1.
Teti
–
Teti, less commonly known as Othoes, was the first Pharaoh of the Sixth dynasty of Egypt and is buried at Saqqara. The exact length of his reign has been destroyed on the Turin King List, Teti had several wives, Iput, the daughter of Unas, the last king of the Fifth dynasty. Iput was the mother of Pepi I, Khuit, who may have been the mother of Userkare Khentkaus IV Weret-Imtes. This queen is mentioned in the autobiography of Wenis and it may be a reference to the title of the queen instead of her personal name. She was involved in a plot to overthrow Pepi. In the tomb of the official Wenis there is mention of “a secret charge in the royal harem against the Great of Sceptre”, Teti is known to have had several children. He was the father of at least three sons and probably ten daughters, Kanawati, Teti had at least 9 daughters, by a number of wives, and the fact that they were named after his mother, Sesheshet, allows to trace his family. At least three princesses bearing the name Seshseshet are designated as king’s eldest daughter, meaning there were at least three different queens. It seems that there was a one, born of a fourth queen as she is also designated as king’s eldest daughter. Seshseshet, whose name was Waatetkhéthor, married to Vizier Mereruka. She is designated as king’s eldest daughter of his body and she may have been the eldest daughter of Iput. Seshseshet with the name of Idut, king’s daughter of his body. Seshseshet Nubkhetnebty, king’s daughter of his body, wife of Vizier Kagemni and she was maybe also born of Iput. Seshseshet, also called Sathor, married to Isi, resident governor at Edfu and she also would have been born of Iput I. Seshseshet, with the name of Sheshit, king’s eldest daughter of his body and wife of the overseer of the great court Neferseshemptah. As she is an eldest daughter of the king, she cannot be born of the mother as Waatkhetethor. Seshseshet also called Sheshti, king’s daughter of his body, married to the keeper of the head ornaments Shepsipuptah, and depicted in her husband’s mastaba. Seshseshet with the name of Merout, entitled king’s eldest daughter but without the addition of his body and therefore born of a third, maybe a minor queen
Teti
–
Piriform mace head inscribed with the cartouche of Teti,
Imhotep Museum.
Teti
–
Lantern Slide Collection: Views, Objects: Egypt. Chapel, Tomb of Nefer-Seshem-Ptah. Sakkara. 6th Dynasty., n.d. Brooklyn Museum Archives
Teti
–
The ruins of Teti's pyramid (Saqqara)
Teti
–
Pyramid texts from Teti I's pyramid at Saqqara
2.
Ancient Egypt
–
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
–
The
Great Sphinx and the
pyramids of Giza are among the most recognizable symbols of the civilization of ancient Egypt.
Ancient Egypt
–
A typical Naqada II jar decorated with gazelles. (Predynastic Period)
Ancient Egypt
–
The
Narmer Palette depicts the unification of the Two Lands.
3.
Religious text
–
Religious texts are texts which religious traditions consider to be central to their religious practice or set of beliefs. It is not possible to create an exhaustive list of religious texts, one of the oldest known religious texts is the Kesh Temple Hymn of Ancient Sumer, a set of inscribed clay tablets which scholars typically date around 2600 BCE. For example, the content of a Protestant Bible may differ from the content of a Catholic Bible, the word canon comes from the Sumerian word meaning standard. Hierographology is the study of sacred texts, the following is an in-exhaustive list of links to specific religious texts which may be used for further, more in-depth study. The writings of Franklin Albert Jones a. k. a, some denominations also include the Apocrypha. For Protestantism, this is the 66-book canon - the Jewish Tanakh of 24 books divided differently, some denominations also include the 15 books of the Apocrypha between the Old Testament and the New Testament, for a total of 81 books. For Catholicism, this includes seven deuterocanonical books in the Old Testament for a total of 73 books, called the Canon of Trent. For the Eastern Orthodox Church, this includes the anagignoskomena, which consist of the Catholic deuterocanon, plus 3 Maccabees, Psalm 151, the Prayer of Manasseh,4 Maccabees is considered to be canonical by the Georgian Orthodox Church. Some Syriac churches accept the Letter of Baruch as scripture, christian Scientists The Bible Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy. This textbook, along with the Bible, serves as the permanent impersonal pastor of the church, the Community of Christ uses the Joseph Smith Translation, which it calls the Inspired Version, as well as updated modern translations. Seventh-day Adventists The Bible The writings of Ellen White are held to a status, though not equal with the Bible. Also known as the Gospel of Mani and The Living Gospel the Treasure of Life the Pragmateia the Book of Mysteries The Book of Giants the Epistles the Psalms, the Shabuhragan The Arzhang The Kephalaia, Discourses, found in Coptic translation. Odù Ifá Jaap Verduijns Odu Ifa Collection Primary religious texts, that is, the Avesta collection, The Yasna, the Visperad, a collection of supplements to the Yasna. The Yashts, hymns in honor of the divinities, the Vendidad, describes the various forms of evil spirits and ways to confound them. Shorter texts and prayers, the Yashts the five Nyaishes, the Sirozeh, there are some 60 secondary religious texts, none of which are considered scripture. The Khordeh Avesta, Zoroastrian prayer book for lay people from the Avesta, religious full text online library Ancient texts library Internet Sacred Text Archive
Religious text
–
Ancient style of scripture used for the
Pāli Canon
Religious text
–
The Chinese
Diamond Sutra, the oldest known dated
printed book in the world, printed in the 9th year of Xiantong Era of the
Tang Dynasty, or 868 CE.
British Library.
Religious text
–
Christian
Bible, 1407 handwritten copy
Religious text
–
The Bible (left) and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures (right) serve as the pastor of the
Christian Science church.
4.
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
5.
Sarcophagus
–
A sarcophagus is a box-like funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word sarcophagus comes from the Greek σάρξ sarx meaning flesh, since lithos is Greek for stone, lithos sarcophagos means, flesh-eating stone. The word also came to refer to a kind of limestone that was thought to decompose the flesh of corpses trapped within it. Sarcophagi were most often designed to remain above ground, in Ancient Egypt, a sarcophagus acted like an outer shell. They are made of clay in shades of brown to pink. Added to the basin-like main sarcophagus is a broad, rectangular frame, often covered with a white slip and then painted. The huge Lycian Tomb of Payava, now in the British Museum, is a tomb monument of about 360 BC designed for an open-air placing. However, there are many important Early Christian sarcophagi from the 3rd to 4th centuries, most Roman examples were designed to be placed against a wall and are decorated on three of the sides only. More plain sarcophagi were placed in crypts, of which the most famous include the Habsburg Imperial Crypt in Vienna. The term tends to be often used to describe Medieval, Renaissance. They continued to be popular into the 1950s, at time the popularity of flat memorials made them obsolete. Nonetheless, a 1952 catalog from the industry still included 8 pages of them, broken down into Georgian and Classical detail, a Gothic and Renaissance adaptation. Shown on the right are sarcophagi from the late 19th century located in Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the one in the back, the Warner Monument created by Alexander Milne Calder, features the spirit or soul of the deceased being released. In Sulawesi, Indonesia, waruga are a form of sarcophagus. Mont Allen, Sarcophagus, in The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece and Rome, edited by Michael Gagarin, R. R. R. Smith, Sculptured for Eternity, Treasures of Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine Art from Istanbul Archaeological Museum. Ewald, Living with Myths, The Imagery of Roman Sarcophagi, egyptian sarcophagi sarcaphagi in the Istanbul Archaeological Museum Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Sarcophagus
Sarcophagus
–
Stone sarcophagus of
Pharaoh Merenptah.
Sarcophagus
–
Constantinople Christian sarcophagus with
XI monogram, circa AD 400
Sarcophagus
–
Roman-era sarcophagi at
Worms, Germany.
Sarcophagus
–
The limestone relief on this
Roman sarcophagus, c. AD 190, depicts the Triumph of
Dionysus.
Walters Art Museum,
Baltimore, Maryland.
6.
