahara and scattered parts of Morocco fell to Spain. The Sahrawi-Moorish areas, then still undefined as to exact territorial boundaries, proved troublesome for the colonizers, the political loyalty of these populations were first and foremost to their respective tribes, and supratribal allegiances and alliances would shift rapidly and unexpectedly. Centuries of intratribal warfare and raids for loot guaranteed that the populations were well armed and versed in guerrilla-style warfare and it was not until the 1930s that Spain was able to finally subdue the interior of present-day Western Sahara, and then only with strong French military assistance. Mauritanias raiding Moors had been brought under control in the decades, partly through skilful exploitation by the French of traditional rivalries. The last major Reguibat raid took place in 1934, after which the Spanish authorities occupied Smara, the Sahrawi-Moorish tribes remained largely nomadic until the early to mid-20th century, when Franco-Spanish rivalries managed to impose rigid, if arbitrary, borders on the previously fluid Sahara. Little attention was paid to existing tribal confederations and zones of influence, the populations in Algeria were subjected to direct French rule, which was organized to enable the massive settlement of French and European immigrants. In southern Morocco, France upheld indirect rule through the sultanate in some areas, Spanish Sahara was treated first as a colony, and later as an overseas province, with gradually tightening political conditions, and, in later years, a rapid influx of Spanish settlers
Sahrawi people
–
Sahrawi man
Sahrawi people
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Group of Saharawi women.
Sahrawi people
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Saharawi woman.
2.
Bedouin
–
The term contrasts against Hathar which refers to the city or town dwellers in the Arabic language. Bedouin means Badiyah dwellers in the Arabic language, as Badyah means literally the visible land, the Bedouins identify themselves as Arabs or by the names of their tribes. City dwellers in Arabia who descended from known tribes refer to themselves as Bedouins to recognize their origin to Arabia. Bedouin territory stretches from the vast deserts of North Africa to the sands of the Middle East. They are traditionally divided into tribes, or clans and share a culture of herding camels. The Bedouin form a part of, but are not synonymous with, Bedouins have been referred to by various names throughout history, including Qedarites in the Old Testament and Arabaa by the Assyrians. They are referred to as the Araab in the Koran, traditions like camel riding and camping in the deserts are also popular leisure activities for urbanised Bedouins who live within close proximity to deserts or other wilderness areas. The term Bedouin derives from a form of the Arabic word badu. The Arabic term badu literally translates in Arabic as Badiyah dwellers, the word bādiyah means visible land such as plain or desert. The term Bedouin therefore means those in bādiyah or those in the desert, in English usage, however, the form Bedouin is commonly used for the singular term, the plural being Bedouins, as indicated by the Oxford English Dictionary, second edition. The term Bedouin also uses the root word as the Arabic noun for the beginning, بداية. The Arabs believe the Bedouins to be the predecessors to the settled Arabs, disputes are settled, interests are pursued, and justice and order are maintained by means of this frame, according to an ethic of self-help and collective responsibility. The individual family unit typically consisted of three or four adults and any number of children, when resources were plentiful, several tents would travel together as a goum. These groups were linked by patriarchal lineage, but were just as likely linked by marriage, acquaintance, or no clearly defined relation. The next scale of interaction within groups was the ibn ʿamm or descent group, whilst the phrase descent group suggests purely a lineage-based arrangement, in reality these groups were fluid and adapted their genealogies to take in new members. The largest scale of tribal interactions is the tribe as a whole, the tribe often claims descent from one common ancestor—as mentioned above. The tribal level is the level that mediated between the Bedouin and the governments and organizations. Distinct structure of the Bedouin society leads to lasting rivalries between different clans
Bedouin
–
A Bedouin family in
Syria
Bedouin
Bedouin
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A Bedouin girl in Nuweiba - Egypt 2015
Bedouin
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Weaving lengths of fabric for tent making using ground loom. Palestine, circa 1900
3.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
Geographic coordinate system
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Longitude lines are perpendicular and latitude lines are parallel to the equator.
4.
Baqet III
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Baqet III was an ancient Egyptian official and Great Chief of the Oryx nome during the 11th Dynasty. As a son of his predecessor Ramushenty, he administered his governorate from the city of Menat Khufu. Realizing that the fate of the war was definitely in favor of the Thebans led by Mentuhotep II, Baqet cunningly broke the long neutrality of his territory. In addition to the office of governor of the nome, Baqet also was haty-a, treasurer of the king of Lower Egypt, confidential friend, true royal acquaintance. Baqet III was buried in the necropolis of his clan in Beni Hasan inside the tomb no.15, the tomb is composed of a cult chapel and an inner burial chamber, and is well known for its remarkable paintings. The northern wall depicts Baqet and his wife in their life, the hunting of various animals including fantastic ones. Finally, the south wall mainly shows Baqets funeral, but also some people playing senet
Baqet III
–
Outside of the tombs of Baqet III and of his son Khety at Beni Hasan
Baqet III
–
Some of the wrestling scenes.
5.
Arabic language
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Arabic is a Central Semitic language that was first spoken in Iron Age northwestern Arabia and is now the lingua franca of the Arab world. Arabic is also the language of 1.7 billion Muslims. It is one of six languages of the United Nations. The modern written language is derived from the language of the Quran and it is widely taught in schools and universities, and is used to varying degrees in workplaces, government, and the media. The two formal varieties are grouped together as Literary Arabic, which is the language of 26 states. Modern Standard Arabic largely follows the standards of Quranic Arabic. Much of the new vocabulary is used to denote concepts that have arisen in the post-Quranic era, Arabic has influenced many languages around the globe throughout its history. During the Middle Ages, Literary Arabic was a vehicle of culture in Europe, especially in science, mathematics. As a result, many European languages have borrowed many words from it. Many words of Arabic origin are found in ancient languages like Latin. Balkan languages, including Greek, have acquired a significant number of Arabic words through contact with Ottoman Turkish. Arabic has also borrowed words from languages including Greek and Persian in medieval times. Arabic is a Central Semitic language, closely related to the Northwest Semitic languages, the Ancient South Arabian languages, the Semitic languages changed a great deal between Proto-Semitic and the establishment of the Central Semitic languages, particularly in grammar. Innovations of the Central Semitic languages—all maintained in Arabic—include, The conversion of the suffix-conjugated stative formation into a past tense, the conversion of the prefix-conjugated preterite-tense formation into a present tense. The elimination of other prefix-conjugated mood/aspect forms in favor of new moods formed by endings attached to the prefix-conjugation forms, the development of an internal passive. These features are evidence of descent from a hypothetical ancestor. In the southwest, various Central Semitic languages both belonging to and outside of the Ancient South Arabian family were spoken and it is also believed that the ancestors of the Modern South Arabian languages were also spoken in southern Arabia at this time. To the north, in the oases of northern Hijaz, Dadanitic and Taymanitic held some prestige as inscriptional languages, in Najd and parts of western Arabia, a language known to scholars as Thamudic C is attested
Arabic language
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The Galland Manuscript of
One Thousand and One Nights, 14th century
Arabic language
–
al-ʿArabiyyah in written Arabic (
Naskh script)
Arabic language
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Bilingual traffic sign in
Qatar.
Arabic language
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Examples of how the Arabic root and form system works.
6.
