Deshret
Deshret, from ancient Egyptian, was the formal name for the Red Crown of Lower Egypt and for the desert Red Land on either side of Kemet, the fertile Nile river basin. When combined with the Hedjet of Upper Egypt, it forms the Pschent, the Red Crown in Egyptian language hieroglyphs eventually was used as the vertical letter n. The original n hieroglyph from the Predynastic Period, and the Old Kingdom was the sign depicting ripples of water, in mythology, the earth deity Geb, original ruler of Egypt, invested Horus with the rule over Lower Egypt. The Egyptian pharaohs, who saw themselves as successors of Horus, other deities wore the deshret too, or were identified with it, such as the protective serpent goddess Wadjet and the creator-goddess of Sais, who often is shown wearing the Red Crown. The Red Crown would be combined with the White Crown of Upper Egypt to form the Double Crown, symbolizing the rule over the whole country, as concerns deshret, the Red Land which comprised the deserts and foreign lands surrounding Egypt, Seth was its lord.
It was considered a region of chaos, without law and full of dangers, none of the red crowns have survived, and it is unknown how it was constructed and what materials were used. Copper, reeds and leather have been suggested, the Red Crown frequently is mentioned in texts and depicted in reliefs and statues. An early example is the depiction of the victorious pharaoh wearing the deshret on the Narmer Palette, a label from the reign of Djer records a royal visit to the shrine of the Deshret which may have been located at Buto in the Nile delta. The ancient Egyptian Red Crown, the Deshret crown, is one of the oldest Egyptian hieroglyphs, as an iconographic element, it is used on the famous Narmer Palette of Pharaoh Narmer as the Red Crown of the Delta, the Delta being Lower Egypt. The first usage of the Red Crown was in iconography as the symbol for Lower Egypt with the Nile Delta, it came to be used in the Egyptian language – as an alphabetic uniliteral, vertical form for letter n as a phoneme or preposition.
It became functional in running hieroglyphic texts, where either the horizontal or vertical form preposition satisfied space requirements, the Red Crown is used as a determinative, most notably in the word for deshret. It is used in words or names of gods. One older use of the red crown hieroglyph is to make the word, Egyptian in is used at the beginning of a text and translates as, Behold. or Lo. and is an emphatic. In the 198 BC Rosetta Stone, the Red Crown as hieroglyph has the usage mostly of the form of the preposition n. Visually it is a hieroglyph that takes up more space-, so it may have a purpose of a less compact text. The Red Crown hieroglyph is used 35 times in the Rosetta Stone and it averages once per line usage in the 36 line Decree of Memphis -. Deshret, the Red Crown of the Pharaoh Gardiners Sign List#S. Crowns, Staves, Gardiners Sign List Deshret in hieroglyphic writing Budge. An Egyptian Hieroglyphic Dictionary, E. A. Wallace Budge, c 1978, the Rosetta Stone, E. A. Wallace Budge, c 1929, Dover edition,1989
Jebel Barkal
Jebel Barkal or Gebel Barkal is a very small mountain located some 400 km north of Khartoum, in Karima town in Northern State in Sudan, on a large bend of the Nile River, in the region called Nubia. In 2003, the mountain, together with the city of Napata, were named World Heritage Sites by UNESCO. Around 1450 BCE, the Egyptian Pharaoh Thutmose III extended his empire to that region, there, he campaigned near the city of Napata that, about 300 years later, became the capital of the independent kingdom of Kush. The 25th Dynasty Nubian king Piye greatly enlarged the New Kingdom Temple of Amun in this city, the ruins around Gebel Barkal include at least 13 temples and 3 palaces, that were for the first time described by European explorers in the 1820s. The larger temples, such as that of Amun, are today considered sacred to the local population. Jebel Barkal served as a cemetery during the Meroitic Kingdom. The earliest burials date back to the 3rd century BC,1 King from the middle of the 1st century BCE Bar.