Pyramids
–
A pyramid is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single point at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilateral, or any polygon shape, as such, a pyramid has at least three outer triangular surfaces. The square pyramid, with base and four triangular outer surfaces, is a common version. A pyramids design, with the majority of the closer to the ground. This distribution of weight allowed early civilizations to create stable monumental structures and it has been demonstrated that the common shape of the pyramids of antiquity, from Egypt to Central America, represents the dry-stone construction that requires minimum human work. Pyramids have been built by civilizations in many parts of the world, the largest pyramid by volume is the Great Pyramid of Cholula, in the Mexican state of Puebla. Khufus Pyramid is built mainly of limestone, and is considered an architectural masterpiece. It contains over 2,000,000 blocks ranging in weight from 2.5 tonnes to 15 tonnes and is built on a base with sides measuring about 230 m. Its four sides face the four cardinal points precisely and it has an angle of 52 degrees and it is still the tallest pyramid. The Mesopotamians built the earliest pyramidal structures, called ziggurats, in ancient times, these were brightly painted in gold/bronze. Since they were constructed of sun-dried mud-brick, little remains of them, ziggurats were built by the Sumerians, Babylonians, Elamites, Akkadians, and Assyrians for local religions. Each ziggurat was part of a complex which included other buildings. The precursors of the ziggurat were raised platforms that date from the Ubaid period during the fourth millennium BC, the earliest ziggurats began near the end of the Early Dynastic Period. The latest Mesopotamian ziggurats date from the 6th century BC, built in receding tiers upon a rectangular, oval, or square platform, the ziggurat was a pyramidal structure with a flat top. Sun-baked bricks made up the core of the ziggurat with facings of fired bricks on the outside, the facings were often glazed in different colors and may have had astrological significance. Kings sometimes had their names engraved on these glazed bricks, the number of tiers ranged from two to seven. It is assumed that they had shrines at the top, but there is no evidence for this. Access to the shrine would have been by a series of ramps on one side of the ziggurat or by a ramp from base to summit
Pyramids
–
The
Egyptian pyramids of the
Giza Necropolis, as seen from the air
Pyramids
–
Pyramid of the Moon,
Teotihuacan
Pyramids
–
Prasat Thom temple at
Koh Ker
Pyramids
–
Pyramids of Güímar,
Tenerife (
Spain)
7.
Saqqara
–
Saqqara, also spelled Sakkara or Saccara in English /səˈkɑːrə/, is a vast, ancient burial ground in Egypt, serving as the necropolis for the Ancient Egyptian capital, Memphis. Saqqara features numerous pyramids, including the world-famous Step pyramid of Djoser, sometimes referred to as the Step Tomb due to its rectangular base, located some 30 km south of modern-day Cairo, Saqqara covers an area of around 7 by 1.5 km. At Saqqara, the oldest complete stone building known in history was built, Djosers step pyramid. Another 16 Egyptian kings built pyramids at Saqqara, which are now in states of preservation or dilapidation. High officials added private funeral monuments to this necropolis during the pharaonic period. It remained an important complex for non-royal burials and cult ceremonies for more than 3,000 years, well into Ptolemaic, north of the area known as Saqqara lies Abusir, south lies Dahshur. The area running from Giza to Dahshur has been used as a necropolis by the inhabitants of Memphis at different times, some scholars believe that the name Saqqara is not derived from the ancient Egyptian funerary god Sokar, but from a supposed local Berber Tribe called Beni Saqqar. The earliest burials of nobles can be traced back to the First Dynasty, during this time, the royal burial ground was at Abydos. The first royal burials at Saqqara, comprising underground galleries, date to the Second Dynasty, the last Second Dynasty king Khasekhemwy was buried in his tomb at Abydos, but also built a funerary monument at Saqqara consisting of a large rectangular enclosure, known as Gisr el-Mudir. It probably inspired the monumental enclosure wall around the Step Pyramid complex, Djosers funerary complex, built by the royal architect Imhotep, further comprises a large number of dummy buildings and a secondary mastaba. French architect and Egyptologist Jean-Philippe Lauer spent the part of his life excavating and restoring Djosers funerary complex. During the second half of the Old Kingdom, under the Fifth and Sixth Dynasties, the Fifth and Sixth Dynasty pyramids are not built of massive stone, but with a core consisting of rubble. They are consequently less well preserved than the world-famous pyramids built by the Fourth Dynasty kings at Giza, Unas, the last ruler of the Fifth Dynasty, was the first king to adorn the chambers in his pyramid with Pyramid Texts. It was custom for courtiers during the Old Kingdom to be buried in mastaba tombs close to the pyramid of their king, clusters of private tombs were thus formed in Saqqara around the pyramid complexes of Unas and Teti. Few private monuments from this period have been found at Saqqara, Pyramid of king Khendjer Pyramid of an unknown king During the New Kingdom Memphis was an important administrative and military centre, being the capital after the Amaran Period. From the Eighteenth Dynasty onwards many high officials built tombs at Saqqara, when still a general, Horemheb built a large tomb here, though he was later buried as Pharaoh in the Valley of the Kings at Thebes. Other important tombs belong to the vizier Aperel, the vizier Neferrenpet, the artist Thutmose and to Maia, many monuments from earlier periods were still standing, but dilapidated by this period. Prince Khaemweset, son of Pharaoh Ramesses II, made repairs to buildings at Saqqara, among other things, he restored the Pyramid of Unas and added an inscription to its south face to commemorate the restoration
Saqqara
–
The stepped
Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara
Saqqara
–
Map of the site
Saqqara
–
View of Saqqara necropolis, including
Djoser 's
step pyramid (centre), the
Pyramid of Unas (left) and the
Pyramid of Userkaf (right).
Saqqara
–
Funerary complex of Djoser
8.
Sixth dynasty of Egypt
–
The Sixth Dynasty of ancient Egypt along with Dynasties III, IV and V constitute the Old Kingdom of Dynastic Egypt. Known pharaohs of the Sixth Dynasty are as follows The pharaohs of this dynasty ruled for approximately 164 years, the Horus names and names of the Queens are taken from Dodson and Hilton. Dynasty VI is considered by authorities as the last dynasty of the Old Kingdom. Manetho writes that these kings ruled from Memphis, since their pyramids were built at Saqqara, Dynasty VI was founded by Teti, who had married Iput, commonly believed to be the daughter of the Dynasty V pharaoh Unas. Manetho claimed that Teti was eventually murdered by his own bodyguard, during this dynasty, expeditions were sent to Wadi Maghara in the Sinai Peninsula to mine for turquoise and copper, as well as to the mines at Hatnub and Wadi Hammamat. The pharaoh Djedkara sent trade expeditions south to Punt and north to Byblos, and Pepi I sent expeditions not only to these locations, but also as far as Ebla in modern-day Syria. The most notable member of dynasty was Pepi II, who is credited with a reign of 94 years. With the growing number of inscriptions in non-royal tombs, our knowledge of the contemporary history broadens. For example, we hear of a plot against Pepi I. We also read a written by the young king Pepi II, excited that one of his expeditions will return with a dancing pygmy from the land of Yam. These non-royal tomb inscriptions are but one example of the power of the nobility
Sixth dynasty of Egypt
–
Tomb Relief of Iny
9.
Coffin Texts
–
The Coffin Texts are a collection of ancient Egyptian funerary spells written on coffins beginning in the First Intermediate Period. Ordinary Egyptians who could afford a coffin had access to these funerary spells, as the modern name of this collection of some 1,185 spells implies, they were mostly inscribed on Middle Kingdom coffins. They were also written on tomb walls, stelae, canopic chests, papyri. Due to the limited writing surfaces of some of these objects, in contrast to the Pyramid Texts which focus on the celestial realm, the coffin texts emphasize the subterranean elements of the afterlife ruled by the deity Osiris, in a place called the Duat. An Osirian afterlife is offered to everyone, and the deceased is even referred to as the Osiris- and this subterranean realm is described as being filled with threatening beings, traps, and snares with which the deceased must contend. The spells in the Coffin Texts allow the deceased to protect themselves against these dangers, a new theme recorded in the coffin texts is the notion that all people will be judged by Osiris and his council according to their deeds in life. The texts allude to the use of a balance, which became the moment of judgment in the later Book of the Dead. The texts address common fears of the living, such as having to do manual labor and they combine ritual actions intended as protection, expressions of aspiration for a blessed existence after death and of the transformations and transmigrations of the ba and akh and so on. In addition there are descriptions of the land of the dead, its landscape and these include the Sekhet Hotep, the paths of Rostau and the abode of Osiris. Coffin text 1130 is a speech by the sun god Ra, I repeat to you the good deeds which my own heart did for me from within the serpent-coil, in order to silence strife. I made the four winds, that man might breathe in his time. I made the great inundation, that the humble might benefit by it like the great, I made every man like his fellow, and I did not command that they do wrong. It is their hearts which disobey what I have said, I have created the gods from my sweat, and the people from the tears of my eye. Coffin text 1031 is spoken by the deceased, who says, I shall sail rightly in my bark, I am not afraid in my limbs, for Hu and Hike overthrow for me that evil being. I shall see light-land, I shall dwell in it, make way for me, that I may see Nun and Amun. For I am that Akh who passes by the guards, I am equipped and effective in opening his portal. As for any person who knows this spell, he will be like Re in the eastern sky and he will go down to the circle of fire, without the flame touching him ever. This collection, called the Book of Two Ways, was the first example of an Ancient Egyptian map of the underworld
Coffin Texts
–
Middle Kingdom sarcophagus with the Coffin Texts painted on its panels
10.