Ancient Egypt
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Ancient Egypt was a civilization of ancient Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. It is one of six civilizations to arise independently, Egyptian civilization followed prehistoric Egypt and coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh Narmer. In the aftermath of Alexander the Greats death, one of his generals, Ptolemy Soter and this Greek Ptolemaic Kingdom ruled Egypt until 30 BC, when, under Cleopatra, it fell to the Roman Empire and became a Roman province. The success of ancient Egyptian civilization came partly from its ability to adapt to the conditions of the Nile River valley for agriculture, the predictable flooding and controlled irrigation of the fertile valley produced surplus crops, which supported a more dense population, and social development and culture. Its art and architecture were widely copied, and its antiquities carried off to far corners of the world and its monumental ruins have inspired the imaginations of travelers and writers for centuries. The Nile has been the lifeline of its region for much of human history, nomadic modern human hunter-gatherers began living in the Nile valley through the end of the Middle Pleistocene some 120,000 years ago. By the late Paleolithic period, the climate of Northern Africa became increasingly hot and dry. In Predynastic and Early Dynastic times, the Egyptian climate was less arid than it is today. Large regions of Egypt were covered in treed savanna and traversed by herds of grazing ungulates, foliage and fauna were far more prolific in all environs and the Nile region supported large populations of waterfowl. Hunting would have been common for Egyptians, and this is also the period when many animals were first domesticated. The largest of these cultures in upper Egypt was the Badari, which probably originated in the Western Desert, it was known for its high quality ceramics, stone tools. The Badari was followed by the Amratian and Gerzeh cultures, which brought a number of technological improvements, as early as the Naqada I Period, predynastic Egyptians imported obsidian from Ethiopia, used to shape blades and other objects from flakes. In Naqada II times, early evidence exists of contact with the Near East, particularly Canaan, establishing a power center at Hierakonpolis, and later at Abydos, Naqada III leaders expanded their control of Egypt northwards along the Nile. They also traded with Nubia to the south, the oases of the desert to the west. Royal Nubian burials at Qustul produced artifacts bearing the oldest-known examples of Egyptian dynastic symbols, such as the crown of Egypt. They also developed a ceramic glaze known as faience, which was used well into the Roman Period to decorate cups, amulets, and figurines. During the last predynastic phase, the Naqada culture began using written symbols that eventually were developed into a system of hieroglyphs for writing the ancient Egyptian language. The Early Dynastic Period was approximately contemporary to the early Sumerian-Akkadian civilisation of Mesopotamia, the third-century BC Egyptian priest Manetho grouped the long line of pharaohs from Menes to his own time into 30 dynasties, a system still used today
Ancient Egypt
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The
Great Sphinx and the
pyramids of Giza are among the most recognizable symbols of the civilization of ancient Egypt.
Ancient Egypt
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A typical Naqada II jar decorated with gazelles. (Predynastic Period)
Ancient Egypt
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The
Narmer Palette depicts the unification of the Two Lands.
7.
Minya, Egypt
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Minya is the capital of the Minya Governorate in Upper Egypt. It is located approximately 245 km south of Cairo on the bank of the Nile River. The name of the city is derived from its Ancient Egyptian name Menat Khufu, meaning the city of Khufu, linking it to the Pharaoh Khufu or Cheops. The name Minya may also have originated from the name in Sahidic Coptic Tmoone and in Bohairic Thmonē, meaning the residence. It is the city where the Codex Tchacos was discovered, Minya is dubbed by the locals Bride of Upper Egypt, in reference to its strategic location in Middle Egypt as a vital link between the north and the south of Egypt. Minya has one of the highest concentration of Coptic Christians in Egypt and it is the home city of the Minia University, Suzanne Mubarak Center for Arts, the new Minya Museum, and the regional North of Upper Egypt Radio and Television. During the Predynastic Period, the area encompassing modern day Minya and it remained an autonomous city-state until the ruler Menes unified Egypt around 3200 BC. At the time of its unification, Egypt was divided into 42 nomes, the 16th nome was also called the Oryx nome, probably due to the prevalence of the Oryx, one of the antelope species that inhibited the area. After the unification of Egypt, the capital of the 16th nome emerged as an important center of trade. It was opposite a trade route to the Red Sea along which the Levantine traders carrying their goods from Sinai and Canaan travelled. The city of Menat Khufu has not been located but it is thought to be located on the west bank of the Nile in the vicinity of the modern day Minya. This pro-Theban policy worked to their advantage in power over the Oryx nome continued to be wielded by the same family after the Theban conquest. The power of the rulers of Menat Khufu reached its height during the 11th Dynasty, like Pharaohs, rulers of the Oryx nome were deeply concerned with their lives after death. These chapel-tombs at Beni Hasan are the remnant of the era when Minya rulers wielded power. Today these thirty nine rock-cut tombs can be visited in the cliffs above the modern day village of Beni Hasan. In fact these tombs provide more insight about daily life in Egypt than about the rulers who constructed them, with the rise of the 12th Dynasty, the powers of Minya rulers were forcibly reduced by the Pharaoh Amenemhat II. By the end of the 12th dynasty, the role and the power of the rulers of Minya were functionally eliminated, during the Second Intermediate Period, Minya with the rest of Lower and Middle Egypt fell under the control of the Hyksos. It appears that Minyas rulers actually supported the Hyksos 15th Dynasty rulers against the native Egyptian pharaohs of the 16th and 17th dynasties
Minya, Egypt
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Top:Minya Governorate Hall, Middle left:Al-Minya Mosque, Middle upper right:View of sunrise in Mile River, Middle lower right:Night view of Qism Minya Square and Horria Street, Bottom:Abu Hur Coptic Church
Minya, Egypt
–
Nomes of
Middle Egypt
Minya, Egypt
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A group of Asiatic peoples (perhaps the future Hyksos) depicted entering Egypt c. 1900 BC from the tomb of a 12th dynasty official Khnumhotep under pharaoh
Senusret II at
Beni Hasan.
8.
Asyut
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The modern city is located at 27°11′00″N 31°10′00″E, while the ancient city is located at 27°10′00″N 31°08′00″E. The name of the city is derived from early Egyptian Zawty adopted into the Coptic as Syowt ⲥⲓⲟⲟⲩⲧ, in Graeco-Roman Egypt, it was called Lycopolis or Lykopolis, Lycon, or Lyco. Ancient Asyut was the capital of the Thirteenth Nome of Upper Egypt around 3100 BC and it was located on the western bank of the Nile. The two most prominent gods of Ancient Egyptian Asyut were Anubis and Wepwawet, both funerary deities, during the First Intermediate Period, the rulers of Zawty were supporters of the Herakleopolitan kings, of whose domain the Nome formed the southern limits. The conflict between this Nome and the southern Nomes under the rule of the Eleventh dynasty ended with the victory of Thebes, osiris was worshipped under the symbol of a wolf at Lycopolis. According to a myth, he had come from the shades as a wolf to aid Isis, other Ancient Egyptian monuments discovered in Asyut include, the Asyut necropolis, tombs which date to dynasties Nine, Ten and Twelve, and the Ramessid tombs of Siese and Amenhotep. In Graeco-Roman times, there was a dialect of Coptic spoken in Asyut, known as Lycopolitan. Lesser-used names for this dialect are Sub-Akhmimic and Assiutic, a large Byzantine Treasure was discovered near the city in the early twentieth century and is now dispersed amongst a number of museums in the West. The hoard is composed of some of the most elaborate jewellery to survive from late antiquity, Asyut was the end of 40 Day Road that connected the city to Darfur through the Selima and Kharga Oases. The history of the road, known by local herders as Darb al-Arbain and it was used as a pathway for great caravans of up to 12,000 camels at its peak in the 14th century. Today, the city of Asyut has almost 400,000 inhabitants and it is the Egyptian city with one of the highest Coptic Christian concentration of approximately 50%. It is also home to the University of Assiut, one of the largest universities in Egypt, to the Assiut Barrage, the city is one of the only cities in the world that still makes silver appliqué-work shawls and is home to a large textile industry. The city also produces pottery, inlaid woodwork, and rugs. The Virgin Mary is reported to have appeared in Asyut on 17 August 2000 and this apparition is recognized as an official Marian apparition by the Coptic Orthodox Church and remembered in the Deir el-Muharraq, Monastery of the Virgin Mary. Aysut is next to the Aysut Dam across the Nile river in the port of Al-Hamra. The dam was built in 1902 and a plant was added in the 1980s. Its episcopal see is the cathedral of the Mother of Divine Love, suffragan Eparchs of Assiut Alexandros Scandar Youhanna Nueir, Friars Minor, previously Auxiliary Eparch of Luqsor of the Copts & Titular Bishop of Phatanus Kyrillos Kamal William Samaan, O. F. M. Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as hot desert and it is the driest city of Egypt
Asyut
–
Asyut أسيوط
9.
