1.
Karnak
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The Karnak Temple Complex, commonly known as Karnak, comprises a vast mix of decayed temples, chapels, pylons, and other buildings. Building at the complex began during the reign of Senusret I in the Middle Kingdom and continued into the Ptolemaic period, the area around Karnak was the ancient Egyptian Ipet-isut and the main place of worship of the eighteenth dynasty Theban Triad with the god Amun as its head. It is part of the city of Thebes. The Karnak complex gives its name to the nearby, and partly surrounded, the complex is a vast open-air museum, and the second largest ancient religious site in the world, after the Angkor Wat Temple of Cambodia. It is believed to be the second most visited site in Egypt. It consists of four parts, of which only the largest is currently open to the general public. The term Karnak often is understood as being the Precinct of Amun-Ra only, the three other parts, the Precinct of Mut, the Precinct of Montu, and the dismantled Temple of Amenhotep IV, are closed to the public. There also are a few temples and sanctuaries connecting the Precinct of Mut, the Precinct of Amun-Re. The Precinct of Mut is very ancient, being dedicated to an Earth and creation deity, the original temple was destroyed and partially restored by Hatshepsut, although another pharaoh built around it in order to change the focus or orientation of the sacred area. Many portions of it may have carried away for use in other buildings. The key difference between Karnak and most of the temples and sites in Egypt is the length of time over which it was developed and used. Construction of temples started in the Middle Kingdom and continued through to Ptolemaic times, approximately thirty pharaohs contributed to the buildings, enabling it to reach a size, complexity, and diversity not seen elsewhere. Few of the features of Karnak are unique, but the size. The deities represented range from some of the earliest worshiped to those worshiped much later in the history of the Ancient Egyptian culture and it also contains evidence of adaptations, using buildings of the Ancient Egyptians by later cultures for their own religious purposes. One famous aspect of Karnak is the Hypostyle Hall in the Precinct of Amun-Re,122 of these columns are 10 meters tall, and the other 12 are 21 meters tall with a diameter of over three meters. The architraves on top of columns are estimated to weigh 70 tons. These architraves may have been lifted to these heights using levers and this would be an extremely time-consuming process and also would require great balance to get to such great heights. A common alternative theory regarding how they were moved is that large ramps were constructed of sand, mud, brick or stone, if stone had been used for the ramps, they would have been able to use much less material
2.
Precinct of Amun-Re
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The Precinct of Amun-Re, located near Luxor, Egypt, is one of the four main temple enclosures that make up the immense Karnak Temple Complex. The precinct is by far the largest of these and the one that is open to the general public. The temple complex is dedicated to the god of the Theban Triad, Amun. The site occupies roughly 250000 m², containing many structures, the main temple itself, Temple of Amun, covers roughly 61 acres and would have been able to hold 10 average European cathedrals. Some parts of the complex are closed or semi-closed, partially large parts of the North/South Axis, the whole southeast corner is semi-closed. The northwest corner is a museum that requires a ticket to visit. Most of the southwest is an area with millions of stone fragments, from small to huge, laid out in long rows. Also in this area can be found the housing of the Akhenaten Temple Project, a long building. The history of the Karnak complex is largely the history of Thebes, the earliest artifact found in the area of the temple is a small, eight-sided column from the Eleventh Dynasty, which mentions Amun-Ra. The tomb of Intef II mentions a house of Amun, which implies some structure, the main temple is laid out on an East/West axis, entered via a quay. The modern entrance is placed over the end of the ancient cult terrace, inscribed into the terrace are the inundation levels for several kings of the Third Intermediate Period, collectively known as the Nile Level Texts. The cult terrace is often thought to be a dock or quay. It was intended for the presentation of cult images, originally the quay led via a corridor of Sphinxes to the entrance to the second pylon, but these were moved aside when the First Pylon was constructed. Construction of the current pylon began in 30th dynasty, but was never totally completed and it is 113m wide and 15m thick. There are large numbers of mud bricks piled up against the inside of the pylon, the construction of the original first pylon and Forecourt in the 22nd dynasty enclosed several older structures, and meant that the original avenue of sphinxes had to be moved. These were built in the time of Seti II, and are dedicated to Amun, Mut, in order to construct this kiosk, the ram-sphinx corridor was removed and the statues moved to the edges of the open court. Only one column remains in place, bearing inscriptions by Taharqa, Psamtik II, on the south side of the forecourt, there is a small temple built by Ramesses III. Inscriptions inside the show the king slaughtering captives, whilst Amun-Re looks on
3.