Book of the Dead
–
The Book of the Dead is an ancient Egyptian funerary text, used from the beginning of the New Kingdom to around 50 BCE. The original Egyptian name for the text, transliterated rw nw prt m hrw is translated as Book of Coming Forth by Day, another translation would be Book of Emerging Forth into the Light. The Book of the Dead was part of a tradition of texts which includes the earlier Pyramid Texts and Coffin Texts. Some of the spells included were drawn from older works. Other spells were composed later in Egyptian history, dating to the Third Intermediate Period, a number of the spells which made up the Book continued to be inscribed on tomb walls and sarcophagi, as had always been the spells from which they originated. The Book of the Dead was placed in the coffin or burial chamber of the deceased, there was no single or canonical Book of the Dead. The surviving papyri contain a selection of religious and magical texts. Some people seem to have commissioned their own copies of the Book of the Dead, the Book of the Dead developed from a tradition of funerary manuscripts dating back to the Egyptian Old Kingdom. The first funerary texts were the Pyramid Texts, first used in the Pyramid of King Unas of the 5th dynasty and these texts were written on the walls of the burial chambers within pyramids, and were exclusively for the use of the Pharaoh. Towards the end of the Old Kingdom, the Pyramid Texts ceased to be a royal privilege. In the Middle Kingdom, a new funerary text emerged, the Coffin Texts, the Coffin Texts used a newer version of the language, new spells, and included illustrations for the first time. The Coffin Texts were most commonly written on the surfaces of coffins. The Book of the Dead first developed in Thebes towards the beginning of the Second Intermediate Period, by the 17th dynasty, the Book of the Dead had become widespread not only for members of the royal family, but courtiers and other officials as well. At this stage, the spells were typically inscribed on linen shrouds wrapped around the dead, the New Kingdom saw the Book of the Dead develop and spread further. The famous Spell 125, the Weighing of the Heart, is first known from the reign of Hatshepsut and Thutmose III, from this period onward the Book of the Dead was typically written on a papyrus scroll, and the text illustrated with vignettes. During the 19th dynasty in particular, the vignettes tended to be lavish, in the Third Intermediate Period, the Book of the Dead started to appear in hieratic script, as well as in the traditional hieroglyphics. The hieratic scrolls were a version, lacking illustration apart from a single vignette at the beginning. At the same time, many burials used additional funerary texts, during the 25th and 26th dynasties, the Book of the Dead was updated, revised and standardised
Book of the Dead
Book of the Dead
–
Part of the
Pyramid Texts, a precursor of the Book of the Dead, inscribed on the tomb of
Teti
Book of the Dead
–
The mystical Spell 17, from the
Papyrus of Ani. The vignette at the top illustrates, from left to right, the god
Heh as a representation of the Sea; a gateway to the realm of Osiris; the
Eye of Horus; the celestial cow
Mehet-Weret; and a human head rising from a coffin, guarded by the four Sons of Horus.
Book of the Dead
–
Two 'gate spells'. On the top register, Ani and his wife face the 'seven gates of the House of Osiris'. Below, they encounter ten of the 21 'mysterious portals of the House of Osiris in the Field of Reeds'. All are guarded by unpleasant protectors.
11.
Palermo Stone
–
The Palermo Stone is one of seven surviving fragments of a stele known as the Royal Annals of the Old Kingdom of Ancient Egypt. The stele contained a list of the kings of Egypt from the First Dynasty through to the part of the Fifth Dynasty. It was probably made during the Fifth dynasty, the Palermo Stone is held in the Regional Archeological Museum Antonio Salinas in the city of Palermo, Italy, from which it derives its name. The term Palermo Stone is sometimes applied to all seven surviving fragments of the Royal Annals, including held in museums in Cairo. The fragments are also sometimes described collectively as the Cairo Annals Stone, the Royal Annals stele, of which the Palermo Stone formed part, may originally have been about 60 cm high and 2. 1m wide. The fragments are composed of a hard black stone, probably a form of basalt. The Palermo Stone itself is an irregular shield-shaped fragment,43.5 cm high,25 cm wide and 6.5 cm thick, the inscription on the front of the Palermo Stone consists of 6 horizontal bands or registers of hieroglyphic text running right to left. The first register lists the names of kings of Lower Egypt. The second register on the Palermo Stone begins with the final year entries for a king of the First Dynasty whose name is not preserved, but who is generally assumed to be either Narmer or Aha. The rest of the register is taken up with the first nine annual entries for this kings successor, who is again not named on the fragment. The remainder of the inscription on this continues with royal annals down to the kings of the Fourth Dynasty. The text continues on the back of the Palermo Stone, cataloguing events during the reigns of pharaohs down to Neferirkare Kakai, from the surviving fragments it is unclear whether the Royal Annals originally continued beyond this point in time. Where a king is named, the name of his mother is also recorded, such as Betrest mother of the First Dynasty king Semerkhet and Meresankh I mother of the Fourth Dynasty king Seneferu. Information recorded in the Royal Annals includes measurements of the height of the annual Nile flood, the Inundation, details of festivals, taxation, sculpture, buildings, the original location of the stele is unknown and none of the surviving fragments have a secure archeological provenance. One fragment now in Cairo is said to have found at an archaeological site at Memphis. No find site for the Palermo Stone itself has been suggested, the Palermo Stone was purchased by a Sicilian lawyer, Ferdinand Guidano, in 1859 and it has been in Palermo since 1866. On 19 October 1877, it was presented to the Palermo Archaeological Museum by the Guidano family, there are five fragments of the Royal Annals in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, four of which were acquired between 1895 and 1914. The fifth was purchased on the market in 1963
Palermo Stone
–
The Palermo Stone, the fragment of the Egyptian Royal Annals housed in Palermo, Italy.
12.
Osiris
–
Osiris was an Egyptian god, usually identified as the god of the afterlife, the underworld, and the dead, but more appropriately as the god of transition, resurrection, and regeneration. He was also associated with the epithet Khenti-Amentiu, meaning Foremost of the Westerners, as ruler of the dead, Osiris was also sometimes called king of the living, ancient Egyptians considered the blessed dead the living ones. Osiris was considered the brother of Isis, Set, Nephthys, and Horus the Elder and he was described as the Lord of love, He Who is Permanently Benign and Youthful and the Lord of Silence. The Kings of Egypt were associated with Osiris in death – as Osiris rose from the dead they would, in union with him, inherit eternal life through a process of imitative magic. By the New Kingdom all people, not just pharaohs, were believed to be associated with Osiris at death, Osiris was widely worshipped as Lord of the Dead until the suppression of the Egyptian religion during the rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire. Osiris is a Latin transliteration of the Ancient Greek Ὄσιρις IPA, in Egyptian hieroglyphs the name is appears as wsjr or jsjrt. Since hieroglyphic writing lacks vowels, Egyptologists have vocalized the name in various ways as Asar, Yasar, Aser, Asaru, Ausar, Ausir, Wesir, Usir, several proposals have been made for the etymology and meaning of the original name wsjr. John Gwyn Griffiths proposed a derivation from wsr signifying the powerful, moreover, one of the oldest attestations of the god Osiris appears in the mastaba of the deceased Netjer-wser. David Lorton proposed that Wsjr is composed by the morphemes set-jret signifying ritual activity, wolfhart Westendorf proposed an etymology from Waset-jret she who bears the eye. He also carries the crook and flail, the crook is thought to represent Osiris as a shepherd god. The symbolism of the flail is more uncertain with shepherds whip, fly-whisk and he was commonly depicted as a pharaoh with a complexion of either green or black in mummiform. The Pyramid Texts describe early conceptions of an afterlife in terms of travelling with the sun god amongst the stars. Amongst these mortuary texts, at the beginning of the 4th dynasty, is found, An offering the king gives, by the end of the 5th dynasty, the formula in all tombs becomes An offering the king gives and Osiris. Osiris is the father of the god Horus, whose conception is described in the Osiris myth. The myth described Osiris as having been killed by his brother Set, Isis joined the fragmented pieces of Osiris, but the only body part missing was the phallus. Isis fashioned a golden phallus, and briefly brought Osiris back to life by use of a spell that she learned from her father and this spell gave her time to become pregnant by Osiris before he again died. Isis later gave birth to Horus, as such, since Horus was born after Osiris resurrection, Horus became thought of as a representation of new beginnings and the vanquisher of the evil Set. Ptah-Seker thus gradually became identified with Osiris, the two becoming Ptah-Seker-Osiris, Osiris soul, or rather his Ba, was occasionally worshipped in its own right, almost as if it were a distinct god, especially in the Delta city of Mendes
Osiris
–
Head of the God Osiris, ca. 595-525 B.C.E.