Memphis, Egypt
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Memphis was the ancient capital of Aneb-Hetch, the first nome of Lower Egypt. Its ruins are located near the town of Mit Rahina,20 km south of Giza, according to legend related by Manetho, the city was founded by the pharaoh Menes. Capital of Egypt during the Old Kingdom, it remained an important city throughout ancient Mediterranean history and it occupied a strategic position at the mouth of the Nile delta, and was home to feverish activity. Its principal port, Peru-nefer, harboured a high density of workshops, factories, during its golden age, Memphis thrived as a regional centre for commerce, trade, and religion. Memphis was believed to be under the protection of the god Ptah and its great temple, Hut-ka-Ptah, was one of the most prominent structures in the city. The name of temple, rendered in Greek as Aί γυ πτoς by the historian Manetho, is believed to be the etymological origin of the modern English name Egypt. The history of Memphis is closely linked to that of the country itself and its eventual downfall is believed to be due to the loss of its economic significance in late antiquity, following the rise of coastal Alexandria. Its religious significance also diminished after the abandonment of the ancient religion following the Edict of Thessalonica, the ruins of the former capital today offer fragmented evidence of its past. They have been preserved, along with the complex at Giza. The site is open to the public as an open-air museum, Memphis has had several names during its history of almost four millennia. Its Ancient Egyptian name was Inbu-Hedj, because of its size, the city also came to be known by various other names that were actually the names of neighbourhoods or districts that enjoyed considerable prominence at one time or another. For example, according to a text of the First Intermediate Period, it was known as Djed-Sut, the city was also at one point referred to as Ankh-Tawy, stressing the strategic position of the city between Upper and Lower Egypt. This name appears to date from the Middle Kingdom, and is found in ancient Egyptian texts. At the beginning of the New Kingdom, the city known as Men-nefer. The name Memphis is the Greek adaptation of this name, which was originally the name of the pyramid of Pepi I, in the Bible, Memphis is called Moph or Noph. The city of Memphis is 20 km south of Cairo, on the west bank of the Nile. The modern cities and towns of Mit Rahina, Dahshur, Abusir, Abu Gorab, the city was also the place that marked the boundary between Upper and Lower Egypt. The island of the city is today uninhabited, the closest settlement is the town of Mit Rahina
Memphis, Egypt
–
Ruins of the pillared hall of
Rameses II at Mit Rahina
Memphis, Egypt
–
This ritualistic object depicts the
god Nefertem, who was mainly worshipped in Memphis. The Walters Art Museum.
Memphis, Egypt
–
Rameses II flanked by Ptah and Sekhmet.
Memphis, Egypt
–
Sculpture from the Middle Kingdom restored in the name of Rameses II.
10.
Old Kingdom
–
The term itself was coined by eighteenth-century historians and the distinction between the Old Kingdom and the Early Dynastic Period is not one which would have been recognized by Ancient Egyptians. The Old Kingdom is most commonly regarded as the period from the Third Dynasty through to the Sixth Dynasty, many Egyptologists also include the Memphite Seventh and Eighth Dynasties in the Old Kingdom as a continuation of the administration centralized at Memphis. During the Old Kingdom, the king of Egypt became a god who ruled absolutely and could demand the services. Under King Djoser, the first king of the Third Dynasty of the Old Kingdom, the capital of Egypt was moved to Memphis. A new era of building was initiated at Saqqara under his reign, King Djosers architect, Imhotep is credited with the development of building with stone and with the conception of the new architectural form—the Step Pyramid. Indeed, the Old Kingdom is perhaps best known for the number of pyramids constructed at this time as burial places for Egypts kings. For this reason, the Old Kingdom is frequently referred to as the Age of the Pyramids, the first king of the Old Kingdom was Djoser of the third dynasty, who ordered the construction of a pyramid in Memphis necropolis, Saqqara. An important person during the reign of Djoser was his vizier and it was in this era that formerly independent ancient Egyptian states became known as nomes, under the rule of the king. The former rulers were forced to assume the role of governors or otherwise work in tax collection, Egyptians in this era worshipped their king as a god, believing that he ensured the annual flooding of the Nile that was necessary for their crops. Egyptian views on the nature of time during this period held that the worked in cycles. They also perceived themselves as a specially selected people, the Old Kingdom and its royal power reached a zenith under the Fourth Dynasty, which began with Sneferu. Using more stones than any king, he built three pyramids, a now collapsed pyramid in Meidum, the Bent Pyramid at Dahshur. However, the development of the pyramid style of building was reached not at Saqqara. Sneferu was succeeded by his son, Khufu who built the Great Pyramid of Giza, after Khufus death, his sons Djedefra and Khafra may have quarrelled. The latter built the pyramid and the Sphinx in Giza. Recent reexamination of evidence has led Egyptologist Vassil Dobrev to propose that the Sphinx had been built by Djedefra as a monument to his father Khufu, alternatively, the Sphinx has been proposed to be the work of Khafra and Khufu himself. There were military expeditions into Canaan and Nubia, with Egyptian influence reaching up the Nile into what is today the Sudan, the later kings of the Fourth Dynasty were king Menkaure, who built the smallest pyramid in Giza, Shepseskaf and, perhaps, Djedefptah. The Fifth Dynasty began with Userkaf and was marked by the importance of the cult of sun god Ra
Old Kingdom
–
During the Old Kingdom of Egypt (circa 2686 B.C.E. — circa 2181 B.C.E.), Egypt consisted of the
Nile River region and the area along the river south to
Elephantine.
Old Kingdom
–
The
Pyramid of Djoser at
Saqqara.
Old Kingdom
–
Temple of Djoser at
Saqqara
11.
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
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Statue head of Senusret III
12.
BCE
–
Common Era or Current Era is a year-numbering system for the Julian and Gregorian calendars that refers to the years since the start of this era, i. e. since AD1. The preceding era is referred to as before the Common or Current Era, the Current Era notation system can be used as a secular alternative to the Dionysian era system, which distinguishes eras as AD and BC. The two notation systems are equivalent, thus 2017 CE corresponds to AD2017 and 400 BCE corresponds to 400 BC. The year-numbering system for the Gregorian calendar is the most widespread civil calendar used in the world today. For decades, it has been the standard, recognized by international institutions such as the United Nations. The expression has been traced back to Latin usage to 1615, as vulgaris aerae, the term Common Era can be found in English as early as 1708, and became more widely used in the mid-19th century by Jewish academics. He attempted to number years from a reference date, an event he referred to as the Incarnation of Jesus. Dionysius labeled the column of the table in which he introduced the new era as Anni Domini Nostri Jesu Christi, numbering years in this manner became more widespread in Europe with its usage by Bede in England in 731. Bede also introduced the practice of dating years before what he supposed was the year of birth of Jesus, in 1422, Portugal became the last Western European country to switch to the system begun by Dionysius. The first use of the Latin term vulgaris aerae discovered so far was in a 1615 book by Johannes Kepler, Kepler uses it again in a 1616 table of ephemerides, and again in 1617. A1635 English edition of that book has the title page in English – so far, a 1701 book edited by John LeClerc includes Before Christ according to the Vulgar Æra,6. A1716 book in English by Dean Humphrey Prideaux says, before the beginning of the vulgar æra, a 1796 book uses the term vulgar era of the nativity. The first so-far-discovered usage of Christian Era is as the Latin phrase aerae christianae on the page of a 1584 theology book. In 1649, the Latin phrase æræ Christianæ appeared in the title of an English almanac, a 1652 ephemeris is the first instance so-far-found for English usage of Christian Era. The English phrase common Era appears at least as early as 1708, a 1759 history book uses common æra in a generic sense, to refer to the common era of the Jews. The first-so-far found usage of the phrase before the era is in a 1770 work that also uses common era and vulgar era as synonyms. The 1797 edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica uses the terms vulgar era, the Catholic Encyclopedia in at least one article reports all three terms being commonly understood by the early 20th century. Thus, the era of the Jews, the common era of the Mahometans, common era of the world
BCE
–
Key concepts
13.