9 King or Queen of the early 2nd century CE Bar,11 King Aktisanes or Aryamani Bar. 14 King Aktisanes or Aryamani Bar
Amenhotep III
Amenhotep III, known as Amenhotep the Magnificent, was the ninth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty. According to different authors, he ruled Egypt from June 1386 to 1349 BC, or from June 1388 BC to December 1351 BC/1350 BC, Amenhotep III was Thutmoses son by a minor wife, Mutemwiya. His reign was a period of unprecedented prosperity and artistic splendour, when he died in the 38th or 39th year of his reign, his son initially ruled as Amenhotep IV, but changed his own royal name to Akhenaten. The son of the future Thutmose IV and a minor wife Mutemwiya and he was a member of the Thutmosid family that had ruled Egypt for almost 150 years since the reign of Thutmose I. Amenhotep III was the father of two sons with his Great Royal Wife Tiye and their first son, Crown Prince Thutmose, predeceased his father and their second son, Amenhotep IV, known as Akhenaten, ultimately succeeded Amenhotep III to the throne. Amenhotep III may have been the father of a third child—called Smenkhkare, Amenhotep III and Tiye may have had four daughters, Henuttaneb, Isis or Iset, and Nebetah.
They appear frequently on statues and reliefs during the reign of their father, Nebetah is attested only once in the known historical records on a colossal limestone group of statues from Medinet Habu. Amenhotep III elevated two of his four daughters—Sitamun and Isis—to the office of royal wife during the last decade of his reign. Evidence that Sitamun already was promoted to office by Year 30 of his reign, is known from jar-label inscriptions uncovered from the royal palace at Malkata. The goddess Hathor herself was related to Ra as first the mother and wife, Amenhotep IIIs marriage to his two daughters should not be considered unlikely based on contemporary views of marriage. Amenhotep III is known to have married several women, Gilukhepa. Tadukhepa, the daughter of his ally Tushratta of Mitanni, Around Year 36 of his reign, a daughter of Kurigalzu, king of Babylon. A daughter of Kadashman-Enlil, king of Babylon, a daughter of Tarhundaradu, ruler of Arzawa. A daughter of the ruler of Ammia, Amenhotep III has the distinction of having the most surviving statues of any Egyptian pharaoh, with over 250 of his statues having been discovered and identified.
Since these statues span his life, they provide a series of portraits covering the entire length of his reign. Their lengthy inscribed texts extol the accomplishments of the pharaoh, for instance,123 of these commemorative scarabs record the large number of lions that Amenhotep III killed with his own arrows from his first regnal year up to his tenth year. Similarly, five other state that the foreign princess who would become a wife to him, Gilukhepa. She was the first of many such princesses who would enter the pharaohs household, another eleven scarabs record the excavation of an artificial lake he had built for his Great Royal Wife, Queen Tiye, in his eleventh regnal year, Regnal Year 11 under the Majesty of
Cyperaceae
The Cyperaceae are a family of monocotyledonous graminoid flowering plants known as sedges, which superficially resemble grasses and rushes. The family is large, with some 5,500 known species described in about 90 genera and these species are widely distributed, with the centers of diversity for the group occurring in tropical Asia and tropical South America. While sedges may be growing in almost all environments, many are associated with wetlands. Ecological communities dominated by sedges are known as sedgelands, features distinguishing members of the sedge family from grasses or rushes are stems with triangular cross-sections and leaves that are spirally arranged in three ranks. Some well-known sedges include the chestnut and the papyrus sedge. This family includes cotton-grass, spike-rush, nutsedge or nutgrass, and white star sedge
Narmer
Narmer was an ancient Egyptian king of the Early Dynastic Period. Probably the successor to the Protodynastic kings Scorpion and/or Ka, some consider him the unifier of Egypt and founder of the First Dynasty, and in turn the first king of a unified Egypt. This conclusion is based on the Narmer Palette and the two seals from the necropolis of Abydos that show him as the first king of the First Dynasty. The date commonly given for the beginning of his reign is c.3100 BC, other mainstream estimates using both the historical method and Radiocarbon dating are in the range 3273–2987 BC. Although highly inter-related, the question of “who was Menes. ”, while Menes is traditionally considered the first king of Ancient Egypt, Narmer has been identified by the majority of Egyptologists as the same person as Menes. Although vigorously debated, the predominant opinion is that Narmer was Menes, the issue is confusing because “Narmer” is a Horus Name, while “Menes” is a personal name. The difficulty is aligning the contemporary archaeological evidence which lists Horus Names with the King Lists that list personal names, two documents have been put forward as proof either that Narmer was Menes or alternatively Hor-Aha was Menes.