Brooklyn Museum
Osiris
–
Osiris with an Atef-crown made of bronze in the
Naturhistorisches Museum (Vienna)
Osiris
–
The gods Osiris,
Anubis, and
Horus, from a tomb painting.
Osiris
–
The family of Osiris. Osiris on a
lapis lazuli pillar in the middle, flanked by
Horus on the left and
Isis on the right (22nd dynasty,
Louvre,
Paris)
13.
Afterlife
–
The afterlife is the concept of a realm, or the realm itself, in which an essential part of an individuals identity or consciousness continues to exist after the death of the body. Belief in an afterlife, which may be naturalistic or supernatural, is in contrast to the belief in oblivion after death, in this latter view, such rebirths and deaths may take place over and over again continuously until the individual gains entry to a spiritual realm or Otherworld. Major views on the afterlife derive from religion, esotericism and metaphysics, in metaphysical models, theists generally believe some type of afterlife awaits people when they die. Members of some generally non-theistic religions, tend to believe in an afterlife, the Sadducees were an ancient Jewish sect that generally believed that there was a God but no afterlife. Reincarnation refers to a concept found among Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, Sikhs, Rosicrucians, Theosophists, Spiritists. Reincarnation is also a belief described in Kabbalistic Judaism as gilgul neshamot and this succession leads toward an eventual liberation. One consequence of reincarnationist beliefs is that our current lives are both afterlife and a beforelife, according to those beliefs events in our current life are consequences of actions taken in previous lives, or Karma. In most denominations, heaven is a condition of reward for the righteous to go after they die, traditionally defined as eternal union with God. In contrast to heaven, hell is a condition of punishment and torment for the wicked, traditionally defined as eternal separation from God and confinement with other sinful souls and fallen angels. So they are seen as existing in a state of natural. In other Christian denominations it has described as an intermediate place or state of confinement in oblivion. The notion of purgatory is associated particularly with the Catholic Church, the tradition of the church, by reference to certain texts of scripture, speaks of a cleansing fire although it is not always called purgatory. Anglicans of the Anglo-Catholic tradition generally also hold to the belief, traditional African religions are diverse in their beliefs in an afterlife. For each soul remains distinct and each represents a new soul. In some societies like the Mende, multiple beliefs coexist, the Mende believe that people die twice, once during the process of joining the secret society, and again during biological death after which they become ancestors. However, some Mende also believe that people are created by God they live ten consecutive lives. One cross-cultural theme is that the ancestors are part of the world of the living, interacting with it regularly, the afterlife played an important role in Ancient Egyptian religion, and its belief system is one of the earliest known in recorded history. When the body died, parts of its known as ka
Afterlife
Afterlife
–
Domenico Beccafumi 's Inferno: a Christian vision of hell
Afterlife
–
Mictlan
Afterlife
14.
Ancient Egyptian religion
–
Ancient Egyptian religion was a complex system of polytheistic beliefs and rituals which were an integral part of ancient Egyptian society. It centered on the Egyptians interaction with many deities who were believed to be present in, and in control of, rituals such as prayers and offerings were efforts to provide for the gods and gain their favor. Formal religious practice centered on the pharaoh, the king of Egypt and he acted as the intermediary between his people and the gods and was obligated to sustain the gods through rituals and offerings so that they could maintain order in the universe. The state dedicated enormous resources to Egyptian rituals and to the construction of the temples, individuals could interact with the gods for their own purposes, appealing for their help through prayer or compelling them to act through magic. These practices were distinct from, but closely linked with, the formal rituals, the popular religious tradition grew more prominent in the course of Egyptian history as the status of the Pharaoh declined. Another important aspect was the belief in the afterlife and funerary practices, the Egyptians made great efforts to ensure the survival of their souls after death, providing tombs, grave goods, and offerings to preserve the bodies and spirits of the deceased. The religion had its roots in Egypts prehistory and lasted for more than 3,000 years, the details of religious belief changed over time as the importance of particular gods rose and declined, and their intricate relationships shifted. At various times, certain gods became preeminent over the others, including the sun god Ra, the creator god Amun, for a brief period, in the theology promulgated by the Pharaoh Akhenaten, a single god, the Aten, replaced the traditional pantheon. Ancient Egyptian religion and mythology left behind many writings and monuments, along with significant influences on ancient, the beliefs and rituals now referred to as ancient Egyptian religion were integral within every aspect of Egyptian culture. Their language possessed no single term corresponding to the modern European concept of religion, the characteristics of the gods who populated the divine realm were inextricably linked to the Egyptians understanding of the properties of the world in which they lived. The Egyptians believed that the phenomena of nature were divine forces in and these deified forces included the elements, animal characteristics, or abstract forces. The Egyptians believed in a pantheon of gods, which were involved in all aspects of nature and their religious practices were efforts to sustain and placate these phenomena and turn them to human advantage. This polytheistic system was complex, as some deities were believed to exist in many different manifestations. Conversely, many forces, such as the sun, were associated with multiple deities. The diverse pantheon ranged from gods with vital roles in the universe to minor deities or demons with very limited or localized functions. It could include gods adopted from foreign cultures, and sometimes humans, deceased Pharaohs were believed to be divine, and occasionally, distinguished commoners such as Imhotep also became deified. The depictions of the gods in art were not meant as representations of how the gods might appear if they were visible. Instead, these depictions gave recognizable forms to the deities by using symbolic imagery to indicate each gods role in nature
Ancient Egyptian religion
–
The gods Osiris, Anubis, and Horus, in order from left to right
Ancient Egyptian religion
–
Amun-Ra kamutef, wearing the plumed headdress of Amun and the sun disk representing Ra
Ancient Egyptian religion
–
The air god Shu, assisted by other gods, holds up Nut, the sky, as Geb, the earth, lies beneath.
Ancient Egyptian religion
–
Colossal statue of the Pharaoh
Ramesses II
15.
Kurt Heinrich Sethe
–
Kurt Heinrich Sethe was a noted German Egyptologist and philologist from Berlin. He was a student of Adolf Erman, Sethe collected numerous texts from Egypt during his visits there and edited the Urkunden des ægyptischen Altertums which is a standard catalogue of Ancient Egyptian literature and text. Among Sethes many contributions to Egyptology, two are singled out by Gardiner. the pronunciation of Middle Egyptian, among Sethes students were Hans Jakob Polotsky and Alan Gardiner. Sethes anthology, Aegyptische Lesestuecke, is still doing sterling service to the beginners in the study of the language, Sethe also published a comprehensive collection of Egyptian epigraphy, which he called Urkunden der Aegyptologie. Kurt Sethe, Das aegyptische verbum im altaegyptischen, neuaegyptischen und koptischen, Leipzig, kurt Sethe, Urkunden des Alten Reichs. Augmented edition, Hinrichssche Buchhandlung, Leipzig 1933, available online, Sethe at the Wayback Machine at 2terres. hautesavoie. net Gardiner, Alan. Being an Introduction to the Study of Hieroglyphs, rev. London, Oxford University Press,1957
Kurt Heinrich Sethe
–
Kurt Heinrich Sethe.