Middle Bronze Age
–
The Bronze Age is a historical period characterized by the use of bronze, proto-writing, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the principal period of the three-age Stone-Bronze-Iron system, as proposed in modern times by Christian Jürgensen Thomsen. An ancient civilization is defined to be in the Bronze Age either by smelting its own copper and alloying with tin, arsenic, or other metals, or by trading for bronze from production areas elsewhere. Copper-tin ores are rare, as reflected in the fact there were no tin bronzes in Western Asia before trading in bronze began in the third millennium BC. Worldwide, the Bronze Age generally followed the Neolithic period, with the Chalcolithic serving as a transition, although the Iron Age generally followed the Bronze Age, in some areas, the Iron Age intruded directly on the Neolithic. Bronze Age cultures differed in their development of the first writing, according to archaeological evidence, cultures in Mesopotamia and Egypt developed the earliest viable writing systems. The overall period is characterized by use of bronze, though the place and time of the introduction. Human-made tin bronze technology requires set production techniques, tin must be mined and smelted separately, then added to molten copper to make bronze alloy. The Bronze Age was a time of use of metals. The dating of the foil has been disputed, the Bronze Age in the ancient Near East began with the rise of Sumer in the 4th millennium BC. Societies in the region laid the foundations for astronomy and mathematics, the usual tripartite division into an Early, Middle and Late Bronze Age is not used. Instead, a division based on art-historical and historical characteristics is more common. The cities of the Ancient Near East housed several tens of thousands of people, ur in the Middle Bronze Age and Babylon in the Late Bronze Age similarly had large populations. The earliest mention of Babylonia appears on a tablet from the reign of Sargon of Akkad in the 23rd century BC, the Amorite dynasty established the city-state of Babylon in the 19th century BC. Over 100 years later, it took over the other city-states. Babylonia adopted the written Semitic Akkadian language for official use, by that time, the Sumerian language was no longer spoken, but was still in religious use. Elam was an ancient civilization located to the east of Mesopotamia, in the Old Elamite period, Elam consisted of kingdoms on the Iranian plateau, centered in Anshan, and from the mid-2nd millennium BC, it was centered in Susa in the Khuzestan lowlands. Its culture played a role in the Gutian Empire and especially during the Achaemenid dynasty that succeeded it
Middle Bronze Age
–
Chalcolithic copper mine in
Timna Valley,
Negev Desert,
Israel.
Middle Bronze Age
–
Diffusion of metallurgy in
Europe and
Asia Minor. The darkest areas are the oldest.
Middle Bronze Age
–
A
Shang Dynasty two-handled bronze gefuding gui (1600–1046 BC).
Middle Bronze Age
–
Spring and Autumn Period pu bronze vessel with interlaced
dragon design (722–481 BC)
14.
Hatshepsut
–
Hatshepsut was the fifth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt. She was the second historically confirmed female pharaoh, the first being Sobekneferu, Hatshepsut came to the throne of Egypt in 1478 BC. Officially, she ruled jointly with Thutmose III, who had ascended to the throne the year as a child of about two years old. Hatshepsut was the wife of Thutmose II, Thutmose III’s father. She is generally regarded by Egyptologists as one of the most successful pharaohs, according to Egyptologist James Henry Breasted she is also known as the first great woman in history of whom we are informed. Hatshepsut was the daughter and only child of Thutmose I and his primary wife Ahmose and her husband Thutmose II was the son of Thutmose I and a secondary wife named Mutnofret, who carried the title Kings daughter and was probably a child of Ahmose I. Hatshepsut and Thutmose II had a daughter named Neferure, Thutmose II fathered Thutmose III with Iset, a secondary wife. Today Egyptologists generally agree that Hatshepsut assumed the position of pharaoh, Hatshepsut was described as having a reign of about 22 years by ancient authors. Josephus and Julius Africanus both quote Manethos king list, mentioning a woman called Amessis or Amensis who has identified as Hatshepsut. In Josephus work, her reign is described as lasting 21 years and nine months, dating the beginning of her reign is more difficult, however. Her fathers reign began in either 1526 or 1506 BC according to the high and low estimates of her reign, the length of the reigns of Tuthmosis I and Tuthmosis II, however, cannot be determined with absolute certainty. With short reigns, Hatshepsut would have ascended the throne 14 years after the coronation of Tuthmosis I, longer reigns would put her ascension 25 years after Tuthmosis Is coronation. Thus, Hatshepsut could have assumed power as early as 1512 BC, or, Hatshepsut established the trade networks that had been disrupted during the Hyksos occupation of Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period, thereby building the wealth of the eighteenth dynasty. She oversaw the preparations and funding for a mission to the Land of Punt and this trading expedition to Punt was roughly during Hatshepsuts ninth year of reign. It set out in her name with five ships, each measuring 70 feet long bearing several sails, many trade goods were bought in Punt, notably frankincense and myrrh. Hatshepsuts delegation returned from Punt bearing 31 live myrrh trees, the roots of which were kept in baskets for the duration of the voyage. This was the first recorded attempt to transplant foreign trees and it is reported that Hatshepsut had these trees planted in the courts of her mortuary temple complex. Egyptians also returned with a number of gifts from Punt
Hatshepsut
–
Statue of Hatshepsut on display at the
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Hatshepsut
–
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
Hatshepsut
–
Djeser-Djeseru is the main building of
Hatshepsut's mortuary temple complex at
Deir el-Bahri. Designed by Senemut, her
vizier, the building is an example of perfect
symmetry that predates the
Parthenon, and it was the first complex built on the site she chose, which would become the
Valley of the Kings
Hatshepsut
–
Colonnaded design of Hatshepsut temple
15.
Thutmose III
–
Thutmose III was the sixth Pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty. During the first 22 years of Thutmoses reign he was co-regent with his stepmother and aunt, Hatshepsut, while he was shown first on surviving monuments, both were assigned the usual royal names and insignia and neither is given any obvious seniority over the other. He served as the head of her armies, during the final 2 years of his reign, he appointed his son and successor, Amenhotep II, as his junior co-regent. His firstborn son and heir to the throne, Amenemhat, predeceased Thutmose III, when Thutmose III died, he was buried in the Valley of the Kings as were the rest of the kings from this period in Egypt. Thutmose III was the son of Thutmose II by a secondary wife and his fathers great royal wife was Queen Hatshepsut. Her daughter Neferure was Thutmoses half-sister, Thutmosis III had little power over the empire while Hatshepsut exercised the formal titulary of kingship. Her rule was quite prosperous and marked by great advancements, when he reached a suitable age and demonstrated the capability, she appointed him to head her armies. Thutmosis III had several wives, Satiah, She may have been the mother of his firstborn son, an alternative theory is that the boy was the son of Neferure. Thutmoses successor, the prince and future king Amenhotep II, was the son of Merytre-Hatshepsut. Additional children include Menkheperre and daughters named Nebetiunet, Meryetamun, Meryetamun, Merytre-Hatshepsut was the daughter of the divine adoratrice Huy. Nebtu, she is depicted on a pillar in Thutmose IIIs tomb, menwi, Merti, Menhet three foreign wives. Neferure, Thutmose III may have married his half-sister, but there is no evidence for this marriage. It has been suggested that Neferure, instead of Satiah, may have been the mother of Amenemhat, Thutmose III reigned from 1479 BC to 1425 BC according to the Low Chronology of Ancient Egypt. This has been the conventional Egyptian chronology in academic circles since the 1960s and this document has no note of the place of observation, but it can safely be assumed that it was taken in either a Delta city such as Memphis or Heliopolis, or in Thebes. These two latitudes give dates 20 years apart, the High and Low chronologies, respectively, the length of Thutmose IIIs reign is known to the day thanks to information found in the tomb of the military commander Amenemheb-Mahu. Amenemheb-Mahu records Thutmose IIIs death to his masters 54th regnal year, widely considered a military genius by historians, Thutmose III made 16 raids in 20 years. He was an active expansionist ruler, sometimes called Egypts greatest conqueror or the Napoleon of Egypt and he is recorded to have captured 350 cities during his rule and conquered much of the Near East from the Euphrates to Nubia during seventeen known military campaigns. He was the first Pharaoh after Thutmose I to cross the Euphrates and his campaign records were transcribed onto the walls of the temple of Amun at Karnak, and are now transcribed into Urkunden IV
Thutmose III
–
Thutmosis III statue in
Luxor Museum
Thutmose III
–
Obelisk of Thutmosis III, at the base showing
Theodosius the Great (Roman Emperor, 379-395). The obelisk is now located in Istanbul, Turkey
Hippodrome of Constantinople. In 390, Theodosius had the obelisk cut into three pieces and brought to Constantinople. Only the top part survives, and it stands today where he placed it, on a marble pedestal.
Thutmose III
–
Thutmose III smiting his enemies. Relief on the seventh pylon in
Karnak.
Thutmose III
–
Thutmose's tekhen waty, today standing in Rome as the
Lateran obelisk. The move from Egypt to Rome was initiated by
Constantine the Great (Roman Emperor, 324-337) in 326, though he died before it could be shipped out of Alexandria. His son, the Emperor
Constantius II completed the transfer in 357. An account of the shipment was written by contemporary historian
Ammianus Marcellinus.
16.