Ramesses III
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Usimare Ramesses III was the second Pharaoh of the Twentieth Dynasty and is considered to be the last New Kingdom king to wield any substantial authority over Egypt. His long reign saw the decline of Egyptian political and economic power, linked to a series of invasions, Ramesses III was the son of Setnakhte and Queen Tiy-Merenese. He was probably murdered by an assassin in a conspiracy led by one of his wives, Tiye. Ramesses two main names transliterate as wsr-mꜢʿt-rʿ–mry-ỉmn rʿ-ms-s–ḥḳꜢ-ỉwnw and they are normally realised as Usermaatre-Meryamun Rameses-Heqaiunu, meaning The Maat of Ra is strong, Beloved of Amun, Born of Ra, Ruler of Heliopolis. Ramesses III is believed to have reigned from March 1186 to April 1155 BC and this is based on his known accession date of I Shemu day 26 and his death on Year 32 III Shemu day 15, for a reign of 31 years,1 month and 19 days. Alternate dates for his reign are 1187 to 1156 BC, in Year 8 of his reign, the Sea Peoples, including Peleset, Denyen, Shardana, Meshwesh of the sea, and Tjekker, invaded Egypt by land and sea. Ramesses III defeated them in two great land and sea battles, although the Egyptians had a reputation as poor seamen, they fought tenaciously. Rameses lined the shores with ranks of archers who kept up a continuous volley of arrows into the ships when they attempted to land on the banks of the Nile. Then, the Egyptian navy attacked using grappling hooks to haul in the enemy ships, in the brutal hand-to-hand fighting which ensued, the Sea People were utterly defeated. The Harris Papyrus states, As for those who reached my frontier, their seed is not, their heart and their presence in Canaan may have contributed to the formation of new states in this region such as Philistia after the collapse of the Egyptian Empire in Asia. Ramesses III was also compelled to fight invading Libyan tribesmen in two campaigns in Egypts Western Delta in his Year 5 and Year 11 respectively. The heavy cost of these battles slowly exhausted Egypts treasury and contributed to the decline of the Egyptian Empire in Asia. Something in the air prevented much sunlight from reaching the ground, the result in Egypt was a substantial increase in grain prices under the later reigns of Ramesses VI–VII, whereas the prices for fowl and slaves remained constant. Thus the cooldown affected Ramesses IIIs final years and impaired his ability to provide a constant supply of rations to the workmen of the Deir el-Medina community. No temple in the heart of Egypt prior to Ramesses reign had ever needed to be protected in such a manner. Thanks to the discovery of papyrus trial transcripts, it is now known there was a plot against his life as a result of a royal harem conspiracy during a celebration at Medinet Habu. The conspiracy was instigated by Tiye, one of his three wives, over whose son would inherit the throne. Tytis son, Ramesses Amonhirkhopshef, was the eldest and the chosen by Ramesses III in preference to Tiyes son Pentaweret
4.
Amun
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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
5.
Nine bows
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The nine bows is a term used in Ancient Egypt to represent the traditional enemies of Egypt. The peoples covered by this term changed over time, as enemies changed, when illustrated the nine bows are usually shown as dressed differently from each other, as they each personify a specific enemy relevant to the time period. One of the oldest representations of the Nine bows is on the statue of Pharaoh Djoser–his feet rest upon part of the nine bows. The Rekhyt bird- is often associated in the iconography, with the phrase, pharaoh-King Tutankhamun has a famous representation of the Nine Bows, and the nine foreign enemies. The tomb was closed with a rope, and the rope impressed with a clay seal. The seal contains an impression with Anubis, reclining as a jackal, at the top list of the Nine foreign rebels, in a long, the Campaign of Pharaoh Shoshenq I Into Palestine
6.