16.
German language
–
German is a West Germanic language that is mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, South Tyrol, the German-speaking Community of Belgium and it is also one of the three official languages of Luxembourg. Major languages which are most similar to German include other members of the West Germanic language branch, such as Afrikaans, Dutch, English, Luxembourgish and it is the second most widely spoken Germanic language, after English. One of the languages of the world, German is the first language of about 95 million people worldwide. The German speaking countries are ranked fifth in terms of publication of new books. German derives most of its vocabulary from the Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family, a portion of German words are derived from Latin and Greek, and fewer are borrowed from French and English. With slightly different standardized variants, German is a pluricentric language, like English, German is also notable for its broad spectrum of dialects, with many unique varieties existing in Europe and also other parts of the world. The history of the German language begins with the High German consonant shift during the migration period, when Martin Luther translated the Bible, he based his translation primarily on the standard bureaucratic language used in Saxony, also known as Meißner Deutsch. Copies of Luthers Bible featured a long list of glosses for each region that translated words which were unknown in the region into the regional dialect. Roman Catholics initially rejected Luthers translation, and tried to create their own Catholic standard of the German language – the difference in relation to Protestant German was minimal. It was not until the middle of the 18th century that a widely accepted standard was created, until about 1800, standard German was mainly a written language, in urban northern Germany, the local Low German dialects were spoken. Standard German, which was different, was often learned as a foreign language with uncertain pronunciation. Northern German pronunciation was considered the standard in prescriptive pronunciation guides though, however, German was the language of commerce and government in the Habsburg Empire, which encompassed a large area of Central and Eastern Europe. Until the mid-19th century, it was essentially the language of townspeople throughout most of the Empire and its use indicated that the speaker was a merchant or someone from an urban area, regardless of nationality. Some cities, such as Prague and Budapest, were gradually Germanized in the years after their incorporation into the Habsburg domain, others, such as Pozsony, were originally settled during the Habsburg period, and were primarily German at that time. Prague, Budapest and Bratislava as well as cities like Zagreb, the most comprehensive guide to the vocabulary of the German language is found within the Deutsches Wörterbuch. This dictionary was created by the Brothers Grimm and is composed of 16 parts which were issued between 1852 and 1860, in 1872, grammatical and orthographic rules first appeared in the Duden Handbook. In 1901, the 2nd Orthographical Conference ended with a standardization of the German language in its written form
German language
–
Old Frisian (Alt-Friesisch)
German language
–
The widespread popularity of the
Bible translated into German by
Martin Luther helped establish modern German
German language
–
Examples of German language in
Namibian everyday life
German language
–
German-language newspapers in the U.S. in 1922
17.
French language
–
French is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages, French has evolved from Gallo-Romance, the spoken Latin in Gaul, and more specifically in Northern Gaul. Its closest relatives are the other langues doïl—languages historically spoken in northern France and in southern Belgium, French was also influenced by native Celtic languages of Northern Roman Gaul like Gallia Belgica and by the Frankish language of the post-Roman Frankish invaders. Today, owing to Frances past overseas expansion, there are numerous French-based creole languages, a French-speaking person or nation may be referred to as Francophone in both English and French. French is a language in 29 countries, most of which are members of la francophonie. As of 2015, 40% of the population is in Europe, 35% in sub-Saharan Africa, 15% in North Africa and the Middle East, 8% in the Americas. French is the fourth-most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union, 1/5 of Europeans who do not have French as a mother tongue speak French as a second language. As a result of French and Belgian colonialism from the 17th and 18th century onward, French was introduced to new territories in the Americas, Africa, most second-language speakers reside in Francophone Africa, in particular Gabon, Algeria, Mauritius, Senegal and Ivory Coast. In 2015, French was estimated to have 77 to 110 million native speakers, approximately 274 million people are able to speak the language. The Organisation internationale de la Francophonie estimates 700 million by 2050, in 2011, Bloomberg Businessweek ranked French the third most useful language for business, after English and Standard Mandarin Chinese. Under the Constitution of France, French has been the language of the Republic since 1992. France mandates the use of French in official government publications, public education except in specific cases, French is one of the four official languages of Switzerland and is spoken in the western part of Switzerland called Romandie, of which Geneva is the largest city. French is the language of about 23% of the Swiss population. French is also a language of Luxembourg, Monaco, and Aosta Valley, while French dialects remain spoken by minorities on the Channel Islands. A plurality of the worlds French-speaking population lives in Africa and this number does not include the people living in non-Francophone African countries who have learned French as a foreign language. Due to the rise of French in Africa, the total French-speaking population worldwide is expected to reach 700 million people in 2050, French is the fastest growing language on the continent. French is mostly a language in Africa, but it has become a first language in some urban areas, such as the region of Abidjan, Ivory Coast and in Libreville. There is not a single African French, but multiple forms that diverged through contact with various indigenous African languages, sub-Saharan Africa is the region where the French language is most likely to expand, because of the expansion of education and rapid population growth
French language
–
The
"arrêt" signs (French for "stop") are used in
Canada while the international stop, which is also a valid French word, is used in France as well as other French-speaking countries and regions.
French language
–
Regions where French is the main language
French language
–
Town sign in
Standard Arabic and French at the entrance of
Rechmaya in
Lebanon.
French language
–
An obsolete 100
Lebanese pound note with the French language inscriptions "Banque du Liban" and "Cent livres".
18.
Pyramid of Unas
–
The Pyramid Complex of Unas is located in the pyramid field at Saqqara, near Cairo in Egypt. It was built for pharaoh Unas, the ninth and final king of the Fifth Dynasty in the mid 24th century BC and its ancient name, Nefer Isut Unas, means Beautiful are the places of Unas. Originally reaching 43 metres high with a base of 58 by 58 metres. It was investigated by Perring and then Lepsius, but it was Gaston Maspero who first gained entry to the chambers in 1881 and these together with others found in nearby pyramids of successive pharaohs are now known as the Pyramid Texts. In the burial chamber itself the remains of a mummy were found, including the skull, right arm and shin, near to the main pyramid, to the north east, there are mastabas that contain the burials of the consorts of the king. The pyramid was built close to the pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara, the causeway was approximately 750m long and the unusual shape is because it follows a wadi. Material was taken from the complex of Djoser that was used to plug gaps in the wadi, the roof of the causeway was covered over to make a closed tunnel, with the exception of a long slot that illuminated the walls that were decorated with brightly painted reliefs. View the hieroglyphs and the complete translation
Pyramid of Unas
–
Pyramid of Unas
Pyramid of Unas
–
Pyramid of Unas at Saqqara, showing Sekhemkhet, Unas, Djoser and Userkaf. Taken from 3d models
19.
Pepi I
–
Pepi I Meryre was the third king of the Sixth dynasty of Egypt. His first throne name was Neferdjahor which the king later altered to Meryre meaning beloved of Rê, Pepi was the son of Teti and Iput, who may have been a daughter of Unas, the last pharaoh of the previous dynasty. He needed the support of individuals in Upper Egypt in order to put down his brother. These individuals would remain a presence in his court thereafter. His two most important wives and the mothers of his two successors were Ankhesenpepi I and Ankhesenpepi II and he also had a son called Teti-ankh and two daughters, Iput II and Neith, both became wives to Pepi II. Pepi Is reign was marked by expansion into Nubia, the spread of trade to far-flung areas such as Lebanon and the Somalian coast. One of the kings officials named Weni fought in Asia on his behalf, pepis mortuary complex, Mennefer Pepy, eventually became the name for the entire city of Memphis after the 18th Dynasty. The decline of the Old Kingdom arguably began during Pepi I’s reign, with nomarchs becoming more powerful, Pepi I married two sisters – Ankhesenpepi I and II – who were the daughters of Khui, a noble from Abydos and Lady Nebet, made vizier of Upper Egypt. Pepi later made their brother, Djau, a vizier as well, the two sisters influence was extensive, with both sisters bearing sons who were later to become pharaohs. An analysis of the damaged Dynasty 6 South Saqqara Stone Annal document gives him a reign of c, 48–49 years but this is not confirmed by the Turin King List which apparently assigns him 44 years, according to the Danish Egyptologist Kim Ryholts analysis of this document. There has been doubt regarding whether the cattle count dating system was strictly biennial or slightly more irregular. That the latter appeared to be the case was suggested by the famous Year after the 18th Count. This would be the year 36 if the biennial dating system was used and this information is significant because the Heb Sed Feast was always celebrated in a kings Year 30. If Pepi I was using a counting system during his reign. This could imply that the count during the 6th dynasty was not regularly biennial. It is hard to believe such a narrow space corresponds to the jubilee celebration. Appears, this rulers final 25th count is also associated with Pepi Is first royal jubilee. The South Saqqara Stone confirms that Pepi Is last year was his Year of the 25th Count, fortuituously or not, this compartment corresponds perfectly to year 30/31, if a strictly biennial system of numbering is presumed for Pepi Is reign
Pepi I
–
Kneeling Statuette of Pepy I, ca. 2338-2298 B.C.E., 39.121,
Brooklyn Museum
Pepi I
–
Lifesize copper statue of Pepi I,
Cairo Museum
Pepi I
–
An offering vessel of Pepi I. It would have likely been used to celebrate this king's
Heb Sed feast
Pepi I
–
Ointment vase celebrating Pepi I's first Sed festival,
Musée du Louvre. The inscription reads: The king of Upper and Lower Egypt Meryre, may he be given life for ever. The first occasion of the Sed festival.