Pakhet
–
In Egyptian mythology, Pakhet, Egyptian Pḫ. t, meaning she who scratches is a lioness goddess of war. Pakhet is likely to be a regional lioness deity, Goddess of the Mouth of the Wadi, related to those that hunted in the wadi, near water at the boundary of the desert. Another title is She Who Opens the Ways of the Stormy Rains, which relates to the flash floods in the narrow valley. She appeared in the Egyptian pantheon during the Middle Kingdom, as with Bastet and Sekhmet, Pakhet is associated with Hathor and, thereby, is a sun deity as well, wearing the solar disk as part of her crown. This desert aspect led to her associated with desert storms. She also was said to be a protector of motherhood, as was Bastet, in art, she was depicted as a feline-headed woman or as a feline, often depicted killing snakes with her sharp claws. The exact nature of the feline varied between a desert wildcat, which was similar to Bastet, or a caracal, resembling Sekhmet. This is in the middle of Egypt, on the east bank of the Nile, a tomb on the east bank is not traditional, but the terrain to the west was most difficult. A more ancient temple to this goddess at the location is known but has not survived, hatshepsut is known to have restored temples in this region that had been damaged by the Hyksos invaders. Its remarkable catacombs have been excavated, great numbers of mummified cats have been found buried there. Many are thought to have brought great distances to be buried ceremonially during rituals at the cult center. Some references associate this goddess as Pakhet-Weret-Hekau, implying the association with a such as Hathor or Isis. Another title is Horus Pakhet, the presence of many mumified hawks at the site would further the association with Hathor who was the mother of Horus, the hawk, the pharaoh, and the sun. Her hunting nature led to the Greeks, who later occupied Egypt for three hundred years, identifying Pakhet with Artemis. Consequently, this temple became known to them as Speos Artemidos, the Cave of Artemis. The Greeks attempted to align the Egyptian deities with their own, later, Egypt was conquered by the Romans, just after 30 AD, and they retained many of the Greek place names. Christians and other religious sects occupied some parts of the site during the Roman period, arabic place names were established after the 7th century. Hatshepsut and her daughter Neferure have been identified as the builders of a temple dedicated to Pakhet nearby
Pakhet
–
Hatshepsut and Pakhet.
Speos Artemidos.
Pakhet
–
The rock cut temple of Pakhet by Hatshepsut in
Speos Artemidos.
17.
Speos Artemidos
–
The Speos Artemidos is an archaeological site in Egypt. It is located about 2 km south of the Middle Kingdom tombs at Beni Hasan, today, the site is a small village known as Istabl Antar. There are two temples here, both of which are dedicated to Pakhet and they are cut out of the rock into the cliffs on the eastern side of the Nile. One of the temples, built by Queen Hatshepsut, has an architrave bearing a long text with her famous denunciation of the Hyksos. An earlier temple was located here, but no traces older than that of Hatshepsut have been found. The decorations inside have been usurped by Seti I in places, cut from the living rock, Hatshepsuts temple is composed of two chambers connected by a short passageway. The rock face above the pillars of the portico is dressed and inscribed with text bearing Hatshesputs name. It includes the text in which she denounces the Hyksos. Within the portico only the wall bears any inscription. The text originally referred to Hatshepsut but was usurped by Seti I who also added further dedications, the smaller inner sanctuary is square with a statue niche at the back. It was not inscribed by Hatshepsut and Brand has suggested that it was in fact Seti who first excavated the passageway and this conclusion is queried by Brand who suggests that an image of the queen had been vandalised by Tuthmosis and later recarved to depict Seti. Finally Brand notes that Seti added three scenes to the depictions of the coronation of Hatshepsut but found no evidence that he had usurped these scenes from Hatshepsut. Fakhry, Ahmed, A new speos from the reign of Hatshepsut and Thutmosis III at Beni-Hasan, In, Annales du Service des Antiquités de l’Égypte, Issue 39, S.43 –56 Fairman, H. W. Grdseloff, B. Texts of Hatshepsut and Sethos I inside Speos Artemidos, In, Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, Issue 33, S.12 –33 Goedicke, the Speos Artemidos Inscription of Hatshepsut and Related Discussions
Speos Artemidos
–
The rock cut temple of Pakhet by Hatshepsut
18.
Ancient Greece
–
Ancient Greece was a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th-9th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and this was followed by the period of Classical Greece, an era that began with the Greco-Persian Wars, lasting from the 5th to 4th centuries BC. Due to the conquests by Alexander the Great of Macedonia, Hellenistic civilization flourished from Central Asia to the end of the Mediterranean Sea. Classical Greek culture, especially philosophy, had a influence on ancient Rome. For this reason Classical Greece is generally considered to be the culture which provided the foundation of modern Western culture and is considered the cradle of Western civilization. Classical Antiquity in the Mediterranean region is considered to have begun in the 8th century BC. Classical Antiquity in Greece is preceded by the Greek Dark Ages and this period is succeeded, around the 8th century BC, by the Orientalizing Period during which a strong influence of Syro-Hittite, Jewish, Assyrian, Phoenician and Egyptian cultures becomes apparent. The end of the Dark Ages is also dated to 776 BC. The Archaic period gives way to the Classical period around 500 BC, Ancient Periods Astronomical year numbering Dates are approximate, consult particular article for details The history of Greece during Classical Antiquity may be subdivided into five major periods. The earliest of these is the Archaic period, in which artists made larger free-standing sculptures in stiff, the Archaic period is often taken to end with the overthrow of the last tyrant of Athens and the start of Athenian Democracy in 508 BC. It was followed by the Classical period, characterized by a style which was considered by observers to be exemplary, i. e. classical, as shown in the Parthenon. This period saw the Greco-Persian Wars and the Rise of Macedon, following the Classical period was the Hellenistic period, during which Greek culture and power expanded into the Near and Middle East. This period begins with the death of Alexander and ends with the Roman conquest, Herodotus is widely known as the father of history, his Histories are eponymous of the entire field. Herodotus was succeeded by authors such as Thucydides, Xenophon, Demosthenes, Plato, most of these authors were either Athenian or pro-Athenian, which is why far more is known about the history and politics of Athens than those of many other cities. Their scope is limited by a focus on political, military and diplomatic history, ignoring economic. In the 8th century BC, Greece began to emerge from the Dark Ages which followed the fall of the Mycenaean civilization, literacy had been lost and Mycenaean script forgotten, but the Greeks adopted the Phoenician alphabet, modifying it to create the Greek alphabet. The Lelantine War is the earliest documented war of the ancient Greek period and it was fought between the important poleis of Chalcis and Eretria over the fertile Lelantine plain of Euboea. Both cities seem to have suffered a decline as result of the long war, a mercantile class arose in the first half of the 7th century BC, shown by the introduction of coinage in about 680 BC
Ancient Greece
–
The
Parthenon, a temple dedicated to
Athena, located on the
Acropolis in
Athens, is one of the most representative symbols of the culture and sophistication of the ancient Greeks.
Ancient Greece
–
Dipylon Vase of the late Geometric period, or the beginning of the Archaic period,
c. 750 BC.
Ancient Greece
–
Political geography of ancient Greece in the Archaic and Classical periods
19.