The first is the “Naqada Label” which shows a serekh of Hor-Aha next to an enclosure inside of which are symbols that have been interpreted by scholars as the name “Menes”. The second is the impression from Abydos that alternates between a serekh of Narmer and the chessboard symbol, “mn”, which is interpreted as an abbreviation of Menes. Arguments have been made with regard to each of these documents in favour of Narmer or Hor-Aha being Menes, but in neither case, are the arguments conclusive. Two necropolis sealings, found in 1985 and 1991 in Abydos, in or near the tombs of Den and Qa’a, show Narmer as the founder of the First Dynasty, followed by Hor-Aha. The Qa’a sealing lists all eight of the kings of the First Dynasty in the correct order starting with Narmer and these necropolis sealings are strong evidence that Narmer was the first king of the First Dynasty – hence is the same person as Menes. The famous Narmer Palette, discovered by James E, since its discovery, however, it has been debated whether the Narmer Palette represents an actual historic event or is purely symbolic.
Of course, the Narmer Palette could represent an historical event while at the same time having a symbolic significance. In 1993, Günter Dreyer discovered in Abydos, a “year label” of Narmer depicting the event that is depicted on the Narmer Palette. This year label shows that the Narmer Palette depicts an historical event. Archaeological evidence suggests that Egypt was at least partially unified during the reigns of Ka and Iry-Hor, but there is a substantial difference in the quantity and distribution of inscriptions with the names of those earlier kings in Lower Egypt and Canaan, compared to the inscriptions of Narmer. The archaeological evidence suggest that the unification began before Narmer, but was completed by him through the conquest of a polity in the North-West Delta as depicted on the Narmer Palette
Aswan
Aswan, formerly spelled Assuan, is a city in the south of Egypt, the capital of the Aswan Governorate. Aswan is a market and tourist centre located just north of the Aswan Dams on the east bank of the Nile at the first cataract. The modern city has expanded and includes the separate community on the island of Elephantine. Aswan is the ancient city of Swenett, which in antiquity was the town of Ancient Egypt facing the south. Swenett is supposed to have derived its name from an Egyptian goddess with the same name, the ancient name of the city is said to be derived from the Egyptian symbol for trade, or market. The city stood upon a peninsula on the bank of the Nile, immediately below the first cataract of the flowing waters. Navigation to the delta was possible from this location without encountering a barrier, the stone quarries of ancient Egypt located here were celebrated for their stone, and especially for the granitic rock called Syenite. They lie on either bank of the Nile, and a road,6.5 km in length, was cut beside them from Syene to Philae, Swenett was equally important as a military station as a place of traffic.
Under every dynasty it was a town, and here tolls. Around 330, the legion stationed here received a bishop from Alexandria, the city is mentioned by numerous ancient writers, including Herodotus, Stephanus of Byzantium, Pliny the Elder, and it appears on the Antonine Itinerary. It is mentioned in the Book of Ezekiel and the Book of Isaiah, the latitude of the city that would become Aswan – located at 24° 5′ 23″ – was an object of great interest to the ancient geographers. They believed that it was seated immediately under the tropic, and that on the day of the summer solstice and they noted that the suns disc was reflected in a well at noon. However, Eratosthenes used this information together with measurements of the length on the solstice at Alexandria to perform the first known calculation of the circumference of the Earth. The Nile is nearly 650 m wide above Aswan, from this frontier town to the northern extremity of Egypt, the river flows for more than 1,200 km without bar or cataract.
The voyage from Aswan to Alexandria usually took 21 to 28 days in favourable weather, Aswan has a hot desert climate like the rest of Egypt. Aswan and Luxor have the hottest summer days of any city in Egypt, Aswan is one of the hottest and driest cities in the world. Averages high temperatures are consistently above 40 °C during summer while averages low temperatures remain above 25 °C, summers are long and extremely hot. Averages high temperatures remain above 23 °C during the coldest month of the year while averages low temperatures remain above 8 °C, winters are short and extremely warm
History of ancient Egypt
The history of ancient Egypt spans the period from the early prehistoric settlements of the northern Nile valley to the Roman conquest, in 30 BC. The Pharaonic Period is dated from the 32nd century BC, when Upper and Lower Egypt were unified, until the country fell under Macedonian rule, note For alternative revisions to the chronology of Egypt, see Egyptian chronology. Egypts history is split into different periods according to the ruling dynasty of each pharaoh. The dating of events is still a subject of research, the conservative dates are not supported by any reliable absolute date for a span of about three millennia. The following is the list according to conventional Egyptian chronology, traces of these early people appear in the form of artifacts and rock carvings along the terraces of the Nile and in the oases. To the Egyptians the Nile meant life and the desert meant death, evidence indicates human habitation and cattle herding in the southwestern corner of Egypt near the Sudan border before the 8th millennium BC.