20.
Merenre Nemtyemsaf I
–
Merenre Nemtyemsaf I was the fourth king of the Sixth dynasty of Egypt. His nomen, theophorically referring to Nemty, was read as Antyemsaf. Merenre was a son of Pepi I and Ankhesenpepi I, and grandson of the female vizier Nebet and he also began a process of royal consolidation, appointing Weni as the first governor of all of Upper Egypt and expanding the power of several other governors. While he was assumed to have died at an early age. Two contemporary objects suggests that Merenres reign lasted more than a decade. The British Egyptologists Ian Shaw and Paul Nicholson in a 1995 book raised Merenre Is reign from the traditional 6 year figure to 9 years. One must note that cattle counts were not always biennial, for example,18 had been performed by the 30th year of Pepi Is reign and it is therefore entirely possible that Merenre ruled for fewer than 11 years. Sixth dynasty royal seals and stone found at Saqqara demonstrate that Merenres aunt. Merenres daughter was Ankhesenpepi III, the wife of Pepi II. The South Saqqara Stone, Sixth Dynasty Annals
Merenre Nemtyemsaf I
–
A small wooden box inscribed with the
names and titles of Merenre Nemtyemsaf I,
Musée du Louvre
21.
Pepi II
–
Pepi II was a pharaoh of the Sixth Dynasty in Egypts Old Kingdom who reigned from c.2278 BC. His throne name, Neferkare, means Beautiful is the Ka of Re and he succeeded to the throne at age six, after the death of Merenre I. He was traditionally thought to be the son of Pepi I and Queen Ankhesenpepi II but the South Saqqara Stone annals record that Merenre had a minimum reign of 11 years. Inscriptions on these blocks give Ankhesenpepi II the royal titles of, Kings Wife of the Pyramid of Pepy I, Kings Wife of the Pyramid of Merenre. Therefore, today, many Egyptologists believe that Pepi II was likely Merenres own son, Pepi II would, therefore, be Pepi Is grandson while Merenre was, most likely, Pepi IIs father since he is known to have married Pepi IIs known mother, Queen Ankhesenpepi II. Pepi IIs reign marked a decline of the Old Kingdom. As the power of the nomarchs grew, the power of the pharaoh declined, with no dominant central power, local nobles began raiding each others territories and the Old Kingdom came to an end within mere decades after the close of Pepi IIs reign. His mother Ankhesenpepi II most likely ruled as regent in the years of his reign. An alabaster statuette in the Brooklyn Museum depicts a young Pepi II, in full kingly regalia, despite his long reign, this piece is one of only three known sculptural representations in existence of this particular king. She may have helped in turn by her brother Djau. Some scholars have taken the relative paucity of royal statuary to suggest that the court was losing the ability to retain skilled artisans. A glimpse of the personality of the pharaoh while he was still a child can be found in a letter he wrote to Harkhuf, a governor of Aswan, sent to trade and collect ivory, ebony, and other precious items, he captured a pygmy. She may be a daughter of Ankhesenpepi I and hence also Pepi IIs cousin, Iput II – A half-sister of Pepi II. Ankhesenpepi III She was the daughter of Merenre Nemtyemsaf I and hence a granddaughter of Pepi I, Ankhesenpepi IV – The mother of King Neferkare according to texts in her tomb. It is not known which Neferkare as there are several kings with that name during the First Intermediate Period and his name may be Neferkare Nebi. Udjebten She was also a daughter of Pepi I, of these queens, Neith, Iput, and Udjebten each had their own minor pyramids and mortuary temples as part of the kings own pyramid complex in Saqqara. Queen Ankhesenpepi III was buried in a pyramid near the pyramid of Pepi I Meryre, two more sons of Pepi II are known, Nebkauhor-Idu and Ptashepses. Pepi II seems to have carried on foreign policy in ways similar to that of his predecessors, copper and turquoise were mined at Wadi Maghareh in the Sinai, and alabaster was quarried from Hatnub
Pepi II
–
Base of a headrest inscribed with Pepi II's titulary.
Musée du Louvre.
Pepi II
–
Alabaster statue of
Ankhesenmeryre II and her son Pepi II.
Pepi II
–
A plate mentioning Pepi II's first heb sed jubilee.
Pepi II
–
Ruins of the pyramid complex of Pepi II
22.
Ankhesenpepi II
–
Ankhesenpepi II or Ankhesenmeryre II was a queen consort during the sixth dynasty of Egypt. She was the wife of Kings Pepi I and Merenre Nemtyemsaf I, Ankhesenpepi II was the daughter of Khui and the female vizier Nebet. Her sister Ankhesenpepi I was also married to King Pepi I and her brother Djau served as vizier. Both queens gave birth to the kings, the son of Ankhesenpepi I was Merenre Nemtyemsaf I, who ruled only for a few years, the son of Ankhesenpepi II was Pepi II, Pepi II was a young boy when he succeeded to the throne. There are indications that Ankhesenpepi II served as a regent for her son in early years of his reign. A statue which shows her with her son on her lap shows the queen much larger in size than her son, some have interpreted this statue as Ankhesenpepi II and her son Pepi II assuming the roles of the goddess Isis and her son Horus. She is also mentioned together with her sister on their brothers stela in Abydos, at her pyramid and she further appears in a decree in Abydos. She is depicted in the Sinai, where she is equal in size to her son. However, it is now known that she was also the queen of Merenre after the death of Pepi I. Since the temple was constructed under Pepi II because it makes a reference to king Pepi II, after her son Pepi came to the throne, Ankhesenpepi added the titles Mother of the Dual King Men-ankh-Neferkare, King’s Mother of Men-ankh-Neferkare, and King’s Mother. Ankhesenpepi IIs pyramid in Saqqara was found and excavated in 1998, the finds show that Ankhesenpepis pyramid contained the first known examples of the pyramid texts in a Queens pyramid. The texts refer to her as a mother, hence the construction of her pyramid dates to the reign of her son. In 1963, the chamber was discovered and remains which could be those of the queen were found. The burial was disturbed and the found in and near the sarcophagus was incomplete. The bones belong to an aged woman
Ankhesenpepi II
–
Statuette of Queen Ankhnes-meryre II and her Son, Pepy II, ca. 2288-2224 or 2194 B.C.E. Egyptian alabaster,
Brooklyn Museum
Ankhesenpepi II
–
Ankhesenpepi (II) as depicted at Wadi Maghara (Sinai)
Ankhesenpepi II
–
Profile of Ankhnespepy II from her funerary temple.
23.