Artemis
–
Artemis was one of the most widely venerated of the Ancient Greek deities. Some scholars believe that the name, and indeed the goddess herself, was originally pre-Greek, Homer refers to her as Artemis Agrotera, Potnia Theron, Artemis of the wildland, Mistress of Animals. The Arcadians believed she was the daughter of Demeter, in the classical period of Greek mythology, Artemis was often described as the daughter of Zeus and Leto, and the twin sister of Apollo. The deer and the cypress were sacred to her, in later Hellenistic times, she even assumed the ancient role of Eileithyia in aiding childbirth. The name Artemis is of unknown or uncertain origin and etymology although various ones have been proposed, for example, according to J. T. Jablonski, the name is also Phrygian and could be compared with the royal appellation Artemas of Xenophon. Anton Goebel suggests the root στρατ or ῥατ, to shake, babiniotis, while accepting that the etymology is unknown, states that the name is already attested in Mycenean Greek and is possibly of pre-Hellenic origin. It is believed that a precursor of Artemis was worshiped in Minoan Crete as the goddess of mountains and hunting, R. S. P. Beekes suggested that the e/i interchange points to a Pre-Greek origin. Artemis was venerated in Lydia as Artimus, various conflicting accounts are given in Classical Greek mythology of the birth of Artemis and her twin brother, Apollo. All accounts agree, however, that she was the daughter of Zeus and Leto, an account by Callimachus has it that Hera forbade Leto to give birth on either terra firma or on an island. Hera was angry with Zeus, her husband, because he had impregnated Leto, but the island of Delos disobeyed Hera, and Leto gave birth there. In ancient Cretan history Leto was worshipped at Phaistos and in Cretan mythology Leto gave birth to Apollo, a scholium of Servius on Aeneid iii. The myths also differ as to whether Artemis was born first, most stories depict Artemis as born first, becoming her mothers mid-wife upon the birth of her brother Apollo. The childhood of Artemis is not fully related in any surviving myth, the Iliad reduced the figure of the dread goddess to that of a girl, who, having been thrashed by Hera, climbs weeping into the lap of Zeus. She wished for no city dedicated to her, but to rule the mountains, Artemis believed that she had been chosen by the Fates to be a midwife, particularly since she had assisted her mother in the delivery of her twin brother, Apollo. All of her companions remained virgins, and Artemis closely guarded her own chastity and her symbols included the golden bow and arrow, the hunting dog, the stag, and the moon. Okeanus daughters were filled with fear, but the young Artemis bravely approached and asked for bow, Callimachus then tells how Artemis visited Pan, the god of the forest, who gave her seven bitches and six dogs. She then captured six golden-horned deer to pull her chariot, Artemis practiced with her bow first by shooting at trees and then at wild beasts. As a virgin, Artemis had interested many gods and men, Orion was accidentally killed either by Artemis or by Gaia
Artemis
–
The
Diana of Versailles, a
Roman copy of a
Greek sculpture by
Leochares (
Louvre Museum)
Artemis
–
Didrachm from
Ephesus,
Ionia, representing the goddess Artemis
Artemis
–
Silver tetradrachm of the
Indo-Greek king
Artemidoros (whose name means "gift of Artemis"), c. 85 BCE, featuring Artemis with a drawn bow and a quiver on her back on the reverse of the coin
Artemis
–
Artemis (on the left, with a deer) and Apollo (on the right, holding a lyre) from
Myrina, dating to approximately 25 BC
20.
Rock-cut tombs
–
A rock-cut tomb is a burial chamber that is cut into an existing, naturally occurring rock formation, usually along the side of a hill. It was a form of burial for the wealthy in ancient times in several parts of the world. Important examples are found in Egypt, most notably in the town of Deir el-Medina, a kokh is a type of tomb complex characterized by a series of long narrow shafts, in which the deceased were placed for burial, radiating from a central chamber. A kokhim complex survives at the far west end of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, the Church wall runs through the centre of the complex, and the remaining two thirds no longer exist. Many more kokhim can be throughout the Judean foothills. Rock-cut tombs in ancient Israel Tomb of Darius I Naqsh-e Rustam Necropolis
Rock-cut tombs
–
Etruscan rock-cut tomb in
Blera, Italy.
Rock-cut tombs
–
Rock-cut tombs in
Myra.
Rock-cut tombs
–
Al Khazneh or the
Treasury at
Petra.
Rock-cut tombs
–
Tomb of Absalom in
Jerusalem.
21.
Nomarch
–
Nomarchs were Ancient Egyptian administration officials responsible of the provinces. Effectively serving as governors, they each held authority over one of the 42 nomes into which the country was divided. Nome is derived from the Greek nomos, meaning a province or district, and nomarch is derived from the Greek title nomarches, the power of the nomarchs grew with the reforms of Nyuserres second successor, Djedkare Isesi, which effectively decentralized the Egyptian state. The post of nomarch then quickly became hereditary, thereby creating a feudal system where local allegiances slowly superseded obedience to the pharaoh. Less than 200 years after Djedkares reign, the nomarchs had become the heads of the provinces. The power of the nomarchs remained important during the later royal revival under the impulse of the 11th Dynasty and their power diminished during the subsequent 12th Dynasty, setting the stage for the apex of royal power during the Middle Kingdom. The title of nomarch continued to be used even until the Roman period, the title was also in use in modern Greece for the heads of the prefectures of Greece, which were also titled nomos. Philae. nu, The Nomes of Ancient Egypt
Nomarch
–
Royal titulary
22.
Oryx nome
–
The Oryx nome was one of the 42 nomoi in ancient Egypt. More precisely, it was the 16th nome of Upper Egypt and it was named after the Scimitar oryx, and was roughly located in the territories surrounding the modern city of Minya in Middle Egypt. The nome is already mentioned on vessels found in the complex of king Djoser. Near Zawyet el-Maiyitin were buried the governors of the late Old Kingdom. Most of the history of this nome in the Middle Kingdom comes from the tombs of its nomarchs. Like many other nomes, the Oryx nome rose to prominence during the First Intermediate Period, an epoch that witnessed the decline of royal power, in the Second Intermediate Period the nome became part of the 15th Upper Egyptian nome and disappeared as own administrative unit. The Oryx nome had many important cities but for most of these the exact locations are more or less uncertain, Akoris, Menat Khufu, Hebenu, Nefrusy. The capital of the Oryx nome is far to being securely determined, according of the inscriptions on the White Chapel of Senusret I, the local god of the Oryx nome was Horus of Hebenu. Other important deities were Hathor at Nefrusy and the couple Khnum-Heqet at Herwer, the following is a genealogy of the nomarchs of the Oryx nome during the late 11th and 12th Dynasty
Oryx nome
–
The symbol of the Oryx nome, from the tomb of Khnumhotep II at Beni Hasan
23.
John Garstang
–
John Garstang was a British archaeologist of the ancient Near East, especially Anatolia and the southern Levant. He was the brother of Professor Walter Garstang, FRS. He was educated at Blackburn Grammar School and in 1895 he obtained a scholarship for Jesus College, while at Oxford, Garstang became interested in archaeology and conducted excavations at Ribchester. Encouraged to take up archaeology, Garstang excavated other Romano-British sites during his vacations from Oxford, after gaining a 3rd from Oxford in 1899, Garstang joined the team of Flinders Petrie at Abydos. He excavated various sites in the vicinity, including the discovery of the tombs at Beit Khallaf in 1901. In 1902 he carried out his first independent excavation in Egypt at Reqaqnah, the excavation was funded by an excavation committee, a group of wealthy donors who in turn would receive a selection of objects from Garstangs excavations in exchange for their patronage. Like Petrie before him, Garstang would continue to use Excavation Committees to fund his excavations for most of his career, in 1902, Garstang was also appointed the honorary reader in Egyptian archaeology at the University of Liverpool. In 1904, Garstang founded the Institute of Archaeology, which was affiliated with the University, from 1907-1941, Garstang was the first professorship in the methods and practice of archaeology at the University. On behalf of the Institute, Garstang excavated sites in Egypt, Sudan and he served as the Director of the Department of Antiquities in the British Mandate of Palestine between 1920-1926, and excavated at Ashkelon, 1920-1921. He was also the Head of the British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem and he also carried out a major excavation of Jericho from 1930-1936, funded by Sir Charles Marston. He taught at the Egyptology section of the Faculty of Arts when this was established in the 1920s, one of his students was Pahor Labib, late Director of the Coptic Museum, Cairo. From 1936 to the outbreak of World War II, Garstang excavated Yümük Tepe near Mersin, Garstang returned to Turkey after the War, and finished the excavation in 1948. In 1948, Garstang founded the British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara, a History of Blackburn Grammar School. El Arábah, a cemetery of the Middle Kingdom, survey of the Old Kingdom temenos, tombs of the third Egyptian dynasty at Reqâqnah and Bêt Khallâf. A Short History of Ancient Egypt, the Burial Customs of Ancient Egypt as illustrated by tombs of the Middle Kingdom, being a report of excavations made in the necropolis of Beni Hassan during 1902-3-4. The Land of the Hittites, an account of recent explorations and discoveries in Asia Minor, meroë, the city of the Ethiopians, being an account of a first seasons excavations on the site, 1909-1910. The Hittite Empire, being a survey of the history, geography and monuments of Hittite Asia Minor, the Foundations of Bible History, Joshua, Judges. The Heritage of Solomon, an introduction to the sociology of ancient Palestine
John Garstang
–
John Garstang aged 80
24.