Despite this, the idea of an independent bovine domestication event in Africa must be abandoned because subsequent evidence gathered over a period of thirty years has failed to corroborate this, the oldest-known domesticated cattle remains in Africa are from the Faiyum c.4400 BC. Continued desiccation forced the early ancestors of the Egyptians to settle around the Nile more permanently, the period from 9th to the 6th millennium BC has left very little in the way of archaeological evidence. The Nile valley of Egypt was basically uninhabitable until the work of clearing and irrigating the land along the banks was started, however it appears that this clearance and irrigation was largely under way by the 6th millennium. By that time, Nile society was already engaged in organized agriculture, at this time, Egyptians in the southwestern corner of Egypt were herding cattle and constructing large buildings. Mortar was in use by the 4th millennium, the people of the valley and the Nile Delta were self-sufficient and were raising barley and emmer, an early variety of wheat, and stored it in pits lined with reed mats.
They raised cattle and pigs and they wove linen, prehistory continues through this time, variously held to begin with the Amratian culture. Between 5500 BC and the 31st century BC, small settlements flourished along the Nile, the Tasian culture was the next to appear, it existed in Upper Egypt starting about 4500 BC. This group is named for the burials found at Deir Tasa, the Tasian culture is notable for producing the earliest blacktop-ware, a type of red and brown pottery painted black on its top and interior. The Badari culture, named for the Badari site near Deir Tasa, followed the Tasian, the Badari culture continued to produce the kind of pottery called blacktop-ware, and was assigned the sequence dating numbers between 21 and 29. The Amratian culture is named after the site of el-Amreh, about 120 kilometres south of Badari, el-Amreh was the first site where this culture was found unmingled with the Gerzeh culture. However, this period is attested at Nagada, and so is referred to as the Naqada I culture.
The Amratian period falls between S. D.30 and 39, newly excavated objects indicate that trade between Upper and Lower Egypt existed at this time
Menes
Menes was a pharaoh of the Early Dynastic Period of ancient Egypt credited by classical tradition with having united Upper and Lower Egypt and as the founder of the First Dynasty. The identity of Menes is the subject of ongoing debate, although mainstream Egyptological consensus identifies Menes with the Naqada III ruler Narmer or First Dynasty pharaoh Hor-Aha, both pharaohs are credited with the unification of Egypt to different degrees by various authorities. The Egyptian form, mnj, is taken from the Turin and Abydos King Lists, by the early New Kingdom, changes in the Egyptian language meant his name was already pronounced */maˈneʔ/. The name mnj means He who endures, which, I. E. S, edwards suggests, may have been coined as a mere descriptive epithet denoting a semi-legendary hero whose name had been lost. Rather than a person, the name may conceal collectively the Naqada III rulers, Ka, Scorpion II. The commonly-used name Menes derives from Manetho, an Egyptian historian, Manetho noted the name in Greek as Μήνης.
From this, various theories on the nature of the building, the meaning of the word mn and the relationship between Hor-Aha and Menes have arisen. Flinders Petrie first attempted this task, associating Iti with Djer as the pharaoh of Dynasty I, Teti with Hor-Aha as second pharaoh. Lloyd finds this succession extremely probable, and Cervelló-Autuori categorically states that Menes is Narmer, Seidlmayer states that it is a fairly safe inference that Menes was Hor-Aha. 3100–3050 BC, some academic literature uses c.3000 BC, by 500 BC, mythical and exaggerated claims had made Menes a culture hero, and most of what is known of him comes from a much time. Ancient tradition ascribed to Menes the honor of having united Upper and Lower Egypt into a single kingdom, his name does not appear on extant pieces of the Royal Annals, which is a now-fragmentary kings list that was carved onto a stela during the Fifth Dynasty. He typically appears in sources as the first human ruler of Egypt. He appears in other, much later, kings lists, Menes appears in demotic novels of the Hellenistic period, demonstrating that, even that late, he was regarded as important figure.