Neith (wife of Pepi II)
–
Neith was an ancient Egyptian queen consort, one of the principal queens of the Old Kingdom pharaoh Pepi II Neferkare, who ruled. Queen Neith was named after goddess Neith, Neith is thought to have been a daughter of the pharaoh Pepi I and queen Ankhesenpepi I, making her half-sister and cousin to pharaoh Pepi II. Neith may be the mother of King Nemtyemsaf II, there is a legend about Queen Nitocris who, if she indeed existed at all, may have been a daughter of Neith. Of the three small pyramid complexes built around that of the pyramid of Pepi II, Neiths is the largest. Neiths pyramid may have been the first one constructed among the queens pyramids associated with Pepi II, Neiths pyramid complex included a small temple, a satellite pyramid and a fleet of sixteen wooden boats buried between the main and satellite pyramid. The entrance to the enclosure was flanked by two inscribed obelisks, Neiths burial chamber and was inscribed with Pyramid Texts. This is the second occurrence of these texts in a queens pyramid. The burial chamber contained a red granite sarcophagus and a canopic chest, the remains of at least part of her mummy were uncovered and were once housed in the Qasr el-Aini Medical School
Neith (wife of Pepi II)
–
Pyramid of
Pepi II with smaller pyramids for the queens Neith,
Iput II and
Udjebten.
24.
Iput II
–
About the river in Belarus and Russia see Iput River. For the early 6th dynasty queen, wife of Unas see Iput, Iput was an ancient Egyptian queen consort of the Sixth dynasty, a sister and wife of Pepi II. Her titles King’s Daughter, and Eldest King’s Daughter show that Iput II was a daughter of a pharaoh, the title Hereditary Princess identifies her as a noble lady. Iputs pyramid complex consisted of a pyramid and a mortuary temple. The temple was built in an L-shape and she was buried close to Pepi II at Saqqara and her tomb contains a version of the Pyramid Texts. In one of the storerooms of the mortuary temple excavators discovered the granite sarcophagus of Queen Ankhesenpepi IV, another wife of Pepi II. It is not entirely clear if Ankhesenpepi IV was originally buried in the complex of Iput II, or if she was originally interred elsewhere. Ankhesenpepis sarcophagus is inscribed with an historical text which sheds some light on the history of the early part of the 6th dynasty. The text inscribed on the sarcophagus has been hard to decipher. From the text it is now clear that Userkare reigned some four years, but the practice of damnatio memoriae later lead to his name being expunged from the records
Iput II
–
Pyramid of
Pepi II with smaller pyramids for the queens Neith, Iput II and
Udjebten.
25.
Unas
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Unas /ˈjuːnəs/ or Wenis, also spelled Unis, was an Ancient Egyptian pharaoh, the ninth and last ruler of the Fifth Dynasty during the Old Kingdom period. Unas reigned for 15 to 30 years in the mid-24th century BC succeeding Djedkare Isesi, little is known of Unas activities during his reign, which was a time of economic decline. Egypt maintained trade relations with the Levantine coast and Nubia, Unas built a pyramid in Saqqara, the smallest of the royal pyramids completed during the Old Kingdom. These texts identify the king with Ra and with Osiris, whose cult was on the rise in Unas time, Unas had several daughters and possibly one or two sons who are believed to have predeceased him. Manetho, an Egyptian priest of the Ptolemaic period and author of the first history of Egypt, Unas was succeeded by Teti, the first pharaoh of the Sixth Dynasty, possibly after a short crisis. The funerary cult of Unas established at his death continued until the end of the Old Kingdom, the cult was still in existence or revived during the later Middle Kingdom. This did not prevent Amenemhat I and Senusret I from partially dismantling the mortuary complex of Unas for its materials. In parallel to the cult, Unas may have received popular veneration as a local god of the Saqqara necropolis until as late as the Late Period. Unas is well attested by historical sources with three ancient Egyptian king lists dating to the New Kingdom period mentioning him, Unas occupies the 33rd entry of the Abydos King List, which was written during the reign of Seti I. Unas name is present on the Saqqara Tablet and on the Turin canon. The Turin canon further credits Unas with 30 years of reign and these sources all place Unas as the ninth and final ruler of the Fifth Dynasty, succeeding Djedkare Isesi and preceding Teti on the throne. This relative chronology is corroborated by evidence, for example in the tomb of officials serving under these kings. In addition to sources, Unas was also likely mentioned in the Aegyptiaca. No copies of the Aegyptiaca have survived to this day and it is known to us only through later writings by Sextus Julius Africanus and Eusebius, Africanus relates that the Aegyptiaca mentioned a pharaoh Onnos reigning for 33 years at the end of the Fifth Dynasty. Onnos is believed to be the form for Unas. The primary contemporaneous sources attesting to Unas activities are the reliefs from his pyramid complex. Excluding these, surprisingly few documents dating to Unas reign have survived to this day, excavations at Abusir, the royal necropolis of the Fifth Dynasty, have produced only four dated inscriptions safely attributable to Unas. They explicitly mention his third, fourth, sixth and eighth years on the throne, Unas also left a rock inscription on the island of Elephantine, next to the First Cataract of the Nile in Nubia
Unas
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Black basalt sarcophagus in the funerary chamber of Unas' pyramid
Unas
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Alabaster globular vase of Unas, Louvre Museum
Unas
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Relief showing starving nomads from Unas' causeway at Saqqara
Unas
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The pyramid of Unas at Saqqara
26.
Pyramid of Teti
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The Pyramid of Teti is a smooth-sided pyramid situated in the pyramid field at Saqqara in Egypt. It is historically the second known pyramid containing pyramid texts, excavations have revealed a satellite pyramid, two pyramids of queens accompanied by cult structures, and a funerary temple. The pyramid was opened by Gaston Maspero in 1882 and the complex explored during several campaigns ranging from 1907 to 1965 and it was originally called Tetis Places Are Enduring. The preservation above ground is very poor, and it now resembles a small hill, below ground the chambers and corridors are very well preserved. The pyramid complex of Teti follows a model established during the reign of Djedkare Isesi, a valley temple, now lost, was probably destroyed in antiquity due to the place of an Old Kingdom temple dedicated to Anubis constructed there. A better known funerary temple revealed by James Edward Quibell in 1906, is connected to the temple by a causeway. The plan of the temple of Teti is also comparable in many respects to that of Unas, which is its immediate predecessor. Tetis temple has a special plan, however, due to a deviation of the floor which traditionally should have been located in the axis of the temple. It then accesses the temple through a hallway of the north–south facade joining the east–west axis of the monument, followed in this main axis is a second hall. The thickness of the walls suggests a vaulted cover and this hall opened into an open courtyard surrounded on all four sides by colonnades whose main purpose was the presentation of daily offerings and ritual libations. The only way out is centered to the west and provides access to the innermost part the sanctuary. This part also included a room containing the false door stela of the King, a veritable object of funeral worship. The first row frames the party host and is accessible by a corridor along the entire width of the building that leads to the south and north within the peribolos of the pyramid. The second set frames the sanctuary and the hall of statues of gods and was accessible from the latter. This small pyramid covers an underground plan consisting of a ramp leading to a single underground chamber. In the middle of the courtyard of the paribolos, facing east and west, are two landscaped basins in the granite floor. Their use is disputed by Egyptologists, but the location of these basins, following the path of the sun, the orientation of the pyramid is not aligned with the four cardinal points. However, the proportions and plan of the pyramid follow exactly the same pattern as that of the Pyramid of Djedkare-Isesi, the internal dimensions and slope are the same and it is otherwise very similar
Pyramid of Teti
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Pyramid of Teti
Pyramid of Teti
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Name of the pyramid of Teti Djed-isut-teti on the limestone funerary stele of his chief treasurer Izi, from Saqqara.
Musée du Louvre.
Pyramid of Teti
Pyramid of Teti
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View of the pyramid of Teti taken from a 3d model
27.
Philip Glass
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Philip Morris Glass is an American composer. He is considered one of the most influential makers of the late 20th century. Glasss compositions have been described as music, similar to other minimalist composers including La Monte Young, Steve Reich. However, Glass has described himself instead as a composer of music with repetitive structures, Glass founded the Philip Glass Ensemble, with which he still performs on keyboards. He has written numerous operas and musical works, eleven symphonies, eleven concertos, seven string quartets and various other chamber music. Three of his scores have been nominated for Academy Awards. Glass was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the son of Ida and his family were Jewish immigrants from Lithuania. His father owned a store and his mother was a librarian. She developed a plan to help them learn English and develop skills so they could find work and his sister, Sheppie, would later do similar work as an active member of the International Rescue Committee. Glass developed his appreciation of music from his father, discovering later his fathers side of the family had many musicians and his cousin Cevia was a classical pianist, while others had been in vaudeville. He learned his family was related to Al Jolson. Glasss father often received promotional copies of new recordings at his music store and he spent many hours listening to them, developing his knowledge and taste in music. This openness to modern sounds affected Glass at an age, My father was self-taught, but he ended up having a very refined and rich knowledge of classical, chamber. Typically he would come home and have dinner, and then sit in his armchair, I caught on to this very early, and I would go and listen with him. The elder Glass promoted both new recordings and a selection of composers to his customers, sometimes convincing them to try something new by allowing them to return records they didnt like. His store soon developed a reputation as Baltimores leading source of modern music, Glass cites Schuberts work as a big influence growing up. He studied the flute as a child at the school of the Peabody Institute. At the age of 15, he entered a college program at the University of Chicago where he studied mathematics
Philip Glass
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Philip Glass in 1993
Philip Glass
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Glass performing Book of Longing in Milan, September 2008
28.