Dura, Hebron
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Dura is a Palestinian town located eleven kilometers southwest of Hebron in the Hebron Governorate in the southern West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of over 28,268 in 2007, the current mayor is Sameer Al-Namoura. Some believe Noah, the tenth of the pre-flood Patriarchs, as the story of Noahs Ark is told in the Hebrew Bible, is buried in Dura. The city was fortified by Rehoboam, King of the United Monarchy of Israel and later the King of the Kingdom of Judah, who was a son of Solomon, the city was called Adora in the First Book of Maccabees. In 1517, the village was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire with the rest of Syria, after the British Mandate, in the wake of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Dura was occupied by Jordan and came under Jordanian rule. Dura was established as a municipality on January 1,1967, according to the municipality, the name Dura is derived from a Canaanite word meaning house and not the Arabic word for corn. Its ancient Canaanite name is Adoraim, according to the Bible,2 Chron. The city was fortified by Rehoboam, the city was called Macabees Adora Dura is an ancient place, where old cisterns and fragments of mosaics have been found. The town was referred to as Adora during the classical period and it may have been the administrative center of the district of eastern Idumaea established by the Roman consul Aulus Gabinius in the 6th century BCE, though other possibilities have been suggested. Its inhabitants, who were alleged to have been of Esaus progeny, were forced to convert to Judaism during the reign of Hyrcanus, mukaddasi, writing around 985 CE, noted that Dura was famous for its vineyards and a type of raisin called Duri. In 1517, the village was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire with the rest of Palestine, in 1596 it appeared in the tax registers as being in the Nahiya of Khalil of the Liwa of Quds. It had a population of 49 Muslim households and paid taxes on wheat, barley, olives, vines or fruit trees, in 1834, Duras inhabitants participated in an uprising against the Egyptian Ibrahim Pasha, who took over the area between 1831 and 1840. When Robinson visited in 1838, he described Dura as one of the largest villages in the area, and the residence of the Sheikhs of Ibn Omar, two barracks especially have been built in this way. Above the door of one, a block forming the lintel was once ornamented with mouldings, close to the town is a celebrated wely in which lies a colossal sarcophagus, containing, it is said, the body of Noah. An Ottoman village list from about 1870 found that Dura had a population of 420, in 144 houses, though the population count included men, only. In 1877 Lieutenant Kitchener had some boys publicly flogged in Dura following an incident when stones were thrown at a member of the Palestine Exploration Fund survey party. In 1883, the Palestine Exploration Funds Survey of Western Palestine described Dura as A large and nourishing village on the slope of a hill. This plain is cultivated with corn, to the north of Dura are a few olives, and others on the south
7.
Jerusalem
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Jerusalem is a city located on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is considered a city in the three major Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. During its long history, Jerusalem has been destroyed at least twice, besieged 23 times, attacked 52 times, the part of Jerusalem called the City of David was settled in the 4th millennium BCE. In 1538, walls were built around Jerusalem under Suleiman the Magnificent, today those walls define the Old City, which has been traditionally divided into four quarters—known since the early 19th century as the Armenian, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim Quarters. The Old City became a World Heritage Site in 1981, and is on the List of World Heritage in Danger, Modern Jerusalem has grown far beyond the Old Citys boundaries. These foundational events, straddling the dawn of the 1st millennium BCE, the sobriquet of holy city was probably attached to Jerusalem in post-exilic times. The holiness of Jerusalem in Christianity, conserved in the Septuagint which Christians adopted as their own authority, was reinforced by the New Testament account of Jesuss crucifixion there, in Sunni Islam, Jerusalem is the third-holiest city, after Mecca and Medina. As a result, despite having an area of only 0, outside the Old City stands the Garden Tomb. Today, the status of Jerusalem remains one of the issues in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, West Jerusalem was among the captured