Menes was seen as a figure for much of the history of ancient Egypt. Manetho records that Menes led the army across the frontier and won great glory, Manetho associates the city of Thinis with the Early Dynastic Period and, in particular, Menes, a Thinite or native of Thinis. Herodotus contradicts Manetho in stating that Menes founded the city of Memphis as his capital after diverting the course of the Nile through the construction of a levee, Manetho ascribes the building of Memphis to Menes son and calls no pharaohs earlier than Third Dynasty Memphite. Diodorus Siculus stated that Menes had introduced the worship of the gods, in Plinys account, Menes was credited with being the inventor of writing in Egypt. George Stanley Faber, taking the word campsa to mean either crocodile or ark and preferring the latter, identifies Menes with Noah, according to Manetho, Menes reigned for 62 years and was killed by a hippopotamus
Prehistoric Egypt
This Predynastic era is traditionally equivalent to the final part of the Neolithic period beginning c.6000 BC and corresponds to the Naqada III period. The Predynastic period is divided into cultural periods, each named after the place where a certain type of Egyptian settlement was first discovered. The Late Paleolithic in Egypt started around 30,000 BC, the Nazlet Khater skeleton was found in 1980 and dated in 1982 from nine samples ranging between 35,100 and 30,360 years. This specimen is the only complete human skeleton from the earliest Late Stone Age in Africa. Excavation of the Nile has exposed early stone tools, the earliest of these lithic industries were located within the 100-foot terrace, and were Chellean, primitive Acheulean and an Egyptian form of the Clactonian. Within the 50-foot terrace was developed Acheulean, originally reported as Early Mousterian but since changed to Levalloisean, other implements were located in the 30-foot terrace. The 15- and 10-foot terraces saw a more developed version of the Levalloisean, tools of the Egyptian Sebilian technology and an Egyptian version of the Aterian technology were located.
Some of the oldest known buildings were discovered in Egypt by archaeologist Waldemar Chmielewski along the border near Wadi Halfa. They were mobile structures—easily disassembled and reassembled—providing hunter-gatherers with semi-permanent habitation, Aterian tool-making reached Egypt c.40,000 BC. The Khormusan industry in Egypt began between 40,000 and 30,000 BC, khormusans developed advanced tools not only from stone but from animal bones and hematite. They developed small arrow heads resembling those of Native Americans, the end of the Khormusan industry came around 16,000 B. C. with the appearance of other cultures in the region, including the Gemaian. The Halfan culture flourished along the Nile Valley of Egypt and Nubia between 18,000 and 15,000 BC, though one Halfan site dates to before 24,000 BC, people survived on a diet of large herd animals and the Khormusan tradition of fishing. Greater concentrations of artifacts indicate that they were not bound to seasonal wandering and they are viewed as the parent culture of the Ibero-Maurusian industry, which spread across the Sahara and into Spain.
The Halfan culture was derived in turn from the Khormusan, which depended on specialized hunting, the primary material remains of this culture are stone tools, and a multitude of rock paintings. Qadan peoples developed sickles and grinding stones to aid in the collecting and processing of plant foods prior to consumption. However, there are no indications of the use of these tools after around 10,000 BC, in Egypt, analyses of pollen found at archaeological sites indicate that the Sebilian culture were gathering wheat and barley. It has been hypothesized that the sedentary lifestyle used by farmers led to increased warfare, continued expansion of the desert forced the early ancestors of the Egyptians to settle around the Nile more permanently and adopt a more sedentary lifestyle. The period from 9000 to 6000 BC has left little in the way of archaeological evidence
Ramesses II
Ramesses II, known as Ramesses the Great and Ozymandias, was the third pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt. He often is regarded as the greatest, most celebrated, and his successors and Egyptians called him the Great Ancestor. Ramesses II led several expeditions into the Levant, reasserting Egyptian control over Canaan. He led expeditions to the south, into Nubia, commemorated in inscriptions at Beit el-Wali, at age fourteen, Ramesses was appointed Prince Regent by his father Seti I. He is believed to have taken the throne in his teens and is known to have ruled Egypt from 1279 BC to 1213 BC. Manetho attributes Ramesses II a reign of 66 years and 2 months, most Egyptologists today believe he assumed the throne on May 31,1279 BC, estimates of his age at death vary,90 or 91 is considered most likely. Ramesses II celebrated an unprecedented 14 sed festivals during his reign—more than any other pharaoh. On his death, he was buried in a tomb in the Valley of the Kings, his was moved to a royal cache where it was discovered in 1881.
