ENGLISH PROJECT

TOPIC: EGYPTIAN CIVILIZATION

The Egyptian Civilization was a bureaucracy of elite scribes, religious leaders, and
administrators under the control of a pharaoh, who ensured the cooperation and
unity of the Egyptian people in the context of an elaborate system of religious
beliefs. Dear teacher and my fellow students, it is a great opportunity for us all to
be here. Today I am going to speak to you about the Egyptian Civilisation and the
mystery surrounding it.

Ancient Egypt was a civilization of ancient North Africa, concentrated along the
lower reaches of the Nile River, The history of ancient Egypt occurred as a series
of stable kingdoms, separated by periods of relative instability known as
Intermediate Periods.

Egypt reached the pinnacle of its power in the New Kingdom, ruling much of
Nubia and a sizable portion of the Near East, after which it entered a period of
slow decline. During the course of its history Egypt was invaded or conquered by a
number of foreign powers.

Now Moksha will inform us about the important dates and periods as the
civilization progressed.

DATES

For almost 30 centuries—from its unification around 3100 B.C. to its conquest by
Alexander the Great in 332 B.C.—ancient Egypt was the preeminent civilization in
the Mediterranean world.

In the Predynastic period [5000 to 3100 BC], During the Stone Age, the
communities’ early advances paved the way for the later development of
Egyptian arts and crafts, technology, politics and religion. Around 3400 B.C., two
separate kingdoms were established near the Fertile Crescent : the Red Land to
the north, and the White Land in the south. A century later, King Menes would
subdue the north and unify the country, becoming the first king of the first
dynasty.
 The earliest known hieroglyphic writing dates to the Archaic (Early dynastic)
period [3100 to 2686 BC]. This period saw the development of the ideology of
kingship and foundations of society.

In Old Kingdom period (Age of the Pyramid Builders): [2686 to 2181 BC], the
world’s first major stone building, the Step-Pyramid, was constructed at Saqqara,
near Memphis. During the third and fourth dynasties, Egypt enjoyed a golden age
of peace and prosperity. Over the course of the fifth and sixth dynasties, the
king’s wealth was steadily depleted, partially due to the huge expense of pyramid-
building. After the death of the sixth dynasty’s King Pepy II, the Old Kingdom
period ended in chaos.

During the Middle Kingdom period, Egypt once again flourished, as it had during
the Old Kingdom. The kingdom also built diplomatic and trade relations with
Syria, Palestine and other countries; undertook building projects including military
fortresses and mining quarries; and returned to pyramid-building.

In the Second Intermediate Period (c. 1786-1567 B.C.) the Hyksos took advantage
of Egypt’s instability to take control. They ruled concurrently with the line of
native Theban rulers of the 17th dynasty. the Thebans launched a war against the
Hyksos around 1570 B.C., driving them out of Egypt.

In the New Kingdom period (c. 1567-1085 B.C.), The 19th and 20th dynasties,
known as the Ramesside period saw the restoration of the weakened Egyptian
empire and an impressive amount of building, including great temples and cities.

the Third Intermediate Period–saw important changes in Egyptian politics, society

and culture. Foreigners from Libya and Nubia grabbed power for themselves and
left a lasting imprint on Egypt’s population.

From the Late Period to Alexander’s Conquest (c.664-332 B.C.) In 525 BC, Egypt
became a part of the Persian Empire. in 332 B.C., Alexander the Great of
Macedonia conquered Egypt. After Alexander’s death, Egypt was ruled by a line
of Macedonian kings. The last ruler of Ptolemaic Egypt surrendered Egypt to the
armies of Octavian in 31 B.C. Six centuries of Roman rule followed, during which
Christianity became the official religion of Rome and the Roman Empire’s
provinces. The conquest of Egypt by the Arabs in the seventh century A.D. and the
introduction of Islam would do away with the last outward aspects of ancient
Egyptian culture and propel the country towards its modern incarnation.
CHRONOLOGY

The majority of Egyptologists agree on the outline and many details of the
chronology of Ancient Egypt. This scholarly consensus is the so-called
Conventional Egyptian chronology, which places the beginning of the Old
Kingdom in the 27th century BC, the beginning of the Middle Kingdom in the 21st
century BC and the beginning of the New Kingdom in the mid-16th century BC.

Despite this consensus, disagreements remain within the scholarly community,

resulting in variant chronologies diverging by about 300 years for the Early
Dynastic Period, up to 30 years in the New Kingdom, and a few years in the Late
Period.