Amenemhat (BH2)
–
Amenemhat, often reported with his short form Ameny, was an ancient Egyptian Overlord of the Oryx nome and chief priest during the reign of pharaoh Senusret I of the 12th Dynasty. Amehemhats mother was a noblewoman called Henu, whilst his fathers name is unknown, Amenemhat was married to Hetepet, a mistress of the house and daughter of a governor, and the couple had a son called Khnumhotep. In any case, he administered his governorate from the city of Menat Khufu from Year 18 to at least Year 43 of Senusret I. Amenemhat accompanied the pharaoh in an expedition to Kush, though the date is unknown, its likely the same. In another expedition Amenemhat escorted the kings son Ameny – very likely the future pharaoh Amenemhat II – with 400 men to collect gold from an unknown Nubian location, Amenemhat also was sent to Coptos along with the vizier Senusret in order to bring other gold. These expeditions suggest that Amenemhat was an important official who usually accompanied high dignitaries. Curiously, Amenemhat dated his monuments from his installation in a way associated to the kings. However, there is no proof that people living under his governorship effectively used Amenemhats personal datation, Amenemhat died some times after this date. His relationships with his probable successor Netjernakht are not known and he was also the last governor of Menat Khufu who brought the title of Overlord of the Nome. Amenemhat/Ameny was likely buried in his large, lively decorated tomb within the necropolis of Beni Hasan, the tombs chapel consisted in a large room with four columns, placed after a courtyard and a portico which was provided of two other columns. The chapels main room is painted with scenes of wrestling and of siege of a fortress. Other scenes in Amenemhats tomb consists in the so-called, ritual Journey to Abydos, as well as artisans and farmers at work. On the south wall, Amenemhet himself and his wife Hetepet are depicted with an amount of offerings. The rooms ceiling was divided into three decorated naves, a small cult niche was made in the east side of the main room, probably meant to host a statue group of the tomb owner, traces of which have been found. The tomb also bore a graffito which was a possible attestation of Wepwawetemsaf and this graffito has been considered a proof that Wepwawetemsaf, who probably had his seat of power in Abydos, could have extended his authority about 250 km north, up to Beni Hasan. The graffito has been read by Jürgen von Beckerath as Sekhemreneferkhau. Kurt Sethe, Historisch-biographische Urkunden des Mittleren Reiches, hinrichs, Leipzig 1935, pp.14 ff
Amenemhat (BH2)
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Amenemhat (middle) receives offerings. Drawing of a decoration from his tomb
Amenemhat (BH2)
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Painting from the tomb: wrestling scenes and the "Journey to Abydos"
25.
Senusret I
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Senusret I, also anglicized as Sesostris I and Senwosret I, was the second pharaoh of the Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt. He ruled from 1971 BC to 1926 BC, and was one of the most powerful kings of this Dynasty and he was the son of Amenemhat I and his wife Nefertitanen. His wife and sister was Neferu and she was also the mother of the successor Amenemhat II. Senusret I was known by his prenomen, Kheperkare, which means the Ka of Re is created and he also organized an expedition to a Western Desert oasis. Senusret I established diplomatic relations with rulers of towns in Syria. He also tried to centralize the countrys political structure by supporting nomarchs who were loyal to him and his pyramid was constructed at el-Lisht. Senusret I dispatched several quarrying expeditions to the Sinai and Wadi Hammamat and built numerous shrines and temples throughout Egypt and he rebuilt the important temple of Re-Atum in Heliopolis which was the centre of the sun cult. He erected 2 red granite obelisks there to celebrate his Year 30 Heb Sed Jubilee, one of the obelisks still remains and is the oldest standing obelisk in Egypt. It is now in the Al-Masalla area of Al-Matariyyah district near the Ain Shams district and it is 67 feet tall and weighs 120 tons or 240,000 pounds. A shrine with fine, high quality reliefs of Senusret I, was built at Karnak to commemorate his Year 30 jubilee and it has subsequently been successfully reconstructed from various stone blocks discovered by Henri Chevrier in 1926. Finally, Senusret remodelled the Temple of Khenti-Amentiu Osiris at Abydos, some of the key members of the court of Senusret I are known. The vizier at the beginning of his reign was Intefiqer, who is known from many inscriptions and he seems to have held this office for a long period of time and was followed by a vizier named Senusret. Two treasurers are known from the reign of the king, Sobekhotep and Mentuhotep, the latter had a huge tomb next to the pyramid of the king and he seems to have been the main architect of the Amun temple at Karnak. Hor is known from several stelae and from an inscription in the Wadi el-Hudi where he was evidently the leader of an expedition for amethyst, one of the stelae is dated to year nine of the king. A certain Nakhr followed in office attested around year 12 of the king, a certain Antef, son of a woman called Zatamun is known again from several stelae, one dates to year 24 another one to year 25 of Senusret I. Another Antef was the son a woman called Zatuser and was most likely also high steward in the kings reign, Senusret was crowned coregent with his father, Amenemhat I, in his fathers 20th regnal year. Towards the end of his own life, he appointed his son Amenemhat II as his coregent, the stele of Wepwawetō is dated to the 44th year of Senusret and to the 2nd year of Amenemhet, thus he would have appointed him some time in his 43rd year. Senusret is thought to have died during his 46th year on the throne since the Turin Canon ascribes him a reign of 45 Years, loyalist Teaching Senusret Kheperkare Sesostris I
Senusret I
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Heliopolis obelisk (Senusret I)
Senusret I
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Bust of Senusret I in the Neues Museum, Berlin
Senusret I
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Osiride statue (Senusret I)
Senusret I
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Stone weight with Senusret I's cartouche
26.
Khnumhotep II
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Khnumhotep II was an ancient Egyptian Great Chief of the Oryx nome during the reign of pharaohs Amenemhat II and Senusret II of the 12th Dynasty, Middle Kingdom. He is well known for his tomb at Beni Hasan and its decorations and he was a member of a powerful family of nomarchs and officials which was likely founded by his grandfather Khnumhotep I and housed in Menat Khufu. e. The date which appears in Khnumhoteps tomb, like most nomarchs of the time he also held some priestly charges. His predecessor as nomarch was probably his relative Netjernakht, and Khnumhotep honored him by building his tomb and his mother was Baqet while his father was an official named Neheri. Khnumhotep had two wives, the main of them was Khety, herself a daughter of the nomarch of the neighbouring 17th nome with Hardai as capital. Like her husband, Khety held a number of titles such as daughter of a governor, kings acquaintance, foremost of actions, lady of the house. Khnumhoteps secondary wife was Tjat who held few, modest titles such as sealer, lady of the house and one who knows her lord, for more about Khnumhoteps genealogy, see Nomarchs of the Oryx nome. Khnumhotep II is buried in Beni Hasan in the rock-cut Tomb 3, the tomb is fronted by a columned portico and a small courtyard, the courtyard would have been surrounded by mud-brick walls. The small columned portico is on the west side of the courtyard, the ceiling of the portico is curved similar to the shape of a segmented barrel. The floor of the chamber is sunk into the ground below the level of the open outer court and is descended into by three steps. The chapel is the main chamber cut straight back into the cliff almost symmetrical with 4 columns and these four main columns support a ceiling that is divided by three segmented barrel shapes. These vaults are painted in a pattern that may be referencing a tent, percy Newberry notes that the only remain from the inward swinging door is the pivot-hole. On the doorjambs are prayers to Osiris and Anubis above a seated Khnumhotep II who is facing inward, at the back of this main room is a small rectangular shine approached by a step about 13 centimetres high. Newberry mentions that from his survey of the tomb there was a statue here of a seated Khnumhotep II, on the west wall of the chamber are scenes showing mainly the preparations for the funeral and the resurrection of the deceased. This is exemplified by the boat making an connection between Khnumhotep II and the god Osiris. The orientation of the boats within the tomb literally has them travel south to Abydos, the wall collectively ensures the tomb owner of rebirth in the afterlife where he will be sustained through cult activities. On the eastern end of the wall there is a large-scale standing figure of Khnumhotep II receiving offerings primarily of several types of animals. It has been interpreted that in this scene Khnumhotep II is assuming the role of the king dominating over the power of the desert
Khnumhotep II
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Khnumhotep II depicted while hunting birds in the marshes
Khnumhotep II
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Exterior of the Tomb BH3
Khnumhotep II
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Drawing of the famous depiction of the Aamu group
27.