Opera
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Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. In traditional opera, singers do two types of singing, recitative, a style and arias, a more melodic style. Opera incorporates many of the elements of theatre, such as acting, scenery. The performance is given in an opera house, accompanied by an orchestra or smaller musical ensemble. Opera is a key part of the Western classical music tradition, in the 18th century, Italian opera continued to dominate most of Europe, attracting foreign composers such as George Frideric Handel. Opera seria was the most prestigious form of Italian opera, until Christoph Willibald Gluck reacted against its artificiality with his operas in the 1760s. The first third of the 19th century saw the point of the bel canto style, with Gioachino Rossini, Gaetano Donizetti. It also saw the advent of Grand Opera typified by the works of Auber and Meyerbeer, the mid-to-late 19th century was a golden age of opera, led and dominated by Richard Wagner in Germany and Giuseppe Verdi in Italy. The popularity of opera continued through the era in Italy and contemporary French opera through to Giacomo Puccini. During the 19th century, parallel operatic traditions emerged in central and eastern Europe, the 20th century saw many experiments with modern styles, such as atonality and serialism, Neoclassicism, and Minimalism. With the rise of recording technology, singers such as Enrico Caruso, since the invention of radio and television, operas were also performed on these mediums. Beginning in 2006, a number of opera houses began to present live high-definition video transmissions of their performances in cinemas all over the world. In 2009, an opera company offered a download of a complete performance. The words of an opera are known as the libretto, some composers, notably Wagner, have written their own libretti, others have worked in close collaboration with their librettists, e. g. Mozart with Lorenzo Da Ponte. Vocal duets, trios and other ensembles often occur, and choruses are used to comment on the action, in some forms of opera, such as singspiel, opéra comique, operetta, and semi-opera, the recitative is mostly replaced by spoken dialogue. Melodic or semi-melodic passages occurring in the midst of, or instead of, the terminology of the various kinds of operatic voices is described in detail below. Over the 18th century, arias were accompanied by the orchestra. Subsequent composers have tended to follow Wagners example, though some, the changing role of the orchestra in opera is described in more detail below
Opera
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The performers from the Atlanta Opera sing the finale of
Lucia di Lammermoor. The
opera orchestra is visible in the lowered area in front of the stage.
Opera
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The
Palais Garnier of the
Paris Opéra, one of the world's most famous
opera houses.
Opera
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Claudio Monteverdi
Opera
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George Frideric Handel, 1733
29.
Akhnaten (opera)
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Akhnaten is an opera in three acts based on the life and religious convictions of the pharaoh Akhenaten, written by the American minimalist composer Philip Glass in 1983. Akhnaten had its premiere on March 24,1984, at the Stuttgart State Theatre. Paul Esswood sang the role, German director Achim Freyer staged the opera in an abstract style with highly ritualistic movements. The American premiere was held on October 12,1984, at the Houston Grand Opera, according to the composer, this work is the culmination of his two other biographical operas, Einstein on the Beach and Satyagraha. The text, taken from sources, is sung in the original languages, linked together with the commentary of a narrator in a modern language. Other portions are in Akkadian and Biblical Hebrew, Akhnatens Hymn to the Sun is sung in the language of the audience. Apart from this, this was Glasss most conventional opera orchestra until then, generally speaking, for the unprepared listener the music of this opera is more accessible than that of its predecessors, the hardcore minimalist Einstein and the oratorio-like Satyagraha. The opera is divided into three acts, Thebes,1370 BC Prelude, verse 1, verse 2, verse 3 Set in the key of A minor, the scribe recites funeral texts from the pyramids. Open are the doors of the horizon, unlocked are its bolts. Scene 1, Funeral of Akhnatens father Amenhotep III Heralded by hammering drums, Aye, the music is basically a march, based on the chords of A major and F♯ minor, and grows to ecstatic intensity towards the end. Scene 2, The Coronation of Akhnaten After a lengthy introduction, during which Akhnaten appears, heralded by a solo trumpet, the High Priest, Aye. After that, the Narrator recites a list of royal titles bestowed upon Akhnaten, after the coronation, the chorus repeats the ritual text from the beginning of the scene. Again, the key is A minor. Scene 3, The Window of Appearances After an introduction in A minor, dominated by tubular bells and this is the first time he actually sings, after he has already been on stage for 20 minutes and the effect of his countertenor voice is startling. He is joined by Nefertiti, who actually sings lower notes than he, and later by Queen Tye, whose soprano soars high above the intertwining voices of the royal couple. Scene 1, The Temple The scene opens again in A minor, with the High Priest, the music becomes increasingly dramatic, as Akhnaten, together with Queen Tye and his followers, attack the temple. This scene has only wordless singing, the harmonies grow very chromatic, finally reaching A♭ major and E minor. The temple roof is removed and the sun god Atens rays invade the temple, thus ending Amuns reign, Scene 2, Akhnaten and Nefertiti Two solo celli introduce a love theme
Akhnaten (opera)
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Philip Glass
30.
Nile (band)
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Nile is an American technical death metal band from Greenville, South Carolina, United States, formed in 1993. Their music and lyrics are inspired by Ancient Egyptian/Near Eastern mysticism, history, religion, Nile formed in their hometown of Greenville in 1993, from the ashes of a previous band Morriah in which Karl Sanders played since the 1980s. The EP Ramses Bringer of War was released by Visceral Productions in 1997, Visceral were due to release the full-length Amongst the Catacombs of Nephren-Ka, but went out of business later that year. However, Relapse Records was open to releasing it in early 1998, giving Nile a wider distribution, the follow-up, Black Seeds of Vengeance, was released in late 2000. Prior to this release, Pete Hammoura left the band due to injuries sustained while touring for The Catacombs, however, since the band thought he was holding them back, it was agreed that he leave. Derek Roddy drummed on all of the tracks as a session musician, also, prior to Black Seeds of Vengeance, Dallas Toler-Wade joined as a second guitarist/vocalist. A collection of remastered recordings, In the Beginning, was released later the same year, chief Spires left the bands a few months after the release of Black Seeds of Vengeance citing personal and professional differences. He was replaced by Jon Vesano, the band also found a new drummer in Tony Laureano. By 2002, In Their Darkened Shrines was released, one reviewer noted that the album gave death metal a cinematic, symphonic twist. Two videos were shot with director Darren Doane, Sarcophagus and Execration Text, Annihilation of the Wicked was released in 2005. New drummer George Kollias stepped in to replace Tony Laureano, who left before the recording began, after recording the bass for Annihilation of the Wicked, Jon Vesano also left the band. He was temporary replaced by Joe Payne on the following tour, another Darren Doane directed video was shot for Sacrifice Unto Sebek. In May 2006, Nile signed a contract with Nuclear Blast. On February 26,2007, Nile entered the studio and began recording their fifth album entitled Ithyphallic. Karl Sanders had confirmed a date of June 29 via a posting on the bands message board. Upon the albums release, it sold 4,600 copies, on March 21,2007, Nile was confirmed as a Second Stage act for Ozzfest 2007. A message from Karl Sanders via Niles MySpace profile indicated that they were excited to bring true death metal to an Ozzfest audience. In March/April 2008, Nile went on a US headlining tour with Suicide Silence, The Faceless, Unexpect, in September/October 2008, Nile set out on a European headlining tour with Grave, Omnium Gatherum and Severe Torture
Nile (band)
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Nile performing at Santana Hall in 2010. From left to right:
Karl Sanders, Dallas Toler-Wade and Chris Lollis.