The early part of his reign was focused on building cities, temples and he established the city of Pi-Ramesses in the Nile Delta as his new capital and used it as the main base for his campaigns in Syria. He is known as Ozymandias in the Greek sources, from a transliteration into Greek of a part of Ramesses throne name, Usermaatre Setepenre, The justice of Rê is powerful – chosen of Rê. Early in his life, Ramesses II embarked on campaigns to restore possession of previously held territories lost to the Nubians and Hittites. He was responsible for suppressing some Nubian revolts and carrying out a campaign in Libya, during Ramesses IIs reign, the Egyptian army is estimated to have totaled about 100,000 men, a formidable force that he used to strengthen Egyptian influence. The Sherden people probably came from the coast of Ionia, from southwest Anatolia or perhaps, a stele from Tanis speaks of their having come in their war-ships from the midst of the sea, and none were able to stand before them.
In that sea battle, together with the Sherden, the pharaoh defeated the Lukka, the immediate antecedents to the Battle of Kadesh were the early campaigns of Ramesses II into Canaan. The inscription is almost totally illegible, due to weathering, additional records tell us that he was forced to fight a Canaanite prince who was mortally wounded by an Egyptian archer, and whose army subsequently, was routed. Ramesses carried off the princes of Canaan as live prisoners to Egypt, Ramesses plundered the chiefs of the Asiatics in their own lands, returning every year to his headquarters at Riblah to exact tribute. In the fourth year of his reign, he captured the Hittite vassal state of Amurru during his campaign in Syria, the Battle of Kadesh in his fifth regnal year was the climactic engagement in a campaign that Ramesses fought in Syria, against the resurgent Hittite forces of Muwatallis. The pharaoh wanted a victory at Kadesh both to expand Egypts frontiers into Syria, and to emulate his father Seti Is triumphal entry into the city just a decade or so earlier and he constructed his new capital, Pi-Ramesses
Prenomen (Ancient Egypt)
The prenomen of Ancient Egyptian pharaohs was one of the great five names of Egyptian rulers. Other terms for this name are Nswt-bity name and throne name. It is thought by some Egyptologists and historians to be the name of the rulers. Other Egyptologists believe that the prenomen was an independent name exclusively invented for the nswt-bity crest, the prenomen is composed of four hieroglyphic signs arranged into two fixed groups, the first sign group comprises the picture of a four-leafed sedge over a bread loaf. It was read in Egyptian as Niswt and symbolised Upper Egypt, the second group is written with the sign for a honey bee over a bread loaf. It was read as Bity and symbolised Lower Egypt, the etymology and origin of each crest reading is still unknown. During the first three dynasties, the prenomen was depicted either alone or in pair with the Nebty name and he was the first king who devoted his prenomen to the Two Ladies that clearly, although not every king after him followed that custom.
From king Huni, the probably last king of third dynasty, the prenomen was encircled by the so-called cartouche, the Niswt-Bity name is considered to be the least understood and most complex title of all five names that Egyptian pharaohs could adopt. Today it is translated by King of Upper and Lower Egypt but in Ancient Egyptian times it was surely read as he of the sedge. This is based on the traditional and religious beliefs of the Ancient Egyptians, in particular that a king, the king was therefore the ruler over things with contradicting yet complementary meanings, such as good - evil, light - darkness and harmony - chaos. Niswt, the seal of the reed, reveals a rather maternal and protecting function as shown by early titles such as Mery-nesw. The Bity crest was in ways the complementing contrast to the Niswt crest. While Niswt expresses an executive symbology and function, the Bity crest expresses a legislative symbology, the seal of the defensive bee reveals instead a rather power and strength seeking character, which is thought to be some kind of pun to the real honey bee.
The earliest instances of the use of Bity date back to the period corresponding to queen Merneiths possible rule. This might have inspired the Ancient Egyptian to compare beehives with their own structures, hierarchies. The pharaoh was simply the head and leader of the states hierarchy, the bee sign might have had the meaning of wealth/affluence, since bees are known for their collecting behaviour. This might explain as to why the Bity crest is used when describing offices that were responsible for duties such as the Khetemty-bity for seal bearer of the Bity king. Another meaning for the bee can be found in its sting, the bee sign may carry a military message, the strongest evidence supporting this conclusion comes from the pyramid texts of king Unas and Teti of the late Fifth and early Sixth Dynasty
Ramesses III
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, 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 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 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