Semitic people
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Semitic people or Semitic cultures was a term for an ethnic, cultural or racial group who speak or spoke the Semitic languages. The terminology was first used in the 1770s by members of the Göttingen School of History, the term Semitic, together with the parallel terms Hamitic and Japhetic, is now largely obsolete outside of linguistics. However, in archaeology, the term is used informally as a kind of shorthand for ancient Semitic-speaking peoples. In the racialist classifications of Carleton S, some recent genetic studies have found that they have some common ancestry. The terms anti-Semite or antisemitism came by a route to refer more narrowly to anyone who was hostile or discriminatory towards Jews in particular. Steinthal summed up these predispositions as Semitism, and so Steinschneider characterised Renans ideas as anti-Semitic prejudice and he accused them of being liberals, a people without roots who had Judaized Germans beyond salvation. In 1879 Marrs adherents founded the League for Anti-Semitism, which concerned itself entirely with anti-Jewish political action, Ancient Semitic-speaking peoples Hamitic Japhetites Generations of Noah Anidjar, Gil. Semitic genetics Semitic language family tree included under Afro-Asiatic in SILs Ethnologue, the south Arabian origin of ancient Arabs The Edomite Hyksos connection The perished Arabs The Midianites of the north Ancient Semitic peoples
Semitic people
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The
Harvard Semitic Museum at
Harvard University
Semitic people
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Map showing the distribution of Semitic languages
Semitic people
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This
T and O map, from the first printed version of
Isidore of Seville 's
Etymologiae, identifies the three known continents as populated by descendants of Sem (
Shem), Iafeth (
Japheth) and Cham (
Ham).
28.
Khnumhotep I
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Khnumhotep I was an ancient Egyptian Great Chief of the Oryx nome during the reign of pharaoh Amenemhat I of the 12th Dynasty, Middle Kingdom. Some biographical information about Khnumhotep I came from his tomb at Beni Hasan as well as from that of his grandson Khnumhotep II, Khnumhoteps mother was a lady called Baqet whilst his fathers name is unknown. His family apparently replaced an earlier family of nomarchs who were active at Menat Khufu during the part of the 11th Dynasty. From the inscriptions in Khnumhoteps tomb is known that early in his career he accompanied Amenemhat I in an expedition aimed to expel a foe from Egypt. The name of this enemy is deliberately omitted in order to prevent his unintended “immortality”, ultimately, Amenemhat emerged victorious over “Nubians and Asiatics” and Khnumhotep was rewarded for his loyalty with the title count of Menat Khufu. He married a woman named Zatipi, after Khunmhoteps death, his titles passed to his son Nakht, then to a seemingly unrelated man called Amenemhat and then again to one of his relatives, Netjernakht. Khnumhotep I also had a daughter, Baqet, herself mother of the aforementioned Khnumhotep II who inherited the title of nomarch after Netjernakht, see Nomarchs of the Oryx nome for further notes about his genealogy. James Henry Breasted, Ancient Records of Egypt, Volume I, The First to the Seventeenth Dynasties, Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1906–1907, wolfram Grajetzki, Court Officials of the Egyptian Middle Kingdom, London 2009. London, England, Kegan Paul, Trench, Tubner & Co. Ltd.1893
Khnumhotep I
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Entrance to tomb of Khnumhotep I BH14 at Beni Hasan (c. 1890)
29.
Amenemhat I
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See Amenemhat, for other individuals with this name. Amenemhat I, also Amenemhet I and the hellenized form Ammenemes, was the first ruler of the Twelfth Dynasty and he ruled from 1991 BC to 1962 BC. Amenemhat I was probably the same as the vizier named Amenemhat who led an expedition to Wadi Hammamat under his predecessor Mentuhotep IV, and possibly overthrew him from power. Scholars differ as to whether Mentuhotep IV was killed by Amenemhat I, Amenemhat I moved the capital from Thebes to Itjtawy and was buried in el-Lisht. Theres some evidence that the reign of Amenemhat I was beset with political turmoil, as indicated by the inscriptions of Nehri. There were some naval battles where an associate of Amenemhat I by the name of Khnumhotep I was involved, later, Khnumhotep was appointed as an important local governor at Beni Hasan, and he founded a dynasty of local governors there. In the inscriptions by Khnumhotep, mention is made of military campaigns against the Asiatics. The cult of the king was also promoted during this period, the vizier at the beginning of the reign was Ipi, at the end of the reign Intefiqer was in charge. Two treasurers can be placed under this king, another Ipi, two high stewards, Meketre and Sobeknakht, have also been identified. His pyramid was made in the fashion as 5th and 6th dynasty pyramids by having a rough core clad with a fine mantle of smooth limestone. The core of the pyramid was made up of rough blocks of limestone with a loose fill of sand, debris. Perhaps the most remarkable feature is that it included fragments of relief-decorated blocks from Old Kingdom monuments – many from pyramid causeways and temples, granite blocks from Khafres complex went into the lining and blocking of Amenemhat Is descending passage. We can only conclude that they were picked up at Saqqara and Giza, when the limestone outer layer was taken, the core slumped. The pyramid and temple have been used as a source of material for lime burners so only a small amount remains today, the Middle Kingdom pyramids were built closer to the Nile and Amenemhet Is burial chamber is now underwater because the River Nile has shifted course. The complex has a wall of limestone and an outer wall of mudbrick. There are a number of mastaba tombs between the walls and 22 burial shafts on the side of the pyramid. Two literary works dating from the end of the give an picture about Amenemhat Is death. The Instructions of Amenemhat were supposedly counsels that the king gave to his son during a dream
Amenemhat I
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Relief of Amenemhat I from his mortuary complex at El-Lisht
Amenemhat I
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The ruined pyramid of Amenemhet I at
Lisht.
Amenemhat I
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Isometric image taken from a 3d model
Amenemhat I
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The double dated stela CG 20516
30.
Wrestling
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Wrestling is a combat sport involving grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. The sport can either be theatrical for entertainment, or genuinely competitive, a wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position. There are a range of styles with varying rules with both traditional historic and modern styles. Wrestling techniques have incorporated into other martial arts as well as military hand-to-hand combat systems. The term wrestling is attested in late Old English, as wræstlunge, Wrestling represents one of the oldest forms of combat. The origins of wrestling go back 15,000 years through cave drawings in France, babylonian and Egyptian reliefs show wrestlers using most of the holds known in the present-day sport. Literary references to it occur as early as in the ancient Indian Vedas, the Iliad contains references, in which Homer recounts the Trojan War of the 13th or 12th century BC. Indian epics Ramayana and Mahabharata contain references to martial arts including wrestling, in ancient Greece wrestling occupied a prominent place in legend and literature, wrestling competition, brutal in many aspects, served as the focal sport of the ancient Olympic Games. The ancient Romans borrowed heavily from Greek wrestling, but eliminated much of its brutality, during the Middle Ages wrestling remained popular and enjoyed the patronage of many royal families, including those of France, Japan and England. Early European settlers in America brought a strong wrestling tradition with them if they came from England, the settlers also found wrestling to be popular among Native Americans. Amateur wrestling flourished throughout the years of the North American colonies and served as a popular activity at country fairs, holiday celebrations. The first organized national wrestling tournament took place in New York City in 1888, the international governing body for the sport, United World Wrestling, was established in 1912 in Antwerp, Belgium as the International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles. The 1st NCAA Wrestling Championships were also held in 1912, in Ames, USA Wrestling, located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, became the national governing body of amateur wrestling in 1983. It conducts competitions for all age-levels, some of the earliest references to wrestling, can be found in wrestling mythology. The Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh established his credibility as a leader, after wrestling Enkidu, Greek mythology celebrates the rise of Zeus as ruler of the earth after a wrestling match with his father, Cronus. Both Heracles and Theseus were famous for their wrestling against man, the Mahabharata describes a malla-dwandwa between the accomplished wrestlers Bhima and Jarasandha. Rustam of the Shahnameh is regarded by Iranian pahlevans as the greatest wrestler, in Pharaonic Egypt, wrestling has been evidenced by documentation on tombs and Egyptian artwork. Greek wrestling was a form of martial art, at least in Ancient Greece
Wrestling
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Ancient Greek wrestlers (
Pankratiasts)
Wrestling
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An
Egyptian mural from a tomb of at
Beni Hasan dating to around 2000 BC, showing wrestlers in action.
Wrestling
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Detail of the wrestling scenes in tomb 15 (
Baqet III) at Beni Hasan.
Wrestling
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Jacob Wrestling with the Angel illustration by
Gustave Doré (1855)