and later annexed by Israel while East Jerusalem, including the Old City, was captured. Israel captured East Jerusalem from Jordan during the 1967 Six-Day War and subsequently annexed it into Jerusalem, one of Israels Basic Laws, the 1980 Jerusalem Law, refers to Jerusalem as the countrys undivided capital. All branches of the Israeli government are located in Jerusalem, including the Knesset, the residences of the Prime Minister and President, the international community does not recognize Jerusalem as Israels capital, and the city hosts no foreign embassies. Jerusalem is also home to some non-governmental Israeli institutions of importance, such as the Hebrew University. In 2011, Jerusalem had a population of 801,000, of which Jews comprised 497,000, Muslims 281,000, a city called Rušalim in the Execration texts of the Middle Kingdom of Egypt is widely, but not universally, identified as Jerusalem. Jerusalem is called Urušalim in the Amarna letters of Abdi-Heba, the name Jerusalem is variously etymologized to mean foundation of the god Shalem, the god Shalem was thus the original tutelary deity of the Bronze Age city. The form Yerushalem or Yerushalayim first appears in the Bible, in the Book of Joshua, according to a Midrash, the name is a combination of Yhwh Yireh and the town Shalem. The earliest extra-biblical Hebrew writing of the word Jerusalem is dated to the sixth or seventh century BCE and was discovered in Khirbet Beit Lei near Beit Guvrin in 1961. The inscription states, I am Yahweh thy God, I will accept the cities of Judah and I will redeem Jerusalem, or as other scholars suggest, the mountains of Judah belong to him, to the God of Jerusalem
8.
Temple of Khonsu
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The Temple of Khonsu is an ancient Egyptian temple. It is located with the large Precinct of Amun-Re at Karnak, in Luxor, the edifice is an example of an almost complete New Kingdom temple, and was originally constructed by Ramesses III, on the site of an earlier temple. The gateway of temple is at the end of the avenue of sphinxes that ran to the Luxor Temple. In Ptolemaic times, Ptolemy III Euergetes constructed a gateway and enclosure wall for the temple. Inscriptions inside the forecourt of the temple were made in the time of Herihor
9.
White Chapel
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The White Chapel of pharaoh Senusret I, also referred to as the Jubilee Chapel of Senusret I, was built during the Middle Kingdom of Egypt. During the New Kingdom it was demolished and used as filler for the Third Pylon of the temple of Karnak and these pieces were then assembled into the building that is seen today in the Karnak Open Air Museum. The White Chapel is made of limestone and its columns hold reliefs of a very high quality, which are hardly seen elsewhere at Karnak, and depicts Pharaoh Senusret being crowned and embraced by Amun, Horus, Min and Ptah. All along the base of the walls runs a series of reliefs depicting the emblems and deities of the nomes, or provinces. On the western side are the nomes of Upper Egypt, arnaudiès, Alain, Beaux, Nathalie, Chéné, Antoine. Une chapelle de Sésostris Ier à Karnak, the White Chapel in the Karnak Project
10.
Shoshenq I
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Hedjkheperre Setepenre Shoshenq I, — also known as Sheshonk or Sheshonq I — was a pharaoh of ancient Egypt and the founder of the Twenty-second Dynasty. Of ancient Libyan ancestry, Shoshenq I was the son of Nimlot A, Great Chief of the Ma, and his wife Tentshepeh A and he is presumed to be the Shishaq mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, and his exploits are carved on the Bubastite Portal at Karnak. Bierbrier based his opinion on Biblical evidence collated by W. Albright in a BASOR130 paper, building materials would first have had to be extracted and architectural planning performed for his great monumental projects here. Such activities usually took up to a year to complete work was even begun. This would imply that Shoshenq I likely lived for a period in excess of one year after his 925 BC campaign and this possibility would also permit his 945 BC accession date to be slightly lowered to 943 BC. The editors of the 2006 book Ancient Egyptian Chronology write, The chronology of early Dyn.22 depends on dead reckoning. The sum of the highest attested regnal dates for Osorkon II, Takelot I, Osorkon I, the large Dakhla stela provides a lunar date in the form of a wrš feast in year 5 of Shoshenq, yielding 943 BC as his year 1. However, Dr. Anthony Leahy has suggested that the identification of the wrš-festival of Seth as lunar is hypothetical, thus far, however, only Dr. Kenneth Kitchen is on record as sharing the same academic