In addition, there are a number of "alternative chronologies" outside scholarly

consensus, such as the "New Chronology" proposed in the 1990s, which lowers
New Kingdom dates by as much as 350 years, or the "Glasgow Chronology"
(proposed 1978–1982), which lowers New Kingdom dates by as much as 500
years.

HIGHLIGHTS

The many achievements of the ancient Egyptians include the quarrying, surveying
and construction techniques that supported the building of monumental pyramids,
temples, and obelisks; a system of mathematics, a practical and effective system of
medicine, irrigation systems and agricultural production techniques, the first
known planked boats, Egyptian faience and glass technology, new forms of
literature, and the earliest known peace treaty, made with the Hittites. Ancient
Egypt has left a lasting legacy. Its art and architecture were widely copied, and its
antiquities carried off to far corners of the world. Its monumental ruins have
inspired the imaginations of travelers and writers for centuries.

The civilization of Ancient Egypt is known for its stupendous achievements in a

whole range of fields, including art and architecture, engineering, medicine and
statecraft. Its great buildings on the banks of the River still strike awe into those
who see them. Around 3000 BC the only other people in the world to have a
literate, urban civilization were in Mesopotamia.
LOCATION
 The farmers in the long, narrow Nile Valley developed irrigation methods to
7control the flow of the water, so that crops could grow through both its rainy
and dry seasons. The valley was fertile and rich, creating vast surpluses of crops
that made possible incredible building projects such as the Pyramids and the
temples of Luxor. The surpluses were also used to fund a refined lifestyle for the
elite; to develop overseas trade and diplomacy; and to pay for wars of conquest.
GOVERNMENT
The Ancient Egyptian civilization produced the first government to rule an entire
nation. The Pharaoh was the ruler of Ancient Egypt, both politically and
religiously.
RELIGION

The ancient Egyptians worshipped many gods and goddesses. These included Ra,
the sun god; Isis, the goddess of nature and magic; Horus, the god of war; and
Osiris, the god of the dead. They had many beliefs about the afterlife that changed
over time.

ECONOMY AND SOCIETY

Egypt’s economy was based on agriculture.

Egypt’s mineral resources were well exploited in ancient times. These natural
resources allowed the ancient Egyptians to build monuments, sculpt statues of all
sizes, manufacture metal tools and fashion jewelry.

Peasant farmers made up the bulk of the population. Craftsmen seem to have had a
higher status than farmers. Scribes and officials were of high rank in ancient
Egyptian society. Within this elite group were also priests, physicians and
engineers; and from them were drawn the leading priests, ministers and courtiers.
At the very top was the royal family.

LITERATURE

Egyptian hieroglyphic literature is found on public monuments, and the walls of

temples and tombs, and consists of records of the deeds of gods and men, as well
as poetry. Love poetry, hymns, proverbs, spells and curses, instructional and
medical texts, and myths and legends, are found in hieratic, and later demotic
scripts.
ART

Ancient Egyptian art emphasized a rigid style which changed remarkably little
over the millennia. Change took place within fairly narrow bounds.

ARCHITECTURE

The Ancient Egyptians built some of the most-awe inspiring structures the world
has ever seen, such as the Pyramids of Giza.

TECHNOLOGY

The Egyptians developed high level mathematical, ship building and medicinal
skills.

HIEROGLYPHICS The word hieroglyph literally means "sacred carvings". The

Egyptians first used hieroglyphs exclusively for inscriptions carved or painted on
temple walls. This form of pictorial writing was also used on tombs, sheets of
papyrus, wooden boards covered with a stucco wash, potsherds and fragments of
limestone.

Hieroglyphics are an original form of writing out of which all other forms have
evolved. Two of the newer forms were called hieratic and demotic. Hieratic was a
simplified form of hieroglyphics used for administrative and business purposes, as
well as for literary, scientific and religious texts. Demotic, a Greek word meaning
"popular script", was in general use for the daily requirements of the society. In the
third century A.D., hieroglyphic writing began to be replaced by Coptic, a form of
Greek writing. The last hieroglyphic text was written at the Temple of Philae in
A.D. 450.

Hieroglyphs are written in columns or in horizontal lines. They are generally read
from right to left and from top to bottom. Sometimes, the script is read from left to
right.

Words and names written in hieroglyphs were believed to have magical powers.
For this reason, funeral texts and the names of the deceased were written on coffins
and tomb walls. This meant that the gods would hear the prayers and the
individuals would be protected from harm. A name written in hieroglyphs
embodied a person's identity. If it was obliterated, the person's identity was lost,
along with his or her means to continue living in the afterworld.