view. Sheshonk I is frequently identified with the Egyptian king Shishaq, referred to in the Hebrew Bible at 1st Kings 11,40,14,25, Shoshenq I is generally attributed with the raid on Judah. This is corroborated with a stela discovered at Megiddo, Shoshenq I was the son of Nimlot A and Tentsepeh A. His paternal grandparents were the Chief of the MA Shoshenk and his wife Mehytenweskhet A, prior to his reign, Shoshenq I had been the Commander-in-Chief of the Egyptian Army, and chief advisor to his predecessor Psusennes II, as well as the father-in-law of Psusennes daughter Maatkare. He also held his fathers title of Great Chief of the Ma or Meshwesh, significantly, his uncle Osorkon the Elder had already served on the throne for at least six years in the preceding 21st Dynasty, hence, Shoshenq Is rise to power was not wholly unexpected. As king, Shoshenq chose his eldest son, Osorkon I, as his successor and consolidated his authority over Egypt through marriage alliances, finally, Shoshenq I designated his third son, Nimlot B, as the Leader of the Army at Herakleopolis in Middle Egypt. He pursued a foreign policy in the adjacent territories of the Middle East. There is no mention of either an attack nor tribute from Jerusalem, the fragment of a stela bearing his cartouche from Megiddo has been interpreted as a monument Shoshenq erected there to commemorate his victory. Some of these cities include ancient Israelite fortresses such as Megiddo, Taanach. There are other problems with Shoshenq being the same as the biblical Shishak and his list focuses on places either north or south of Judah, as if he did not raid the center. The fundamental problem facing historians is establishing the aims of the two accounts and linking up the information in them, there have been some possible suggestions and proposals from scholars regarding this issue
11.
Chapelle Rouge
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The Red Chapel of Hatshepsut or the Chapelle Rouge originally was constructed as a barque shrine during the reign of Hatshepsut. She was the pharaoh of the eighteenth dynasty of Ancient Egypt. Although it had demolished and parts were reused in antiquity, following rediscovery. Its original location is thought to have been in the court of the temple of Amun at Karnak. Alternatively, it might have been situated between the two obelisks of Hatshepsut and it also is thought that behind it, Hatshepsut erected several smaller chapels and the Chambers of Hatshepsut. During the early dynasty, the sun deity was Amun. The chapel would have been its sacred temple, a barque also was believed to transport the dead to the afterlife and royal ones would carry the pharaoh on a journey to become a deity. Eventually, in addition to the reliefs and paintings of barques, model copies were placed in the tombs of pharaohs, royalty, the chapel consists of two open courts and is approximately 18 metres long,6 m wide, and 5.5 m high. Its upper portion is made of red quartzite, the foundation is built of black diorite, black granite and grey diorite also were used in its construction. In the center of the first of three courts contained in the building, is a basin, probably used to hold a model of a barque, in the center of the inner court, two rectangular stone slabs mark places where statues or barques might have been placed. It was erected at the temple of Karnak in the sanctuary of Amun-Ra and placed immediately in front of a mud-brick and limestone temple remaining from the Middle Kingdom. To the north and south of the Red Chapel stood a collection of smaller sandstone cult shrines known as the Hatshepsut Suite, whose decorations showed Hatshepsut making offerings to the deities. The chapel consisted of two rooms, a vestibule, and a sanctuary, which were raised on a diorite platform, the purpose of the chapel was to house the Userhat-Amun, the barque believed to be used by the deity Amun to travel about on festival days. The Userhat-Amun was a wooden boat covered in gold that bore an enclosed shrine in which the Amun statue was placed to be protected from the public view. On holy days, the statue of Amun would be placed on the barque, when the statue of Amun was not traveling, however, the barque rested in its own shrine. During the early New Kingdom, the barque had become an important aspect of Egyptian theology. During the reign of Hatshepsut, the Red Chapel was the prominent barque shrine of Amun at Karnak, the structure, decoration, and complex history of the Red Chapel divulge secrets about the reign of Hatshepsut and the Egypt of the eighteenth dynasty. Almost all of the New Kingdom rulers built at Karnak, successive pharaohs added various structures in order to leave a lasting monument at the temple
